Category Archives: Free Download

Radio Moscow: Brain Cycles

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radiomoscow_braincyclesBrain melting heavy blues-psych guitar rock

Iowan Parker Griggs returns with Radio Moscow’s second album of power-trio electric blues. The trio here is one of instruments rather than players, since Griggs accompanies his bluesy psychedelic guitar leads by pounding out flamboyant, full-kit drumming. He’s surprisingly accomplished at both, and with bassist Zach Anderson (replacing the debut album’s Luke Duff) and the magic of overdubbing, the duo brings to mind the heavy sounds of Hendrix, Cream, Blue Cheer, Jeff Beck, Montrose and other pre-metal hard rockers. If anything, Radio Moscow’s gotten heavier, riffier in its tuneage and flashier with its rhythms. Though he was no slouch on the group’s previous album, Griggs’ sounds like he’s been practicing his drumming.

Radio Moscow is a heavy-jam powerhouse, with many of the tracks clocking in at 4- and 5-minutes, and the studio-effect heavy “No Good Woman” stretching to over eight, including a (flashback alert!) minute-thirty drum solo. Griggs serves as the band’s vocalist, singing through processing that sounds like a Mellotron, but the lyrics mostly serve to keep the guitar solos from running over one another. It’s best to approach the band as an instrumental combo, with the scattered vocals as texture. The singer who could actually front this torrent of sound (rather than stand by and occasionally lob lyrics into the quieter parts) would just end up distracting from the group’s tight, gutsy interplay of guitar, bass and drums.

The tight, heavy riffs bring to mind early UK prog-rock and metal bands like King Crimson, Arthur Brown’s Kingdom Come and Black Sabbath, but generally without the lengthy excursions into jazz-styled jamming. Available on both CD and vinyl (but sadly not reel-to-reel tape), this should really be heard at maximum volume through classic 1970s speakers such as Altec Voice of the Theater A7s and a suitable cloud of smoke. [©2009 hyperbolium dot com]

MP3 | Broke Down
Radio Moscow’s Home Page
Radio Moscow’s MySpace Page

Hillstomp: After Two But Before Five

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hillstomp_aftertwobutbeforefiveHypnotic two-man guitar-and-drums electric blues

This Northwest duo could be loosely lumped in with a half-dozen other bands playing blues as a duet of guitar and drums, but where minimalists like the Black Keys, Soledad Brothers and Radio Moscow are driving, Hillstomp is more droning. Even when they increase the beat to a toe-tapping (or hillstomping) tempo, their music remains more hypnotic than frenzied. Guitarist Henry Kammerer plays both straight six and slide guitars and vocalizes through distortion that sounds enough like a cheap microphone (which it may very well be) to give this live set an off-hand feel – as if John Lomax stumbled across the band on a recording expedition. Fans of more raucous electric blues may find this a bit sedate, but there are charms in the band’s subtlety. [©2009 hyperbolium dot com]

MP3 | Goin’ Down South
Hillstomp’s Home Page
Hillstomp’s MySpace Page

Jason Karaban: Mayfly

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jasonkaraban_mayflyAll too brief EP of haunted despair and melancholy

Karaban’s released a trio of exquisitely beautiful pop records, 2006’s Doomed to Make Choices, its cohort Leftovers, and last year’s Sobriety Kills. Now busy in the studio on a follow-up, he’s issued this striking three-song EP. Each of Karaban’s releases seems more pensive than the last, and these stripped-down piano-and-voice arrangements are at once meditative in instrumental tone and expansive in melodic heft. Inspired by a letter from a Civil War general to his wife, Karaban’s written songs whose moodiness conjures up the desolation and fear that soldiers endure before and after battle.

The opening “Sullivan’s Ballou” is played with the piano’s dampers up, chords floating reflectively in their own sustain, intertwining with wordless vocal backing and ghostly images of fallen comrades laying dead in open fields. The harmony vocal of “No Casualties” clings more tightly to the lead, but even with Chris Joyner’s piano playing more ornate patterns, a sense of dread is heard in the defeated undertaking of retreat. The closing “A Far Better Place” is similarly joyless in its declaration of victory, with a piano played up front chiming like funeral bells as the vocals recede into the hereafter.

