Category: Country

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Comic Visuals for Old 97’s “Good with God”

Comprised of primary songwriter Rhett Miller (vocals, guitar), Murry Hammond (bass), Ken Bethea (guitar) and Philip Peeples (drums), the members of renowned alt-country quartet Old 97s can trace their origins back to their formation in Dallas, TX back in 1993. Initially, a very popular band in Dallas’ scene, the band quickly caught the attention Bloodshot Records, who released Wreck Your Life, which later caught the attention of the folks at Elektra Records, who signed the band in the hopes that the then-Dallas-based quartet, along with bands like Uncle Tupelo, Drive-by-Truckers, Whiskeytown, The Jayhawks, Bottle Rockets and others, which were at the forefront of the alt-country sound would be the next big thing after grunge’s decline. However, unfortunately for both Elektra and the members of Old 97s, despite receiving a fair amount of critical applause, the band and its sound didn’t quite catch on commercially in the way that the label expected, and they were subsequently dropped from the label.

And although being dropped from a major label, can have a devastating impact on a band and their career, the band has managed to build a cult-favorite status and in the iTunes and blogosphere era, building up a devoted and supportive fanbase will provide you with an attainable and sustainable level of professional success. The band’s latest effort Graveyard Whistling reportedly deals with both life and mortality — but with the band’s distinctive and ironic sense of humor and heartfelt tenderness.

Graveyard Whistling’s latest single “Good with God” is a collaboration with renowned labelmate Caitlin Rose, and its a swaggering track that sonically owes a debt to Sun Records and renegade-era country and rockabilly; while thematically, the song’s narrator talks about being a wild badass, who has made a certain level of peace with his life, as he’s fucked things up and “made his bed and will lie in it,” and while he’s made peace with God, he isn’t sure if God has accepted it. So one level the song expresses the acceptance of a full and messy life, but an uncertainty of what happens once we’re no longer here.

Directed by Lee Kirk and produced by Michael Kristoff, the recently released video for “Good with God” features Jenna Fischer as an MTV-like VJ doing a prototypical 120 Minutes-styled interview; however, the band’s drummer is missing and Fred Armisen, who just happens to be at the studio is recruited to play the role of the band’s drummer. And although the show’s director tells Armisen’s character to just sit there and look like he was in the band, he can’t help himself from interrupting and eventually taking over the interview, much to everyone’s exasperation. As an interviewer myself, it’s painful and hilarious. Of course, it’s followed by a blistering studio performance of the song with Armisen actually playing drums.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Introducing the Classic Country and Early Rock-Inspired Sound of Laura Jean Anderson

Laura Jean Anderson is an Olympia, WA-born, Los Angeles, CA-based singer/songwriter and guitarist who has started to receive attention for a sound and aesthetic that draws from classic country, 40s-50s blues and garage rock but with a subtly modern take, serving as a gentle reminder that earnest and personal songwriting may be more necessary than ever in the dark days that seem to be ahead of us. Anderson’s latest single “Won’t Give Up” features the Los Angeles, CA-based singer/songwriter’s gorgeous and expressive Patsy Cline/June Carter Cash-like vocals paired in a relatively simple arrangement of Anderson’s gently strummed electric guitar, and the addition of a gently propulsive rhythm section, which enters for the song’s anthemic and soaring hook. And although the song sounds as though it could have been released in 1956 or so, the Olympia, WA-born, Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter explains in press notes, a “response to what’s going on in the political and social climate.” She goes on to say that she wanted to release the song “as fuel to the belief that you can’t give up on other people, just because they give up on you. It’s a deeply personal song, but I believe more than ever that the personal is political!”

Certainly, the song should remind the listener of the cliched adage that “no man is an island” and that most importantly, in these strange times, the universe can create some rather strange bedfellows. We’re going to have to rely on each other more than ever. So don’t give up; the fight is going to be long and tiring, but worthwhile in the end.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Dougie Poole is a Providence, RI-born, New York-based singer/songwriter, who began his musical career writing loud, heavy and dissonant music before eventually turning his focus on country music. And with his forthcoming full-length effort Wideass Highway, the Providence-based, New York-based singer/songwriter writes about his own, real-life experiences — heartbreak and loss and how we deal with it in the digital age, skittish use of psychedelics, his relationships with people and computers, and life in and in-between cities while expanding upon familiar country sounds and structures, essentially exploring country as an experimental and forward-thinking genre.  And as you’ll hear on his latest single “Less Young but as Dumb” Poole pairs the aching and wistful sentiment of country — in this case,  the song’s narrator speaks of his regret over a relationship that’s ended and his difficulties moving on — with a shimmering, cosmic Wall of Sound-like sound familiar to shoegazers, all while nodding at the lonely heartache of Roy Orbison.

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

A great deal of the popular music that we know and love can trace its origins to the church and to gospel music in some way or another. Artists such as Aretha Franklin, Al Green, Dionne Warwick, Cissy Houston and her daughter Whitney Houston, Gladys Knight, Teddy Riley, Mary J. Blige, R. Kelly, The Staple Singers and an incredibly lengthy list of others can claim that their start when they sang gospel and spirituals at their local church. Nor should it be surprising to recognize that many of the Mississippi Delta bluesman, who had influenced the sound and aesthetic of rock ‘n’ roll had either played in a church, were inspired by gospel and spirituals — or were generally just intimately familiar with the music. Now while gospel and spirituals haven’t seen a whole lot of love across secular media outlets or the blogosphere, there have been a few gospel acts that have seen some level of crossover/secular attention — in particular Kirk Franklin, who landed a hit with 1997’s “Stomp,” Naomi Shelton and the Gospel Queens, who received attention with 2014’s impressive Cold World and  Joshua Nelson, “The Prince of Kosher Gospel,” an artist who ties together Jewish Temple songs with gospel in a way that’s incredibly soulful — and interestingly enough makes a lot of sense. Of course while each of those artists have a unique take on gospel and spirituals, there’s one thing they have in common — they believe in music with a powerfully uplifting message that will move audiences, whether you’re secular or deeply religious.

Now, if you had been frequenting this site over the past couple of years, you may recall that I wrote about The Jones Family Singers. Comprised of patriarch, Bishop Fred Jones, Sr. (vocals), his daughters Ernestine (vocals), Sabrina (vocals), Velma (vocals), ‘Trelle (vocals), his sons Kenny (bass) and Fred, Jr. (guitar, piano), along with Matthew Hudlin (drums), Ezra Bryant (guitar) and Duane Herbert (percussion) have seen a rapidly growing national and international profile with the release of  Alan Berg’s documentary The Jones Family Will Make a Way, which features live footage of their New York City area debut at Lincoln Center, as well as tour stops in Germany, The Netherlands and festival stops in Newport, Winnipeg, Los Angeles, Monterey and others — thanks in part to a sound that while effortlessly meshing rock, the blues and gospel, manages to nod at the legendary Staple Family Singers.

Recently, renowned producer and guitarist Adrian Quesada invited The Jones Family Singers to take part in his “Live at Level One” cover series and their contribution to the series is a soulful cover of Johnny Cash‘s “All God Children’s Ain’t Free,” a single that manages to be as socially and politically necessary as ever, as the song reminds the listener that there’s much urgent work to be done to achieve the American ideals of freedom, justice and opportunity for all. As Bishop Fred Jones, Sr. explains of their cover in press notes, “No matter how high and mighty you think you are, never forget the people beneath you. Everyone needs an opportunity right now, and this song is a necessary statement for us to make at this crucial time in our nation’s history.”

The multi-generational family band will be touring across the Northeast next week as part of a series of shows to celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Check out tour dates below.

Tour Dates:

Sat, Jan 14 – Hampton, VA @ The American Theatre
Sun & Mon, Jan 15/16 – Philadelphia, PA @ Kimmel Center (SEI Innovation Studio)
Thu, Jan 19 – Hanover, NH @ Hopkins Center
Fri, Jan 20 – Portland, ME @ Portland Ovations

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Hazy and Aching Visuals and Sounds of Jess Williamson’s “See You In A Dream”

“See You In A Dream” is Heart Song’s latest single and it will further cement the Austin, TX-based singer/songwriter’s burgeoning reputation for crafting material that’s lush and cinematic while being profoundly intimate and vulnerable. The ache, longing, recrimination and resolve at the core of the song not only evokes the lingering ghosts that drift and haunt your loneliest moments — perhaps drinking alone at your local bar, when everyone else has gone home and the bartenders are beginning to clean up and shut down for the night. And much like Vera Lynn’s “Auf Wiederseh’n, Sweetheart” Williamson’s “See You In A Dream” there’s a sense of regret and begrudging acceptance of people growing apart, of relationships ending and something that was once part of your present becoming part of a growing and complicated past.

Directed by Daniel Hill, the recently released video for “See You In A Dream” was inspired by an old Roky Erickson video and was shot mostly on VHS — with the VHS footage representing dream sequences, emphasizing both the ache and the lingering ghosts that inhabit the sparse arrangement.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: The Devil Makes Three’s Cover of A Ralph Stanley Classic

Now earlier this month, you might remember that I wrote about Redemption and Ruin’s first single, a slowed-down, twangy, Johnny Cash, Sun Records-era-leaning cover of one of my favorite Muddy Waters tunes “Champagne and Reefer” that retained the original’s wicked sense of humor and gleeful debauchery. The album’s second single is a cover of bluegrass legend Ralph Stanley’s classic and oft-covered “I Am The Man Thomas,” and as Bernhard told the folks at Relix, “‘I Am The Man’ is a gruesome tale of the capture and crucifixion of Jesus sung by none other than the late great Ralph Stanley. It may be the most metal Gospel song ever penned by mortal hand. What better song to include on Redemption And Ruin, This tune has it all, the chase the death and the rise from the grave.” The Devil Makes Three cover is a subtly and deceptively straightforward cover that puts a bit of snarl and muscle into it — while with a deeper emphasis on the gruesomeness and cruelty of the cruxifixction and Jesus’ eventual redemption.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: JOVM Mainstay Charlie Greene Returns with an Aching, Country-Leaning Cover of Ziggy Stardust-era Bowie

Several years have passed since we’ve heard from Charlie Greene but as Greene has told me via email, he’s been pretty busy of late as he’s putting the finishing touches on an album that is tentatively slated for release sometime over the winter, along with some tour dates; but in the meantime, the Atlanta-born and Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter has started a video series he’s titled “Dead Man’s Cattle Call,” in which he an this backing band pay tribute to a recently deceased musician of note with a one-take recording in a Topanga, CA-based grape arbor, then they release an accompanying video. And the latest installment is a slow-burning country music rendition of David Bowie’s “The Prettiest Star,” which pulls out the nostalgic wistfulness and ache at the core of the original.

The recently released music video was shot by the folks at Beard and Glasses VR and to get the full effect of the video, please check it out on Google Chrome or on your smartphone. It’s a trippy and immersive effect to be able to view everything the musicians did while performing the song.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Growing up in New South Wales’ Blue Mountains to a family of teachers and educations, Julia Jacklin originally thought she would follow a similar path as a social worker; however, the young Jacklin chanced upon a documentary about Britney Spears  while on a family vacation that changed the course of her life. As Jacklin mentions in press notes “By the time Britney was 12, she’d achieved a lot. I remember thinking ‘Shit what I have done with my life? I haven’t achieved anything.’ So I was like ‘Mum, as soon as we get home from this holiday, I need to get singing lessons.”

As the story goes, classical singing lessons were the only kind a young Jacklin could take in the area, but she took to it; however, by the time she was in her teens the lack of her own personal expression and she quickly joined a high school band, in which she spent time singing Avril Lavigne and Evanescence covers. And as you can imagine, she was quickly hooked — and recognized that music was something she should consider.

Recognizing you have to take a creative path and figuring out which path it should be often comes about in a series of epiphanies and serendipitous events. Jacklin’s second major epiphany came after she had finished high school. While traveling through South America, she ran into high school friend and future collaborator Liz Hughes. Bonding over a love of indie, Appalachian folk trio Mountain Man, the duo started a band together, initially with Jacklin singing the songs that Hughes wrote. “I would just sing,” Jacklin explained in press notes. “But as I got my confidence I started playing guitar and writing songs. I wouldn’t be doing music now if it wasn’t for Liz or that band. I never knew it was something I could do.”

Recorded in New Zealand’s Sitting Room Studios with Ben Edwards, best known for his work with Marlon Williams, Aldous Harding and Nadia Reid, Jacklin’s forthcoming full-length debut Don’t Let The Kids Win is indebted to the influence of Fiona Apple, Anna Calvi while drawing heavily from folk, alt-country and classic country as you’ll hear on the album’s first single “Leadlight,” a single I recently stumbled on while writing about another single. And if you can imagine it, I stopped what I was doing at my cluttered desk and was immediately moved by the ancient ache in this young singer/songwriter’s voice  — an ache of lost and squandered chances, terrible decisions, lost loves and longing that manages to be both a bittersweet lament that has its narrator seemingly saying “how did I fuck that all up — again?” and the wisp of a smile over the fact that life is often embittering, messy and enchanting. Such wisdom in someone so young — the singer/songwriter is only 25 — is a rarity and with a voice that hints at Patsy Cline and others, I think we’ll be hearing quite a bit from Jacklin.

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singer/songwriters by William Ruben Helms

Summer Festival Preview: Northside Festival 2016

The JOVM previews 2016’s Northside Festival, along with brief bios and music from some of the artists performing — including Brian Wilson, Kasey Musgraves, Conor Oberst, Wolf Parade, Psychic Ills, Diarrhea Planet, The Giraffes, Bambara, Blak Emoji and Boulevards.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Rollicking and Playful New Video for Reed Turner’s “I Got Love”

With the release of his 2013 full-length debut effort to critical acclaim, Ghosts In The Attic, Austin, TX-based indie folk singer/songwriter Reed Turner exploded on to the national map. As a result of the attention on the album, Turner wound […]

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

 

Originally begun as a solo side project from her time with Vivian Girls and All Saints Day, Katy Goodman’s current musical project La Sera has developed a national profile with three critically applauded albums, her self titled debut, Sees the Light and Hour of the Dawn, which were released through Hardly Art Records.  Goodman’s last album, 2014’s Hour of the Dawn was very much a punk-inspired album; however, with the release of “High Notes,” the first single from her forthcoming album, Music For Listening To Music To reveals an artist, who has gone through both personal and artistic transitions. Sonically and structurally, the song reveals that Goodman has returned to an elegant and solid simplicity — it pairs the sort of shimmering guitar chords of The Smiths and the propulsive, old-school chugging rhythm of Johnny Cash (in particular, think of “Folsom Prison Blues,” “Jackson” and countless others) with Goodman’s wistfully ethereal coos. And interestingly enough La Sera has added personnel to flesh out the project’s sound — Goodman’s guitarist, cowriter and husband Todd Wisenbaker, who is probably best known as a member of Listening To Music To‘s producer Ryan Adams‘ backing band.

Of course, “High Notes” makes a vital connection between punk, post-punk and renegade country that countless others have done before while possessing a sneering, real life irony that many of us have faced before — after a breakup, taking the high road not because you actually believe that it’s the best thing but for appearances and because you want to get the last word. It’s probably the most honest and heartfelt sentiment I’ve come across in quite some time.

 

 

 

 
Video by William Ruben Helms

Live Footage: Brandi Carlile’s “The Things I Regret” Live at Red Rocks Amphitheater

Ravensdale, WA-born and Seattle, WA-based singer/songwriter Brandi Carlile can trace the origins of her music career to her childhood — when she was 8 she performed Johnny Cash‘s “Tennessee Flat Top Box” with her mother […]

New Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Ruby Boots’ “Wrap Me In A Fever” Channels Neko Case and Others

Singer/songwriter Bex Chilcott, best known in her native Australia under the moniker of Ruby Boots has led quite a life. When she was 16. Chilcott left Perth and worked her way up the desolate Western […]

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Skin & Bones’ Swaggering and Ominous “Bad Feeling”

Comprised of Taylor Borsuk (vocals, guitar, drums) and Peter Blackwelder (violin), the Venice Beach, CA-based duo Skin & Bones first gained attention locally as local buskers performing country and blues tunes on Venice Beach’s renowned […]