Tonight was the record release for Texan transplant Josh Mease. The up-and-comer celebrated his debut album, Wilderness. The man's music brings to mind lazy, relaxing weekends among wide open spaces. Although, the album was written among the cruel concrete streets of Brooklyn.
His voice instantly reminded me of John Sebastian of the Lovin' Spoonful. You get a slightly whimsical, free-wheelin' vibe. It's not like he's all Mr. Happy-Go-Lucky, but he doesn't have to strain or oversell his voice to get his point across. He also delves into Beatlesque territory on songs like On and On and Eleanor.
You can't go wrong with the man. Even though he's a Texan, he made me think of New York in the early 60s when the folk/singer-songwriter movement was starting in Greenwich Village.
Hey Rosetta from Canada was an awesome discovery. I knew nothing about them, and then got a nice surprise on how inspired they played. They start off slow and delicate, but with five people on stage, I knew at any moment that they could explode into big sonic territories. Sure enough, the quietness ended and a beat later, they all went nuts and busted the needle of the sound levels. Consider it a successful first impression.
Being from Canada, the obvious contemporary comparisons are Arcade Fire and Broken Social Scene. I think with Hey Rosetta, they are little more dirtier and down-to-earth, a little spontaneous. Their best strength is their cohesiveness, combining all the instruments and making them stick together. At one point, all five of the band members took to percussion and banging away on drums, shakers and metal pots. Metal pots can be the new cowbell.
The good news from their prospective is that their 2008 album, Into Your Lungs (and around in your heart and on through your blood, is up for this year's Polaris Prize. I have this album in the hi-fi and enjoying it as I type.
As a side note, doesn't the lead singer look like Will Forte from Saturday Night Live?
Seeing Sharon tonight gave me an opportunity to make faces at her to see if I can break her concentration.
When I was at Rough Trade shops, I was excited to her hew debut album, Because I Was Love, given a proper display.
They write: haring sharron van etten is like hearing cat power or elliott smith for the first time - truly a life-changing thing.... you sort of think, 'here's my new favourite'. with one of those hauntingly beautiful voices, sharon van etten manages to convey emotional ecstasy and torture through truly worked lyrics. the soft instrumentation compliments the smoothness of her voice, her vocals. a singer songwriter taking the autobiographical and transforming it, through the purest of forms, into a genuine personal oeuvre. the real and the raw play nicely with the style of instrumentation which translates the occasional excess of sentiment. one to relate to and regard as future music therapy. the album was co-produced by greg weeks and sharon van etten. on language of stone.
Take that Karen Dalton
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