Kurt Vile just kills it. Meandering coherently through just about every genre and music theme I’ve been drawn to over the past few years, Vile is as capable if not more so than many of the artists he is likened to. Fans of John Maus, Ariel Pink, Animal Collective and Devendra Banhart take notice, because with his melodic sense and abilities his next album is going to be one of the better of the new year. I was holding off on posting about him waiting for news about his upcoming album, but in the meantime I suggest you get acquainted with Constant Hitmaker, that came out last year. Songs below the photo.
I feel like this photo captures the atmosphere of his recordings well:
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“We’re proud to post up some of the fruits of our labors from our latest recording sessions for the upcoming album Castings. These are rough mixes of two songs, “The Poisoner” and “From Zero to Infinity.”
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Nico Georis’ songs amble down the bleached highways and byways of windswept, Western mythology. They live a life of quiet California desperation, that sunny sadness that proves that even in the light there is loneliness. Even on those wide-eyed butterfly afternoons spent splashing in the reedy river, there is an apathy that lingers long after the blue jeans have dried. Green grass and summer sunsets are beautiful, but they don’t answer our questions. They humbly offer an example to live by, and maybe, just maybe we can find stillness, meaning, connection, or whatever you want to call it, if only in a song. Maybe not.
You can catch Nico playing with Kaki King and Sarah McCoy at the Brookdale Lodge on January 30th. Visit our dear friends at (((folkYEAH))) for more info.
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Devendra Banhart posted some new photos of him and the band in the studio recording his as-yet-untitled follow up to his last album Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon. Hopefully we’ll have some audio to go along with these photos soon enough. You’ll hear it first here on Naturalismo when there is.
During the mid 1920s, the unexpectedly strong sales of Blind Lemon Jefferson’s Paramount 78′s sent record scouts scrambling to sign male blues artists. One of their best discoveries was Blind Blake, a swinging, sophisticated guitarist whose warm, relaxed voice was a far cry from harsh country blues. Some of Blake’s 78′s cast him as swinging jazzman or jivey hipster, while others walked the long, lonely road to the gallows. The man with the “famous piano-sounding guitar” is still regarded as the unrivaled master of ragtime blues fingerpicking. {via}
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Just got wind of Dark Was the Night (i realize that this has probably already been plastered over the indie blogs), a pretty stunning compilation of artists contributing tracks that are unique to this comp. It’s going to be released February 17th. See below for more info, this is shaping up to be a pretty spiffy compilation (Antony, Iron & Wine, Beach House, Bon Iver, Cat Power, Jose Gonzalez [covering Nick Drake's "Cello Song" with The Books {!!!} ] ) for an excellent cause:
“A total of thirty-two exclusive tracks have been recorded for the compilation, which will be available as a double cd, triple vinyl and download album, with profits benefitting the Red Hot Organization – an international charity dedicated to raising funds and awareness for HIV and AIDS.
Red Hot was founded on the premise that even without a cure, AIDS remains a preventable disease – using music as a great vehicle to raise both money and awareness for it. This is also the twentieth year of Red Hot as well as their twentieth compilation.”
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No One Conquered, Wyoming tiptoes through the hall holding a candle, slinking through a fog of naiveté and young-adult melancholy with homespun idiosyncrasy. Swathed in a moonlit wash of found-sounds and chamber delay, the music here trickles, roams, then wanes, craving space to breathe between a bramble of electronic noise-play and acoustified arpeggios. It’s sleepy but troubled. As we know, there is a time when the day needs to end, all clean and crystalline, and then there is a time when we want to be awake to take the world in, artifice embraced. Between organic and plastic, there is enough room for every sound to share, and on Vega, no note consumes the whole.
[ stream ] Fox in the Sand
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I realized today that we here at naturalismo didn’t do a post to commemorate Tuesday’s inauguration…and what better way to right that wrong by sharing a video that my fine roommate Chad passed my way this morning. Screw Aretha — Pete’s the ultimate American: the one man who actually embodies what the country was “supposed” to represent, as opposed to what it actually does. Look no further than Pete’s Congressional blacklist hearing to see what I’m talking about. Plus the fact that, at 90, Pete still has the wherewithal to make a trek from Beacon, NY to Wasington DC to sing for people — now that’s inspiration that no Obama speech could provide.
We are excited to unveil the first details of Akron/Family’s forthcoming album, Set ‘Em Wild, Set ‘Em Free, which will arrive May 5, 2009. In celebration of this new chapter for Akron/Family, the band is previewing much of the material from Set ‘Em Wild, Set ‘Em Free in special shows this coming March. Akron/Family will be playing a series of intimate residencies in New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles, playing multiple nights in venues far smaller than they normally would visit. Additionally, they will be doing co-headline shows with Born Ruffians in Toronto and Montreal, performing a St. Patrick’s Day blow out at Denver’s beautiful Oriental Theater, visiting the SXSW festival and playing at the New Museum in New York City. The band has hand-picked openers for each night of the residencies, and every city will feature special guest musicians joining Akron/Family on stage, with the hope that each night the audience will receive a unique experience.
Set ‘Em Wild, Set ‘Em Free marks the band’s first album recorded as a trio; Seth Olinsky, Miles Seaton and Dana Janssen became a three piece in 2007 after original member Ryan Vanderhoof left the band that fall, and this shift in their line-up reconfigured the band’s approach to touring. They brought along like-minded musicians such as Megafaun, the Dodos and Greg Davis, both as openers and as members of an ever-changing Akron/Family ensemble, bringing about cacophonous onstage jams interwoven between the band’s songs. Whether it’s the three members of Akron/Family – communicating and interacting with one another onstage with something like the visceral language of the classic John Coltrane or Albert Ayler ensembles – or upwards of a dozen guest musicians joining them, their live shows are becoming a thing of legend. Akron/Family’s 2008 Emo’s gig in Austin was one of these legendary performances. The band led the audience and nearly 20 musicians from the stage in an Arkestra-like free-for-all to a riotous, shirtless and sing-a-long parade in the streets. These unhinged performances have been witnessed by audiences at the Monolith, Isle of Wight, High Sierra, Coachella and End of the Road festivals, and since then word has traveled fast about the magic of Akron/Family. The trio of Olinsky, Seaton and Janssen is a sight to behold, and this rare opportunity to see the band performing in intimate spaces is one not to be missed.
