My Town Is Underwater mix

Boston is underwater.  After 3-4 days of nonstop rain, streets and basements are flooded.  Rivers are constrained by increasingly precarious dams and levees.  Ceilings are leaking.  "Ark" is a trending topic on twitter.  I've had enough.

The following 9 songs were selected around the general theme of flooding and rain.  Enjoy

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New music: Wye Oak, Let's Wrestle

 Wye Oak's new EP My Neighbor/My Creator is available now from Merge's webiste, elsewhere on 4/20 - enjoy the following track off said EP, "I Hope You Die".  Think it's time for me to revisit last year's The Knot...

Wye Oak - I Hope You Die

Wye Oak is at TTs in Cambridge on March 30 with Shearwater

Continuing with the Merge trend tonight...Let's Wrestle's upcoming debut is available to stream in its entirety on Merge's website.  Sounds like some catchy punk jams that I can see myself listening to quite a bit on summer roadtrips.

Let's Wrestle - We Are The Men You'll Grow To Love Soon

Let's Wrestle is at the Middle East on April 20 with Quasi

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Justin Townes Earle: Great Scott Allston 3.4.10

Justin Townes Earle at Great Scott March 4, 2010

Justin Townes Earle is the kind of songwriter and performer that reminds me how important real country music is.  With the utter shit that passes for "country" music these days, it seems that real country music is getting increasingly lost behind the redneck pop that is marketed as country music.  Sure, plenty of people can reference Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Hank Williams or Gram Parsons in conversation -- but when you think of country music, for most people, the first image that comes to mind is Garth Brooks or Taylor Swift.

I don't get the impression that Justin Townes Earle is on a mission to change that, but I think his music has the power to.  His background and musical influences are obvious (um, Justin Townes Earle) -- but this dude clearly loves and appreciates the history of the music he plays.  During his set at Great Scott he took us all on a tour of southern roots music -- folk, honky tonk, blues, -- covering Woody Guthrie, Lightnin' Hopkins and The Replacements (!?).  His originals vary from traditional rave ups to country inflected folk ballads.  Live, the songs come to life even more than on record thanks to a fantastic band (fiddle and upright bass) and captivating stage presence and showmanship.  The full set is offered for stream or download below in excellent sound quality - enjoy!

Poor Fool
They Killed John Henry
Halfway to Jackson
I Don't Care (Woody Guthrie)
What Do You Do When You're Lonesome
Mama's Eyes
Boy Keep Movin'
Ain't Waitin'
A Wanderin'
So Different Blues (Mance Lipscom)
Starter Wont' Start (Lightnin' Hopkins)
Hard Livin'
What I Mean to You
Someday I'll Be Forgiven For This
Ain't Glad I'm Leavin'
Workin' For The MTA
Mama I'm Coming Home
Midnight at the Movies
South Georgia Sugar Babe
Can't Hardly Wait (The Replacements)
Walk Out
Yuma
Close Up The Honky Tonks (Buck Owens)

Full set download (mp3 zip)

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Check out State of Mind for fantastic photos from the show here

Wanted to share this video of Joe Pug and Justin Townes Earle covering Atlantic City by Bruce Springsteen from their show in Carrboro NC.  Love the quote "If you don't like Springsteen, then you don't like Woody Guthrie, which means you don't like songs"

MG&V: Dawes, Delta Spirit and Deer Tick frontmen form "supergroup"

MG&V: McCauley, Goldsmith & Vasquez

A bit late to the party on this, but when the frontmen of three of my favorite bands form a new band, I can't help but make note of it.  For those that haven't heard, Taylor Goldsmith (Dawes), Matt Vasquez (Delta Spirit) and John McCauley (Deer Tick) are playing SXSW together under the "MG&V" moniker (McCauley Goldsmith & Vasquez).  Apparently there is an album forthcoming too.  Check out more details on brooklyn vegan

With three guitarists and a penchant for harmonies, I'm not sure if I should expect something CSN-like...or rough-around-the-edges country-rock like each's regular band.  In my musical world this constitutes a supergroup - but not sure these dudes carry the clout (yet) for that term.  Either way I can't wait to hear the results.   And this is one more reason to kick myself about not being at SXSW

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M&G: Deer Tick + Dawes

G&V: Dawes + Delta Spirit

Joe Pug: Great Scott, Allston - 3.4.10

Joe Pug's Nation of Heat EP was one of my favorite releases of 2008 and his set at the Newport Folk Festival last year was one of many highlights of that fantastic weekend.  When i talked to him following his set at Newport he wasn't sure when the debut full-length would be released, despite the fact that it was already done. The wait was well worth it - nearly six months later, The Messager was released on February 16.

I have given the album quite a few spins in the last couple weeks - highly recommended.  The songs sneak up on you, the magic is in the lyrics.  These are songs of doubt and loss, but are at the same time comforting and even uplifting.  Touring behind The Messenger and supporting Justin Townes Earle, Joe Pug played a fantastic 50 minute set featuring songs from both Nation of Heat and The Messenger.  Solo acoustic with electric accompaniment from Andrew Harrison on a few tracks (who notably sports one mean ass beard).

