Review: Andrew Vladeck – The Wheel

Andrew Vladeck – The Wheel
End Up Records 2009

[tags: alt country, country, folk, singer-songwriter, 2009]

Listen while reading:

The Magnet (from The Wheel)

Hold Me Back (from The Wheel)

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We take a little genre jump, but keep up the good quality of yesterday’s music by Lindsay Clark. And so Brooklyn/New York based folk/alt country singer-songwriter Andrew Vladeck’s newest release is what I want to serve you for your musical pleasure (released back in 2009, but only now distributed in Europe). The Wheel is the name of the record and it’s mostly a combination of alt country with little rock influences and singer-songwriter folk. The most characteristic feature seems to be Andrew’s voice, with lots of country feeling – sometimes it pushes you forward (mostly in the harder tracks: Hold Me Back or The Songs You Inspire or the title track) sometimes it sounds really exhausted, harassed (Waiting For The Coffee To Kick In) and sometimes it’s relaxed and confident (Avenue U). And as many facets as Andrew’s voice is able to sing, so is his overall album. The title track, for example, is a banjo and electric guitar driven tune with some hammond organ (or synthesizer) atmospheres in the back, with clear rock influeneces and vocals which, off the chorus, strongly remind of spoken word techniques. Maybe that’s not what you expect the first time you listen to the album, but the fact that Andrew chose this as the title track shows, that this is the sound he connects with the album and from this point every listener should come, to understand The Wheel the right way.

In comparison to the title track, there are tracks like The Magnet or Chinatown or The 21st Century. Those three tracks should serve as examples to show the many styles you can hear on the album. The Magnet, one of my favorites, is a fascinating folk song with country flair accompanied by acoustic guitar and some atmospheres here and there. It’s a love song with a unique character, not least because of the wonderful vocal melodies and catchy lines. A very nice sing-along that emphasizes the folksy side of The Wheel. But it would be too easy to cut the album in half – say one alt country side and one folk side. Songs like Chinatown are experimental, not really folk, not really alt country, somewhere in between. Chinatown sounds like a combination of an oldtimes music banjo melodie and some apocalyptic slide guitar blips/screams which, in the end, get some flow as the noises and melodies unite. A very interesting song, maybe not your number one earworm and also not the track you will play for your friends introducing them to the album, but as part of the overall experience very important and also important as a brick that builds the bridge to the wonderful acoustic versuion of The 21st Century, the last track of the album. It’s interesting to see how the same tracks once works with electric guitars and synthesizer atmospheres (as the third track) and once without those. In this case the versions are still similar in character, but the acoustic one sounds more folky, a bit darker, wherefore the original version got more of the alt country. That Andrew deceided to put this acoustic version on his album seemed to be a very good decision that improves the record – you never will think of it as such gruesome things like bonus tracks or other album concept destroying things. No, this version really rounds up the record and fits well into the album structure.

I hope those tracks I wrote about and embedded showed some of the variety of The Wheel. If you are interested in buying your copy, use this link for ordering a physical copy or the MP3s (if you order from Germany/Austria/Switzerland you can buy from Cargo Records, from the Benelux try Rendezvous Records). Further details can be found on Andrew Vladeck’s band page as well as on his MySpace. Alt country for the heart.

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Review: Josh Abbott Band – She’s Like Texas

Josh Abbott Band – She’s Like Texas
Pretty Damn Tough Records 2010

[tags: country rock, country pop, (folk), 2010]

Listen while reading:

She’s Like Texas (from She’s Like Texas)

Hot Water (from She’s Like Texas)

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Sometimes strange things happen – a few weeks ago I heard of a man driving his car over a parking lot of a supermarket. He wanted to leave for the road and was only one turn away from reaching the gateway, but suddenly mistook brake and gas pedal –  and so he floored it and badly crashed into the supermarket. He totally screwed his car and the market – and sadly died in the accident. Man, that’s no good story to start a review for a great album, but it illustrates that life offers no guarantee to nothing. Ok, back to business. The Josh Abbott Band doesn’t quite play the music you would expect to be featured here – but as in the story, sometimes you just can’t influence the way things will turn out. Two weeks ago I listened to the title track of She’s Like Texas and I was totally fascinated – I knew that the album must be great, even though I’m not so much into full band country pop/rock. And now with the full album playing in the hi-fi I have proof – it turns out that I was right: the album indeed is great.

