You have to be pre-disposed to like any album that starts out with a paean to Lawnchair Larry. Â Maybe it’s just a song about a couple of fella’s similarly tempted, but Weather Ballon, the opening cut on the debut album from Austin-based Sons Of Fathers, is an apt metaphor for how quickly this record soars […]
Laurie Lewis – Skippin’ and Flyin’
Timeless. Â That’s the single word that best describes the latest release from Berkeley, CA-based songstress and multi-instrumentalist Laurie Lewis. Â Skippin’ and Flyin’ is a sort of tribute album to Bill Monroe. Â The tribute is an abstract though, that includes Monroe songs, songs from others that were inspired by Monroe, and even songs that just evoke […]
Southern Culture On the Skids – Zombified
Finally, Halloween is getting its musical due. Â OK, OK, technically the latest album from Southern Culture On the Skids, Zombified, is a tribute to all the awesome grade B horror movies that used to come to the drive-ins and dollar theaters when I was mis-spending my youth. Â But a tribute album is generally music that […]
The Dang-It Bobbys – Big Trouble
WWDCFCD. Â What Would Death Cab For Cutie Do (or some other indie favorite) if they recorded an album with just bluegrass instruments? Â The answer to that question is maybe the latest release from The Dang-It Bobbys, Big Trouble. Â It doesn’t have a radio-friendly thumping bass, but the idea of a pop song with intelligent lyrics […]
Slaid Cleaves – Addendum
Several days ago I wrote a partial review of the new Slaid Cleaves live double album, Sorrow & Smoke: Live At the Horseshoe Lounge. Â Since then the album has come out, I’ve overcome the technical issue with getting both discs, and I got a chance to see Slaid live at the Kuumbwa Jazz Center in […]
Butchers Blind – Play For the Films
“Got a twenty on the bar, and the world on a string. Â Hanging out ’til the brass bell rings.” Â I’m not sure I’ve ever heard a better description of what it’s like to be young and full of expectations for what life will bring. Â That’s a verse from Brass Bell, the first cut on the […]
Slaid Cleaves – Sorrow & Smoke: Live At the Horseshoe Lounge
I’m going to do something that I don’t think anyone at Twangville has done before. Â I’m going to review half a record. Â I was excited to get a pre-release file of Slaid Cleaves’ new live album, Sorrow & Smoke: Live At the Horseshoe Lounge. Â I gave it several listens, wrote up most of a review, […]
Bottle Rockets – Not So Loud: An Acoustic Evening With the Bottle Rockets
As much as it pains me to say it, MTV had a good idea. Â It was back in the 90’s and someone there decided it would be unique to hear a rock band playing acoustic and unplugged. Â And very quickly, the better bands discovered they could turn that opportunity into a new sound; something that […]
Kelsey Waldon – Anybody’s Darlin’
Like the aunt that you only see at Christmas, some people put out a vibe that’s fun to be around. Â Same thing with some records. Â My case in point is the second release from Nashville-based singer-songwriter Kelsey Waldon, Anybody’s Darlin’. Â I’ve listened to this record half a dozen times now and I can’t really put […]
Blackie and the Rodeo Kings – Kings and Queens
Not so long ago when someone said the latest record from a group was more “radio friendly” it meant they’d sold out and gone from what made them unique to something more appealing to the mainstream, at least as judged by some nameless, faceless A & R guy. Â But with most people listening to music […]