A couple of months ago, I was driving somewhere with my twin brother. Â He’s yammering on and on about this new songwriter that I have to listen to. Â Now my brother has pretty good taste and has introduced me to many if not most of my favorite artists, but he’s still my brother–so I mostly […]
A.A. Bondy – When The Devil’s Loose
A.A. Bondy’s new album, When the Devil’s Loose (Fat Possum – due next week), is absolutely beautiful. I would like to come up with a more elaborate way of explaing how I feel about the album – and rest assured I will – but for the most part it’s just really beautiful. Bondy employs his […]
Readers’ Pick: My Old Familiar Friend by Brendan Benson
Twangville readers picked My Old Familiar Friend by Brendan Benson as their favorite release for week of August 18, 2009. With his fourth solo LP Brendan Benson teams up with producer Gil Norton (Pixies, Maximo Park, Foo Fighters, Gomez) to deliver 11 new tracks. The music has been in the works since as early as […]
Bobby Bare Jr. – American Bread
This post was originally going to be all about my recent trip to Ft. Worth, TX to catch Bobby Bare Jr. and The Legendary Shack Shakers. But, things have taken a turn since I listened to the album I purchased that night when leaving the show (more on that in a bit). I was expecting […]
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. […]
Bonnaroo- Part 3
After the Todd Snider experience, I swung over to the Solar Stage for what was billed as an acoustic performance/interview with Grace Potter. Instead, I was presently surprised and got the full on Grace Potter and the Nocturnals treatment. I first caught the Nocturnals at the 2006 Bonnaroo. I had never heard of the band […]
Dave Alvin & the Guilty Women
It’s not as groundbreaking as his work with The Blasters or The Knitters , but this might be the best Dave Alvin record to date. It’s certainly the most complex. Alvin helped define the punkabilly/L.A. country punk sound with those early 80’s projects, and then went on to hone his songwriting and musician skills with […]
Michelle Shocked – Live at Yoshi’s
A friend of mine told me she saw a double bill 15 or so years ago with Michelle Shocked and Billy Bragg. Wow, to paraphrase an old Rodney Dangerfield joke, I went to a protest and a concert broke out. Michelle is on tour again in support of her upcoming album, Soul of My Soul. […]
Riverboat Gamblers – Underneath the Owl
Austin, TX by way of Denton, TX rockers Riverboat Gamblers have built a reputation for being raucous performers who don’t mind bleeding a little during their frenetic live-set. The spirit of their live-performance ways are captured brilliantly in their new record, Underneath the Owl (Volcom). The band will be spending a great deal of time […]
Mayer’s Playlist for February 2009, Part 2
ALBUMS OF THE MONTH: Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit, by Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit There’s something satisfying about watching a performer mature before your eyes. Though Jason Isbell has long been a Twangville favorite, his latest showcases his tremendous growth as a songwriter and performer. Exhibit A is “Soldiers Get Strange,” the […]