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Archive for the New Music Category
This bit of pleasant and surprising news just reached the desk of Loudersoft, a couple of days late (the kiss of death in the blogosphere of course) but still fresh! We’re thrilled to hear and announce that, according to quintronandmisspussycat.com, Quintron’s new album will be released by Memphis’s own Goner Records. Here’s the “official info”:
So….the secret is out and not secret any more. Major big time record label GONER RECORDS of Memphis TN, will put out the new Quintron record. We sincerely apologize to Colombia, Matador, Vice, and Time Warner for turning you down but the deal that GONER RECORDS offered us was just too good to pass up. Maybe next time. The title and the cover and all the music is still a big secret….unless you live in New Orleans cuz I like to DJ my own shit….a lot. The cover has a snake on it…oops. shut up, no YOU shut up! There is a song about Freedom. Shut UP!! release date Oct. something or other, 2008. World tour to follow unless. Thank you Goner…”friend-ghetto” 4 life.
We’re looking forward to see where this exciting development leads us.
Have a wander over to check out this week’s Muxtape at http://loudersoft.muxtape.com and listen to this week’s mux. Included are:
01) West Indian Girl - All My Friends (Jason Bentley Remix) 6:36
02) The Notwist - Good Lies 5:23
03) David Ford - Requiem 4:44
04) Ivan Colón - Gabriel 3:52
05) Aimee Mann - Looking For Nothing 3:47
06) KaiserCartel - Oh No 3:07
07) Charlotte Gainsbourg - The Operation 3:59
08) Zero 7 - Crosses 6:39
09) Marlena Shaw - California Soul (Diplo/Mad Decent Remix) 4:09
10) Friendly Fires - On Board 3:46
11) Steinski - It’s Up To You (Television Mix) 5:05
12) Coldplay - Death And All His Friends 6:19
12 songs, 57:27 minutes
It’s awkward, right? I just sit here and listen to new music and tell you what I dig and why. Usually, it’s nothing more than I hear something and I just want to hear it over and over again for a while. I’m not a complicated dude, really. In the case of Ivan Colón, I’m thrilled in the discovery of another wonderful little song that is just peeking up over the ground. You see, there’s welcome hints of Donovan and Sufjan Stevens shining through every note of the song “Gabriel”. I don’t mind that this song is performed by neither of those artists, really. I’m just thrilled to have found another song that I hope will carry me into the autumn singing as happily to myself as I am right now, trampling my way through the fallen leaves.
Ivan’s EP Despite The Atlantic appears July 15th on Milan Records. Visit him on MySpace by clicking here.
I normally shy away from reviews of artists whose sound follows so clearly in the paths of (and occasionally closely resembles) those of others whom I enjoy — namely Bruce Springsteen, Conor Oberst, Bob Dylan, Billy Bragg, Damien Rice and the like. I was sent a press reminder about David Ford’s terrific release Songs For The Road and had a chance to listen through the album. While I was listening I was stopped dead in my tracks by the next-to-last song on the record, entitled “Requiem” — a completely appropriate companion to the annals of historically great protest songs. “Every administration blames the one from last year,” Ford sings to us as if we should know he is right, “so when consequence calls, there’ll be nobody here.”
It’s more than simply a wonderful piece of work, fierce in its delivery and angry in its resonance — “Requiem” strikes me as a important and necessary piece of songwriting for the times in which we are currently living. It bespeaks and bemoans the tragedy of our excesses as a people, shames us (as good protest songs should) for being the victims of our own gluttony and fear. It paints a picture of the kind of fear that grips us for refusing to accept our part in the way things have become. This is a song whose time is right now, for better or worse. We’d all better start learning the words.
BONUS: David Ford performing live at legendary Sun Studio in Memphis.
Visit David on MySpace at http://myspace.com/davidford. Buy Songs For The Road from Amazon by clicking here.
Aimee Mann’s new album is being hailed by some as “a masterpiece” and I’m hard-pressed to disagree. Have you ever wanted a chance to sing with someone as awesome as Aimee Mann on stage? There’s still time to make a video of you singing her new single “Freeway” and submitting it to the Aimee Mann Freeway Contest on YouTube. Visit http://aimeemann.com/freewaycontest/ for further details.
To prove how easy it is, I made this in just a few minutes. It speaks for itself, so I won’t try. What is there to be scared of? Give it a shot! There’s currently only 50 entries, and you have until July 7th to enter.
I don’t normally post these but this record actually isn’t too bad. I mean I probably wouldn’t buy it personally but you’ll probably dig it, right? I think Creaky Boards Coldplay have a fairly original take on music from time to time.
Click Here To Listen To Coldplay’s Viva La Vida.
Click Here to buy Viva La Vida [cd|mp3] from Amazon.
COLDPLAY - “VIVA LA VIDA” NORTH AMERICAN TOUR
(all dates are subject to change)
Date City Venue Public On Sale Date
7/14 Los Angeles, CA The Forum SOLD OUT
7/15 Los Angeles, CA The Forum SOLD OUT
7/18 San Jose, CA HP Pavilion 6/14
7/19 Las Vegas, NV MGM Grand Garden Arena on sale now
7/23 Chicago, IL United Center 6/14
7/25 Philadelphia, PA Wachovia Center on sale now
7/27 Pemberton, BC Pemberton Festival on sale now
7/29 Montreal, QC Bell Centre 6/14
7/30 Toronto, ON Air Canada Centre 6/14
8/2 Hartford, CT XL Center on sale now
8/3 Washington, DC Verizon Center on sale now
8/4 Boston, MA TD Banknorth Garden 6/14
10/20 Ottawa, ON Scotiabank Place TBA
10/21 Cleveland, OH Quicken Loans Arena on sale now
10/26 East Rutherford, NJ Izod Center TBA
11/3 Detroit, MI The Palace of Auburn Hills on sale now
11/7 Orlando, FL Amway Arena TBA
11/9 Sunrise, FL BankAtlantic Center TBA
11/11 Atlanta, GA Philips Arena TBA
11/13 Kansas City, MO Sprint Center on sale now
11/14 St. Paul, MN Xcel Energy Center on sale now
11/16 Oklahoma City, OK Ford Center on sale now
11/18 Houston, TX Toyota Center TBA
11/19 Dallas, TX American Airlines Center TBA
11/21 Denver, CO Pepsi Center Arena TBA
11/22 Salt Lake City, UT Energy Solutions Arena TBA
11/26 Phoenix, AZ Jobing.com Arena on sale now
WARNING: May contain language your co-workers would find offensive, so possibly NSFW.
I’ve been talking about starting this feature called “If I Had A Million Dollars” – a series of threads about bands I would sign if, in fact, I had a million dollars to help them make a record and promote them. Unofficially, the first installment really belongs to the band Anthem In that I mentioned earlier this week. However, I think you’ll agree with me about installment two.
This morning, bleary-eyed and caffeine-free, I read an email from Alexander of the London-based band Voxpop. I hadn’t quite had my coffee when I clicked thru to their MySpace link to check them out. What I heard really caught me off guard — in a beautiful menagerie of sound (the song “Hacienda Motel” to be specific), I was instantly reminded of the band Suede and of how much I miss them.
Now, don’t get me wrong — Voxpop isn’t a Bernard Butler imitation. They take what’s best about Suede and a number of other great pop and Brit-pop bands and blend them together. You’ve got a bit of Weezer, a bit of Franz Ferdinand, a bit of The Strokes and a dash of Futureheads for good measure. It’s an impressive first outing from a band who has played, perhaps, a handful of shows.
I played this for Maura and she and I agree about this much — God knows this is the band Bernard Butler should be producing — not Black Kids. However, producer Paul Epworth (who has produced Maximo Park, Bloc Party, Futureheads and Kate Nash) found them first. This is extremely solid songwriting. Singing about everything from dead hollywood stars to Jonathan Richman, I can tell you this is definitely a band to watch out for. When I get a new MP3 to post from the band, I will — in the meantime, here’s two of the songs I personally loved the best, “Hacienda Motel” and “Bad News”.
Voxpop - Bad News
Voxpop - Hacienda Motel
You can (and very well should) go listen to more at their MySpace Music page here.
As we mentioned back in early April, Los Angeles-based Aimee Mann has a new record worth checking out. The opening haunts of bass and tambourine on “Freeway”, the opening track on Aimee Mann’s @#%&*! Smilers have a familiarity to it that quickly pave the way for a series of welcoming new songs. After taking adventurous offshoots with the concept album The Forgotten Arm and her Christmas album, Mann has turned back to the simple introspection borne of her signature tunes. The results are magnificent: soul-searching revelations in short form that are as instantly inviting as they are memorable.
The album hearkens ghosts of 70’s soft-rock genius, peppering the landscapes of each song with Fender Rhodes keyboards, tiny drums and layered, angelic harmonies. Mann’s lyrical prowess, while depth-laden, is never too calculating or too high-brow, always giving the listener a completely relate-able glimpse into the lovelorn meanderings and life machinations of the characters her songs present. @#%&*! Smilers is an exceptional disc from beginning to end with something to entice long-time fans and new.
You can purchase @#%&*! Smilers from from Amazon [mp3|cd] by clicking here.
Courtney Kaiser & Benjamin Cartel are KaiserCartel. This song from their new album is kinda pretty, it’s called “Oh No” and you can download it right here and now. Yes. Go ahead.
In the last 40 years, Reverend Al Green has gone through a number of spiritual changes and incarnations. His voice is instantly recognizable, a hallmark that has come to represent what people associate with classic R&B and soul music. I couldn’t give you a number, but I’d be willing to bet that a whole lot of you babies out there were conceived to the strain of love songs like “Let’s Stay Together”, “Still In Love With You, “Call Me”, “Take Me To The River” and so many more. The house that Al Green and Willie “Pops” Mitchell built at Royal Studios in Memphis, the Hi Records sound if you will, has remained an untouched legacy that seemed to speak of an era gone by.
Come to find out that Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson and James Poyser had “a run at Al Green” (to use ?uest’s own words) over the last two years at Electric Ladyland in NYC. Fans of soul music might be tempted to overlook a new recording by Al Green because, well, they’re just convinced that his best years are behind him as a performer. With the arrival of Lay It Down next week on Blue Note, the death knoll of the Hi Records sound is silenced entirely and, with it, a new generation has the opportunity to experience the genius that is Reverend Al Green.
The meticulous craftsmanship with which this album was designed, from the way in which it was engineered, recorded and mastered to the choice of musicians, leaves the listener wondering, “Did they make this record in 1973 and keep it in the vault for 35 years?” The roots rhythm and blues mixed with touches of gospel are an extension of Willie Mitchell and Al Green’s dream rather than a carbon copy of his past works. James and ?uest got it all in there: Al Green’s rich multi-dimensional vocals are all here, complete with pitch-perfect falsettos.
It’s a welcome resurrection of Al Green and Willie Mitchell’s Hi Records sound, full of lush backing vocal arrangements, congas mixed with tiny drums, the pure soul dynamite of the Dap Tone Horns, Poyser turning it out on the Hammond B-3 and the unparalleled guitar work of the late Chalmers “Spanky” Alford. The 12 songs on Lay It Down don’t come across as a cheap attempt at imitating a sound; it has the feel of an old friend who you’re glad to see again, slipping on your favorite pair of shoes, enjoying a big plate of your favorite fried chicken and biscuits or, maybe, like falling in love for the first time. There is no caricature or sad figurine of an aging star in this album. It is as if the 24-year-old Al Green has come back to tell us, “I haven’t gone anywhere, baby. I’m still here.”
In an effort, I suppose, to bring the “process” up to date, guest appearances from wonderful vocalists like Anthony Hamilton, John Legend and Corinne Bailey Rae are smattered throughout the record. On one of the songs we’re previewing, “Take Your Time”, Corinne’s sexy alto duet adds a respectable, if occasionally pitchy, flavor to the great Reverend’s unwavering falsetto. However, these guest appearances serve as more of a distraction rather than an addition. While not unpleasant, the guest appearances actually magnify the series of legendary performances on this record which belong to Rev. Green himself.
And no star shines brighter than Reverend Al Green himself, after all. His inspired songwriting and performances on this album offer inarguable proof that through his incarnations and changes, Al Green has never lost connection to the very style that he originated. Lay It Down is well poised to be my number one album of 2008, a shining example that the house Hi Records built lives on. Run, don’t walk, to get your hands on this.
Al Green - Just For Me
Al Green - Take Your Time (Feat. Corinne Bailey Rae)
You can purchase Al Green’s Lay It Down by clicking here.
The seaport city of Boston, rich in musical tradition and heritage, has a legacy of turning out notable songwriters and musicians dating back generations. If you’re a follower of that long-standing tradition (or you happen to be one of the lucky ones who live there and get to experience it on a regular basis), you might have occasioned to stumble into places like Club Passim or The Middle East without expectation only to stumble back out deeply impressed with what you’ve just seen. This legacy has given root to Meg Hutchinson, a songwriter whose angelic voice, extraordinary lyricism and powerful delivery keeps us singing long after the music has. Ms. Hutchinson, who instantly won me over at this year’s Folk Alliance Conference, has released a new album entitled Come Up Full on Red House Records this year which, it is to be hoped, will help continue to garner her much-deserved accolades and gain a foothold of new fans.
Coming from a creative writing background helps to bolster the warmth layered throughout these twelve songs. It is a document of a woman who appears to have traveled around herself to become whole again, finding in her footsteps pieces of her personal mystery. It is a journey that this listener was able to relate to on a deep level of consciousness, making a connection in the desire to recover from the disasters laid upon us — the desire to find extraordinary beauty from ordinary things. On “Home”, she gives us reasons to count our many blessings; on the songs “Whole Bird” and “Seeing Stars”, she delights in the ironic dichotomies of what brings people together. Crit Harmon’s production values don’t ever become overbearing; they allow us to listen to and enjoy the songs in the simple way it seems they were always intended to be heard.
With Come Up Full, Ms. Hutchinson has catapulted into an upper echelon of songwriters. Seeing her placed along side names like Shawn Colvin, Natalie Merchant or Patty Griffin seems more than reasonable, ones for whom legacies and longevities seem pre-destined.
In spite of the many accolades laid upon Ms. Hutchinson and her work in this article, the simple fact that I can’t ignore is how drawn into the album I have become and, further, how I hope that others will begin to recognize her singularity as performer and songwriter.
Listen to Meg Hutchinson - “Home”
Listen to Meg Hutchinson - “Seeing Stars”
You can purchase Come Up Full