Carousel by Miner

Around these parts, I'm not sure to what length I've discussed last summer. It was one of those beautiful times where despite feeling emotionally broken in every way, I pushed out of my comfort zone and accomplished more than I had ever hoped to. One of my favorite songs, going along with these moments, was courtesy of Miner. Hey Love was that warm, happy jam that wouldn't fail to make me grin or roll down my windows. At that point, Hey Love had been around for almost a year. With only one other released track at the time, Golden Ocean, that was all we had of Miner, until now.

Carousel, to be frank, is a relief. I'd come to expect more tracks heavily laced with the banjo and mandolin, upbeat and campfire-worthy, emulating that Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes vibe. On one hand, I find Miner almost more accessible than other bands it could be genre-lumped into with. This is catchy, from the soul, makes you want to fall in love, music and all of their released tracks thus far are solid. I can only hope their debut album will have twelve noteworthy songs.

With a year and a half from initial release to the debut album, husband and wife, Kate and Justin Miner had the time to build a band with Justin's brother Jeremy and other family and friends. It's a familial affair and an environment that can cultivate a grand work of art. Deriving inspiration from travels through Central and South America, with bedroom recording roots, I can guarantee this will be an album worth spending time with.

Miner releases their debut, Into The Morning, on February 25th. Preview the album by listening to Carousel and Hey Love on Soundcloud and by reading the lyrics on their website.

[Weekend Video] Atlantic City and In Spite of Ourselves by Kyle & Danielle

A few days ago, my friend Katie posted a video on my facebook timeline. After both of us being in musical ruts and discussing such sadness at our friend's house party, I shared with her a few of my favorite music bloggers. In return, she drew my attention to this cover of Bruce Springsteen's Atlantic City by Kyle Morton of Typhoon and Danielle Sullivan of Wild Ones. Despite being around for over three years, I had never seen the video and was immediately swooning over the duo's rendition.

Lucky for me, I didn't have to wait long for the next Kyle and Danielle collaboration. In what may be my favorite release of the day, this cover of In Spite of Ourselves by John Prine is really hitting the right spot. While the lyrics are sometimes crass and almost entirely crude, the portrayal of real love is what matters. Is there anything more perfect for Valentine's Day? I didn't think so. 

You can listen to and download the In Spite of Ourselves cover on Typhoon's bandcamp page. It might be that perfect, last-minute addition to a gifted Valentine's Day mix. Catch Wild Ones as one of the opening acts on Typhoon's latest tour. 

The Bickett Residency by DeYarmond Edison

Musically, I'm in a lull. I want to blame the early months of the year, as the releases I'm anticipating most aren't quite rolling out. In these periods, I like to seek out rare or under-appreciated music from my favorite artists. Sometimes, I find something new to me that I love, or sometimes I just enjoy listening to an album I don't constantly have streaming in my life. Also, it's Thursday and we all know that means one thing: Throwback time.

A little over a year ago, I became intrigued by Justin Vernon's other projects despite never being a huge fan of Bon Iver. DeYarmond Edison, a predecessor band to Megafaun/ Bon Iver/ Field Report/ The Shouting Matches were right up my alley. With only their youngest release, Silent Signs, on Spotify, I was desperate to hear more of their americana, heavy-leaning-country sound. Their self-titled album, released in 2004, is one of my favorite releases involving Vernon.

Shortly after that first album, in 2005, DeYarmond Edison, was invited by The Bickett Gallery, in Raleigh, North Carolina to be an "Artist In Residency". Using the time to reinvent themselves and the band by honing in on their individual strengths and weaknesses, one of the results was a two-hundred CD pressing of their recordings at the gallery. The Bickett Residency is a true gem: absolutely raw and brilliant but nearly impossible to track down a physical copy. Luckily for Vernon and DeYarmond Edison fans alike, between the tracks being on Grooveshark and the kind upload by tallestfoxes to Youtube, the documentation of those four sessions in Spring 2005 is accessible to nearly everyone.

I have a feeling I'll end up covering most of Justin Vernon's other projects as time goes on. Check out my first JV-related entry on J.D. Vernon's Home Is here.

