Sia - On tour

With a new album coming out on the horizon, Sia is on the road, prepping fans for its January release in 2008. It's titled some people have REAL problems, and while I haven't had the opportunity to listen to it, be assured that you will hear material off of it if you catch her on her fall tour (dates below). If you can't wait until January, Sia will be releasing a six track digital single via iTunes in November. If you can't wait until then, listen to her cover of Radiohead below.


Sia - Paranoid Android (Radiohead cover) : Exit Music (Radiohead Tribute)

Visit her website and become her friend on MySpace.

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Fall tour dates

Oct 22 San Diego CA @ Belly Up Tavern
Oct 24 Los Angeles CA @ El Rey Theater
Oct 25 San Francisco CA @ Fillmore
Oct 27 Portland OR @ Doug Fir Lounge
Oct 28 Seattle WA @ Crocodile Cafe
Oct 29 Vancouver Media Club
Nov 1 Minneapolis MN @ Varsity Theater
Nov 2 Chicago IL @ Metro
Nov 4 Philadelphia PA @ World Cafe
Nov 5 NYC @ Highline Ballroom
Nov 7 Boston MA @ Paradise
Nov 8 Washington DC @ 9:30 Club

Nico Vega

Although you might have missed their first EP (which came out early last year), Nico Vega is back with their second, titled No Child Left Behind (which came out earlier this month). Their music alternates between a dense wall of sound and clear distinct notes which gives a nod to the YYYs (although not as erratically exploratory yet), as well as Aja's vocals (who certainly could stand in as a Karen O vocal stunt double). The EP is short and sweet (5 tracks), but it bodes a promising 2008 for the band as they prepare for their first full length album. They are also touring right now with Johnossi and Shout Out Louds. Look for dates below while listening to the following tracks (I genuinely had a hard time picking which of the five tracks on the EP to share - I settled on the opener).


Nico Vega - Gravity : No Child Left Behind EP

and one from their first EP:

Nico Vega - Let You Go : chooseyourwordspoorly

Visit their label MySpace Records and become their friend on MySpace.

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Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Rockers to Swallow : Is Is [EP]

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Tour Dates (with Johnossi and Shout Out Louds)

10/17: Lawrence, KS @ Jackpot
10/18: Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line Music Cafe
10/19: Chicago, IL @ Logan Square Auditorium
10/20: Columbus, OH @ The Basement
10/22: Toronto, ON @ The Mod Club
10/23: Montreal, QC @ Caberet
10/24: Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club
10/25: New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
10/27: Hoboken, NJ @ Maxwell's
10/28: Washington, DC @ 9.30 Club
10/29: Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church
10/30: Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle
10/31: Atlanta, GA @ The Loft
11/2: Austin, TX @ The Parish
11/3: Dallas, TX @ Granada Theatre

wake Up (or go to sleep) with Morning Recordings

Morning Recordings is back with the release of their second full length album, titled The Welcome Kinetic. The band is headed up by Pramod Tummala, who previously spent time as a founding member and principal songwriter of the Chicago-based band, Melochrome. For those of you familiar with Melochrome, Morning Recordings feels like a logical extension of where Melochrome was growing and evolving into before its members went their separate ways.

Their latest release, which came out last week, opens with and instrumental piece, The One Hundred Hills, which you can listen to below. Normally I don't post up instrumentals, but this one begs to be listened to. It blends the incongruous notes of a tinkling xylophone and a wailing trumpet masterfully. Going deeper into the album will reveal pieces that focus as much on the instrumental aspects of the music as much as the lyrical / vocal content. You'll feel as if you're sleepwalking through a melancholy etherealness that washes over you with the lightest of ambient strokes. Harmonious vocals, such as in We Loved The City Years, only supplement the already audibly satisfying melodies. Enjoy the following keeping in mind they are only part of ten tracks that meld into one musical statement.


Morning Recordings - The One Hundred Hills : The Welcome Kinetic

Morning Recordings - We Loved The City Years : The Welcome Kinetic

and one from their first album:

Morning Recordings - Can't Help Fading Away : Music For Places

Visit their website, their label Loose Thread Recordings, and become their friend on MySpace.

