New Video/Single from The Hard Quartet "Earth Hater"

The Hard Quartet is a new indie-rock outfit with Pavement's Stephen Malkmus, Superwolf's Matt Sweeney, The Cairo Gang's Emmett Kelly, and The Dirty Three's Jim White. The group have released their first single/video "Earth Hater"

Check it out below:

Album Review: Shannon and the Clams - The Moon Is In The Wrong Place

Shannon and the Clams

The Moon Is In The Wrong Place

***and1/2 out of *****

Frontwoman/bassist Shannon Shaw of the indie-rock outfit Shannon and the Clams, suffered a tragic loss with the death of her fiancé Joe Haener in a car crash just weeks before their wedding in 2022. The devastation of this was overwhelming for Shaw who threw herself into her band's newest record The Moon Is In The Wrong Place, and album closer "Life Isn't Fair" says it all: 

How do you expect me to understand/That the love of my life was taken away from me/All the blossoms blooming, twilight looming/Without you on this earth?/Life is unfair/Yet beautiful/I see it now.

Being able to make art, survive, and keepin' on is commendable for Shaw as the band (Cody Blanchard – (vocals, guitar) Nate Mahan – (drums) Will Sprott – (vocals, keyboards)) craft a sonic mix, very much like their past excellent albums on Easy Eye Sound (all produced by Dan Auerbach), allowing Shaw to explore emotions and sing with passion, pain, and optimism.    

A classic love song from Shaw kicks thing off and sets the tone as "The Vow" uses inspiration from The Chordettes and horns, as the yearning vocals are tear wrenching with Shaw using her unspoken wedding day vows as the lyrical foundation. The band stays in that 50's dreamy vibe musically with restrained charm on "Oh So Close, Yet So Far" (which also has the most surprising guest of any release in a while, Mick Foley on Handclaps!), the slow waltzing "So Lucky" which delivers gorgeous harmonies, and the torch song "Real or Magic" which delivers even more heart on her sleeve singing/lyrics from Shaw.

The band has always moved between poppy indie rock and more artsy experimental music and that continues here. On the poppy side of things "What You're Missing" uses chimes and a sunshiny feel, the upbeat live-life-to-the-fullest "Bean Fields" cooks with joy and the Mama and the Poppa's 60's radio pop of "UFO" moves slightly towards the psychedelia acid waves. 

More in that vein is the warbling, tripped out tempos of the fuzzy "Big Wheel", digital bleeps/crazy percussion kick up on the excellent title track, and "Dali's Clock" is off-kilter in odd ways not as successful as some of the other offerings. The beach rock of the swaying "Golden Brown" lets Shaw's pained vocals float through the breeze while "The Hourglass" just may be the best of the bunch with snaking guitars, banging punk-like percussion, ripping bass, cosmic keyboards, and ominous tone; capturing everything the band does well.           

Knowing the backstory and inspiration for The Moon Is In The Wrong Place adds to the depth of the record, but even coming in fresh, Shannon and the Clams newest, deeply personal album, continues the bands strong run of successful artistic works.       

____________
Support the artists, buy the album, peep some video below:

 

New Single from The Vapor Caves "Faith"

The Austin, TX duo The Vapor Caves have released a new single, "Faith".

An early 80's inspired new wave/disco/funk effort, the tune is catchy and breezy, perfect for summer nights.

Check it out below:

Album Review: Wand - Vertigo

Hey all, got a new review up @glidemag which you can read Right Chere!!!

It is of Wand's newest release Vertigo.

This album is very Radiohead influenced and personally, RtBE digs it when the band gets looser, like they did on their recent, excellent live album which we also reviewed for Glide.  

Support the artists, buy the album, read the review, and peep some video below:

Dylan Cover #641 Sheila Atim "Tight Connection To My Heart (Has Anyone Seen My Love)" Live

In this ongoing Monday Series we will be exploring various artists versions of Bob Dylan song's. Today's artists, Sheila Atim doing a live cover of " "Tight Connection To My Heart (Has Anyone Seen My Love)" " 

Thoughts on Original:
Arriving on the hit and miss Empire Burlesque, as Dylan reemerged into secular music during those disastrous times known as "The 80's",  "Tight Connection To My Heart (Has Anyone Seen My Love)" is the biggest casualty of that era's shitty studio ideas. As mentioned when we reviewed Springtime in New York: Bootleg Series 16, the song itself is fairly solid, but the production on the original is not good. With that combo, the settings are ripe for other artists to put their own spin on the tune.   

