SOTD: Miami Horror

Little something to get your Friday night going and your body moving...

Holidays by Miami Horror

Listen to: The Walkmen

Once again a lock for year-end Best Of lists, The Walkmen put together something special in Lisbon, the sound of a band hitting its stride and flexing its muscles. They've always been raw and fierce, but now they sound stronnng too.

Lisbon is a kitchen sink album that builds on the fruits of their most successful experiments, rather than simply taking inventory. Most noticeable to me, they retained some of that cavernous sound that made the last album so delightfully dark and unsettling, but they also managed to shine a lot of light into the cave.

I really can't pick out a clear-cut winner at this point, but I do love this song, bringing back those languid 'Lousiana' horns...

The Walkmen - Stranded by statemagazine

If you want to hear more and/or get a glimpse of the band at work, I really enjoy this session.

SOTD: M

I kinda think of this cat as the French Jack Peñate - a vibrant singer-songwriter with a high pop IQ who aims for richness and eclecticism rather than, well, heart-on-sleevedness. His range is wide, his arrangements creative, and his instrumentation diverse. In other words, he's all over the place. And he's French! Which is funny.

And oh dear, is this one smooth ass jam.

Thanks to JP for the insightful recommendation!


M - Sous ta peau
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Listen to: Cotton Jones

Cotton Jones is, in my humble opinion, a fantastic addition to lo-fi Americana, and, as a soundtrack for my favorite things – road trips, stargazing, sailboats, fireplaces, and bedrooms – a valuable commodity. Understated, drifting songs, all echo-y and narcotic and intimate; of a prior era. Worthy of a jukebox, but mysterious enough to elude many clichés. More importantly, it’s just straight addictive.

As a huge fan of 2009’s ‘Paranoid Cocoon’ (and the earlier ‘The River Strumming’), this year’s offering, ‘Tall Hours in the Glowstream’ is an interesting one. On one hand, the distinctiveness and consistency of their vibe suggests a guy that knows exactly what he’s doing. On the other, this album feels not entirely comfortable with the niche they’ve carved out for themselves, and they’re throwing a few new things against the wall to see what sticks. (Apparently, dropping the heavy-handed surname Basket Ride was step one).

The guy spends a peculiar amount of time in a higher octave than seems comfortable for him, and the gal is given a little added airtime (Matthew Nau and Whitney McGraw, respectively). They’ve also thickened their voices with some country heartache. Between the two, I think I smell a Patsy Cline phase.

More than that, they’ve replaced a formula – essentially just a Hammond organ and verby guitar – with a multi-instrument operation propped up by some electronic wash and a little studio treatment. Maybe not a JV to varsity move, because that would diminish the exceeding charm of their old stuff, but… they definitely have slicker uniforms. I’m down. If nothing else, they got someone nice behind the skins and tried harder.

I hear the Doors in one song, Mazzy Star in another, and in the boom-boom-pshhh intro to this haunter, something out of a Vietnam film…

Cotton Jones - Somehow to Keep it Going by virgil p colon

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