How's My Living? » Album Reviews

Album Review: Wovenhand, “The Threshingfloor”

Sarah — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 15:34:05 +0000

David Eugene Edwards returns with Wovenhand’s fifth studio album, The Threshingfloor. The band’s music, as always, draws on traditional Americana sounds, mixed liberally with influences from Native American, Middle Eastern, and Celtic tradition. He also continues to draw on his deeply-held religious beliefs, putting him in a category all his own: respected indie-type musician writing overtly Christian music without being pigeonholed into any sort of religious genre. For the most part, Wovenhand’s music can be enjoyed by anyone, regardless of belief. Just close your eyes and let yourself be drawn in by the urgency of Edwards’ voice, instead.

Stand-out tracks include “Sinking Hands”, “Truth”, “Wheat Straw”, and the title track, “The Threshingfloor”.

The Threshingfloor is out now. Catch Wovenhand on tour when they stop by Lincoln Hall on September 28th.

Wovenhand: Official Website | MySpace

Album Review: Peter Wolf Crier, “Inter-Be”

Sarah — Tue, 25 May 2010 14:43:28 +0000

From the opening strains of “Crutch & Cane”, it’s easy to see that Peter Wolf Crier, the Minneapolis-based group consisting of Peter Pisano (vocals, guitar) and Brian Moen (percussion, vocals), is on to something special. Inter-Be is a lo-fi indie album at heart, and its songs were penned by Pisano during a self-described weird, lonely time, written late at night in a rush of words. The album is more than just that, though. It’s rich with sound, with the two men creating enough noise that they easily could be mistaken for a four- or five-piece band. Inter-Be pushes on like a steadily moving train, driven forward by the determined clatter of Moen’s percussion. Even songs like “Demo 01”, which seem to yearn to be more traditional ballads, don’t escape the fuzz and rattle treatment which weaves throughout the whole album. Pisano’s vocals, often richly layered and at times distorted, combined with Moen’s intense drumming, really help distinguish the album from its other lo-fi brethren.

Inter-Be was self-released digitally by Peter Wolf Crier in 2009, and is being re-released today on Jagjaguwar. You’ve got two opportunities to catch Peter Wolf Crier here in Chicago: they’re opening for Freelance Whales at Schubas on June 11, and for Heartless Bastards at Bottom Lounge on July 24.

Peter Wolf Crier: Official Website | MySpace | Facebook | Twitter | Store

Album Review: Nightjar, “Hometown Stranger”

Sarah — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 15:16:28 +0000

One of my favorite things about this blogging thing, aside from getting to talk to all sorts of interesting people, is getting to talk to interesting people who also make good music. When I started this site, one of my goals was to get to know more about local (or local-ish) music, and because of that, I’ve been lucky enough to be introduced to all sorts of great bands who may not be in the national spotlight yet, but who are out there making great music and doing what they love.

Nightjar is a sextet based out of Indianapolis (see, local-ish), which formed in 2007 as a duo and quickly gained members after that. With influences such as the Old 97′s, Wilco, and Ryan Adams, Nightjar has a decidedly alt country sound, but the music is so much more than that. Nightjar isn’t afraid to push the boundaries of their sound, sneaking in elements and instrumentation that you might not be expecting.

The second track of the album is the first inkling you get that this isn’t just a strict rock album. ”Sweet Brandywine” has some great big jazz horn arrangements that had me hooked from the start. The lead vocals on that song are evocative of Tom Waits or maybe Van Morrison, a very gravelly, world-weary sound. The songs veer from genre to genre. Some are a little more country, some are just great songs to rock out to. The song “Slow it Down” does just what it says it’s going to do: after starting out as a brisk alt country tune, it unwinds by the end, letting the album have a slower pace for a bit as it leads into “Dowagiac”, which is maybe the closest thing to a ballad that you’ll get out of this band. The tempo kicks back up with the next track, “Figurine”, and keeps going through the end of the album. ”Lonesome Whistle”, the closing track, starts out as a bare folk song, complete with banjo and all, and then gets a little more country, and even a little blues-y, before returning back to that sparse instrumentation to wrap everything up.

