Sharon Van Etten Live at Brighton Music Hall 4.14.11

My first experience with Sharon Van Etten was 2009's Because I Was In Love, but it wasn't until last years' Epic that I really fell in love with her angelic voice and powerfully personal songs.  That album was fairly high on my favorite albums of 2010 list, and I wasn't alone - it seems like it was on almost every "best of" list I saw.  Just now in the midst of her first headlining tour, she stopped in Boston last Thursday with Lady Lamb the Beekeeper and St. Claire.

The set began with the songwriter alone on stage, guitar in hand.  "I Wish I Knew", the first song from her debut, instantly quieted the audience with its whispered beauty.  The first three songs off Epic followed, ratcheting up the volume and intensity, as her bare bones band (just bass and drums) joined for "Peace Signs" and stayed for most of the main set.  All of the favorites from Epic were featured - "One Day", "Save Yourself", "Don't Do It" and the gorgeous, set-closing "Love More", all played with even more fervor than the album versions.

Sharon Van Etten is working on her follow-up to Epic with The National's Aaron Dessner, and one of the highlights of the night was "All I Can", a new song that one hopes will find its way onto that upcoming album.  In quintessential style, Van Etten croons "we all make mistakes" over jangly electric guitar and a driving rhythm.  Another new song, with a working title of "Kevin's" - named for the owner of the apartment in which it was written, Van Etten explained - was more somber, featuring gorgeous falsetto vocals.

On stage, she draws you in with her casual, endearingly-normal between-song banter, and then knocks you on your ass with the power of her voice and gravity of her songs.  One moment projecting a casual, self-deprecating personality and the next moment transforming into a powerhouse of visceral raw emotion.  The crowd was an interesting mix as well - many there to comiserate, fewer there to celebrate.  All there to witness a night of powerful, beautiful music from one of the most promising young songwriters writing songs today.

A full recording in absolutely pristine sound is available for stream or download.  Huge thanks to Sharon Van Etten and Brighton Music Hall (especially Dan Seiders on sound, who deserves all the credit for how amazing this sounds).  As always please support the bands who allow us to tape shows by buying their music.  Enjoy, and share!

Sharon Van Etten
Brighton Music Hall - Boston MA
April 14, 2011

I Wish I Knew
A Crime
Peace Signs
Save Yourself
Don't Do It
One Day
Tornado
Tell Me
All I Can
Kevin's
Love More
Have You Seen
A Joke Or A Lie
DsharpG

Full set download:  mp3 zip

Look for a review + live recording of Lady Lamb The Beekeeper's amazing set soon!

Review: Last Good Tooth - The Meeting Was a Success EP

You can't really deny that Providence has become a hotbed for indie folk in recent years.  The current roster of top-tier Americana acts that call RI home includes Deer Tick, The Low Anthem, Brown Bird and Joe Fletcher -- now add Last Good Tooth to the list.  The young band released  the excellent The Meeting Was a Success EP earlier this year.  The songs have a gritty, earthy atmosphere with stream-of-consciousness lyrics provided by Penn Sultan.  Instrumentation is subdued and simple - plucked acoustic guitar and light snare, complimented by Appalachian fiddle and slide guitar.  The music generally manages an upbeat feel - "Take Em" sounds deceivingly carefree for a downer of a song.  The rest varies between loose urban-folk jams ("2001 Massacre") and woozy rock n' soul ("Skydiving Accident").  Really digging this. Listen to "Take Em" below, and get the rest at their bandcamp page:

Last Good Tooth - Take Em

New music: My Morning Jacket - Circuital

Form your own opinions.  I say, the MMJ I once-loved is back.  Let me know what you think in the comments...

My Morning Jacket - Circuital

Apache Relay Live at Great Scott, Boston MA 4.7.11

I forget how Nashville's Apache Relay first made it onto my radar, but I do remember that they made a big first impression.  "Home Is Not Places" is an anthemic rallying-cry for friends, family and home -- and it may be my favorite song of 2011 so far.  Back in March I featured it on our Spring Mixtape.  I've recently learned two more things about Apache Relay.  First, "Home Is Not Places" is no abberation; American Nomad, out today, is packed with equally-fantastic songs that feature rousing crescendos and huge, melodic hooks.  Second, they are one of the best, most captivating live bands I've seen -- especially for an opening act at a half-full club.

Let's start with American Nomad.  The album starts with "Can't Wake Up", a piano-driven indie-pop song that may be a little too glossly and Coldplay-esque for my usual tastes, but demonstrates the pure pop sensibility that makes the album such a fun listen.  "Power Hungry Animals" benefits from a bit more grit and restraint, as strummed acoustic guitar build to a galloping, breakneck crescendo.  From there, almost every song is a highlight.  "Sets Me Free" is a soul-tinged burner, "Lost Kid" features a singalong chorus and spiky guitar lead and "American Nomad" is the driving, charging title track.  A fantastic cover of Bruce Springsteen's "State Trooper", featuring an appropriately sparse arrangement that devolves into guitar chaos at the end, pays homage to an obvious influence.  The album closees with "Some People Change", a reflective tune that makes for the perfect thematic close to the album.  American Nomad is high on my list of favorite albums of 2011 so far - it's got the songwriting, arrangements and production-shine of a much more accomplished band.  Fans of The Head And The Heart, Other Lives, Delta Spirit et al would do well to give this a listen - they may just find their favorite new band.

As for the live show, another jaw-dropping surprise.  Exhausted, I dragged myself out to Great Scott on Thursday night hoping that I wasn't wasting my time.  Apache Relay took the stage and launched into "Power Hungry Animals" and before the first chorus I knew I had made a good decision.  Frontman Michael Ford Jr performs like a man posessed, jumping around the stage, dancing and drawing the crowd into the show.  The rest of the band plays off his energy.  It was striking as people streamed into a half-full Great Scott and immediately pressed up to the stage, trading "holyshitthisisamazing" looks while their toes tapped and heads bobbed.  I'm fairly certain that I was one of few in the audience that knew the band before that night, but after the set there was a long line of people at the merch table waiting to pick up a copy of American Nomad.  Truly one of the best opening sets I've ever seen.  Apache Relay has launched themselves into the echelon of bands that I will not miss when they are in Boston.  Hopefully next time they will play a longer, headlining - but even if not, I have no doubt they'll leave town with more fans than they had before.

The full set is available below for stream or download.  To my immense disappointment, the soundboard recording I got suffered from some bad distortion, so this is a room-recording only.  Sound is average - still, if you like what you hear, please support the band by buying their music.

Apache Relay
Great Scott - Boston, MA
April 7, 2011

Power Hungry Animals
American Nomad
State Trooper (Bruce Springsteen)
Sets Me Free
Lost Kid
Home Is Not Places
Watering Hole
Can't Wake Up

Here's a taste for the band's live show and preview of "Home Is Not Places" from American Nomad:

This Week In Boston: Sharon Van Etten, Wye Oak and more

It's going to be a busy week for live music in Boston.  Here's a quick rundown of some of the shows we recommend checking out, along with free downloads from each band. 

Monday
Timber Timbre at Brighton Music Hall  |  Tickets
Timber Timbre - Creep On Creepin On

Tuesday
Memphis, The Barr Brothers at TT The Bears  |  Tickets
Memphis - I Want The Lights On After Dark

Wye Oak at Middle East Upstairs  |  Tickets
Wye Oak - Civilian

Wednesday
Handsome Furs at Great Scott  |  Tickets
Handsome Furs - What We Had

Thursday
Sharon Van Etten, Lady Lamb the Beekeeper, St. Claire at Brighton Music Hall  |  Tickets
Sharon Van Etten - Don't Do It

Friday
Hotels and Highways at Cafe 939  |  Tickets
Hotels and Highways - Train Whistle

