Lauren Mann & the Fairly Odd Folk  
Over Land and Sea  
Available April 9th through Wanderer Records

Lauren Mann and her fairly odd Calgary crew are set to release their Over Land and Sea album this April and there’s hardly an instrument or sound they’ve left from the mix. Ukuleles, violins, violas, banjos, cellos, trumpets, vibraphones, melodicas, bassoons, trombones, flutes, drums, guitars, glockenspiels, clarinets, whistling, pianos, background vocals, hand claps, and Lauren Mann’s alluring, melodic voice all blend gorgeously in this collection of folk-pop. The album's poppy, whimsical tune “How It Goes" would be well suited as the background music during an bright, early spring stroll in the park. But, as catchy and fun as it is, the airy instrumentals shouldn’t fool you. Mann’s lyrics are dynamic and poetic. She comes bearing a message. She’s ready to talk about life and about death, heartache, and all of the unanswered questions. The whole journey. And she somehow manages to do it with a bittersweet ethereal feel that leaves you feeling uplifted and ready to submerge yourself in this wild life while it’s here.  

A sort of gentle call to action, Lauren encourages, “I’ve said my goodbyes / there’s no turning back / I keep singing this melody to keep my heart intact / and I know that we will never know / how the world keeps going how it goes / and all this time we spent waiting for our lives to happen / is time that’s been wasted while the world keeps moving and changing.”

Lauren Mann & the Fairly Odd Folk aren’t going anywhere soon. Their infectious melodies will be on repeat for some time and in your head much longer. 

Lauren Mann & the Fairly Odd Folk Tour Dates 

Johnny Cash
The Complete Columbia Album Collection
Available on Sony/Legacy (Dec. 4, 2012)

Many a jukebox was packed full of Johnny Cash’s Columbia albums throughout the latter half of the last century. Sony/Legacy has now compiled nearly 60 percent of the Man In Black’s work, covering more than 30 years and 60 discs worth of Cash’s music and fit it into a significantly more compact box.

Johnny Cash: The Complete Columbia Album Collection gathers 63 discs of Cash albums, concerts, songs and soundtracks. From his debut with the label The Fabulous Johnny Cash in 1958 to Highwayman 2 with Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings and Kris Kristofferson in 1990, everything Cash released on Columbia is included here. If that’s not enough for the Cash completist, there’s several discs never released in the U.S. until now.

While the box set isn’t a definitive career collection-his Sun Records and American Recordings albums are not included-it’s as close as one could hope to get. Several Sun singles are found within, and live albums recorded in a Swedish prison, Prague, London, and New York are presented for the first time.

All of the classics and standards can be found here, including  At Folsom Prison, the excellent Ride This Train concept album, as well as all of chart topping singles. But the real gems are those you don’t hear on the radio and would have a hard time finding in record bins.  Hearing cash speak Swedish between songs is as big a treat as his familiar baritone on “I Walk the Line.” While there is bound to be chaff among the wheat in a career as prolific as Johnny Cash’s, the often overlooked works more than make up for the plentiful nostalgia pieces he produced in the ‘80s. And one can track a career that ventured from country to Americana, gospel to rock and roll, Christmas tunes to children’s songs, comedy to uplifting spirituals.

The box set preserves the original album art and liner notes, formatted to fit a CD. There’s also a 200 page booklet to accompany the decades’ worth of music.

Woods
Bend Beyond
Available on Woodsist (Sept. 18, 2012)

Jeremy Earl likes to stay busy. The falsetto-prone singer and founder of the hazy folk band Woods has spearheaded a release by the group every year since 2006. Not creatively satisfied with just fronting the band, Earl also runs the successful record label Woodsist and hosts the annual Woodsist Festival at the Henry Miller Library in Big Sur. Some might take a look at these pursuits and see a man spreading himself too thin, while others might see an artist thriving in a culture bursting with free-flowing creativity. Despite this heavy output, Earl and the other three members of Woods have managed to create a new album, Bend Beyond, that is consistently engaging and artistically progressive.

All of the staple ingredients of a Woods album, like simple acoustic rhythms, reeling electric guitars, and Earl’s doubled lead vocals, find prominent positions on Bend Beyond. The instantly memorable “Cali In A Cup” employs each of these to great effect while adding a thick backbeat, wandering harmonica riffs, and a vocal hook as catchy as the best of them. On “It Ain’t Easy,” Earl picks lightly on an acoustic guitar to the stark accompaniment of a slide guitar and his voice. Reflective and earnest in his trademark casual manner, the lyrics rival some of Earl’s best – “It gets hard without much to say / A pile of stones in lieu of your grave / And ain’t it hard to say it ain’t easy / Lookin’ for different ways to makes things stay the same.”

While Bend Beyond still gives off a sense of the DIY ethos that has guided Woods in the past, the recordings here seem fuller and more realized than previous efforts. Luckily, the album contains several of those freewheeling and squealing beasts of guitar solos that have long come to help define the band’s sound, albeit they are now walked on a shorter leash. Bend Beyond improves upon the finest elements of Woods’ prior releases without stepping into the unforgiving trappings of a sterile and uninspired performance.  

Ben Sauder is an Online Editorial Assistant at Ogden Publications, the parent company of Utne Reader. Find him on Google+.

Wanda Jackson
Unfinished Business
Available on Sugar Hill Records (Oct. 9, 2012)

At an age when most people have left business concerns behind, Wanda Jackson is still working harder than people just getting started. The Queen of Rockabilly has cranked out her second album in as many years, again produced by a musician who wasn’t even born when Wanda started rockin'.

Jackson’s Unfinished Business collects 10 tracks that touch on each of her strengths: rockabilly, heartache-y country, blues and gospel. Justin Townes Earle makes his production debut, giving the proceedings a lean, honky-tonk feel. Fresh off of 2011’s The Party Ain’t Over—produced by Jack White—Business once again gathers several standards, some in Jackson’s wheelhouse, others not quite a full realization of Jackson’s legendary, gravelly voice.

One of the first women to record a rock and roll song, Jackson has been singing blistering rockabilly tunes since the late ‘50s. Fortunately for listeners, her voice hasn’t left her and still has its bite as evidenced on “Tore Down,” the album’s opener. Bobby Womack’s “It’s All Over Now” gets the vengeful, not-sorry-for-myself blues treatment and the Etta James hit “Pushover” finds Jackson’s sultry croon scolding a would-be lothario.
 

For years, Jackson left rockabilly behind to focus on country and later gospel before coming back to her first love. She duets with Earle on “Am I Even a Memory,” as they trade verses of heartache and loss, a steel guitar wailing with nearly palpable regret all the while. She’s not lost the touch for Saturday night barroom ballads or those more appropriate for Sunday morning service, as evidenced on the joyous “Two Hands.” 