It’s the second release from the Texas based quintet and it got quite some attention from many reviewers so far. But let’s start at the beginning – maybe with the band name. Josh Abbott Band is a homage to the Randy Rogers Band that changed the life of Josh Abbott in the first place and was responsible for his decision to start a own band – and then, in 2009, the debut record, Scapegoat, saw the light of day and had plenty of success. But resting on their laurels seemd to be the last thing the band wanted to do and so they got busy and recorded their second full length, She’s Like Texas, which was released about 3 weeks ago. Not bad but maybe not the best timing to release it, because the record dosen’t sound like a wintery one – it’s clearly made for hot summers, chilling and drinking some nice beers in the sun, or going on road trips and listening to She’s Like Texas while on the road to wherever.

I want to be honest: As I first listened to the whole album, I wasn’t quite sure if the music really was what I hoped it would be. Especially the relevant single All Of A Sudden made me insecure and I thought the whole album is going to be a bit too mainstream in sound and song structure. But this was just a first impression and I think there are two points that show that this isn’t a reason for not loving the album. Firstly: it is incredible how the Josh Abbott Band makes use of the fiddle. Without the fiddle I’m sure I wouldn’t have done the review, and not because the rest of the music is bad, but because the fiddle is an essential part of the characteristic sound. And that characteristic sound is just the combination of country rock/pop with a good portion of traditional, therefore folk music. I can’t describe it, but it works out extremely well.
Second reason why you’ll like the album despite it being a bit mainstream at some points: the whole conception of the album. And no, it’s no concept album. I mean the composition of the tracks to a functional and elaborate whole. Some tracks are more rock oriented (All Of A Sudden), others are simply cheerful (Road Trippin). Then there are more traditional songs like the overwhelming End Of A Dirt Road and songs that are ballads at their best, e.g. the superb Oh, Tonight or the piano driven Let My Tears Be Still.

You see, there is not much I have to criticize. And that’s what I expected as I first listened to the title track, but I said that already. If you ask yourself, if this is an album you want to get your hands on, consider that it is no folk  as regularly featured here on CFM. It’s more rock/pop orientated, it’s harder than 95 percent of the music I normally write about – but for this it is nearly perfect, because it shows an enormous bandwidth of different styles the band is capable of playing. They really got the feeling to show emotions through a thick layer of sound. The lyrics of the tracks underline that and are mostly grounded in real stories – another point which adds authenticity to She’s Like Texas. But there is no light without shadow and so there is no perfect album.

If I could do the next record, there were two things I would be doing slightly different. Firstly I would shift the sound to a bit more traditional style, away from the mainstream towards more traditional country and roots music. The combination with the powerful rock/pop would guarantee, that the album stays fresh over a long period of time, for more complex and complicated tracks become good friends over the time, wherefore catchy and straightforward tracks, in the best case, become annoying relatives. But I don’t want you to get this wrong, the Josh Abbott Band is miles away from being boring or simple, I just think they focus a little too much on being radio compatible. But this is also always a personal conviction which goal music should aim for – the position of CFM hopefully is clear to all readers.
But I spoke of a second thing I would change, if I had the power to do so. And that’s a even more personal criteria that inevitable comes with listening to acoustic folk and singer-songwriter music all day long. I’m talking about the tempo of the tracks. I think it would be a good thing to slow things down a little bit more, brilliant tracks like the title track or the both mentioned Let My Tears Be Still and Oh, Tonight show that the strength of the band clearly lies in the slower tracks for they are the most emotional ones.

In the end the two points of criticism I named are mostly personal in nature and no real failures of the album. So I don’t want to overestimate my own opinion, my point of view should be clear though. She’s Like Texas is an album that I recommend to everyone who’s looking for some intelligent country rock/pop that combines modern elements with traditional ones to an album full of variety. It’s one of the rare examples of successfully merging the ability to be played on the radio and being sophisticated and believably  emotional without fear of showing the roots the music comes from.
To buy your copy of She’s Like Texas, head over to the band’s personal website or buy the MP3s on iTunes, but also make sure to visit their MySpace too for further information. This album really surprised me – because I’m surprised that I like it.

