Let´s face it. We are all dead horses. 4th of January Deadhorse released their new album. The post-rock-gang from Erie, Pennsylvania got something great going here. Love the tunes, love the ambient freakish sound, love the attitude.
The band is Brian Morgante, Seth Young, Rachel Shesman, Michael Messenger, Garrett Janos, and other talented people. Deadhorse often change their starting XI. It´s a rotating circus of deephearted and beautiful stuff.
Was watching Letterman, couple of days after christmas and had the luck of catching the amazing performance of Grace Potter & The Nocturnals. If you wanna get your rocks on, you better be prepared. This is serious stuff.
The band from Vermont has opened for The Black Crowes, The Avett Brothers and now their third studio recording ”Grace Potter & The Nocturnals” is out.
Goin down that road again. This is blues 2010. Joanne Shaw Taylor has got it all. The voice and (lordy lord) the fingers on that Telecaster. I´m back to the first Jonny Lang record – and diggin away.
When Joanne was a little schoolgirl, she was caught by the rough side of the blues: SRV, Albert Collins, the Paladins, Jimi Hendrix. At Christmas she got her first electric guitar. Good call.
Her new album Diamonds in the Dirt, released on Ruf Records, was recorded in the States. It´s more riff and roll, a bit tougher than her debut White Sugar. She´s playing in Wolverhampton tomorrow, get it while it´s hot.
We really got into Rocky Votolato during 2007. His album The Brag and Cuss hit Kentuckyseven´s toplist of the year.
Rocky is still very much with us, often late at night when the going gets tough and we need a little te-te-tenderness. There he shows up with his voice and his harmonica. A dear friend.
Votolato´s latest album True Devotion could be his finest work up to date. He was born in rural Texas, lives in rainy Seattle (cheers from rainy Gothenburg), and makes music sweet and rare.
This is a guy to follow to the bitter end, and his concept of Living Room Shows (he gets into your house!) is pure genius. We got hold of Rocky on the road, asked him a couple of questions.
What are you listening to?
”Cat Stevens – Tea for the Tillerman, Kris Kristofferson – Greatest Hits, Sigur Ros – (). Most rotation right now gotta be Me Without You – Brother Sister.”
Best book read during 2010 ?
”Autobiography of a Yogi – Paramahansa Yogananda.”
Who deserves breakthru in 2011?
”A really great band from Springfield, MO called Ha Ha Tonka (Bloodshot Records).”
¤¤¤ Check out Rocky Votolato on twitter, myspace or youtube. He´s on Barsuk Records, just finished a European tour and we hope to see him in Sweden asap.
Who said that reading a novel should be easy? That you should hit your comfort zone, cozy around the mansion in warm slippers enjoying the ride? Not me, and certainly not Asli Erdogan.
The turkish author, born 1967 and living in Istanbul, has made a great novel – The City in Crimson Cloak. It takes place in underclass Rio de Janeiro, were the young women Özgür walks the streets of the big and voilent sambacity. It´s surreal with the city as a head character and a novel within the novel.
It´s a dark tale, if you´re into the heavy stuff of Kafka and Dostojevskij you´re in for a treat. Her language is beautiful, it´s written with dispair. It´s misery and trouble .
Kirmizi Pelerinli was written twelve years ago and is now translated to swedish by Ulla Lundström. Staden i den röda kappan (The City in Crimson Cloak) is published by Rámus in Sweden and by Soft Skull Press in the States. Give it a read.
I recently got aquainted with a very interesting artist. Norman Palm.
Trying to find out more about the man I stumbled in to his corner at normanpalm.com, and started reading.
The man is not only a great musician, he is also a designer and an artist.
After graduating from both an artschool in Berlin and one in Paris he made his first album ”Songs” which he describes not only as an album but a recordbook. 200 pages of Palm’s artwork included.
Mr Palm, has released another album, but only in Germany, where he resides, when he isn’t down in Mexico City.
The album will hit the rest of Europe in February 2011. A review will be here on Kentuckyseven shortly. Album name? Shore To Shore.
I’ve started to listen to the album, and I can say so far, I am very intrigued. This is something else. Something new.
It´s time to introduce Jonathan Boulet to the masses. Or to our dear readers anyway.
Boulet is a young aussie who luvs skateboarding the streets of Sydney. Megaskilled (played every instrument on his debut EP a year back) and now heading for the big breakthru.
Listen up JB´s new singel You´re a Animal, released by Modular People. This is some intense, drumdriven, catchy, haunting, energetic stuff for ya´ll. Drugs in audio.
After I got to know the great band Dolorean, from Portland Oregon, I knew. That there’s hope for the great American music-scene. Bands like Dolorean rarely get the spotlight in commercial radio or press, but are greatly appreciated among the likes of Kentuckyseven-readers.
I listened to Dolorean’s first album and said to myself, this is real. Real music from real musicians. The lyrics are storys, the sound is pure and fresh, yet carry a heritage from great American music-history. Al James, the songwriter and vocalist is like a storyteller with warmth, depth and compassion and from the short contact I’ve had with the man, he is a great person too.
The Unfazed is no exception, it’s even larger. The opening song Thinskinned is extraordinary, with the piano, and lyrics like it was a love-story-gone-bad anthem.
Al James and Lara Miller get together in Country Clutter, second track of the album, their voices are melting together and create a comfortzone, where I gladly remain for days and days.
Titletrack sets the mood and emphasize the American singersongwriter culture in a way I think that many artist would sacrifice plenty to create.
The Unfazed is bound for something great. My hope is that Dolorean will meet a larger audience during 2011, the band surely deserves a great audience. My only wish for Christmas is that the rest of the world sees their splendor…
The album will surely end up in many Best Of 2011 lists… I know I have a place for it.
