Sep 1, 2010
ALBUMS OF THE MONTH: You Go Your Way, by Amy Correia It’s hard not to get lost in Amy Correia’s latest release, You Go Your Way. The story-telling quality of her songwriting, matched with some diverse and engaging instrumentation, conjures up images of a musical from the classic age of Broadway. “Love Changes Everything” is [...] more »
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Mayer Danzig
Aug 27, 2010
Never underestimate the imagery a good audio track can create. Fifteen seconds into the opening song of Green Corn Revival’s first full length effort, Say You’re A Sinner, all I could think about were Sergio Leone’s spaghetti westerns. Part One, as the track is called, is an avant garde country number with soaring background harmonies [...] more »
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Shawn Underwood
Aug 18, 2010
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 [...] more »
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Kelly Dearmore
Aug 16, 2010
Twangville is pleased to launch a new periodic series that we call “You Pick It.” Here’s how it works. We’ll serve up videos of multiple artists covering a single song and ask you to pick the definitive version. We’ll kick things off with one of my all-time favorites, The Replacements “Can’t Hardly Wait.” Replacements singer-songwriter [...] more »
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Mayer Danzig
Aug 3, 2010
ALBUMS OF THE MONTH: Joe Hill’s Ashes, by Otis Gibbs Gibbs is one of the most distinctive voices in Americana, both for the integrity in his songwriting and the authenticity of his voice. While some may find both a bit gruff, it gives his music a realism that can’t be doubted. Most songs are built [...] more »
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Mayer Danzig
Jul 28, 2010
ALBUMS OF THE MONTH: 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” [...] more »
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Mayer Danzig
Jul 23, 2010
If Hunter Thompson were still alive, I think he’d like The Back Row Baptists. First off, you know he’d identify with the attitude of their namesakes, the heathens-in-the-house-of-god thing. More to the point about the music, though, Broken Hearts & Bad Decisions is a dark record. It’s about drinking and driving (although not necessarily together), [...] more »
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Shawn Underwood
Jul 19, 2010
“Just us doing our Stonehoney thing,” is how this Austin quartet describes their latest release. Recorded live in the studio – with no overdubs or studio magic – the album bristles with an energy and authenticity that is truly refreshing. Each of the four singer-songwriters has a distinct character yet together they create a singular [...] more »
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Mayer Danzig
Jul 14, 2010
Every now and then a song just seems to encapsulate a time or a place. It’s usually different for each individual, but there are a few songs that do it for a broad spectrum of people. Think American Pie or Hotel California. Well, the first song on The Beauties self-titled first album, Fashion Blues, kind [...] more »
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Shawn Underwood
Jul 13, 2010
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. [...] more »
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Kelly Dearmore
Jul 7, 2010
Man, it’s kinda annoying when you’re watching a movie, hear a kick-ass song during one of the scenes and say, “O.K., I gotta check that out when I get home and see if I can figure out who that song is from.“?? It used to be much more annoying, pre-internet, but now, it’s generally easy [...] more »
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Kelly Dearmore
Jul 1, 2010
Running on all cylinders. In the groove. Hitting the sweet spot. All are descriptors about when everything comes together and suddenly the sum is greater than the parts. They’re also good descriptions of the latest album from the queen of San Marcos, Texas, Terri Hendrix. Her latest release, Cry Till You Laugh, with long-time collaborator [...] more »
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Shawn Underwood
Jun 24, 2010
Sometimes you just can’t make this stuff up. There we were, all 1800 of us, singing along with Joan Baez, that darling of the counterculture, “We don’t let our hair grow long and shaggy, like the hippies out in San Francisco do. And I’m proud to be an Okie from Muskogee.” The occasion was the [...] more »
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Shawn Underwood
Jun 16, 2010
I’m fortunate to live in a city that appreciates and supports great music. Here are a few of my current favorites. Banks of the Mississippi, Jenee Hastead (from the self-released Hollow Bones) “Baby, if we could go to the banks of the Mississippi, watch out I’ll float your body out to sea,” sings Halstead in [...] more »
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Mayer Danzig
Jun 14, 2010
“I’m a little bit crazy, but I ain’t no fool.” Although that’s the chorus for Country Cool, off the Shinyribs debut, Well After Awhile, one suspects it’s a little bit of an autobiographical statement by the driving force of the Shinyribs, Kevin Russell. Russell is more known as the front man for The Gourds, one [...] more »
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Shawn Underwood