Cover:


Thoughts on Cover Artist:
This is the first time we are hearing Sheila Atim.

Thoughts on Cover:

As much as RtBE loves Bob Dylan, not all of us are theater fans, so while some connected to the site saw Girl From The North Country, some did not. This is a unique and very theatrical cover that is completely different than the original and we usually like that. However, this is not our favorite take on the song it certainly is worlds away from the 80's produced original that rambles off the rails at times or the slightly reggae party time jam from the Bootleg Series. The serious tone just doesn't work to these ears, but feel free to listen to it and judge for yourself. 

 

Full Show Friday: Dua Lipa Bonnaroo Full Set 2017

We search the murky back waters of youtube to find full concerts and post them to the site weekly, come back every seven days to help us celebrate Full Show Friday's. These shows are of varying quality and may not be here for long so enjoy them while you can...As always, please support the artist every which way, but especially by seeing them live (if they are still playing)...This week...Dua Lipa!

Some months our Full Show Friday's will focus on specific artists, years, venues, tv shows, festivals or some combo of it all. 

This months Full Show Friday Series focuses on Female Artists at the Bonnaroo Festival.

Since we are in the teeth of summer, it gets RtBE thinking of Festivals, so let's revisit great sets from Bonnaroo's past. This isn't the first time we will be looking back at Bonnaroo, but there are tons of full sets to choose from. This month we focus on Female artists who played the festival in the past.

This week it is Dua Lipa's 2017 set. 

The SPLIT Deliver New Video/Single "Mankind In Vitro - Life Matrix"

Czech rockers The SPLIT deliver a new video/single "Mankind In Vitro - Life Matrix"

Check out the progressive metal tune below:

Album Review: Lightning Bug - No Paradise

Lightning Bug

No Paradise

***and1/2 out of *****

The NYC based Lightning Bug's fourth album is a continuation of their mix of ethereal and folk sounds as the quartet toy with electronics, nature, poetry, and the modern world on No Paradise. 

New Single from Jessica Ackerley "Conclusion: In Four Micro Parts"

New single from fantastic guitarist Jessica Ackerley, "Conclusion: In Four Micro Parts".

Check out the exploratory/Free jazz tune below:

Album Review: GUM / Ambrose Kenny-Smith - Ill Times

Hey all, got a new review up @glidemag which you can read Right Chere!!!

It is of GUM / Ambrose Kenny-Smith - Ill Times.

Support the artists, buy the album, read the review and peep some video below:

New Single from Isabel Mirri "Least Favorite Flowers"

Isabel Mirri has released a new single, the ballad "Least Favorite Flowers" 

Check it out below:

Album Review: Beachwood Sparks - Across The River Of Stars

Hey all, got a new review up @glidemag which you can read Right Chere!!!

It is of Beachwood Sparks - Across The River Of Stars on Curation Records. The album is very reminiscent of GospelbeacH's latest which we also reviewed for Glide. 

Support the artists, buy the album, read the review and peeps some video below:

Dylan Cover #640 Eliza Gilkyson "Chimes of Freedom"

Continuing our ongoing Monday's Dylan Cover Series, this week we present Eliza Gilkyson performing a cover of "Chimes of Freedom" .

Thoughts on Original:
From the first time we tackled a cover of this song:
This song is a giant one in Bob's catalog, but it has always been one of the classic Dylan anthems that never really struck a chord with RtBE.  For some reason when we talk about Dylan moving from protest singer to full on poetic songwriter, this is the tune that comes to mind. It seems to be stuck between those two worlds and the version on Another Side Of Bob Dylan just doesn't connect on many personal levels. I may be in the minority but this has never been a great Dylan song in my eyes...which in-turn does make it ripe to cover... 

Cover:


Thoughts on Cover Artist:

This is the second time we are featuring Eliza Gilkyson who is a Taos, New Mexico-based folk musician, in our Monday Dylan Cover series. Check out her live version of "Love Minus Zero/No Limit".

Thoughts on Cover:

A very 90's alt-rock-folk take on the tune sung as a duet, marching forward into the unknown with electric/acoustic guitar strums, drums and a protest spirit. 

Happy Birthday George Clinton!

Happy 83rd Birthday to George Clinton, the purveyor of all things funky. 

Clinton has been a longtime favorite of RtBE and a massive influence on our musical tastes. We reviewed his most recent album (which was much better than expected) and have seen him live a bunch. 

Give up the funk for Uncle Jam, the dirty dog himself. Celebrate his birthday by pumping some tunes and getting down. Here are a few we will spin:

Full Show Friday: Gillian Welch 2007-06-15 Bonnaroo - Great Stage Park - Manchester, TN

We search the murky back waters of youtube to find full concerts and post them to the site weekly, come back every seven days to help us celebrate Full Show Friday's. These shows are of varying quality and may not be here for long so enjoy them while you can...As always, please support the artist every which way, but especially by seeing them live (if they are still playing)...This week...Gillian Welch!

Some months our Full Show Friday's will focus on specific artists, years, venues, tv shows, festivals or some combo of it all. 

This months Full Show Friday Series focuses on Female Artists at the Bonnaroo Festival.

Since we are in the teeth of summer, it gets RtBE thinking of Festivals, so let's revisit great sets from Bonnaroo's past. This isn't the first time we will be looking back at Bonnaroo, but there are tons of full sets to choose from. This month we focus on Female artists who played the festival in the past.

This week it is back to 2007 with Gillian Welch. Check it out below:

Orphan Girl Elvis Presley Blues Rock of Ages Throw Me a Rope I Want to Sing That Rock and Roll Black Star (Radiohead cover) Look at Miss Ohio (with John Paul Jones) Wayside/Back in Time (with John Paul Jones) Keys to the Kingdom Everything Is Free Knuckleball Catcher My First Lover No One Knows My Name One Little Song Revelator To Be Young (Is to Be Sad, Is to Be High) (Ryan Adams cover) Caleb Meyer Encore: I'll Fly Away (Albert E. Brumley cover) Jackson (Billy Edd Wheeler cover) (with John Paul Jones)

Happy 50th Anniversary to Neil Young's On The Beach

Happy 50th Anniversary to Neil Young's On The Beach. 

This record from Uncle Neil, the second of his Ditch Trilogy, has always been a a favorite of RtBE's, starting with the best album cover Neil ever created.  

New Single from The Pinkerton Raid "If A Tree Fell"

The North Carolina based outfit The Pinkerton Raid have released a new single "If A Tree Fell".

Regarding the songs creation, the writer, Jesse James DeConto states:

"I was complaining to our old drummer Scott about struggling to connect with the right audience who would have the kind of experience that we’re trying to craft for them. Scott said I should write a song for those people; that was after playing for one of those very distracted and preoccupied barroom crowds, maybe six months before COVID started. During the lockdown, I finally dug into writing that song, and the sense of longing was only heightened because in those endless 18 months, we couldn't be in the same room with any kind of audience at all, much less a beautifully connected one. “If a Tree Fell” is my attempt to capture the feeling that a song is incomplete until it makes somebody feel something."

Check it out below:

Album Review: Sister Gertrude Morgan - Let's Make A Record

Sister Gertrude Morgan

Let's Make A Record

*** out of *****

The fantastic Tipitina’s Record Club’s newest release is a reissue of Sister Gertrude Morgan's only full length release, 1971’s Let’s Make A Record. This singular gospel rarity arrives on white vinyl, the same color Morgan wore once she became a bride of Jesus, preaching her sermon throughout New Orleans.

New Single from Japandroids and Final, Album Fate & Alcohol, Announced for October

One of RtBE's Favorites, Japandroids are back for one final album, Fate & Alcohol, which is due out in October. 

The site has focused on the band a lot in the past and can't wait to check out the new album. The first single, "Chicago" has been released today. You can check it out below:

Live Review: Los Lobos - River & Blues Battery Park City, NYC 7/11/24

Los Lobos

River & Blues Battery Park City NYC 7/11/24

On Thursday night July 11th a heat wave thankfully broke in New York City and the River & Blues Festival in Battery Park City kicked off their 25th year of free music in downtown Manhattan with the fantastic American band Los Lobos.  

New Single/Video from Laura Marling "Patterns"

London based singer/songwriter Laura Marling releases her new single "Patterns" ahead of her eighth studio album Patterns in Repeat.  

Regarding the new album Marling states:

“Over the course of nine months, I had happily prepared myself for the fact that my life as a songwriter would be put on hold while I adjusted to life as a new parent. How delighted then was I to discover that for the first few months of a baby's life, you can bounce them in a bouncer and play guitar all day. For the first time in my life, I was able to gaze into another human's eyes as I wrote. Of course, new parents feel like they discovered that feeling - one of the very finest that life has to offer, of looking into the eyes of your child and feeling the enormity of the picture as a whole, the enormity of a precarious life, celestial, fragile and extraordinary, taking its place among the comparatively banal constellation of a family. This banal constellation seems to have dominated the writing of Patterns in Repeat - the drama of the domestic sphere, the frail threads that bind a family together, the good intentions we hold onto for our progeny and the many and various ways they get lost in time. So much complexity in the banal, the caged, the everyday.

“Being as I am, 34 years old, now 15 years and 8 albums into a life in song, I am unable to escape the fact that each record has served as a time-stamped chapter of my life (though some have appeared more a premonition). Now, here we are, following a youth spent desperately trying to understand what it is to be a woman, I am at the brow of the hill, with an entirely new and enormous perspective surrounding me.”

Check out the single below:

Album Review: Johnny Blue Skies - Passage du Desir

Hey all, got a new review up @glidemag which you can read Right Chere!!!

It is of Johnny Blue Skies (aka Sturgill Simpson's) newest offering Passage du Desir. 

Metacritic thinks I gave this album an 80. I thought the review was a bit more reserved, I would say it is closer to a 75-70, but Metacritic doesn't ask me and I am not sure how they calculate their numbers from my words? 

Support the artist, buy the album, read the review and peep some video below:

Dylan Cover #639 Chris Hillman, Roger McGuinn, Marty Stuart "My Back Pages" Live

In this ongoing Monday Series we will be exploring various artists versions of Bob Dylan song's. Today's tune is a cover by Chris Hillman, Roger McGuinn, Marty Stuart of "My Back Pages"

Thoughts on Dylan Original:

From the first time we tackled a cover of this song:

The original has taken upon itself a cultural importance, and the chorus has simply become iconic. I doubt Dylan intended such, but it toes the line of out and out protest and illustrative questions. He puts down everyone from evangelists to girls, but the language snakes and flows so magically that it doesn't seem as harsh as "Positively 4th St" or "Ballad in Plain D". The sense of exhaling desperation or at least the realization that age confuses things even more seems to be what I take from this tune after each listen, but things can change...or can they?

Cover:

Thoughts on Cover Artist:

We did a month of The Byrds covering Dylan twelve years ago, but we never got to this tune. Here are two of those Byrds with Marty Stuart doing it live in 2018. 

Thoughts on Cover:

Fun and straight ahead cover in Byrds style that really works wonderfully no matter what year it is. 

Full Show Friday: Daughter - Bonnaroo 2016

We search the murky back waters of youtube to find full concerts and post them to the site weekly, come back every seven days to help us celebrate Full Show Friday's. These shows are of varying quality and may not be here for long so enjoy them while you can...As always, please support the artist every which way, but especially by seeing them live (if they are still playing)...This week...Daughter!

Some months our Full Show Friday's will focus on specific artists, years, venues, tv shows, festivals or some combo of it all. 

This months Full Show Friday Series focuses on Female Artists at the Bonnaroo Festival.

Since we are in the teeth of summer, it gets RtBE thinking of Festivals, so let's revisit great sets from Bonnaroo's past. This isn't the first time we will be looking back at Bonnaroo, but there are tons of full sets to choose from. This month we focus on Female artists who played the festival in the past.

This week is Daughter from 2016.  Check out the full set below:

Entropy Shares New Video/Single "King of Rain"

Hamburg, Germany's Entropy share a new video/single "King of Rain"

About the tune, Guitarist/vocalist Hans Frese says:

“Lyrically, what I’m most excited about in this song is that I managed to include a reference to one of my favorite movies, the Denzel Washington-led flick Man on Fire, one of the all- time great stories of perseverance and redemption. Which also fits well with the general vibe of the song!"

In the studio, I remember that recording the solo was particularly fun - playing the simple melody, I kind of felt like George Harrison for a tiny moment. Kövi says that the drums were at least partly inspired by "Pretty Woman" too, so even though the song has a distinct '90s alt rock vibe, there are also subtle elements that recall other great decades in music!”

Check out the tune here:

Album Review: Drunk Mums - Beer Baby

Drunk Mums

Beer Baby

**and1/2 out of *****

The Melbourne Australia based Drunk Mums deliver a swig of pub based punk rock on their newest offering Beer Baby. 

New Video/Single from DJ Brother MANIAC "Dyn-o-mite"

The Washington DC based DJ Brother MANIAC has a single out titled "Dyn-O-Mite".

Check out the tune below:

Album Review: Fantastic Cat - Now That's What I Call Fantastic Cat

Fantastic Cat

Now That's What I Call Fantastic Cat

**** out of *****

Back in 2022, Fantastic Cat released their dynamite debut album, and since the band was four individual songwriters coming together, it felt as if it was a special one off event. Thankfully it wasn't as the groups follow up record, Now That's What I Call Fantastic Cat arrives and the musical returns are just as positive as their debut. 

New Video/Single from Yarn "Traveling Kind"

NYC based roots rockers Yarn have a new twangy single/video "Traveling Kind".

Check out the video below:

Happy 50th Anniversary to The Meters Rejuvenation

Happy 50th Anniversary to The Meters stone cold classic, Rejuvenation.

Released in July 1974, Rejuvenation is a hell of an American funk record which truly brings the uniqueness of the New Orleans funk to the forefront. 

The band, Ziggy Modeliste – drums, composer, producer, vocals, Art Neville – keyboards, composer, producer, vocals, Leo Nocentelli – guitar, composer, producer, background vocals, George Porter Jr. – bass, composer, producer, background vocals, were in peak form throughout this offering.

Dylan Cover #638 Kingdom Jasmine "Buckets of Rain" Live

In this ongoing Monday Series we will be exploring various artists versions of Bob Dylan song's. Today's tune is a live cover by Kingdom Jasmine aka Bob Barrick playing "Buckets of Rain"

Thoughts on Original:
From our first take on a cover of this tune:
Dylan's mid-career masterpiece closes out with this song and to me it always seemed tacked on whimsically.  After going through a ton of raw emotion with "Idiot Wind" and other tunes, Blood on the Tracks finishes with this ditty.  Honestly, never one of my favorites, it acted more as a palate cleanser but a sweet one at that. 

Cover:


Thoughts on Cover Artist:
This is the first time we are hearing Kingdom Jasmine (Bob Barrick) who is an artist from Boulder, CO.  

Thoughts on Cover:

A fun straight ahead acoustic cover that benefits from being performed outside.  Some great picking and singing and well timed goose honking. Very enjoyable. 

Full Show Friday: Liz Phair - Live at Bonnaroo 6/14/03 - Manchester TN

We search the murky back waters of youtube to find full concerts and post them to the site weekly, come back every seven days to help us celebrate Full Show Friday's. These shows are of varying quality and may not be here for long so enjoy them while you can...As always, please support the artist every which way, but especially by seeing them live (if they are still playing)...This week...Liz Phair!

Some months our Full Show Friday's will focus on specific artists, years, venues, tv shows, festivals or some combo of it all. 

This months Full Show Friday Series focuses on Female Artists at the Bonnaroo Festival.

