• Americana,  Ick's Pick

    Ick’s Pick: Gina Villalobos

    Okay, as the story goes around here, it’s not too often that I gravitate toward female singers – but I do have my favorites: the Patty Griffins and the Lucindas, and some good finds the last few years with artists like Mary Gauthier and Girl in a Coma (badass ladies)… and God bless her, despite all her troubles, Amy Winehouse is such an amazing talent.

    We can tack another one to the list – another female singer-songwriter who will receive a permanent spot in my iTunes library: her name is Gina Villalobos.

    A California native, Gina’s well known in CA’s folk / alt-country / Americana set – and she just released her 4th CD this week: Days On Their Side. Gina’s got a killer voice. She’s got the sweet tone of a Sheryl Crow, but with a sandy, relaxed disposition like Lucinda Williams. Laid back, and really pleasant to the ears.

    I’m finding the album surprisingly strong – great hooks, strong, talented players, and the showcase: Gina’s sweet n’ scratchy vocals.

    Standout tracks: “String It Out”, “Take a Beating”, “Crazy”, and…

    Listen: Sun In My Eyes (mp3)

    Buy: Days On Their Side

    Visit: Official Site | MySpace | Facebook | Twitter

  • Ick's Pick

    Ick’s Pick: Deer Tick’s Born on Flag Day

    Deer Tick is a band that I tracked down because of all the buzz – on the blogs, on Twitter, in the pages of Rolling Stone. I guess I assumed they’d be too “indie” for my tastes, but never judge a book by its cover. What I found instead is the best damn country album I’ve heard all year. No, not Country with a capital C, but country in a raw, dirty, gritty sense – stripped down and real.

    The deal sealer for me is the raspy voice of one John Joseph McCauley III. Yeah, I’m a fan of the raspy voiced singers – the Bruces, the Prines, the Earles (and add to the list lately Mr. Ryan Bingham). So hearing a new band that plays with some kick and some twang, with a lead singer that’s anything but smooth & polished – but rough around the edges – that’s always what I’m happy to find.

    McCauley and his band mates are only in their early 20’s – but the feel of their latest record, Born on Flag Day, sure doesn’t sound like it came from a bunch of guys fresh out of their teens.

    With new music, you tend to have those “oh, this sounds like ___” moments – and this record certainly does have its derivative moments: “Houston, TX” has a bass line reminiscent of the Dead’s “Friend of the Devil”. “Song About A Man” brings Dylan to mind. And the gorgeous 60’s style ballad “Stung” sounds like a country cousin of “You Belong To Me” – if the cousin drank whiskey and raised hell.

    There are a lot of standout moments for me on this album…

    The opener, and maybe the most “mainstream” of the songs, is “Easy”. Feedback gives way to a twangy guitar solo, the first verse, and lets loose with an explosive chorus: “And you don’t know how easy it is / No you don’t know how easy it is / You were never there/ No never there”.

    The late night tavern feel of “Little White Lies” – starting off with a slow tempo, the lazy pedal steel, and launching into an uptempo stomper. Great harmonies by Liz Isenberg.

    “Friday XIII”, a catchy shuffle of a tune with some great vocal tradeoffs between McCauley and Isenberg – that traditional banter a la classic Johnny and June Carter Cash. The effects on McCauley’s vocals make me visualize one of those classic old mics from the Elvis days. In fact, those vocal effects show up throughout the album. Sort of a distant echo.

    “The Ghost” has one of the more classic country vibes. The rhythm and vocal delivery are punchy and fun. One of my favorites right now…

    Hidden in the latter half of the last track, “Stung”, is an intimate, impromptu version of “Good Night Irene” (starting around the 6:00 mark). Beer cans are crackin’, rowdy friends are hollerin’… but the by end, everyone’s singing along, enjoying themselves – and McCauley has them right where he wants them. A lot like the album…

    Buy this album: Born On Flag Day

    Randoms:

    • Deer Tick has has been covering John Prine’s “Unwed Fathers” (including this week’s stop in Phoenix, which I missed). And I hear they cover the Boss too.
    • I think I’ve nailed down McCauley’s voice: a mix between Eddie Spaghetti of the Supersuckers and Serge Bielanko, (formerly) of Marah. Anyone?
  • Hip Hop,  Ick's Pick

