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Thursday, April 10, 2008
BONES TO PICK
Bellafea
Cavalcade
Southern Records : 2008
Out in May : Pre-order currently unavailable : watch http://www.myspace.com/bellafea for forthcoming details
LAZY SUICIDE
Megafaun
Bury the Square
Table of Elements : 2008
[Buy It]
SOMETHING LEFT TO SAY
Roman Candle
The Wee Hours Revue
V2 : 2006
[Buy It]
ONLY PONY UNICORN
Juan Huevos
MC People Magazine
self-released : 2007
http://www.myspace.com/juanhuevos
HALF OF MY KINGDOM
Alina Simone
Everyone is Crying Out to Me, Beware
54ยบ 40' or Fight! : 2008
[Pre-order It]
Hey gang. Is it nice where you are yet? Spring has officially sprung in North Carolina. It's sunny, in the seventies, pollen sifting down like mist. At least, this is how it looks through my window. I'm inside, shackled to the computer. I love spring but it's such a busy time of year, for everyone, seems like. I know I always have a bunch of extra stuff to deal with in the spring. Taxes, for one thing. Also, the lease schedule I've gotten on usually has me moving in May. So it's a time of year I associate with institutional forces impinging upon my space -- the IRS, landlords and realtors who run my life behind the scenes suddenly lunge into the open, and assail me directly. I've been trying to get a post up all week but life keeps getting in the way. Alex is buried too, and Ben's been pulling our weight. Today is no different, but I wanted to get something up, so I'm going to continue my post on local music from a few weeks ago. I don't have time to write a lot, but I'll say a little about each.
The Mountain Goats' John Darnielle, who appears on the forthcoming new Bellafea record, has been quoted as saying that Heather McEntire is the kind of stage presence you only encounter a few times in your life, and he's right. This new recording from Bellafea bottles up her explosive guitar style better than previous releases, but you still gotta see it in person to get the full effect.
When alt.country band DeYarmond Edison disbanded, they split into two groups, Bon Iver and Megafaun. Megafaun represents the group's more experimental side, although they wed their musique concrete and resonator drones with rickety back-porch blues.
Roman Candle has had some tough breaks-- they've essentially released this album twice, only to see their label immediately fold both times. Honestly this kind of Southern rock is not usually my cup of tea, but there are exceptions - I adore the Band - and Roman Candle is one of them. Their melodies are so direly infectious, and their production so pop-cunning, that I've been hooked on these songs for years. Hopefully they'll land on a label that knows how to handle them properly soon.
Juan Huevos has been a dear friend of mine for years. I've watched him evolve from a saving-hip-hop backpacker with a transgressive streak to a party-and-bullshit/nerd-rap/electro-fiend with a sensitive streak in his amplified transgression. His shows are full of choreography and he can warm up even the least rap-friendly crowd with sheer charisma. This dude's been on his grind for years and it's time for him to pop.
Alina Simone splits her time between Brooklyn and Chapel Hill. She has been an accomplished singer/songwriter in the vein of PJ Harvey or Cat Power, but her new record is on some next-level shit: it's an album of covers of the Russian cult musician Yanka, who circulated her fiery folk-punk songs on cassette tapes that were never officialy released. Simone, born in Ukraine, has found her ideal source material in Yanka - nothing she's done to date has this much growl and bite.
posted by Brian
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