Since we are in the teeth of summer, it gets RtBE thinking of Festivals, so let's revisit great sets from Bonnaroo's past. This isn't the first time we will be looking back at Bonnaroo, but there are tons of full sets to choose from. This month we focus on Female artists who played the festival in the past.

Up first this month, Liz Phair from Bonnaroo way back in 2003. Check it out below:

Liz Phair - 6/14/03 

Glory Johnny Feelgood Divorce Song Rock Me Uncle Alvarez Supernova Stratford-on-Guy 6'1" Fuck and Run Extraordinary Perfect World

Album Review: Dirty Three - Love Changes Everything

Hey all, got a new review up @glidemag which you can read Right C'here!!!

It is of Dirty Three's Love Changes Everything on Drag City Records. 

The album is a semi-interesting instrumental jazz/noise album. If you want the highlight, just check out the last track, which is embedded below, it is the best of the bunch and gives you a sense of the album as a whole. 

Support the artists, buy the album, read the review, peep some video below:

 

Enjoy The 4th of July with The Grateful Dead

The United States celebrates it's Independence today, and while the country has deep rooted issues and problems we are dealing (and not dealing) with, it is still the best country mankind has founded in our sordid history. So enjoy the outdoors, hanging safely with friends, and living life. What better soundtrack for that is there than The Grateful Dead?!?!

We took the opportunity a few years back to talk about the Best American Band question on July 4th. Now (in a tradition started years ago) we are just giving you our answer in concert form, the Grateful Dead's July 4th 1989 concert. What a doozy! It is the perfect time to bust it back out and get Truckin' Up To Buffalo.

New Video/Single from Simon Jegz "America Is A Miracle"

In these trying times, and during awful political week, Simon Jegz has released a straight ahead love letter to the USA titled "America is A Miracle".

Check out the song and video below:

  

Album Review: Sheer Mag - Playing Favorites

Sheer Mag

Playing Favorites

*** out of *****

On the strong opening title track to Sheer Mag's newest album Playing Favorites, lead singer Christina Halladay sings about packing up the van and just playing those party rockin' songs with friends, never looking back. Throughout the album Sheer Mag keep that bygone, good-times-feeling alive with their throwback, 70's influenced pop rock. 

New Single/Video from Charlie & The Tropicales with Quiana Lynell "Funny How Time Slips Away"

New Orleans based Charlie & The Tropicales (who RtBE have dug and reviewed in the past) pair up with Quiana Lynell to cover Willie Nelson’s 1961 hit "Funny How Time Slips Away".

Check out the killer cover below from Charlie and crew:

Album Review: Boulevards - Carolina Funk: Barn Burner on Tobacco Road

Hey all, got a new review up @glidemag which you can read Right Chere!!!

It is of Boulevards newest release, Carolina Funk: Barn Burner on Tobacco Road.

Now THAT is an album cover!

The tunes are pretty good as well. 

Support the artist, buy the album, read the review and peep some video below:

Dylan Cover #637 Eric Bettencourt & Band "She Belongs to Me" Live

In this ongoing Monday Series we will be exploring various artists versions of Bob Dylan song's. Today's tune is a live cover by Eric Bettencourt & Band playing "She Belongs To Me"

Thoughts on Original:
The first song in this series was a different cover of this track, here is what I wrote about it then and still feel the same way:
This is a gem of a song, a twisted tale that entwines beauty and deceit, darkness and sparkling Egyptian Red Rings. One of Dylan's best in it's mystery, elusiveness and bitter biting undertones; really pure Dylan and one of his all time classics.  Loved it when I first heard it, still love it today.

Cover:


Thoughts on Cover Artist:
This is our first time listening to Eric Bettencourt & Band. Bettencourt is an Austin, TX based artist. His top notch band this go around is Richard Corson - Electric Guitar ||| Pete Genova - Bass ||| Charles C. Gagne - Drums.

Thoughts on Cover: 

A really cool, upbeat, jammy arrangement of the classic tune with great singing, guitar work and groove. Two guitar solos are dynamite as the band gets loose around the lyrics. A fantastic cover and yet another reason we keep this series running, constant pleasant surprises.  Happy Monday.