Full set available below for stream/download - sound is excellent despite some audience noise and a bit of distortion at the louder moments.  Enjoy!

Nation of Heat
I Do My Father's Drugs
How Good You Are
Unsophisticated Heart
Nobody's Man
The Door Is Always Open
Speak Plainly Diana
Unknown Song
Not So Sure
Hymn #35
Hymn #101

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Note:  recordings are posted with the consent of the artist for personal use - do not sell any recordings found on visible voice.  Please support the artists featured on this page by buying their albums and visiting their websites.  Joe Pug official site

Surfer Blood: Great Scott, Allston - 3.2.10

It must be difficult to live up to the kind of hype that has been piled on Surfer Blood over the last few months.  On the heels of the release of their debut LP, Astro Coast, last night's show at Great Scott was sold out weeks in advance.

Astro Coast is an album made for blasting from boomboxes on hot summer days.  These songs should explode live - instead, last night's show was tentative and lacked energy.  Maybe my expectations were too high - and stage presence will come with time.  That said, it was a solid set of very good songs, I guess I just expected more given the amount of hype. 

Full show offered in mp3, stream or download.  Vocals are a bit muddy, but overall not a bad recording - enjoy!

Floating Vibes
Take It Easy
Harmonix
Twin Peaks
Fast Jabroni
Anchorage
Catholic Pagans
Swim
New Song
Slow Jabroni

Full show (mp3 zip):  Download here

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Note:  recordings are posted with the consent of the artist for personal use - do not sell any recordings found on visible voice.  Please support the artists featured on this page by buying their albums and visiting their websites.  Surfer Blood on myspace

New music: Morning Benders + Titus Andronicus

Bridging the gaps between live audio/video/reviews, which will the be the primary focus of the site, visible voice will also feature music news, free mp3s and general content about what we're listening to, reading or watching. 

Next Tuesday (3/9) is a big week for new album releases - but there are two in particular that we're particularly looking forward to.  As luck would have it, you can listen to both of them in their entirety now, free of charge.

Titus Andronicus - The Monitor

2008's The Airing of Grievances was a boozy, raucous album of bar band rock with literary references and surprisingly deft songwriting.   The Monitor, apparently a loose concept album based on the Civil War, gives TA a chance (excuse?) to expand their sound in more ambitious directions.  

Titus Andronicus:  A More Perfect Union

Stream "The Monitor" on myspace

**Also, look for live audio from Titus Andronicus on visible voice in the next few weeks!**

The Morning Benders:  Big Echo

A big step forward from 2009's Talking Through Tin Cans.  The arrangements are a bit more complex, but the hooks are definitely still there.  The Grizzly Bear influence is evident (Big Echo was produced by GB's Chris Taylor), and that's a good thing as far as I'm concerned. 

The Morning Benders:  Excuses

Stream Big Echo free:

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Dawes: Great Scott, Allston - 2.20.10

Dawes is a four piece from Los Angeles California, touring behind their great debut album North Hills.  On record I can hear elements of The Band in their music (Rick Danko's soulfulness, Robbie's guitar licks and Levon Helm's raw passion), and the unmistakable laid-back vibe that most California bands exude.  Live, however, the songs take on a greater intensity - lyrics are belted with more emotion, guitar solos are longer, crescendos build to higher climaxes. 

 Dawes at Great Scott in Allston - Feb 20, 2010Dawes' recent show at Great Scott was, as far as I can tell, their first headlining show in Boston.  The sold out crowd was ready to party (it was a Saturday night afterall) and the band did not disappoint.  The show was high energy from the start, tight and very well-paced - this is clearly a band that knows what they're doing on stage, a trait that seems harder to come by when blog hype often leads to extensive touring before bands find their legs.  New songs were met with rapt attention, favorites from the debut album North Hills were often nearly drowned out by enthusiastic singalongs.  Standout When My Time Comes was a cathartic end to the main set.  The encore featured a Warren Zevon cover (Lawyers, Guns and Money), album highlight Peace In The Valley and one last singalong to the chorus "i've got a feeling, it's gonna be alright".  I have to admit, while I love this band, I did not expect the crowd to be *that* into the show - it was great.

By the end of the 1 hour 15 minute set, i don't think anyone in the packed and sweaty Great Scott doubted that Dawes is one of the best and hardest working live bands on the road right now.  Check out the full set below in mp3, sound quality is very good:

MP3s:  

When You Call My Name
Give Me Time
Bedside Manner
If I Wanted Someone
Love Is All I Am
How Far We've Come
If You Let Me Be Your Anchor
My Girl To Me
Time Spent In Los Angeles
That Western Skyline
When My Time Comes
Lawyers, Guns and Money (Warren Zevon)
Peace In The Valley
I've Got A Feeling (It's Gonna Be Alright)

Full show (mp3 zip):  Download here

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Photos courtesy of Boston through my eyes

Note:  recordings are posted with the consent of the artist for personal use - do not sell any recordings found on visible voice.  Please support the artists featured on this page by buying their albums and visiting their websites.  Dawes official site