Song selection aside, the centerpiece of Unfinished Business is Jackson’s voice. Even on the weakest track, the Woody Guthrie-penned and Jeff Tweedy-finished “California Stars,” a song that doesn’t play to her strengths, that voice still sounds magical. Earle’s inexperience behind the controls shows in spots, as the music sounds thin and the band as if they’re in another room. That’s not the point though, as Jackson proves she still has pipes many aspiring singers would kill for. While not as vital as her previous effort, it’s good to see Jackson still taking care of business.

Black Moth Super Rainbow
Cobra Juicy
Available on Rad Cult (October 23, 2012)

If airports are the ghost towns of the future, Black Moth Super Rainbow is already there, playing an all night party amidst crumbling walls, deserted storefronts, and lines of empty chairs. Mechanically processed vocals floating through distorted synthesizer riffs somehow manage to sound warm and friendly. Shadows shift as people filter in and the desolation is slowly replaced with dancing. It seems entirely possible that an alien spacecraft could land on the cracked tarmac at any moment, amidst echoes of the drum machine.
 

In the cultural subconscious, the sounds of modular synths and vocorders are inextricably linked to spaceships, robots, and boxy white text on black computer screens. Because Black Moth Super Rainbow tends toward such instruments, the music often has a party-on-the-Starship-Enterprise vibe. Cobra Juicy is no exception. After a few seconds of rowdy pep-band percussion, the album transforms into a retro-futuristic exploration of analogue electronica. It might seem impenetrable and disorienting unless you regularly listen to Boards of Canada, Air, and Pink Floyd all at once—and it might even if you do. This is fringes of the fringes songwriting and, while BMSR has plenty of fans, the music is a creative experiment probably never intended to be understood or loved by the masses. There’s an urge to try to wrap your head around it all, but it’s only when you stop analyzing that the sounds begin to make much sense. Once the moog-era novelty wears off, we hear danceable beats, straightforward hooks, and melodies meant to delight rather than impress.

Cobra Juicy is the product of BMSR’s own transformation. Frontman Tobacco (Tom Fec) reported feeling confined by the project after 2009’s Eating Us. He went solo for a couple of albums, then got inspired to return to BMSR—without the rest of the band. He laid down several tracks, trashed most of them, and made new ones. Though the band will be joining him for the live tour, clearly this is not a man who gives in to sentimentality. Rather than nostalgia for a dead future, tracks like “Spraypaint” and “I Think I’m Evil,” seem to be coming to terms with the weirdness of now. Others, like “Psychic Love Damage” and “We Burn,” revel in the strange and sad while finding something beautiful in them. Cobra Juicy owns our culture’s dated expectations and eerie optimism, turning the history of our imagined future into a new thing that’s vulnerable and joyful, sinister and lovely all at once.

Animal Collective
Centipede Hz
Available on Domino (Sept. 4, 2012)

When Strawberry Jam was released in 2007 it was difficult to imagine Animal Collective creating a follow-up album of equaled excitement, innovation, and approachability, but they managed to surpass it with the masterpiece Merriweather Post Pavilion. So how would the band respond to the explosion of critical acclaim and fandom that followed the release of MPP? Would they produce a surefire hit, appeasing a majority of fans with a loop-heavy, melodic chill-zone Merriweather sequel? The answer is no. Animal Collective would go into the studio and do what they always have done—whatever they feel like.

Centipede Hz is, in certain respects, a return to Animal Collective’s past. For the first time since 2007, guitarist Josh Dibb (Deakin) has joined the other three members in writing and recording a new album. The band relies much less on samples for inspiration this time, instead opting for more of a live sound with Noah Lennox (Panda Bear) helming the percussive end, Dave Portner (Avey Tare) mainly on keys, Brian Weitz (Geologist) sticking with his sampler, and Deakin on baritone guitar. Most notably, Centipede Hz exudes an overarching intensity in its compositions and pace not achieved since 2003’s Here Comes the Indian.

Like the majority of their previous releases, however, Centipede Hz runs together as one continuous flow, with each song bleeding into the next. The transitions were constructed as if old radio advertisements were being hurled through the cosmos for any unsuspecting alien to stumble upon. With “Rosie Oh,” surprisingly one of only two Panda Bear songs, a bouncing bass and laser sample back up the clean vocal lines, sounding as if made inside a haunted cake factory. On the first ever Deakin-fronted Animal Collective track, “Wide Eyed,” the guitarist adopts a sort of roaming melody that hangs over a hypnotic and bubbling beat. Perhaps the most easily accessible track on first listen is Avey Tare’s “Today’s Supernatural.” The winding synthesizers, distorted guitar crunches, and rolling beats play secondary to the best collection of hooks on the release. Although Centipede Hz may not immediately stand out as exceptional, the songs have a way of slowly seeping in so that something new is revealed with each listen.

Listen to a multimedia stream of Centipede Hz at Animal Collective's website 

 
Sean Rowe
The Salesman and the Shark
Available on Anti- (Aug. 28, 2012)

Singer-songwriter Sean Rowe has a voice that grabs you and lyrics that keep it, and when you listen to the fantastic collection of songs on his latest album The Salesman and the Shark, you'll wonder what took so long for Rowe to get noticed.

While the 37-year-old Rowe probably wouldn’t have shied away from success had he realized it with his first album, 27 (Rowe’s age at the time), he’s aware that what’s made him an exciting discovery today required a lot of seasoning. He spent years honing his craft in noisy bars filled with disinterested drinkers, exploring his many musical influences and constantly finding new ones along the way. Eventually, he caught the ear of Anti- Records, which eagerly put out his second album, Magic, in 2011. “I do feel like Magic was a real starting point for me,” said Rowe. “Not that I hadn’t written anything good before that, but it felt like Magic had a real focus to it. Those songs hold some of my best literary work, I think.”

The lyrical strength of Magic earned him comparisons to Leonard Cohen and other lyrical and vocal legends, something that Rowe appreciates, but has taken in stride. “It’s natural to want to compare something we’ve never experienced with something we already know,” said Rowe. “They are all artists I have identified with over the years, but of course there are many more. I think the real key is absorbing what you can from others, mix it with your own energy and then develop your own voice.”

Rowe has established his own voice on his latest album for Anti-, The Salesman and the Shark. Compared to the lyrical load of Magic, the new record offers more opportunity for Rowe to literally breathe, which emphasizes his impressive baritone. It’s a voice that rattles your bones on the deep end, and gives you chills when it wanders into its highest range. “I didn’t think I needed to repeat the same feel of Magic,” said Rowe. “I wanted the new direction to be more cinematic. I guess you could say it has a lot more color to it than the last one.” 

That point is clear on songs like “Joe’s Cult.” With its Tom Waits-ian qualities, it sounds right at home on an Anti- recording. “A lot of that sound was producer Woody Jackson’s influence,” said Rowe. “I love the way that one came out. I think we recorded three drum sets at once to get the boom that it has.”

Here's a live acoustic version of "Flying," which gets the full production treatment on The Salesman and the Shark:

The Salesman and the Shark was recorded live in studio with real instruments, and that organic approach pays off throughout. On songs like opener “Bring Back the Night,” Jackson complements Rowe’s larger than life voice with a chorus and full instrumental accompaniment. Where Magic introduced us to Rowe the folk singer, the production and song selection on the new record introduce us to Rowe the soul singer.

While the entire record is outstanding, Rowe’s best moments are those in which he taps into the spiritual connection he has with nature, and Jackson deftly knows when to let Rowe’s voice and lyrics and take center stage. On “The Lonely Maze,” Rowe sings “I’ll never get to that star, but I’ve seen the universe in a blade of grass.” The lyric speaks to Rowe’s appreciation for nature, which fuels his passion, and has been the constant driving force through all the ups and downs in his music career. “Ultimately, it is the source for all of my writing,” said Rowe. “I cannot separate emotion, feeling, sensuality, sexuality, life and death from nature. They are all intimately connected.”

Listen to The Salesmen and the Shark in its entirety on NPR's First Listen

  
Clare and the Reasons
KR-51
Available now on Frog Stand Records 

Sometimes it’s necessary to leave one’s usual stomping ground for a while to be truly inspired to create. Brooklynites Clare and the Reasons did just that to make their new album, KR-51 - traveling to Germany to write and record over 8 months last year. The band soaked up Berlin culture and architecture, oftentimes from the seat of an old KR-51 Schwalbe motorbike. When the group had finished writing, they packed up once more and drove to the German village of Haldern-Rees to settle-in and record. The result of all their travel is an intricately composed collection of songs largely influenced by the foreigner’s experience of life on the other side.

Much of KR-51 buzzes with a welcome and dark mysteriousness that hinges on the whispery childlike voice of Clare Manchon and the epic contributions by the Orchestre de Paris. Album opener and single, “The Lake,” begins with the simple tick-tock of an acoustic guitar alarm clock and lap steel haunts that trace Clare’s sleepy vocal hook. The band’s scope of ambition is evident when the chorus drops in with a thick beat, lush string arrangements and syncopated synthesizer whirlings. The album picks up speed with “Bass Face,” a poppy dance song of short, energetic vocal phrases and reeling, distorted guitars à laDirty Projectors.

The fluttering, string-heavy production of “Westward” provides an adequate backdrop for the album’s most outwardly thematic lyrics - “She had just one suitcase / She doesn’t take a radio / She understands the great big blue / And where she comes from fades to sky.” While Brooklyn serves as muse to plenty of bands these days, Clare and the Reasons were right to leave it in search of their own. KR-51 is available now on Frog Stand Records. 

 
JD McPherson
Signs and Signifiers
Available now on Rounder Records (April 17, 2012)

If there’s a way to go straight forward while looking backward, JD McPherson has found it.

McPherson delivers a dozen straight ahead, no-nonsense R&B rockers on Signs and Signifiers, all with an eye on rock and roll’s formative decade. To be sure, this is no regression, just an exercise in honoring the past without falling into a nostalgia trip. With a voice that calls to mind Little Richard, McPherson joyfully belts out songs designed to get feet on the dance floor.

“North Side Gal,” the opening track and first single, is a sure sign of what’s in store. McPherson strums on his six string, focusing more on his vocals, while Jimmy Sutton and Alex Hall put down a smooth rolling rhythm. That’s primarily the formula throughout: McPherson’s raspy, yet smooth-around-the-edges vocals glide along over beats that sound like they’d be at home in a 1950s dance hall.

“Wolf Teeth” is perhaps the roughest cut, as McPherson veers his farthest into rough rock territory, but he proves he can work his way around a smooth, slower-tempo number as evidenced in the title track and “Country Boy,” a cover of Tiny Kennedy’s tale of a farm hand who only knows working the land. Sutton, who also produced and plays upright bass, shines on the latter, plucking a bass line that frames the whole affair without getting flashy.

While it would be easy to shoot for a sound that captures an era and miss, McPherson’s aim is true. He’s not singing about malt shops, sock hops or any other number of ‘50s archetypes, yet he has managed to capture the feel of rock and roll music from a bygone era. Signs and Signifiers is R&B that honors its roots. The themes are timeless, the band is tight and McPherson has a voice too big to contain in a museum piece.

MV & EE
Space Homestead
Available now on Woodsist

Matt Valentine and Erika Elder, otherwise known as MV & EE, have crafted the perfect album for floating down a gentle river on a lazy summer day when all that matters is the moment of now. Space Homestead, the group’s second album on Woodsist, flows like such a stream - moving at its own easy pace, turning and tumbling wherever the day takes it, paying little mind to the commotion of modern life surrounding it.

The band conjures up these pastoral images through the lackadaisical sounds of Valentine’s softly strummed acoustic work and Elder’s reverb-injected lap steel guitar. On “Workingman’s Smile,” this foundation is joined by a careening bassline, simple drum beats, and a pair of electric guitars that hover about with no real destination. The lack of instrumental direction is honed in, however, by the interspersed and easygoing vocals of Valentine and Elder. With the track “Too Far to See,” MV & EE produce a cosmic atmosphere of synthy raindrops and reeling distorted guitar that flies around like a moth looking for a place to land. 

The final song on the album, “Porchlight,” fuses crunchy, fast-tempo guitar and jazzy drum beats with a layer of meandering, wah-wah riffs and dreamy vocals; it sounds as if two entirely different songs are being played at the same time. This discordance breaks away at the song’s midpoint into simple harmonica squeals and acoustic rhythms with Valentine’s sensitive voice gliding over it.

Space Homestead, while void of any clear musical ambition, finds strength in its weakness. The free flowing and relaxed nature of the album allows for it to be played as a soundtrack to the aimless adventures of summer. So find a raft, bring a few friends, and let Space Homestead take you down stream.