Earlier comparisons with Michael Penn and Jason Falkner fail to capture the essence of despair permeating these new tracks. Even Karaban’s previous releases do not adequately prepare listeners for these spare, down-tempo readings. That said, the song craft that was built up in layers on Sobriety Kills now allows Karaban to intensify his emotional impact by stripping tracks to their basics. It’s daring to let your melodies and vocals stand naked before listeners’ ears, but Karaban has the goods, trusts his art and shares the rewards. [©2009 hyperbolium dot com]

MP3 | Sullivan Ballou
Jason Karaban’s Home Page

Enter the Haggis: Gutter Anthems

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enterthehaggis_gutteranthemsCeltic-flavored rock from Toronto

This Toronto quintet has been kicking around for nearly ten years, releasing CDs and touring clubs and festivals with their Celtic-flavored rock. There are tin whistles and bagpipes here, but they’re threaded into guitar-bass-and-drums that rock in 4/4 time as well as spicing up hearty jigs and reels. Purists may puzzle over the band’s eclectic influences, but their anthems and love ballads fit easily into the current streams of rock, pop and country. The combination of fiddle, electric leads and power chords on “The Death of Johnny Manning,” for example, isn’t far from what Nashville’s producing these days. Other tunes will remind you of more riotous fellow travelers such as the Pogues and Dropkick Murphys, and old-timers will hear echoes of 1970s Irish rockers Horslips.

The band writes about their travels, memories and interior philosophical monologues, but they’re most regularly inspired by their homeland. They profile farmers battling invasive oil companies, ruddy coastal fishermen, and northern musical pioneers, representing a stalwart side of the Canadian character typically lost in pop culture shorthand. The band’s live performances have honed a group sound that transcends their individual performances. There’s a pair of instrumentals that drives this home, but even the vocal tracks stretch out far enough to show the group’s musical wares. Enter the Haggis treads a middle ground between Celtic tradition and punk-excess, combining the flavors of the former with the rock ‘n’ roll energy of the latter. [©2009 hyperbolium dot com]

MP3 | The Little and the Leaves
Enter the Haggis’ Home Page
Enter the Haggis’ MySpace Page

Henry’s Funeral Shoe: Everything’s For Sale

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henrysfuneralshoe_everythingsforsaleHeavy two-man guitar-and-drums blues-rock

The minimalist blues formula brought back to popular prominence by the White Stripes, has been equally effective for guitar-and-drums duos like the Black Keys, Two Gallants and Soledad Brothers, and bass-free groups like Black Diamond Heavies and Radio Moscow. The Welsh duo Henry’s Funeral Shoe, featuring Aled Clifford on electric guitar and vocals and his younger brother Brennig on drums, debut with heavy blues-rock originals that drift briefly into psychedelic jamming. Aled’s twanging low strings and Brennig’s heavy kick drum and tom-toms fill up the rhythmic and tonal space made by the lack of a bass player. There are shades of Peter Green in the guitar playing, and the sparse vocals have the rough-and-ready force of guttural blues shouters such as the proto-rock ‘n’ roller Big Joe Turner, the edgy electric bluesmen Johnny Winter, early metal howlers like Paranoid-era Ozzy Osbourne, and growling alley dwellers like Tom Waits. The elder Clifford writes lyrics populated with phrases rather than stories or characters, matching the duo’s instrumental style by adding verbal catch-lines to the riff-heavy music. These tunes are sure to be even more arresting when assaulting sweaty bodies on a darkened, beer-soaked dance floor. [©2009 hyperbolium dot com]

MP3 | Henry’s Funeral Shoe
Henry’s Funeral Shoe’s MySpace Page

On Tour: Blind Pilot

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Portland duo Blind Pilot heads out on the road as a 6-piece band with the addition of bass, banjo/dulcimer, vibraphone and keyboard/trumpet players. They’re supporting the CD release 3 Rounds and a Sound, headlining in March and April and opening for the Decemberists May through July (the irony!).

MP3 | The Story I Heard

March 24 Nashville, TN The Mercy Lounge
March 26 Greensboro, NC Studio B
March 27 Arlington, VA IOTA
March 28 Philadelphia, PA Theater of Living Arts
March 30 Cambridge, MA Middle East
March 31 New York, NY Mercury Lounge
April 1 Pittsburgh, PA Club Cafe
April 2 Cleveland, OH Beachland Ballroom
April 4 Minneapolis, MN 400 Bar
April 6 Norman, OK Opolis
April 7 Austin, TX Mohawk
April 9 Tucson, AZ Plush
April 10 San Diego, CA Casbah
April 11 Los Angeles, CA Spaceland
April 13 San Francisco, CA Cafe Du Nord
May 24 Missoula, MT Wilma Theater*
May 26 Denver, CO Fillmore Auditorium*
May 27 Kansas City, KS Uptown Theater*
May 29 Milwaukee, WI Riverside Theater*
May 31 St Louis, MO Pageant*
June 1 Columbus, OH Lifestyle Communities Pavillion*
June 3 Atlanta, GA Tabernacle*
June 4 Raleigh, NC Memorial Auditorium*
June 5 Richmond, VA The National*
July 18 Troutdale, OR Edgefield Amphitheater*
July 19 Troutdale, OR Edgefield Amphitheater*

* With the Decemberists

Press Release
Blind Pilot’s Blog
Blind Pilot’s MySpace Page

Paul Jones: Starting All Over Again

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pauljones_startingalloveragainFormer Manfred Mann vocalist resurfaces as a bluesman

If you lost track of Paul Jones after he sang Manfred Mann’s seminal British Invasion hits (“Do Wah Diddy,” “Pretty Flamingo,” “Sha La La”), or if you failed to reconnect with his lengthy tenure in the UK-based Blues Band, you’re in for a surprise. The husky R&B voice he brought to Mann’s early works has weathered lightly, and nineteen albums into his side gig as a bluesman (his main occupations have been actor and radio host) he’s returning to U.S. shores on reissue giant Collectors’ Choice’s first new music release. Produced by Carla Olson, the album is filled with terrific instrumental talent, including Austin guitarist Jake Andrews, keyboardist Mike Thompson and a horn section that includes Joe Sublett and Ernie Watts. Eric Clapton lends his guitar to Jones’ original “Choose or Cop Out” and a cover of Mel & Tim’s “Starting All Over Again,” and Percy Sledge (who is in terrific voice) teams with Jones on a superb horn-driven cover of “Big Blue Diamonds.”

Those who dug beyond Manfred Mann’s singles won’t be too surprised to find blues at the core of Jones’ solo work, supplemented by R&B and jazz flavors. Though he’s not the strutting youngster of 1964, he still shows the same adventurousness and complexity that separated Mann’s work from much of the British Invasion pack. In addition to straightforward blues numbers, he lends a jazz croon to “Gratefully Blue,” leans on the second-line funk of Little Johnnie Taylor’s “If You Love Me (Like You Say),” and pairs his harmonica with Mike Thompson’s roadhouse piano on Van Morrison’s “Philosopher’s Stone.” Jones picks up songs from a few surprising places, including “I’m Gone” from the Swedish retro garage-blues band The Creeps and “Need to Know” from British/Nigerian soul singer Ola Onabule.

Some of the album’s best tracks are found in the final quartet, starting with the Stax-styled gospel-soul “Still True” and the newly written acoustic country-blues “When He Comes.” The band’s instrumental chops are highlighted on “Alvino’s Entourage,” with drummer Alvino Bennett laying down a second-line groove and Jones, Andrews and Thompson each taking a solo. The closing “Big Blue Diamonds” opens with a rolling piano by Clayton Ivey, a terrific sax and trumpet horn chart, and a Fats Domino styled vocal by Percy Sledge. It’s hard to believe this was recorded in Los Angeles – hopefully Mr. Jones will get to the Crescent City for a follow-up. [©2009 hyperbolium dot com]

MP3 | Still True
Paul Jones’ BBC Radio Program
The Manfreds’ Home Page
The Blues Band’s Home Page

Chris Darrow: Chris Darrow / Under My Own Disguise

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chrisdarrow_undermyowndisguiseCalifornia country-rock pioneer’s mid-70s solo LPs

Given Darrow’s musical pedigree, it’s a wonder his name and these two early-70s solo albums aren’t better known. In the 1960s he put together the California bluegrass group, Dry City Scat Band, was a founding member of the eclectic psychedelic band Kaleidoscope, spent a few years in the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, toured behind Linda Ronstadt and did studio work for James Taylor, John Fahey, Leonard Cohen and others. In the early ‘70s he signed with United Artists and recorded this pair of albums, the self-titled Chris Darrow in 1973 and Under My Own Disguise the following year. The latter was previously reissued on CD on the Taxim label, and the pair was previously issued as a two-fer by BGO. This deluxe reissue is remastered from scratch, offering each album on individual CDs and on individual 180-gram vinyl LPs, all housed in gatefold covers and sporting a 48-page 12” x 12” photo and liner note book.

