Musical Discoveries
It can be really difficult for me to get into new music. Usually I have to be at a live performance to really get into something for the first time, and these days most of the new music I hear comes through my running station on Pandora, and while I like some of the poppy hip hop jams, it's not really stuff I'd share with my friends and say "You've gotta hear this!" But there are three newer albums in my collection that I can't live without, and I want to make sure my friends know about them.
First is the Lone Bellow's debut album, The Lone Bellow
I got into these guys because I know the girl in the band. She was Emily's college roommate and sang with her in The Accidentals, and I have always LOVED Kanene's voice. She's not the lead singer in the band, and her vocal parts on the album really don't even hint at what she can do with her pipes, but this album does not suffer for lack of her belting. I'm sure something in their future will feature her amazing power, and people will be like "WHOA!!!," but I think they're keeping that secret weapon in their arsenal for use at a later date. In the mean time, their stuff is very Brooklyn Bluegrass. It's old-timey but fresh at the same time. Beautiful and edgy. A musician friend of mine called them "the best live performance I've seen in decades." Here's their new single, "Green Eyes and a Heart of Gold."
Next up is Aoife O'Donovan's solo album, Fossils.
I'm familiar with Aoife as the lead singer of Crooked Still. I discovered them at Falcon Ridge when they were all fresh out of college and touring for the first time, and I've loved them HARD since day one. Aoife's solo stuff is much mellower. Her airy voice makes every song sound like a lullaby, even though some of them are, ahem, a little racy. Here's her music video for "Red and White and Blue and Gold."
Lastly is the new collaboration from Steve Martin and Edie Brickell, backed by the Steep Canyon Rangers, called Love Has Come For You
I have always loved the Steep Canyon Rangers, but I have to admit I was kind of bummed when they started teaming up with Steve Martin. Steve is hilarious and a great banjo player, but SCR pretty much took a back seat to him in their collaborating, and the music wasn't as fun for me as original SCR stuff. Steve is crazy talented, but his music is either largely instrumental, or lyrically silly. There's nothing wrong with that, it's just not the kind of music I can listen to on endless repeat. It's not that the music wasn't awesome, it just wasn't blast-in-the-car-and-sing-along music, and that's by far my favorite kind of music. But then came Edie.
You may remember Edie Brickell from the late 80's song "What I Am." She's also Paul Simon's wife. But she's been largely off my radar musically other than those two things. Her vocals were the missing piece in the SCR-Steve Martin equation that brought everything together for me. In true bluegrass fashion, these songs tell stories -- great ones, some even true -- and feature heavy twangs on both vocals and banjo. It took me a few listens to really get into this at first -- it's VERY twangy -- but it's just so fucking beautiful that I couldn't help but fall in love with it. Here's one of my favorites from this album, and the story behind it:
Lucy told me last week that she goes to school with Edie and Paul's kids. No big deal. (!!)
Anyway, I hope some of you will take the time to check out some of this stuff. I really, really love it.
First is the Lone Bellow's debut album, The Lone Bellow
I got into these guys because I know the girl in the band. She was Emily's college roommate and sang with her in The Accidentals, and I have always LOVED Kanene's voice. She's not the lead singer in the band, and her vocal parts on the album really don't even hint at what she can do with her pipes, but this album does not suffer for lack of her belting. I'm sure something in their future will feature her amazing power, and people will be like "WHOA!!!," but I think they're keeping that secret weapon in their arsenal for use at a later date. In the mean time, their stuff is very Brooklyn Bluegrass. It's old-timey but fresh at the same time. Beautiful and edgy. A musician friend of mine called them "the best live performance I've seen in decades." Here's their new single, "Green Eyes and a Heart of Gold."
Click to viewNext up is Aoife O'Donovan's solo album, Fossils.
I'm familiar with Aoife as the lead singer of Crooked Still. I discovered them at Falcon Ridge when they were all fresh out of college and touring for the first time, and I've loved them HARD since day one. Aoife's solo stuff is much mellower. Her airy voice makes every song sound like a lullaby, even though some of them are, ahem, a little racy. Here's her music video for "Red and White and Blue and Gold."
Lastly is the new collaboration from Steve Martin and Edie Brickell, backed by the Steep Canyon Rangers, called Love Has Come For You
I have always loved the Steep Canyon Rangers, but I have to admit I was kind of bummed when they started teaming up with Steve Martin. Steve is hilarious and a great banjo player, but SCR pretty much took a back seat to him in their collaborating, and the music wasn't as fun for me as original SCR stuff. Steve is crazy talented, but his music is either largely instrumental, or lyrically silly. There's nothing wrong with that, it's just not the kind of music I can listen to on endless repeat. It's not that the music wasn't awesome, it just wasn't blast-in-the-car-and-sing-along music, and that's by far my favorite kind of music. But then came Edie.
You may remember Edie Brickell from the late 80's song "What I Am." She's also Paul Simon's wife. But she's been largely off my radar musically other than those two things. Her vocals were the missing piece in the SCR-Steve Martin equation that brought everything together for me. In true bluegrass fashion, these songs tell stories -- great ones, some even true -- and feature heavy twangs on both vocals and banjo. It took me a few listens to really get into this at first -- it's VERY twangy -- but it's just so fucking beautiful that I couldn't help but fall in love with it. Here's one of my favorites from this album, and the story behind it:
Lucy told me last week that she goes to school with Edie and Paul's kids. No big deal. (!!)
Anyway, I hope some of you will take the time to check out some of this stuff. I really, really love it.