Talk Is Cheap by Chet Faker

Valentine's Day is approaching. I'm in the camp that doesn't mind the holiday, despite how many single ones I've had. Two years ago, I was newly broken up with that dude who I moved across the country for, and spent the time hanging out in the (surprisingly packed) gym. Last year, I had major butterflies and magic feelings for a guy who I had started quasi-seeing only a few days before. We weren't even dating yet and he loathed the holiday. I was still giddy over the prospect. This year, I am seeing an amazing guy who is actually making the effort. This is new territory and a new relationship for me and I'm pretty excited to see what comes to fruition. 

When thinking about budding romances this holiday, if I were to make a mix, it would open with this sexy, but wise, new track from Chet Faker, Talk Is Cheap. Between the saxophone so smooth that I'd let it take me home from the bar and the sultry lyrics, my brain lights up when I hear this song start to play.

However, there are some important lessons to learn here, especially as I build upon new relationships."Talk is cheap my darling, when you feel right at home". How true is this? Whenever I am comfortable with my feelings, it's always easier to make promises than it is to deliver on them. Since there's trust or history built in already, a slipped promise doesn't seem as big of a deal. 

"I want to make you move with confidence. I want to be with you alone", is another sentiment worth drawing attention to. More so than anything, I believe one of the biggest foundations for success is the ability to inspire confidence in a partner and in yourself. Creating a comfortable and safe emotional environment (a home), while possibly encouraging those slipped promises above, allows room for inevitable mistakes and human flaws. 

Honestly, I wasn't expecting this latest release to make me pause and think these things over. That's the beauty of music.

Listen to Talk Is Cheap below. Join me in anticipating the debut LP, Built On Glass, available April 11th. Hopefully, Faker's wisdom will be present throughout the album. 

[Local] [Weekend Video] DC USA By Ugly Purple Sweater

I've been living in the actual bounds of DC for the past seven months, in between Columbia Heights and U Street. 14th Street restaurants, fancy fitness studios, un-affordable rent, hipster flair and obnoxiously-marketed apartment buildings are increasingly becoming the norm. Head east and Bloomingdale and Shaw are heading down same path that U Street did a few years ago. Head north and friends are already being priced out of upper Columbia Heights and even Petworth. Where is the next spot for gentrification and should this continue to happen? I think about the evolving neighborhood climate of DC on a regular basis and I've only been in the metro area a year and a half.

DC USA by Ugly Purple Sweater was a song that made a statement about gentrification, alluding to the garish mall in the dead center of Columbia Heights. With lyrics of neighborhoods losing their character and long time residents being forced out, it was an honestly realistic track about the city we occupy.

The music video is one I remembered tonight. I could loop it over and over, recognizing more row houses and Columbia Heights landmarks with each view. DC USA is obviously prominent but the interactions at 14th and Columbia afterwards truly capture the difference between the past and present neighborhood.

Ugly Purple Sweater, unfortunately, retired at the end of last year. Listen to their songs on bandcamp still and catch the video for DC USA below.



Will I be part of the eventual mass exodus to make Brookland or Trinidad the next hip area? Who knows. While the prospect of an affordable studio is intriguing, my conscious is wary.

Do The Right Thing by AgesandAges and Dirty Flag by Arkomo

What is your ideal concert ticket? I must admit, I cannot be more excited for Lady Lamb the Beekeeper opening for Typhoon in March. Last year I promised myself I would see Lady Lamb in concert if she ever swung by DC, but with Typhoon, one of my favorite bands? I am crawling in my skin with anticipation. While DC often gets great lineups, the Pacific Northwest is a mecca of amazing bands who all seem so supportive of each other. It's common for me to writhe in envy when I see some of the shows gracing Seattle's presence. Modern Kin with Radiation City? Cataldo with Hey Marseilles? I wish.

