Soul Child Joss Stone’s independent LP1

After battling it out to leave the EMI record label to finally create her own, edgy Stone’d Record– Joss Stone has made a comeback with her 5th album “LP1” exerting the raw creativity, freedom and grit needed  to become her own woman in the world of English soul singers. For an album that was put together in just 6 days and co-produced with Eurythmics’ David Stewart – its an inspiration for young aspiring artists and a soother to put the Amy Winehouse blues at rest.

Impressive vocals and a strong personality – that’s what this album is about. Before you can think of getting into an Amy Winehouse vs. Joss Stone debate, take a listen to her album and watch some of her live performances on youtube. The opener Karma has us hooked with a funky retro bassline while Stone gets deep, “If I was just a little bit stronger baby”. Drive all Night is my favourite track on the album, while the concept is not the most original (Re: Celine Dion – I Drove All Night) – its soulful rhythmic vibe would be perfect for any romantic date and the uncertainty that goes with it,  “I started to worry, do I smell nice?” Cry Myself to Sleep is a track for when you want to shout out “I’m letting you go!”

Stone’s talent and fire are undeniable, the pop/rock/alternative edge, her ability to sound country-blues one minute and sultry-retro the next is her forte. Stone is evolving like a fine wine, and if this is just the beginning for her newfound independence, we can expect to hear much more from her in the near future. Just what will she pull with Mick Jagger and Damien Marley in the rock supergroup “SuperHeavy” in September? I can’t wait.

I have an iTunes playlist titled “Cognitive Dissonance”, and it is filled with all kind of earthy folk music that could very well be the soundtrack to any American vagabond’s life. Musicians like Owen Pallett and Fleet Foxes, who see the world as it is, pick at percussion instruments with the feelings of old mountain men from the 1900’s – and find their way into the laps of audiences all around the globe.

Add a young west coast street musician named Frank Fairfield with his old-fashioned GQ looks,  a reedy voice and clawhammer banjo skills into the neo-folk music category – to put out exactly what good folk music does. He just performed in the wee Doune The Rabbit Hole Festival in the UK this past weekend, and can make just about anyone smile.

There’s not much to explain about Fairfield’s second album “Out on the Open West”  other than how real and jaw dropping of a sound it is – it features several guests and he wrote most of the tunes himself. Each song captures the sound and feelings of a nostalgic inspiration – old tunes that Fairfield grew up with and loves. Raw talent and foot-stomping delight. But That’s Alright croons a sweetness and a sadness, Out on the Open West shows off various instrumental talents, and Texas Farewell couldn’t be a grander goodbye to the south. Tom Marion and Willie Watson are excellent accompaniments with strings in full force.

This album is another excellent achievement for Fairfield, a necessary listen for fans of folk music. This could very well fit the soundtrack to anyone’s life out on the open road, or going from one transition to another. Frank is born out of time and his voice is amazing – don’t miss him perform if he ever stops in your area.

Sonic Youth frontman Thurston Moore releases “Demolished Thoughts”

52 year old Thurston Moore, former frontman of Sonic Youth and a driving force  behind alternative rock music throughout the 80s and 90s – has released his 4th solo album, Demolished Thoughts. With Beck as the producer on Moore’s first ever acoustic rock album, nothing less than extraordinary should be expected, proving to fans that artists who make lots of noise and freakouts can be sensitive chamber folk as well.

Beck’s mellow tone and incredible mixing skills are absolutely essential on this album. (Beck fans will instantly recognize elements from his 2002 release Sea Change). The 9 tracks on Demolished Thoughts are heavily laced with gorgeous strings (violin, bass, and harp – alongside Moore’s guitar and vocals), paying the most attention to the instrumentals over lyrics. Songwriting is not a strength and neither is the energy level really – its a relaxing album filled with themes on relationships and remorse.

“Benediction” and” Circulation”  are standout tracks, where Moore’s guitar rips into a perfectly orchestrated lullaby. After listening to the entire album, you feel as though you’d just heard one giant ever changing track. What lacks in riot makes up for in enlightenment. Its a refreshingly mature sound, and listening to “Space” send listeners on a little hippie-trippy journey.

Overall this is a fantastic and relaxing summer listen with many hidden depths to be explored.

