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Tom’s Picks: Best of Winter 2013, a Playlist

Tom Osborne — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 11:00:00 +0000

Here’s a handful that caught my attention in the same season that brought us the Harlem Shake. Pay close attention to the full releases from Mount Moriah, Frontier Ruckus, Kelly Willis & Bruce Robison, Ben Harper & Charlie Musselwhite, Kingsley Flood, The Stone Foxes, and Holly Williams among others.

Album of the Season

Mount Moriah, Miracle Temple
The North Carolina trio emerges with their second album and a new confidence. This band is turning heads and going places as they should with their perfect blend of country, rock, and blues. Fifth track “White Sands” is a great place to start.

Best of Winter Playlist

*Playlist subject to change

Readers’ Pick: Best Album of 2012: I See Hawks In L.A., “New Kind of Lonely”

Tom Osborne — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 15:40:45 +0000

Congratulations to I See Hawks in L.A. for winning the annual Twangville Readers’ Pick award for 2012. This always turns out to be a bit of a popularity contest which is fine by us and why we follow up with our Editors’ Picks so that everyone gets a fair shot. The nominees this year were picked from our weekly polls that you voted in throughout the year. Yes, we missed a few and you let us know. Most notably we missed Grammy nominee John Fullbright. Shame on us. Fortunately he’s already appeared in a few Editors’ Picks. Keep us posted for your favorite albums of 2013.

#1. I SEE HAWKS IN L.A., New Kind of Lonely (133)
#2. LUCERO, Woman & Work (18)
#3. BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN, Wrecking Ball (16)
#4. DWIGHT, YOAKAM, 3 Pears (11)
#5. SONS OF BILL, Sirens (10)
#5. THE AVETT BROTHERS, The Carpenter (10)
#7. JUSTIN TOWNES EARLE, Nothing’s Going to Change The Way You Feel About Me Now (9)
#8. TODD SNIDER, Agnostic Hymns & Stoner Fables (7)
#8. TIFT MERRITT, Traveling Alone (7)
#8. LANGHORNE SLIM, The Way We Move (7)
#11. ALABAMA SHAKES, Boys & Girls (6)
#11. KATHLEEN EDWARDS, Voyageur (6)
#11. DR. JOHN, Locked Down (6)
#11. JOE PUG, The Great Despiser (6)
#15. ALEJANDRO ESCOVEDO, Big Station (5)
#15. CHRIS KNIGHT, Little Victories (5)
#15. BRANDI CARLILE, Bear Creek (5)
#18. NEIL YOUNG WITH CRAZY HORSE, Psychedelic Pill (4)
#18. SHOVELS AND ROPE, O’ Be Joyful (4)
#18. THE LUMINEERS, The Lumineers (4)
#18. MUMFORD & SONS, Babel (4)
#18. STRAY BIRDS, The Stray Birds (4)

Click here for more Twangville Best of 2012 coverage.

Best of 2012, Tom’s Picks

Tom Osborne — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 14:26:03 +0000

Best Album of 2012

THE RIVERBOAT GAMBLERS, The Wolf You Feed

Austin by way of Denton, these cats can rock. Pour some rock, punk, soul, and twang into the cauldron and you’ll summon THe Riverboat Gamblers. These guys are what the Kinks would sound like if they returned as zombies. The Wolf You Feed is their first full-length since 2009′s Underneath The Owl. Three years was worth the wait.

Tom’s Top 20 of 2012

THE RIVERBOAT GAMBLERS, The Wolf You Feed
BRANDI CARLILE, Bear Creek
SHOVELS & ROPE, O’ Be Joyful
GLEN HANSARD, Rhythm And Repose
MUMFORD & SONS, Babel
THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM, Handwritten
KASEY CHAMBERS & SHANE NICHOLSON, Wreck And Ruin
SARA WATKINS, Sun Midnight Sun
THE AVETT BROTHERS, The Carpenter
JOSHUA JAMES, From The Top Of Willamette Mountain
LUCERO, Women & Work
GRACE POTTER & THE NOCTURNALS, The Lion The Beast The Beat
BOB MOULD, Silver Age
JUSTIN TOWNES EARLE, Nothing’s Gonna Change the Way You Feel About Me Now
DR. DOG, Be The Void
JOE PUG, The Great Despiser
JOSHUA RADIN, Underwater
MINDY SMITH, Self-titled
PHILLIP PHILLIPS, The World From The Side Of The Moon
THE DUNWELLS, Blind Sighted Faith

BONUS: Three playlists

I spent some time grouping some stand-out tracks from the year. Enjoy and follow me on Rdio.