    Ick’s Pick (Week XXIII): Mos Def’s The Ecstatic

    Call it the power of television. I tuned into Letterman on Monday night to take in the entertainment that is Howard Stern in the guest chair. I always enjoy the interaction between Howard and Dave. The musical guest that night was Mos Def. He was on promoting his new album, The Ecstatic. I came back to the performance about midway thru, but I was immediately hooked. The song was “Quiet Dog” – a DJ, a drummer, and Mos Def on two large timpani drums. A tribal rhythm, really unique, and another example of how one encounter can hook a new fan.

    I bought The Ecstatic the next morning, and it’s pretty much been bumpin’ here all week. Favorites are “Quiet Dog” (intro features some interview audio from the late Fela Kuti), “Twilite Speedball”, and “The Embassy” (another unique intro – a pilot’s in-flight announcement, with some tweaking). Hell, he’s even got a Spanish language rap, “No Hay Nada Mas”. At least I think it’s got something to do with love.

    A refreshing album. I haven’t even cracked the surface…

    Buy Mos Def’s The Ecstatic on Amazon (still only $3.99).

    Hear the whole album on MySpace Music

    Visit: Mos Def’s MySpace

  • Ick's Pick

    Ick’s Pick (Week XXII): Ryan Bingham’s Roadhouse Sun

    “Bad ass”. If I had to describe the new Ryan Bingham album in two words, those would be them. Show me a more bad ass release this year. You can’t. Because Ryan Bingham brings it on this album. A former rider on the pro rodeo circuit; hailing from Hobbs, New Mexico; the frequent cowboy hat: you’d expect a good dose of “country”. And there is, but mixed in with equal parts rock, blues, and roots.

    I liken the album to Steve Earle’s I Feel Alright, in the way it just chugs along with a freshness and vitality, an innovative blast of roots tinged-rock and roll, and quiet moments that dig deep into the soul. Two entities shape this album in a big way. The first is Ryan Bingham’s singing voice: tough, leathery, and twangy. The other is his backup band, the Dead Horses. I’ll have to look into how they cut these songs together, but they sound like the full band in studio. They must be a killer band to see live, and you bet your bum I’ll be the first in line when they come to Arizona.

    Standout tracks for me right now:

    • “Change Is” – a seven minute rocker with a brush stroke of psychedelia; the full band breakouts on this track make me think of the Black Crowes at their rocking-est moments.
    • “Bluebird” – there’s a hypnotic quality to this bluesy rocker. The lyrics are dark, defiant, and fascinating. I’m still trying to figure out what the “Bluebird” refers to.I’m down on the river baby, but I’m stuck on the other side love,
      From a rope my heart is hanging, water rises on a lonely soul,
      And I’ll take my chances breathing, ain’t never gonna hold my breath,
      Because I know if I stay waiting, my bluebird is gonna bleed to death.

      Read all the lyrics here.

    • “Tell My Mother I Miss Her So” – from the title, I thought it would be a ballad, but what it is is an uptempo barnburner with a good dose of mandolin, banjo, and guitars.

    Roadhouse Sun will be the soundtrack to many an experience this summer – a collection of songs so unique and impressive in their own right that my personal favorites will likely rotate for a while.

    Buy Roadhouse Sun today, it’ll do you good. The Amazon MP3 Store still has their special version available for $3.99.

  • Ick's Pick

    Ick’s Pick (Week XXI): Grizzly Bear, “Veckatimest”

    https://ickmusic.com/pics/grizzl-veckat.jpg

    Hype, the likes of which that have been heaped on Brooklyn’s Grizzly Bear, can be an incredibly tricky minefield to navigate. On one hand you’ve got the ear of the tastemaker, the hipster elite and the blogosphere all clamoring to sing your praises before you’ve even released your first record. On the other, there are the uncontrollable expectations and the inevitable backlash when the wind blows in the next best thing. Needless to say, the expectation level going into the band’s second record Veckatimest is, in a word, epic. The question is, does it live up to the hype?

