Category: Folk (Page 11 of 23)

The Avett Brothers: I and Love and You

October 7, 2009 /


RIYL: Hem, The Weepies, Rilo Kiley

It’s that rare album that can be listened to repeatedly and each time offer a new experience, opening the door to discovery on each successive hearing. Likewise, there’s a hint of something significant when an album provides its listeners with a stunning display of prowess and ingenuity that not only elevates the artist’s profile but also marks a new benchmark in their career trajectory. It’s telling that if, in attempting to evaluate it, adjectives alone don’t do it justice.

That, then, is the best way to sum up I and Love and You, the remarkable major label debut from the Avett Brothers, the North Carolina trio whose indie career crested with Emotionalism two years ago. A disc that brought them full circle, Emotionalism earned the right to be labeled 2007’s indie album of the year. Like its predecessor, I and Love and You, is rich in gut-level appeal, a concept album revolving around simple truths that revel in honesty, heartbreak and humanity. The mission statement that adorns the back cover offers their insights into the essential three words – and the sentiments that express them – betraying so many intentions and such special significance.

One of the things that distinguish the Avetts from their like-minded peers is their ability to combine a wistful and plaintive approach with the irresistible urgency of cascading choruses that seep into the consciousness and steadfastly maintain their grasp. The tender yet impassioned pleas of “Head Full of Doubt/Road Full of Promise,” the title track and “The Perfect Space” illuminate that premise succinctly. “I want to have friends that I can trust / For the man I’ve become and not the man I was,” they convincingly croon in the latter. Producer Rick Rubin, clearly no slouch when it comes to illuminating the dark recesses of his clients’ souls, maintains the Avetts’ unfettered style, but subtlety fleshes it out along the way, adding jaunty piano interludes, the occasional fiddle, and sudden shifts in rhythm that add distinction to the effort overall. Consequently, a stunner of a song like the sprightly “Kick Drum Heart” or the heart-wrenching “Laundry Room” morph into a tour de force, exceptional examples of the band’s duality to shift the dynamic and alter the mood accordingly.

Suffice it to say that I and Love and You is not only a contender for album of the year, but also an album for the ages. And like those three words in the title, it resonates long and hard. (Sony 2009)

Avett Brothers MySpace page

Americana, CD Reviews, Emo, Folk, Melodramatic, Power Pop, Progressive, Rock

Sea Wolf: White Water, White Bloom

October 7, 2009 /


RIYL: Iron & Wine, Conor Oberst, Jeremy Fisher

Sea Wolf, a band of Alex Church plus friends-as-needed, has returned with the sophomore album White Water, White Bloom, expanding their folk-infused, intimate indie rock into a larger, more orchestral sound that is both richly textured and a touch disappointing. Whereas the original Leaves in the River carried a dark, chanting, old world feel throughout, White Water… layers in several more musicians and instruments, and Mike Mogis’ production punches everything up to a lush and sweeping cascade of sound. One side effect of this is that Church’s vocals, still slightly warbling and dry, sometimes emphasize his limited range, rather than capturing the quiet intimacy that is his strength. The title track is the best example, where pianos, multiple strings, drums and synths all vie for attention, becoming heavy and ponderous with the vocals dragged down by the weight of it all. Or, as on the opening track “Wicked Blood,” where the pop elements overwhelm and it can occasionally sound like a cover of a Roy Orbison track circa Mystery Girl. Lyrically, it seems that Church tried to keep pace with this expansion and this resulted in a rambling feel on some of the longer songs. His writing is missing the concise, insistent quality that made Leaves… tracks like “You’re A Wolf” and “The Cold, The Dark & The Silence” so powerful.

This could be considered quibbling, as the album has its share of gems. Middle tracks “Orion & Dog” and “Turn the Dirt Over” have all the power and simmering energy to make you listen intently and repeatedly. Here you feel that the music serves the song and story as folk demands, rather than the other way around. When “Oh Maria!” really rocks out, it is not just the pounding drums and angular guitars that drive it, but the passionate personal quality of lyric and vocal delivery. It is unfortunate that this beautiful strength gets lost in the complexity of the larger, denser tracks that are pretty, but inevitably fall a bit flat. Church and company made a clear bid for “more” on White Water, White Bloom, and definitely succeeded. But the uneven results show that more isn’t always a good thing. (Dangerbird 2009)

Sea Wolf Myspace page
Click to buy White Water, White Bloom from Amazon

Alternative, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Folk, Indie Labels, Pop

Exene Cervenka: Somewhere Gone

October 7, 2009 /


RIYL: Knitters, Nanci Griffith, Maria McKee

Most artists who are able to maintain any sort of credibility and longevity usually prove adept at the power of transformation, especially when it comes to adapting their style. After all, continuing in the same direction after a decade or more almost inevitably becomes tiresome without at least some tweaking to the standard MO. Never mind the Eagles or Billy Joel; who would have expected Dylan to rail on forever in protest and poetic mode, or that Joni Mitchell would retain her little girl innocence and pensive strum without some further artistic embellishment? Yet even with that basic precept in mind, witnessing Exene Cervenka’s stylistic transformation – from punk goddess with X to the folk loyalist she’s become – still registers as a somewhat drastic evolution. After all, her stewardship of X, one of Los Angeles’ most virulent punk bands, set a standard of sorts for an entire decade of West Coast outrage and insurgency, reconfiguring Southern California’s sunny vibes into a hotbed of rock rebellion easily on par with the Manhattan graduating class of CBGB’s.