Hometown Stranger is out for sale now, and they’ve got a few MP3s on their website for you to check out. Give them a listen,

Nightjar: Official Website | MySpace | Facebook | Twitter | Store

Album Review: Eluvium, “Similes”

Sarah — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 16:05:04 +0000

Matthew Cooper, performing as Eluvium, has been making dense, ambient music for years now, but this time, he’s tried something different: he’s added his own vocals into the mix. His voice drones in the background, oftentimes less prominent than the various instrumental lines that make up the songs. It’s a new direction for Eluvium’s music, but one that’s kept to a minimum on the album. On Similes, Cooper’s voice is just another instrument, weaving in and out between layers of piano, strings, and yes, sometimes even percussion. Some of the tracks are just long enough to give you a taste of what Cooper can do when branching out from the ambient music he’s made previously, but the closing track, the eleven minute long “Cease to Know”, is perhaps the most fully realized, although also a track that seems like more of a throwback to his earlier releases.

Similes is out now, on Temporary Residence Limited records. Eluvium drops by Schubas on May 24th for a show.

Eluvium: Official Website | MySpace | Store

Album Review: White Hinterland, “Kairos”

Sarah — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 15:39:53 +0000

With the free time that I don’t have, I’ve begun volunteering for CHIRP Radio (part of the Chicago Independent Radio Project). One of the tasks I’ve been pitching in to help with is writing reviews of albums for their music library. So if you see short reviews like this, it’s not because I’ve become suddenly un-verbose; it’s just a review fitting the format they use.

Casey Dienel is the woman behind White Hinterland, having previously performed under her own name until 2008. While her recordings under her own name didn’t rise much above your typical lo-fi singer-songwriter sound, she’s found her niche in style with White Hinteland. Kairos fits right in with the rest of the light electronic music that has been dominating the music scene recently; opening track “Icarus” would sound right at home on a release by The xx, for example. With her voice layered over and over again on top of gentle bass lines, Dienel brings an atmospheric, if at times eerie sound to her music. The lyrics on Kairos show that Dienel is still close to her more folk-based roots, but the new direction in sound shows that she’s more than open to setting aside the guitar and piano for something a little more experimental.

Kairos is out today on Dead Oceans. White Hinterland will be playing at the Empty Bottle on April 15th with the epically bearded (Martin) Dosh.

White Hinterland: Official Website | MySpace

Album Review: Brandi Carlile, “XOBC EP”

Sarah — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 01:18:20 +0000

Don’t let this EP’s status as a Valentine’s Day release fool you into think that it is some sappy collection of love tunes to which Brandi Carlile just happened to lend her voice. That’s not the case at all; sure, the songs have a bit of a lovey bent, but they’re pure Brandi Carlile, country roots and all.

The release is short — just five tracks, clocking in at just over 15 minutes — and only three of the tracks are original songs by Carlile (with her chief collaborators, Phil and Tim Hanseroth). The other two are delightfully executed cover songs: “All You Need is Love”, the Beatles classic, and “Heaven”, originally by Bryan Adams.

While most people fall into the school of belief that no one can cover the Beatles, I’ll admit that I’m fairly indifferent to Beatles covers. If it sounds good, chances are that I’ll like it. On XOBC, Carlile stays close enough to the original version of “All You Need is Love” so as to not be a jarring cover, but still makes it her own with her always warm and emotive voice.

Carlile’s work is fairly straight forward; the song title tells you what you’re going to get.”Love Songs”, the first original track, is a slow piano-driven ballad which fits in neatly after the Beatles’ cover, with its 60s-esque harmonies at the chorus. ”Way to You” and “Us Again” are both closer to Brandi’s more country roots, with some fabulous guitar and banjo work underneath the vocals. Both of these sound like the would have been right at home on Give Up the Ghost, with its country feel.

But for me, the highlight is actually the stripped down cover of “Heaven” that Carlile offers up as the closing track for the album. If you’re not familiar with Bryan Adams’ original power ballad from the 80s, you may know the song from when it was reinvented as a dance track in 2002. This is, of course, the precise opposite of the thumping dance hall beats, as it’s been stripped down to just Carlile’s powerful voice and a guitar for a majority of the song.

