Those Darlins release their self-titled debut today; more after the jump.
Against Me – The Original Cowboy Album comprised of demos from 2003’s As The Eternal Cowboy.
Animal Collective – Summertime Clothes 12” Highlights the warm weather standout jam “Summertime Clothes,” accompanied by remixes from Dam-Funk (Stones Throw), Zomby (Hyperdub), and L.D. (Hyperdub).
Broken Records – Until The Earth Begins To Part Scottish seven-piece releases their debut. They’ve already been tipped for greatness by NME, Q, and The Word. “Epic, swirling, joyfully mysterious music with a warmth and heart.” —The Guardian
Budos Band – Budos Band EP One of the most exciting of the Daptone label bands is The Budos Band, and they’re whetting our appetite for the upcoming Budos Band III full-length with this vinyl-only EP that gives the trademark horn-driven and bass-heavy Budos funk another slot in your collection. Includes a free MP3 download card.
Cat Power – Covers Record HQ-180 vinyl reissue.
The Donnas – Greatest Hits Volume 16 A comprehensive album featuring a mix of new songs, never-before-heard B-sides and live recordings, as well as re-recorded classics and previously unreleased tracks. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Eric Snider on Jun. 22, 2009, at 1:35 pm
This album looks great on paper:
Legendary organist and Stax Records session mainstay Booker T. joins forces with the Drive-By Truckers, whose Patterson Hood is the son of Muscle Shoals bassist David Hood. Add Neil Young’s lead guitar into the mix, and the result? Gritty instrumental R&B gold, right?
Not really. Potato Hole sounds like a set of 10 rhythm tracks in search of songs — melodies, vocals, that sort of stuff. As a result, while some of the music has a certain scrappy energy, the whole affair ends up being tedious.
Versions of “Hey Ya” and Tom Waits’ “Get Behind the Mule” fare best, mostly because the aggregation has a melody to dig into.
Booker T. is not an improviser, a soloist of any particular skill. (Just listen to the Booker T & the MG’s 1962 hit “Green Onions” — it’s a quick, grabby riff with a good groove, and little else.) Read the rest of this entry »
Drive-By Trucker Patterson Hood sent out a recent e-mail that contained lots of interesting information I thought I’d pass along:
Patterson’s second solo album, Murdering Oscar (and other love songs), is available for pre-order. One of the pre-order packages includes an autographed, 180-gram vinyl album, a digital download, and a signed and numbered giclée of the album artwork (by Wes Freed).
Summer dates are scarce but Patterson hopes to take his merry band of Screwtopians (David Barbe, Will Johnson, Scott Danbom, John Neff and Brad Morgan) on a coast-to-coast tour sometime later this year. (PATTERSON! YOU GUYS REMEMBER WHERE FLORIDA IS?????)Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Leilani Polk on May. 18, 2009, at 2:55 pm
Dozens and dozens of acts will make it onto Tampa Bay area concert stages this summer. Here’s our best bets, in a wide range of genres.
Stanton Moore The bespectacled founder of NOLA funk purveyors Galactic is widely regarded as one of the best drummers currently drawing air. This show has him in a trio setting with estimable guitarist Will Bernard and keyboardist Robert Walter. The small ensemble allows room for Moore to strut his Crescent City-honed skills. Expect expansive jamming and finely honed interplay. (Video: Stanton Moore Trio performing at Emerald Lounge in Asheville, N.C., Sept. 10, 2008.) (May 28, Crowbar, Ybor City)—Eric Snider
Sunday, May 31 WMNF Jazz Jam feat. Sam Rivers/PBS/World Afro-Cuban Ensemble/Infinite Groove Orchestra/Impromptu/Trio Vibe/others TBA Tampa Bay’s community radio station has been putting together more jazz events of late — thank you for that — this being one of the more ambitious. Saxophonist Sam Rivers, 83, was once a front-rank player on the New York (and thus international) avant-garde scene. He’s settled into legendhood well, living in Orlando and taking gigs as he pleases. A potpourri of locally-based acts rounds out the bill. (May 31, Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa) —ESRead the rest of this entry »
Posted by Leilani Polk on Apr. 28, 2009, at 12:00 am
When guitarist/singer/songwriter Jason Isbell put together his solo debut, Sirens of the Ditch, it was a prolonged process carried out over several years while he was a fulltime member of Drive-By Truckers, those purveyors of raucously rockin’, whiskey-drinkin’ alt-country music.
“I only had a day or two to record it at a time,” Isbell told me during a phone interview a few days before kicking off the second leg of his spring tour with his band The 400 Unit (pictured).
Squeezing solo studio time into an already jam-packed gigging schedule might’ve been easy for your standard hired hand, but Isbell made up a third of DBT’s triple axe attack and was a productive songwriter throughout his six-year tenure with the band. He’d always brought his own distinctive flavor to the Truckers’ sound and as he drew closer to finishing his record, it became clear he was headed down a different path than the rest of his bandmates, both musically and personally. The dissolution of his marriage to DBT bassist Shonna Tucker didn’t make things any easier, so three months before he released Sirens in 2007, Isbell made his amicable exit.
Sirens sounded a lot like a DBT record, and though it was well received by critics and fans alike, there was a lingering curiosity about the direction he’d take with his follow-up. Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit, recorded in Muscle Shoals and released on Lightning Rod Records in February, is a clear departure from the Truckers sound. It’s also more cohesive than his solo debut. Isbell’s pleasantly husky drawl is set against rootsy, Southern-fried rock ’n’ roll with countrified pop melodies and the soulful, gospel-tinged Muscle Shoals sound: tough, passionate, unflinching, melancholy, and sincere. Read the rest of this entry »
Okay, last month we stumbled, both technically and performance wise, through the debut podcast. Come month two, we’re ready to drop the cream of Americana podcasts (from one of the best Americana blogs) on you, and our tech is prepped for the amount of awesome that you’re likely to find yourself listening to multiple times a week. I know I’m coming off like the Kanye West of the Americana blogging community, but I don’t give a fuck. I like fish sticks and I’m telling you, you’re gonna love it and you’re gonna listen to it numerous times. I feel that confident.
So, here is the tracklisting for what very well may be the only thing you listen to for the rest of this week:
Drive-by Truckers – Nine Bullets
Autopsy IV Commentary
Strawfoot – Cursed Neck
Pinebox Serenade – Woven Arms
Uncle Sinner – When Jesus Comes
Autopsy IV Commentary
Olin & The Moon – Call Me Up
American Aquarium – California
Eileen Jewell – Sea of Tears
Autopsy IV Commentary
Drag The River – Old Sad Songs [extended] (Lucero Cover)
Gillian Welch & Old Crow Medicine Show – The Weight (The Band Cover)
Scott H. Biram – Sinking Down (FD Session)
Jon & Chad (Drag The River) – Dancin’ In The Moonlight (Thin Lizzy Cover)
Autopsy IV Commentary
Grayson Capps – Going Back To The Country
Chris Knight – Enough Rope
Autopsy IV Commentary
Two Cow Garage – Should’ve California
IF YOU LISTEN TO THIS AND ENJOY IT PLEASE FORWARD IT TO SOMEONE ELSE!
Posted by Vinyl Fever on Apr. 21, 2009, at 2:33 pm
Welcome aboard new Tampa Calling Contributor, Vinyl Fever’s Lee Wolfson, who will taking over on each week’s new music releases and other such interesting music tidbits, from what it’s like running an indie music store, to offering info on the latest in new music, to giving the inside scoop on any special promos or giveaways his store may be offering. Here’s his inaugural post, a list of new releases you may or may not be aware of.
Terry Adams (of NRBQ), Holy Tweet
Maria Bamford, Unwanted Thoughts Syndrome
Buju Banton, Rasta Got Soul
Behemoth, The Art of Rebelling Live (CD/DVD)
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, How Big Can You Get?: The Music of Cab Calloway (ahahahahahaha! yeah, really!)
Brian Blade, Mama Rosa
Booker T., Potato Hole (with Drive By Truckers and Neil Young, too — it’s REAL SWEET!)
The Boxmasters and Billy Bob Thornton, The Boxmasters
Braid, Frankie Welfare Boy Age Five (a re-release of the 1995 debut album comprised 26 tracks, each one named using a different letter of the alphabet.) Read the rest of this entry »
