Jay Gonzalez – The Bitter Suite

jaygonza

Things to look forward to. Jay Gonzalez is about to release his 5-song rock medley The Bitter Suite next month. Jay might still be better known as the keyboardist of The Drive-By Truckers, but he also has this second life as a 70s-influenced pop wizard that creates catchy power pop tunes with more than a little bit of AM pop. I highly recommend his full-length Mess Of Happiness, which is a great pop record. The song Baby Tusk is still part of my DJ routine. I will always love that little tune. Ok, I admit that this rock medley thing sounds both exciting AND scary, but I trust Jay’s melodic sense and I know he can pull this off. The release date is set for 7th of April, but you can already pre-order it (I did) and listen to the first chapter of this medley called Light Side of the Leaves.

And here’s Baby Tusk from Mess of Happiness.

Jay Gonzalez Website

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Album of the Month: Small Houses – Still Talk; Second City

Still-Talk-Small-Houses

My problem with this blog thing often is that I keep on neglecting the albums that matter the most. The new Small Houses album Still Talk; Second City is a great example of this cruel behaviour. This beauty has been out for a month, but I still haven’t found the ability to write anything that could even remotely describe the brilliance of it. I still have to get this done now or this will keep on haunting me forever.

The new album of the month is Still Talk; Second City by Small Houses. I’m a long time fan of singer-songwriter Jeremy Quentin aka Small Houses. His previous albums North and Exactly Where You Wanted To Be have both been on my year-end top 10 and it’s fairly easy to predict that the new one Still Talk; Second City will demand a place on my best of 2015 list.

After a brief stay in Philadelphia, Jeremy moved to Atlanta in order to work with producer Damon Moon. This was a good move, because together with Damon, Jeremy has created his most convincing album to date. The album flows through beautifully and contains a lot of magical moments. The highlight for me is 17 in Roselore that features Samantha Crain on backing vocals. I’ve seen several live versions of the song even before hearing this album, but that song still takes my breath away every time. Staggers and Rise on the other hand is one of the most instant Small Houses songs ever and should be a hit. And that’s just a couple of examples. The whole album is absolutely gorgeous and a treasure that keeps on revealing more with every listening session.

Still Talk; Second City by Small Houses is now out on Cottage Recording Co. This is Seventeen in Roselore from the album.

And this is the music video for the first single Staggers And Rise.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgrBbMJqCQ8]

Small Houses Website

Oh and one more thing. Small Houses will be touring in Finland with Ochre Room in April! More about this when the tour schedule is set!

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One Chord To Another Playlist: Week 10

Perhaps I’ll start making weekly playlists. At least I made one for the week 10. This one is actually more like a best of 2015 so far than a weekly playlist. I did save some favourites for possible future lists and well everything is not on Spotify. However this thing contains most of my biggest 2015 favourites that have already been released (like Viljami Kukkonen, Small Houses, Michael Feuerstack, Father John Misty).

Spotify Link

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Micah Schnabel – Not The Boy You Used To Know EP (and more)

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Micah Schnabel recently released a new EP called Not The Boy You Used To Know. This is obviously a big deal in my head and heart. I’m a long time fan of Micah and his band Two Cow Garage and both have been featured on these pages several times over the years. I just really like Micah’s songwriting. For example that new Two Cow Garage tune Let The Boys Be Girls is once again something so brilliant. Like a damn perfect anthem for the young ones in The Replacements mold. Not that I am young anymore, but I feel young when I listen to that, because Micah kicks all those layers of cynicism out of my body. This new solo EP is also mighty good and all five songs are gorgeous. You can get it from Bandcamp. This is More Drugs from the EP.

And this is Two Cow Garage – Let The Boys Be Girls

Micah Schnabel at Bandcamp

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