XOBC EP is available now for purchase, exclusively on iTunes.

Brandi Carlie: Official Website | MySpace | Facebook | Store

Album Review: Hockey, Mind Chaos

Sarah — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 17:20:14 +0000

In an effort to start cleaning off my desk, I’m selecting albums at random from my “to be listened to and put away” pile to write about, and then… well, most likely to then fail to find anywhere to put the album because all of my shelves are full and I haven’t gotten around to buying new shelves. Ahem, anyhow, I digress. The first album in my absolutely random untimely review series is Hockey’s Mind Chaos.

I was introduced to Hockey at Lollapalooza last year, by virtue of them being the first band to take the stage on the side of the festival that I would essentially be spending the whole day at. Despite their set being plagued by bad weather, sound problems, and eventually, power outages, these guys put on a solid show. It’s tough to get anyone’s attention when most of the festival-goers are still waiting in line, but Hockey definitely managed to get it done. I can only imagine what they would be able to do in a better environment.

Hockey isn’t really the type of band that would get much attention from me. But I am easily wowed by a great live show, so I was excited to check out their album when it finally was released here. The album is full of great songs which stand on their own: singles, if you will, if anyone still thinks of music in that way. ”Too Fake”, which leads off the album, is one of those songs; in fact, I’m pretty sure that it shows up at random in a commercial. Call it selling out, call it a great way to get your music out there to the public, whatever, I just like hearing the song on TV, even if it does get stuck in my head after I hear it.

Mind Chaos, for the most part, maintains a pretty steady pop feel, with just a few songs that veer off in one direction or another. With “Work” and “Song Away”, as well as “Too Fake”, the first half of the album is entertaining and mostly upbeat. The second half gets a little more disjointed, with a few songs that don’t feel like they belong on the album. While everything else has a synth-pop feel, “Curse This City” feels like a more traditional rock song. And if you take away the chirpy synth beats in “Four Holy Photos”, you’ve got a fantastic alt-country song hiding in there. They make the album sound a little less cohesive, but also show that the band has more to offer than dance hall beats.

Overall, this is a really strong debut album from a young band. Singer Ben Grubin’s voice is just unique and unusual enough to grab my attention without being irritating. I’m interested to see what they come up with next, because they have an enormous amount of potential.

Hockey plays at Schubas on March 12. The show starts at 10:30 and tickets are on sale now for $12. Behind the jump, check out a video of their performance of “Song Away” at Lollapalooza — complete with the uncalled for power outage.

Hockey: Official Website | MySpace | Facebook | Twitter | Shop

2009 Favorites: Part Four

Sarah — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 22:59:25 +0000

Happy NYE to those of you in time zones where it hasn’t happened yet! (Sorry, Australia and thereabouts, I missed you all.) I’ll be ringing in the new year on a rooftop in downtown Chicago, freezing in the name of fashion and a good celebration. It’s been an interesting year in many respects, and I’ve had a ton of fun in launching this website, jumping right in to the world of music bloggers, and meeting tons of new people. I’m looking forward to an even more interesting and music-filled 2010.

Now to the most pressing matter… I doubt that many of my top five choices will be a surprise to anyone, although two of the albums here were latecomers, sort of sneak-attack albums that popped up and grabbed my attention recently. To see my other top choices of 2009, check out albums 6 through 10, 11 through 15, and 16 through 20.

Without any further procrastination, I bring you (in alphabetical order), my five favorite albums of the past year.

Andrew Bird, Noble Beast.

Look, I’ve talked about Andrew Bird, and about this album, all year. I love this album, it’s that simple. I think it’s in a different category than The Mysterious Production of Eggs, which was Bird getting his feet wet and experimenting with putting out a full-fledged solo effort, or Armchair Apocrypha, which is as close to a rock album as Bird may ever get. Noble Beast may be playing it safe, but this album is much smoother than its predecessors, and it really seems to tap into the whole natural world sort of vibe that’s run through Bird’s music in the past. From the lyrics to the photography, from Diane Sudyka’s gorgeous artwork to the album’s title itself, Noble Beast is saturated in Bird’s love of the natural world. An additional nod of appreciation goes to Useless Creatures, the bonus disc packaged with the deluxe edition of the album. Useless Creatures is Bird’s “self indulgent” album, an eclectic mix of instrumental work, which may in fact be more innovative than anything on Noble Beast.

