<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal;mso-outline-level:1″><span style=" Times New Roman” ,”serif”;mso-fareast-times=”” new=”” roman”;=”” mso-font-kerning:18.0pt;mso-fareast-language:es-bo”=””> I assume Jon Lyle Williams and the Bravest Retreat miss it, too, because their self-titled album seems like an ode to the decade with a certain affection for their Oklahoma roots thrown in for good measure. Williams’ voice is a husky and powerful […]
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Independence 76 — Magpie Parables
Its imaginative storytelling qualities are effective at times and overwrought at others, as narrator g. Eddison — it’s unclear whether Mr. Eddison is an actual person or just a fictional device — cries woe over the generation his junior. Woody Guthrie’s an obvious influence, as the bluegrass band tackles the taboo with obvious language and […]
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Wilco – The Whole Love
The latter eschews much of that melody for a grittier rock and prog sound, and a wider thematic range, lyrically. Linking the two is the band’s universally beloved and critically lauded 2002 opus, “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot,” but, save for Jeff Tweedy’s most devout, wide-eyed followers, few find themselves with an equal appreciation for both albums. […]
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Slim start
Turning 30 is an exciting time. You get more serious about your work. Maybe settle down romantically. And in the case of Langhorne Slim, you start paying rent. Yes, the Americana singer/songwriter managed to make it through his 20s without paying any rent, until recently relocating to Portland, Ore. “It sounds really cool now … […]
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Soundcheck: The Okee Dokee Brothers
“There’s a participatory culture in all of our performances,” Mailander said. “We like to break down the barriers between the performer and audience. It turns what’s normally a passive experience for the listener — like watching TV — into a more active one.” He and Lansing, better known as kid-friendly folk duo The Okee Dokee […]
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Heart of Holland
Imagine you could experience emotion like those with synesthesia, who perceive sounds as having color or shape. Would you witness love emanating from strangers like exquisite rose blooms, or depression trailing behind in a wake of dark clouds? This idea approaches the aesthetic of Jolie Holland, whose wavering alto comes out of her with such […]
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Piñataland — Hymns for the Dreadful Night
The chamber pop of Piñataland’s “Hymns for the Dreadful Night” caught my attention immediately, as it is immaculately captured. “Island of Godless Men” is the best example of this. It’s a great song made better by the details of the engineering. Opening the piece is remarkably clear sound of the ocean, which gives way to […]
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Nik Freitas — Saturday Night Underwater
He helped raise the pop song to an art form, lifting it from the youth into the realm of serious consideration. But most mature musicians today stray toward the maudlin tones of adult alternative or the “raw” qualities of Americana/folk. There’s not too many guys making solid pop for adults, but Nik Freitas is one […]
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Holly would
Who’d have thought some of the best modern Americana would come from a Brit? Award-winning duo Holly Golightly and the Brokeoffs is led by Golightly, a singer/songwriter named after the lead in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.” The Londoner has worked with acts as huge as The White Stripes. As she tells it, her virtuosity with traditional […]
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Russell’s brand
Tom Russell has no patience for pigeonholes. Despite a penchant for rootsy story-songs about dust-blown, blue-collar characters, he scoffs at the Americana tag that’s been hung around his neck for years. “They always need a tag — progressive country, new country, altcountry — to put outsider writing in,” Russell said. “I don’t see my music […]