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Melochrome - An Afterthought : This Is Motion

Sunday Drivers (a day late)

Can you ever have enough EPs? After sharing four others with you earlier today, I realized that I had for got to include the L.A. threesome known as Sunday Drivers. The group projects a large sound for its size on their debut EP Archetypes, which is available now via iTunes. Watch the video for Endless Summer, download and listen to The Sweetest Disguise, and then buy the entire EP.

Endless Summer





Sunday Drivers - The Sweetest Disguise : Archetypes EP

Visit their website and become their friend on MySpace.

Monday EP Madness

Looking for a shot of new wave techno rave that's heavy on the dance vibes and easy on the bass lines? Try giving Couples Therapy, the latest EP from NYC duo The Glass. It came out last month and its futuristic throw-back sound (how paradoxical is that?) is sure to get your feet moving and glow-stick swinging.




The Glass - Mad At You : Couples Therapy

Visit their website and become their friend on MySpace.

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Another EP I've been spinning lately is Virgin of the Birds' latest, Mixed Choir. In texture and the vocal stylings of Jon Rooney, it greatly reminds me of Page France, albeit a little less jubilant. Replacing the hallelujahs is a lo-fi sound that's an emotional opposite to the upbeat tempo of Michael Nau.



Virgin of the Birds - Sisters At The Sound Of Dawn : Mixed Choir

Visit their website, their label Abandoned Love Records, and become their friend on MySpace.

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Up next is the six track self titled debut EP by The Archivist (which you can get for FREE from his website!). You might remember me talking about Wisconsin not being a hot bed of indie activity while discussing Sleeping In the Aviary last week. Well lo and behold, what shows up but this EP, hailing from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Maybe the government is doing some kind of mutation testing there. Should I expect my inbox to be chock full of bands from Wisconsin soon?



The Archivist - New Years : The Archivist EP

Visit his website and become his friend on MySpace.

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Last, but not least, is the strangest of the crew. Hailing from across the ocean, all the way from Holland to your eardrums, is another free EP from Yoshimi!, this one titled Ep #2 II aka. The Cheshire Rat. Maybe strange is an understatement. Listen yourself...



Yoshimi! - Hot Stuff : Ep #2 II aka. The Cheshire Rat

Visit his website and become his friend on MySpace.

Journey with The Sojourners

Although it hearkens back to the sounds of the 30's and 40's, Hold On is the just released debut recording from The Sojourners, a Vancouver based gospel trio. The vocal group's roots find their way back to the very roots of Gospel music with the likes of the sweet soulful harmonies of The Swan Silvertones, The Pilgrim Travellers, and The Soul Stirrers.

For those of you not familiar with the history of Gospel music in America, the quartet was the reigning power during this period. Bands such as the above mentioned mixed traditional songs, songs written by men such as Thomas A. Dorsey (the "Father of Gospel Music" - The Sojourners' cover his songs Old Ship of Zion and Walking Up the King's Highway on the album), and some of their own material. Their songs started working their way into households throughout the country until eventually Sam Cooke became a national icon (really the first crossover star that appealed to young and old, black and white alike) and brought the Soul Stirrers into the national limelight with his blend of Gospel, R & B, and pop, which would later become known as soul. Not only did Sam become a national singing star, he was also one of the first modern black musicians to take charge of their own material by forming his own recording company.

Coming back to present day, The Sojourners have resurrected this classic sound and recorded eleven tracks of soul saving music. Some of the songs are songs written by them , the others are classic songs from that golden period (such as Children Go Where I Send Thee and Jesus Hits Like The Atom Bomb, a song that many of the great quartets played). As the album progresses, you'll notice some tints of the Motown sound in the later tracks as well. Do your soul a favor, listen to the following, and then order the album


The Sojourners - Children Go Where I Send Thee : Hold On

The Sojourners - Jesus Hits Like The Atom Bomb : Hold On

Visit their label Black Hen Music and become their friend on MySpace.

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More Soul Saving Music

Sam Cooke and the Soul Stirrers - Jesus, I'll Never Forget : Specialty Profiles: Sam Cooke

The Pilgrim Travelers - Please Watch Over Me : Better Than That

The Swan Silvertones - I Done Made Up My Mind : The Swan Silvertones 1946-1951

The criminally (un)acclaimed Dan Israel

So how many artists are you listening to right now who've released nine full length albums? I might be wrong, but I'm guessing not many. Fix that right now by checking out Dan Israel's latest release, Turning. The album features supporting guest spots by musicians such as Marc Perlman (The Jayhawks), Dave Boquist (Son Volt), Jessy Greene (Foo Fighters, Wilco, Jayhawks, etc...) and many others.