 White Arrows - Dry Land Is Not A Myth (Votiv) 

Imagine trekking down a humid jungle path at dusk when, through an opening in the trees, you spot the glowing orb of a UFO passing slowly above. You follow the dim hum of the craft and hear the unlikely sound of celebration grow louder with each step. The density of the forest gives way to a moss-carpeted clearing and reveals the source of the sound - a group of young musicians playing psychotropical pop songs to a crowd of head-bobbing aliens.

This story has most likely never occurred, but if it did, the band  playing would most definitely be White Arrows. The Los Angeles quintet, formed a few years ago out of  demos created by singer Mickey Church, have just released their debut album called Dry Land Is Not A Myth . Taken to  such influences as Carl Sagan and 90’s kids movies, White Arrows conjure up colorful and nostalgic imagery fitting for a telescopic star party. 

The new single and album opener, “Roll Forever,” is an amalgamation of musical styles, from upbeat electronic pop to relaxed, introspective space rock. Twitching guitars and reverb-heavy backup vocals pair with an uptempo beat, creating a sense of aural slow motion. On the standout track “Get Gone,” drummer Henry Church indulges in the type of bouncing percussion reminiscent of Animal Collective’s Panda Bear. Backed by warbling synthesizers and interjecting guitar riffs, Mickey Church reflects on  young adulthood singing, “Mama said I ain’t got no home, yeah, get gone.” While much of White Arrows lyrics seem to focus on the difficult  questions of young 20-somethings, the music always offers an infectious counterbalance of positivity.

Dry Land Is Not A Myth exudes a kind of youthful optimism for life that perfectly reflects the wonder of warm summer nights. And why shouldn’t it? White Arrows seem to be gathering momentum heading into their first full tour of the U.S. So go ahead, bob your heads. Humans and aliens alike. 

 
Various Artists
Aimer et Perdre: To Love and To Lose - Songs, 1917-1934
Available now on Tompkins Square (Feb. 14, 2012)

Love is the easiest universal human experience to convey in song, rivaled only by the similarly universal human experience of losing love. That’s not to say it’s “easy” to write a good song about love, but rather that the opportunity for unique and nuanced perspectives are plentiful; a notion that is celebrated on the fantastic 36-song compilation  Aimer et Perdre: To Love & To Lose – Songs, 1917-1934 appropriately released on Valentines Day 2012 on Tompkins Square.

For those who appreciate the preservation of vintage recorded music, this collection is essential. Featuring pre-war Cajun, eastern European, and rural American music carefully selected and remastered by album executive producer Christopher King from his own rare collection of 78s, Aimer et Perdre is a treasure trove of recordings once bound by shellac, now set free by the digital age.

While it would have made sense to clump the “To Love” songs together on one disc and the “To Lose” songs on the other, King was smart to mix them up. The ebb and flow of happy courting tunes, lively wedding dances and mournful laments, match the cycle of love that we as humans seem hardwired to repeat throughout our lives.

Sonically, it’s apparent that these songs were lifted from old shellac, but the hiss and crackles are remarkably overshadowed by the depth of sound King was able to coax from these recordings through remastering. Many of the songs feature multi-piece traditional groups, yet most of the instruments are easy to distinguish from one another. On tunes like “La Valse De La Prison (The Prison Waltz)” by Black Creole musicians Douglas Bellard and Kirby Riley, we’re able to easily discern the dark, rolling rumble of Riley’s accordion behind Bellard’s lively fiddling. And on rollicking Ukrainian dance tunes like “Chernovitzer Bulgar (Dance from Chernovitz),” each transcendent note from Izikel Kramtweiss’s clarinet hardly sounds like it was recorded almost 83 years ago. The point is there are wonderful moments in every one of these songs, and new ones you’ll discover on repeat listens.

In addition to a collection of outstanding music, Aimer et Perdre is also a beautiful physical package, featuring extensive liner notes by King, brief descriptions and lyrics for every song, and three original illustrations by the inimitable Robert Crumb. Thanks to art direction by Susan Archie, it’s a collection you’ll find just as satisfying to look at as listen to.

Dent May
Do Things
Available now on Paw Tracks (June 12)

“Every day of every year, I wonder what I’m doing here,” sings Dent May on “Home Groan.” The song is an anthem for small-town kids, or anyone that forgoes tastemaker cities to stay put. The sentiment is also representative of themes woven through the album, Do Things, as May muses on existence—from friendship to finding life’s meaning—with plenty of synth and slightly twisted Beach-Boys-style harmony.

Lyrically, May is willing to challenge convention. Throughout the album, he urges listeners to believe in themselves and their ability to transcend difficulties. “There was a time when I never thought that I’d feel good again,” sings May in a vaguely doo-wop style on the album’s title track. The moral of this story? “Do things your own way.” Similarly, “Find It” empowers listeners, telling them to stand by their dreams and discover life’s meaning for themselves. “Rent Money” and “Parents” reflect on frustrations with the adult world and focus on staying true to oneself in spite of disappointments and obstacles.

There’s not a traditional love song on the album, though there’s plenty of love. May mentions the importance of friends in at least 4 tracks. And while “Best Friend” seems to address a lover, the focus is on their long and reliable friendship. “Wedding Day” and “Don’t Wait Too Long” speak to the challenges of finding romantic love, and in “Tell Her,” he sings about the frightening prospect of expressing love once it has been found. In each of these cases, May has an answer: “don’t worry,” “do what feels right,” “say what you feel.” The takeaway is consistent: trust life’s process and live from the heart.

Musically, the album is joyful and a bit experimental. May is not afraid to sound like a warped video tape of a Beach Boys concert, but most of the time he pulls it off. The liberal use of synthesizer, drum machines, funky bass lines, and close harmonies make for a lovingly campy sound. Comparisons to the solo work of Animal Collective’s Panda Bear would be fair. Of course, that makes Dent May a logical pick for Paw Tracks (Animal Collective’s label). Still, Do Things won’t fail to surprise and—for Panda Bear fans—delight.

Do Things is a refreshing combination of experimental play, honesty, and optimism. The world is a strange, overwhelming place—perhaps most confusing at young adulthood. Rather than offering tools for navigation, Dent May urges listeners to throw out the map, get lost, and experience the surroundings. “Don’t know what’s in store for me,” he sings, “but I think it’s gonna be fun.”

Langhorne Slim & The Law
The Way We Move
Available now on Ramseur Records (June 5, 2012)

Langhorne Slim sings like he’s in trouble with the law; pleading, explaining, laying everything on the line to be sure his actions are understood to be honest and intentions known to be noble.

On The Way We Move, Langhorne Slim & The Law weave their way through folk, Americana and rock, with Slim singing his heart out the entire way. His scratchy, honest, not-quite-falsetto voice may not be classically trained, but more importantly it’s emotive.

