Seryn - "River Song"

Words // Adam Sharp

The other day I got to open the windows in our place knowing that they wouldn't need to be shut again anytime soon (except for those especially cold nights) for the first time in a few months. It's among my favorite feelings each spring and fall, a sort of liberation from the stale, dank air we've had to sit in for the last few months. As with all occasions, some music is absolutely meant to be played when the outside air is welcomed back in again. Seryn's This Is Where We Are is an album that sounds perfectly suited to soundtrack such an occasion (and has now done so twice this year for me).

Seryn - River Song

Seryn write big, swelling, joyous songs, the kind that build and burst and somehow reform into something even more infectious within the same song. Soaring harmonies, movements reminiscent of orchestra pieces, banjos, handclaps, loud/soft dynamics- you name it, they are doing it, and they are doing it all in a way that will have you tapping your toes (or, more likely, stomping your feet). There's a little bit of everything I'm listening to in their songs, but they sound like no one else in my library.  "River Song" is a pretty perfect representation of how Seryn operates.

Seryn’s debut album, This Is Where We Are, is one of the finest albums released this year, so you need to make sure you check it out. They also did a wonderful Daytrotter session not too long ago, which you should head over and download. Enjoy.

BONUS: "We Will All Be Changed" is the first song I ever heard from Seryn, and it remains one of the best things I've heard this year without a doubt.

Seryn - We Will All Be Changed

Blind Pilot - "New York"

Words // Adam Sharp

You know when you hear a song and it just stops you dead in your tracks? That’s what happened the first time I heard ‘New York’ by Blind Pilot. And the second. And the third. And just about every single time since. It is easily the most striking and gut wrenching song I’ve heard this year.

Blind Pilot - New York

It all starts with that droning harmonium, drawing you in each time and laying down a subtle, heartbreaking foundation for the song. [Side question: is there a more understated way of evoking sadness in a song than with a harmonium? Discuss.] And then Israel Nebeker and that magnificent voice come in to tell the tale of being broken and trying to pick up the pieces from a failed love. The lines Nebeker has written are devastating because they are so relatable- we all know the hurt of being freshly alone, of waking one morning without that person stirring next to you, of wanting to be back together no matter how deep the hurt. There’s something, though, about that soaring last verse from Nebeker that feels a bit triumphant, as though all will eventually be well despite the hurt. But damn if it’s not a (beautiful) punch in the gut up to that point.

Blind Pilot released We Are The Tide today, and it goes without saying that you should find a way to get it in your collection as soon as possible. It’s not all as intense as ‘New York,’ but it’s all just as gorgeous. Enjoy.

Editor's note:  Adam Sharp writes the fantastic blog songsfortheday, which I highly recommend you check out.

Preview: Life Is Good Fest 2011

Last year's innaugural Life Is Good Festival had a lot of good things going for it.  A great location minutes south of Boston, a philanthropic mission to raise money for children in need and a strong bloodline as a Superfly production (e.g. the group that puts on a little festival called Bonnaroo).  In what was probably a savvy move, the festival's debut seemed to target both the back-to-school college students as well as families with young children.  Last year's lineup included some of my favorites (Dr. Dog, Mavis Staples), but overall skewed a little too much towards the pop/jam crowd for my taste (Jason Mraz still exists?), so I took a pass.  This year the lineup is a little more my style with rock, folk and soule heavyweights like The Hold Steady, Ray Lamontagne, Raphael Saadiq, The Avett Brothers and The Levon Helm Band.  As if that isn't enough, the promoters recently announced that Levon Helm will be backed by members of the Boston Pops (wow).  Single day tickets are $65, or $110 for a weekend pass - get them here. Full lineup is below, along with a few free downloads and video:

Saturday, September 24:
The Avett Brothers - At The Beach
Michael Franti And Spearhead
Robert Randolph & The Family Band
The Hold Steady - We Can Get Together
Martin Sexton
Ingrid Michaelson
The Dirty Dozen Brass Band
Tristan Prettyman
Dwight and Nicole 
Barefoot Truth

Sunday, September 25:
Ray LaMontagne - Jolene
The Levon Helm Band
Brandi Carlile
Raphael Saadiq - 100 Yard Dash
Maceo Parker
Ryan Montbleau Band
Zee Avi
Jenny Dee and the Deelinquents 

On The Good Kids Stage (Both Days):
Imagination Movers
The Laurie Berkner Band
Keller Williams
Ben Rudnick and Friends

Watch Visible Voice for post-festival coverage - and let us know in the comments if you're going and what bands you're looking forward to!  If you go to the festival send your photos to visiblevoicebos@gmail.com.

