3 albums I wish you were listening to

Ha Ha Tonka - Death of a Decade
























I've been interested in Ha Ha Tonka for a while, and have generally liked their stuff, but I have not owned a full album of theirs until Death of a Decade. This album brings it all around for me. Further proof that Bloodshot Records still knows what they are doing.

Songs of note: "Made Example of" and "Lonely Fortunes"



Dolorean - The Unfazed
























For one reason or another, Dolorean fell off my radar the past few years. They are back. Al James is simply brilliant. Partisan made a great decision putting this record out.

Songs of note: "Thinskinned" and "Hard Working Dogs"



Middle Brother - Middle Brother
























I approached the record as a big fan of Dawes & Deer Tick, but not a lot of familiarity with Delta Spirit. Thus, while the odds were in the record's favor, I still had reservations about how well they could pull off an entire record without drifting off into some John McCauley-led debauchery halfway through.

That said, I gave the record a couple of listens on the way down to SXSW, and while I liked a number of tracks, I didn't completely connect with the record as a whole. Enter the Partisan Party at SXSW, where Middle Brother & Johnny Corndawg brought the house down in one of the better performances of the festival, and I grabbed a spot on the Middle Brother bandwagon. This album is strong all the way through.

Songs of note: "Mom and Dad," "Blood and Guts," and "Someday" (and basically every other song)

3 reviews and a story

Band of Horses - Infinite Arms

This album is poppy, but not in a bad way. If I was going to represent it visually, the album would be a plate (the album) with 12 southern biscuits on it (the songs), all covered with honey (the harmonies). I use this example partially jokingly because the harmonies on this album are THICK. They work though. There is no "Funeral" on this album, but in my humble opinion, you only get to write one song like that in your lifetime (with a few exceptions, of course). The songs are recorded such that they don't really get heavy even when it seems like it is a heavy part, but I have no doubt that a song like "Dilly" will sound amazing (and will be plenty hard-hitting) live, because I was lucky enough to hear them play it a few months ago. Don't expect to rock out to this album, but it's a great listen.




The National - High Violet

It seems most bloggers and critics were expecting this to be the album that conquered the world, and they were disappointed that it didn't. Even if it didn't, I think "Bloodbuzz Ohio," "Afraid of Everyone," and "Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks" are amazing songs that anchor a very strong album overall. Not unlike BoH above, some want the National to write "Fake Empire" again and again, except more mind-blowing every time. The National seem to just want to make good music, and I think they've done it again here.

If you haven't already, check out their Letterman performance of "Afraid of Everyone", featuring Sufjan Stevens.





Deer Tick - The Black Dirt Sessions

I'm a bit of a latecomer to Deer Tick, having picked up their first two albums in late March. I don't know exactly what to think of them sometimes. From what I know, the band tours constantly, parties hard, and they continue to write great songs. At times it seems like their outward image is an inside joke, where they appear to be an out of control rock band, but they can't say that's what they are doing because it would ruin the image. That's not for me to decide, and it doesn't really matter as long as they write good songs. In short, I like the second half of this album better than the first, with the exception of the second song "Twenty Miles," which is among the best on the record. Besides that opinion, though, I will never again be able to think about this album outside of this one experience:

Approximately a month ago, just after TBDS was released, H. and I were driving through rural west Texas, on a small Farm-to-Market road between Muleshoe and Morton, to be specific (see map below). Basically you see little more than some farm vehicles and meet cars maybe every 5 miles. In short, very little traffic. It just so happens we had been listening to this album, and had just reached the final song "Christ Jesus," which if you haven't heard, is, well, typical Deer Tick. Less than a minute after the song started, we came upon a semi-truck that had written on all sides "Jesus Christ is Lord, not a swear word." The trucks appear to have their origin with these folks (I pasted a picture below), although that is somewhat beside the point. It was a pretty odd experience, feeling a bit like two universes collided in the middle of nowhere and we were the only ones who saw it. So yeah, that's what I'll always think of when I hear this record.


View Larger Map

A picture of a similar truck that I found here.

Oh Dear, New Deer Tick

It seems that each year I go to SXSW, I get really into a band that was there, but that I didn't get to see. Well, it's happened the last two years. Last year it was Justin Townes Earle, and probably within about 6 weeks of last year's SXSW, I had purchased every record he had. This year it is Deer Tick. I've never had the chance to see these guys live, but I regret whatever chances I've missed to see them (especially when they came through with the Felice Brothers).

I think it just took me a bit of time to really soak in what they are doing. What that is I'm not quite sure. In short, they basically just Jerry Jeff Walkered all of us. What does that mean? Well, this is what happens when people from the northeast play roots/rock/indie folk/americana/alt. country (or as their myspace says, Christian Rap) as well or better than any of us south/southwest-erners. We like to think it can't happen, but then the Ronald Crosbys and the John McCauleys of the world come around and remind us that it doesn't matter where you're from, as long as you can pick and sing it like you mean it.























Since I don't really play the download game, you can just go to your parents' favorite blog here to hear the song.

SXSW preview - 2010 Ground Control Touring showcase

The good folks at Ground Control Touring have assembled one of the better SXSW showcases I've seen thus far. The schedule speaks for itself:

Saturday, March 20th, at Auditorium Shores

3:00 PM - Kimya Dawson
4:00 PM - Dawes
5:00 PM - Deer Tick
6:00 PM - Lucero
7:00 PM - Justin Townes Earle
8:00 PM - She & Him

While SXSW schedules are wont to change, hopefully this one will stay as is. You can find a few more details for this show on the Saturday schedule. Still a bit early for a lot of other showcases and parties to be announced, but they are definitely starting to stream in. The best resource for the free shows is Show List Austin, so stay informed there.