About this time every year I start to get a feel for the year in music, and 2008 so far seems to be about contents under pressure, emotions trapped in a bottle and then shaken furiously, agitated to the point of breaking the glass, so here are the albums that have me all shook up so far this year.
The new: Cuteness abounds when impossibly joyous Brooklyn couple Matt & Kim intersperse their hand-clapping indie rock throughout the hugely popular Velcro dance night at the Spanish Moon.
I got word from Chris Maxwell over at the Red Dragon that time is limited for the homespun venue at the corner of Government and Foster.
Tom Rush set the bar high for singer-songwriters with his first records in the early 1960s and has maintained that standard ever since.
You can substitute country singer Eddie Rabbit for me, and "early" for "rainy," for I love an early night.
More of
The Record Crate
Wedged in the middle of spring’s Jazzfest and fall’s Voodoo Fest, summer’s Essence Music Festival rises, giving the doldrums of summer a head-kick consistently bringing the best in urban entertainment to the Crescent City.
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Despite having an oversized live band featuring accordions, glockenspiels and whatnot, Cohen Hartman shows admirable restraint on his album, Paper Moon, dotting his songs with slight percussion (“Ghost” utilizes a rattled chain), swooning backup vocals and homey banjos.
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On the second Harlan album, Spiderette, songwriter John Norris—who recorded debut The Still Beat on his own—enlists the help of his live band.
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Performing Celtic music is tricky business.
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