Posted on

Music Of The Month: August 2023

Tie:

Buck Meek Haunted Mountain and Gregory Alan Isakov Appaloosa Bones

Long time readers (haha! I say that to make myself feel like I have readers) may recall that Buck Meek’s last record, Two Saviors, was tied with Valerie June’s The Moon And Stars: Prescriptions For Dreamers as my favorite recordings of 2021. Well, I still love Two Saviors, and now I also love Meek’s latest, Haunted Mountain. Lyrically this collection doesn’t grab me quite as much as Two Saviors did, but I’m very taken with Haunted Mountain’s more expansive musical production. These arrangements bring a fuller sound without sacrificing any of the delicacy and spontaneity I associate with Meek’s solo work.

And on the topic of arrangements, I have read that Gregory Alan Isakov had originally intended his new album to be a stripped-down, “lo-fi” rock-n-roll record, but the songs wouldn’t cooperate. While I do enjoy speculating on exactly what an Isakov rock-n-roll record might sound like, I couldn’t be happier to find that Appaloosa Bones hews more closely to the path forged by his previous effort, Evening Machines. I can’t get enough of the way Isakov marries his relatively straightforward, down-to-earth lyrics to treatments that range from the simplest, contemplative strummed guitar to broadly atmospheric, often nearly surreal, soundscapes.

Haunted Mountain is, overall, the more spritely of these two picks. Spin it up while you’re enjoying a sunny afternoon. Then ease into Appaloosa Bones when you’re sipping a cocktail on the porch, watching the sun set.

Get some music in your ears, everybody!

(click image to go to Buck Meek’s website)
(click image to go to Gregory Alan Isakov’s website)

Posted on

Music Of The Month: August 2022

Valerie June Under Cover

There weren’t a whole lot of new releases that really captured my fancy this month, so winnowing down to my favorite was easier than usual. Sometimes it’s like that.

Eli Winter released a new self-titled record of instrumental guitar music. Chock full of special guests such as Ryley Walker, Yasmin Williams, and jaimie branch (who, sadly, passed away much too young, just days after this release), this is one of those albums that seems to fit every mood. Give it a close listen, or spin it in the background. Play it when you’re driving, or while you’re cooking up some dinner. It’ll work anywhere.

My pick of the month, though, is Valerie June’s Under Cover. Probably not a surprise, given that any new music from Valerie June is going to immediately skyrocket to the top of my priority list. Reviews are calling this release an EP, but for me, at eight songs it kind of straddles the line of a full album. Be that as it may, as the title might suggest, this is an album of cover songs, a couple of which have been released prior to this collection. June doesn’t stray far from the path on these tunes, opting for essentially straightforward, even understated, arrangements that allow the lyrics and melodies to stand on their own. Then again, her voice is really all it takes to make her own statement on a song.

Get some music in your ears, everybody!

click image to go to artist’s bandcamp page
Posted on

Music Of The Year: 2021

Since I made the effort to do a full year of monthly record reviews, it seems like sort of a given that I should draw the year to a close by picking an overall favorite. I find that I simply can’t do it. First of all, I love all the records I picked each month, as well as the others that I mentioned along the way. Second, I simply can’t find a way to decide between two particular outstanding releases. I can’t get enough of either record, and each is my favorite when I’m listening to it. So the tie for my pick of the picks of 2021 are:

Buck Meek Two Saviors

A line from Pitchforks’ review of this record said “The whole album sounds like it just spilled out of a junk drawer you pulled open looking for something else…,” and that captures the tone better than anything I could come up with on my own. The whole project was recorded, in single takes, in a Victorian house in New Orleans, and that distinct, immediacy of place is palpable throughout. Each song becomes its own comfortably ramshackle space where I’m persistently eager to spend more of my time.

Valerie June The Moon And Stars: Prescriptions For Dreamers

As I said in my original blurb about this record back in March, I’ve been a fan of Valerie June for many years. There isn’t a bad record in her catalog, but this one blows my mind. So much more expansive, without sacrificing any of what made her previous work so wonderful. Every time I finish listening, I just want to listen again. I guess that’s about the best thing you can say about a record.

Get some music in your ears, everybody!

Posted on

Music Of The Month: March 2021

Valerie June The Moon And Stars: Prescriptions For Dreamers

Valerie June captured our hearts from the very start (with her 2013 debut album Pushin’ Against A Stone) and, like Buck Meek, she’s always great, a bit off the beaten path, and a little unexpected. But man oh man, this record is sooooo, soooo good.

Get some music in your ears, everybody!