Ray Lamontagne’s latest project might be the most un-Lamontagne album he has done, thus far, even though it’s the first album he has produced for his own self. God Willin’ & The Creek Don’t Rise, his fourth studio LP, was recorded in Lamontagne’s New England cabin with the help of his country, soul-brothers, the Pariah Dogs. Featuring the in-demand pedal steel of Greg Leisz, this record boasts a group feel that, understandably, hasn’t exactly been present in the previous efforts of the solemn, bearded one.

While most of the album elegantly ambles in the folky terrain of country music, there are some bluesy stompers that recall certain, earlier works, most notably Lamontagne’s stellar 2006 record, Til the Sun Turns Black. The lead single and the album’s standout track, “Beg Steal or Borrow” plays like a more laid back, less neurotic Ryan Adams tune from his prolific, Cold Rosesera. To be sure, that’s in no small part to the contributions of the aforementioned Mr. Leisz, wh is also a frequent collaborator of the eccentric Adams. Also, in the span of that specific tune, the trembling fender strat and shuffling beat just find a groove and live in it as if it went ahead and paid first and last months rent for it.

Certainly, Lamontagne has been a star as a folk-intensive, singer/songwriter, but this album and it’s beautiful set of songs is surely an Americana album of the highest order.

I have to admit bias on this one. When a band can have lyrics like, “Second thoughts have occurred. I feel like a gigantic turd. Walking barefoot like a hooker at 3 in the morning,” I can’t give it a bad review. The truth is these boys from Georgia have unleashed a great album. The band is unsigned and primarily a local phenomenon. I have a feeling that is all about to change. In spite of the lyrics above (from the song “Swamp County”) this is no novelty act. Hayshaker is for real. 

They mix a sound that is at times Country, but with a twist. They know how to use power chord licks with abandon. Lead singer CC Rider has a voice that sounds as if it should be singing Indie Rock instead of Roots Rock. Female vocalist Laurie Rider rounds out the bands sound, which is hard to categorize. The best way to describe Hayshaker is “Kick-Ass” Country. The steel guitar haunts the music of the album, which is also a part of their uniqueness. Lyrically the band is at times humorous, but they are more often deep and impactful. They have a talent of mixing sarcasm with truth. It is time to jump on the bandwagon while it still has room. I have a feeling there will be a second deck on the bandwagon before too long.

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See You On the Moon, by Tift Merritt
I suppose that Merritt could sing the alphabet and I’d listen. There is such a genuine quality to her voice, an infectious spirit. It is a spirit that shines through her music despite the dark overtones of her latest release. “Engine to Turn” typifies this contrast. “I don’t know how to fix the world, I don’t know how to fix myself,” she sings against a foot-tapping melody. Brooding strings add tremendous texture to “Papercut,” finds Merritt comparing a former lover to a paper cut. “I don’t I don’t know why it would hurt, I can’t see why it would hurt but it does,” she sings while strings and a thumping back-beat add a brooding texture to the song. “Live Till You Die” is a personal favorite, a mid-tempo song anchored by hearty guitar power chords and a buoyant horn-laced chorus. The song contains the defining lyric of the album, as Merritt declares, “I have to say the things I feel, I have to feel the things I say.” Amen.

Audio Stream: Tift Merritt, “Mixtape”

Bears & Bulls, by The Stone Foxes
I wasn’t surprised to hear that this band hails from San Francisco. There’s a certain feel to the band’s music, a collegial feel that hearkens back to the city’s heyday. It was a time when musicians like the Grateful Dead and the Jefferson Airplane had a collective feel that transcended the music. The Stone Foxes have a similar vibe that fills their blues-based rock. And boy do they bring on the rock. “Patience” is a musical fireball led by a bruising guitar riff. If that weren’t raucous enough, the song breaks down into a sweltering guitar jam. “I Killed Robert Johnson” keeps up the intensity with the tale of a bluesman with a dark secret. “Through the Fire” slows things down a bit, but only a bit. What starts out as a slow-burning blues ballad builds to a fervent chorus. The album stand-out is “Passenger Train,” the sympathetic tale of a man who turns to robbery to cope with hard times. As a slide guitar wails, the man explains, “Times are hard and broken down, at least I can say that I tried, but I ain’t that bad and I ain’t that good, I just did what I did to get by.” If the Stone Foxes sound this good on record, I can only imagine what they sound like live. When are you coming to Boston, boys?

