Concert review: Haruko & Hlynur Gudjonsson live in Chemnitz/Germany (11-20-2009)

Haruko and Hlynur Godjonsson @ Exil (11-20-2009, Chemnitz/Germany)

This weekend was one of the best I ever had so far because I had the opportunity to see Haruko and Hlynur Gudjonsson live. On Friday they played a show at the Exil in Chemnitz/Germany and I for myself was more exited than ever. They started to play some songs together and than alternated playing their solo tracks whereby both of them played new material as well as tracks from their current releases (Haruko’s Wild Geese and Live EP and Hlynur Gudjonsson’s Death Was A Stranger EP).

To see Haruko perform their hovering and spheric songs live was such a great feeling especally since she is able to get all her heart and soul you find on the Wild Geese recording itself into the beautiful storys she tells right in front of you. I had the feeling on beeing at a mysterious journey guided by her angel-like voice and moony melodies. I’m sure words can’t describe it at all.

In comparison to Haruko, Hlynur Gudjonsson played a more restrained style with his sad and thoughtful songs. If you know his first release Live @ Folk artNow! you noticed that he went away a bit from what I called the country influences towards an own singer-songwriter style with wonderful fingerpicked melodies. His deep and dark voice is so intense that you totally sink into the tracks and forget the time and everything else surrounding you.
I can’t say it empathically enough that you have to see them both live if they play anywhere near you – you won’t forget it.

But this official concert was not the best of the weekend because the both of them promised us (me and some friends of mine) to play a privat show the other day (Saturday 11-21-2009) at Filmclub Mittendrin (also in Chemnitz) – ok, I knew they wanted to do so, because we spoke about this in the forefield, but to know that they really going to do it…just for us…wow!

Hlynur Gudjonsson & Haruko @ Filmclub Mittendrin

As they arrived the other evening they said, that they were happy to play here for it would be an oppurtunity to show us the the full and pure sound of their music. And with this words they sat down, just them and their guitars, no electricity at all, and started playing. You can not imagine the beauty of the following two hours. I never ever heard such great and unbelievable music in such an intimate and enclosed atmosphere (it seemed that everybody stopped breathing). They sat in front of us, maybe two meters away, and played all the tracks the audience wanted to hear. To see the incredible Mountain Adventure by Haruko live was one of the outstanding moments but also Hlynur Gudjonsson’s new track Orphan (which he finished writing two weeks ago) was just not from this earth with the long instrumental parts and its tactfull referring to Songs: Ohia. And speaking of Songs: Ohia, they ended their concert with a wonderful duet covering Jason Molina before we all together went back to my place and had some beers and really nice talking with them until the early morning hours.

Hlynur Gudjonsson told me that he has finished recording a new album which will be released in the near feature and that he is going to record the first tracks for the third one in December. Also, Gold & Silver Recordings is about to release a new folk complilation in the next days or weeks – so stay tuned and I will inform you of everything new.

Haruko and Hlynur Gudjonsson evidently proved with those two fantastic shows, that you can easily say they are the leading acoustic folk artists from Germany – and to say so is no exaggeration but the whole truth. To convince yourself of this fact, don’t hesitate to visist one of their upcoming shows and – by god – buy their music and support them! If you live near Chemnitz, memorize that they will come to Chemnitz again in Februray 2010 – we’ll meet there.

And shame on me that I had no better camera and I have to leave you with those few bad quality photos. Sorry.

Discography (4/8): The Handsome Family – In The Air (2000)

The Handsome Family – In The Air
Carrot Top 2000

Listen while reading:

In The Air (from In The Air)

Grandmother Waits For You (from In The Air)

