All you Steve Earle fans out there should love the dirty Southern rock played by Drive-By Truckers. Listening to Earle’s “CCKMP” and “Putting People on the Moon” by the Truckers on a continuous loop could potentially produce one of the most serious bummers imaginable. If you like what you hear, their Southern Rock Opera released in 2001 on Lost Highway Recods is an amazing piece of work offering precisely what the title suggests. Thanks to Chuck and Tim O. for the tip on the Truckers.
Laura Cantrell
Laura Cantrell’s third album came out about a month ago, and I finally got around to ordering it. I’m excited to hear her latest collection of genre-crossing originals and well-chosen covers (check out her version of Elvis Costello’s “Indoor Fireworks,” available on her website along with many more downloads). I’m guessing it will be rich and subtle, if “14th Street,” the first MP3 released, is any indication. If you’re looking for a bit more twang, check out earlier tracks like “Roll, Truck, Roll,” released alongside albums full of trucker songs on the Diesel Only label. Finally, if you really enjoyed Ballboy (posted on 3hive in May), you might enjoy the gentle ballad “I Lost You,” recorded live and loose with Ballboy-er Gordon McIntire for John Peel.
The Volebeats
The venerable Volebeats have been around since I was in high school (which is long ago enough to warrant the term “venerable”). They were the default local opening act for every tour that came through Detroit. They were alt country before alt country was cool. Their old singer, Terry, had black teeth and sang songs about dating women in their 50s. So they were doing that before it was cool, too. Anyway, their new album, Like Her, demonstrates even greater confidence and maturity, even if their teeth are a bit whiter. It comes out on July 15 or you can download it now through eMusic. (These tracks are from their Country Favorites record, just so’s you don’t get it twisted.)
Split Lip Rayfield
Serge, 3hive’s official pro bono legal counsel, announced a few months ago that he’s getting married, and to celebrate this exciting news (and see if there was any validity in it — he sent the email on April 1st, one year exactly after he told everyone he was going to be on The Apprentice, and got us all excited until we looked again at the date) I’m posting bluegrass. Serge is from Kentucky, and he likes to represent so much that I think bluegrass is all he listens to. Anyway, my neighbor Chuck sent me some links to Split Lip Rayfield that sound like the real thing, bluegrass, heavily tattooed and drunk. So Serge, I hope you’re actually getting married; if not, I hope you at least enjoy Split Lip Rayfield’s guitar, banjo, mandolin, and bass made out of an old gas tank.
The Twin Atlas
The Twin Atlas craft tiny, shimmering jewels of folk pop which are driving me wild of late. Speaking of which, the duo sport the same exact animal masks on their bio page that my two sons are fond of wearing any time of the year BUT Halloween [picture not available] at which point they inevitably want to be dress up as something that requires purchase of an overpriced costume. Way more MP3s on the band’s site, which is also the best place to buy their CDs.
Mark McKay
I haven’t played as much air guitar as I did while listening to “I Know You Rider” since seeing Joe Satriani at Cobo Hall in Detroit in 1987. His is a different style than Mark McKay’s, mind you, with the latter tapping into the vibe of a ghostly night highway in the middle of nowhere, as opposed to Joe’s blistering fretwork. Really, the two likely have very little in common, and I haven’t listened to a note played by Joe S. since the late 1980s. Anyway, to summarize, if you dig the country rock, choose Mark McKay, not Joe Satriani.
Kate Maki
You can just tell Kate Maki is smart. Her nostalgic country lyrics hit all the favorite targets, from loneliness to love to obsession, and the easy-going gait to her songs always manages to sound a step ahead of old fashioned. Check out how the restrained brushed snare and pedal steel guitar match so nicely with her quiet, clear voice on “First Impression.” Then, listen to the playfulness of all of those same instruments on “Sweet Time.” It’s no wonder — Kate Maki used to be a teacher. On her first two albums, she’s put together a fine country music primer.
Anna Fermin’s Trigger Gospel
So, my wife and I are taking our daughter on her second trip to Chicago (or “Ka-goh,” as she likes to say) a week AFTER Anna Fermin’s Trigger Gospel plays at Schuba’s, one of the greatest bars in the whole world. I bet the kid would love Anna’s clear vocals and rootsy country-rock (in fact, she’d probably say “better,” in comparison to something else that wasn’t as good). I’m not sure if they’d let almost-two-year-olds in, though.
Lorna
Leslie (last name protected to prevent stalking) is one of those angels sent from heaven masquerading as IT support. She floats through the hallways with a skip in her step and a song on her lips. Her first question is always, “When do you need this?” And, while her office looks like an ER for abused laptops and fried hard drives, she’s as good at chill conversation as she is at virus removal. Now that I’m in our decidedly more DIY Detroit office, I count new ways to miss her each day… Anyway, I discovered Lorna a while back when I left my laptop with Leslie for some kind of unscheduled maintenance and it came back with a couple “bonus” tracks on it (see what I mean?). Appropriately enough, the Nottingham-based Lorna have an angelic quality to them as well: wistful and utterly gorgeous boy/girl harmonies strung carefully over rich, heady, and often surprising orchestration. There are even more MP3s on the band’s website (requires free registration), but if you want to hear the two tracks that started this whole train of thought — “2AM Beach Story” and “Glow Worm” — you’ll need to buy their 2004 album This Time, Each Year. While you’re at it, pick up their latest, Static Patterns and Souvenirs. Heck, spring for a t-shirt, you tightwad!
Piney Gir
I’ve been sitting on this one for months now…a testament to how much great music 3hive has in store for you this year! Angela Penhaligon (aka Piney Gir) comes to us from Kansas via the UK. Random right? Her album, Peakahokahoo, is all over the musical map as well; take this first song here as an example. Slippery with slide guitars, it starts off with a twang, breaking down to 808 electronic wizardry in the second verse. Then it all swells together for the chorus. “K-I-S-S-I-N-G” takes the familiar children’s rhyme, backs it with an Italian noir-ish soundtrack, and sets it in Vegas. The one constant? Her solid, silky vocals.