    The answer is; Kind of. It’s a solid, meticulously produced record. The songs are engaging and it gets better upon subsequent listens. Veckatimest is clearly meant to be listened to as a whole and has a well definied beginning, middle and end.

    The record opens with a breezy acoustic guitar shuffle accompanied by a Rhodes piano, building orchestration and the unsteady vocal warble of “Southern Point”. The ambition of the track and it’s use of dynamics hits the mark and sets the tone for the rest of the weekend. “Two Weeks” brings the choral vocal harmonies to the forefront of the Beach Boys inspired pop track. It bears repeating here that the production of this album is stunning and you’ll find that each voice is given it’s due space and the choral effect is spacious.

    Cheerleader” (mp3) evokes a slinky film-noir feel with reverb drenched guitars and provides a dark turn to the mid point of the album. The steady mid-tempo waltz of “Ready, Able” soars and is one of the true standout tracks. “I Live With You” starts quite simply and is beautifully orchestrated with the greatest of intentions and falls apart to delusions of grandeur that come off more contrite than convincing. Veckatimest closes with the stark and stunningly beautiful “Foreground”, providing a perfect coda to the record.

    Whether you buy into the hype or not, this record at very least deserves a listen without any expectations.

    Buy Veckatimest: Amazon | Amazon MP3 | iTunes

    Links: Official Site | on Last.fm | on MySpace

  • Ick's Pick

    Ick’s Pick (Week XX): Jason Lytle

    I got sucked right into grandaddy‘s beautiful space pop when I heard their amazing album The Sophtware Slump way back in old ’00. A couple of albums later, front man Jason Lytle decided to call it quits (after releasing Just Like the Fambly Cat in 2006). He packed up his gear and moved to the Bridger Mountains around Bozeman, Montana. I opined back then that the clean Big Sky air would likely result in something cool in the not too distant future. Well it took three years, but here we have it: Jason’s debut solo album, Yours Truly, The Commuter.

    The sound and feel of the music doesn’t stray far from the grandaddy sound – gorgeous melodies, unique lyrics, and an infusion of experimental electronic sounds into indie/folk based songs. There’s a sweet and gentle quality to Jason’s music, with an undercurrent of bittersweet sadness.

    And it’s the dreamy, floating, melancholic tunes that I gravitate towards most on this record. The last half dozen songs have this area covered… “Fürget It” transitioning into the slow waltz of “This Song Is The Mute Button”; followed by “Rollin’ Home Alone”, “You’re Too Gone”, “Flying Through Canyons”, and “Here for Good”.

    After hearing these, I can guarantee you won’t be cheered up. But that’s obviously not the intent. The self-imposed exile that Jason imposed on himself – from Modesto, Calif. to Montana – obviously sparked some soul searching, and the result is a sublime but sort of downcast collection of songs (if you ignore “It’s the Weekend”, an out of place ode to Saturday).

    It’s all summed up during “I Am Lost (and the moment cannot last)” -“On mountain high / I’ll say goodbye / My concerns have been confirmed / I am lost

    Jason Lytle’s Montana days have yielded a great album, but hey – friends of Jason – sounds like he needs some company!

    BUY Yours Truly, The Commuter (Amazon)

    Watch the video for “I Am Lost (and the moment cannot last)”

    Visit: Jason’s Official Site | MySpace

  • Ick's Pick

    Ick’s Pick (Week XIX): Steve Earle – ‘Townes’

    I’m sitting down to write this after the improbable occurrence of just seeing Steve Earle in the 30 Rock season finale. Oh my, what an ending! It’s a kidney benefit for Jack’s dad, and a We Are the World-esque gathering of talent comes together – Steve Earle, Elvis Costello, the Beastie Boys, Rhett Miller, Sheryl Crow, Moby, Michael McDonald, Wyclef Jean, Clay Aiken, Mary J. Blige, Adam Levine, and on and on… hilarious! And to see ol’ bearded Steve standing there between Wyclef and McDonald. Priceless…

    So on to Steve’s new record, which dropped this week. There’s really no shock factor involved in listening to ‘Townes’, Steve Earle’s new album of Townes Van Zandt covers. I mean, it’s not like Steve is interpreting the Cole Porter songbook, or releasing an all-mandolin record of Devo songs. So much of Townes’s sound has been prevalent in Steve’s music since the beginning, and therefore the album just sounds – right. Townes was a mentor to Steve, his outlaw father figure. Nary a show goes by without Steve talking about him. So it just seemed inevitable that a record like this would come along.

