RADIO HANNIBAL

Music pick of the day: Kurt Vile - Wakin On A Pretty Daze

Kurt Vile's last album, Smoke Ring For My Halo, was one of my favorite albums of 2011.  I got turned onto it after seeing him at the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass fest that fall.  Quite frankly, I much more enjoyed the album than his live performance but that could've been because I wasn't familiar with the music yet. 

Now that I know and love Vile I've been anxiously awaiting the release of his new album, Wakin On A Pretty Daze.  Well, the wait is over as it was released yesterday. The verdict?  It's fantastic and everything one could hope for. 

WOAPD has catapulted its way to my top five of the year thus far.  And that's only after a couple of listens. It still has Vile's lazy,hazy folk feel but with a touch brighter production.  Someone said he sounds like a drugged-out Tom Petty.  In a good way, of course. 

It's hard to get psychedelic folk music right.  Oft times it comes off as cheesy or too earnest.  Vile's songs and style sound natural.  The ten minute title cut which opens the album sets the laid back mood perfectly.  It'll be on my summer soundtrack for sure. 

Artist:  Kurt Vile

Album:  Wakin On A Pretty Daze

Review:  Music OMH

Spotify

 

 

Music pick of the day: Rhye - Woman

I'd heard a little bit about the duo Rhye who first garnered attention in the UK a year ago, even though they're based out of Los Angeles, with the release of some singles.  Now their first full length, Woman, is out and word is spreading on this side of the Atlantic.  

That was helped by an appearance at SXSW a couple of weeks ago.  The takeaway from that show?  Everyone thought the lead singer was a woman.  Wait until you listen to it.  You'll be just as astonished. 

Here's a record that crosses the smooth sound of Sade, vocal stylings and all, with electronic chill music.  The album is sultry and sexy with an androgynous twist which the two members are playing on by titling the album Woman.

Beyond the mysterious vocals of Canadian Mike Milosh is that the guy creating the electronic music is named Robin Hannibal.  Actually the Danish citizen's real last name is Braun.  I wonder why he changed to Hannibal.  Perhaps he's a fan of the Tom Waits song "Going Out West" in which Waits says "I think I'll change my name to Hannibal".  I, of course, was born with the surname. 

Anyway, this album should help warm the weather up.

Artist:  Rhye

Album:  Woman

Review:  The Guardian

Rhye - Woman on Spotify

 

Music pick of the day: Yo La Tengo - Fade

The notion that good music stops being produced in some arbitrary year, based on your aging process is ridiculous.  But you hear it all the time, no matter if it's from a baby boomer, a gen Xer, or whatever they're calling 30-somethings these days.  They'll make their bold statement, and it saddens me that they've lost that adventure to seek out the good.

We're only into the third week of 2013 and already there's a candidate for album of the year with the long awaited release of the new Yo La Tengo album, Fade. 

Yo La Tengo is pretty much the poster child of indie rock.  Their lo-fi production, pop sensibilities and odd noises are the architectural building blocks of many indie bands.  And Fade has me recalling what a damn fine band they still are.

The percussive opening track "Ohm" is followed by a song in which a string section sounds pleasant next to an inescapable drone while lead singer, Ira Kaplan sings a wonderful melody.  Next comes a simple pop ditty with a cute organ line.  And that's followed by a more atonal sound, reminiscent of their long time friends Sonic Youth. 

There's a kind of hush that is emblematic in a Yo La Tengo album.  You'll be able to identify the band the moment you hear it.  And that's a happy feeling. 

Artist:  Yo La Tengo

Album:  Fade

Review:  Paste Magazine

Spotify:  Yo La Tengo - Fade

 

Music pick of the day: Grimes - Visions

I look at alot of music sites on the internet.  I think I can definitively state that, as of now, the Grimes album is the most buzzed about contender for top spot on end of year lists.  I'm talking about the indie scene here.  The mainstream has no idea about Grimes and that's too bad. 

Grimes is the moniker for Claire Boucher, a 24 year old electronic musician who resides in Montreal, Canada.  She was signed to 4AD records last year and her debut for the label, Visions is a beautiful piece of work. 

A complete listen of Visions will reveal it to be nearly flawless.  There's not a bit of filler to be found.  Though it will sound foreign to the more traditional music listener with it's odd vocal effects and complex song structures, it's filled with plenty of pop hooks that can't help but draw you into her world. 

Artist:  Grimes

Album:  Visions

Review:  AV Club

Listen to it on Spotify

Two break-up albums to ruin your summer

One of the more interesting approaches to a concept album is the break-up.  Adele's highly acclaimed 21 is such a record. Other classics that come to mind are Dylan's Blood On The Tracks and Fleetwood Mac's Rumours.  This summer has me listening to two new entries which couldn't be farther apart stylistically.

The Athens, Ga. band The District Attorneys have released an album called Slowburner.  I'm not sure if they'd consider the album a break-up concept but one listen to these lyrics, often disguised in jangly pop reminiscent of The Connells, and I'm convinced someones heart's been broken.  