The title track opens things up with David Moore plunking out a joyous piano bounce between the chorus and verses while the Law chimes in, vocally echoing Slim’s declarations.

“I was born with a thorn in my soul/guess it could be worse. I might not’ve gotten much/but I know what it’s worth” Slim sings on “Bad Luck” over the top of a snapping one-two snare beat and banjo. He’s had his share of trouble and hard times, but even though bad luck’s rooted itself in him, Slim knows he’ll survive.

Moore shines again on “Fire,” putting down a funky key part to set the stage for a tale about childhood crushes and the inevitable crushing of adult life. Hardly a pity party, The Law settles into its best groove of the album on the track, as Moore jams away on his keys like a Stax session man in the pocket.

A good half of the album finds the boys in balladeering mode. Banjos and guitars gently pick their way along as Langhorne wrenches every drop of feeling he can out of his vocal delivery. Nowhere is that more apparent than “Song For Sid,” an ode to the writer’s beloved, late grandfather.

“Move” tends to lean either toward patient ballads or up tempo foot tappers and rarely land anywhere in between. But whichever pole they happen to be leaning on, Langhorne sings it just might be his last song.

Paul McCartney 
Ram 
Available now on Hear Music  (May 22nd) 

Released as part of the Paul McCartney Archive Collection, the reissue of Ram looks to reignite the pop music memories of listeners who first heard the album upon its original release and turn younger fans on to the post-Beatles, pre-Wings magic of Paul McCartney. The 12-track album has been remastered at Abbey Road Studios to wonderful effect, sounding crisp and clear as if it were recorded today. In addition to the remastered album, an 8-song bonus disc offers a sampling of tracks that were recorded during the sessions, but didn’t appear on Ram. While several versions of this reissue have been made, like the Deluxe Edition that comes with 5 discs, a 112-page booklet, t-shirts and more, the remastered album alone is enough reason  to invest in these now historic recordings.

Amidst the brutal breakup of the Beatles, and Paul’s lawsuit against his former bandmates, McCartney retreated to a Scottish farm with Linda and their kids where he conceived of Ram. Despite his modest ambitions for the album, McCartney’s songwriting prowess of the early 70s was not easily tamed and is only amplified with the remastered version. “Ram On,” cleaned and polished, captures the vulnerability in Paul and Linda’s voices as they harmonize softly on a bed of ukulele and Wurlitzer piano. Other tracks, like the linear “Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey” and the playful, yet intense, “Monkberry Moon Delight” are punchier than before—creating an overall better listening experience. The real gift to fans, however, is the bonus CD. 

McCartney’s first single as a solo artist, “Another Day,” and its B-side, “Oh Woman, Oh Why,” begin the bonus disc, but from there the selections have either been underexposed or never officially released. One standout track is the folky “Hey Diddle,” which could have happily called The Beatles (White Album) home - alongside “I Will” and “Mother Nature’s Son.” Another, called “Rode All Night,” is a nearly 9-minute rocker of fast chugging guitar and drums with McCartney’s often unintelligible vocal shouts above it. As an added incentive, the Special Edition of the reissue also contains a DVD with several music videos from Ram and the short documentary about the making of the album, called Ramming.

 
Liars
WIXIW
Available now on Mute Records (June 5, 2012)

The Liars sixth full-length album is all about advancing boundaries. Since the band’s first experimental rock release in 2001, it has been resolute in defying genre designations, preferring instead to experiment with sound and rhythm. WIXIW is no exception. Even its title shares in the desire to challenge expectation. The configuration of letters seems as much about shapes as it does about meaning. The palindrome is to be pronounced, “wish you.” Read this way, the title carries hope and promise beside other possibilities: longing, anxiety, confusion.

The album is full of similarly muddled emotions. Much of WIXIW consists of otherworldly ambient-electronic tracks, ranging in sentiment from welcoming to sinister. The album opener, “The Exact Color of Doubt” invites listeners into an expansive soundscape decorated with rhythmic hand clapping. But the next track, “Octagon,” leads them into a dark, bass-filled underworld embellished with the chatter of bats and mice. The quick change in tone invites comparisons to Aphex Twin and Amon Tobin, who displayed a similar dexterity in their ability to both soothe and frighten.

After the first two tracks, almost all of WIXIW is a blend of beauty and distortion. The upbeat rhythm driving “No.1 Against The Rush” is tinged with warped guitar. The playful melodies and rhythms of “Ring On Every Finger” and “Flood to Flood” are countered by ominous, droning vocals. “Ill Valley Prodigies” balances an air of suspicion with endearing vulnerability. The title track is catchy despite its anxious beat and schizophrenic melody. Those who make it to “Annual Moon Words,” will discover a meditative psych-rock backwater, apparently designed to usher them safely from the voyage that has been this album.

Music is powerful, and going into dark, scary places with a stranger requires a degree of trust. It’s your own ghosts you’ll encounter, and you don’t even know where you’re going. Sometimes a listener can justify picking a few favorite tracks and skipping through the uncomfortable parts, but WIXIW does not clearly distinguish between the bright and dark. For many, this will make it hard to get inside the music. Still, radiance interlaced throughout will offer almost any listener rewards. With WIXIW, Liars review experimental rock as they forge new territory. They explore a junk yard, a good dream, a crime scene. They’re making something from it all, and they’re asking you to come along.

Hope For Agoldensummer
Life Inside the Body
Available now on Mazarine Records (May 1, 2012)

At times, the voices in this Athens trio adopt the timbre of instruments typical of their genre: violins and musical saws. Simple folk harmonies and plucked guitar strings seem equally suited to float on a breeze through summer’s open windows or hang in the air of a winter burrow. 

Life Inside the Body is founded on slow rhythms and old-fashioned close harmonies. A cappella tracks like “Cold Cold Bed” and “Come Back” reveal a seemingly effortless intimacy between the voices of sisters Claire and Page Campbell. Other tracks—“Come On,” “Day Glo Grey”—add instrumental accompaniment, but keep a pretty straightforward folk feel. The album is full of nuanced variation. While individual songs slip into sub-genres, consistent vocals and pacing hold it all together.

The band is at its catchiest when edging into folk-rock territory. Tracks like “Daniel Bloom” and “Shining Heart” borrow rock’s backbeat for added texture. “Daniel Bloom” is the star of the album, with ghostly, lyricless vocals and an enchanting guitar hook that immediately lure listeners into the song’s fold. “Shining Heart” is not as immediately catchy, but after a slow build, listeners are rewarded with an unexpected leap into a joyous, longing refrain. 