America’s lovely Thao and Mirah: Mirah Yom Tov Zeitlyn and Thao Nyugen, both solo artists for a long time, met and decided to go on tour together last year. The outcome for two very distinct abilities as singer/songwriters is unpredictably black or white: either they’ll clash or not. And fortunately, Thao and Mirah have brought us something unexpected and refreshing on the indie-folk front. I remember watching a contemporary piece on “So You Think You Can Dance” several seasons ago, and fell in love with a song called “The Garden” by Mirah. Organic and soft, with high falsettos and an incredible vocal range, Mirah has released 5 earthy albums in the last decade. Thao on the other hand, is the wild one – high energy rocking on her acoustic guitar on stage when she performs with The Get Down Stay Down. A bit rough around the edges, Thao balances Mirah on their self-titled album.  

This is a very creative album, lots of influence from their co producer from The Tune Yards who have lo-fi experimental sounds. The opening track Eleven is very audience involving in a typical underground stage setting, there’s clapping, crowd movement– and under synth and drumsticks, Thao and Mirah can be heard singing their separate lines (styles immediately comparable) and then coming together in a very layered harmony.  Folks is a track that breathes country-waltz, and there are tracks in which one singer clearly leads the other. Mirah’s range takes over in Spaced Out Orbit with her melancholy tone, and in Little Cup behind background beatbox acapella, whereas Thao’s raw playing, singing and writing comes out with husky lines like “Put your hands down your pants”, in Teeth, and Squareneck with her rusty guitar slides. How Dare You is a track where the two artists play back and forth.
 
Hallelujah is a huge collaborative accomplishment – my favourite track on the album. The last time I heard “Hallelujah” sung so beautifully was Rufus Wainwright’s piece. Reverant vocals, wine glasses and shakers add to gorgeous lyrics, like a prayer to a higher power from hard working souls.

If there’s anything to critisize its sometimes the R&B vibe you get that doesn’t go well with the overall album, but I guess thats the point – this is a different kind of indie-folk album. Don’t expect an album like brother-sister duo Angus and Julia Stone where we have consistency and similarities throughout. This is a serious accomplishment for these ladies, inconsistencies on the album add to the overall diversity and I can’t wait to hear more from them.

Timbre “Creep On Creepin’ On” with new LP

Thirsty? Zombies, vampires and spirits come gather – it’s nightfall and we’ve got a job for you…

After Canadian Timber Timbre’s Taylor Kirk, Mika Posen, and Simon Trottier received high praise for their self-titled album (including “best album of the year” and a nomination for the 2009 Canadian Polaris Music Prize), fans have been anticipating for two years what the blues-folk trio would come up with next. Creep On Creepin’ On is now available on Arts & Crafts Records, to deliver yet another dose of surrealism for their audience.

What could be considered Canada’s best kept secret of 2011, it’s almost impossible to compare Timber Timbre to other projects. There’s a striking comparison one can make though, from Kirk’s soft tenor vocals to those of Matt Berninger from The National – deep, lonesome, and hauntingly beautiful. The hollowness takes listeners on a spiritual journey with 10 dark, swoon-worthy tracks.

The opener “Bad Ritual” evokes that “6th sense” feeling that something is lurking nearby with a steady kick drum and piano plunk which raises the hair on our arms. We hold our breaths in suspense. Don’t be fooled by the romantic intro of harmonic strings in “Obelisk”; these instrumentals are indeed about to get blood thirsty. A Hitchcock high-pitched tone erupts with a unique layering of violins, twangy guitar, sharp plunks and screeches – it’s unpleasant and some may want to run for cover, crying, “I buried my head in? my hands, I buried my heart there in the sand,” which Kirk croons in the track “Creep on Creepin’ On.” Someone needs to get these boys some vitamin D pills, by the end of this album we’ll all be thirsting for sunshine.

At this point in the album Timber Timbre takes us into their heart: it takes us to the very geographical essence of their folk project over the years. The landscape is hot, rugged and isolated – and we have cabin fever. These artists put a lot of love into their music, and “Lonesome Hunter,” “Black Water” and “Swamp Magic” romanticize with nature. (Slow dancing with an alligator in the dark, anyone? Just me?) “Woman” has parallels to David Lynch’s 1977 surrealist film Eraserhead, and “Do I Have Power” is a jazzy upbeat Halloween number, with guest saxophone and instrumental mimics of creature howls in the night.

I’m not saying I ever want to get murdered in the woods, but if I did I’d want Timber Timbre to definitely be there. This is a solid album that deserves a good listen this year.