Portland's AgesandAges is following up 2011's Alright You Restless, with a new album, Divisionary, set to release on March 25th. I'm currently stuck on their current single, Do The Right Thing. While I found the song almost obnoxiously preachy upon first listen, I decided to listen again. For some reason, this song has a knack for hitting the right heartstrings and cultivating earworms. There's a simple lesson the song is trying to convey: "do the right thing, do it all the time, make yourself right, never mind them, don't you know you're not the only one suffering." The lyrics are a mantra that will not leave my mind. With a large-band, pop-folk sound, that anyone could find easy to listen to, in addition to the positive moral taught, I vote everyone streams this track and uses it as inspiration in their day to day lives.

AgesandAges is heading up north to Seattle on January 19th to play with Typhoon and on February 28th for an album release show. The opening act for the album release show is Arkomo, whose track Dirty Flag, is another heavily played song in my current rotation. See, Seattle really does get the best power lineups.

Dirty Flag is experimental without being hard to connect to. While not normally my style of music, delicate harmonies, soft beats and too many techniques to count keep the song fresh and unique. Picturing a flag, slightly dampened with age, waving in the air, sometimes smoothly, sometimes jagged, could be thought of as an accurate visual description. Arkomo is a solo project from Sam Anderson, who is the cellist in Hey Marseilles, among other Seattle area  music projects. Obviously, Anderson has a wide range of talent and it's great to hear something so different.

Listen to Do They Right Thing on Soundcloud and Dirty Flag on Soundcloud or Bandcamp. If you're in the Seattle area, catch the two at their show on February 28th at BARBOZA.
 

This Is The River by Fair Oaks

I am so over the Polar Vortex. Temperatures in the teens are far too cold for this mild-weather-loving Seattle girl to handle. Hell, I'd almost take back DC Summer of 2012, with it's one-hundred-degrees, can't walk two blocks outside without keeling over, miserable, heat and humidity. Can spring be here already? This weekend was an unfair tease, especially while being sick inside.

Currently, I'm away from the frigidness with a cup of coffee and the album, This Is The River by Fair Oaks. Recently released in mid-January, this was an undertaking that was three years in the making and by golly does it sound that way. Taking inspiration from the Mississippi River, This Is The River, hinges the gap between the seasons and is a perfect segway into the spring. I can't help but reminiscence about past warmer weather adventures too: patio brunches, street festivals, outdoor markets, bookstore hops, and picnics. Add in a little vintage charm and I've done as good as I can describing the appeal of this album.

With a twee pop folk sound, accompanied by the occasional trumpet and french horn, led by dueling male and female vocals, the best two comparisons to Fair Oaks I could offer up would be Del Water Gap or Aiden Knight. However, there's a little bit of Radiation City with the retro glam, some Typhoon when I hear the trumpet blare, The Research when songs are especially twee and a lot of other folk and/or alternative influences that strike me at short, random instances.  I haven't enjoyed an album so multidimensional and so full of pleasant surprises in a long time.

The album starts out with a rolling folk sound, with See What the Sun Gave. If there's anything that can persevere through the cold, this song is likely it. The piano and harmonies from both the male and female vocalists, create the sunny feeling one would find from a Slow Club track. Coming Through gives off a much more old-time blues vibe at first but flows into lush harmonies and trumpet backings. This Is The River (I, II, III) is seven minutes long and is an enchanting love letter to the Mississippi.

Duluth (Pull Me Into Your Soul) and Omaha (You Give Me The Feelings), are also love letters to their respective midwest cities. With Omaha, there's this light happiness that reminds me of some of Cataldo's work on Prison Boxing, a very high praise in my book. I like the comparisons the lyrics put forth: Omaha gives the feelings to help get along but alcohol kicks in the shins and chases down the hall. What are they saying? Is Omaha a better drug for releasing that carefree attitude that comes with drinking or does Omaha inspire the foolish drunken tendencies in the first place? I may never know but I always smile (and dance a bit) when I play this track.

Listen to This Is The River on bandcamp and while you're there, purchase the album. For a hard copy, the album is available in the band's store. While it is early on in the year, I already have my first contender for album of the year.
 

[Mix] I Bleed Emerald and Blue

I'm about an hour away from throwing on my Seahawks shirt and partaking in a little Superbowl party with friends. This is serious business, guys. My homecity hasn't experienced a major championship sports win since 1979, courtesy of the Seattle Supersonics, a team that is no longer ours. After a humiliatingly depressing loss in 2006 in the Superbowl to the Steelers, I'm crossing my fingers and dotting my I's that the Seahawks prevail tonight.

