Crib Notes

Local fixture ANNA KRAMER has secretly dominated Atlanta’s country, folk and under-ground rock scenes for the last decade via her various solo and band efforts. With her current trio, the Lost Cause, featuring Shannon Mulvaney (upright bass) and Adam Renshaw (drums), she has perfected a body of songs that captures the true spirit of an urbane Southern troubadour. There’s more dang than twang on her 2008 release, The Rustic Contemporary Sounds of Anna Kramer and the Lost Cause (International Hits). And you can’t call it alt-country without giving equal props to the palette of ’70s Brit invasion and ’90s indie rock that gives just as much kick to her strut. www.myspace.com/annakramer. — Chad Radford

Click here to view CL’s complete 2008 Best of Atlanta/After Dark critics’ and readers’ picks.

Photo by Joeff Davis

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After Kate Hudson stopped being Chris Robinson’s real-life Penny Lane, Robinson retreated to the place he felt most comfortable: THE BLACK CROWES. The band’s comeback album, Warpaint, got an unexpected PR push earlier this year when Maxim magazine was put in the embarrassing position of admitting it had panned the new record without having heard it. Turns out they should have listened. Warpaint proved to be the band’s most successful album in more than a decade, and it was followed by a tour on which the Crowes reclaimed their elevated position in America’s rock ‘n’ roll hierarchy. Rock on. www.blackcrowes.com. — Scott Freeman

Click here to view CL’s complete 2008 Best of Atlanta/After Dark critics’ and readers’ picks.

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Killer Mike in Kirkwood

KILLER MIKE is a rapper with an agenda, and usually those make for the most focused MCs. In Mike’s case, it makes him one of the best – both in Atlanta and beyond. Representing for the working class, his latest release, I Pledge Allegiance to the Grind II, is a precise continuation of the street knowledge he branded on the first installment. Songs such as “Good Bye (City of Dope),” “Pressure” (featuring Ice Cube) and “God in the Building” elevate his standing in hip-hop’s lyrical hierarchy. Killer Kill from Adamsville (as he’s affectionately known) has the storytelling, nonirritating braggadocio and metaphors to make even the most noted lyricist brush up his pen game. www.myspace.com/grindtimeonline. — Jacinta Howard

To view the complete 2008 Best of Atlanta/After Dark critics’ and readers picks, click here.

Photo by Maurice Garland

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Editor’s Note: Pick up Creative Loafing’s 2008 Best of Atlanta issue this week to get hip to the city’s best in music and nightlife. There was too much good stuff to print in the After Dark section, so we’ll be posting some of the critics’ picks here on Crib Notes for your viewing pleasure. Stay tuned.

ADRON is a young, self-taught maestro with a nylon-stringed guitar. Her self-titled debut CD on New Street Records is a gorgeous reminder why it’s a shame that she up and left her old stomping grounds in late 2007 for the mean streets of Brooklyn. But her time away has served her well. Over the last year, her balance of quietude and quasi-Brazilian folk strumming has matured to a level that is far beyond her years. It’s due, no doubt, to her throwing herself into the mix of New York’s thriving musical environment. — Chad Radford www.adronmusic.com.

To view the complete 2008 Best of Atlanta/After Dark critics’ and readers picks, click here.

Photo by Perry Julien

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