Spencer Krug's With Siinia: Heartbreaking Bravery isn't hiding anything.  Here's an album where the wounds of love are still wide open.  The visceral feel created by Krug (Wolf Parade, Sunset Rubdown) and the Finnish band Siinai is palpable.  I was lucky enough to see this show live in New York City a couple of weeks back.  

Everyone's had their heart broken and it's nice to have records that make you feel like you're not alone in this pain.  And if you're in the midst of such a terrible period let these two albums serve you well.

The District Attorneys - Slowburner on Spotify

Moonface - With Siinai: Heartbreaking Bravery

Cleveland's Bobby Womack is resurrected

We've seen R&B singers have comebacks before.  Gil Scott-Heron and Solomon Burke, both now deceased, come to mind.  But I'm pleasantly surprised to see Bobby Womack, born and raised in Cleveland, now counted as another one. 

The comeback can be credited to British musician Damon Albarn who selected him to sing a song on the last Gorillaz album.  This led to Albarn producing a new album for Womack, The Bravest Man In The Universe, released on Tuesday. 

Music from the album is already charting in the UK where, it seems, many a forgotten US soul singer goes to rejuvenate their career. 

This is not standard R&B fare but rather uses modern glitch tracks and electronica more often than not.  It's also given modern cred with a duet by Lana Del Ray. 

Womack's voice is in fine form and the result is a winner of an album.  Whether this will translate into sales or a successful tour here in the US remains to be seen, but the critics are on board. 

Artist:  Bobby Womack

Album:  The Bravest Man In The Universe

Review:  Entertainment Weekly

Listen to it on Spotify

Music Pick Of The Day: Father John Misty - Fear Fun

I'm not a fan of labeling music with these sub-genres that seem to be dissecting music into smaller and smaller slivers.  Though I do love the term freak folk. 

The latest purveyor of that sound is the former drummer of Fleet Foxes, J Tillman, who's new band Father John Misty exemplifies the sound well.  It's quite reminiscent of Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeroes who also have a new album out. 

Tillman's album is full of odd story-telling and diverse song structures.  The majority of which are well done. 

What with this debut by Father John Misty and new Edward Sharpe I'm letting my freak flag fly this summer. 

Artist:  Father John Misty

Album:  Fear Fun

Review:  The Boston Phoenix

Listen to the album on Spotify

 

 

Music Pick Of The Day: Beach House - Bloom

Imagine a little surf shack on a beach that over the course of a few years gets remodeled.  No longer a quaint, but ramshackle, dwelling it becomes a seaside villa.  That is what Beach House has become.

The dream pop duo from the non-beach town of Baltimore have just released their fourth album, Bloom.  And it's another beauty. 

From their start, Beach House has never strayed too far from the gorgeous, soothing melodies at the core of the songs.  The sound just continues to flourish, expanding into lush compositions that can both haunt and delight at the same time. 

I love the shore and since 2006 when Beach House debuted I've had a different soundtrack to my surf watching with every new release.  I cannot wait to play this one as I stare into the deep blue sea. 

Artist:  Beach House

Album:  Bloom

Review:  Pop Matters

Beach House - Bloom on Spotify

 

 

Music Pick Of The Day: Jack White - Blunderbuss

I really wasn't expecting this.  A stone cold classic from Jack White.  I mean he's had a good track record but it seemed he was spreading himself too thin.  Playing in a couple of bands, lending his guitar to other people's records, producing iconic artists was overexposing him and diluting his image.  I was thinking it would water down his own material. 

I was wrong.  Jack White's debut solo album Blunderbuss, put today, is a fantastic record.  Hooray for Mr. White to prove that rock and roll is far from dead.  In his hands it is a living, breathing force to be reckoned with. 

Artist:  Jack White

Album:  Blunderbuss

Review:  LA Times

Listen to it on Spotify

 

Music Pick Of The Day: Dr. John - Locked Down

John Rebennack better known as Dr. John has had a storied career.  He first honed his chops in his home town of New Orleans.  In the early 60s he was an in demand studio session player in Los Angeles.  Upon his return to New Orleans he once again embraced that cities sound but added a psychedelic element to the mix.

Dr. John became known at the Nite Tripper, a scary, funky voodoo man with albums that became classics like Gris-Gris.  His record Desitively Bonnaroo became the name of the most successful concert festival of the last twenty years in the US. 

In the 90s and 00s Dr. John tamed his act, catering to the New Orleans tourist scene with a more traditional brand of music.  Decent albums with good musicianship but ultimately forgettable. 

Along comes The Black Keys' Dan Auerbach, a fan of Dr. John the Nite Tripper.  Auerbach convinced Rebennack to revive the swampy psychedelia and the result is a fabulous new album called Locked Down. 

Produced by Auerbach, the album finds Dr. John playing an assortment of keyboards which give the songs that Nite Tripper feel.  Auerbach's production updates that late 60s sound wonderfully.  It's so good to have the Doctor back in the house.

Artist:  Dr. John

Album:  Locked Down

Review:  Los Angeles Times

The album on Spotify