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As you may have realized I’m quite excited with Through The Trees and so every following album must stand the comparison with this gorgeous record. And the first thing that is conspicuous listening to In The Air is that they decided to leave the “mysterious sounding” path and went on to another track. It could seem that they intended to make the whole thing a bit more of a sing along experience. This maybe sounds pejorative but isn’t meant this way because the title track is one of my all time favourite songs of them. It’s just that they varied their sound into something new and one could say it is another step forward but I’m not quiet this opinion for I see tracks like Lie Down, A Beautiful Thing or the uber haunting Poor, Poor Lenore and I know that they are all the same even though they sound more fresh and vital than ever. The difference in their sound may be a result of the immense application of the keyboards – they are more apparent and so they add another quality to the album. But even this seems not quite right. However, I must say that In The Air is a very good album but it plays in another category than Through The Trees – and not many other records are in this category I think. A good friend, Lutz, once told me (and he is not quite a fan of this music at all) that In The Air sounds like what you can call Schlager music – the fact that I remember this statement means that something true lies in it and I think it could be what I called sing along experience. Indeed they got some catchy lines and easy structures sometimes and therefore you might call it so – but if you do so, you should be aware of the whole musical context of the album. I’m not willing to accept such a point of view if it is meant to make fun of the music they make – but I could accept it if one referrs to the overall structure of it and the composition of the tracks. In the end I have the secret thought that Rennie and Bret had a little off-time writing In The Air but made the best of it. And if you ask me if this album is worth to be in the catalog of such a great band, the answer only can be: yes and dang yes!

Discography (3/8): The Handsome Family – Through The Trees (1998)

The Handsome Family – Through The Trees
Carrot Top 1998

Listen while reading:

Weightless Again (from Through The Trees)

My Sisters Tiny Hands (from Through The Trees)

Cathedrals (from Through The Trees)

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Through The Trees. Man, when I hear just the name of this album I have some of my best music related memories because there are not many other records that got me so intense as this one. This was also the first album that got me in touch with The Handsome Family and I can still remember the day. It was one summer afternoon back in 2008 and I sat down with two friends of mine, Jan and Lance, to watch Jim White’s documentary Searching for the Wrong-Eyed Jesus. And in this film, along with many other artists, The Handsome Family was featured with their song My Sisters Tiny Hands. But the strange thing was that I thought that their sound was special, but I was not that sure to start further investigations. But in the next days there was this strange feeling that I must listen to the music again – but still I wasn’t caught totally. It was Jan some weeks later who told me, that the actual band name was The Handsome Family and from this point on, I listend to their music – and to be exact to Through The Trees. I have to admit that it took me some rounds to get comfortabel but then I was like possessed with the album and I’m still. Every track on it seems to be a magical tune and Bret’s voice is so creppingly haunting – it’s hard to find the right words. Also the whole sound of the album was improved by 100 percent towards Milk And Scissors because they quit using the hard distorted guitar sound but totally include the keyboards. And, as I said in the article on Milk And Scissors, I’m not quite a fan of this instrument. But the both of them are freaking gods creating melodies and atmospheres that will never ever leave your brain again. Also they found a special and very unique way to combine country sound with what I call the typical Handsome Family sound. And this is also the reason why I include three tracks for you to listen to. Yet it is hard to choose just three of them! But because they are all so good I can’t make a mistake and that is quite something. I decided to include the opener (Weightless Again), the follow up (My Sisters Tiny Hands) and Cathedrals. I did so because the first two tracks are one of the best album beginnings I’ve ever heard. They sum up the whole album but still they are not the two smash hits wherefore the rest of the album must be worse. It’s the perfect middle ground and I just love it and love it even more. Cathedrals I had to include (right now I’m arguing with myself if I should rather include The Giant Of Illinois?…) because it is one perfect example of how they combine country with what maybe is the alternative in alt. country. Yeah, it sounds different but it’s is so familiar. What the heck, let the music speak for itself, I can’t do any better! But one track I need to mention seperately because it sounds different than the others. I’m talking about Down In The Ground – and this is one track you have to learn to love because the cawing vocals of Rennie are not everyone’s taste. But you can believe me when I tell you that this is no Big Bad Wolf 2 but rather a succsessful experiment that boots the whole album. So I think I talked enough – Through The Trees is a golden piece of musical history.

