The Bottle Rockets / The Brooklyn Side reissued

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Bloodshot Records is on a great roll at the moment. The new Robbie Fulks is among the very best of the whole year and the new Lydia Loveless EP and Neko Case full-length are also rather wonderful. And the little bit that I’ve listened to the new Ha Ha Tonka album, makes me think it might be something special and I need to properly check it out. Tomorrow they are doing great things again by reissuing the first two The Bottle Rockets albums.

I find this release rather exciting, because I haven’t even heard these albums beforehand. If I think of my musical past and the way bands like Uncle Tupelo, Wilco, Whiskeytown and Son Volt were a real a game changer and opened a whole new musical horizon, it’s just ludicrous and criminal that up until now, I pretty much knew The Bottle Rockets by reputation only. Not So Loud album and Otis Gibbs’ excellent podcast with Bottle Rockets front man Brian Henneman were pretty much all I really knew. This is going to change now and I’m definitely going to add this reissue to my collection.. I’ve already had the possibility to stream these albums over the last weeks and these are just awesome. Especially The Brooklyn Side. This should be classic just like Trace, A.M or Strangers Almanac. Among the people in the know, it probably already is. Yours truly has just been an ignorant fool all these years.

This is The Bottle Rockets and live version of Gravity Fails from Music Fog.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWe4-a7PD4c]

The Bottle Rockets Website
Bloodshot Records Website

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Album of the Month: Jeremy Squires – When Will You Go..

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Jeremy Squires released his new album When Will You Go… November 5th, 2013. Jeremy is a North Carolinian singer-songwriter that has been featured here several times during the year. There’s something in his music that really finds the core of my heart. The songs might not always be filled with happy thoughts, but somehow I find his music comfortable and beautiful. Perhaps Jeremy helps me to tackle my own demons and guides me through the darker times. I know it might sound very unappreciative (but on the contrary, it’s one of the highest praises I can think of), but I’ve been actually sleeping with this record during the last weeks. Not making love to it though. After a tough day at the factory, there’s just nothing better to do than fall on the couch, put the headphones on and let Jeremy’s warm voice travel through my weary head. Then an hour or two later I wake up with Jeremy still singing in my head. That’s my kind of nap these days.

The new album features the highly talented Anna-Lynne Williams (Lotte Kestner). She sings backing vocals on three songs. I think Central Nervous Station EP remains my favourite Jeremy Squires release, because it’s how I found Jeremy and it has become so dear to me. However, When Will You Go is just as great and totally worth of that Album of the Month spot. This single Oblivious is my favourite song of the new album. Listen to it below and stream/buy the whole thing on Jeremy’s bandcamp.

Jeremy Squires Website
Jeremy Squires at Bandcamp

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Marmalakes and their debut full-length (indiegogo)

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A big favourite of mine, Austin-based Marmalakes will head to studio this month to record their debut full-length. They need a bit of help and have set up an indiegogo project for the album that will close in 5 days. I rarely participate in these crowd funding projects (due to lack of money), but I instantly knew I was going to take part in this one. I’ve really liked the band for a few years. Their Even Clothed EP was even the EP of the year a couple years back. I don’t know the guys, but it has always seemed like they have a great chemistry together. They know that you need harmony and sensitivity to truly kick ass. It’s good to know when to slow down and when to rock’n’roll. And the singing is always magical. I consume more US folk pop and indie rock than my body can safely handle, but the good thing is that somehow Marmalakes has always managed to sound refreshing and not just more of the same. These guys definitely deserve a chance to make that full-length album. They played a few new songs on the radio last weekend and I really liked the songs (yeah, I do like Marmalakes enough to work out the time difference and stay up to listen some Austin-based radio online.. or I just don’t have a life.. your call). Their indiegogo closes on November 10th and they will head to studio later in november.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3SwSyqQmmk]

Marmalakes Website
Marmalakes Indiegogo project

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British-Finnish duo Pelotons

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Finnish Tina Kärkinen and British Michael Gale have started a new duo called Pelotons and released their first song last week. This might end up being a great collaboration and this first result Burrows already sound rather marvellous. Tina Kärkinen is also the singer-songwriter of the great Finnish band Swaying Wires and Michael has his great Co-pilgrim band in the UK. I look forward to more songs from Pelotons. This is Burrows.

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/116918625″ width=”100%” height=”100″ iframe=”true” /]
 
Pelotons at Facebook

<--The compulsory Ilona V bit-->

I first got into Co-pilgrim several years ago when Michael collaborated with the great Ilona V. It’s a huge shame that Ilona V’s music seem to be so hard to find these days. I do have everything she did back then, but I’d like to share that beauty with the world every now and then and most of the time. I’m still quite sure that one day some Light in the Attic of the 2040’s will dig up all Ilona’s recordings and release them as a lost masterpiece. Meanwhile someone should convince Ilona to write more music..

<--/The compulsory Ilona V bit-->

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