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folk

Album Reflection: Marissa Nadler – July

by Rio Toro

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Marissa Nadler: July

Similar Artists: Neko Case, Sharon Van Etten, Leonard Cohen

Genre: Folk, Dream-Folk, Singer-Songwriter

Label: Sacred Bones

 

I’ve been on a mission for what feels like a very long time to find a piece of music that will make me cry. A piece with such resounding emotional intensity that it would cause me to break out into tears. I’m not even being greedy about it; even just one tiny droplet would be enough for me, just so I would have some kind of evidence that would prove an attachment to a piece of music was real, and not just implanted by my previous conceptions. While music does have its other ways of harvesting within me (the internal reaction that tells me when I’m really into a track is usually either goose bumps or uncontrollable laughter) crying I consider to be something different. And as much as “tear-jerker” has become a negative term in some respects, I can’t help but feel that if something can make you cry, it owns a part of you.

I’m not sure what my problem is with accomplishing this mission, because I tend to cry all the time during movies, TV shows and books — so what is it exactly that separates music from those other types of media? Some would say it’s because music is too abstract and open to interpretation; its messages are too muddled to cause most people to cry. Others would say the average length of a song is far too short for that kind of engagement, and although it may be steeped in sadness and mourning, the feeling doesn’t stay with us for a long enough period to build any significant attachment. Another theory is that music is just an extension of the mood we are already feeling, meaning if you are already sad, listening to music can make you sadder, but if you are in your normal state of mind it can only do so much in terms of changing your overall perspective. I’ve come to these as well as various other conclusions through the years to account for my lack of emotional activity, but I still feel that my lack of emotional engagement is somehow my fault: maybe I just haven’t been listening to the lyrics enough, and I just have to concentrate more on what is being said.

Anyway, when I listen to Marissa Nadler I really wish that I could cry along with her deeply passionate tales of woe; for I know I’m not alone when saying that few artists working today have such a deep understanding of sadness. Her stories are ones of entrenching melancholia, starved lovers whose pains grow deeper with age and characters who carry a pervading sense of loneliness with them until death. While her music does indeed cause me to get emotional — from her tenderly sung lyrics, winding acoustic melodies and aching voice — I always become disconnected right before I start to feel something building inside of me, which is frustrating to say the least.

It’s an infuriating process to me — losing track of what’s happening in a song — and it’s the reason that, for the most part, I try to stay away from dissecting lyrics in the first place. Radiohead were the first ones that taught me this, as I used to scurry for hours trying to make sense of a lyric to Pyramid Song or No Surprises with little to no avail. I think the reason this happens is because music — particularly singer-songwriter music — is built out of events that are very personal to the artist’s own life, and as much as the artist may be “giving away” their story when their music is released, I feel a part of it does remain hidden within the artist, and us listeners are left to blindly fill in the blanks.

This is ok though, because we don’t need that extra bit of meaning — in the end it’s the artist that does. Like many of the world’s most prolific artists, Marissa Nadler doesn’t create her art to make a living, but rather, she makes art so she can live. The universe she has created through her 7 full-lengths is her way of sorting through her endless well of emotions, and a way to escape herself as well as any inner turmoils she may be facing. This I feel is what folk music has always been about, and why it has progressed so minimally within the last several decades when compared to other genres. No matter what tag you put in front of it — whether it be freak, or dream, or fuzz — folk has always been about honest, unclouded expression, and Marissa Nadler continues to define that with each passing album. Now it’s our turn to make our own universe.

 

Track Listing:

1.) Drive*

2.) 1923

3.) Firecrackers

4.) We Are Coming Back*

5.) Dead City Emily*

6.) Was It A Dream

7.) I’ve Got Your Name*

8.) Desire*

9.) Anyone Else

10.) Holiday In

11.) Nothing In My Heart

Album Highlight – *

Filed Under: ENTERTAINMENT, MUSIC, OPINION, REVIEWS Tagged With: Album Review, folk, july, marissa nadler, reflection, sacred bones, singer, songwriter

The Lone Bellow – Debut Album

by Pamela Gordon

The Lone Bellow
The Lone Bellow

Listening to my “OLD FAITHFUL” radio station 90.7 WFUV one autumn afternoon, a voice came through the speakers of my car. I said to myself, “Is this some sort of compilation featuring Steven Tyler?” I listened hard and still couldn’t figure out and reached for my Shazam app for assistance. THE LONE BELLOW – YOU DON”T LOVE ME LIKE YOU USED TO.

 

 

 

After a little research, it turns out that Steven Tyler has nothing to do with THE LONE BELLOW. The group is actually from Brooklyn, NY who formed after the lead singer Zach Williams, wife suffered temporary paralysis. He learned to play the guitar and discovered that his vocal range was extraordinary and began to pursue his career. THE LONE BELLOW now consists of Brian Elmquist on Guitar and Vocals, and Kanene Donehey Pipkin on mandolin and vocals.
The harmonies created by the group are clean and cut. Replicating the sound of a fine trained choir while beckoning the American Folk Rock genre. To have such a clean sound with this genre really makes THE LONE BELLOW stand out with the best.
In their opening track “Green Eyes And A Heart Of Gold”, they set the mood with a train like enthusiasm of getting up and going. He keeps his lyrics simple but not boring. Where some groups simply repeat their chorus, verse or bridge (middle 8), Zach Williams recreates it. During the first half of this track, he has a sub chorus / verse that starts of as “We’re Broke in NYC…”. It is sung simply with the standard melody of the song, and then in the last half of the track he breaks it out again but almost as a bridge, where you can’t even distinguish that the two sections are one in the same aside from the lyrics being identical.