Discography (2/8): The Handsome Family – Milk And Scissors (1996)

The Handsome Family – Milk And Scissors
Carrot Top 1996

Listen while reading:

The Dutch Boy (from Milk And Scissors)

The King Who Wouldn’t Smile (from Milk And Scissors)

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Three years later. The Handsome Family is back with the album that easily could have won many bad cover contests – not that the picture is bad as a picture but in combination with the music and as a front cover it really is a pain in the ass to look at. But as much as I like good album covers I’m a man who thinks that music has to speak for itself indepented of the artwork or the medium or what else. And so does Milk and Scissors. If you would have known about the albums they were about to release in the future as this one hit the roads you could have said that they found their sound. Still, at some points you have those heavily distorted guitars (Winnebago Skeletons) but overall they sound as they will sound ever after. Bret got this charismatic, deeply emotional tone in his voice you will learn to love as one outstanding feature of the Handsome Family and as a band they developed the ability to include the keyboard as an important instrument without annoying the audience (at least that is my point of view and I’m not a fan of keyboards in particular!). They moved away from the somewhat punkish attitude (but still in an alt. country context) on Odessa and became grown ups. The music lives from power in which you can feel dust and heat mixed with the will to throw this country sound in a new, if you want, more modern setting. And this is something they really managed to do and so you get the feeling of the South combined with the spirit of a young band ready to wrench it a bit to the left and the right. There was a compilation they were featured on with Moving Furniture Around from Odessa, that was called The New Sounds Of The Old West. And I think this is a perfect title to describe the music they make and what Milk And Scissors sounds like. And for this, there is no better track than The Dutch Boy to summarize the album because it is a calm track featuring all elements of their sound at this time. Milk And Scissors is what you can call call one big step forward and I’m sure this album was the milestone they had to reach to profile themselfs as a real band.

Discography (1/8): The Handsome Family – Odessa (1993)

Hi folks! I don’t have time to update the blog in the following days with new material because I’m sorta busy. But for the sake of new posts I prepared something I hope you like. I wrote articles on the whole Handsome Family Discography and will post one article a day for the next week. -orange

Discography: The Handsome Family

Dear readers, this will be kind of a post series because I want to introduce you to one of the best bands this earth has to offer. You maybe heard of them because they are not quiet unknown, but in case you did not, this post could be something that changes your life (in fact it would be the music, but ok…). Of course I’m talking about The Handsome Family, an alt. country (or southern gothic) band founded back in 1993 still making damn good music.
The band was foremd by Brett (vocals, guitar, keyboards) and Rennie Sparks (bass, banjo, vocals) as well as Mike Werner (drums) who later left the band. But so far you could have read all that on their wikipedia site and therefore I don’t want to continue talking about facts that have not to do with the actual music itself. In this post series I want to review album by album for you whereas I won’t say anything about compilations, EPs or other releases. I think if you know a bit about the different albums it’s easy to find your way into the rest of their music. But one little remark before I start reviewing: Did you ever notice that the best music is always done by couples? (The following sentence is not subjective at all!) Take for example the best indie rock band: Yo La Tengo – married couple; the best slow alternative band: Low – married couple; and best alt. country band: The Handsome Family – married couple! This can be no coincedence me thinks. But let’s get started.

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The Handsome Family – Odessa
Carrot Top 1993

Listen while reading:

One Way Up (from Odessa)

Moving Furniture Around (from Odessa)

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Odessa makes me smile everytime I listen to it because you can feel that it was their first album. Compared to the other ones Odessa is loud as hell and you can’t hide the thought that they did not know what they will do or sound like in the future. The electric guitar is sure the dominant factor and they are not afraid to frie your ears with massive distortion. But you know how this thing works, don’t you? You got a band you love and as you love their music suddently you like all they have ever done. Don’t tell me I’m the only one who thinks so because there is a hidden mechanism in your brain that makes you think: “Well, if they are capable of making such good albums, erm, yeah, this thing could not be to bad, could it? No it couldn’t!” And you listen to it over and over as if you have to loose anything if you would do otherwise. And then, it’s maybe the same as when you experience your ear pop and you think you can hear more clearly for a moment. You just think: how could I not like it before – in the end everything is an act of conditioning, I tell you. But as much sympathy as I can show to Odessa I can’t overlook or overhear this ear raping thing of an aweful, aweful track called Big Bad Wolf. This is just some stupid noise sound reminding only a very little bit of the sound of Sonic Youth with I-can’t-tell-you-how-bad-they-sound vocals sung by Rennie. This maybe was meant to be something to show a hint of punk attitude or something but for me it is just one great piece of shit. But hey, we don’t want to judge an album because one track is a bit of a childish mistake. No, clearly not. How else could it be, that they – at the same time – was able to write such beautiful tracks like One Way Up or Moving Furniture Around? In the end I would not recommend to get started with this album if you are interested in the sound of The Handsome Family. This is more like a piece of art most people don’t really need but for completing their collection – and this sounds weird because you can’t really say it is that bad of a record. It’s like a good friend who likes to taunt you sometimes but for it is a good friend you can’t really be mad at him. I think this would describe the album quite well.