Other songs offer an even greater departure from tried-and-true folk. The changing rhythms, bit of discord, and vaudeville feel of “Annie,” and the wispy, high harmonies and playful lyrics of “Come Over” are welcome experimental departures. These slightly eccentric vignettes seem the band’s richest terrain for potential growth, especially if they can keep the tone more sultry than cute.

Hope For Agoldensummer was born of wishes: a reunion of two sisters, an escape from the cold and dark of winter. Musically and lyrically, the band seems to represent both the wish-come-true and an understanding that such wishes cannot last. Claire and Page Campbell may be together, crafting soulful indie-folk with musician-producer Suny Lyons, but winter will return and these souls may part ways—if only to reunite later. It is fitting, then, that Life Inside the Body seems a bridge from sorrow to satisfaction and back again.

 
Father John Misty
Fear Fun
Available now on Sub Pop (May 1, 2012)

"I never liked the name Joshua, I got tired of J.," reveals former Fleet Foxes drummer Josh Tillman on his new album Fear Fun, opting for the less serious moniker of Father John Misty. The shedding of his former identity and the arrival of a new one not only comes in the form of a new name. It's as if the J. Tillman of old, the one heard harmonizing in Fleet Foxes, and creating solo albums of harmless folk songs, was born anew with an edgier style, a stronger propensity for rock-influenced songwriting, and a fresh haircut.  

While this rebirth of sorts may have fans of his previous work slightly concerned, there is no need to worry. Fear Fun manages to hang on to the core appeal of Tillman’s previous work while charting new territory in both lyrical content and musical approach.



The Father John Misty aesthetic shines on the album’s first single, "Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings." Backed by a hypnotic drumbeat and a grinding electric guitar, Tillman delivers darker lyrics than on previous projects - a staple of Fear Fun. On the slow jam "Funtimes in Babylon," Tillman showcases his talent for tragic imagery, singing, "Ride around my wreckage on a horse knee-deep in blood / Look out Hollywood here I come." Another, "I'm Writing a Novel," channels the Beatles' "Ballad of John and Yoko" with a lively beat, a gang of riffing guitars and a squealing organ pad. Other tracks find Tillman paying homage to classic 70’s country western guitar work, handclapping fiddle shufflers, and synth-laden disco grooves.

Tillman's announcement earlier this year upon his departure from Fleet Foxes said, in part, "Farewell Fleet fans and friends. Back into the gaping maw of obscurity I go." Lucky for us, Tillman was rejected by that maw, and it has thrust him back into the spotlight as Father John Misty. Here's a stream of the entire album from the Sub Pop YouTube page:

 
Cory Branan
Mutt
Available on Bloodshot Records (May 22, 2012)

In the sense that a mutt has several genetic influences and not necessarily one that’s dominant, that descriptor is a fitting title for Americana troubadour Cory Branan’s newest album, Mutt - his first for Bloodshot Records. Like the dog wandering the neighborhood, the record shows signs of coming from here or there, some influences clearly shining through without any completely staking claim to primacy.

Branan cites influences from John Mellencamp to Tom Waits to John Prine, to Bruce Springsteen and literary forebears like Raymond Carver, and they all are apparent in his balladeering. Branan leans toward Prine and Carver in the opening track “The Corner.” “Down on the corner of what I want/and what I tend to get,” Branan slowly drawls, as a narrator who knows well what he wants, and knows even better it’s his own fault he doesn’t have it.

Where “The Corner,” like most of the tracks, moves at an unhurried pace with Branan’s non flashy guitar work providing the accompaniment, “Survivor Blues” brings the band to the front. Singing with a bit more force, like a restrained Springsteen, he takes a look back and twists the old wisdom “They say it makes you stronger/first you gotta survive/what didn’t kill you/make you wish you died.”

On “The Snowman,” Branan unabashedly does his best Tom Waits. While not attempting the latter’s otherworldly, gravelly vocal delivery, the scene is set with melodicas, harps and all manner of Waits-esque instrumentation supporting his surreal lyrical story. No other track on the album gravitates anywhere near “Snowman,” the majority leaning more toward the guitar ballad end of the spectrum.

Like any self-respecting troubadour, Branan looks back longingly on the good and bittersweet times. “Yesterday (Circa Summer 80 Somethin’)” recounts a hot summer day spent acting cool and impressing that girl hanging out near the kiddie pool. While she’s gone now, he remembers every word she said and the band supports these claims in an anthemic style that would bring a smile to Mellencamp’s face. While Mellencamp shows up in the lyrics here, Branan makes sure his heroes are right there with him at all times, whether he speaks their names or not.

 
Lee Hazlewood
The LHI Years: Singles, Nudes and Backsides (1968-71)
Available now on Light in the Attic Records (May 1, 2012)

When one is remembered for collaboration, as Lee Hazlewood often is, it can be easy to overlook the contributions he made all on his own. Light in the Attic Records is illuminating the work he did in his fertile late '60s era with The LHI Years: Singles, Nudes & Backsides (1968-71).

Late '60s glamour queen Nancy Sinatra and guitar virtuoso Duane Eddy, with whom Hazlewood scored numerous hits, are nowhere to be found. Instead his booming baritone and sparse, haunting arrangements take center stage. Collected from his solo output on LHI (Lee Hazlewood Industries) the anthology includes the previously unreleased “I Just Learned to Run” and yes, a few duets, featuring the likes of Ann-Margaret, Suzi Jane Hokom and Nina Lizell.

Echo-laden yet understated, Hazlewood’s baritone fills the space like a charming, but dangerous party guest. He’ll put you at ease with stories of cowboys, grand ladies and dreams. In the next note, he’ll send chills down your spine with edgier tales of heartbroken cowboys, heartbreaking ladies and whiskey, and pill-induced nightmares.

That duality is evident with “Califia (Stone Rider)” a dark tune that sees Hazlewood’s sing-spoken drawl trade places with Suzi Jane Hokom in haunting fashion. “The Bed” has the narrator aching for a lost lover, telling her his side of the bed is now nothing but a cold-sweat soaked haven for bad dreams. Yet in the very next track he pairs with Ann-Margaret singing an eerily happy tune about finding a nice place to “Sleep in the Grass.”

Light in the Attic has put together a collection that’s part greatest hits collection, part deep cuts for the devoted fan. While it avoids his famous production and duets with Sinatra, it does include some of the best cuts from his studio albums. The result is a nice introduction to an influential late-60s hit maker that also rewards long time fans, all without taking the easy route to get there.

