Coco Motion – Christmastime

Posted Mon December 23, 2013

You likely know Coco Hames from her work with The Ettes or hanging out at Fond Object with a pig or maybe a few goats. She’s posted up a pleasant track just in time for Christmas that just so happened to also air on the final episode of WFMU’s The Best Show.

It Came From Detroit

Posted Fri December 20, 2013

The other night I watched the documentary, It Came From Detroit, and several things struck me. 

1) Third Man Record’s Ben Blackwell and Ben Swank both make appearances, so if you ever questioned their Detroit roots, this film will absolve those doubts. 

2) Watching this movie and substituting “Nashville” whenever they talk about the wealth of talented musicians doing it for the love of doing it but also curious to have a taste of success is an incredibly easy headspace to fill. It’s remarkable how many parallels there are between the scene in Detroit and the scene here – the difference being, of course, that we’ve not had our “White Stripes” to catapult the entire city onto the national radar.

But, then again, maybe we’re just too in it to be able to see it. Nashville is on the tip of everyone’s tongue as a “hip” place and we’ve had more than our fair share of indie successes. Maybe we’re on our way into the backlash or maybe we’re on our way to a new level of musical breakouts.

Or, more likely, we’re on our way to having more great music emerge from our fair city and, commercial success or not, we’re one of the finest places to live if you want a diverse music scene.

(Source: http://itcamefromdetroit.vhx.tv/)

D. Watusi – Dark Party

Posted Wed December 18, 2013

Sadly, any mention of D. Watusi brings about the incredibly sad and unfortunate memory of the passing of bassist Ben Todd. His departure really can’t be overstated enough as a real loss for the world. I’m not even using the least bit of exaggeration or hyperbole with that statement, the world was better with him in it. Despite barely knowing him personally, I can honestly say my life was improved by his endeavors.

Maybe it’s unfair to bring that up when mentioning Dark Party because the record is phenomenally good regardless of that fact, not despite it. There are plenty of bands in town that could be placed in the same genre as D. Watusi but none of them come close to pulling off the right balance of sonic production, catchiness, energy and just the right amount of showing influences from other realms – like the inclusion of horns on “You Walk” or the raging zone out “Little Heller." 

I’ll even go as far as to say that this one deserves to sit on the Best Of Nashville shelf – not just Best of 2013. 

D. Watusi – Dark Party

Posted Wed December 18, 2013

Sadly, any mention of D. Watusi brings about the incredibly sad and unfortunate memory of the passing of bassist Ben Todd. His departure really can’t be overstated enough as a real loss for the world. I’m not even using the least bit of exaggeration or hyperbole with that statement, the world was better with him in it. Despite barely knowing him personally, I can honestly say my life was improved by his endeavors.

Maybe it’s unfair to bring that up when mentioning Dark Party because the record is phenomenally good regardless of that fact, not despite it. There are plenty of bands in town that could be placed in the same genre as D. Watusi but none of them come close to pulling off the right balance of sonic production, catchiness, energy and just the right amount of showing influences from other realms – like the inclusion of horns on “You Walk” or the raging zone out “Little Heller." 

I’ll even go as far as to say that this one deserves to sit on the Best Of Nashville shelf – not just Best of 2013. 

Tower Defense – Mind the Menagerie

Posted Tue December 17, 2013

If you were to tell me that by the end of 2013 of my favorite releases of the year would be from a band comprised of drums and two bass players I’d probably give you a bit of an odd blank stare. However, the full-length from Tower Defense is exactly that and I find myself revisiting it regularly.

There’s something about it that reminds me of a few Dischord bands from the late 90’s like Faraquet or Q and not U – it’s a good balance of melodic but just a little chaotic too. There’s also a sense of musicians enjoying themselves – which I can only assume to be true during the making of this.

All and all, a fine entry in anyone’s Best Of 2013 and I don’t mean that in the Local category either. This is a fine fine record period.

Roman Candle – Debris

Posted Mon December 16, 2013

Back in October I posted a preview of the new Roman Candle album, Debris. I wanted to sit with the album before I posted a proper review. In that time, I’ve listened to the record no less than ten times a week and feel like any overly enthusiastic review I give to it will do it injustice as to how great it really is. Hyperbole and gushing often gets in the way of legitimate endorsement.

The band has obviously grown in all respects from their prior albums and didn’t shy away from exploring new territory. The songs themselves find that great balance between feeling like third person storytelling and intimate personal revelations, between melancholy and uplifting and, most importantly, a balance between upbeat songs, ballad-y types, barn burning jams and weird esoteric dream explorations. Seriously, an album with this kind of diversity is more rare than you realize.

Anyway, I’m finding myself gushing too much already. My words aren’t strong enough to explain my enjoyment of this album and I don’t want to do it any injustice by playing it up too much. They did a great job and this should be on everyone’s 2013 Best Of lists.

D. Striker – Country Dance Off

Posted Fri December 13, 2013

It is Friday the 13th. This means D. Striker is playing and releasing a new edition of the RR Zine. This is always a good time. Don’t miss it. Friday the 13th in December won’t happen again until 2019! Who knows where you will be! Get to The Basement tonight.