Review: Seasonal Sevens – Autumn (7”) [Pamela Wyn Shannon & The Magickal Folk Of The Faraway Tree]

Seasonal Sevens – Autumn (7”)
Autumn Ferment Records 2009

[tags: acoustic, folk, 7'']

Listen while reading:

Pamela Wyn Shannon – Woolgathering (from Autumn 7”)

The Magickal Folk Of The Faraway Tree – The Blackthorn Tree (from Autumn 7”)

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Maybe you remember my delayed review for the Summer release in the Seasonal Seven series. If you do so you also remeber that I promised you to review the following three vinyls as well and here we go with the brand new Autumn 7’’. (For all readers who missed the first review, let me explain what the Seasonal Sevens are: they are a series of colored 7’’s whereby every record should represent the season it is dedicated to. Altogether there will be 4 different 7’’s.)

This time the good guys over at Autumn Ferment Records chose one track from Massachusetts based singer-songwriter Pamela Wyn Shannon (which currently lives in Wales) and one from The Magickal Folk Of The Faraway Tree from Ireland. Let me say one sentence before I start reviewing: If you love folk music and you have some money left, buy this record and don’t think about it!

The Magickal Folk Of The Faraway Tree and Pamela Wyn Shannon

Pamela Wyn Shannon’s track Woolgathering is one dreamful homage to the lovely time of the year we call autumn (or fall or whatever) and which we all love with all our flesh and bone. All the melancholy, the raw weather, but also the beautiful colors and the alluring scent of fallen leaves are represented in her little story about wandering and woolgathering all around. Musically this theme is realized by the use of strings whose melodies are sad, thoughtful and melancholic at the same time. Along with those strings Pamela Wyn Shannon plays one overwhelming fingerpicking style on her acoustic guitar whereby the guitar melodies are rich and haunting and a perfect foundation for the strings and the stunning voice of her. Everytime she sings you can feel all the power of the instrumentation gathered in one mystical but earthbound voice sounding like a twilight that can guide you to every place it wishes. An astonishing track.

Let’s move on to The Magickal Folk Of The Faraway Tree and their song The Blackthorn Tree. First of all I can’t imagine a track that could possibly go better with Woolgathering as this one. And this is not because it would sound alike but for it is sort of different – very different so to say – where Woolgathering sounds floating this one sounds earthly, where the first one is dreamy this one is perfectly aware. If you listen to the music, the somewhat outstanding flute (or what instrument is this?), the stripped down acoustic guitar and the duet of two male voices you can feel the rough charme of a walk in the dark woods but also the loneliness of being out of sight of everybody’s eyes and just alone with your own thoughts of love and life. Pure beauty.

So what is there to say anymore? Autumn Ferment Records released one of the loveliest records and one of the best collector’s items this year with the two 7’’s and especially with Autumn. If you have any passion for collecting music and folk you should buy your copy as long as they have some left. Click here for buying your copy and visit Pamela Wyn Sharon’s MySpace as well as The Magickal Folk Of The Faraway Tree’s MySpace for further information. To listen to all the tracks of the Seasonal Sevens series, head over to the Seasonal Sevens’ MySpace site.