Milo Greene - Autumn Tree

Words // Adam Sharp

Milo Greene have only four songs available for listening but they’ve somehow been on what seems like every playlist I’ve made since I was introduced to their music late this spring. The anxiously beautiful ‘1957’ was the first song of theirs I heard, immediately going into heavy rotation through the summer and eventually being supplanted by the gorgeous and understated ‘Silent Way’ as the summer wore on. With fall officially starting in a little over a week it seems fitting that the stunning, soaring harmonies of ‘Autumn Tree’ have started to turn up on playlist after playlist. The tune finds the group using layers and layers of fantastic harmonies and shimmering percussion to produce a lush and cinematic three minutes and fifty one seconds. Sometimes the name of a song belies what it will make you feel, but ‘Autumn Tree’ will have you longing for apple cider, a bonfire and some pumpkin pie. Make sure to head over to Milo Greene’s Bandcamp page to take a listen to the 4 songs they currently have up and to purchase their first 7’’. There’s tremendous promise in the songs that Milo Greene have recorded so far and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for them (and our ears). Enjoy.

Sounds from the Pacific Northwest

View of Doe Bay, home of Doe Bay FestWords // Adam Sharp

I'm not sure if you've noticed lately, but there's something insane happening out in the Pacific Northwest. Out amongst the pines and the terrain where rain comes from is one of the most vibrant and diverse music scenes going, with everything from folk to hip hop finding a place to grow and evolve. I spent a weekend out there last month at a small, amazing music festival called Doe Bay Fest, immersing myself in this incredible scene and coming away thinking that you'd be hard pressed to find another area of this country with as good of music coming out of it. I have, in short, become pretty obsessed with the music coming from the Northwest. While Fleet Foxes and The Head and The Heart are the names everyone knows, there’s a plethora of bands you’ve never heard of that I think are on the cusp of bursting onto your scene. Here are a few you should get familiar with now so you can be ahead of the curve later.

Pickwick - Pickwick is a band that borrows a little from old soul standards and smashes it together with some bouncy indie rock. What you get is something infectious and altogether fresh sounding.  There’s no way you’re going to be able to stop your toes from tapping.

Lemolo - Lemolo makes what can be described as ‘dream-pop,’ but not that synthy stuff, but rather the kind of sweetly smooth music to have perfectly beautiful daydreams to. After seeing them play a small yoga studio overflowing with people, I have a feeling they are one break away from being huge.

Kelli Schaefer - I’m hesitant to describe Kelli Schaefer’s music in too much detail. See, I thought I knew what she was all about, but then I saw her live and basically got smacked in the face by the presence she brings with her when she sings her songs Now I’m just not sure. I know it’s great. I know it’s something that people need to hear. I know there’s a lot for people to discover, some deeper meanings and intense connections. I’m just not sure any labels do it justice.



Hey Marseilles - There’s this thing that always happens when I listen to ‘Rio’ by Hey Marseilles, where just after the handclaps I think I’m going to finally not like the song. Then I like it all the way through and press repeat. This has happened roughly 50 times in the last few months. There’s so much to love in the song, from Matt Bishop’s rich voice to the copious amounts of handclaps to the lovely strings. It’s all there for you to love.

Into The Fire: 9.11 and Bruce Springsteen's The Rising

Words // Scott Pingeton

"We need you now."

As the story goes, those were the words spoken from the open window of a passing car to Bruce Springsteen as he walked the familiar streets of the Jersey Shore in the days immediately following September 11, 2001.  The same streets that in younger, more innocent days were the backdrop of the songwriter's vivid tales of friendship, loyalty and better times ahead.  What America needed was someone to put into words the intense feelings of sadness, uncertainty, anger, pride and loss that we were all feeling at that time.  We needed a song everyone could sing.  And who better than Springsteen, the common man's poet laureate?

Springsteen found inspiration in the stories and emotions that followed in the wake of the attack, channelling his own grief and the grief of an entire nation into songs.  The resulting album, his first with the E Street Band in 17 years was The Rising - popular music's most significant and direct reflection on the events of 9.11.  Like his best work, Springsteen took very personal moments, experiences and emotions and put them into a context we could all relate to, take comfort in and rally around.  The album avoids flag-waving machismo, and instead tells its story through everyday heroes.