Audio Download: The Stone Foxes, “I Killed Robert Johnson”

THE PLAYLIST:

White Blank Page, Mumford & Sons (from the Glass Note release Sigh No More)
I’m perhaps late to the party but better late than never, right? The London quartet mine territory similar to the Avett Brothers,but with a fuller sound and, perhaps, a bit more intensity. This song is the perfect example, an ode to unrequited love that finds Mumford singing, “You desired my attention but denied my affections, my affections.”

The Ballplayer, Joe Purdy (from the Mud Town Crier Records release Sigh No More)
Purdy writes for quiet late night moments, performing acoustic guitar or piano ballads that focus attention on the ache in Purdy’s voice. This track tells the somber tale of a ballplayer reflecting on a less-than-successful career and the sacrifices that he made while pursuing his dream.

Audio Download: Joe Purdy, “The Ballplayer”

Second Last Call, Jay Bennett (from the Rock Proper release Kicking at the Perfumed Air)
Bennett was completing this album before his pre-mature passing last year. ‘Tis a tragic loss as he was hitting a creative stride coming off the brilliant Whatever Happened I Apologize. This boisterous acoustic song tells the tale of a guy meeting a girl at a bar but watching it all go wrong.

Bennett’s family and friends have made Kicking at the Perfumed Air available for free download here. They have also formed the Jay Bennett Foundation to honor his legacy in support of music and education programs.

Audio Download: Jay Bennett, “Second Last Call”

Memphis, KaiserCartel (from the Daniel Records release Secret Transit)
The Brooklyn duo serve up dreamy acoustic pop. While Courtney Kaiser usually sings the lead parts, Benjamin Cartel steps up on this ambling ballad. Even then, it is the combination of their voices that gives the song a magical quality.

Audio Stream: KaiserCartel, “Memphis”

Enjoy the Silence, Nada Surf (from the Mardev Records release If I Had a Hi-Fi)
Lately there seems to be a rash of covers-only albums. Nada Surf, a band with an extraordinary track record of marrying pop sheen with intelligent songwriting, steps up with their contribution – a collection of alternative and indie rock gems. This, their take on the Depeche Mode classic, keeps the tension of the original while giving the song a more jangly feel.

Great American Goldmine, Vanish Valley (from the self-released Vanish Valley)
Singer-songwriter Andrew McAllister moved to Los Angeles and connected with the Southern California country-folk legacy of Gram Parsons and his contemporaries. Never a bad thing. This gentle ballad has a captivating gentle sway.

Audio Download: Vanish Valley, “Great American Goldmine”

Alcoholic Baby, Barb (from the Yep Roc release Barb)
What happens when a group of Australian musical friends gather in the studio for a month with mass quantities of wine? Musical collective Barb is born. Liam Finn and touring partner Eliza Jane Barnes are the most known (at least around Twangville), but the members are equally talented. Call it angular pop, driven by a persistent drum beat and swirling with harmonies, piano fills and an abundance of electric guitar.

Where’s It Going, Ellery (from the self-released This Isn’t Over Yet)
The first thing you’ll notice about this husband and wife duo from Cincinnati is Tasha Golden’s voice. It is simultaneously silky and strong. It blends perfectly with the group’s piano-based pop for a refreshing summer soundtrack.

Audio Download: Ellery, “Where’s It Going”

Driver 8, Old 97s (from the New West Records release The Mimeograph EP)
In between their own studio releases, the Old 97’s tide us over with a four-song covers EP. This take on the REM classic stays true to the original but with the 97′s trademark energy. See the Twangville review of the entire EP here.

One Picture, Peter Bradley Adams (from the Sarathan Records release Free Sampler EP)
Formerly part of the duo eastmountainsouth, Adams scores with this simple yet tender love ballad about waking up next to a lover. “If there was one picture that I could take in my life, I’d take the one beside me in the dawn’s early light.” [Note: Adams is offering this song as part of a free sampler available on amazon.com here)

There are a couple of musical threads that wind their way through this album. The first is the sound of the upright piano that’s equally at home in a honky tonk or the choir room. The second is the raft of acoustical string instruments that find their way into even the most raucous numbers. Together they give songs like Wood & Steel, By & By, and Fourth of July a presence that’s equal parts Marshall Tucker and Uncle Tupelo. That’s not to say The Baptists have a singular musical point of view. Just as you get comfortable with one genre, they break into something different. There You Are is a know thyself masterpiece that could have come from Kris Kristofferson. Me & the Devil is a swampy take on a story told by many a country troubadour, but with the background vocals of Sarah Green it takes the lament of “ain’t got no pills to get me high” to a new level. There’s also a subtle use of horns on several songs on the album that add a richness without calling attention to themselves.