Probably my favorite, and I think their first single is “Bleeding Out”. Harnessing the power of the three to create a beautiful trio of harmony, in a Vienese Waltz, while having a more rock edge with a folk sound. The literal beating of the drums lets you feel the emotional beating that Williams experienced while his wife was suffering. I imagine him walking down the streets with the weight of the world on his shoulders expressing
All the buildings, they lean and they smile down on us
And they shout from their roof tops, words we can’t trust
Like you’re dead, you are tired
You’re ruined, you’re dust
Oh you will amount to nothing, like tanks full of rust
But we scream back at them
From below on the street
All in unison we sing, at times, been redeemed
We are all of the beauty, that has not been seen
We are full of the color, that’s never been dreamed
Well, nothing we need ever dies, yeah

The group is full of passion, harmony and simplicity. THE LONE BELLOW is on the radar to be one of those break out groups and with a little bit more promotion, touring and street cred, this group has the potential to share the spot light with groups like Mumford and Sons and The Punch Brothers. Tomorrow night the debut their first show at Carnegie Hall. So if you’re in the area, I’d grab tickets and get the full LONE BELLOW EXPERIENCE.

Filed Under: ENTERTAINMENT, MUSIC, uncategorized Tagged With: 90.7, Brian Elmquist, folk, Kanene Pipkin, lone bellow, rock, The Lone Bellow, WFUV, You Don’t Love Me Like You Used To, Zach Williams

Album Review: Bill Callahan – Dream River

by Rio Toro

bill-callahan-dream-river-album-500x502

Bill Callahan: Dream River

Similar Artists: Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Cat Power, Nick Cave, Mark Lanegan

Genre: Singer/Songwriter, Indie Folk

Label: Drag City

 

I find myself asking a lot of questions when I listen to Bill Callahan’s music. Though he has abandoned many of his experimental and lo-fi tendencies along with his Smog alias, his music has retained a certain unknowable presence, and the more I listen to his work, the less I seem to comprehend it. Can music this simple really sound this strange? Can a song where the most jarring instrument is a flute still be considered avant-garde? Would my parents like this music? Was there more music like this in the olden-days? Why isn’t Bill Callahan putting any effort into his vocals? After further analysis I have found that the answers to these questions are: yes, yes, no, kind of, and most importantly, because he doesn’t feel like it.

Bill Callahan’s fourth album under his birth name, Dream River, is the continuation of his ode to Americana that began with 2011’s Apocalypse. Song titles such as “Spring”,”Summer Painter” and “Winter Road” should give you an inkling towards the kind of imagery presented throughout these 8 tracks. It’s beautiful, introspective music that you could easily imagine yourself listening to on a long drive out to the country, preferably during the wee morning hours. Although Bill Callahan is not easily categorized, Dream River certainly sounds like a step closer into the traditional for the late in career artist. This idea of traditional vs. nontraditional plagues this album more than any of his previous ones.

Thankfully, the purpose of these songs isn’t strictly to evoke the beauty of the countryside. Actually, for an album with such clear production, uncluttered instrumentation and basic lyrical themes, it’s a hard set of songs to wrap your head around. While it’s arguably Bill Callahan’s most immediate album, the album’s lasting appeal isn’t nearly as apparent. Part of this is because Dream River isn’t an album that has much in the way of high or low points. There’s no single track that defines Dream River; in other words, there is no track as all-encompassing as “America!” (although “Summer Painter” does come close). Instead, the album drifts along naturally and peacefully like a river would itself, without ever causing you to feel tempted to hit the “next” button.

The arrangements — while not unfathomably complex or intricate — are woven together beautifully, and often evolve slowly into full band jam sessions. “Seagull” charters a folk song’s journey into stoner rock, and “Summer Painter” is littered with spaced out drones and an increasingly ominous tone that doesn’t let up throughout its 6:30 running time. Violins, (or fiddles, if you must) may be the defining instrument here, as they carry many of these songs to unexpected heights and coalesce with acoustic and electric guitars to create impressive rhythms. Even when these songs aren’t lengthy, they feel like it, because there is such a slow and steady build. Also, the way Callahan elongates his words and stretches them out into the abyss is another story all together.

Despite the fact that Bill Callahan sounds completely stress free on the majority of these tracks (“Small Plane” in particular), his voice is immense, and you will learn to hang onto his every syllable, eager to hear how he pronounces the next string of words. His lyrics are actually rather down to earth, but the subtleties in his vocals come off as unique, experimental, and very satisfying. He is rarely, if ever, truly singing, but he’s not simply talking either. His hybrid of speaking/singing is an interesting mixture, and since his vocals are always up front in the mix, we have plenty of availability to dissect them for all they’re worth. The way Callahan emphasizes certain words over others, and holds onto notes when you least expect it — while simultaneously giving off he vibe that he isn’t trying very hard — is simply magical. He’s commanding the music laid behind him without completely adhering to it.

There’s a lingering feeling that Dream River isn’t as ambitious as previous Bill Callahan releases; that it’s merely a continuation of previous themes without much in the way of expansion. While the lyrics and instrumentation are undoubtedly as sly and expressive as ever, they do little to broaden the Callahan repertoire. This is where the consensus of Dream River will vary, as your experience with it is dependent on how you like your albums. People who want a statement rather than a set of great songs may find themselves to be disappointed. However, it’s undeniable that this is an album that is completely at peace with itself. From the unhurried pace, to the relaxing lyrical themes and calming grooves, this is what freedom sounds like.

 

Track listing:

1.) The Sing*

2.) Javelin Unlanding

3.) Small Plane*

4.) Spring

5.) Ride My Arrow

6.) Summer Painter*

7.) Seagull*

8.) Winter Road

 

Album Highlight – *

Filed Under: ENTERTAINMENT, MUSIC, OPINION, REVIEWS Tagged With: Album Review, bill callahan, drag city', dream river, folk, indie, singer songwriter

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