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Fruit Bats – The Pet Parade
Fruit Bats’ ninth full-length album oozes with romance. A missive from isolation, Eric D. Johnson recorded The Pet Parade from deep within the throes of isolation. The opening lines, “Hello from in here to all you out there / It feels like it’s been years,” greet the listener with Johnson’s warm, familiar voice, and a welcome missive it is, a 30-minute portal that allows those of us who may be sick of staying at home to re-examine our own worlds-within-our-homes and feel grateful to be here still. The subsequent songs are amorous odes to domesticity, achingly sincere serenades, and moving…
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If I Could Only Remember My Name
Ah…If I Could Only Remember My Name. A record that has travelled the roads and decades of my life burned into my heart and mind since I bought my first copy in some crumbling cardboard box marked $1 LPs all those years ago. The majesty of this album is in the artist’s ability to elevate the unfinished idea, to let it run in its rawest form completely unbound, the seed of artistic creation unguided and in some cases dissolving rather than evolving in the air before our very ears. Yet, the resulting architecture, like that in a Calvino novella, though…
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Mason Lindahl – Kissing Rosy in the Rain : Review
Kissing Rosy in the Rain by Mason Lindahl In the last year, Tompkins Square has put out some of my favorite guitar albums that share a warm, intimate vibe – Josh Kimbrough’s Slither, Soar, & Disappear, John Lee Shannon’s In & Of come to mind, records that feel like you’re sitting right next to the player, expressive and bright. Mason Lindahl’s Kissing Rosy in the Rain, while still retaining that same intimacy, is on the other end of that spectrum. It’s got a hunger, an introspective moodiness and somber feel reflective of the lonelier side of winter in New York…
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Farmer Dave and the Wizards of the West – FDWOW
Ten years after Farmer Dave’s surf opus Flash Forward to the Good Times, he’s back with Wizards of the West, a collective and constantly-evolving collections of musicians focused on a singular goal of spreading love via music. Where Flash Forward represented water, the eponymous debut of this project is all air and space. That isn’t to say Farmer Dave hasn’t been plenty busy in between, collaborating with Cass McCombs, Jenny Lewis, Kurt Vile, among others; releasing music as half of mysto-folk duo Californiosos; and of course his work with Beachwood Sparks and the Skiffle Players. He also released an EP,…
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Lizzie No – Holidays : Review
Lizzie No is the monarch of wide-eyed, bedroom folk pop, writing earnest, heartfelt songs filled with candid sincerity. Holidays is no different – a short and sweet collection of songs that capture a very relatable array of emotions felt throughout celebratory seasons. As a terminal grinch, I balked upon seeing the title of this EP, but Lizzie reassured me: “This isn’t a holiday EP in the traditional Christmasy sense, but rather a collection of festive moments full of discomfort. Because that’s what holidays mean to me.” “Birthday Party” captures every introvert’s awkward feeling at any gathering, a reminder of what we’re…
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Tim Bluhm – Hag Heaven
Tim Bluhm releases his eighth solo record, an 11-track tribute to Merle Haggard, on November 20th. A portion of all revenue from album sales will go to the Blue Rose Foundation, which provides pre-school scholarships to financially disadvantaged children. I tapped my good friend and fellow critic Jon Siembieda to help listen to this album. Jon is way into the Tim Bluhm/Norther California scene, so he was able to provide some context and counter-points. Jon, unlike myself, is also an actual musician so he has a real ear and eye for the finer technicalities. You can read more of Jon’s…
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Trevor Beld Jimenez – I Like It Here
A lot of folks are going to hear Trevor’s power pop, AM radio gold, sunshine-y Californiana record I Like It Here, out today on Curation Records, and draw some immediate parallels, due to his sun-drenched vocals, his lyrical references, and his history. I’m going to try to avoid leaning on that too heavily in favor of focusing on Trevor’s songwriting, the really amazing instrumentation instated by an impressive line-up of session players, and the heart of the album that shines through. We know that Trevor is a hell of a songwriter and musician. He’s the force that contributed to so…
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Sweeten the Distance
This review is part of a series in which I review Neal’s solo records one by one chronologically, and chat with various friends and bandmates who were part of the making of each record. From the definitive riff of the eponymous opening track, to the hymnal chords of the closing one, Neal Casal really hit his stride with Sweeten the Distance. The record is a fabulous summation of the two amazing albums preceding this one – the shimmering psychedelia present on No Wish to Reminisce, and the acoustic heartbeat heard on Roots and Wings, with a real sun-drenched sound. This…
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John Jeffrey – Passage
Each of John Jefrey’s “anti-compositions” are like pieces of stained glass. The multi-instrumentalist spent breaks between tours as drummer for Moon Duo working on his solo record, inspired by the serene natural landscape of his home of Vancouver and propelled by the idea of nature’s sentience; as well as Alice Coltrane and Canadian painter Takao Tanab. This music is a living, breathing thing – pastoral, intricate, multi-faceted. Though instrumental, it’s not a passive voyage. Each track is a journey unto itself, weaving an illuminated, brightly colored experience, listening not to pass the time but to reshape it. “Lonely Years” kicks…
