091611

What's It Called?

Noah & The Whale - 2 Atoms In A Molecule

What's The Story?

Sometimes folk, sometimes indie, sometimes bluegrass. Noah & The Whale are another excellent rock offering from London; a great contemporary of Mumford & Sons. 2 Atoms In A Molecule is the first track from their first commercial release, Peaceful The World Lays Me Down.

Who's To Blame?

Perhaps ironically, a good buddy's girlfriend.

Why ♥ It?

A high-tempo acoustic guitar-driven song about anti-love. Something about a tune like this always exudes fun, and this one is no exception.

The percussion in this song is so lovable. It's never loud or busy, but the right beat is always lightly tapping away with the addition of a glock and some tinny-hitting sounds here and there, and it's ideal. Also, as always with Noah & The Whale, the backup vocals add a great element to the tune. Both of these parts are best heard in the bars with breaks from the verses, and the outro.

2 Atoms In A Molecule is at once short & sweet musically, as well as short & bitter lyrically. In one word, it's fun. Check it out.

091411

What's It Called?

Mumford & Sons - The Cave

What's The Story?

Mumford & Sons are a large folk rock outfit from London. They create soundscapes that are at once as grand as their numbers and as quiet as their genre. The Cave is from their debut & only major release Sigh No More, and they share the honor with Biebs as having lost the "best new artist" category at the Grammys to Esperanza Spalding.

Who's To Blame?

Eddie Vedder's #1 fan.

Why ♥ It?

This tune does a great job of showcasing both the big and the small found within Mumford & Sons.

Take first the first couple of verses. The song starts with an honest, blue-collar voice and a guitar. That's it. This quickly begins to accumulate other sounds, with piano, banjo, percussion and backup vocals all being a part of the fun by chorus 1.

Speaking of the chorus, it's an excellent anthem for the self; to sing along to those words and mean it feels great. And it's not hard to want to do.

Take also the latter half of the song. By 2:45 there are multiple horns, multiple guitars, and an epic and triumphant feel develops to close out the tune. The song has blossomed into one of those rare tunes where you can pound your fist in the air to a banjo and a trumpet.

The Cave is feel-good folk rock that's written with the present in mind, but I have no doubt that it'll age wonderfully as well.

082811

What's It Called?

Matthew Hornell & The Diamond Minds - Khaki Dodgers

What's The Story?

This quartet of cool cats are a folk rock unit that you can party to and/or listen to at a family affair. They've got one album out (which can be acquired on the band's site), and another is anticipated. Khaki Dodgers is the fifth track on that first, self-titled album.

Who's To Blame?

The only other ginger in sight at the show last night.

Why ♥ It?

When I think of the folk rock I love the most, it's the ability to enrich a song with more than just a guitar and poetry. Johnny Cash livened his tunes up with some of the best stories you'll hear musically, and bands like Mumford & Sons have a large cast to have a big sound. This song represents a hardworking intersection of those two strategies.

The song tells the story of Hornell's own grandparents and how they met, and of a hockey team in a nearly-dead industrial mining town in Central Newfoundland. The song starts slow and styles almost like a hearthside story, with the guitar-and-poetry already discussed. However, after a verse or so, the rest of the band joins, and as the song rolls along from verse to chorus to verse to chorus, it gets more and more intense. They keep this momentum until, by the end, it's used for a couple breakdowns with mandolin solos and heavily strummed instruments that really put the rock in folk rock.

These guys had a show last night that stated that they weren't breaking up; they were friends with benefits. It's this kind of character that runs through their songs and performances, and it attracts bars full of twenty-somethings routinely whenever they play.

091610

What's It Called?

Everlast - Folsom Prison Blues

What's The Story?

Everlast is a singer/songwriter out of the US, best known for his radio hit What It's Like. Lesser known, he was the frontman from House of Pain. This cover is from his album Love, War & The Ghost of Whitey Ford.

Who's To Blame?

A guy who I think might be in a major biker gang, but who I won't ask because I like having my spleen connected to whatever it is that a spleen connects to.

Why ♥ It?

There's a video making the internet rounds of Jimmy Kimmel impersonating Neil Young performing the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Whether approve or disapprove, it seems that the general consensus is that the video delivers exactly what it promises. The reason I waste breath (finger-breath?) typing this is because this song can be summed up in exactly the same way: Everlast covers Folsom Prison Blues while sampling the beat from Insane In The Membrane.

...Hey, it could be worse, he could be sampling Jump Around.

090210

What's It Called?

Citizen Cope - Bullet & A Target

What's The Story?
Citizen Cope is a folk artist from Brooklyn. Bullet & A Target is from his third full length album, Citizen Cope: The Clarence Greenwood Recordings.

Who's To Blame?

I don't remember, so I'll just say it was either Jesus or Batman.

Why ♥ It?

The cool thing about a folk artist from Brooklyn is that you can expect some soulful vocal work. In particular, I would've assumed Citizen Cope was a rapper with a guitar from this song. The delivery is casual like a rap, but with a hint of tune. (not to be confused with autotune)

Also, the rest of the track is simple. The rhythm guitar only ever plays four chords, in the same order and style every time. The bass, same story. My n-year old family member could probably play the drums for much of the track. They all sound great, but take a backseat by design to the heavy & soulful sound of the vocals.

I really like the clapping sound that starts near the outro of the song. Adds another layer, and I'm sure it would liven the song up a little live. The guitar lead there could be tinkered as well, but it's great for the studio track in its simplicity.

I keep using the word simple, but don't let that deter you. Anything more involved would rob the song of its soulful folk charm.