First Aid Kit
The Lion’s Roar
Wichita Records
First Aid Kit is Swedish sisters Klara and Johanna Söderberg. The first single and title track to their sophomore album, “The Lion’s Roar”, was recorded with producer Mike Mogis (Bright Eyes, Monsters of Folk, Jenny Lewis) in Omaha, NE. The record sees the band exploring a bigger sound and more instrumentation than on their debut album”The Big Black and the Blue”, but maintains the signature storytelling and harmonies they have become renowned for.
The Black Keys
The Big Come Up
Alive Records
There is something hugely satisfying about the unfettered moans of a vintage Fender Telecaster. For some solid sonic evidence, look no further than the gutsy 2002 debut of Ohio blues duo, The Black Keys. If you’re not hooked by the time Dan Auerbach finger-picks his way into the whining guitar groove of opener “Busted,” then the delivery of his sandpaper vocal drawl – ably assisted by Patrick Carney’s whiplash drumming and ‘medium fidelity’ production – will assure you that, in the US Midwest, they still keep their blues traditionally bottled. And therein lies the key to The Black Keys’ brilliance – the ability to make exciting new tunes sound raw and well-travelled, without falling into lame pastiche or parody. Check out the woozy, melodic leanings of “Yearnin’” or the straight-out garage barnstorm of “I’ll Be Your Man” – both tracks successfully fusing valve-humming cool with a contemporary edge that, five years and four LP’s down the line, remain founding cornerstones of The ‘Keys unique and wickedly uncoiled oeuvre. – Ross Bennett / Mojo
Gillian Welch
The Harrow & The Harvest
Acony Records
Acony Records proudly presents The Harrow & The Harvest, an album of ten new songs from Gillian Welch. The acclaimed duet’s first album in eight years is an all acoustic affair. Produced by David Rawlings.
John Prine
The Singing Mailman Delivers
Oh Boy Records
Reckless Kelly
Good Luck & True Love
No Big Deal Records
Good Luck & True Love is an album that encompasses the last 15 years of Reckless Kelly. Ten new songs that capture the essence of a road worn and battle scarred band of brothers that aren’t afraid to take risk and tell it like it is. That’s country rock, That’s old school, That’s Reckless Kelly!
Jonathan Wilson
Gentle Spirit
Bella Union
Jonathan Wilson’s music is steeped equally in the woodsy contours of his Blue Ridge origins and the atmospheric guitar reveries of Neil Young and Quicksilver Messenger Service. Gentle Spirit, an expansive double set conceived specifically for vinyl, was recorded to analog tape and is remarkably evocative of that golden late ‘60s, early ‘70s period when rural and urban sensibilities colluded to produce some of rock’s most imperishable recordings. Gentle Spirit was recorded at his former studio in Laurel Canyon, the location of the very scene Wilson is credited with revitalizing through his personal studio and well-known jam sessions. In addition to making his own music, Wilson is also a producer, engineer and custom guitar-maker. Whether he’s producing young artists like the band Dawes or collaborating with renowned artists like Erykah Badu, Jackson Browne, Robbie Robertson or Elvis Costello, Wilson is as dedicated, visionary and soulful as anyone in music today, qualities that can be heard in the many textures, layers and easy born nuances prevalent throughout Gentle Spirit.
The Decemberists
Picaresque
Kill Rock Stars
The Decemberists know that the psychology of a culture at war is complex; that historical archetypes can inform the masses on current events far better than the evening news; and, perhaps most importantly, that life is ultimately a spectacular and colorful pageant. They remind us that, on any given day, we might rub shoulders with rogue spies and runaway prostitutes, child monarchs and vengeful mariners, boy ghosts, couples contemplating suicide, cannibals and drowning angels. This existence is indeed a spectacle to be revered.In August of 2004, Rachel Blumberg, Jenny Conlee, Chris Funk, Colin Meloy, and Nate Query set up shop at a former Baptist church in Portland, Oregon. With co-producer Chris Walla at the controls, the five musicians collectively known as The Decemberists emerged three weeks later with the bulk of the work completed for Picaresque (Kill Rock Stars – March 22, 2005), their most ambitious and realized effort to date.
Dave Alvin
Eleven Eleven
Yep Roc Records
Dave Alvin turns it up. The intensity, the focus, the volume. On Alvin’s new album Eleven Eleven, the man who many credit with pioneering what has come to be known as ‘roots rock,’ revisits the burning, guitar-centered blues rock that initially defined his career along with his band The Blasters in the late 1970s. After The Blasters, Alvin explored the path of American folk music, a road that led to classic albums and Grammy wins (for his album Public Domain: Songs from the Wild Land), establishing him as one of America’s most distinguished songwriters and California’s de facto roots music ambassador. Fast forward to Eleven Eleven and Dave is ready to raise the stakes again, calling on some Blasters including his brother Phil, with whom he duets for the first time ever on record. The inaugurals continue with Dave writing all the songs while on the road touring, a first for the seasoned performer. The new method clearly sparked new ideas for Alvin, with the blistering guitar runs and Bo Diddley beat of “Run Conejo Run” sidling up alongside the gentle finger-picking of the tremolo-soaked “No Worries Mija.” Eleven Eleven also features “Harlan County Line,” the song featured, along with an Alvin cameo as himself, in FX original series Justified and Alvin’s highest and fastest-selling digital single ever.
Nick Lowe
The Old Magic
Yep Roc Records
Of Nick Lowe, NPR once observed, “Few musicians get better with age, Nick Lowe is an exception.” While it’s undeniable that his last album garnered Lowe the best reviews — dubbed “utterly fantastic,” by The Village Voice — of his career and his best one-week sales in the Soundscan era, there is little doubt that he has always been at the forefront of modern music. Be it his production work with The Damned, Elvis Costello, The Pretenders or his stone-classic solo albums Jesus of Cool or Labour of Lust, Nick has always set the standard for smart, switchblade-sharp pop music. His latest album The Old Magic continues Lowe’s late-career evolution with arguably his best collection yet. Amidst urbanely insistent grooves (“Sensitive Man”), and spare-yet-imposing shuffles (“Checkout Time”), The Old Magic features three exceptional Lowe ballads – album opener “Stoplight Roses,” “House for Sale” and “I Read A Lot.” As is his custom, Lowe also peppers the album with three covers — by Elvis Costello, Tom T. Hall and Jeff West — that fit seamlessly with his originals. The Old Magic might be the album title equivalent of calling your shot, but for Nick Lowe it seems more a simple statement of fact.
Charles Bradley
No Time for Dreaming
Daptone Records
Charles Bradley’s voice has evolved from a lifetime of paying dues, having nomadically labored for decades at various day jobs from Maine to Alaska–singing and performing in his spare time–before re-settling in his hometown Brooklyn and eventually finding a musical home at Dunham/Daptone. In his distinctively rough-hewn timbre one hears the unmistakable voice of experience–each note and gruff infection a reflection of his extended, sometimes rocky, personal path. It’s only fitting that No Time For Dreaming’s producer Thomas “Tommy TNT” Brenneck (also a member of The Dap-Kings and The Budos Band)would recognize in Bradley a kindred musical spirit–a singer whose performances exude both raw power and poignant beauty. Recorded at Dunham Studios, and mixed at Daptone Records’ internationally revered “House of Soul” Studios, No Time For Dreaming is the inspired sound of an awakening.
