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 […]
Mayer’s Playlist for February 2009, Part 1
ALBUMS OF THE MONTH: One Last Century, by The Damnwells “Somewhere between nothing and something is everything,” sings Alex Dezen about halfway through the band’s latest release. It seems an apt, if cryptic, explanation for his decision to make the album freely available on the internet. Freed from music industry obligations but still possessed by […]
The Weight – Are Men
Grab a bowl. Place a few New Yorkers in the bowl. Give one of them an almost Dwight Yoakam-like vocal. Mix in a little jingle, a dash of jangle. Throw in a few nods to the glory of 70’s Southern-Rock while folding in some serious Country sensibility that retains a sense of humor and you […]
The Whipsaws- 60 Watt Avenue
The Whipsaws are a bar band…. a glorious, alt. country ass kicking bar band. Just listen to the tossed off rock and roll of their sophomore effort, 60 Watt Avenue. Though Neil Young is the easiest influence to infer as the band moves from Crazy Horse style rockers to Harvest-era ballads with ease, the Whipsaws […]
Lisa Hannigan – Sea Sew
Angelic voices and classical music are like two peas in a pod. Rock, pop, and country, on the other hand, seem a bit more interested in the broken and damaged. Rock voices usually lack the purity of the biblical cherubs. There’s something about a perfect vocal that’s just the antithesis of rock. Now I didn’t […]
San Saba County – …Though Cheating Was Never an Option
To be described as an “Austin-based Alt -Country band” or an “Austin-based Indie band” is to be lumped into monikers that have become somewhat cliched in many ways. Thanks mainly to the capital city’s widely regarded reputation as a thriving home to musicians of all kinds, many bands that merely fit neatly into a single […]
Fred Eaglesmith, Live at the Little Fox
One of the reasons I like live shows so much is you get a true sense of the artist. You hear the real musician, not what an engineer or producer decides you should hear. You also get to see their real talent. Take Emmylou Harris, for example. Unbelievably, that crystal clear, mesmerizing, audible perfection of […]
Mayer’s Playlist for January ’09, a Video Companion
What’s a playlist without a video companion? We kick things off with Otis Gibbs and Miranda Lee Richards, our featured artists this month. From there we’ve got live clips from the Gourds, Gary Louris & Mark Olson, Joe Ely and A.C. Newman, plus videos from Frank Turner and Bruce Springsteen. We close out this month […]
Mayer’s Playlist for January ’09, Part 2
ALBUMS OF THE MONTH: Light of X, by Miranda Lee Richards LA-based Richards is a testament to persistence. Eight years have passed since The Herethereafter, her 2001 debut release. Yet in 2009 Richards picks up right where she last left us. Light of X is steeped in the Gram Parsons Laurel Canyon-sound, layered with a […]
Mayer’s Playlist for January ’09, Part 1
ALBUM OF THE MONTH: Grandpa Walked a Picketline, by Otis Gibbs Otis Gibbs is an American original, a gruff musical journeyman who is unafraid to tell it like he see’s it. With a matter of fact lyrical style, he spins tales of the back roads and the folks that wander them. “Caroline,” for example, tells […]