Shaken: Rock and Soul

Stirred: Alternative

Chilled: Folk and Down-tempo

Click here for more Twangville Best of 2012 coverage.

What’s The Best Album of 2012?

Tom Osborne — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 13:17:50 +0000

As we begin to gather our Editors’ Picks for best of the year, we’d love to hear from you first. Throughout the year we host a weekly poll in which you can vote for your favorite new release of the week. From that list we’ve taken the albums that you voted for the most plus a few of our own recommendations and compiled this list. We try to include only new release full albums. In other words, re-issues, live albums and EPs are not intended to be among the picks. In no particular order, here they are:

OLD CROW MEDICINE SHOW, Carry Me Back
TODD SNIDER, Agnostic Hymns & Stoner Fables
LUCERO, Woman & Work
ALABAMA SHAKES, Boys & Girls
KATHLEEN EDWARDS, Voyageur
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN, Wrecking Ball
THE MASTERSONS, Birds Fly South
JUSTIN TOWNES EARLE, Nothing’s Going to Change The Way You Feel About Me Now
BUDDY MILLER AND JIM LAUDERDALE, Buddy and Jim
CHUCK PROPHET, Temple Beautiful
TIFT MERRITT, Traveling Alone
CITIZEN COPE, One Lovely Day
NEIL YOUNG WITH CRAZY HORSE, Psychedelic Pill
JOHN HIATT, Mystic Pinball
DR. JOHN, Locked Down
RY COODER, Election Special
SONS OF BILL, Sirens
KASEY CHAMBERS AND SHANE NICHOLSON, Wreck and Ruin
THE AVETT BROTHERS, The Carpenter
RUTHIE FOSTER, Let It Burn
RYAN BINGHAM, Tomorrowland
SHOVELS AND ROPE, O’ Be Joyful
DR. DOG, Be The Void
RIVERBOAT GAMBLERS, The Wolf You Feed
ALEJANDRO ESCOVEDO, Big Station
GLEN HANSARD, Rhythm And Repose
THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM, Handwritten
THE LUMINEERS, The Lumineers
MUMFORD & SONS, Babel
ROBERT FRANCIS, Strangers In The First Place
STRAY BIRDS, The Stray Birds
CAROLINA CHOCOLATE DROPS, Leaving Eden
I SEE HAWKS IN L.A., New Kind of Lonely
JERRY DOUGLAS, Traveler
CHRIS KNIGHT, Little Victories
DWIGHT, YOAKAM, 3 Pears
LANGHORNE SLIM, The Way We Move and
BETTY LAVETTE, Thankful N Thoughtful
BRANDI CARLILE, Bear Creek
GRACE POTTER AND THE NOCTURNALS, The Lion The Beast The Beat
JOE PUG, The Great Despiser
SARA WATKINS, Sun Midnight Sun
MINDY SMITH, Self-titled

So please tell us your favorite album of the year by voting in our poll seen in the right side column of our blog. We’ll wrap up the poll the last week of December and capture the results.

Peace, Twang, and Turkey Grease: A Thanksgiving Toast 2012

Tom Osborne — Thu, 22 Nov 2012 17:53:05 +0000

Lydia Loveless performs as part of the Twangville Showcase at the New Brookland Tavern in Columbia, SC

It’s that time of year where sinners all over America gather to give thanks to all kinds of things – some simple, some complex, and some that defy explanation. It’s no different here at Twangville where this year we’re celebrating 7 years and oh what a year it’s been.

For starters, back in March we hosted our first ever Twangville Showcase in Columbia, SC featuring American Gun, Mooncussers, and Lydia Loveless. A good time was had by all and hopefully there are more like this to come. We also helped to host a live interview with The Mastersons, another Twangville first.

Taking a moment to thank our authors, please join us in officially welcoming Suzanne McMahon and Bill Wilcox to the Twangville Posse for their amazing contributions this past year. Together they’ve helped to further elevate the quality articles and reviews you’ve come to know from Mayer Danzig, Todd Mathis, Chip Frazier, Kelly Dearmore, Eli Petersen, Shawn Underwood, and Jeff McMahon (Suzanne’s beau).

While we continue to try to be the place you go to discover the best Alt-Country, Americana, Indie, Rock, Folk & Blues artists, it’s only right that we take a moment to thank those artists that make it possible. As we like to say, “twang is cheaper than therapy” and God knows if it weren’t for the songs you write and the music you make we’d have a lot more problems that need some fixin’. We can also thank the bartenders for pouring the whiskey – especially the big pours.

I’d also like to thank Stanford and Baylor for putting the SEC back in position to dominate college football yet another year.

