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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…
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Bandcamp Friday Shopping List : Brain Soothers Edition
I don’t know about you but this has been a hell of a week, my every muscle is so tense you could poke me and I’d snap in two. I’ve really needed some quieter, mellow sounds of beauty to put on to quiet my racing thoughts and I’m sure you do too. Here’s what’s been helping. The Howard Hughes Suite – Stereochrome The elusive lonesome folk known as tHHs is…
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Neal Casal : Solo Records 1995-2012
“When you look back at the body of your work you see everything, to express a full life, and not just one part of a life. That’s the goal…” n.c., 2004 or 2005? unknown Thank you to everyone who has generously agreed to tell stories and share memories about their time with Neal. Everyone of his friends and colleagues have been just as warm and friendly as Neal was. This…
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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…
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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…
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Tan Cologne – Heretic Porcelain : Listen
The Taos hum is loud on this one. Tan Cologne is made up of New Mexico artists Lauren Green and Marissa Macias who combine forces to create sounds tied to the landscapes that surround them. They released their debut record Cave Vaults on the Moon in New Mexico earlier this year, a sparse, elemental collection of minimal, mystical sounds that really capture the essence of Taos – high desert, looming…
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Sam Burton – I Can Go With You
Sam Burton’s debut record I Can Go With You is this amber-sounding, deep pool of moonlight. From the gentle lapping of the opening notes on “Nothing Touches Me,” to the resolution of “Tomorrow is an Ending,” it’s moving, cohesive, and a real thing of beauty. This album’s sound is so quietly large, so melancholy and rich with feeling while remaining completely understated and unassuming. The guitar is elegant and consistent…
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Roots and Wings
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. Neal said that No Wish to Reminisce was the best album he’d made… until he followed it up in 2009 with the flawless Roots and Wings. As he wrote in a Stereokill interview in 2009, “I…
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Uay – Somos Luz : Listen
Guadalajara-based duo UAY takes their name from the phonetic translation of a Mayan word for spell or wizard, and they do indeed create a sort of magic with their hypnotic, frenzied playing. HALFSHELL RECORDS · Uay – Somos Luz Uay has contributed a track to Call and Response, a mutual aid compilation by Halfshell Records artists. 100% of proceeds will be split equally between NAACP, ACLU, National Bail Out, Okra…