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Review: The Twilite Broadcasters – Evening Shade

The Twilite Broadcasters – Evening Shade
self-released 2010

[tags: acoustic, folk, roots music, country]

Listen while reading:

More Pretty Girls Than One (from Evening Shade)

Southern Moon (from Evening Shade)

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As a music blogger you (have to) discover new music almost every day and often you will find great stuff you consider worth sharing with the world – then you write an article about it and this is the regular case, I think. But to find a band that will be one of your all time favorites from now on, is a rare occasion and it puts you in a very pleasant situation – you want to smile and you get sort of high feeling listening to your new found music over and over. And right now I’m in such a mood, because Tunesmith from Call It Folk brought just such a band to my attention and I can’t thank him enough for pointing his finger at them. I’m speaking of The Twilite Broadcasters hailing from Weaverville/North Carolina, who just self-released their debut record Evening Shade.

And what does it take Adam Tanner and Mark Jackson to conjure forth such an album that makes me all jittery about hearing it? It takes them an acoustic guitar, a mandolin, two perfect voices and amounts and amounts of talent writing and playing songs without sounding boring or frumpy at any time. Every second of Evening Shade is a winner, equal if they play an instrumental with decent Irish or Scottish influences like in Twilite Schottische or an instrumental ragtime song like Ragtime Annie or just such wonderful country ballads like More Pretty Girls Like One. It’s just unbelievable how fresh they sound by simultaneously sounding old and classical.

Even though many tracks of the album seem to be cover versions, this takes nothing away from the overall experience I have every time I listen to it. It’s just that every note they play fits perfect in the track it is played as well as in the whole context of the album. The combination of mandolin and acoustic guitar works out so well that they achieve a very full sound with just those two instruments and this comes mostly from the enormous feeling they put in every melodie they play. It seems that all characteristics are fulfilled a superb record must have for me: all band members sing, it’s all acoustic, it’s honest, it’s diverting and you can feel the devotion of the musicians to the music they make. This is music history revealed and respawned in the most pleasurable manner one can think of. All the beauty that lies in classical American roots music can be found in these 40+ minutes.

If you are a regular reader of CFM, you may have noticed at some point, that I’m obsessed with the alt country band The Handsome Family and that I love all of their albums with all my heart. I don’t want to guide you in the wrong direction for I don’t want to say that I can compare The Twilite Broadcasters to them, because The Handsome Family draws from early roots music and transforms it into their own style, wherefore The Twilite Broadcasters relive roots music without transforming it into some sort of experimental alt country. But the point is, both bands draw from the same grounds and therefore I say, that The Twilite Broadcasters sound like The Handsome Family without the characteristics of The Handsome Family (I know that they aren’t influenced by the latter ones though). So, why I am saying this at all? It’s because there was no other band until now, that could give me this unique feeling I had listening to The Handsome Family. But this exactly feeling I can find in Evening Shade – and this is clearly something I searched for for a long, long time.

Just to get things straight: I don’t say that both bands are really comparable, I just say that the atmosphere of both often is relatively the same. And if you remember my review on Through The Trees, the most honorable thing I can do for a record is to say that it plays in the same league as Through The Trees for this album is one of my all time favorite records ever. And Evening Shade truly deserves its place there. As you see, I try to convert my feelings and thoughts into words and I’m aware of the fact, that I can’t do any better, because writing about music and actually listening to it, are two pairs of very different shoes. So, if you are in any way interested in early American roots music or in acoustic folk or contemporary country interpretations of old time music or any such thing, there is no other way in 2010 than to check out The Twilite Broadcasters and their magnificent debut album Evening Shade. This album is clearly the best music I heard in 2010 so far and all following releases have to take on against this monster of a record – and many will fail, that I know for sure.

At the moment there is no physical copy of the record available (but it will follow soon). To get the music anyways, you can purchase the Mp3 version over at iTunes. For additional information check out The Twilite Broadcasters‘ MySpace and make sure to visit their personal homepage. I will keep you updated as soon as the physical release is available.