Some GREAT News: New Brian Borcherdt album – “Torches” [free download!!!] and first MP3 from the upcoming “Teen Dreams” album by Beach House

Brian Borcherdt – Torches (& The Ward Colorado Demos)
free album (download) self-released 2009

[tags: news, folk, free album + demos]

Listen while reading:

Further (from Torches)

Crimes Scenes (from Torches)

Workin For The Weakened (from The Ward Colorado Demos)

Preserver (from The Ward Colorado Demos)

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Maybe I should add an subsequent note, that the new release features older and unreleased material. Torches is from ‘04/’05 and the demos are from ‘06.

What a surprise! As I read the news this morning I was taken aback that Brian Borcherdt released his new album for free download and with it The Ward Colorado Demos. I just gave a short listen to Torches (and the demos) and it is obvious that Torches is not as calm (but as good) as Coyotes was (though the demos sound more like Coyotes). But because this post is meant to inform you, I won’t (and I don’t have the time now to) do a full review here. For more information on the subject visit NxEW and The Indie Files. And, most important, DOWNLOAD TORCHES RIGHT HERE! Wonderful news to start the day!

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Beach House – Norway (Single) from the upcoming Teen Dreams
Carpark 2010

[tags: dream pop, single, 2010]

Listen while reading:

 Norway (from Teen Dreams)

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I know, it is a little late to post about the first mp3 from the upcoming third full length album by dream pop monsters Beach House, but better later than never. Norway sounds really cool and I’m sure Teen Dreams will be the hell of a great record. Have fun with it and visit Beach House’s MySpace site.

Review: Ola Podrida – Belly Of The Lion

Ola Podrida – Belly Of The Lion
Western Vinyl 2009

[tags: folk, indie, americana, 2009]

Listen while reading:

Your Father’s Basement (from Belly Of The Lion) download it!

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2009 is, was and will be a great year for music lovers – and it is, was and hopefully will continue  to be a great year for Western Vinyl too, because they released some of the best music in 2009, redundant to mention the folk uber album Year In The Kingdom by J. Tillman or the yesterday reviewed dream pop gem Houseboat by Sleep Whale. But there is still more and you – certaintly – have heard about it because many other blogs wrote about it earlier: the new Ola Podrida folk and indie hybrid. In case you haven’t, you can now put on a big fat smile and be happy you found this article.

Ola Podrida are David Wingo (guitars, vocals), Colin Switek (guitar), David McComb (bass) and Matthew Frank (drums) from Austin/Texas and they just released their second album Belly Of The Lion. Their debut, Ola Podrida, hit the road back in 2007 and was, shame on me, not really a album I listend to very much. Why this is so, I can’t explain. But I think Belly Of The Lion is my chance to make things good again.

Maybe we start with the cover artwork, because it is one of the best I saw this year together with Molina And Johnson’s self titled record and Bocca Chicca’s Lace Up Your Workboots. And I don’t mean the cover just as a cover, but as a picture that is great and on the other hand really catches the atmosphere of the record. In the end a nice cover art is indeed something you can love but nothing that makes the music better or worse – at least in my opinion and so this won’t affect my extremely objective senses of justice…haha, ok, I don’t think I’m really a person you can call an objective reviewer because I mostly review music that I like and love and so I don’t have much to criticize at all. I’m doing so because I think this blog should be a place to find good music and not a place to destroy the work of others. — I don’t know if you relaized it, but this had nothing to do with Belly Of The Lion at all…

Ahead I called the music a hybrid of folk and indie music and I maybe explain myself for it is surely not a record you would call indie folk. And if you watch closely you won’t discover too much folk elements at all. But just calling it an indie album would do harm to it as well, because you would maybe think of such music like The Weakerthans’ album Reunion Tour (wich is not bad at all) or one of Belle And Sebastian’s masterpieces. No, this would clearly hide the americana influences (perfect example: the track Donkey) but those are not as present as to call it an americana album. You see, I can’t really describe it – just take for granted that songs like Monday Morning or Lakes Of Wine got a rich folk flavor and other tracks like the opener The Closest We Will Ever Be remind me strongly of prototypically structured indie tracks with nice guitar melodies and mellow character.

