Some more thoughts on AA Bondy

- I wasn't sure that When the Devil's Loose was quite as good as his debut American Hearts, but now i think it might be

- My friend saw him play last week in Toronto and said he was great, and that he and the whole audience, pretty much, got drunk together

- I really wish i went to see him and The Felice Bros in Shepherd's Bush in November

- I might have to track down the Verbena records (his old band, who supposedly recorded their last album with Dave Grohl producing)

- The track 'On the Moon' off the new record sounds very like Josh Rouse's 'The Whole Night Through' and is equally gorgeous

10 for '09

Lots of records I thought might, haven’t made this list (Richard Hawley, The Gaslight Anthem, Steve Earle, Monsters of Folk, Dylan, The Lemonheads, Drive-by Truckers, Iron & Wine, The XX, Wilco, Lisa Hannigan), so although the industry’s f***ed, by all accounts, it’s been a good year for music in my book…

1. Richmond Fontaine - We Used to think the Freeway Sounded Like a River
They just get better, and the songs here sounded phenomenal live, at the Garage in September (best record sleeve of the year too).

2. The Duke & The King - Nothing Gold Can Stay
Brilliant debut, sounds like a '70s country-soul classic, but with lyrics about growing up in the 80s. Also very good live.

3. Mariachi El Bronx
Hardcore white LA punks do straight mariachi album, shouldn't work but does, discovery of the year (although worst record sleeve of this list, by a long way). Turn it up!

4. The Low Anthem - Oh my God, Charlie Darwin
Came late to this, warily, but it's fantastic and a real grower, a superb one-sitting-listen kind of album.

5. Vetiver - Tight Knit
You need to play this loud on a good stereo to get it's full effect - gorgeous songs, fantastic band, still haven't seen them live.

6. AA Bondy - When the Devil's Loose
Maybe not quite as great as his debut, but still a brilliant winter record. Again, one to listen to in a single sitting, probably late at night

7. Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit
Rock and soul, recorded at FAME studios no less, and a step-up from his first post-DBT record.

8. The Felice Brothers - Yonder is the ClockStrangest of their albums yet, moodier and more diverse than the previous two, but still with its barnstorming moments. missed them live in October sadly (with support from AA Bondy).

9. M. Ward - Hold TimeAlways great - has the cover of the year on it, his version of 'Rave On', and some nice duets with Zooey Deschanel (sigh) and Lucinda Williams.

10. Backspacer - Pearl Jam
First album i've bought of theirs since Vitalogy – won’t claim it’s a classic, but it’s really pretty good and it sent me back to those first three albums.

Next up...

is the Felice Brothers, Simone and all, who Rick Moody writes brilliantly about in the book. 'Roll on Arte, roll on...'

Heavy Pecking

I'm loving Yonder is the Clock, and worth a further mention is the fact that it contains not one, but two chicken songs. Any readers of Hang the DJ will know it contains a great list by RTEs John Kelly (The Pecking Order) about classic country and R&B tunes of that flavour. Well of the two new ones by The Felice Brothers - 'Chicken Wire' and 'Run, Chicken, Run' - it's the latter that already sounds like a classic, a stomping sing-a-long that will, i imagine, become something of a live favourite.

Current listening...

You' ll be relieved to hear i tracked down the Felice Brothers new album (i'm sure!), and very fine it sounds too, particularly the lovely Waits-like 'Sailor Song'. The beauty of anything by the Felice Brothers, on the previous two records at least, is their slow-burn appeal, so looking forward to delving deeper into this one.

I also tracked down a second hand copy of James Iha's (ex Smashing Pumpkins) only solo album, Let it come Down, on CD. I first bought this on cassette before travelling to the West Coast of America in 1998, and so maybe my judgement is skewed, but for me this is an amazing lost record, a surprising and lovely country-soul gem.

Yonder is the Clock... somewhere

i still haven't managed to get a copy of the new Felice Brothers album - not sure if they've had distribution problems or if it's just that the shops are so bad at ordering things thes days. In the meantime though, here's a fine impromptu performance by one of my favourite bands (as written about by Rick Moody in the book!)

Albums of the Year '08

So don’t worry about old Maggoty (i’m still at 6th form College) Lamb from the guardian, 2008 was, for me, a great year in music. There were really strong returns from two old favourites who had looked in a bit of a mess with their previous albums (DBT and Calexico) as well as a fine new project from M Ward in conjunction with a strange-voiced actress (She & Him). Also from the US there was a brilliant, and obscure covers album (Vetiver), two very slow-burn records that up until recently wouldn’t have made this list (The Felice Brothers and The Hold Steady) and the UK debut of a brilliant new voice whose gig at the Borderline back in March was one of my favourites of the year (Dawn Landes – seriously her album is worth a buy).
Closer to home, it was a fine year for British music too, with a superb young debut (Laura Marling) a second from a man with some serious high-lonesome to his voice (Pete Molinari), again a brilliant live performer, and then there was probably the most popular and warmly received winner of the Mercury Prize ever (Elbow). So here are ten albums (in no order) to check out if you haven’t already. Finally, i've held back my very top two albums for tomorrow's post...


Drive-By Truckers – Brighter Than Creation’s Dark
Calexico – Carried to Dust
She & Him – Volume I
Vetiver – Thing of the Past
The Felice Brothers
The Hold Steady – Stay Positive
Dawn Landes - Fireproof
Laura Marling – Alas, I cannot Swim
Pete Molinari – A Virtual Landslide
Elbow – The Seldom Seen Kid