In addition to the musical melting pot, this record has a lyrical foundation that sometimes you have to sit back and admire, and at other times makes you lean forward to sing along. Wreck On the Highway “when whiskey and blood run together” is a gospel-tinged number while “goddamn, raise hell, at the Fourth of July” is nothing deeper than a paean to partying. Thousand Songs, “don’t know what to say”, “a thousand tears, don’t know how to cry” evokes Glen Campbell in the 70′s, while Miles Away is a toe-tapper about the “pretty little girl who don’t say much, but likes to talk”.

Overall Broken Hearts & Bad Decisions is a little like hundreds of other alt-country, Southern rock, Americana records you’ve heard, and yet it’s little different from all of them, too. There are a lot of subtle musical and vocal tidbits that reward multiple listens. And if you grew up in the rural South, more than a few stories hit home a little harder than you first expect.

The Beauties are a Toronto band that up until now has made their name as a local favorite on the club scene. That seems obvious in some of the better songs in this effort that have a catchy verse or chorus that you just know everyone in the room sings along to. Devil Do, for example, preaches that “ain’t nobody gonna love me like the devil do”. The driving roots rock of Die, Die, Die paints a picture of fist-pumping club fans shouting out twenty-eleven rounds of the chorus to end the night. And even the Gram Parsons-sounding, cry-in-my-beer honky tonk of You and Me seems a natural for a live setting.

Where the album loses its momentum is in some of the slower songs. Heaviest of the World is a dirge that makes Margot Timmons sound like a spunky pop star. And You Wish Better For Me is a muddled chant with chord changes and strident guitar that never really finds its stride. I also wish the production value were a little higher on this collection. Some of the muddier mixes certainly give the songs a live feel, but I tend to be of the opinion that if you want to do a live album, do a live album.

Overall, the Beauties debut effort has a number of gems on it. Fashion Blues is a radio-friendly cut that’s easily identifiable with the band. Tired Fired Blues is an ode to the working man that’s bound to be covered by others. Heart of Stone has an early Neil Young feel. Plus, the aforementioned sing-along anthems more than hold their own. So bottom line, this is a good effort from a newish band, and don’t be surprised if they refine their studio sound to see them on a list of Juno nominees in the future.

On this day, we dwellers of Twangville have the honor of premiering “Bandaged”, from Chris Shiflett & The Dead Peasants self titled, debut record. The album is out today, and it marks a clear, sonic departure from the sound that has made him an arena-rock fixture as the shredding lead-guitar player for the Foo Fighters.

Get a load of the sweet pedal steel and twangy pace that envelopes this track. Be sure to check out how to get the album and where to catch them on tour at their Myspace page

LISTEN: “Bandaged” – Chris Shiflett & The Dead Peasants

I must admit that I am sick of tribute albums. There is no one left it seems that hasn’t had a tribute album done in their name. In fact, I am waiting for a tribute album to tribute albums. Better yet, I would love to see a tribute album to a band that hasn’t even formed yet. Conceptually, every possible interpretation to pay tribute to an artists’s work has been done.

Now that the above sermon is over it is time to be a hypocrite. Conceptually, Twistable Turnable Man is nothing original. However, it was done by Bobby Bare Jr. who knew and loved Silverstein well. More so, the friendship between his father and Silverstein goes back to the early 60′s. It is this generational perspective of Silverstein’s songwriting that makes this album work. Both old and new artists contribute to the album. Further, if anyone is deserving of homage it is Shel Silverstein. He was a songwriter, cartoonist and poet for Playboyand paradoxically a noted writer of Children’s books.

Who better than icons like Ray Price, Kris Kristofferson and John Prine could be included on this album. In fact, Price has recorded Silverstein’s songs a couple of times in his career. No one collaborated with him like Bobby Bare, and his version of the “The Living Legend” may be the best song of the entire project.