Chris Darrow models itself after the breadth of Kaleidoscope, but without the overt psychedelia. Darrow’s songs cover rambling Allman Brothers styled country-rock, reggae rhythms crossed with New Orleans’ fiddles, a hot-picked double mandolin instrumental, piano-based ballads, old-timey country, Celtic fiddles, close harmony and Stonesy blues. He mixes originals with traditional tunes (“Don’t Let Your Deal Go Down”) and selected covers (Hoagy Carmichael’s “Hong Kong Blues” and Cy Coben’s country bluegrass “A Good Woman’s Love”). The original “Faded Love” is sung to a mandolin and flute arrangement that’s distinctly Japanese, and the closing “That’s What It’s Like to Be Alone” is given a chamber pop arrangement replete with harpsichord. Darrow’s “We’re Living on $15 a week,” with its upbeat depression-era optimism is sadly applicable amid the ruins of today’s world economy.

Under My Own Disguise follows a similarly varied course, but more tightly bunched around country sounds, including fiddle-led Zydeco, steel guitar ballads, Allman-styled rock, dusty gospel soul, acoustic rags, blues, and the sort of pop-country-rock hybrid that Gram Parsons termed “cosmic American music.” The album’s featured cover is a Hot Club styled country-jazz take on the Ink Spots’ “Java Jive.” Darrow has an appealingly unfinished voice – tuneful, but unpolished. He’s mixed especially low into the instrumentation on Under My Own Disguise, giving the impression of an introvert more comfortable as a sideman than a leader. No matter, as his melodies and musical textures carry a great deal of emotion. Thirty-five years on, these tracks sound fresh and contemporary, and offer up hidden nuggets of California country. [©2009 hyperbolium dot com]

MP3 | Take Good Care of Yourself
Chris Darrow’s MySpace Page

chrisdarrow_boxset

Raul Malo: Lucky One

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raulmalo_luckyoneFormer Mavericks vocalist summons country, swing, Latin and more

Following three albums that visited MOR supper-club pop (2006’s You’re Only Lonely), swing (2007’s After Hours), and a broad palette of seasonal sounds (2007’s Marshmallow World and Other Holiday Favorites), Raul Malo returns with his first album of original material since 2001’s Today. His latest songs circle back to the genre-stretching experiments of the Mavericks’ last two albums for MCA (1995’s Music for All Occasions and 1998’s Trampoline), but approach from the other side: rather than shedding country sounds to make room for pop and jazz influences, Malo reintroduces twangier elements into the purer strains of crooning that had become the meat of his solo career.

As on the Mavericks’ albums, Malo’s baritone draws the ear’s focus. The soaring vocal of the album’s title track is laced with twangy guitar and punctuated by a three-piece horn section. Country sounds are brought to the fore on “Lonely Hearts,” with Malo doubling his vocal, Buck Owens style, and a chugging organ adding Tex-Mex flavors ala the Sir Douglas Quintet. Malo hasn’t forsaken the Rat Pack vibe of his recent solo outings, as “Moonlight Kiss” hoofs along on a Latin rhythm, “You Always Win” sports a jazzy countrypolitan sound, and “Ready For My Lovin’” offers Ray Charles-styled gospel-blues. The baritone guitar of “Something Tells Me” offers a familiar twang to Mavericks fans, and the emotional vocal on “Hello Again” and dramatic crescendos of “Crying For You” suggest Roy Orbison’s spirit hovering nearby.

The ballad “So Beautiful” closes the album in dreamy emotion, with Malo’s voice accompanied by piano and strings. This album isn’t the left turn of Today, but aside from “Moonlight Kiss” and “Haunting Me,” it’s also not as ring-a-ding-ding kitschy as Malo’s last three albums. This new set represents a summation of all the musical flavors Malo’s touched so far, playing more as a collection of singles than a cohesive album. Fans longing for the Mavericks’ country roots will be pleased, as will late-night swingers and those who just love Malo’s incredible voice. [©2009 hyperbolium dot com]

MP3 | Lucky One
Raul Malo’s Home Page
Raul Malo’s MySpace Page