Saturday
O'Death at Great Scott  |  Tickets
O'Death - Bugs

Also, check out this super-creepy video for Bugs from O'Death's upcoming album Outside (out April 19).  The video was shot along the Maine coast, which means I may never go to Maine again:

Review: Howth - Self-titled

Brooklyn's Howth strips their folk songs down until they're threadbare - revealing the ghostly ambience of the basement in which it was recorded (which has since burned down).  "Hecksher Field #3" would be a feather-light folk tune in the vein of Simon & Garfunkel's "Bleeker Street" if not for the otherworldly droning that swells to consume the tune before receding into silence.  "Idaho #1" is the most upbeat song on the album, a brisk summer breeze of a song that masks some seriously heavy lyrics.  Throughout, Carl Creighton's sweet, soft voice compliments the tenor of the songs perfectly, somehow uplifting and melancholy at the same time.

Check out "The White Lights Up at Bloomingdale's Bring Me Down" from the self-titled album below, and get the rest of the album for the very reasonable price of $7 here.

Howth - The White Lights Up At Bloomingdale's Bring Me Down

Review: Jessica Lea Mayfield at Brighton Music Hall 4.2.11

By Lily Linquata

When asked by WNKU in 2009 what the driving force was behind the tone of her songs, the then  20-year old Jessica Lea Mayfield responded with “sadness.” “I kind of put sadness and music on the same table. It’s… like salt and pepper.”

That sadness is the momentum steering Mayfield’s songwriting should come as no surprise to those familiar with her prior releases. Both 2006’s White Lies EP and 2008’s With Blasphemy So Heartfelt LP make Patsy Cline’s drawl sound warm and motherly. With her latest 2011 release, Tell Me, Mayfield seems still driven by the sadness. The direction in which she’s driving, however, just might be brighter.

Following an outstanding set by Kentucky’s darling, Daniel Martin Moore, Jessica Lea Mayfield performed to a giddy audience at Boston’s Brighton Music Hall on April 2nd. Taking the stage in five-inch, silver glittered heels, she carries a simple beauty that extends past platinum blonde hair dye, sequins tops, and adorable cardigans.

No one was fooled by her innocent – if not elegant – get up for long, though. Backed by the infinitely badass Richie Kirkpatrick on electric guitar, by a Highlife-drinking Grant Gustafson on electric bass, and by Scott Hartlaub on drums, Mayfield fits the “bad girl” bill well. Opening her sixteen-song set with “Our Hearts Are Wrong,” she quickly established the evening as more of a rock concert, and as less of a plea from a damsel in distress. The haunting “I’ll Be the One You Want Someday” immediately followed, reintroducing her signature melancholy, but with an edge.

Turned up and accentuating the bass lines, Mayfield et al played the near entirety of Tell Me and included her best pieces from Blasphemy So Heartfelt, “Kiss Me Again,” “We’ve Never Lied,” and the standout ballad, “For Today.” Five songs in, she opted to perform a new song solo, joking that none of the audience would know if that’s how it was supposed to go. While Tell Me does start to sound more hopeful than despairing, new lyrics of “I don’t know what I did wrong, but life just seems so unappealing / I am on the brink of tears when I wake up in the morning” prove that Mayfield is still, and may always be, worlds away from that Taylor Swift-like, bubble-gum pop songwriter, despite the fact that she often looks the part. Nevertheless, one may assume she’s at peace with her darker role. Before playing “Somewhere In Your Heart,” she announced it was an awkwardly sad song written with brother, David Mayfield of the David Mayfield Parade. Not as readily wacky as her brother, the younger sibling’s dry humor does add another layer to a subtle yet complex stage personality.

Jessica Lea Mayfield - Tell Me

Labeled across the music scene as “One to Watch in 2011,” it’s fascinating to witness Mayfield flirt with a title of rocker. Whether she’ll permanently assume this part is unknown, but it is clear that she’s not going anywhere anytime soon. Having been raised in a musical family and having started touring at age eight, Mayfield is, even at 22, a well-seasoned musician. She has admittedly played almost every venue in the country and with the likes of Dan Auerbach, Justin Townes Earle, and The Avett Brothers, among countless other. Her third album turns a new page in her previously bluegrass, alt-country, and folk repertoire book, but certainly much to everyone’s enjoyment.

