Long Distance Salvation - A Tribute to Bruce Springsteen's Nabraska

I tend to stay away from tribute albums but, when I saw the line-up that was covering one of the best albums ever, I could not help but write about it. The legendary Nebraska is one album I would not want anybody to mess with but upon listening, I must say... I approve! The line-up is perfectly chosen and the songs prove to creative yet courteous to their original counterparts. 


Stand-outs on first pass through are obvious: Joe Pug and Trampled by Turtles exude their brilliance however, relatively unknown artists (to me at least) such as David Wax and Jonah Tolchin nail it. My absolute favourite so far is The Wooden Sky's version of the eponymous Nebraska. Awesome!   

Just ordered the limited vinyl and I look forward to its arrival. Well worth it. Check out the album in it's entirety here.

Neil Halstead - Palidrome Hunches

I have been kind of obsessing over this new track from one of my favourites, Neil Halstead. Off the album, Palindrome Hunches, released earlier this week (Sept. 11)Digging Shelters is just a gem of a song. Sweet and melodic and oh so Halstead... ie! Take a listen:

 

Live & Breathing - Hoots & Hellmouth - Threadbare

Indoor Voices - So Smart

Well, one of the best singles of the year has been added to my 2012 catalogue. Indoor Voices released the So Smart e.p. last week and, as per usual, it has been in constant rotation on every music-producing device I own. With So Smart, Relph nails emotion, gracefulness, and his ever-tightening grasp on a pop-leaning melody. I honestly believe it is one of his most accessible tracks to date and I couldn't recommend it enough. Awesome!

Christopher Smith - Earning Keep

I was just informed of Christopher Smith about an hour ago via facebook. Upon first listen of this album, I can't tell you how much I love it. Incredible songwriting, a perfect balance of melancholy and tenderness, and an almost perfect voice. Earning Keep is dark, chilling, and brilliant. I couldn't recommend it enough.

Coming Around

Well with moving, movement, and a nice change of surroundings comes opportunity. Opportunity to listen to new music. Opportunity to reflect. Opportunity to tune everything out.

I have gravitated to a lot of various types of music lately; some of it soft, some of it hard, some plain, some simply boring, and some just exactly the same - it's all there. This really sounds like a jumbled mess about nothing but hopefully it makes sense to the few of you who care. Included here are a couple of tunes that I have been listening to lately and, frankly, that is all this blog is for. So, here you go.

As you can most likely tell, I have taken a hiatus from writing here for the last little while. With time comes inspiration and, well, I am almost inspired again!

Sleep - Dragonaut

Simply Because...

Nevers, Nuggets, and Laments

Alright! That's it! Enough already! Here we go! 

I have officially become sickened, saddened, and even angered about my complete ignorance of this blog and how, if at all, it may have affected the small amount of you that actually pay attention to what I have to say. I have been listening to a ton of great music as of late and I really have been meaning to share a lot of it on here. Life and schedule always do seem to get in the way but, with regards to said statement, I hate making up excuses. 

I have had a blast over the last couple of months working in the music industry and it has been a fantastic source of new music both from the past and up-and-coming acts. I do want to write more but I just need the time. I will find more time but until then, let us restart here with a couple of amazing things that I really feel all of you should check out. One is quite old and the other is fairly recent.

Indoor Voices - Nevers

Yes, I have written about Jonathan Relph's tunes before but I have yet to mention the release of his full length Nevers.  Now, I was a huge fan of Junetile back in the day and I absolutely love hearing how Jonathan's song-writing has blossomed and become expressively more sophisticated and emotional. Nevers was recorded in a music room in a high-rise and you can almost hear the attempts to not disturb the neighbours in the vocal recordings (Hence "Indoor Voices") but the music comes across as super-charged, extremely full and in your face. I truly do love this album and I couldn't recommend it enough. 

In fact, if you take a look at my last.fm account, you can see just how much I have been listening to this gem over the last couple of months. I have to admit it is way up there on the list of best albums of 2012. And trust me, I know it's early but this will make the year end list… if I write one this year!

The Nuggets Series

A friend introduced me to the wonders of The Nuggets Series several months ago. The collection is absolutely amazing and I can't stress enough just how important everything on these albums is. It has been on standard rotation on every musical device I have and I highly recommend it. Lots of fun and lots of good old rock-n-roll!