Category: Folk (Page 18 of 23)

Bullz-Eye’s Favorite Albums of 2008: Staff Writer Mike Farley’s picks

December 23, 2008 /

Every year I wonder what my new favorite albums are going to be, and if the artists I follow will be able to live up to the lofty expectations I have for them (see Nada Surf below). I also wonder what artists will come into my life that weren’t there before (see most of list below, especially Gabe Dixon and Paddy Casey). Well, 2008 turned out to be pretty awesome music-wise, and while my list won’t match that of most critics, I made this list up based on my own taste, and I’m proud of it. And as you can see, I think some of the artists are proud as well…

Top 10 Albums of 2008

1. Gabe Dixon Band: Gabe Dixon Band
You know when you hear an album for the first time and you get that rush of excitement, kind of like the teenage crushes we all remember? Gabe Dixon Band’s debut on Fantasy Records is more than that. It’s like the cute brunette with glasses who you find out is also smart and watches football in her sweatpants on Sunday. Maybe that’s a weird analogy, but Dixon’s music is not only ridiculously addictive pop music – it also has a depth to which you hear something new every time you listen. And the songs? Well, this Nashville cat is right at home in Music City, but with these timeless tracks, he’s being mentioned in the same breath with the likes of Elton John and Jackson Browne as an artist. And that’s not something anyone should take lightly. “Five More Hours” is my favorite track of 2008.

Gabe Dixon accepts his award: “I am thrilled and honored to be included in Bullz-Eye’s top albums of 2008. The band and I put a lot of heart and soul into this recording, so it is gratifying to be named number one on the list! Thanks Bullz-Eye!!”

2. Paddy Casey: Addicted to Company
Okay, so I’m a sucker for ‘70s-style pop. Imagine Josh Rouse with an Irish accent, and you’ve got Paddy Casey’s latest. The melodies, vocal lines, arrangements and production make this sound like a summer day in 1974.

Paddy Casey accepts his award: “Very nice of you to choose my album, thank you…now if we could just convince the rest of the world!”

3. Nada Surf: Lucky
How does Nada Surf follow up their best album yet, The Weight Is a Gift? With Lucky, which sounds more like a continuation than a follow up. And that’s good news for us fans.

4. The New Frontiers: Mending
The New Frontiers may be the new Snow Patrol, Keane, or even Coldplay – dreamy alt-pop drenched in pretty harmonies. Okay, honestly, it’s a better album than the new efforts from the other three bands just mentioned.

5. Low vs. Diamond: Low vs. Diamond
Here is one of those American bands that sounds British. Not that there is anything wrong with that, because if you’re into the likes of the Killers or the Darkness, Low vs. Diamond is like an American version of those groups, with great songs to boot.

6. Snow Patrol: One Hundred Million Suns
Like Nada Surf, Snow Patrol had a lot to live up to after the huge success of Eyes Open in 2006. Thankfully, they have delivered yet again, with a set of anthems, driving alternative rock, and dark, moody ballads all wrapped together.

7. Kings of Leon: Only by the Night
I know that some true fans of Kings of Leon were disappointed with this latest effort, and to be honest I was never a huge fan to begin with. But there is something about Only by the Night that is absolutely intoxicating. The band’s psychedelic flavored, guitar-driven rock sound reminds me of going to concerts as a teenager in huge, pot smoke-filled arenas.

8. Benjamin Taylor: The Legend of Kung Folk Part 1
If James Taylor and Carly Simon had a kid, he would sound like this. Oh wait…..Seriously though, if Benjamin came around 20 or 30 years ago, he would be way more of a household name than he is today.

Benjamin Taylor accepts his award: “Well would you look at that: ol’ Breezy in the top 10… Top of the world, Ma. I’m off to Disneyland.”

9. Sarah Bettens: Shine
Former K’s Choice singer Sarah Bettens has lightened up a bit in her solo career, the music being more mainstream and mature, and not as dark as K’s fare. “Shine” is one of the year’s simplest, prettiest songs.

Sarah Bettens accepts her award: “I love being on a top 10 list! Especially when it doesn’t say ‘worst possible artist and most poorly dressed person in the whole wide world’. Thank you, Bullz-Eye. I feel honored being chosen among such talented people.”

10. Augustana: Can’t Love, Can’t Hurt
This kind of melodic, AAA-radio stuff never gets the critical props it deserves. Well, here are some props, Augustana.

Honorable Mentions

Amos Lee: Last Days at the Lodge
Jason Reeves: The Magnificent Adventures of Heartache
Jon McLaughlin: OK Now
Ray LaMontagne: Gossip in the Grain
WAZ: Sweet Bye and Bye
Coldplay: Viva La Vida
Uh Huh Her: Common Reaction
Val Emmich: Little Daggers

Album Released in 2007 That I Reviewed in 2008 and Would Have Ranked in Top Three

Jason Spooner: The Flame You Follow

Jason Spooner Reacts: “I’m thrilled to have been cited on Mike’s Best of list. He clearly works with a wide variety of quality artists & labels and it’s always a great feeling when your record is plucked out of the crowd.”