The album is full of powerful imagery - none stronger than the them of "rising up". From the title track's refrain of "come on up for the rising" to the gospel-tinged "My City Of Ruins" with its call to "rise up" - this was Springsteen's "We Shall Overcome" message.  It's a powerful image - rising up as a nation, from the ashes of the collapsed towers, the ascent to heaven.  And the album cover - a ghostly black-and-white image of Springsteen with smoldering fire-orange text of "The Rising" bisected by white text, recalling at the same time a crucifix and one of the damaged towers.

Bruce Springsteen - Into The Fire

"Into The Fire", one of the most affecting songs on the album, tells the story of a firefighter lost in the towers:

Well the sky was falling and streaked with blood
I heard you calling me, then you disappeared into dust
Up the stairs, into the fire
Up the stairs, into the fire
I need your kiss, but love and duty called you someplace higher
Somewhere up the stairs, into the fire

But from the depths of despair comes strength and hope as they prayer-like chorus builds to a rousing, inspiring refrain:

May your strength give us strength
May your faith give us faith
May your hope give us hope
May your love bring us love

In a somewhat unexpected twist, the album does not portray the attack and its aftermath solely from the American perspective.  "World's Apart" uses a relationship metaphor to preach compassion and warn against letting the actions of a few drive two entire cultures apart. "We’ll let blood build a bridge/ over mountains draped in stars/ I’ll meet you on the ridge/ between these worlds apart."  On "Paradise", one of the album's most subtle and beautiful songs, Springsteen sings from the perspective of a suicide bomber:

In the crowded marketplace
I drift from face to face
I hold my breath and close my eyes
I hold my breath and close my eyes
And I wait for paradise
And I wait for paradise

And the album isn't without its uplifting moments - afterall, music is supposed to be an escape from the burdens of reality.  "Mary's Place" is a rethinking of Sam Cooke's classic "Meet Me At Mary's Place", with a refrain of "let it rain, let it rain, let it rain" clearly representing a rebirth - washing away the blood and tears and starting anew.  "Waiting On A Sunny Day" is nothing but pure fun - a throwaway song on the album that has become a live staple.

So what is The Rising's legacy? As an album it is far from Bruce Springsteen's best - but it may be his most important.  It's not an album I go back to all that often, but I usually dust it off every year around this time and remember September 11, 2001 - and maybe that is it's legacy.  It serves as a time capsule of a moment, emotions captured just as vividly as magazine photographs and newsreel video.

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band LIVE - Ullevi Rising (Gothenburg Sweden 6.22.03)

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band Live in Gothenburg Sweden 6.22.03

After The Rising was released, Springsteen took the E Street Band on the road for what turned out to be a 15 month, multi-leg world tour.  I saw at least 6 shows on the tour - not including the private rehearsal I snuck into and the night I spent listening outside Fenway Park - and I personally saw the shows evolve.  Early in the tour the shows were somber but intense.  I was there when the tour pulled into New York City's Madison Square Garden for what was an emotional night - not the party you normally expect at an E Street Band show.  But as the tour went on, the shows loosened up.  Much of the Rising material was still in the set - "Into The Fire", "The Rising", "Lonesome Day", "My City Of Ruins", "Worlds Apart", etc - but more of the hits, rarities and covers were back in the set.  This was quintessential Springsteen.

By the time the band rolled into Gothenburg Sweden's Ullevi Stadium - a building the band famously nearly tore down (literally) in 1985 - they were a well-oiled machine, and the shows were 3+ hour marathons.  The second night at the 50,000+ capacity Ullevi Stadium featured a standard set, plus rarities like "Jackson Cage", "Racing In The Street", "Detroit Medley" and a 12-minute cover of "Twist & Shout".  The show was captured in the form of a pristine audience recording which has been circulating for years.  An equally pristine soundboard recording has surfaced more recently.  I took the liberty of mixing the two recordings which results in an absolutely incredible recording.  This is pretty much as close as you'll get to official-release sound quality.  Enjoy and please share!

