New Music: Walkmen, Justin Townes Earle, Superchunk and more

Today is one of the bigger new music Tuesdays in recent memory, with lots of new stuff to fill your ipods and turntables.  From legends (Mavis Staples, Superchunk) to relative newcomers (Justin Townes Earle) and those in-between (The Walkmen, Of Montreal) there is a lot to look forward to.  Here's a preview of three of the releases I'm most excited about:

The Walkmen Lisbon

The established NYC indie rockers return with another solid collection of lilting, slurred tunes that were made for late nights.  Time spent in Portugal may have lent the band a bit of inspiration and an album name, but don't expect much of a departure; this still sounds like The Walkmen you know and love.

The Walkmen - Stranded

Justin Townes Earle Harlem River Blues

Harlem River Blues is Justin Townes Earle's third album in as many years.  With so many releases to serve as benchmarks, it's easy to see the maturity and confidence grow over time.  Harlem River Blues picks up where Midnight At The Movies left off - with traditional country and folk delivered with both reverence and a slight urban/punk-rock edge.

Justin Townes Earle - Harlem River Blues

Superchunk Majesty Shredding

The last time Superchunk released an LP I was in high school, but unfortunately back then I wasn't listening to indie rock...  With the release of Majesty Shredding, Superchunk is back - and unlike some of their peers that are just cashing-in, they are making some great new music.  Digging For Nothing is a killer track that sounds like vintage Superchunk.

Superchunk - Digging For Something

Brenda: Solid Sound Festival 8.14.2010

Brenda onstage at the Solid Sound FestivalWe first became aware of Portland ME trio Brenda when the lineup of the Solid Sound Festival was announced this past spring.  Being selected by Wilco to take part in the 3-day festival was enough reason to take note, but when their debut Silver Tower was released back in June it became crystal clear what Jeff Tweedy and Co. see in the band.  The best of 90s alt-rock, reinvigorated with a modern indie-rock twist.

Brenda kicked-off the festivities on day 2 of Solid Sound, playing to a crowd that was clearly unfamiliar with their music.  As the crowd in Courtyard C grew, Brenda played a blistering 50-minute set - a mix of favorites from Silver Tower along with a few new songs.  Enjoy the full show, available below for stream or download:

Brenda
Solid Sound Festival - North Adams, MA
August 14, 2010

Delegator
Intro
Girl Don't Grow
Shaililai
Blackout
Ghandi
I'd Be Dead
New Song
Unknown song 1
Unknown song 2

Full set download (mp3)

More photos from Solid Sound

Preview: Mavis Staples "You Are Not Alone"

Jeff Tweedy joins Mavis Staples on stage at the Solid Sound Festival in North Adams MA

Mavis Staples' upcoming Jeff Tweedy-produced album You Are Not Alone is high on our list of most anticipated albums of the year.  It's been nearly a year since I learned about the collaboration, but my already-high expectations were raised exponentially after hearing the standout title track.  The song has Tweedy's unmistakable lyrical stamp yet falls comfortably in Staples' gospel wheelhouse - a song of reassurance in the face of uncertainty. 

I had the great opportunity to hear a few of these songs at Wilco's Solid Sound Festival a few weeks ago, where Tweedy joined Mavis on stage for a remarkable cross-generational collaboration between music icons.  Now, after hearing the full album, I can finally say that my high expectations have been fulfilled - the songs are fantastic and Mavis Staples and band sound energized.  A legend of gospel/soul making relevant music alongside one of the most creative and important songwriters of the last 15 years - it may sound like an unlikely pairing, but the results are undeniably great. 

Listen to the album in its entirety below, before the September 14 release date:

Juniper Tar covers Wilco

Muzzle of Bees, one of my favorite blogs, just posted a great collection of Wisconsin-based artists covering Wilco's classic Summerteeth album.  Download the full compliation here - it's fantastic (and free).  One of the highlights for me is Juniper Tar's take on Via Chicago - one of the most haunting and personal songs off Summerteeth.  Juniper Tar reminds me at times of early-Wilco and Uncle Tupelo so it's a natural fit, but they manage to put their own stamp on Via Chicago.  The song rides a steady beat and builds to a crescendo of piano and electric guitar.