We can’t go without thanking you for coming back year after year keeping the Twangville audience strong. We surpassed the 1k mark on both Twitter and Facebook so we know you’re there. Please continue to share your favorite posts with your friends.

Last, a special thanks goes out to Mayer Danzig who each week starts by helping us to tee up new posts for each day of the week and ends his week witnessing the best the Boston scene has to offer.

In the coming weeks, please contribute to our Readers’ Pick Best Album of The Year Poll while we begin to roll out our own personal favorites. In the meantime, let’s take a look back at some from the year you may have missed:

Tom’s Picks: Best of Summer 2012, a Playlist

Tom Osborne — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 13:45:41 +0000

20 favorites from the Summer of 2012. Enjoy!

Money for the Weekend (Pocket Full Of Shame) by Alberta Cross
A three year hiatus was worth the wait for the now Brooklyn-based band’s sophomore release.
Keep Believing by Bob Mould
Touring playing full sets of Sugar’s “Copper Blue” alongside a full set of the new album “Silver Age”. Mould hasn’t skipped a beat.
Pierce the Morning Rain by Dinosaur Jr.
Three albums into their comeback stretch Dinosaur Jr. may be one of the few bands still playing that will make you want to mosh.
“45″ by The Gaslight Anthem
With their fourth full-length the isn’t letting up – pure American rock n’ roll at its best.
Below My Feet by Mumford & Sons
A monster sophomore release from the English band.
I Could Be A King by The Dunwells
If you like Mumford & Sons, these guys are brothers from another mother.
Live And Die by The Avett Brothers
Another Rick Rubin produced record means another hit record.
Anywhere Your Love Goes by Joshua Radin
This song feels like it’s straight out of the Ray LaMontagne songbook but that can’t be bad, right?
Hello Hello by Missy Higgins
Leave it to the Aussie women to bring us powerful pop music.
When You Call Me by Sixpence None The Richer
Splitter by Calexico
Dumpster World by Band Of Horses
The Pursuit of Happiness by Ben Sollee
Birmingham by Shovels & Rope
We’re Alright Now by John Hiatt
Pretty Little Lie by Blackberry Smoke
Beg For Broken Legs by Ryan Bingham
It’s good to hear Bingham rockin’ once again.
Missing You by Chris Knight
Carry Me Back by Old Crow Medicine Show
Lonesome Road Blues by The Wayfarers
High-energy, Appalachian-influenced bluegrass out of Southeast Ohio.

Tom’s Picks: Overlooked in 2011

Tom Osborne — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 11:00:38 +0000

There’s always a few late releases or ones that seem to pass me by every year. Here’s a few to file in the “better late than never” category:

GARRETT J. BROWN, Priorities [★★★★/3.875]

CASEY DONAHEW BAND, Double-Wide Dream [★★★★/3.600]
These guys fill all voids that Reckless Kelly leave between records. This is Texas country the way it’s supposed to be – rockin’!

SINFUL SAVAGE TIGERS, The Last Night of the Revels [★★★★/3.600]

JUSTIN TRAWICK, You & I (live) [★★★★/3.600]
Released late in 2011, Justin Trawick and friends team up for a live recording of Trawick’s best songs to date. When I first listened to this I had no idea that there were only three musicians laying down the music and vocals. When you consider that Flex Mathews (freestyle) only contributes on two of the eleven tracks this is even more impressive. Josh Himmelsbach’s backing mandolin and piano complement Trawick’s rapid strumming and vocals beautifully.

Tom’s Picks: Winter 2012

Tom Osborne — Thu, 17 May 2012 01:55:10 +0000

Don’t miss these records from early 2012:

MARTIN SEXTON, Fall Like Rain (EP) [★★★★/3.800]
Singer/Songwriter/Soulster Sexton continues to perspicaciously reflect back on life with his songwriting while delivering mind-bending falsetto with his song. What this album lacks in length it makes up for in content. Four soul-searching originals plus a cover of Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth” – a song perhaps as meaningful today as it was 46 years ago.

CHUCK PROPHET, Temple Beautiful [★★★★/3.667]
12th studio album and 3rd on Yep Roc. Best described by Prophet himself, “The record’s an unsentimental (though loving) tour of San Francisco. Made in San Francisco by San Franciscans about San Francisco. My effort to tap into the history, the weirdness, the energy and spontaneity that brought me here in the first place.” Lo-fi rockin’ goodness sure to make Dylan and Petty proud. Standout: Castro Halloween

RUTHIE FOSTER, Let It Burn [★★★★/3.500]
Recorded in New Orleans, this is Foster’s first album where she’s not playing an instrument putting extra focus on her vocals. William Bell and The Blind Boys of Alabama contribute to add extra layers of soulfulness to this collection of originals and covers.