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Review: Derek Hoke – Goodbye Rock N Roll

Derek Hoke – Goodbye Rock N Roll
Electric Western Records 2010

[tags: country, singer-songwriter, with band, folk, 2010]

Listen while reading:

The Finer Things (from Goodbye Rock N Roll)

End Of The River (from Goodbye Rock N Roll)

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East Nashville, Tennessee brings us a fine country singer-songwriter by the name of Derek Hoke who is about to release his fist album during the SXSW Festival in March. The album goes by the name Goodbye Rock N Roll but features rock ‘n’ roll influences all the way through even though it still is primary a country record. And yes, you read right, I did not write alt country, because this music feels really real without anything alternative to it – honest music from a honest musician with a great band at his back.

First thing that really got me hooked was Derek’s voice – its clean and clear, not too high, but loaded with emotions and with an great feeling of an old school western bar to it. Exactly the voice this record needed. Sometimes I had to think of Jonathan Byrd but I’m not quite sure why. There isn’t much both artists share, neither in songwriting nor in singing – but I felt like I should mention this, because every time I have to think of Jonathan Byrd it means that the record must be something special. And special is quite the right word to describe Goodbye Rock N Roll because there are so many influences and styles on it that one can really bite its teeth into the music.

It starts with the story about a man who leaves back his beloved rock ‘n’ roll to play country music and the track really is a great country song with wonderful pedal steel melodies and steady hoofbeats mimed via the percussions. Maybe the whole thing is a bit stereotypical but, if I’m honest to myself, what would country music be without some good stereotypes? So I see this with a little wink. But I spoke of the variety of styles; track two Hot On The Heels Of Love got some decent characteristics of an good old love song sung by Mister Nat King Cole himself and goes in a very different direction as you may thought after listening to the opener. It clearly shows that Derek is attracted by the music of jazz musicians and this love for jazz can be clearly heard in track three, Too Late, with the jazzy percussions and the really familiar sounding lap steel moments (good old Chattanooga Choo Choo says hallo, great!)

And even though I’m not so much into song-by-song reviews, this record quite seems to require this sort of treatment, because, as Robert K. Oermann rightfully wrote for the Music Row Magazine (quoted on Hoke’s MySpace), “every track is a single” and really got an character of its own. Just look at track four, The Finer Things. I really can imagine this track in one of Tarantino’s movies (not speaking of Inglourious Basterds though). Nice little rock ‘n’ roll influenced country song. But that’s not all, for Derek proves that he’s also able to let some more modern genres into his songwriting. I feel a little bit of indie flavor at the beginning of track six, Where’d You Sleep Last Night, before the whole thing emerges into an forward driven country sing-along. But the first impression of an indie flavor wasn’t wrong, because track seven clearly pushes it one step further into this direction. This brings us to End Of The River which combines elements of contemporary folk and singer-songwriter music with country music as played on the rest of the album. I think this works out pretty well and End Of The River clearly is my favorite of the album, simultaneously showing an unbelievable feeling on Derek Hoke’s site for integrating different genres into his music – what a beautiful track.

And so it is no surprise that the second last track continues the idea of featuring some female backing vocals as in the songs beforehand by showing us a really nice country duet, that reminds me a bit of the southern gothic duets sung by alt country band Blanche – but without the dark side to them. Last track is I Think I Really Love You and, you guess it, again it is something different than the tracks before – more blues, decent rock’n’ roll flavor and lots of piano. Sadly I don’t have a fascination for this song and it feels a little bit like a filler to me – also a bit over the edge.  But even though I don’t like it that much, it surely fits the album well.

So, seems to be a lot of praise I got left for Goodbye Rock N Roll – but one thing, and I said it before with the words of Robert K. Oermann, has to be mentioned again. It is true, that all songs are great and that they show  the enormous talent of Derek’s songwriting, but one goal they cannot achieve: to create a cohesive album with a clear concept. It feels like Derek wrote those songs, one by one, not so much thinking about the result as a whole but more of a loose collection of tunes. This debut easily could be a best-of where “every track is a single” – and herein lies the reason for the one and only serious weak point.

To get a copy of the album, head over to Derek Hoke’s bandcamp page and buy your mp3s there. And don’t forget to visit this year’s SXSW Festival and grab a physical copy of it there too; also check out the artist’s MySpace for further details.

