Sound Cloud Sunday – November 18, 2018 – Episode 31
Sound Cloud Sunday November 18, 2018
We’re heading down the home stretch of a year that offers us optimism as a country, but you could never tell from the songs we are featuring this week, many of which are somber meditations on life in hushed, harmony driven tones. Sure that’s what we play a lot of here on the station, but once in awhile we lean into the sadness that we feel as a collective country, and this week’s music on Laurel Canyon Radio reflects some wistful thinking as we head to Thanksgiving. To be sure that doesn’t diminish from the collective talent we have assembled on this week’s show. As the Mentalist Collective say “c’mon disconnect from the Internet, who gives a shit about what they say, it will still be there tomorrow and the next day”. Happy Thanksgiving and enjoy this week’s episode featuring the best unsigned, should be signed and indie artists from around the globe!
Kirby Brown – Give Me A Week
Hometown: New York via East Texas
Album: From the album “Uncommon Prayer” (his second) self-released in September.
Review Snippet: “Gimme a compass needle, some honest people, and a place that I can stay. I can find my own way home,” sings Brown on the bustling hustler “Gimme a Week.” There’s a jangling Bob Dylan-esque streak that lends itself to Brown’s playful side as he finds his stride and footing. Once he gets his bearings, it’s off to the races.
Website: http://www.kirbybrownmusic.com/
Jake Isaac – For No Reason
Hometown: Brixton, London UK
Album: From the EP “We Used To Dream” released in August on DallyWay Records.
Review Snippet: New EP ‘We Used To Dream’ arrives on August 17th, a pensive return that kicks back to uncover something fresh.
New song ‘Bad Vibes’ is a storming piece of soulful pop, with a pointed message that positivity is always needed
Website: http://www.iamjakeisaac.com/
Boys Called Susan – Slumlords of Paradise
Hometown: Maryland/Arizona
Album: From the debut album “Pennsyltucky” released last month on Complanter Records.
Review Snippet: First cousins Bryan Russo and Christopher Shearer, the duo known as Boys Called Susan, released their outstanding debut album, Pennsyltucky, on October 26th. It’s a project born from shared grief and individual promises made to a dying woman, Shearer’s mother and Russo’s aunt, Susan Knudson. Both men have extensive backgrounds in music (Russo as a singer-songwriter and Shearer as a multi instrumentalist, audio engineer and producer) and they showcase their talents with rhythm and blues infused roots music with an abundance of soul and heart.
Website: https://www.boyscalledsusan.com
Jean Rohe – Ashes to Ashes
Hometown: Brooklyn, NY
Album: From her album “Sisterly” just out on Laundry Line Records.
Review Snippet: They’re in Simon and Garfunkel territory, their voices gentle and lilting.
Website: https://www.jeanrohe.com/
The Brother Brothers – Mary Ann
Hometown: Brooklyn, NY
Album: Their debut album “Some People I Know” was released in October on Compass Records.
Review Snippet: Identical twins David and Adam Moss honor contemporary aches with the nostalgic tenderness of another time. Their stunning songcraft blends masterfully gentle guitar, cello and five-string fiddle with the sublime sort of two-part harmonies only brothers can carry. Their palpably fraternal stage presence and wonderfully familiar heart have earned repute among a modern folk scene; The Brother Brothers have recently opened for Big Thief, Lake Street Dive, Shakey Graves and more.
Web Site: http://www.thebrotherbrothersmusic.com/
Tom Rosenthal – Have We Met Before?
Hometown: London
Album: His seventh album, “Z-Sides” was released in October on Tinpot Records.
Review Snippet: Short expertly crafted pop songs.
Website: http://tomrosenthal.co.uk
Mentalist Collective – Need A Little Time Away
Hometown: Dunedin, NZ
Album: From their debut ep “Mandala”
Review Snippet: A collection of musicians from Dunedin, New Zealand composing music of a variety of styles, instrumentation and timbre. Plenty of vocal harmonies, guitar and stringed instruments such as dulcimers and uku
Website: http://www.thementalistcollective.com/
Ryley Walker – Sweet Up And Down
Hometown: Rockford, IL
Album: From his fifth album “Lillywhite Sessions” just released last Friday on Dead Oceans.
Review Snippet: At times the distortion’s kicked on (“Diggin’ a Ditch”), or things venture into broken free-jazz (“JTR”) or psychedelic madness (“Monkey Man”), but outside of the stylistic shifts the album plays it earnest.
Website: https://www.ryleywalker.com/
Sugarcane Jane – Man of Fewest Words
Hometown: Mobile, AL
Album: From their album Southern State of Mind released in October on Arena Records.
Review Snippet: Veteran guitarist (of Neil Young fame) Anthony Crawford returns to Alabama to form a band with his wife Savana: the harmony-laden, sweet-sounding duo, “Sugarcane Jane.” Together they tour relentlessly while raising their kids on the Alabama Gulf Coast…
Website: https://www.sugarcanejane.com
Dean Wareham vs Cheval Sombre – Mountains of the Moon
Hometown: Los Angeles
Album: From the album Dean Wareham vs Cheval Sombre on Double Feature Records, just released in October.
Review Snippet: A self-described “Western dream pop” collaboration appropriately titled Dean Wareham vs. Cheval Sombre. The forthcoming album comprises the indie rockers’ take on 10 cowboy swoons first made popular in the ’60s and ’70s.
Next Time in LA: January 25 at Zebulon in Los Angeles.
Website: https://deanwareham.com/
Vicky Emerson – Good Enough
Hometown: Minneapolis
Album: From the forthcoming album “Steady Heart” slated for released January 4 on Front Porch Records.
Review Snippet: “Classic country crooning straight outta South Minneapolis that sounds so timeless it could be Nashville or Memphis, 1933. “Good Enough” and the title track are gorgeous should-be country radio hits, while the likes of “In The Pines” and “Disappear” are powered by a stop-you-in-your-tracks voice that’s alternately sweet, sinister and sensual.”
Website: https://www.vickyemerson.com/
Parsonsfield – Santa Monica
Hometown: Northhampton, MA
Album: From the ep “We” released in March on Signature Sounds.
Review Snippet: Parsonsfield is a five-piece alt/folk band from Northampton, MA that infuses a rowdy, rock-’n’-roll spirit into its bluegrass and folk influences, blowing away any preconception of what you think banjos and mandolins should sound like.
Website: www.parsonsfield.com/
The Hollands! – Long Love
Hometown: New South Wales, Australia
Album: Their 3rd album, The Last Dance was self-released in September.
Review Snippet:
Website https://www.thehollands.org/
South Hill Banks – Chained To The Memory
Hometown: Richmond, VA
Album: Their latest album “No Time For A Breakdown” came out self-released last week.
Review Snippet: South Hill Banks are revving up for their first release as a five member band with “Appalachia Blues.” And though Appalachia, in all of its multi-state wide glory, is a region that encompasses an assortment of localized and niche social cultures, South Hill Banks instead brings musical accessibility with a modernized and approachable take on bluegrass – a musical style that faces its own set of occasionally pedantic sonic expectations.
Website: https://southhillbanks.com/
The Magic Lantern – Lydia
Hometown: Bristol via Australia
Album: His 3rd album “To The Islands” was released November 2 on Hectic Electric Records.
Review Snippet:
Website: https://the-magic-lantern.co.uk/