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band
Ullevi Stadium - Gothenburg, Sweden
June 22, 2003

The Promised Land
The Rising
Lonesome Day
Jackson Cage
My Love Will Not Let You Down
Atlantic City
Empty Sky
The River
Waiting On A Sunny Day
Darlington County
Growing Up
Worlds Apart
Badlands
She's The One
Mary's Place (lower bitrate due to file size, download full set below for best quality)
Racing In The Street
Into The Fire
No Surrender
----
Thunder Road
Hungry Heart
Ramrod
Born To Run
Detroit Medley
----
My City Of Ruins
Land Of Hopes And Dreams
----
Dancing In The Dark
Twist & Shout

Full set download (mp3 zip):  Part 1  |  Part 2

New music: The Tree Ring - Wore it Deep

Words // Adam Sharp
Photo // Natalie Kardos

Hey there. Being that I'm new around these parts I feel like I should probably introduce myself and all that before jumping into writing about the music I like. My name is Adam, I live outside of Chicago and I run a site called songsfortheday. I've always been a fan of music, but over the last couple of years, as I got into the real world and all that comes with it, finding new music has become a bit more than a hobby, it's become something I look forward to each day. Some people have video games, others have reading, I have music. I'm extremely excited to start working with Visible Voices- I've been a fan for awhile and have found lots to love from the site (Sharon Van Etten and Swear & Shake are among the ones I've gotten into thanks to Scott and VV). Anyways, I hope that the songs I write about, the music that moves me and soundtracks my life, finds a place on your playlist.

‘Wore it Deep’ by The Tree Ring is a song that has been haunting me for the last week or so. Like most of their debut album, the song finds the band creating a rich, deep sound punctuated by the sweetly soaring voice of Joel P. West. The song is warm and inviting, with the strings, organ and delicate percussion creating a feeling made for a lazy cold autumn morning spent under the covers. West writes some striking lyrics throughout the album, and this song is no different, with the words ruminating on the effect of our surroundings on our moods and a killer last line of 'Buried in moments between moments / Is the color of hope' bringing it all home in stellar fashion.

You would do well to get a copy of The Tree Ring’s debut album Generous Shadows. It’s an album full of greatness, and it's one that’s going to sound better and better as the seasons begin to change. Enjoy.

Bryan John Appleby - Fire on the Vine

I am not really a music blogger.  At least I don't think of myself that way.  I am a music lover who happens to write (poorly) about music in hopes of sharing my passion with a few other likeminded souls.  Music discovery is often total serendipity - hearing the perfect song at the perfect moment.  I hope that someone has found a new favorite song or album or artist through Visible Voice - if that happens, then I've done what I set out to do. 

And I still discover music in that same way.  I waste my time combing through hundreds of press releases and pitch emails per day when my main source for discovery and inspiration is other music blogs.  And I don't mean BrooklynVegan and Stereogum - it's the smaller blogs that I like to follow.  The ones that still have some personality, and that are driven by musical curiosity instead of simply regurgitating those waste of time PR emails I just mentioned.  There is really nothing as valuable as a tip from someone who's opinion you trust.  As Visible Voice has grown, I've started to look for fellow music lovers to join the team - having more trustworth ears to the ground will mean sharing more great music.  

I'm happy to announce that Adam from the fantastic Chicago-based blog songsfortheday will be joining Visible Voice to share new tunes with you all.  songsfortheday is one of those blogs I was talking about that has personality - and great, great music.  I'm looking forward to what Adam has to share. In the meantime, here's one of my absolutely favorite recent discoveries - plucked from where else?  songsfortheday... 

Bryan John Appleby's debut full-length Fire on the Vine is a beautiful collection of richly textured folk.  Appleby's songs are intimate but sung with conviction and purpose - a lot of heart and a little bit of grit.  The arrangements are varied and simply gorgeous - at times channeling ramshackle roots-rock bombast, at other times nothing more than Appleby's emotive, hushed vocals and softly plucked banjo.  The earthy melodies tread in distinctly Pacific Northwest sonic territory - vaguely recalling fellow-Seattleites Fleet Foxes and The Head And The Heart.  After the first few spins I'm confident in saying that this is one of my favorite new discoveries of the year so far.  I can't wait to spend the fall months with this album in my ears and wrapped around me like a favorite sweatshirt.  Do yourself a favor and pick this up at Appleby's bandcamp page.  If you're not sold yet, you can stream the entire album there as well...but start with "The Words Of The Revelator" below:

Here's a gorgeous video for "Cliffs Along The Sea" from Bryan John Appleby's Shoes For Men And Beasts EP: