Today my country will be drunk. In an hour the Queen will officially resign, followed by the Prince accepting his new job as the King of our little country. You may have read about it. It is a great party and I expect to celebrate it with a few beers, good friends & great music. To get myself in the mood I played this album by Alex Culbreth & The Dead Country Stars this morning over coffee and today's newspaper. Great way to start any new day, even if there's no new King at the end of it.
Alex Culbreth is the male half of The Parlor Soldiers and with his Dead Country Stars he's recorded a modern alt-country album with great up-tempo songs that make you wanna dance and beautiful slow intense songs making you stare into the great white desert with nothing on your mind.
This album has been on heavy rotation for months now, as it was released back in December already and it's a great record from start to finish. Closing track "By & By" is a fine, somewhat slow song with a positive vibe to it. Singing along and dancing is highly recommended. And when it's done, playback is just a mouse-click away.
The Boxer Rebellion are releasing their 4th album Promises on May 14th and after their 1st great song Diamonds was shared with us last month, I've received the 2nd song "Keep Moving" in my email last night and it's another great song. That upcoming album is becoming more interesting with every song they release, is it May already?!
One of last years highlights was SEESAW and The Rest are still releasing videos for the album in an attempt to eventually have a video for each song on SEESAW. This is video number 4 and it's a great vid. Cool images, weird story, birds and explosions. And off course the great song that comes with it and supports the images very well. Watch it. Enjoy it. Watch it again. Best remedy for those dreadfull days Thursdays tend to be..
So here's one for the relaxing Saturday evening or easy-going Sunday. Man and guitar: the basic ingredients for a fine album by Björn Kleinhenz. Björn is a Swedish singer-songwriter of the purest kind and I found it impossible not to be completely in love with his music the very first time I heard it. For a little over half an hour, stop what you're doing and give this a spin.
Opening track "The Beard Man" reminds me a lot of Nick Drake, a name that comes to mind a few more times during this album. Just like Plug in, Baby!-favorite Pickering Pick is definately close several times throughout the 35 minutes of the 9 songs on this album. This was released a year and 3 days ago and I had planned to write this on it's birthday, but Saturday evening is maybe even a better moment for an album like this. I've just finished reading a good book (onto the next one in a few minutes), there's a glass of red wine from a fine bottle on the table, the light is weak, the kitty is softly sleeping at a safe distance. The mood is perfectly set for a beautiful slow album like this.
But if you're out dancing or enjoying your Record Store Day-purchases, put this on your reminders-list. Come back tomorrow morning, enjoy a warm Sunday morning in the sun with a hot cup of coffee and the sweet sounds of Björn Kleinhenz. It'll work as good as it does on Saturday night, because that is how beautiful music works. It'll get you in the mood for it, regardless of the situation.
This is a Beautiful Album. It deserves to be heard, to be carefully listened to. And you might just fall deeply in love. I have.
New Said The Whale-song from their upcoming EP I Love You, to be released June 18th (and a new album later this year) is a beauty. My love for this band is still fresh, but it's very alive and they are amongst my favorite new bands. This new song proves Little Mountain was not a lucky shot. Great song! Eagerly awaiting the full EP and album!
Harvest Star Folk Collective is a group of "like minded folk musicians" (their own words) from the south coast of the USA releasing music together. They've recently released their 3rd compilation album called Harvest Star Vol. 3 and it's every note perfection.
The base is Americana/Folk, but the 12 songs are all very different. Best example of the wide range of this compilation is "Dead Horses" vs "Billy Dyer", exciting experimental Tango-esque vs back-to-basics Country Folk (not sure why I use capitals dor music styles, but who cares..). Both equally beautiful, as you can hear for yourself. Justin Cross sounds a LOT like Ray LaMontagne, which can be considered a big compliment from the RLM-fan that I am.
Only familair name is Fire Mountain, who released a great album back in 2011, called Off The Dust. And they do a fine job here, just as the other 11 acts do. This is a great collection of music! I've been able to track down several of the artists already. There's more where this came from and you'll be hearing more soon. I'm already enjoying the result of my investigations.
One of my all-time favorite discoveries since I started writing Plug in, Baby! is Paper Aeroplanes and they have a new album coming out on Mat 13th. It is called Little Letters, just like this 1st single, which was released last week. As expected this a great song and it makes it even harder to be waiting another 4 weeks for the release of their 2nd full album, that will also include one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard: Multiple Love. Paper Aeroplanes are without a doubt on their way to greatness, and they deserve it like (hardly) no other band ever has..
A new Monday, a new week. Last week was completely fucked up, but the weekend was pretty okay and things are looking better for this week. The hot water should be fixed today (back to warm showers again, yay), I'm expecting another vinyl beauty in the mail, my best (female) friend and I are on speaking terms again, my right foot is healing pretty decent ánd I have the day off today. How's that for a start of a new week?! I'd say "Things Are Looking Up Again" by WEEKEND RIOT CLUB pretty much sums it up for me, so I've caught myself dancing to this for the last 30 minutes.
