Tell meTell me why the times won't change Cory Chisel & the Wandering Sons' new album, Old Believers, set for release on June 26th, is truth -- like Matthew Ryan's May Day or Steve Earle's El Corazón. It stabs, it pleads; thankfully, it doesn't beg. It doesn't need to.
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Video | Cory Chisel & the Wandering Sons - Times Won't Change
Jam of the Day | Damien Jurado - Nothing Is The News
Photo by Sarah JuradoWith its psychadelic guitars and haunted, echoing vocals, "Nothing Is The News" opens Damien Jurado's Maraqopa with five and a half minutes of the bleakest, loneliest landscape possible. It's a track for watching the sun rise over a barren but beautiful desert alone, a song that sets the tone for Jurado's masterpiece of a record not with hooks but with atmosphere: "
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Pajammy Jam of the Day | The Young Romans - Tiger Child
The Young Romans don't play country music, but I do hear some pretty guitar picking on today's PJOTD, and it resembles early solo Ryan Adams. And that's basically a surefire way to keep me from switching to the next song. So, congrats to these Young Romans -- they killed me with simplicity and a familiar sound that I happen to love.Go ahead and meet Brad Hooks and Sari Mellafe, the new duo
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Jam of the Day | The Mynabirds - Body of Work
On Today's Jam of the Day, "Body of Work," the second single from The Mynabirds' upcoming album, GENERALS, percussion is a main character, taking center stage again after its original work in the lead single, "Generals." However, while the latter is a drumming battle cry, this new track contains a steady global beat that's as optimistic as the song's lyrics. Vocalist Laura Burhenn explains
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Jam of the Day | Sister Crayon - Arcane
Apparently, growing up in the rougher neighborhoods of Sacramento not only makes you tough as nails, but it also preps you for the day you decide to start making music. For Terra Lopez, a little quiet isolation in the LBC, and a long night of drankin', apparently doesn't hurt as well - since after boozing it up, Lopez wrote a letter to a close friend and upon awaking the next morning, she
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Video | GIVERS - That Was Your Mother (Paul Simon)
Just a wild prediction here, but Paul Simon's Graceland will most likely influence bands and artists for many years to come. Personally, I would be hard pressed to name 25 or 30 better albums, and Simon's not even necessarily one of my favorite musicians. It's just that Graceland is almost a perfect work of art.For Louisiana's GIVERS, it's already made its mark."Our connection to Graceland
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Festival Preview - Wakarusa Music & Camping Festival
In less than a week, festival goers including this SIC writer will be making their way into the heart of Arkansas' Ozark National Forest, towards Mulberry Mountain, for the Wakarusa Music and Camping Festival. This four day extravaganza features a wide array of musical genres from bluegrass, funk, and folk rock, to hip hop and dance music. While the festival boasts such bonus features as yoga,
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Jam Of The Day | Hollows - V Is For Vulture
Photo courtesy of the HollowsAs soon as the weather gets warm, I usually turn to my Phil Spektor box set in the car - something about those girl group harmonies and the walls of guitar sound just spells summer for me. This summer, though, I'm going to be turning to Hollows and their sophomore LP Vulture, a modern take on the Phil Spektor sound with plenty of garage pop grunge added in.