Alternative, Americana, Artists, Folk, Lists, Pop, Rock

Jared Campbell: Beyond the Gray

December 12, 2008 /

At first encounter, Jared Campbell would seem an easy target for typecasting. With his impassioned vocals and melodies that take an easy, breezy sway, he fits the mold of a John Mayer, Jason Mraz or any of dozens young up and coming singer/songwriters staking their claims on the charts these days. Fortunately, familiarity doesn’t breed contempt, thanks to the emotional stakes Campbell invests in each of the ten tracks that comprise Beyond the Gray, his second full-length album and fourth outing overall. In some cases, the song titles tell all, but the poignancy imbued in each takes them well beyond their headings, from the gripping title track and the searing, biographical “House of Cards” to the twitchy “Teach Me to Love” and the heartfelt devotion that seeps through “My Queen.” In simpler settings – the all acoustic “Worth the Wait” and the spunky and yet telling “Everything to Gain” – Campbell also draws comparison to the troubadour types that are a fixture in so many coffeehouses and corner bars, but his good-natured delivery makes him more folksy than folkie. Consequently, while its banner implies a certain parting of the clouds, Beyond the Gray also suggests that sunnier days are on the way. (self-released 2008)

Jared Campbell MySpace page

CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Folk, Pop

Brett Dennen: Hope for the Hopeless

December 12, 2008 /

Up ‘til now, Brett Dennen has been positioned as a sort of 21st-century troubadour, a scruffy kid with an acoustic guitar and a big ol’ heart pinned to his sleeve – which is why his third disc, Hope for the Hopeless, may give fans a bit of a shock, what with its generous coating of semi-glossy production (applied by John Mayer and Dave Matthews helmer John Alagia) and introduction of somewhat dance-friendly beats. Heck, there’s even a restrained Femi Kuti cameo on the first single, “Make You Crazy”! Fans who have loved Dennen for his previous albums’ strong coffee-shop vibe may cry sellout, but that’s just sour grapes talking: Hope for the Hopeless is no better or worse than what’s come before it, it’s just that Dennen’s less of an idealist than his lyrics might make you think, and he’s made a calculated bid to expand his audience. It’s a gamble that might have worked six or seven years ago, when this sort of pop-radio-friendly college rock was on the rise with the TRL set; in 2008, however – and coming from a smaller indie like Dualtone, which lacks the muscle enjoyed by Alagia’s more famous clients’ labels – it seems like an unlikely way for Dennen to broaden his fanbase. Still, the songs are solidly crafted and tastefully uplifting, and if the lyrics occasionally venture into softheaded territory (”Heaven ain’t got no prisons / No government no business”), the songs are more than capably presented by a band of session ringers that includes drummer Joey Waronker and guitarist Mark Goldenberg. It may not provide what its title promises, but if you’ve got room for a little more singer/songwriter pop in your diet, you could certainly do a lot worse than this. (Dualtone 2008)

Brett Dennen MySpace page

CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Folk, Pop

Donavon Frankenreiter: Pass It Around

December 12, 2008 /

If Joe Cocker had a little brother who was raised by England Dan and John Ford Coley, and he grew up to be a musician, he might sound something like Donavon Frankenreiter. Part of the Jack Johnson school of guitar-toting pro surfers, Frankenreiter has more of a fondness for things like melody and rhythm than some of his more famous peers (most notably Johnson himself); his last album, 2006’s Move by Yourself, was even something close to muscular in spots – in the context of the genre, anyway. In comparison, Pass It Around is more subdued; Frankenreiter is enough of a craftsman to flesh out his arrangements and make room for something more than his sandy vocals and acoustic guitar, and even if the vibe never wavers from “good ‘n’ mellow,” you at least get the feeling he’s trying to entertain someone other than himself. He doesn’t always succeed, mind you – Frankenreiter is still much more distinctive as a vocalist than a songwriter – but on the surf-rock continuum, Pass It Around is far closer to boss than bammerwee. (Lost Highway 2008)

Donavon Frankenreiter MySpace page

CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Folk, Pop

Clifton Williams and the Blue James Band: WILL

December 8, 2008 /

Clifton Williams and the Blue James Band bill themselves as “a rock, reggae, folk, and funk train riding through the world of music,” but if their second album is any indication, they’re really more like a smoky old VW bus aimlessly rolling through Humboldt County. WILL is brah rock of the first order, the kind of stuff you expect to hear blaring from the second story of a frat house on a Sunday afternoon (perhaps not coincidentally, the album contains a song titled “Sunday Afternoon”). Williams’ claims to rock, reggae, folk, and funk influences ring clearly enough over the course of these 13 tracks, but they’re all employed in the service of an extremely mellow vibe that renders them all more or less inert. It’s to Williams’ credit that most of the songs hover around the four-minute mark – most of the jamming is saved for the drawn-out closing track, “My New Window” – but they still feel curiously drawn out; the melodies wander, and the arrangements are full of noodly chord progressions that will be overly familiar to anyone who’s ever listened to a Dave Matthews Band album. And unless you really are a college student in your 20s, it’s probably best if you don’t look at the lyrics, which are heavy with searchin’-for-myself platitudes like ”Down this path I walk with uncertain steps / The life I live is a life built on hopeful promises.” In other words, don’t expect too much from WILL, but it’s excellent music for a barbecue, or the soundtrack of Matthew McConaughey’s next movie. (Chappy Payne Records 2008)

Clifton Williams and the Blue James Band MySpace page

CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Folk, Rock

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