Outside of a fantastic sports team, Seattle is home to an astonishingly amazing music scene, one I miss every.single.day. While every other music blogger is hosting Superbowl-themed posts today, they're mainly just featuring Macklemore & Ryan Lewis. I know. Is that what Seattle music has been defined to? Don't get me wrong, I love myself some Macklemore, but there are endless artists that also deserve a little recognition while Seattle is on everyone's mind.

1. No Ordinary Cavemen by Head Like A Kite

2. Dead of Night by Hey Marseilles 

3. Seer by Motopony

4. Fireworks at Night by Campfire OK

5. Honest Songs by Noah Gundersen

6. She Was Only In It for the Rain by Rocky Votolato

7. Beacon Hill by Damien Jurado

8. Uptown by The Local Strangers

9. Get On That Train by Bradford Loomis

10. Changing by The Moondoggies

11. Reservoir Park by The Dutchess & The Duke

12. Turn Off This Song and Go Outside by The Lonely Forest

13. Some Postman by The Presidents of the United States of America

14. Reach Out and Touch Someone's Hand by Cataldo

15. Windowsill by Pickwick

16. The Town by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis

17. River of Love by U.S.E.

[Local] Black Checker, Grand Piano and The Fed @ The Wonderland Ballroom

Two big goals this year: discover more local music and see more local shows. While I am forever on the hunt for the DC folk scene (which does, absolutely, exist), the district is home to many fantastic bands that fall way outside of this genre. In a city known for gogo but with a large punk rock and dance pop presence, I would be missing out if I limited my love for local music to just the folk bands.

Bar shows are criminally underrated as activities within my circle of friends. Occasionally, I can rally the troops and get enough people out to support great bands playing our usual haunts. Solly's, Wonderland, Looking Glass Lounge and The Pinch are all favorites of ours, yet we rarely partake in the shows that grace these venues' stages.

Last Thursday, I gathered up a crowd of friends to see Black Checker, Grand Piano and The Fed put on a no-cover show at Wonderland. With tacos before at El Chucho, the night felt like a celebration of what makes our neighborhood area such a great place to live.

The Fed opened first. While I've never personally been to one of their shows, they seem to be an institution around here, playing shows in Ward 1 on a regular basis. Described as a blend between blues and punk rock, their sound is one anyone could really appreciate.

Grand Piano, a rock and roll band with many influences, played next. The Pittsburgh band killed it on stage, as all of a sudden the crowd at Wonderland was dancing along to their sax-heavy tracks. This band sort of caught us off guard too. Were they heading in a ska direction? Earlier on in the set, we said no but as the songs continued, we definitely felt a ska vibe. In my opinion, that is never a bad thing. Even without heavy vocals, there was an endearing distinction between their short songs. A few songs were played off of their latest Bug EP, including Army Ants, Lighting Bug and Lady Bug that really charmed the group over. At this point in the night, I felt like I had won. My friends were enjoying the music and there was hope bar shows could be a regular activity for us.

Of course, the band I was anticipating the most was Black Checker, a local pop punk rock outfit. Their EP, Fast, released during the end of 2013, was streamed many times while I was hiding out in rural Virginia for work. In my opinion, there's nothing quite like a little local music to ease the homesickness and this show reminded me why I love being in DC so much on the weeknights. Despite being the last band on the ticket, at 11PM on a weeknight, the crowd was still flush with excitement and engagement. Black Checker played most (if not all) of the EP, including my favorite track, Bagel Girl.

After the show, this thought still remains: will we ever know which local bagel shop barista inspired Bagel Girl? I don't know. If we're looking at quirky bagel shops in the area, my guess would be a girl from So's Your Mom, in Adams Morgan.

All in all, this (coupled with a few whiskey sours) was a good way to spend a Thursday night in this city. I'm looking forward to hopefully catching Black Checker again at The Velvet Lounge sometime in March and just attending more local shows in general.