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Jam of the Day | Wilco - Misunderstood
Things are moving rather fast today. So, I'm gonna take it back old school. Old school for me, anyway.This was the first track on a mix tape that my cousin Peri made for me back in 2001. You could say this song made me believe that there were other artists/bands out there not named Neil Young. It certainly was the tune that made me believe in Wilco.What does this song mean to you? Do you
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Pajammy Jam of the Day | Lemolo - On Again, Off Again
Photo by Genevieve PiersonLemolo, named after Lemolo Shore Drive where the lovely ladies of this dream-pop duo used to teach kayaking lessons, is making waves in Seattle right now. Pun intended. In fact, I first heard about the buzzy Meagan Grandall and Kendra Cox via another Seattle band who rocked the boat hard enough in its native Northwest to create a tidal wave of devotion 'round the
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Jam of the Day | Wowser Bowser - Winter Child
Atlanta based Wowser Bowser recently bleeped on the official Speakers in Code radar, via a little reconnaissance work our secret agents were doing on Raleigh's Hopscotch Music Festival lineup. From what we know thus far, they give high energy performances, their music contains complex layers of instruments, and the diversity of musical genres they feature is enough to make the world at peace
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Album Review | Admiral Fallow - Tree Bursts In Snow
I've never made an album. Never written a song, or even attempted to write a lyric that would make a potential ladyfriend swoon. But there is one piece of knowledge that I share with those who have, and it comes from listening to countless albums, as a whole, instead of individual tracks downloaded piecemeal due to their accessibility. And in a day and age when said piecemeal is the norm,
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Jam of the Day | Twin Shadow - Five Seconds
Twin Shadow (AKA George Lewis Jr.) has announced the upcoming arrival of his sophomore LP, Confess, with a bang. "Five Seconds," the new record's lead single, features Twin Shadow's signature synth-driven rock and is as sharp as George's perfectly styled hair. Sweeping synth swaths and steady racing drums serve as the backdrop for interjections of guitar riffs evocative of the new wave and
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Jam of the Day | Cory Branan - Bad Man
Photo by Joshua Wilkins BlackCory Branan's Bloodshot Records debut, Mutt, has been a long time coming -- a long time in terms of years since he self-released his first record, 12 Songs, not months or weeks. But Branan has spent those years on the road, touring and writing and revising a lot of these songs, to the point where if you've seen him, they'll feel like old friends, and if
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Jam of the Day | Sarah Jaffe - When You Rest
Where you gonna rest your head?Where you gonna rest those long legs? Whether or not Sarah Jaffe's new album, The Body Wins, is a risk is really not my call. Certainly, it's a dynamic shift from songs like "Clementine" and "Before You Go" from her previous full-length. The Body Wins is not as gentle or forthcoming; it develops as a story, one that you need to play through without skipping
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Concert Review | Deer Tick at The Firebird in Saint Louis
Photo by Jason GonulsenI knew a kid once in high school, his name was Bob. Bob liked to order fries from the cafeteria and stuff them in his pants pocket, perhaps to store a few away for fifth hour when he got hungry. Sometimes, you would be talking to Bob and he would just casually pull one out, like he was fishing for a stick of gum, and chow down. Bob did whatever he wanted to do.Bob
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Contest | Win Tickets to see Katie Herzig at the Old Rock House on 5/18
I imagine the perfect Katie Herzig show would be one of those rare occurrences where you could hear every word coming from the singer's mouth. You know, the stuff live-music dreams are made of. Lyrics and voice are crucial to Herzig's songs; here's proof.That's "Closest I Get" from Herzig's 2011 release, The Waking Sleep. Her music isn't always that serious; most of the time, it's rather
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Concert Photos | Sugar + the Hi-Lows
All photos by Agatha DonkarSugar + the Hi-Lows are reinventing the kind '60s pop that The Everly Brothers and Buddy Holly made, if the Everlys had come of age playing in Seattle garage rock bands and Buddy Holly was a country songwriter from Nashville. They're built around Nashville singer-songwriters, Trent Dabbs and Amy Stroup, and they play the kind of music that sticks in your head and
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Jam of the Day | Balam Acab- Video Games (Remix)
Continuing our weekly Jam of the Day post featuring an artist that will be playing this year's Hopscotch Music Festival in Raleigh, we are are pleased to bring you Balam Acab's remix of Lana Del Rey's breakout single,"Video Games."As if "Video Games" wasn't already heartbreaking and addicting enough, Balam Acab, in a genius move, adds some of Sigur Rós' bleeps and bloops, as well as what
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Contest | Win Tickets to see Deer Tick at The Firebird on 5/16
Photo by Scott AlarioWhile I've only been to one Deer Tick show in my life, the fact that they opened the show with "Sleep Walk" makes me think that these rough dudes from Rhode Island care about me and my love for the movie La Bamba. Which, of course, is far from the truth; John McCauley and Co. care more about drinking out of a dusty bottle of Wild Turkey, if I had to guess.I would also
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