Noble Beast was released January 20 by Fat Possum.
Official Website | MySpace | Twitter
Purchase the album here.

The Decemberists, The Hazards of Love.

I thought that maybe I would get tired of this album as the year’s gone on, but I haven’t. This album gave Colin Meloy and company a chance to show off their prog rock leanings, a tendency that’s always been a bit buried beneath the hurdy-gurdy and the Civil War-era tinkering. This album is best appreciated as a whole unit rather than as individual songs, although “The Rake’s Song” seems to hold its own outside of the album. I love this album because it’s just so different from what we’ve been seeing recently. In a time where the mainstream media keeps trying to tell us that the album is dead, the Decemberists have shown that you can still put together a solid hour of cohesive music and make it awesome.

The Hazards of Love was released March 24 by Capitol.
Official Website | MySpace | Twitter
Purchase the album here.

Fanfarlo, Reservoir.

If there’s any such thing as a perfect indie pop album, Reservoir might just be it. Everything about this collection of songs just feels good. I regrettably didn’t discover how much I loved this album until after I’d missed the band’s show at Schubas, but I’m hoping they swing back across the US and make it to Chicago again in 2010 so I can make up for that. What’s not to like about this album? There are catchy songs, trumpets and mandolins and plucky violin notes. It’s enjoyable all the way around.

Reservoir was released September 29 by Atlantic.
Official Website | MySpace | Twitter
Purchase the album here.

Florence and the Machine, Lungs.

Handclaps! A crazy disco pop sort of sensibility! Strong female vocals! This album was made for me to love. I didn’t expect to love this album as much as I do, but for a while there, I couldn’t stop listening to it. The songs here are equally at home in a dance club or as background music to hilarious scenes on TV (see: “Kiss With a Fist” on the Christmas episode of Community). I’m interested to see what Florence Welch follows up Lungs with, and whether or not it will be able to top this. Fingers crossed for 2010.

Lungs was released on October 20 by Island.
Official Website | MySpace
Purchase the album here.

Mumford & Sons, Sigh No More.

It might not be fair to put this album on my favorites list, as I’ve just discovered it within the past month or so, influenced by the album making appearances on several other Best of 2009 lists. But I haven’t really stopped listening to it since finding it, so I think that makes it a fair inclusion. With vocals that at times remind me of a rowdier, Frames-era Glen Hansard, with banjo and bluegrass and tambourine and some incredibly tight folk drumming, this album definitely took me by surprise and hasn’t quite let go yet. Here’s to hoping that the album sees a release here in the US and that they hit a few more cities here than just NYC and LA/San Francisco.

Sigh No More was released on October 5 by Island.
Official Website | MySpace
Purchase the album here.

And while you’re still reading, here are some other albums which I’ve enjoyed throughout the course of the year, but just didn’t get to know them well enough to bump them up onto my top 20. Don’t worry, extra list of albums, you’re still some great, great music.

The Antlers, Hospice / Antony & the Johnsons, The Crying Light / Bill Callahan, Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle / Bon Iver, Blood Bank EP / Brandi Carlile, Give Up the Ghost / Camera Obscura, My Maudlin Career / Cass McCombs, Catacombs / Dave Matthews Band, Big Whiskey And The Groogrux King / Dirty Projectors, Bitte Orca / The Flaming Lips, The Dark Side of the Moon / Grizzly Bear, Veckatimest / Hockey, Mind Chaos / Jesca Hoop, Hunting My Dress / Jim Gaffigan, King Baby / jj, jj n° 2 / Kelly Clarkson, All I Ever Want / Kid, You’ll Move Mountains, Loomings / Lady Of The Sunshine, Smoking Gun / M. Ward, Hold Time / Miike Snow, Miike Snow / The Mountain Goats and John Vanderslice, Moon Colony Bloodbath EP / Patrick Watson, Wooden Arms / Patrick Wolf, The Bachelor / Patton Oswalt, My Weakness Is Strong / Rodrigo y Gabriela, 11:11 / Regina Spektor, Far / Tegan & Sara, Sainthood / Thao with the Get Down Stay Down, Know Better Learn Faster / Vandaveer, Divide & Conquer / Yeah Yeah Yeahs, It’s Blitz!

