Album of the Month: Mummypowder – Centuries Later

Mummypowder: Centuries Later (Grandpop Records, 2011)

It’s soon time to select june’s album of the month and I still haven’t even written about the may’s album of the month, which is Mummypowder’s fourth album Centuries Later. Mummypowder is a huge favourite 0f mine, one of the best pop groups in the country and should be regarded as a national treasure.  They released three great albums between 1999 and 2004, but it took them a long while to get this fourth one done. Centuries Later is definitely worth the wait and another wonderful pop album.

Janne Lehtinen has been a magnificent songwriter since the debut ep and therefore it’s almost impossible to become any better at it, but I think Centuries Later contains the finest lyrics he has ever written. Of course Janne’s amazing voice & the band’s ability to create dazzlingly beautiful pop hooks and arrangements would make even the most typical “she loves you yeah-yeah” kind of lyric sound like the sweetest work of art, but it doesn’t hurt it if you can wrap the sentiments into a well-crafted a story. Timeless pop music is a probably a pretty lame way to describe music, but that’s what this is to me. Some songs take me to my own golden era of music, the late 90’s guitar pop scene, while other songs might take more influences from 60’s groups like The Left Banke and Honeybus. Everything sounded magical from the start, but somehow the album still finds the way to become even more and more moving and beautiful with each and every listening session. Therefore I encourage you to give it some time, if the often slow-paced melodic beauty of the album doesn’t instantly find the core of your heart. I guarantee it will find it in the end and then it’s time to forget all those worthless trendy indie bands and start shouting Mummypowder’s name from the rooftops.

Listen to Part Of The Fun:

[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/12978469″]
 

Mummypowder Website
Mummypowder at facebook

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Album of the Month: Austin Lucas – A New Home in the Old World

Austin Lucas: A New Home In The Old World (Combat Rock Industry / Hometown Caravan / Last Chance, 2011)

It was pretty hard to decide the album of the month because both Austin Lucas and Jason Isbell released wonderful albums and either of them would be a great choice. But if I have to choose, in the end my selection has to be A New Home in the Old World by Austin Lucas.  The album is just so totally freaking amazing and it feels damn good to listen to it. Are you looking for punk energy, old bluegrass, country rock, folk ballads, moving lyrics or just a whole lot of fun? Well no need to look any further. This album delivers all that and more. Especially that opening quartet of songs Run Around, Sit Down, Darkness Out Of Me and Thunder Rail is almost out of this world. Usually I prefer if the country and folk-minded singer-songwriters keep things as simple as possible, but in Austin’s case also the fuller band sound material works perfectly and it becomes clear that the guy can master anything from beautiful down-to-earth folk ballads to energetic country-tinged rockers. That variety and richer sound palette maybe even makes A New Home in the Old World rise above his previous album Somebody Loves You, which is also an amazing album and was my #7 pick on the onechord.net’s albums of the year 2009 list. Just excellent stuff once again from Indiana’s Austin Lucas and really close to full five hearts.

Music video for the first single Thunder Rail.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIrUMURVk5c]

Austin Lucas Website
Austin Lucas at Facebook

A couple of Finland-related additions:

a) Combat Rock Industry released the album in Finland, so you should be able to get it from all the good record stores.
b) Austin Lucas will play at Bar Loose, Helsinki on the 14th of may (with Digger Barnes)

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Album of the Month: Samae Koskinen – Kuuluuko, kuuntelen

Samae Koskinen: Kuuluuko, kuuntelen (KHY Suomen Musiikki, 2011)

I’m totally in love with this album. I know I just got this eight days ago, but I think I already know all the songs by heart. This album instantly became a friend that entertains me, comforts me and takes care of me. Isn’t that what good friends are supposed to do.  Like all the regular readers know, I’m a shy guy with a lot of insecurities and huge self esteem issues and this album (especially with the songs Tarinoita and Nuorelle miehelle) finds the way to deal with those subjects so beautifully and therapeutically that real-life Crane brothers would struggle to come up with a better way to make one feel better about himself/herself . There’s no pity, judgement or cynicism. Just open-hearted warmness and straightforward emotions. My life is good and even during the miserable days I’ve always had a strong belief that even the longest nights lead to daylight and things will eventually work out well. However, I know that on some level I will battle with low self esteem all my life and therefore it’s good to have Samae around ready to tell me that I’m beautiful. That’s a voice that I will hear. I’m listening.

Kuuluuko, kuuntelen is a delightful pop album. This album is a whole lot of fun and full of pure excitement just as much as it is moving and influential. Samae shows that you can leave a mark and handle difficult subjects without cutting your heart in two with the wrong side of a knife. The album is insanely catchy and melodic and the arrangements are gorgeous throughout the record. Even though I’ve kind of focused into those songs that deal with insecurities and lack of self belief, that’s only one side of this thoughtfully crafted story. Actually, the key track for me, and by far the greatest song of the year so far, is Hän, jolla on kaikki. A perfect song about getting married. It’s so beautiful. Just like Samae. Maybe just like me.

Samae Koskinen Website

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77lUfZ3S2Ug]

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Album of the Month: Jessica Lea Mayfield – Tell Me

Jessica Lea Mayfield: Tell Me (Nonesuch, 2011)

The first 2011 album that I’ve completely fallen in love with. Jessica Lea Mayfield’s previous album With Blasphemy So Heartfelt was already a rather convincing effort and made it on my end of the year list back in 2008. The album showcased a huge amount of talent and now this 21-year-old songwriter from Kent, Ohio is totally ready to enter into the major league.

Jessica Lea Mayfield might not be the most technically gifted vocalist and she might not have the highest range of voice, but I find her calm and mellow voice totally irresistible and captivating. That voice never fails to carry her dark-flavoured and emotion-filled words into my veins. She is a fabulous songwriter and have been able to create a magical album. I pretty much love every song on the album. Tell Me certainly has a moody and sad tone, but I don’t find it depressive or miserable at all. Her declarative brokenhearted confessions are haunting and able to cause a serene havoc inside me, but they also inject a giant dose of pure, honest and intimate human feelings into the core of my heart and suddenly the warmness surrounds and I can see the sunshine again.

Dan Auerbach
has done an excellent job with the production,  have kept things relatively down-to-earth and have just added some colour and vision. One could so easily destroy such a beautiful album with overproducing, but Dan has done the  right thing and lets Jessica Lea Mayfield’s charm and presence carry the album. I’m kind of surprised that the drum loops didn’t scare me off at all. Usually that’s the kind of stuff that annoys me and I start to search live acoustic versions of the same songs from youtube. There’s one thing that annoys me though and I would really like to say a couple of rude words to the person responsible for adding those uhh & ahh noises to the background of the title track Tell Me. I really hate that. It almost spoils otherwise great song and almost took away the otherwise truly deserved five hearts grade.

I find it hard to categorize her (and why should I categorize her?). There’s certainly a lot of folk and americana in her songs, but that’s only a part of her beautifully crafted soundscape. Maybe one part of folk music and one part of dreamy & moody indie rock like Josh Haden’s Spain might get you at least around the same neighborhood.  I don’t really know, but thankfully the only things I need to know are that a) I love her b) she has created a wonderful album.

Jessica Lea Mayfield “Run Myself Into The Ground” from American Songwriter on Vimeo.

Jessica Lea Mayfield Website

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