Now we move from the legendary to the more current younger artists. Bobby Bare Jr. made some good choices for this group. after all a Country record is not a Country record without My Morning Jacket (WTF)! Actually, they have a heavy roots music influence and their opener “Lullabies, Legends and Lies” competes with Bobby Bare for the best song on the album. However, songs by Andrew Bird, Dr. Dog, Sarah Jarosz and Black Francis provide interpretations that make the songs take on a new life. In between the new and the old are contributions by Lucinda Williams and Nanci Griffith. The campy song “Boy Named Sue” originally recorded by Johnny Cash, could only have been recorded by one contemporary artist. Bare Jr. knew this and chose Todd Snider. Snider does a version of the song that would make the Man in Black himself proud.

For more on Silverstein see the source of all knowledge: Wikipedia

I’m fortunate to live in a city that appreciates and supports great music. Here are a few of my current favorites.

Audio Download: Jenee Halstead, “Banks of the Mississippi”

Audio Download: Christian McNeill, “Go Out and Get ‘em Boy”

John Brown, Jimmy Ryan (from the self-released Lost Diamond Angel)
Ryan is a extraordinary mandolin player and a frequent member of the Sea Monsters Sunday jam. Whenever he is there the group whips out this brilliant Ryan original, a somber and moving ode to the American abolitionist. “That man died, Lord, he got screwed. All for his love of man, these days couldn’t give a damn.” The impressive interplay between the musicians and Ryan and McNeill’s harmony vocals ensure that it is always a set highlight.

Audio Download: Jimmy Ryan, “John Brown”

Rather Not Talk About It, Gilded Splinters
When I’m in the mood for classic rock, the Gilded Splinters are the local band at the top of the list. Singer-songwriter Josh Buckley and crew are honors graduates of the Neil Young school of rock, capturing the master’s sound while adding their own spirit to their songs. And their live shows? Neil would be impressed.

Audio Download: Gilded Splinters, “Rather Not Talk About It”

Soul So Tight, John Powhida (from the Camp Street Records The Soul EP)
Former Rudds front-man Powhida has an uncanny sense of melody that he brings to bear on a diverse range of musical styles. Here he explores early 1970’s blue-eyed soul in a foot-tapping duet with Boston singer Andrea Gillis.

Audio Download: John Powhida, “Soul So Tight”

High, Tripping Lily (from the self-released The Day Everything Became Nothing)
This impressive folk quartet from Cape Cod pitches some pleasant harmonies against healthy doses of ukulele and mandolin. The dark pop feel of this track is particularly enticing.

Audio Download: Tripping Lily, “High”

Tried and True, Asa Brebner (from the self-released Suenos De Los Muertos)
A gruff exterior can’t hide the generous spirit that makes Brebner a beloved elder statesman in the Boston rock music scene. His songs have mellowed a bit over the years but he can still deliver muscular guitar power chords with the best of ‘em.

Temptation, Girls, Guns & Glory (from the Lonesome Day release Inverted Valentine)
Singer Ward Hayden has a classic country voice, smooth yet capable of morphing into a twang-filled tone that oozes heartbreak. This track is a musical melting pot, an evocative blend of mariachi guitar and trumpet layered over a traditional country foundation. And don’t forget the straight-forward rock guitar solo in the mix.

Audio Download: Girls Guns & Glory, “Temptation”

By the fourth cut into the album you get the first full exposure to the broader spectrum of Russell’s songwriting skills.  Shores of Galilee, with its admonishment that it’s “a cold hard cure to bear your burdens alone” is a deeply philosophically exploration.  It’s followed immediately, though, by (If you need the) 442 with an observation about “unsuspecting crackers on the flat mud lands” and their fate at the hand of a tornado.  So much for high minded lyrics.  And the aforementioned Country Cool reminds you that “when it comes to cervezas, I really don’t care, just bring ‘em two at a time”.

The musical spirit also takes on a light-hearted element in a few of tunes of this project. Poor People’s Store about, well, you can figure it out, carries on in a 50″ Sam & Dave style that’s somehow just the right amount of retro to further make the point.  Fisherman’s Friend is poetic Cajun country waltz, and East TX Rust has an undercurrent of 70′s funk, along with a guest vocal by Ray Wylie Hubbard.

By the time you get to the end of the album, an old scratchy ukulele or de-stringed guitar version of the Sam Cooke number, Change Is Gonna Come, you’re ready to go back to the beginning and listen a little closer for some of the gems.  I’m not saying this apple falls far from The Gourds tree, but somehow it’s a Grannysmith beneath branches of Red Delicious.

The sounds of this album hearken back to her days in the Continental Drifters. Fans who have missed the Continental Drifters like I have will definitely want to add this to their collection. 

Audio Download: Susan Cowsill, “Sweet Bitter End”