2009 Favorites: Part Three

Sarah — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 21:25:45 +0000

Here are some more albums which have seen some pretty heavy play around here this year. In case you’ve missed it, check out albums 11 through 15 and 16 through 20 on my list of favorites from the past year.

A.A. Bondy, When the Devil’s Loose.

I had waited and waited and waited for this album to come out, as I had loved American Hearts, and I absolutely wasn’t disappointed. Bondy’s returned here with his own brand of Americana; if it weren’t for his intense live show, you’d hardly know that he got his start in grunge rock band Verbena. I find it easy to get lost into this album. I’ve put it on a bunch of times and just found myself listening to it over and over again. Even better than the album, though, is Bondy’s live show, which is what cemented this album as one of my favorites of the year. While the album at time is gentle, Bondy holds nothing back in performance. If you ever have the chance to see him (and oh, you will; he tours relentlessly), do go see him.

When the Devil’s Loose was released September 1 by Fat Possum.
MySpace
Buy the album here.

The Mountain Goats, The Life of the World to Come.

Over the past couple of months, I’ve come to realize that for the most part, I appreciate this album best as a whole, rather than individual songs. When listening on my Not iPod, I find that I skip a lot of songs when they come up on shuffle. As a whole, though, I love the album. John Darnielle really is one of the best songwriters out there today. Reading his lyrics can mess you up, to put it simply. The songs may be named after Bible passages, but I think it’s pretty safe to say that The Mountain Goats aren’t going to be running off and recording hymns any time soon. With lyrics like “And I won’t get better but someday I’ll be free, ’cause I am not this body that imprisons me,” The Life of the World to Come isn’t a happy little album, but it sure is beautiful.

The Life of the World to Come was released on October 6 by 4AD.
Official Website | MySpace
Buy the album here.

Phoenix, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix.

This is the perfect summer pop album which turned into the perfect pop album for the whole year. The lyrics are smart, the songs are catchy, and the band is French. What’s not to love? Phoenix flew under my radar (and under the radar of pretty much everyone else outside of France, I guess) until I saw them on some late-night show earlier this year. Impressed with the performance, I sought out the album and loved it at first listen. It’s one of those feel good albums that you stick back into rotation every so often just to put a smile on your face.

Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix was released May 26 by V2.
Official Website | MySpace | Twitter
Buy the album here.

St. Vincent, Actor.

Annie Clark is so, so deceptive. I mean, just look at her. She’s this tiny little lady, all pale skin and cute curly hair. Her voice sounds just as delicate as she looks, but underneath it is something much, much harder, maybe even a little dangerous. ”Save me from what I want,” Clark sings, and you get the feeling that you probably should step in to intervene. Things might get a little messy otherwise. Clark is a musician not afraid to play with sound, inserting messy feedback and distortion into songs which could otherwise be seen as cute little pop songs. Her live show is what won me over, if only because the visual of Clark creating her ruckus on stage is just so incredibly striking.

Actor was released on May 5 by 4AD.
Official Website | MySpace | Twitter
Buy the album here.

The xx, xx.

I didn’t want to like The xx. I really didn’t. Every other blogger and hipster kid was going on about how awesome this album was. What can I say, I’ve been burned one too many times by buzz bands that ended up sucking. I finally gave in, though, and man, now I wish I hadn’t ignored them for so long. I don’t know that there’s anything particularly innovative about their brand of electronic pop, but it’s good, catchy material, delivered in a laid-back, almost disinterested manner which is intriguing in its own right. Time will tell whether or not The xx will be able to follow this up with something great, but I’m pretty sure the entire internet will be waiting to see what’s next.

xx was released August 17/October 20 by Young Turks.
Official Website | MySpace
Buy the album here.