DREW GIBSON, The Southern Draw [★★★/3.250]

Recorded over a period of four years with childhood friend, Paul Curreri, The Southern Draw is the follow-up to Drew Gibson’s debut record Letterbox. Drew and Paul team up to provide most of the instrumentation with guitars, pianos, organs and more. Drums contributions come from Nate Brown and Todd Wellons (Sons of Bill). Curreri’s wife, Devon Sproule, contributes on a stunning duet called “We Move By Wagon Train”. Forget the Jayhawks, this is rainy day music. Don’t we all need a little rain?

Editors’ Picks: Best Album of 2011: Jason Isbell’s “Here We Rest”

Tom Osborne — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 12:00:02 +0000

Last year, our Twangville authors combined forces to dub Justin Townes Earle‘s Harlem River Blues as Best Album of 2010. This year official Twangille Best Album of 2011 honors go to Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit‘s Here We Rest. Let me tell you this is no small feat as we’re a picky bunch. Our Top 90 Albums of 2011 are listed below and represent individual picks from the Twangville Posse: Tom, Mayer, Todd, Chip, Kelly, Eli, Shawn, and Jeff. Congratulations to all who made the list.

1. JASON ISBELL & THE 400 UNIT, Here We Rest (150)
2. THE DECEMBERISTS, The King is Dead (126)
3. GILLIAN WELCH, The Harrow & The Harvest (113)
4. WILCO, The Whole Love (106)
5. MY MORNING JACKET, Circuital (88)
6. BUTCH WALKER & THE BLACK WIDOWS, The Space (78)
7. KASEY ANDERSON, Heart of a Dog (70)
8. GLOSSARY, Long Live All Of Us (67)
9. HAYES CARLL, KMAG YOYO (62)
10. IRON & WINE, Kiss Each Other Clean (61)
11. FRANK TURNER, England Keep My Bones (58)
12. LUCINDA WILLIAMS, Blessed (48)
13. DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS, Go-Go Boots (46)
14. MILK DRIVE, Road From Home (41)
15. RYAN ADAMS, Ashes & Fire (40)
16 .THE JAYHAWKS, Mockingbird Time (39)
17. BARNSTAR!, C’Mon! (37)
17. FLEET FOXES, Helplessness Blues (37)
19. SOCIAL DISTORTION, Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes (33)
19. THE DAMNWELLS, No One Listens To The Band Anymore (33)
19. THE LOW ANTHEM, Smart Flesh (33)
22. AMERICAN GUN, Therapy (29)
23. ADELE, 21 (27)
24. DAVE ALVIN – Eleven Eleven (26)
25. R.E.M. – Collapse Into Now (25)
26. LYDIA LOVELESS, Indestructible Machine (24)
26. OLD CALIFORNIO – Sundrunk Angels (24)
28. MAXIM LUDWIG & THE SANTA FE SEVEN, This Round Is On Me (23)
28. MOUNT MORIAH, Mount Moriah (23)
28. SUZANNA CHOFFEL, Steady Eye Shaky Bow (23)
31. MIDDLE BROTHER, Middle Brother (22)
31. STEVE EARLE, I’ll Never Get Out Of This World Alive (22)
31. WILL HOGE, Number Seven (22)
34. ALISON & UNION STATION, Paper Airplane (21)
34. DAVID WAX MUSEUM, Everything Is Saved (21)
34. SONS OF FATHERS, Sons Of Fathers (21)
37. JEN BUXTON, Don’t Change Your Plans (20)
37. THE DUKE AND THE KING, The Duke and the King (20)
37. THE FELICE BROTHERS, Celebration, Florida (20)
40. AMOS LEE, Mission Bell (19)
40. BRETT DENNEN, Loverboy (19)
40. FLORENCE + THE MACHINE, Ceremonials (19)
40. THE BOTTLE ROCKETS, Not So Loud: An Acoustic Evening (19)
40. THE HEAD & THE HEART, The Head & The Heart (19)
45. FOLK FAMILY REVIVAL, Unfolding (18)
45. NATHAN HAMILTON, Beauty, Wit and Speed (18)
45. THE BARR BROTHERS, The Barr Brothers (18)
45. ZOE MUTH & THE LOST HIGH ROLLERS, Starlite Hotel (18)
49. BEN SOLLEE, Inclusions (17)
50. DEER TICK, Divine Providence (16)
50. OLD 97S, The Grand Theatre, Vol. 2 (16)
50. SARAH JAROSZ, Follow Me Down (16)
53. JAMES MADDOCK, Wake Up And Dream (15)
53. JO WYMER, Living With Scars (15)
53. JOHN HIATT, Dirty Jeans and Mudslide Hymns (15)
53. RECKLESS KELLY, Good Luck & True Love (15)
53. THE BAND OF HEATHENS, Top Hat Crown & the Clapmaster’s Son (15)
53. THE BLACK LILLIES, 100 Miles of Wreckage (15)
59. CARRIE RODRIGUEZ AND BEN KYLE, We Still Love Our Country (14)
59. MARC BROUSSARD, Marc Broussard (14)
59. ROBERT EARL KEEN, Ready For Confetti (14)
59. ROBERT ELLIS, Photographs (14)
63. BUFFALO TOM, Skins (13)
63. SINFUL SAVAGE TIGERS, The Last Night Of the Revels (13)
65. BLIND PILOT, We are the Tide (12)
65. DAWES, Nothing Is Wrong (12)
65. GREAT AMERICAN TAXI, Paradise Lost (12)
65. PORTUGAL. THE MAN, In the Mountain In the Cloud (12)
69. TEDDY THOMPSON, Bella (11)
69. YUCK, Yuck (11)
71. BEIRUT, The Rip Tide (10)
71. MA, MEYER, THILE, DUNCAN, The Goat Rodeo Sessions (10)
73. MATTHEW RYAN, I Recall Standing As Though Nothing Could Fall (9)
74. CAGE THE ELEPHANT, Thank You Happy Birthday (8)
74. CARY ANN HEARST, Lions and Lambs (8)
74. THE GOURDS, Old Mad Joy (8)
77. OKKERVIL RIVER, I am very Far (7)
77. TEDESCHI TRUCKS BAND, Revelator (7)
79. THE GREENCARDS, The Brick Album (6)
79. THE WAILIN’ JENNYS, Bright Morning Stars (6)
80. RICHARD BUCKNER, Our Blood (5)
80. TELEKINESIS, 12 Desperate Straight Lines (5)
80. THE BITERS, All Chewed Up (5)
80. THE NEW FAMILIARS, Between the Moon and Morning Light (5)
84. MIKE ERRICO, All In (4)
84. TOMMY KEENE, Behind the Parade (4)
86. MARK W. LENNON, Home of the Wheel (3)
87. ABIGAIL WASHBURN, City of Refuge (2)
87. MATT THE ELECTRICIAN, Accidental Thief (2)
87. MICHAEL DONNER AND THE SOUTHERN RENAISSANCE, No Better Time (2)
90. CAITLIN ROSE, Own Side Now (1)

