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Kareeta – Buttons
Today the newly-formed band Kareeta premieres the first single, “Buttons” from their upcoming self-titled debut album. Buttons by Kareeta Kareeta rose from the swamps and southern delta heat during the uncertain spring of 2020. Emerging as a fully formed amalgamation of the music that shaped its core, the band settled out west in California and recorded its debut LP with producer and musician Greg Loiacono at the controls. The music is an all-night drive pushing you deeper into the dial with broken characters and stories of red sky redemption silhouetting every ache. The bandmembers, including Chuck Harris on vocals and…
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Medicine Hat – Take Your Medicine : Playlist
Something about Medicine hat, the Americana duo from Ventura, California, instantly feels like home. The band, comprising of Michelle Votrian and Robert Ramirez, play music that’s both familiar and filtered through a unique, softly psychedelic lens. The single “Rear View Mirror” off their latest album, Fences, exemplifies this sort of obscured nostalgia – capturing the essence of looking back, though hazy memories may be rosier than they appear. They got their name from a Son Volt song, and have embodied the longing, wistful nature of their influences with their “lonesome desert rock” sound. Polly Parsons herself compared the gorgeous steel…
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Mojohand – Easy Daisy
New Jersey cosmic Americana soul-rockers Mojohand have released a new song today, again featuring that celestial steel playing from Dan Horne! These guys can certainly jam but I’m loving all these slower grooves they’re busting out lately. Really shows their influence of Beachwood Sparks, a band we both love. This is also the first song they’ve released written by keyboardist Ian Darcy, who says the track is an ode to seizing the day. Snag “Easy Daisy” and the rest of Mojohand’s great catalog on Bandcamp!
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Dirt Reynolds – The Day David Duke Came to Destrehan
Dirt Reynolds is the alter-ego of Louisiana native and East Nashville resident Chris Watts. As a young man, he was stabbed in a barfight and a judge told him to join the military. So he did. Then during Hurricane Katrina, he was shot in the Superdome while serving in the National Guard, he went back to college, and began educating himself about political science and re-examining the values he was raised with. His new album, Scalawag is a reflection on southern culture, in all its beauty and its horror. On October 7, 1974, Destrehan High (now Harry M. Hurst Middle…
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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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Ran On Pure Lightning
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. This short and sweet collection of songs released in 2002 came to be after Neal finished a tour as a part of Beachwood Sparks and joined the incredible Shannon McNally’s touring band, along with Neal’s friends Jeff Hill and Dan Fadel, who would stay up late after shows to listen to records and go on to form Hazy Malaze. Recorded at what was then known as…
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Black River Sides
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. Last November, the entirety of Neal Casal’s solo discography became available on Spotify, and the difficult-to-find Black River Sides was at last available to the masses. This intimate-sounding live duet album was made with Neal’s good friend, Kenny Roby, on August 2nd and 3rd, 1999 at Bernie’s Black River, in Chester, NJ. Roby’s deep croon is a perfect foil to Neal’s silky tenor, and each song…
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Mojohand – Losing Hand
New Jersey cosmic Americana psych rockers Mojohand release their single, “Losing Hand” today. The tune features Dan Horne on pedal steel and is one of Mojohand’s best releases to date. They may be east coasters, but the heart of their sound is in the west. You can buy the single on Bandcamp today – check out past releases, too! These guys can really rock. And if you’re in the tri-state area, they’ve begun performing some spaced-out, socially-distant outdoor shows if you’re jonesin’ for a little Workingman’s Dead-style jamming. Mojohand is: Elijah Klein – Vocals/GuitarJoe Dinardo – Bass GuitarIan Darcy –…
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Jeff Tweedy – Guess Again : Listen
Jeff Tweedy’s announced a new album entitled Love is the King, out digitally on dBpm Records on October 23rd. Here’s a taste of the record with the single “Guess Again,” a sweet, simple classic Tweedy tune. Jeff returns to his roots, saying of the two singles released today (the eponymous track is also available on all platforms): “At the beginning of the lockdown I started writing country songs to console myself. Folk and country type forms being the shapes that come most easily to me in a comforting way. ‘Guess Again’ is a good example of the success I was having…