    Steve takes on 15 Townes songs on the album – some of them familiar to me as a casual TVD listener: “Pancho and Lefty”, “White Freightliner Blues”, “Don’t Take It Too Bad”… and then some not so familiar to me – songs like “Where I Lead Me”, “Loretta”, “Brand New Companion”…

    With help from Tim O’Brien, Tom Morello (electric on “Lungs”), Steve lovely wife Allison Moorer, among others, Steve injects new life into these songs. Steve brings along the drum machine on a few tracks – something he picked up on his last album, Washington Square Serenade. But it works (on songs like “Lungs” and “Loretta”). We get some bluegrass on “White Freightliner” that wouldn’t have sounded out of place on The Mountain (his bluegrass album with the Del McCoury Band). There’s the slow and churning blues of “Brand New Companion”, and the beautiful poem that is “(Quicksilver Daydreams of) Maria”.

    With Townes, Steve Earle pays great tribute to an old friend and mentor. It’s been over a dozen years since Townes Van Zandt passed on at the young age of 52. With this album, Steve keeps his buddy’s memory alive and makes people like me want to seek out more his mentor’s work. I have a couple of Townes albums, but I don’t have 1971’s Delta Momma Blues. Based on “Where I Lead Me”, it’s next on my list…

    Where I Lead Me (mp3)

    Buy Townes.

    After Townes Van Zandt’s death on January 1st, 1997, Steve wrote this song for Townes in Galway, Ireland. It’s been my favorite Steve Earle song since the first time I heard El Corazon that year. Some of the most beautiful words put to song…

    “There’s a full moon over Galway Bay tonight / Silver light over green and blue / And every place I travel through, I find / Some kinda sign that you’ve been through”

    Ft. Worth Blues (mp3) – from El Corazón

  • Ick's Pick,  Rock

    Ick’s Pick (Week XVIII): The New York Dolls – ‘Cause I Sez So

    Thanks Gonzo for this week’s Ick’s Pick!  – Pete

    In 1973, the New York Dolls released their now-classic debut album, produced by Todd Rundgren. 36 years and one reunion album later (2006’s One Day it Will Please Us to Remember Even This), the 21st century incarnation of the Dolls reunite with Rundgren for ‘Cause I Sez So, their 4th studio album.

    I admit that I was a little concerned upon hearing about this release. While One Day… was one of my picks for 2006, my initial thought was that the band might be pushing it by doing another album, Rundgren or not. But I’m pleased to report that the album laid some of these fears to rest.

    Perhaps the strongest cut is the opening title track, which captures the classic, straightforward Dolls-style rock. Frankly, this is probably my vote for the album’s strongest cut.

    Cause I Sez So – New York Dolls

    While “‘Cause I Sez So” most successfully captures the Dolls’ classic sound, other tracks (“Muddy Bones,” “Nobody Got No Business,” “Exorcism of Despair”) fit into that strain as well. There’s also the slinky blues of “This is Ridiculous,” the trash talk response “Better than You,” the southern- (almost Latin-) tinged “Temptation to Exist,” the foreboding darkness of “Drowning” and the mid tempo tracks “Making Rain” and “Lonely so Long.”

    Another track of interest is a re-recording of perhaps my favorite Dolls song (and one of their most canonical), “Trash,” from their 1973 debut. I generally am not a fan of this practice. I understand artists’ desire to revise or reinterpret their material, but I generally feel like this should be restricted to the stage or to b-sides. While Bowie has faltered on these rerecordings a few times (“Space Oddity” in the early 1980s, “Rebel Rebel” circa 2004), the revised “Trash” is actually somewhat interesting, if still unnecessary. Gone is the thud of the punk drumming style and the crunchy guitars, traded in for a low-key reggae-ish rendition. Imagine the Clash covering this song circa Sandanista!, make it slightly more laid back, and you’ll approximate the Dolls’ 2009 version of “Trash.” Certainly not an improvement or an equal to the original, but an admittedly refreshing take.