Listen below, along with the fantastic "Birds In Trees" from Juniper Tar's excellent Howl Street EP - and be sure to download the entire compilation from Muzzle of Bees.

Juniper Tar - Via Chicago (Wilco)
Juniper Tar - Birds In Trees

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band: Live at Winterland '78

The posts have been in short supply lately as I've been in the process of moving.  I am sore, tired and surrounded by mountains of boxes as I type this - but internet has been restored and visible voice is back in business.  I've had little chance to listen to much new music in between unpacking and getting things back to normal.  There's plenty of great audio/video coming soon - but I haven't had time to do the proper editing.  So, I'll reach back into the "archives" and share one of the most jawdroppingly powerful examples of live music I've ever heard...

For a large portion of my adolescence I was obsessed with the music of Bruce Springsteen.  I first saw Springsteen in 1999 when he reunited the E Street Band after a 10 year hiatus for a massive world tour.  I saw the last of 5 straight sold out nights at the Garden, and was instantly converted.  And it's a good thing - at the time my taste in music was a mess (Metallica, Fuel, Live - yes, it was that bad).  The level of my Springsteen obsession was probably unhealthy for a time, but after I had immersed myself in everything the man has released, I branched out.  In an effort to find new and exciting music that retained a bit of the qualities that made Springsteen's music resonate so much with me I soon discovered Ryan Adams, Wilco, Pete Yorn - these artists, in turn, turned me on to Gram Parsons, Big Star and The Smiths.  As unlikely as it sounds for someone my age, I credit Bruce Springsteen with my musical curiosity and passion.

When you boil it all down, Bruce Springsteen's music is about grit, passion and determination.  Nothing in the Springsteen canon exemplifies this more than the legendary Darkness On The Edge of Town tour of 1978.  Delayed by a protracted and bitter legal battle with former manager Mike Appel, the Darkness On The Edge of Town album was much darker than his previous record, Born To Run.  Gone was a bit of the optimism, and in its place was a bit of cynicsm.  The characters were no longer "pulling out of here to win", they were stuck in the darkness on the edge of town, in dead-end jobs, crying themselves to sleep at night.  Their dreams may have passed them by.  When Springsteen and crew brought these songs on the road, they came to life with a burning intensity.  Shows on the Darkness tour were no longer just a party, they were a much-needed catharsis both for the band and the audience.  The guitars were dirtier, the screams were louder, the emotion was palpable.  By December of 1978 when the band took the stage in San Francisco at the famed Winterland Ballroom (site of The Last Waltz), Springsteen's voice was hoarse and ragged but the band was tighter than ever.  This was the setting for what is probably the most famous show of Springsteen's career - broadcast on FM radio to much of the west coast, and now available to all in pristine sound quality.  This is a document of one of the greatest live rock n' roll bands of all time at the height of their power.  At just over 3 hours, Springsteen would go on to play even longer shows on subsequent tours - but for me, even though I wasn't there to witness it, nothing matches the energy and intensity of the legendary string of shows in late-1978.

These days my Springsteen obsession ebbs and flows - and with the exciting news about a massive Darkness On The Edge Of Town box set soon to be released, it's flowing once again.  For those of you that may picture Bruce as the fist-pumping charicature he became circa-1984 - please do yourself a favor and listen to his earlier stuff, and start with this legendary recording from Winterland 1978.  Enjoy

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band
Winterland Ballroom - San Francisco CA
December 15, 1978

Badlands
Streets Of Fire
Spirit In The Night
Darkness On The Edge Of Town
Factory
The Promised Land
Prove It All Night
Racing In The Street
Thunder Road
Jungleland
The Ties That Bind
Santa Intro
Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
The Fever
Fire
Candy's Room
Because The Night
Point Blank
Mona / Preacher's Daughter
She's The One
Backstreets
Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)
Born To Run
Detroit Medley
Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out
Raise Your Hand
Twist & Shout (no audio exists)