It's a rollicking slice of Americana that is certain to bring back memories of Evan Dando (whose voice Dan's seems an exact match to) and earlier Lemonheads' albums (for example, Triangle, below). At points it has a country twang to it, which you could probably guess based on the musicians supporting Dan, but he's not afraid to add a little saloon piano playing into the mix (listen to Occasionally).


Dan Israel - Triangle : Turning

Dan Israel - Occasionally : Turning

Visit his website, his label Eclectone Records, and become his friend on MySpace.

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Evan Dando - Frying Pan : Sweet Relief

The Lemonheads - Frank Mills : It's A Shame About Ray

Gorge yourself on Feast of Love

Although it's received a mixed bag of reviews since it opened a couple of weeks ago, I'm still looking forward to seeing the latest movie to be based on a novel, Feast of Love. It boasts a strong cast of actors including Morgan Freeman and Greg Kinnear. Accompanying the movie is a soundtrack that also boasts a strong lineup of musicians including The Frames, Corinne Bailey Rae and The New Mastersounds, M. Ward, Jeff Buckley, Cary Brothers, and others. Cary showed up on my radar screen earlier this year in April with the release of his first full length album (read about it here if you missed that post). Honestly is a track from the album and it also appears here on the soundtrack. Below is also the video for it (with some scenes from the movie to spice it up a bit)





The New Mastersounds - Your Love Is Mine (Feat. Corinne Bailey Rae) : Feast of Love Soundtrack

Cary Brothers - Honestly : Feast of Love Soundtrack

Visit the film's official site and become its friend on MySpace.

Sing with David Singer

Just released this last week is David Singer's fourth album, East of the Fault Line, which was recorded in David's hometown of Chicago. Its ten tracks fit like your favorite well worn garment - and I mean that in a good way. There's nothing here trying to stand out as six degrees from the beaten path, rather David writes songs that smoothly flow from beginning to end. The instrumentation provided by his backing band is solid and well orchestrated and offers music which builds and falls in well regulated fashion that provides a stage for David's vocals...which is where the real draw of the album lies.

Range-wise, David's voice overwhelmingly reminds me of one of the Johns from They Might Be Giants (I apologize for not being able to tell you which voice fits which one of them). It's a kind of voice that doesn't seem like it should work in front of a rock-ish type band singing earnest lyrics with great depth...but it does, and does well.

Take Amaranthine (offered below), the opening track of the album, which has grabbed my imagination and has yet to let it go. I'll be honest with you and admit I had to look up the word to see what it meant: eternally beautiful and unfading; everlasting. It sounds like a generally positive word yet in its context in the song, it seems to focus on the complexities and problems in life that are unfading, and not necessarily the positive aspects (especially of love). It seems that what is eternal is the search to make meaning of of this thing called life that we stumble, scrape, and pull our way through. This of course, is only my bumbling grasp at putting meaning to the song. Listen to it yourself to revel in its depth.

The rest of the album offers lyrics equally worth plumbing for meaning and connection. If you like what you hear, and you're in the Windy City area on Saturday, October 20th, David and his band will be playing a record release show in Chicago at the Hideout. If not, then just get the album now and cross your fingers for a tour.


David Singer - Amaranthine : East of the Fault Line

David Singer - (I Don't Want You To) Stay : East of the Fault Line

Visit his website and become his friend on MySpace.

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They Might Be Giants - Kiss Me, Son Of God [Alternate Version] : Miscellaneous T: B Side / Remix Compilation

Eric Clapton Contest

OK folks, a couple weeks ago I announced the release of Complete Clapton (a 2 disc compilation of 36 of Eric Clapton's greatest songs from 1968 to 2006) and Clapton: The Autobiography (a book in which Clapton personally recounts his legendary life: from the early days of his career, through his turbulent struggle with addiction, to the loss of his four-year-old son).

Here's your chance to win a copy of BOTH of them! Here's the deal, leave me a comment (or e-mail me) with your name, e-mail address and the answer to the following question: Which period in Clapton's storied career do you feel is the pinnacle of his guitar-god prowess (his work with The Yardbirds, Cream, or his solo work) and why.

I'll pick a winner at random next Thursdayish and e-mail the lucky soul pronto.


The Yardbirds - Smokestack Lightnin' : London 1963 - The First Recordings

Eric Clapton and John Mayall (with whom he played with in John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers between 1965 and 1966) - Have You Heard : 70th Birthday Concert

Eric Clapton - White Room (live) : 24 Nights

Visit his website, his label Reprise Records, become his friend on MySpace, and join his Official Fan Club.

Chill out with Eskimo Joe

Following the double-platinum success of their second album, expectations were high for the late September release of Eskimo Joe’s third album, Black Fingernails, Red Wine. Not being too familiar with the Australian band, I, on the other hand, had no idea what to expect, yet found myself pleasantly surprised quite early into only my first listening. In fact, the ballad London Bombs stuck with me in such a way that I could not get it out of my head after this first listening. The haunting, yet optimistic feel of a repeating keyboard hook in the right hand gave me goosebumps. When listening to this song, one can’t help but feel the significant weight and restlessness of the lyrics—a lover hoping that his love will come home safely to Australia after the terrorist bombings in London.

This is an extremely well-arranged album from start to finish. Perhaps being so close that they compare themselves to brothers, the band members, Kavyen Temperly (vocals), Joel Quartermain (drums), and Stuart MacLeod (guitar) are able craft such an honest and self-effacing sound so as to keep the listener singing after the album is over. Although considered “darker” than their other two records, this is definitely a soulful Australian rock album.

Check out the following two tracks, both from the album. If you decide to purchase a physical copy of the album you'll not only get the twelve tracks, but a second disc with videos on it as well.


Eskimo Joe - Black Fingernails, Red Wine : Black Fingernails, Red Wine

Eskimo Joe - London Bombs : Black Fingernails, Red Wine

Visit their website, their label Rykodisc, and become their friend on MySpace.

Herbie does Joni

OK, pick your minds out of the gutter after reading the title of the post. What it's really going to be about is this: highly influential and experimental jazz pianist and composer who has embraced and integrated everything including the kitchen sink into his music Herbie Hancock has released an album of his interpretations of songs by highly influential folk artist who embraced jazz and pop into her music Joni Mitchell. It's aptly titled River: The Joni Letters and was released at the end of September by a label synonymous with jazz, Verve Records.

If you're not familiar with Herbie's story, it goes a little something like this: He was considered a piano prodigy at age seven. At age eleven he played a piano solo in the first movement of a Mozart concerto with the Chicago Symphony. At twenty-one, Blue Note Records offered him a solo record deal. Two years later, he was asked by equally legendary Miles Davis to join his band, with which he remained for five years. And then his career really started getting interesting! Since then, his music has taken numerous twists and turns, trying new styles, innovating his own, integrating electronic instrumentation into jazz (a big no-no according to many purists), never resting on his laurels or settling into a predictable rut.

Joni Mitchell is an artist that is equally worthy of admiration and respect. Long before we had Canada to thank for Celine Dion, they were kind enough to send Joni to us. Discovered by David Crosby (of Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young) while playing folk music in a club in Florida, Joni's career took flight in the mid 60's. A decade later, she would being experimenting with tints of jazz in her work. As she entered her fifth decade making music, Joni found her self at odds with those selling it and bowed out of the scene for a while, until releasing Shine on September 25th, the same day that Herbie's album was released. There has been some criticism of it as offering nothing fresh or anything that compares to her time honored classics, but regardless of your critique one cannot question Joni's contribution to music during her long career.

As with any album of covers, there will be some who find the interpretations on River: The Joni Letters a fresh take on classic material and some who will consider them copies that have little to offer. That being said, I'll let you listen to the tracks below and form your own opinion. Some of the tracks on the album are piano driven sketches (such as Solitude, below), others offer lyrical substance by guests such as Norah Jones, Tina Turner, Corinne Bailey Rae, Luciana Souza, Leonard Cohen, (on the track The Jungle Line) as well as an appearance by Joni herself on one track.


Herbie Hancock - Solitude : River: The Joni Letters

Herbie Hancock - The Jungle Line (Feat. Leonard Cohen) : River: The Joni Letters

Visit his website, his label Verve Records, and become his friend on MySpace.

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Miles Davis (with Herbie Hancock on piano) - Circle : Blue Miles

Joni Mitchell - Big Yellow Taxi : Shine