    And that may be what makes ‘Cause I Sez So interesting – it’s stylistically more varied than their previous effort, and their classic albums for that matter. That’s not to say that it surpasses or quite meets their first two LPs, but it shows them making an effort to tread into different (although certainly related) territory. Artistic growth is something that I generally appreciate, and that makes this album attractive, even though I find it less immediately pleasing than One Day…. However, the new disc does give me the feeling that it will grow on me over the next few weeks, and may be in heavy rotation this summer.

    In the end, the new Dolls disc is far from an embarrassment. While one can rightly contest such a classic band retaining the New York Dolls moniker when only two of its original members remain, Johannsen and Sylvain are doing their legacy justice in the 21st century, and we should be thankful that the Dolls are still with us, despite the fact that some of them are not.

    3.5 / 5

    ‘Cause I Sez So releases TODAY, Cinco de Mayo.

    Buy ‘Cause I Sez So on Amazon.com.

    New York Dolls Official Website
    New York Dolls on MySpace

  • Ick's Pick

    Ick’s Pick (Week XV): John Doe and the Sadies – ‘Country Club’

    When I was looking through this week’s releases, this one jumped out of the screen at me: John Doe and the Sadies. Now, I’m pretty clueless when it comes to the music of X, and its co-founder Doe. But I know the reputation of X as one of the seminal bands of the L.A. punk scene. The Sadies are a Canadian band that specialize in that rootsy, twang-filled sound that I enjoy so much. So seeing that these two entities collaborated had me visualizing some sort of country sound with a kick – maybe something in the vein of Old 97’s or Reverend Horton Heat. Twang with a Bang…

    But it was apparent a few songs in that this was not that kind of album at all. What you’re getting instead is a classic, old school country sound. Most of the tunes are covers of some country classics: Johnny Cash’s “I Still Miss Someone”; “A Fool Such As I” (made popular by Elvis); Kris Kristofferson’s “Help Me Make It Through the Night”; and Merle Haggard’s “Are the Good Times Really Over For Good”, among others. There’s also a few originals, including some nice instrumentals composed by the Sadies in there.

    If you’re into classic, “real” Country music (not the homogenized “New Country” that Nashville is pooping out these days), you’ll enjoy this album. If you drive a big rig cross country for a living, this’ll make good company. If the lights are low, you’ve got a six-pack of Pabst Blue Ribbon and a broken heart, throw on track 11, “Take These Chains From My Heart”, and call it a night.

    While the album lacked the punch I was expecting, it’s clear that John Doe is a huge admirer of these songs, and he adds something fresh and new to every one of ’em. With a tight band like Sadies backing him up, what you have is a solid album that’ll feed those twang pangs when they come around.

    BUY Country Club.

    Links: John Doe’s Official Site | The Sadies Official Site

    Stream the first 10 tunes here:

    John%20DoeQuantcast

  • Ick's Pick,  Rock n' Folk,  Roots Rock

    Ick’s Pick (Week XIV): Old Californio’s new album, ‘Westering Again’

    Sure, I could steer you toward the new Neil Young, Richard Swift, or Doves albums – all out this week – but this one’s been on steady rotation for several weeks now, and it would be silly of me not to make this my Ick’s Pick o’ the week. A few weeks ago, I announced myself blown away by this band: Pasadena’s Old Californio, and their new album, Westering Again – largely due to the mind-blowing infectiousness of the opening tune, “Mother Road”.

    Well, today’s the day the album is unleashed to the masses, and I strongly recommend you visit one of the links below to pick it up. If you’d be interested in a diverse American album drawing on influences ranging from Gram Parsons and Moby Grape to the Grateful Dead and Crazy Horse, you’d be well served by hearing this album. Here’s my “Mother Road” post that goes into the band and album in more detail. And, you can still rock out to “Mother Road”…

    BUY Westering Again here on iTunes or here on CD Baby.

    HEAR Old CalifornioRiparian High (mp3)

    VISIT: Old Californio on MySpace