Sounds You Should Try & Buy 25 September 2014
In this week’s Sounds You Should Try & Buy we’ll simplify the hoopla around a wild Austin blooded blues-rocker, a much anticipated album from a singer/songwriter finally streets and another look at an album you probably forgot to check out. No worries, there’s still time…
So stop worrying about how to police your munchies for a few minutes and let us begin to dig into what we’re listening to this week and thoughts from around the web.
(For more infos, click on the album title)
Gary Clark, Jr – ‘LIVE‘ (Warner)
Texas legend in the making Gary Clark, Jr’s new double live album is 15 exciting Austin blues flavored Rock N’ Roll tracks which finds Clark delighting with two fistfuls of gems from the maestro himself with a handful of blues standards mixed in for the sweetness of it all. Instant classic is something I’m not afraid to claim and so far the only way to listen to the collection is stereo on blast and yes critics, Clark wears his influences well. Wherever you make your sounds, God Bless Texas Music Mr. Clark.
Gary Clark, Jr explains the feeling being on stage, “It varies from night to night, depending on amps, tubes, strings. It really gets down to technicalities, but once I get over that, everything is cool, and there is this zone. It is like taking off in a plane and trying to get to 30,000 feet where you are just cruising and can lean the seat back and get comfortable. That’s what it feels like for me. Everything is at peace, and towards the end, you come down for landing and you hope it’s smooth. It’s a nice, wild ride for an hour and a half or two hours. There is just something about letting go and being in the moment, as loud as it is, and as wild as it is with the lights and everything, it calms me more than anything else in the world.” (from ESPN interview by Jess Locks)
Markéta Irglová – ‘MUNA‘ (ANTI-)
Fromthe Global Texan Chronicles interview by Claudia Price, “I remember the day I recorded the opening track of MUNA called Point of Creation. This song had already been recorded in the studio during the initial recording session, but I was not fully content with the result. In my mind, I heard the chords of this piece sounding through the pipes of a church organ, and no other instrument could come close to accomplishing this sound. Supported and encouraged by Mio to follow where the music wanted to be taken, we booked a church in the centre of Reykjavik after closing hours as well as its esteemed organ player Hörður. Mio packed up some recording equipment and set it up in the church while I got a haircut in a nearby salon.
“A microphone was placed in the middle of the isle leading to the altar for me to sing into. Other microphones were placed around the hall to capture the massive sound of the organ. When I arrived at the church, the light was still streaming in through the windows and the atmosphere was most calm and peaceful. I felt very special to have this beautiful space to myself. I rehearsed the song with the organ player couple of times before Mio pressed Record. After that it was just the joy of singing my song along to the organ and enjoying the sound bounce of the walls of the church and come back to me amplified and magnified. Once we did a few takes, we packed up and walked into the fresh air of the November night, only to be met with the most exquisite northern lights in the sky over Reykjavik, the first ever for me to see in person. We drove out of town after that, where we knew they would be more visible, all the while feeling very positive about having decided to go the extra mile to make the song right. I took this occurrence as a sign of approval from above.”
Read Full Interview here.
Ten-79 – ‘Love, Life & Lies‘
From a pub in Athens, Georgia, wait a minute…From York, England comes a killer band of seemingly down to Earth players, Ten-79, offering up their debut full-length Love, Life & Lies. An album that finds Gary Luckhurst, Jim Cadwallender, Wally Youngman and Brian Hartington modernizing the sounds reminiscent of the Athens, GA or any college town’s house-party and club scenes that ultimately created the indie music culture of the 80’s/early 90’s. R.E.M. and Pylon’s love child perhaps with a dusting of Widespread Panic and they rock that heritage with plenty of barroom gusto and loads of heart. This is a band that truly shines in their minimal imperfections. Take a listen to Luckhurst’s voice and you’ll see our point…
The band shared with us,”The album has a song for every mood, it is predominantly an album with large doses of indie rock and and an undertone of folk. With us all having varied musical tastes, we believe we have come out with an original foot tapping beauty.” and continued “With the days spent in the studio, we wanted to be all rock and roll and drink beer, to be honest we drank tea and coffee all day and saved the beer till we finished.”
Well, guys, we couldn’t have gone that long without God’s frosty gift but whatever you had to do, it worked! Cheers!