Readers’ Pick: Best Album of 2011: Jason Isbell’s “Here We Rest”

Tom Osborne — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 12:00:23 +0000

With 65 of 300 total votes Twangville readers picked Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit‘s “Here We Rest” as their favorite album of 2011. Rounding out the top five were albums from Matthew Ryan, The Decemberists, Ryan Adams, and Gillian Welch. Congratulations to all the nominees which were based on our monthly Readers’ Pick poll.

#1. JASON ISBELL AND THE 400 UNIT, Here We Rest (65)
#2. MATTHEW RYAN, I Recall Standing as Though Nothing Could Fall (32)
#3. THE DECEMBERISTS, The King Is Dead (29)
#4. RYAN ADAMS, Ashes & Fire (26)
#5. GILLIAN WELCH, The Harrow & The Harvest (21)
#6. TOM WAITS, Bad As Me (19)
#7. WILCO, The Whole Love (15)
#7. DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS, Go-Go Boots (15)
#9. DAVE ALVIN, Eleven Eleven (13)
#9. HAYES CARLL, KMAG YOYO (& other American stories) (13)
#11. LUCINDA WILLIAMS, Blessed (10)
#11. JOHN HIATT, Dirty Jeans & Mudslide Hymns (10)
#11. STEVE EARLE, I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive (10)
#14. JAYHAWKS, Mockingbird Time (9)
#15. MY MORNING JACKET, Circuital (4)
#16. THE WAILIN’ JENNYS, Bright Morning Stars (3)
#16. R.E.M., Collapse Into Now (3)
#18. THE BOTTLE ROCKETS, Not So Loud: An Acoustic Evening (2)
#19. NEIL YOUNG INTERNATIONAL HARVESTERS, A Treasure (1)
#20. BODEANS, Indigo Dreams (0)
#20. THE DECEMBERISTS, Long Live the King (EP) (0)

Stay tuned for our annual Editors’ Picks for Best Albums of 2011, an aggregated list.