Darkness, darkness. Trumpets, muttering, and darkness. Oh, and banjos. Before the explosion and the rain and the flood and the falling, falling. I don’t know what this is all about, but I sense the mossy underbelly of a Civil War battlefield, quiet on the surface, raging with ghosts just under the surface, in an unsettled soil. What is wrong with me? Gr8, strange work from The Loom, from Brooklyn.
The Loom
“For The Hooves That Gallop, And The Heels That March” (download mp3)
from “Teeth”
“For The Hooves That Gallop, And The Heels That March” (play)
(Crossbill Records)
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UK folk rockers Merry Hell use 80′s big rock post punk gloriousness as a parchment on which to scrawl their indictment of humanity. It couldn’t be more serious, and I’d dismiss it with an “oh, please!” if it weren’t so fully realized. “The War Between Ourselves” is a perfectly naive, hopeful, desperate plea for us all to do things better. We need to hear things like that some time. After what I saw here in Oakland last night, I’m all ears!
Merry Hell
“The War Between Ourselves” (download mp3)
from “Blink…and you miss it”
“The War Between Ourselves” (play)
(Mrs Casey Records)
More more more!
I’m fascinated. Best known for her founding role with the Squirrel Nut Zippers, Katharine Whalen has an entrancing vocal talent and a knack for instantly memorable lyrics. I love “Madly Love.” I’m smitten. The musical arrangement is spectacular, and it frames the vocal so perfectly it could only have been pulled off by veteran players. Here is proof, again, of why I do this blog. This is a GR8 single.
Katharine Whalen & Fascinators
“Madly Love” (download mp3)
from “Madly Love”
“Madly Love” (play)
(Five Head Entertainment)
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Fred McDowell played the blues. He once famously stated, “I do not play no rock and roll.” And when the Rolling Stones covered his “You Got To Move,” they played it uncharacteristically straight up, hardly changing the feel of it. Before he was known as Mississippi Fred McDowell, Alan Lomax visited Fred McDowell and recorded him doing his thing. You want to talk about raw authenticity? This is a solo performance, caught in the location where it was conceived, in monophonic analog reel to reel tape with no effects. Recently mastered up and released to the Digiwebs by Global Jukebox. This is pure treasure.
Fred McDowell
“Fred McDowell’s Blues” (mp3)
from “Fred McDowell: The Alan Lomax Recordings”
“Fred McDowell’s Blues” (play)
(Global Jukebox)
More On This Album
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