People’s Blues of Richmond will perform at the 2014 Lockn festival after earning their slot via the Rockn’ to Lockn’ contest. The trio shares a taste of what’s to come in the Relix boiler room. WATCH HERE…
FTM doesn’t usually post this sort of thing (and we get quite a few requests), but I really like this tune and the sounds of the record it’s on. Sara Rachele (pronounced Ra-kelly) is a singer-songwriter in the vein of Lydia Loveless, Lucinda Williams, and Neko Case. There’s also an atmospheric, indie quality to her approach a la Mazzy Star. You can read some quotes and her bio below and check out the premiere of her song “Strong As My Hands (Delilah)” right here. It’s also available to download for free! I think you’ll dig it.
Sara’s forthcoming album, Diamond Street, is out September 2. LISTEN HERE…
Based in Atlanta, Georgia, three-piece band Pillage & Plunder are far, far away from all that’s happening in Edinburgh right now. However, they sound like they’d thrive here, their debut album sounding like either a zany musical in itself, or a bunch of collected memories about a few weeks spent in Edinburgh. The Show Must Go Wrong (the title of which deserves applause and to be in lights somewhere) is full of unexpected left turns, theatrical bombast, and a self-deprecating sense of silliness that makes it a pleasure to listen to. There are air raid sirens, touching acoustic moments, emo-rock guitar play, songs that veer into waltz tempos, and a bunch of other features that help keep your attention fixed.
It’s appropriate that the album begins with a track called “Beetlejuice” as it not only sets the scene, but sounds like the inside of the titular character’s head. Backing vocals wander about in the background like some cartoon graveyard scene, before the track wanders into sounding like some twisted take on a swing song with vibraphone keys and brasswork teetering about the place with a playful disregard. Even though they were overdubbed after the band got the backing track down, they still sound like they’re just wandering through. This kind of musical theme continues throughout the album: “Boogeyman” is a tepid kid’s nightmare with guitars pummelling away; “I Will Drink the Ocean When I Go There” has Soviet marching noises punctuating its intro for no reason other than “Why the hell not?”; “The Last Date” goes into doo-wop territory unabashedly before cutting into a garage pop workout. Doing left turns in any kind of rock music is far from anything new, but perhaps because of the light-hearted workmanship the trio approach theirs with, it sounds fresh for the most part. READ MORE…
Nashville’s country-soul slinger Sam Lewis has just signed with Atlanta-based label Brash Records, with plans to enter the studio with producer Oliver Wood. In the wake of Lewis’ self-titled debut album, the two will embark on the new record via Southern Ground Studios in Nashville, TN.
Calling on the musical spirit of Leon Russell and maybe Al Green, after a weekend with Willie and Waylon in Dripping Springs, TX, Sam Lewis’ debut record was no slouch. Having enlisted the help of Marty Stuart’s guitar picker deluxe, Kenny Vaughn, Reggie Bradley Smith on the keys, and Dave Jaques, with Derek Mixon handling the rhythm section, Lewis surrounded himself with some of Nashville’s finest session players for his freshman effort. It was the first time he had played that particular batch of songs with anyone else, much less musicians of that caliber. — usually opting for just himself and an acoustic guitar to cast his art into an audience’s direction. READ MORE…
If you’re like me, you take finding new music really seriously, so seriously that you Shazam your computer, the TV, or even movies at the theater. This is in fact how I came across Nashville-based grungy rock trio The Wans, whose song “Want You” from their 2012 self-titled EP was featured on USA Network’s Necessary Roughness. I unabashedly reached out last year and managed to keep in touch like any rocker pen pals would.
The new album is just plain badass. However good music possesses you, be it headbanging, dancing, flailing, moshing or taking your clothes off, He Said She Said will lead you to do so. Fraught with bursts of raging rock, sexy grooves, and dejected lyrics, this record blends Simon Kerr’s smooth and sultry upper register vocals and distorted guitars, Mark Petaccia’s heavy, pounding drums, and Thomas Bragg’s penetrating bass riffs into a smoothie of rock perfection. If you’re into “recommended if you like” comparisons, The Wans’ sound evokes a large dose of Queens of the Stone Age and Nirvana, splashed with Led Zeppelin, Chris Cornell/Soundgarden and tinges of punky brashness, a la JEFF the Brotherhood or Bass Drum of Death. Opening with the ironically triumphant melodies of “Never Win,” The Wans show off their knack for ear catching songwriting. I hear there’s going to be a pretty awesome video to accompany it too, so stay on the look out! He Said She Said plummets into the dark depths of the unbridled “You’re Wasting” and “The Holy One,” which slinks along with grinding slide guitars and smashing drums. “What I’m Feeling” builds on grooving bass lines and oozes with seduction and growing tension, which pushes the tortured sentiment to erupt on “So Cruel,” as Kerr laments over and over, ” Why are you so cruel? Try to be a man but you treat me like a fool!” The Wans take a minor breather with a “balladic” but burdened “Turn Your Back,” and though the slightly subdued mood seeps into the raw opening vocals of “Take Me Home,” it quickly escalates into fits of wailing choruses. “I Can’t Fix You” is probably the most contagious singalong track with “Oh’s” and “Ow’s’” that will be stuck in your head for days, and the discordant chords of “Tired” aptly embody the pain of the song’s message. Last but definitely not least, “Black Pony” (featured recently in a BMW commercial), is pure bluesy, grunge greatness, pushing the album to a climactic close with hypnotic beats, crunching guitars, and angst-ridden welps. The point is, this might be my favorite album of 2014 so far, and I’d recommend getting your hands on it. That’s what she said, and that’s final. READ MORE…
NYC-by-way-of-Atlanta-based singer-songwriter Sara Rachele is set to release her debut record Diamond Street on Angrygal Records this coming September 2, 2014. It’s a live-straight-to-tape recording, which is an impressive feat itself on your debut record, not to mention they managed to put down all eight tracks and two bonus tracks in just two days. That’s always a sure sign of confidence and artistry. But, put that together with some of Atlanta’s finest musicians and you’ve got a bad-ass rock album. Vocally, she’s a glorious amalgamation of Neko Case and Lydia Loveless with a smattering of Harriet Wheeler (The Sundays). For those of us still reeling from Lydia’s last effort, Diamond Street will satisfy that void. LISTEN HERE…