Thought I'd pop in after having my heart dashed against the rocks again this week with the latest installment of my Cubs' trademark collapses to offer up two happy accidents. Both were found completely by chance in unlikely locales -- one the gas station at Costco, the other some hipster giftshop at the beach -- but both have been heavy in the rotation ever since. First up is the reincarnation of singer-songwriter Nathaniel Rateliff as a bonafide soul man after years of offering delicate, lovelorn acoustic numbers as a solo act. (Check out "I Am" for one of his best.) This time he's come to town with a posse, the Night Sweats, a gang of six equipped with horns, strings, and a boatload of swagger, that're hellbent on making you move -- and move you shall.
For while Rateliff's songs have always been easy on the ears (if not on the heart, due to his poignant lyrics), thanks to his lovely voice and melodies, this takes those strengths to a whole new level, channeling them through the vintage soul and gospel of acts like Sam Cooke and Otis Redding (who Rateliff sounds uncannily like at times). Fittingly enough, Rateliff and Co. are signed to the legendary Stax, who know a little something about those forebears and the art of getting you to move, and they've captured the fabled lightning once again. This is a Sunday morning revival captured when the crowd is at full lather, and you will be powerless to resist. From the opening slam of "I Need Never Get Old," to fellow barnburners "Trying So Hard Not to Know," "Look it Here," and the juggernaut of "S.O.B.," these guys can conjure up pure, unadulterated joy in no time flat. They do a nice job balancing the fervor with slower, more soulful tunes like "Howling at Nothing," "I've Been Failing," "Wasting Time," and the blissful closer "Mellow Out," which really call to mind the Cooke references and his sweeter, simpler vibe.
It's an impressive debut, and one I hope Rateliff is able to replicate again soon, if for no other reason than these ten songs aren't going to last long at the rate I've been listening to them. None moreso than the aforementioned juggernaut, the tune that got things going that day at the gas station. It's a monster song -- the once in a lifetime type song I always talk about here -- and is as good the 50th time as it is the first. Part plantation spiritual, with nothing more than Rateliff, hums, and handclaps on the verses, and pure New Orleans on the chorus, with horns blazing and drinks flying, it's an amazing track, easily the best thing on an equally impressive album. Check it out here:
The second discovery was unearthed from the background music of that hipster shop at the beach and it turns out it's from an album that's eight years old and a band that's been defunct for nearly half that, Voxhaul Broadcast. The band hailed from Orange County, CA when it was still intact and what caught my ear was how much they reminded me of the Features (a personal fave, as long-timers here know) on that first listen -- both are four pieces deploying a mix of keys, guitars, and big chorused winners (keyboardist Anthony Aguilar and bassist Phillip Munset II form the backbone here), both have deceptively skillful drummers (Kurt Allen is the wildman on cans), and both have an incredible yeller at the mike who will have you howling along at the top of your lungs whether you know the words or not (David Dennis is said frontman/instigator).
It's uncanny as you move through their debut EP, Rotten Apples -- from the title track to equally excellent "Flickering Sparks," "Why Not," and "Too Much Thinking" -- it sounds like a lost album from the boys from Tennessee it's so familiar. Which speaks to its quality, as those boys routinely end up on the year-end list here. This album is chock full of winners, too, that makes it all the more lamentable the band's no longer around. (And that I didn't discover them until four years after they'd broken up!) They only put out a single full length after this, in addition to a couple more EPs (including one recorded at my beloved Elliott Smith's studio), that had some winning stuff on it, but nothing compares to this debut, which is an instant fave. The best remains the first tune that hooked my ear that day in the shop, the effervescent "Why Not." Check it out here:
-------------------
We'll close with a buoyant little single from Vampire Weekend bassist Chris Baio (under the penname of his surname), "Sister of Pearl." It bears some of the characteristics of his alma mater in its lightness and zip, while calling to mind 80s era Talking Heads and Bowie at times, too. The jingling riff that runs throughout honestly calls to mind Wes Anderson who could (and hopefully will) use this to the climax for any of his movies. (You can almost picture Gene Hackman chasing Owen Wilson on a velocipede while Bill Murray peers down at them from stilts...) It's catchy stuff that's worth a listen -- check it out here:
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment