The new, self-titled disc from Austin’s Porterdavis is a Country-Blues gem. With stomping rhythms, a menacing harmonica weaving it’s way through the melodies, and the dark, smokey and soulful vocals of Dan Barrett, much of the disc seems to be rooted in the mud of Mississippi rather than dusty soil of Texas. If another band […]
Readers’ Pick: Acousticueticals by Plain & Simple
Twangville readers picked fan write-in Acousticueticals by Plain & Simple as their favorite release for week of August 11, 2009. Plain & Simple is the work of B.J. Purnell a middle-America father of five who appears to live up to the “plain and simple” moniker. The album contains 11 original songs written by Purnell accompanied […]
The Restoration/Faulknerian chamber pop from Lexington, South Carolina
Readers Pick: Tribute To by Yim Yames
Twangville readers picked the new EP by Yim Yames titled Tribute To as their favorite release for week of August 4, 2009. Tribute To is a six song EP from My Morning Jacket’s singer Jim James recorded as a ‘tribute to’ George Harrison. The record came together shortly after Harrison passed away back in 2001. […]
Mayer’s Playlist from July 2009, a Video Companion
So my quest for a Bottle Rockets video from the new release turned up empty. That won’t, however, stop us from watching the boys rock out with David Bowie’s “Suffragette City.” From there we run through a string of great live performances from Daddy (Will Kimbrough & Tommy Womack), Jones Street Station, Those Darlins, Ketch […]
Joe Pug, American Troubadour
Chicago musician Joe Pug has spent the better part of the past year with a guitar over his shoulder. Since releasing his debut ep Nation of Heat in spring of 2008, Pug has followed in the figurative footsteps of Woody Guthrie by performing his music whenever and wherever he can. And like the great folk […]
Scott Warren – Quick Fix Bandage
I have really enjoyed digging into the new album from Californias’ Scott Warren. Quick Fix Bandage (Jungular Music), is one of those great singer/songwriter albums that deftly tosses folk, rock, country and pop into a wholly satisfying creation. Warren’s vocals contain a gentle rasp that seems to help the fusion of different styles, much in […]
Listen Up: Gretel’s “The Dregs”
I suspect that every songwriter dreams of writing a song like “Car Bomb Times.†It’s a triumph of songwriting that matches provocative lyrics with a hypnotic melody. What begins as a quiet folk song built around singer-songwriter Reva Williams banjo and hushed vocals builds into a rich tapestry of harmonies. It is these types of […]
Gina Villalobos -Days On Their Side
The name Gina Villalobos and the words “Best-of-List” will likely be placed together fairly often, once the end of 2009 begins to roll into 2010. This impending pairing is due to the release of Villalobos” beautiful 4th studio album, Days on Their Side (Face West Records). Hailing from California, her geographical roots are prominent as […]
Owen Temple – Dollars and Dimes
Dollars and Dimes (El Paisano Records), the new disc from Texan Owen Temple is an artful shot of reality, as told through the memory and perspective of a traveler with perhaps more questions than answers. Drawing on the current socio-economical climate, Temple has crafted an album that will remind many that story-telling can be relevant […]