Of course, Cervenka wasn’t the only member of X to ceremoniously segue from turbulence to tradition. Both her male counterparts, John Doe and rotating member Dave Alvin, followed the same course, and when Cervenka and Doe formed the Knitters, a down-home revival band powered by unabashed devotion, the stage was set. Cervenka herself has proven to be both durable and diversified, spawning a notable solo career, various side projects and even an impressive literary output. But with her latest venture, the tellingly dubbed Somewhere Gone, Cervenka ups the ante when it comes to back porch ambiance and freewheeling folksiness. With Amy Farris’ fiddle play at the fore, she plunges head first into distinctly rural environs, finding an easy fit in these sing-along settings. Being that this is her first solo soirée in almost two decades, there’s reason enough to believe that she’s naturally more mellow and had ample time to rethink her course, but given the laidback vibe of “Trojan Horse,” “Somewhere Gone” and “The Willow Tree,” it’s actually easy to imagine her perched out in a pasture somewhere, sucking on some straw while contentedly watching as the livestock graze. The ramshackle “Fine Familiar” and rollicking honkytonk of “Walk with Me across the Night” only reinforce that notion.

Still, Cervenka’s segue may surprise those who only remember her through the tinted lens of two decades gone by. Though no longer in the guise of a femme fatale, who would have expected Cervenka would reinvent herself as a country crooner? (Bloodshot, 2009)

Exene Cervenka MySpace page
Click to buy Somewhere Gone from Amazon

Artists, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Folk, Pop

Monsters of Folk: Monsters of Folk

September 29, 2009 /


RIYL: Hem, The Weepies, Bittersweets

The term “super group” is bandied about all too frequently, often arousing great expectations that are rarely fulfilled. The door to disappointment is left wide open; participants hedge when it comes to contributing their best songs or find their creativity stifled when compromising to serve to other egos. Yet while it’s rare to witness the second coming of an all-star outfit like Blind Faith or Crosby Stills and Nash, a blending of big names inevitably cranks up the curiosity factor regardless.

On the other hand, a summit session involving lo-fi provocateurs M Ward, Conor Oberst, Mike Mogis and Jim James (AKA Yim Yames) might be greeted with some hint of suspicion, given the fact none of them is known for emphatic exposition. Surprisingly then, this, their first recorded collaboration, comes across as significantly more inviting and accessible than just about anything these individuals have managed on their own. While the name of the conglomerate indicates a tongue planted firmly in cheek, the songs themselves are straightforward and sincere. What’s more, given the fact that the songwriting is shared collectively and that all the instrumentation is doled out between them, the set is surprisingly consistent, showing equal input from all four contributors. And though most of the music is on the mellow side, the melodies make an emphatic impression – from the folkie sing-along of “Man Named Truth” and the gentle caress of “Magic Marker” and “His Master’s Voice,” to the breezy country sway of “The Right Place” and the steady ascent of “Whole Lotta Losin’” and “Ahead of the Curve.” They’ve done their ongoing outfits proud, while making what may well be the best album of their collective careers. (Shangri-La 2009)

Monsters of Folk MySpace page

Americana, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Emo, Folk, Melodramatic, Rock

Nanci Griffith: The Loving Kind

September 28, 2009 /


RIYL: Emmylou Harris, Patty Griffin, Dolly Parton

One would be hard pressed to find a better representative for Americana music than Nanci Griffith. If that statement appears to ring of hyperbole, then suffice it to say that a single listen to Griffith’s outstanding new album, The Loving Kind, ought to provide all the proof necessary.

As her fans will attest, Griffith’s made great albums before – Other Voices, Other Rooms and Late Night Grande Hotel being two of the more obvious examples – and each affirmed her penchant for repositioning heartland traditions and serving them up in a way that’s both endearing and affecting. However, this set takes a new turn, upping the ante with a series of emotionally tattered narratives accompanied by heartfelt sentiment. It commences with the title track, an unflinching view of an interracial courtship that defied the mores of the early 20th century, and transitions into other equally incisive offerings. The songs that follow continue this theme, delineating those who have been marginalized by society – a man framed for a crime he didn’t commit (“Not Innocent Enough”), those in search of brighter horizons (“Across America”), the woman who mourns the fact that marriage has saddled her with unwanted responsibility (“Party Girl”), a farming family’s sense of futility and desperation (“Cotton’s All We Got”)… not to mention her mournful tribute to fellow songwriter Townes Van Zandt, whose immense talent couldn’t prevent him from unraveling (”Up Against the Rain”). Each vignette is delivered with unabashed authenticity – fiddles, pedal steel, mandolin and a gentle ramble – creating a compelling listen that’s gentle on the ear and yet still pressing on the soul. (Rounder 2009)

Nanci Griffith website

Adult Contemporary, Americana, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Country, Folk

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