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Category: Review

Review | Jonny Corndawg – Down on the Bikini Line

Jonny Corndawg – Chevy Beretta Jonny Corndawg – The Life of a Bear Jonathan Fritz, or better known to his friends and fans, Jonny Corndawg is one of the hardest working guys in music today. He relentlessly tours, with everyone from Jessica Lea Mayfield to Dawes, Robert Ellis and coming in Boston with Trampled By Turtles in November. What can you say about this guy, he’s a touring machine, a marathon runner, and one of the warmest, nicest guys you will ever meet. Down on the Bikini is Jonny’s 2nd release, behind the wonderfully named I’m Not Ready to Be…

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Review | Active Child – You Are All I See

Photo by Ricky Chapman Active Child – Playing House It’s been just one year since Active Child’s acclaimed EP launched his name. The moniker of Pat Grossi, Active Child’s first full-length album You Are All I See is out today and it’s everything and nothing that you’d expect. As I was first listening to the album, I read a lot of tweets from others that all said the same thing: I thought I was going to hate this album, but I kind of love it. Which is a bit of what I was expecting as well. It’s different, fascinating, entrancing…

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Review | Gold Leaves – The Ornament

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Review | Yellow Ostrich – The Mistress

Yellow Ostrich – 13 Mary (alternate) For a band who landed on everyone’s radar by doing amazing covers of amazing indie songs, Yellow Osrich has managed to, in their debut album The Mistress, create a wealth of new tunes that are entirely unlike anything we’ve ever heard from them. They’ve gone from putting a new take on others’ songs, to creating entirely original songs that are just as endearing and catchy. Yellow Ostrich is fronted by Wisconsin-native Alex Schaaf who currently calls New York home. When he moved to New York, he blindly contacted drummer This cleanser only that young…

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Review | The Wooden Birds – Two Matchsticks

Wooden Birds – Two Matchsticks Back in 2009, Austin, TX quartet The Wooden Birds released their debut album Magnolia to positive reviews. And two years later not only is their sophomore effort Two Matchsticks better. But it’s simply bigger. The first time around, The Wooden Birds cemented their sound — a mix of whispery but assured vocals from frontman Andrew Kenny and Leslie Sisson, spoken over rambling and babbling guitars and percussion. It’s a contrast that sounds both distinct and organic. This time around on Two Matchsticks, the songs sit better as a set, and the album in its entirety…

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Review | Robert Ellis – Photographs

Robert Ellis – What’s In It For Me

Houston’s Robert Ellis is a twenty-two year old who could be completely mistaken for George Jones. He’s got a voice and a gentle sound to him that bring to mind country legends.  Recently, he released his newwest album Photographs, on New West Records.

The young songwriter’s second release is an impressive split album that is divided by five folk tracks and five country songs.  Ellis is quite the talented songwriter and he displays his command of poetry and prose throughout this album.  His opener ‘Friends Like Those’ weeps through the loss and the cherishing of a good friend, this is a song that’s warm, tender, and a little bit heartbreaking.  His writing is contemplative, emotive, and paints some beautiful imagery, he’s the quintessential troubadour.

The subtle nature his music portrays only helps to define his songwriting.  Quietly plucking guitar strings, and singing; it feels like he’s singing directly to you.  As the band flourishes flow in, you realize just how nice of a listen this album is. Ellis’ voice can be quite powerful even though at times he seems quite diminutive. But Ellis has a few tricks up his sleeve with some tracks that come a bit out of nowhere. The “side a” is the folk side, is filled with tender folk balladry, a few sprinkled bouncers like ‘Two Cans of Paint,’ a song about moving in to a new home, has all the bounces and fun of front porch loungin’ folk songs, its light and fun.  The side hearkens to a mix of James Taylor and Jackson Browne.

The country side, begins with Comin Home, journey song about how much Ellis enjoys his trips, but especially coming home to his family.  Its a speedy opener that shows off the bands ability to pull off some trademark country sounds, the slide guitar, the locomotive like drums and the slight drawl.  Songs like this, and hilarious ‘No Fun,’ are obvious representations of country luminaries like Waylon Jennings, and Willie Nelson.  While somber, crying in your beer songs like ‘What’s in it for me?’ and ‘I’ll Never Give Up On You,’ evoke the George Jones influence.  Either way, these songs are great to listen to.

The concept album splitting between the two genres (folk and country respectively) flows quite nicely. The songs are expertly crafted, and beautiful sounding.  Ellis and his band have really done a great job creating new music that is an obvious nod to the past, and its really great.  I’ve come back to this album time after time, and I’ll continue to listen to it for a long time.  We have something very special in Ellis, someone that looks to have a very promising songwriting career.

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Review | Mount Moriah – Mount Moriah

Mount Moriah – Lament For Chapel Hill, North Carolina natives Heather McEntire and Jenks Miller, combining a post-punk background with a heavy-psych/metal one did not in fact yield a third band of equally hardcore sounds. The combination instead led to Mount Moriah and an excellent full-length debut that offers a new take on classic American folk music. The nine-track album has just about every americana/folk sound covered. Lament, the first single, is the album’s foot-stomping track. And there’s gospel-influenced sounds in more than a few of the songs. Lead singer Heather McEntire’s soft but sharp voice anchors every track and…

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Review | Other Lives – Tamer Animals

Other Lives – Tamer Animals Other Lives latest album Tamer Animals is lush and haunting and epic. The four guys and one lady from Stillwater, Oklahoma have created an album, where layer after layer of sound beautifully transports you elsewhere. Whether a dense forest or a far away space scape (as seen in their music video for For 12) this entire album is simply otherworldly. There are numerous layers that weave in and out of each song. Trumpets and horns on Dark Horse add an urgency to the song, and the hmmm-ing and oooohhhh-ing found in the album’s title track…

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Review | The Elected at Brighton Music Hall

The Elected – Go For The Throat On the first or second listen of The Elected’s third album Bury Me In My Rings, you don’t really think about where this music fits in best. But live, it’s clear that all of the songs off their new record are tailor made for a west-coast beach party. Preferably around a bonfire. At sunset. And so in the dark Brighton Music Hall, on a Tuesday night the setting wasn’t exactly perfect but the sound was. There were ukeleles, bongo drums and lap steel. Playing mostly songs off their latest, the Elected played to…

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