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Review: Tim Barry – 28th & Stonewall

Tim Barry – 28th & Stonewall
Suburban Home Records 2010

[tags: singer-songwriter, country, folk, 2010]

Listen while reading:

Prosser’s Gabriel (from 28th & Stonewall)

Thing Of The Past (from 28th & Stonewall)

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Since I first heard of Tim Barry I wanted to write something about him and his music, but I never did so wherefore the post went more and more back in line. But now, with Barry’s new album 28th & Sonewall out on the lovely Suburban Home Records, I have no excuse for not reviewing the record. The current album is Barry’s fifth release and third full length and it seems that it really reaches a great audience because it earned some nice reviews all over the web so far.

The music of Barry is rough and he doesn’t care about singing beautiful little stories of how great life is – he’s the opposite of that. Barry has a look for all the small and big problems surrounding him and the people he sees and speaks with. A modern singer-songwriter who doesn’t quite celebrate the soft side of music all the time. Tracks like the intense and powerful sung (Memento Mori) point that way even though Walk 500 Miles is rather calm and gently recited.

Tim’s voice and his steel guitar play are the center of the record and other elements like percussion and drums support the tracks here and there. But not enough, Will Travel for example comes with partly improvised trumpets and bar piano and the result is some jazzy and blusey country tune – but to be honest, I think this experiment wasn’t quite successful because it sort of disturbs the atmosphere of the record. Tracks like the piano driven Moving On Blue fit much better and would have been a good alternative. Another point I’m not so satisfied with is the guitar sound, for it seems a bit weak at heart; compared with the expressive voice the guitar could have been more powerful to accent the vocal melodies much more. But this seems not to be a failure, for I think Tim and the guys mixing and mastering the record intented it to sound as it sounds – but why they thought so, I cannot tell for sure.

In the end 28th & Stonewall is a solid album which really got some fine moments, especially Tim’s voice is really pleasant and full of emotions. But on the other side I’m not 100 percent satisfied with the mastering and I don’t see the point why it was necessary to include trumpets in the way it was done as in the above mentioned Will Travel (ok, they bring variety, but for what cost?) Should one buy the record…well…I think it all comes down to the question if one likes the “old rockers gone soft” (as good Smansmith from Slowcoustic formulated it once) category of contemporary country and folk singer-songwriters (remember, Tim Barry also plays in the hardcore band Avail). If the answer is yes, you really should check out 28th & Stonewall for it has great potential – but in the end Suburban Home Records have set themselves and their artits a very high quality standard with the fantastic solo records by Chad Price, Mike Hale and Austin Lucas.

Feel free to have a listen to the whole album and stream it over at Suburban Home Records. If you like the music, order your copie directly from Vinyl Collective and make sure to have a look at Tim Barry’s MySpace.

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Sundries! (“Openings”, a free folk sampler | “Sun Hotel” – “Team Spirit EP” | $2 album: from “Saharan Gazelle Boy” | and a discovery: “Chatham County Line”)

Sundries!

Today’s post contains much music for your listening pleasure. In the first place I thought, I write some short posts about all this stuff I stumbled upon today, but I think it is better do one big post that got it all.

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Fatea Showcase Session – Openings – Spring 10
free sampler (download) Fatea Showcase Session 2010

[tags: acoustic, folk, sampler, free, 2010]

Woodpecker Wooliams – Threads (from Openings)

Grant Peeples – My People Come From The Dirt (from Openings)

Erin K Hill – Long Sleep (from Openings)

Ewan McLennan – As I Roved Out (from Openings)

***

Let’s start with a great free sampler featuring mostly acoustic music. The good people from Fatea Showcase Sessions provided it and the whole thing (called Openings) will be downloadable for three months from now on. This sampler is a great possibilitie to find some new bands which are not widely known yet or even still unsigned. Most of the songs are really good, ranging from an a cappella track over folk pop to americana, even though two or three of them are really not my taste. Make sure you don’t miss those 80 minutes and head directly to the download page or click here for instant download.