 
Yann Tiersen
Skyline
Available now on Anti- (April 17, 2012)

Listening to Yann Tiersen’s Skyline feels a bit like catching up with an old friend. Perhaps you haven’t heard from this pal in a decade (the Amelie soundtrack), or maybe it’s only been a couple of years (Dust Lane). Either way, like a childhood companion you’ve run into on the street, you’ll find Tiersen aged but recognizable. And though you might have to get reacquainted, chances are you’ll enjoy doing it.

At first, Tiersen allows us to hear the side of him that we expect. “Another Shore” opens with a toy piano melody seemingly pulled from the past. That lasts for about three seconds, and then Tiersen begins to layer on percussion and guitar. Within the first minute, he has constructed a dynamic, instrumental rock track, cresendos retreating into softer, timid moments only to build up again.

But Tiersen has done more than find a new formula. On Skyline, experimentation abounds as he draws from a range of influences (think Air and The Books swapping stories with My Bloody Valentine and Do Make Say Think). “I’m Gonna Live Anyhow,” “Monuments,” and “The Gutter” are filled with layers of idiosyncratic sounds, alternately quirky and beautiful. That combination is well-trod territory for Tiersen, even as his choice of genre continues to evolve. 

On the whole, Skyline feels expansive and agreeably surreal. The notable exception is “Exit 25 Block 50,” with screams, hoots, and howls that seem an apt accompaniment to a small-town haunted house. These sounds eventually morph into something more tolerable, almost pleasant. Whether the listener will make it there is uncertain. Still, tracks like “Hesitation Wound,” “The Trial,” and “Vanishing Point” confirm that Tiersenhas found a balance between grit and transcendence. There is distortion, there is melody, there is aching and redemption.

If Dust Lane was Tiersen’s foray into the depths, Skyline is his emergence, changed but triumphant. It is a transformation that can’t be described as good, bad, or even stunningly original. But it is authentic.

 
Congo Sanchez
Volume 1
Available now on ESL Music (April 17, 2012)

There’s a hotel in Palm Springs, California, where the stars of mid-twentieth century Hollywood went to escape fame. Poolside, they relaxed in the sun, put cocktails on their tabs, listened to the latest breed of jazz. Still in operation, the getaway has perfected the art of retro-modern. Today, the young, hip, and rich sit in chairs designed by Eames and Saarinen, listening to an endless supply of remixed lounge. This summer, they will be listening to Congo Sanchez’s Volume 1.

But here’s the secret: Sanchez sounds just as good in a lawn chair by a kiddie pool. As with other albums from Eighteenth Street Lounge (home to Thievery Corporation and Ursula 1000), the music of Congo Sanchez surrounds its listener without necessarily drawing attention to itself. Sanchez claims a blend of Afro Latin dub, but that’s more of a garnish on ambient-electronic tracks like “Democrazy” and “Ghost Dance.” Cuban influence is more distilled in the rhythms of “Oleada Calor,” while the horn section of “T.E.T.O. (strut)” is clearly inspired by Afrobeat. All of this blends together in a seamless, worldly carnation of jazz.  

What we have here is practically a soundtrack for running through the sprinkler and grilling burgers. It’s as relaxing with a lemonade as it is with a gin and tonic. It is made of familiar ingredients, and yet you’ve never heard it this way. The percussion energizes, the bass line grooves, the synthy melodies and echos offer relaxation. My only complaint is that, at four tracks adding up to just over 17 minutes, it ends too quickly.

 
Horse Feathers
Cynic's New Year
Available now on Kill Rock Stars (April 17, 2012)

The dark-clouded, rainy temperament of the Pacific Northwest seems an incubator of sorts for artists and musicians inspired by its quiet and enchanting personality. Justin Ringle, originally from Idaho, has called Portland home since 2004, where his subdued, calm nature is reflected back by the natural surroundings. For the past six years, Ringle has recorded his experiences and musings through the sonically ornate and lyrically haunting project Horse Feathers.

In early 2011, Ringle recruited the talents of producer Skyler Norwood (Blind Pilot, Talkdemonic) to record and help arrange a new batch of songs that would eventually become Cynic’s New Year, out now on Kill Rock Stars. Nathan Crockett, longtime collaborator of Ringle, joins on violin, with a host of other musicians playing everything from French horn and bells to banjo and upright bass. On their latest effort, Horse Feathers maintains the stark contrast between their uplifting arrangements and dark, poetic lyrics that have become a trademark of their sound.

Ringle’s overarching sentiment, concerned with the changing of seasons and hardships commonly bestowed upon young people, is neatly wrapped in the single “Fit Against the Country.” Backed by pulsing strings and acoustic guitar  à la early Neil Young, Ringle pleasantly creaks, “Every night we all go to a house we will never own/ Every night we are tired, we’ve been worked to the bone...It’s a hard country we made.” A riffing banjo and a handful of voices join the chorus for the working man’s plight by song’s end.

Where Horse Feathers falls short in originality (“Pacific Bray” sounds as if Sam Beam from Iron & Wine lost the track when he turned in The Shepherd’s Dog for production) they thrive in producing a space where uneasy, contemplative lyrics exist among floral musical arrangements. Speaking of this element, Ringle explains, “I think the contrast is really just about trying to express some grey area emotionally...something real for me.” “Nearly Old Friends” is a prime example of this recurring juxtaposition. Over a backing track built for inspiring springtime drives along the coast, Ringle urgently warns, “Something wicked is bound to this way come,” suggesting that no perfect moment comes without impending doom. If the end really is nigh, as some believe, be sure to revel in the tragic beauty of Cynic’s New Year before the winter solstice. Here's the video for the album's first single, "Where I'll Be:"

 
Alabama Shakes
Boys & Girls
Available now on Rough Trade (April 10, 2012)

Their sound is as old as rock ’n’ roll, but the Alabama Shakes just might be the next big thing.  

Alt they aren’t. Instead, the Shakes do it the old-fashioned way. Their sound is part Motown, part Stax Records, even part Janis Joplin. And add in a little garage rock attitude. All of which makes them hot stuff.

The band has come out of nowhere to break big. In no time at all, they were named “New Band of the Year” by Paste Magazine, appeared on NPR Music’s list of favorite new artists, and premiered on Conan. And once you give them a listen, you’ll understand why.

Boys & Girls is the Shakes’ debut, a down-and-dirty mélange of Southern rock, Memphis soul, juke joint blues, and swamp pop—all delivered with a tough punkish vibe. Guitarman Heath Fogg has studied his Booker T & the MGs records. He’s got the riffs and the classic sweet to highlight perfectly the rock-solid R&B groove set by bassist Zac Cockrell and drummer Steve Johnson.

