Heads up, West Coast of America (and also Las Vegas), The March Violets are coming to visit you this June:
Yes, it’s really them! They’re back! They’ve got a new record, too! It’s called Made Glorious, and you can check it out at their bandcamp page. Here are some excerpts to whet your appetite:
And here is the video for Dandelion King, which features, among other things, a tremendously awesome headdress:
In which Caught a Ghost (Jesse Nolan, vocals and Stephen Edelstein, drums) combine soul and dubstep and make something unexpectedly delicious.
No Sugar In My Coffee is from their first record, Human Nature, available at all fine purveyors of tunes, and you can listen to more at their Soundcloud.
It’s a simple yet sublime pleasure, and just thinking about it can make you feel a little calmer, a little more content. Imagine: You bring out one of the good rocks glasses (or your favorite mug or a special occasion tea cup) and pour a couple fingers of amber liquid (or something dark and strong or just some whole milk). You drop the needle on the jazz platter (or pull up a blues album on your mp3 player or dig out that mixtape from college). Ensconcing yourself in the coziest seat in the house, you crack the spine on a classic (or find your place in that sci-fi paperback or pull up a biography on your e-book reader). And then, you go away for a while. Ah, bliss.
In this series, some of NTSIB’s friends share beloved albums, books and drinks to recommend or inspire.
Big Weather is 1, 2, 3‘s second record, and it is a double album. While listening to it, I decided the following: 1) If the name of your band is the same as the act of counting in, every song faces the challenge of being “4” – the, or at least a, point of ignition and 2) With Big Weather, 1, 2, 3 have more than met that challenge.
The name of the record reflects the place where it was made: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which I can tell you from experience surely does experience some big weather. But geography aside, it’s well named: it’s a big record, ambitious and diverse and compelling. It contains multitudes: several different flavors of pop and punk; the occasional burst of classic rock, country blues and jammy noodling; even some spoken word interludes, one of which (In the House of the Locust) was so unsettling I could only listen to it one time.
Example #1: Leave Me in the Sky With A Lawnchair, which is a punk-rock whirl through the feeling of just wanting to float away:
Example #2: Porch Swing Song, which a little slower and more reflective, almost lounge-like, but has what I love best: big rolling drums.
Example #3: When the Levee Broke at the County Broke at the County Fair, which is a jaunty romp about young love being foiled by an unexpected wall of water.
And now, I turn the floor over to guitarist/lead singer Nicolas Snyder (second from left, below) who has some book, music and drink recommendations for us:
Photo by Chris Miskis
Had someone asked me this question at any other point in the last ten years I would almost undoubtedly have recommended Cormac McCarthy’s classic gore-western, Blood Meridian, or possibly if in a lighter, yet, slightly cynical mood, George Saunders’ brilliant nuts and bolts satire The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil, but, in the last six months, I stumbled across a non-fiction book that I’ve already recommended more than anything I’ve read before. Everything from the way I daily interact with people to my personal definition of success has been impacted by An Autobiography of a Yogi. Written by the Yogic master Paramahansa Yogananda in the mid 1940’s, this book is a beautifully penned explanation of almost everything spiritual. Timidly posing as a memoir, this book is for meditation what prayer is for the Bible. Check out Ben Kingsley’s reading on Audible for a nice long mind blowing.
A GOOD LISTEN
When people talk about Mott the Hoople, they usually dwell on the glamish Bowie years. But, let’s not forget that the reason Bowie gave them All the Young Dudes and helped modernize their image was because he was such a fan of their prior work. This same work also prompted the Clash to hire wild man Guy Stevens to produce London Calling. Mad Shadows, in my opinion, is the best and most emotionally engrossing of the band’s pre-Dudes era. Comprised of only seven songs, the album’s presence is equally tough as nails and haunting. A band at the peak of frustration, debauchery and creativity. I Can Feel and When My Mind’s Gone are twin power-ballad nut-shots.
http://youtu.be/YP1uGjVmSVs
A GOOD DRINK
I like drinks with a purpose. I only drink coffee if I’m super tired. I drink hot tea to feel comforted and warm. I drink wine to relax, beer to be social, and whisky to get drunk. I rarely consume sodas or juices because, to me, anything physical or emotional to be gained doesn’t outweigh the negative consequences of the beverage. Negative number one being sugar. However, the concoction I’m about to relay contains both effervescence and fruit juice, and serves physical, emotional, and hopefully medicinal benefits.