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Sun Hotel – Team Spirit EP
free EP (download) self-released 2010

[tags: indie rock, folk?, EP, 2010]

Honey (from Team Spirit EP)

***

Speaking of free stuff, I found a mail in my inbox today concerning Sun Hotel’s new and free Team Spirit EP. They play indie rock so to say, with slighty folk influences. I don’t know if I like this music or not. But you can certainly feel the fun they had recording it for it is powerful and honest. Deceide for yourself and download the EP for free from Sun Hotel’s bandcamp page.

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Saharan Gazelle Boy – Airplanes Can’t
The Record Machine 2010

[tags: bedroom pop, dream pop, 2010, only $2!!!]

Aiming A Wave (from Airplanes Can’t)

Something I Wanna Know About You (from Airplanes Can’t)

***

What’s next…I think I will tell you, that you should take your chance to download Saharan Gazelle Boy’s album Airplanes Can’t for just two dollars from The Record Machine…remember?…the good guys who gave away The Parade Shedule’s fantastic folk album for two dollars few weeks ago. But be warned, it’s no folk what Saharan Gazelle Boy plays, it’s bedroom pop with some dream pop flavor to it…sometimes calm, sometimes the opposite. In the end a really nice album one should own – at least for this killer price. ONLY $2, AHHHHH! BUY IT HERE!

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Chatham County Line – IV
Yep Roc 2008

[tags: (alt) country, bluegrass, folk, 2008]

The Carolina (from IV)

Sweet Eviction (from IV)

***

And last thing for today: I found a band I never heard of before and because they are so amazing, I must mention them here. The band is called Chatham County Line and for me they are the better Mumford & Sons (and I really like Mumford & Sons). Country and bluegrass sound at its best combined with great folk attitude, that’s what I call their last album IV from 2008. In comparison to Mumford & Sons these guys know, where the break is and they are willing to hit it sometimes – this makes an really good album from start to finish. If you like the music, you can be happy from now on, because the band will release a new record at the end of spring. You will read about here. Until then, check out there other albums and buy them from here.

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Quickie: News: Greenland Is Melting joins Paper + Plastick Records

Greenland Is Melting – Our Hearts Are Gold, Our Grass Is Blue
free album (download) Paper + Plastick Records 2009

[tags: band found label, folk, acoustic, bluegrass]

Listen while reading:

No More Sorry Songs (from Our Hearts Are Gold, Our Grass Is Blue)

The Kitchen Song (from Our Hearts Are Gold, Our Grass Is Blue)

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Our good friends from Greenland Is Melting just joined Paper + Plastick Records and the label is going to release a LP version of their debut Our Hearts Are Gold, Our Grass Is Blue in early 2010. Until then you can download the entire album right here for free. It’s great to see a good band getting the well deserved attention for their hard work. I wish you all the best, guys! This is life, this is life, this is life…

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Some words about: Mike Hale – Lives Like Mine

Mike Hale – Lives Like Mine
free album (download) Suburban Home Records 2009

[tags: folk, acoustic, country, americana, 2009, FREE!]

Listen while reading:

Red Tide (from Lives Like Mine)

Indigo Blues (from Lives Like Mine)

Your Heart Just May (from Lives Like Mine)

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I was quite surprised to find out, that I completely missed the music of Mike Hale. He comes from the South but settled down in California and has released his second full length album this year back in June. The title of that record is Lives Like Mine and I can assure you with all my heart that it is a wonderful record. I completely fell in love with it and ordered my copy right away. But the best thing about it: Suburban Home Records decided to give away the mp3 version for FREE.

If you have not checked out the music of Mike Hale so far, you will find an out and out singer-songwriter with his roots deep in the folk country /americana tradition. His raw vocals are mostly accompanied by his acoustic guitar and I see a strong similarity to the fascinating Chad Price release Smile Sweet Face (recently released via Suburban Home Records, too). But Hale’s music features more instruments such as percussions or piano in Losing Ground – this is the reason why Lives Like Mine reminds of Smile Sweet Face but got its own loveable style.

So, if you are in the mood for some thoughtful and emotional ballads, don’t wait to try the mp3 version for free and order your physical copy as fast as possible because this album kicks ass. And once more the people at Suburban Home Records proved that they have an excellent taste in contemporary americana and it seems that everything they pick up is pure gold. Clearly one of the highlights in 2009 (even though I discovered it a bit late).