But it’s vocalist Brittany Howard that astonishes. She unleashes songs with a soulfulness that brings up dangerous comparisons with Janis and Aretha. On the band’s standout single, “Hold On,” she moves from a throaty growl to wailing release. “You Ain’t Alone” is a slow-burning torch song while “I Found You” is classic gospel-tinged rock ’n’ roll as only the South can produce.

All of which may earn the Alabama Shakes a label as “alt alt”—an alternative to alternative music. Whatever, Boys & Girls is a welcome return to classic R&B, with all the passion and fire, sound and fury of the greats.

Poor Moon
Illusion EP
Available now on Sub Pop  

Christian Wargo and Casey Wescott, both of Fleet Foxes and Crystal Skulls, along with brothers Ian and Peter Murray, debut as Poor Moon with a mesmerizing offering of folky tunes fit for cloudy, slow-moving mornings when a cup of tea beckons to rub off the haze of sleep. Wargo, the group’s sole songwriter, combines the gentle folk elements of his more well known musical endeavor with the electric, upbeat pop of Crystal Skulls, creating something new. The Seattle-based band released the five song EP, Illusion, on March 27 via their hometown label Sub Pop.

On “Illusion,” the title track, Wargo weaves his vocals over a stark background of lightly fingerpicked acoustic guitar and waves of reverb organ swirls. “It’s not fair/ Can I be as unaware as I seem/ Laying there like I don’t know how to prepare to be seen,” Wargo coos in self reflection. After several years of touring, traversing the obscure landscape of sudden fame and success, some soul-searching about who you are and where you want to be seems necessary. Wargo arrives at a simple, yet difficult to follow, mantra for going forward - “I want to learn to rely on what I first decide/ When the moment comes before it passes me by.”

“People in Her Mind,” the first single from Illusion, tells the story of a lonely girl living in the past, calling out the names of people she used to know. The band contrasts this sorry imagery with the jovial instrumentation of distorted guitar riffs and a dancing xylophone. In a similar vein, “Once Before” finds Poor Moon unabashedly playing simple rock and roll, albeit a bit darker and more mysterious. Wargo makes solid use of his vocal range, occasionally showing off his smooth falsetto in choruses of harmonizing oohs, that might continue humming in your head long after the music stops.

Poor Moon returns to their folkier side on the final track, “Widow,” with inventive vocal melodies blowing over a field of soothing guitar plucks. Coming in at around 15 minutes, the EP should be just enough to tide you over until the release of their first full-length album due out later this year. While comparisons to Fleet Foxes will be made, as is only obvious and natural, Illusion stands on its own as a shining example of the modern folk-rock wave of the past few years.

 

Chuck Mead
Back at the Quonset Hut
Available now on Ramseur Records (Feb. 28, 2012)

If there was ever a doubt it was possible to put a youthful, energetic spin on classics without being disrespectful, Chuck Mead has buried it on Back at the Quonset Hut.

Mead and his Grassy Knoll Boys rip through a dozen country and rockabilly standards on Back At the Quonset Hut, infusing each with a simmering vitality that drips off the disc while simultaneously wearing their reverence for the tunes proudly on their sleeves. A tribute to Bradley Film and Recording Studios, better known as The Quonset Hut, Mead recorded the paean to a legendary studio in one November 2010 weekend. He brought along former BR5-49 band mate Chris Scruggs and studio legends such as piano man Hargus “Pig” Robbins to help out.

While country luminaries like Bobby Bare join Mead for duets such as Carl Smith’s “Hey Joe,” the real stars here are the songs and the country giants that made them standards. Aiming for the highs of Roy Acuff (Wabash Cannonball), Hank Williams (Settin’ the Woods on Fire) and Tammy Wynette/Johnny Paycheck (Apartment #9) can be a fool’s errand, but Mead proves once again he’s nobody’s fool. Giving each tune his energetic vocal treatment, they are faithful renditions of songs he very sincerely loves. Yet this is no mere mimicry. Mead works effortlessly with his fellow studio mates and rips through each tune in his own way as though he’s been playing them for years. In many cases, he has.

Nashville has been a country town for decades - thanks in no small part to the greats who recorded at the Quonset Hut - but many a fine rockabilly cat also prowled through town. Mead tips his hat to two of the finest, Gene Vincent and Carl Perkins with toe-tappin’ versions of “Be Bop A Lula” and “Cat Clothes” respectively. But the real star of the quonset show is honky tonk standard “Sittin’ and Thinkin,’” made famous by Charlie Rich. Mead and pedal steel guitarist Carco Clave wring every possible drop of heartbreak and desperation out of the tune, like the narrator might on another one of his destructive binges. Like so many country songs attest, love can hurt, but when you love the music as much as Mead clearly does, you just can’t quit.

Justin Townes Earle
Nothing's Gonna Change the Way You Feel About Me Now
Available now on Bloodshot Records (March 27, 2012)

Whether it’s fair or not, Justin Townes Earle will likely always be compared to his dad. Such is the price when following in the footsteps of a well-respected musician, in this case troubadour Steve Earle.

“Hear my father on the radio/singing take me home again” Earle intones with the first line of “Am I that Lonely Tonight?” his new album’s first song. Not trying to ignore his bloodline, Earle addresses it without leaning on genetics as a crutch on Nothing’s Gonna Change the Way You Feel About Me Now.

Earle sings the lyrics of a world-wise, yet still young man. Over mostly sparse accompaniment, namely his acoustic guitar, an organ here and there and subdued drums, he delivers an album that is straight to the point with no gimmickry or studio tricks. Recorded completely live over four days with no overdubs in a converted Asheville, NC church, the album lets Earle’s voice and writing be star of the show.

 

Co-produced with long with longtime collaborator Skylar Wilson, who puts subtle shades of organ on several numbers, “Change” moves at an unhurried pace, telling tales of longing and heartbreak and the painful realization that impressions made can’t be unmade. But where a song with painful undertones such as the title track could turn into a pity party in the hands of a lesser writer, Earle begins to tell his story, but realizes decisions have been made final.

A piercing steel guitar sets up “It Won’t Be the Last Time,” the disc’s most melancholy number, in which Earle unflinchingly addresses shortcomings and mistakes made as a young man under the influence. The album is not without joy, however. “Baby’s Got a Bad Idea” and “Memphis in the Rain” move right along, propelled by steady drum beats and palpably jaunty vocal deliveries.

Fathers, mothers, cousins, friends and jilted lovers all pass through Earle’s lyrics. He knows as well as anybody it’s easy to disappoint those you love. His 30 years of ramblin’ have “left him wonderin’ if he’s ever learned a thing at all.” But there’s no time to worry he sings in the closer, he’s tryin’ to move on.