2009 Favorites: Part Two

Sarah — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 18:10:40 +0000

Here’s the second of four installments of what should really be called “stuff I listened to a bunch this year” but more concisely referred to as “favorites”. In case you missed the first post, you can find it here. I’ll be back next week with the last two installments.

Alec Ounsworth, Mo Beauty.

This is a new discovery for me; I found it because the song “Holy, Holy, Holy Moses (Song for New Orleans)” appeared on a couple of Best Songs of 2009 lists. I liked what I heard and searched out the whole album and, yes. Just, yes. Ounsworth’s voice is intriguing; in places, it almost reminded me of Elvis Perkins, with this low, gritty feeling and delivery. The vocals are interesting and took a few listens to grow on me, but at the end of the day, I’m a sucker for interesting voices. The album doesn’t fit neatly into one style, with the slow beauty of “Holy, Holy, Holy Moses” being followed up with the more perky almost-rocking-out song, “That Is Not My Home (After Bruegel)”, for example. You can’t pigeon-hole this album, but on a whole, it works.

Mo Beauty was released October 20 on Anti.
Official Website | MySpace
Purchase the album here.

The Avett Brothers, I and Love and You.

This album is positioned so far down on my non-ranked-but-still-segmented list of favorites because for me, the best song is the title track, which leads off the album. The rest of the album is still fantastic, don’t get me wrong, but I had higher hopes for it based off of that first track. I’m a newcomer to The Avett Brothers’ music, having heard a few songs here and there over the years, but not bothering to look into their music more until this album came out. I’m a fan, though, based on what I’ve heard, and the album’s on rotation on my Not iPod, so here’s to hoping the rest of the album winds up growing on me as much as that first track has.

I and Love and You was released September 29 by American Recordings.
Official Website | MySpace | Twitter
Purchase the album here.

Elvis Perkins in Dearland, Elvis Perkins in Dearland.

This album isn’t Ash Wednesday, and with good reason. Perkins set out to make a different record entirely, and this album is overall much more upbeat… sonically, at least. The lyrics are a different story, full of heartbreak and hurt. Even the perky “Doomsday” (which gets redone into a slower version for the equally wonderful Doomsday EP) throws in the heart-wrenching reference to Perkins’ mother’s death on 9/11: “Now in all of my wildest dreams it never once did seem that doomsday would fall anywhere near a Tuesday.” Perkins’ voice gets his point across perfectly, though. His sound’s been fleshed out more on this album, with his backing band providing trombone and clarinet and saxophone, moving away from the stripped down sound of Ash Wednesday and instead making an album that’s probably as close to a celebration as Perkins can get.

Elvis Perkins in Dearland was released March 10 by XL Recordings.
Official Website | MySpace
Purchase the album here.

Justin Townes Earle, Midnight at the Movies.

Listen to this even if you don’t like country-esque records. Midnight at the Movies is a creative, sophisticated entry into the world of modern country, and deserves to be heard by more people. S0me of these songs sound like relics from a time long ago, not songs written by a 27-year old, no matter what talented family tree he comes from (son of Steve Earle). This is a travelling record for me, the kind of thing I could imagine popping in on a long ride through miles and miles of endless corn fields or something. Maybe the next time I’m crazy enough as to drive for that long again, I’ll bring this along with me.

Midnight at the Movies was released on March 3 by Bloodshot Records.
Official Website | MySpace
Purchase the album here.

Neko Case, Middle Cyclone.

The more I listen to Middle Cyclone, the more I like it. You can’t describe it as anything other than a Neko Case album. While I still like Fox Confessor Brings the Blood, this album has been growing on me. The album has been a great critical and commercial success for Neko, with Amazon naming it as its album of the year (and selling it so cheaply that I don’t know how anyone managed to make a profit) and it’s fabulous to see her getting the attention that she deserves. All of the songs on here are gems, just classic pop-rock songs carried along by Neko’s always strong vocals. Even the 30-minute sounds of nature track that closes out the album is interesting to listen to.

Middle Cyclone was released March 3 by Anti.
Official Website | MySpace
Purchase the album here.