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Review: Paul Masson – Paul Masson EP

Paul Masson – Paul Masson EP
self-released 2009

[tags: country, folk, ep, 2009]

Listen while reading:

My Girl Baltimore (from Paul Masson EP)
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Paul Masson from Baltimore/Maryland recently got some praise for his debut EP from the guys over at The Gobblers Knob and now it’s my part to join in with some words about the release. And if you like good old country folk played in a smooth and chilled manner you do well to read further.

On his self titled EP Paul presents us a hand full of songs featuring acoustic guitar, good ol’ pedal steel played by Tom Hnatow (These United States), bass and a drum kit. What more does it need to make great music? Well, I think it takes a lot more: for example the ability to write strong and memorable songs and a feeling for great melodies too. Not to forget the plessing of a wonderful and multifarious voice. And all those requirements are easily complied by this young singer-songwriter.

All tracks on the EP will convince you that Paul Masson makes music with his whole heart and soul, listen for example to the magnificent My Girl Baltimore, that was rightly chosen by fellow blogger Smansmith from Slowcoustic to be his track of the day not so long ago. But to reduce the EP to this one ballad would do harm to the complete release. I think every track has a story to tell and you should listen to it with both your ears and your heart. Great lyrics walk hand in hand with sometimes sparse, sometimes rich instrumentation evoking a strong feeling of safety on the one hand and delightful melancholy on the other.

The Paul Masson EP is clearly something you want to own if you have pleasure collecting great music and you are in the mood for some fine country folk with beautiful melodies and charismatic vocals. Again it was proven that the duet of acoustic guitar and pedal steel could be an everlasting spring of highly emotional music knocking on the hearts of man. To get the EP, buy your copy over at iTunes and visit Paul Masson’s MySpace for further information.

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The Lovell Sisters – Time To Grow

The Lovell Sisters – Time To Grow
2DefPigs Records 2009

Listen while reading:

Paulita Maxwell (from Time To Grow)

Distance (from Time To Grow)

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The Lovell Sisters from Calhoun/Georgia (a real three sisters trio) – I wasn’t aware of them until I saw their performance over at Music Fog (watch it here). They played In My Time Of Dyin from the new album Time To Grow and I thought their music was special in some way. I watched the video a couple of times and I was proofed right – their music is just awesome and I had to get the album.

The trio was formed by Jessica, Megan and Rebecca Lovell back in 2003 and each of them is playing a different string instrument: Rebecca mandolin, Megan dobro and Jessica fiddle – a great combination if you’d ask me. Altogehter they play a mix of acoustic country folk pop and acoustic instrumental folk with insular meanderings to the Irish roots part of American folk music (they call the whole thing progressive acoustic). The best example for this is Ichetucknee Chutney and for me this is, with all respect to the other tracks, the best song on the whole album (reminding me of the Irish traditional Three Young Ladies Drinking Whiskey Before Breakfast). Incredible feeling and drive at the same time. But for it is not a representative for the album at all I won’t add this track to the post because I don’t want you to get the wrong impression about Time To Grow (but you can listen to it over at their MySpace site). Anyhow you can also hear the Irish influences at the end of the title track Time To Grow – it’s a pitty it fades out so soon after the melodie comes in.

Maybe you fear that the music got a bit too much pop appeal for a regular folk album – but let me say so, this is what I really like about it. Their speciality is simply the abiliy to create pop songs you can listen to without having the feeling of beeing mucked all the time. They really know what they are doing and therefore their music is full of passion and love. You can listen to ballads like The Subway Song or to more aroused pop songs like Take One Moment – they are all just great especially in combination with the instrumentals completing this superb album.

Even though I don’t listen to such music too much I think this is another musical higlight at the end of the year. I listened to the album eight times or so and it is not getting boring at all. Indeed it is growing and growing because the arrangements of the tracks are so clever and catchy at the same time. If you got just a little bit of love for acoustic country and folk influenced music in you I highly recommend to give a good listen to Time To Grow – it will be worth every minute of it.

You can pick up a copy of the album at their internet store or you download it via iTunes. Visit The Lovell Sister’s MySpace and official homepage as well.

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