If you have a chance the see Jessica Lea Mayfield perform live – be it an acoustic set or with her endlessly entertaining band – jump on it. Boys just may fall in love and girls will feel comfortably at home with her inherently feminine, yet beautiful malaise.

Video of Jessica Lea Mayfield performing "Sleepless" live at Brighton Music Hall:

New music: The Devil Whale - Golden

I've been keeping track of The Devil Whale for a while, ever since I stumbled onto an unmastered version of their upcoming album TEETH on their bandcamp page a few months ago.  I was floored on first listen.  TEETH has since been pulled off of bandcamp, but will be released for real on May 24.

To tide you over until then, the band has released "Golden" for free download.  Gorgeous mid-tempo indie-pop complete with shimmering guitars, tambourines and sticky-sweet melodies.

The Devil Whale - Golden

Review: Daniel Martin Moore at Brighton Music Hall 4.2.11

By Lily Linquata

Daniel Martin Moore writes the sort of music with which you must be born to do well. You just can’t teach that sort of “soul.” His Kentucky-roots are laced throughout his third release, 2011’s In the Cool of the Day, and were fantastically vivid in his live performance as the opener for Jessica Lea Mayfield on April 2^nd in Boston. His eleven-song set at The Brighton Music Hall was, in a word, exceptional.

Touting a sound wonderfully reminiscent of Doug Paisley, Nick Drake, Alexi Murdoch, and former Sub Pop artist Sam Beam, Moore’s In the Cool of the Day was the focus of his Saturday night set. An album perhaps best suited for the twilight moments of summer, it is every bit the wholesome, warm, and strolling collection one might expect from a true Southern boy. There is a cinematic quality to his songwriting. His music is rich. Although an undoubtedly spiritual collection of songs – a heavy focus on Christianity, much like Patty Griffin’s 2010 Downtown Church – Moore’s live presence may quell even the most outspoken atheist with his soothing vocals and delicate, yet full, arrangements.

Alongside his own work, Moore selected several appropriate and well-executed covers, including “My Rifle, My Pony and Me,” a Ricky Nelson and Dean Martin tune from the Western film, Rio Bravo. Jean Ritchie’s “In The Cool Of The Day,” the title track of his latest release, was also featured, as was Knopfler’s “Trawlerman's Song.” Backed by a multi-talented group of four musicians (notably Joan Shelley and Daniel Joseph Dorff), Moore’s set illustrated a composed reverence for his craft, both in modern and nostalgic terms.

While “Flyrock Blues” was a personal favorite, the highlight of the set came, curiously, as the band unplugged and stepped down from the stage. Surrounded by the small audience, Dorff stomped and clapped percussion, while Moore – accompanied by Shelly on the banjo – closed the evening with an upbeat version of “Dark Road.” Down home, fun, and with enough talent in five square feet to warm every Spring snowed, April fooled heart in the room.

Standing closer to seven feet than to six, Moore’s graceful movements and his entrancement in the creation of his art command the room. Subtle wit brightens his, at times, serious gospel-infused folk tunes. Though, certainly, Moore’s appeal starts with a raw talent, it is perfectly punctuated with an authenticity and with a refreshing humility that so often escapes young industry stars. After the show, when offering a simple compliment, I was met with a genuine "thank you" and with a firm handshake. A Southern gentleman, indeed.

For fans of Iron and Wine, Damien Rice, Doug Paisley, and for those who don’t mind the word “Jesus,” Moore’s newest album, In the Cool of the Day, is highly recommended. Looking for a less spiritual take on Moore? Check out his 2010 collaboration with cellist Ben Sollee, Dear Companion, or his 2008 debut, Stray Age.

Daniel Martin Moore - Dark Road