Overall Belly Of The Lion is a 2009 mid-tempo folk and/or indie highlight winning over the audience with an often somber but warm atmosphere, a very charismatic and versatile voice, nice guitar play and just great music that makes you feel satisfied and cozy. To buy the album, head over to the Western Vinyl Shop or click iTunes. More information you will find on Ola Podrida’s MySpace.

(A short) Review: Sleep Whale – Houseboat

Sleep Whale – Houseboat
Western Vinyl 2009

[tags: dream pop, 2009]

Listen while reading:

Cotton Curls (from Houseboat) download it!

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Today I don’t have much time to post (and between you and me: I don’t found interesting folk stuff to write about). So I decided to do a quick one on the new Sleep Whale full length called Houseboat. It’s been a long time since I found this one in my mail inbox, but I could not decide on posting about it. All the same, now I do.

Maybe you remember the post I did on Introductions’ debut Hold Up Your Hands and the fact that I totally loved it because they were the first band I found that was near as good as dream pop legends Beach House. What I liked about Hold Up Your Hands was the combination of dream pop elements and folk elements. And this combination can be found on Sleep Whale’s album, too. But this doesn’t mean that the two records sound the same. Sleep Whale focuses more on instrumental music supported by vocals here and there and the mixture of synthesizer sounds, strings, drums and acoustic guitar. In theory this may sound a bit weird but de facto it is a surprisingly fresh record (and one of the best dream pop releases this year) that, again, proves the excellent music taste of the guys over at Western Vinyl. Respect!

So don’t wait and head over to Western Vinyl to buy your copy of Houseboat (or, if you prefer Mp3s, get them on iTunes). Further information can be found on the band’s MySpace site. Goodbye for today.

Maybe you missed it: Jump, Buck! – The Wolves Must Eat As Well

Jump, Buck! – The Wolves Must Eat As Well

self-released 2008

[tags: indie folk, 2008]

Listen while reading:

Anything They’d Feed Us (from The Wolves Must Eat As Well)

And Indeed, All Was Vanity And Grasping For The Wind (from The Wolves Must Eat As Well)

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Belfast/Maine is the home of singer-songwriter and indie folk artist Thomas Dalholt also known under the moniker Jump, Buck! I found him surfing MySpace looking for new bands to feed to all you music sharks out there and I think I landed a good hit this time. The music of Jump, Buck! is not always what you would call acoustic folk, but it is really good all over the time. You’ll find energetic tracks with great drive created by e-guitars and drums (It’s The Blues, I Suppose) along with calm and reflective ballads (Anything They’d Feed Us). Because of these different faces of the record I refer to it as indie folk maybe in the vein of Neutral Milk Hotel but without their affinity for experimentation. You could call the music of Jump, Buck! typical summer music (at least I do so) for it is a great soundtrack to listen to watching the setting of the sun and drinking cool beer and/or beverages of your choice with your friends (and don’t remind me right now that winter is coming closer and closer).

Even though The Wolves Must Eat As Well is almost one year old  now (recorded back in December 2008) it is still fresh and entertaining. Especially tracks like the opener The Narrow Needle Eye show the strength and the potential that lies in the band. The song perfectly combines elements of folk, lo-fi music and what you could call indie sound (and yes, I know, indie is not a genre, but, if you like it or not, it is in common use to refer to some sort of music). If you know me you certainly know that I’m not a fan of experiments at all (first and foremost in folk music) and so you can be sure that I’m sceptical of all music that does not sound like I hope it would sound. And therefore it is most unlikely for me to recommend a record like The Wolves Must Eat As Well. But in this case I shamelessly do so and I hope you have fun with it like I have.

If you are interested in the music, you can buy the Mp3s over at digstation.com. For a hard copy of it you can visit cdbaby.com or mail directly to the band. I talked to Thomas and he told me that he is working on new material right now and that there are plans for a second album but with no exact set date yet. Let’s hope they keep up the good work (and maybe focus a little bit more on calm tracks like Darling, Darling or the above mentioned Anything They’d Feed Us – just for the sake of the blog’s theme…no, just kidding). To check out more music, head over to their MySpace site.