Nic’s Elixir
Ingredients:
Unfiltered apple cider vinegar
1 Airborne or generic effervescent immune boost tab
Fresh Grapefruit
Fresh Ginger
Ginger ale
Vodka
Water
Okay, so this is intended for consumption in the midst of a cold or flu:
Get a mason jar.
Pour in a healthy two or three second glug of unfiltered apple cider vinegar.
Toss in one Airborne tablet (generics always accepted).
Squeeze one whole grapefruit in (orange or lemon works as well).
Add one teaspoon of freshly grated ginger.
Fill to the top with ice.
Stir it up, little darling.
Add half can of ginger ale.
Pour Vodka to taste.
Add cup of water if desired.
Feel the health burn through your innards.
The Rebel Light, of Los Angeles, California took a shot at The Ronettes classic – always a bold move – and in their case a successful one. They retain the massiveness of the original sound but add some of their own summery shine and the final result is warm, expansive and delightful.
Bonus facts: they recorded the vocals in their bathroom and the drums in a shed.
And for any of you who might be thinking hey sound a little bit like the Beach Boys, well, you are not wrong, however, when the actual Beach Boys covered this song in 2000, Brian Wilson sang it like he had an anchor attached to his ankle and was being dragged out to sea. I also found an Mike Love version from 1981 which is slightly perkier but yet still doesn’t sound quite right – too much wobble-fuzzy synthesizer, maybe.
Meanwhile, here is what The Rebel Light sound like left to their own devices:
Undefeated, which comes out today (April 15) is Bobby Bare Jr‘s first full-length release since Storm — A Tree — My Mother’s Head (2010). Storm was a solo effort, and landed more on the country end of the spectrum. On Undefeated, he’s backed by a full band, and the tunes are pure roadhouse rock n’ roll: sometimes gritty and aggressive, other times playful.
The first thirty seconds of the first track – North of Alabama by Mornin’ – is a burst of static, the audible of equivalent of a fuse being lit and slowly burning down. The rest of the song – the rest of the record, really – is a meditation on the shape of the resulting explosion.
The Big Time, a dry, biting, carefully observed exploration of changes wrought by success, is an example of the lighter fare:
He’s currently on tour with Cory Branan – New York, your show is this Saturday, at the Mercury Lounge – and in some cities, the documentary about his life Don’t Follow Me (I’m Lost) will be screened before the show. You can also rent it from the REELHOUSE website.
Wolf At The Door, scheduled for official release on June 2, 2014, is the latest single from STRANGERS. Ideal use: in the soundtrack for a gangster movie, for the part where the young hero tries to get out, but he gets dragged back in for another job.
And now, from Milan Jay (scrappy little band of my heart, west of Ireland division:): Get Ghost. The song drops this Friday, and on Saturday, accompanied by their brand new drummer, they play their first show in 18 months in Egan’s Basement in Ballinasloe, Galway.
The rest of the new record will be along later this year; in the meantime, if you liked that, take a skimmy through their back catalog. It’s good stuff.
Today in country covers of rock songs: Rebirth of the Cool by the Afghan Whigs as re-imagined by The Emperors of Wyoming (Phil Davis: lead vocals, acoustic and electric guitars, Pete Anderson: bass, 12 string guitar, guitars, vocals, Butch Vig: drums, electric guitars, keyboards, vocals and FL Anderson: lead Guitar, pedal steel, lap steel, accordion, banjo).
They give it that classic high-lonesome sound:
And this is what they sound like left to their own devices:
Late Night Listening: a home for things that might be fleeting, might be soothing, might be weird, might be soothing and weird. The blogging equivalent of sitting in the garage twiddling radio knobs just to see what might be out there.
Fields, the title track of the latest EP from Still Parade (Niklas Kramer and friends; due to arrive in May) is a delightfully dreamy pop song and a little bit bouncier that some of their other work, which tends to be fuzzier and slower. All of it is perfect for winding down after a long day.
This is Bad Moon Rising, originally by Creedence Clearwater Revival, but here brought to you by Mourning Ritual feat. Peter Dreimanis of July Talk.
You may have heard it if you’ve been watching The Walking Dead or Teen Wolf; if not, know that this version of the song is the complete opposite of the bouncy, jangly original.
It also appears to be Mourning Ritual’s only tune. Here’s hoping they put out some more.
