Every month, Utne Reader presents free, downloadable music gleaned from current and upcoming releases on independent music labels. This sampler was curated by editor Christian Williams with assistant editors Suzanne Lindgren and Sam Ross-Brown, and intern Claudia Alterman.
Last Good Tooth
“When there is dirt under my nails / I have been working
hard / and resting hard” sings Penn Sultan on “Look What I Made,” the opening
track to Not Without Work and Rest. Though Last Good Tooth formed in Providence,
Rhode Island, and is now based in New York State,
the music is as inspired by the roots music of Blue Ridge Appalachia as New England’s contemporary music scene. In a distinctive voice
that moves from gravelly to warbling in an instant, Sultan lyrically considers the
acts that lend our lives a sense of purpose: creative work, sleep, and love, to
name a few. Kevin Sullivan backs Sultan’s vocals and guitar with bass, Alex
Spoto handles the indispensable fiddle riffs, and Arthur Kapp covers percussion.
Not Without Work and Rest is out May
28 on Team Love.
Listen: “Look What I Made” by Last Good Tooth
(To download, right click—or control click for Mac users—on the link and "Save Target As")
Glenn Jones
As might be surmised by the title of Glenn Jones’ latest
effort, My Garden State, the acoustic
finger-style guitar album was inspired by his personal connection to the state
of New Jersey.
Jones was in his early teens when his family moved there in 1966, and he wrote
the album after returning to tend to his mother, who suffers from Alzheimer’s. The
record begins and ends with the sound of wind chimes. The rest of it is
composed in the style of American Primitivism, its pace is neither fast nor
slow but a weaving of sound that, stream-like, creates an atmosphere of reflective
energy. This spring, Jones will be playing in Massachusetts
and Quebec,
as well as finishing an album with his trio The Duplex Planet. My Garden State is out May 14 on Thrill
Jockey.
Listen: “Bergen County Farewell” by Glenn Jones
(To download, right click—or control click for Mac users—on the link and "Save Target As")
The Dustbowl Revival
It started as a small string band playing shows along the
west coast, but has grown to include horns, accordion, clarinet, a washboard
and pedal steel (in addition to guitar, fiddle, mandolin, and a bass fashioned
from a canoe-oar). The core of the band consists of about 10 members, but Carry Me Home features at least 27 different
instrumentalists. Each is talented in his or her own right, together they
create impressive arrangements and switch genres—from gospel to doo-wop to
swing—as easily as starting a new song. The album is home to traditional songs—“Swing
Low,” “New River Train,” “John the Revelator”—and original numbers like
“Riverboat Queen” and “Josephine.” There are also hybrids that build on standards,
as is the case with “Soldiers Joy.” Carry
Me Home is available at DustBowlRevival.com.
Listen: “Josephine” by The Dustbowl Revival
(To download, right click—or control click for Mac users—on the link and "Save Target As")
The Blank Tapes
Ask frontman Matt Adams how long The Blank Tapes have
been doing their thing and he’ll pause for a second. Then he’ll explain that this
iteration has been together for maybe a year and a half—but the project’s been
alive for about 10 years. After almost a decade as a solo act, Adams turned The Blank Tapes into a trio, adding bassist
D.A. Humphrey and drummer-vocalist Pearl Charles to the mix. Laid-back
harmonies, simple guitar hooks, and the occasional dose of reverb add up to a
carefree psychedelic-surfer vibe. Songs about beaches, travelling, and double
rainbows are lovably simple without falling into cliché. Album highlights
include “Coast to Coast,” “Brazilia,” and “Holy Roller.” Vacation is out May 14 on Antennae Farm Records.
Listen: "Coast to Coast" by The Blank Tapes
(To download, right click—or control click for Mac users—on the link and "Save Target As")
Baths
Baths sophomore album, Obsidian, a befitting metaphorical referencing of the dark, brittle
lava rock widely used as a piercing tool, showcases his continual quest as an
artist. The album carries much darker overtones than his debut album, Cerulean. “I’ve always been inspired by really dark
material and from the beginning I knew I wanted the songs to be much darker,
both musically and lyrically,” says Will Wiesenfeld, the name behind the Baths
moniker. “But I hope people understand that I’m not the depressed, suicidal,
and death-obsessed person the record may paint me as being. These are just
darker areas that I wanted to explore.” Such areas include research into the
black plague, Hell as seen in Dante’s Inferno, the Bible, and old world
illuminated manuscripts. The downtempo electronic album is stacked full of
falsetto croons, layered against percussion, piano and synth sounds. With
lyrics both enigmatic and hopelessly alluring, Obsidian has as complex of a composition as its namesake. Obsidian will be released May 28th
through Anticon Records.
Listen: “Miasma Sky” by Baths
(To download, right click—or control click for Mac users—on the link and "Save Target As")
Debashish Bhattacharya and Friends
Indian slide guitar virtuoso Debashish Bhattacharya
celebrates the universal nature of music on his latest album Beyond the Ragasphere. While each song
is rooted in the traditional melodic patterns of Hindu music, or raga, Bhattacharya and his impressive
line-up of 13 international musicians develop that single idea into dynamic
soundscapes where musical genres and styles blend effortlessly. Considering the
flamenco guitar of Adam del Monte, the jazz guitar of John McLaughlin, the bluegrass
dobro of Jerry Douglas, and the expert tabla
(Indian percussion) of Pandit Bickram Ghosh and Pandit Tanmoy Bose, it’s hard
to imagine how such varied styles could work together. But in the spirit of Hindu
theorists Rabindranath Tagore and Swami Vivekananda, who helped spread the
universal appeal of Hinduism and who Bhattacharya cited as the inspiration for
this album, the true spirit of music knows no bounds. One great example of this
is the track “Rasam Samba (Dance of the Musical Spirits),” which begins with
beautiful singing by Bhattacharya’s daughter, Anandi, and eventually opens up
to combine Latin samba rhythms with traditional Indian drum patterns. Beyond the Ragasphere is out now on Riverboat
Records.
Listen: “Rasam Samba” by Debashish Bhattacharya and Friends
(To download, right click—or control click for Mac users—on the link and "Save Target As")
Femi Kuti
Social awareness is not exactly uncommon in the world of
Afrobeat, but it’s fair to say Femi Kuti takes it to a new level. With blinding
staccato rhythms and ferocious brass, Kuti takes on the corruption, violence,
and inequality that continue to plague his native Lagos. For that, Kuti has
long had to contend with repressive authorities and suspicious club owners,
especially during Nigeria’s long decades of dictatorship. But like his genre-pioneering
father, Kuti has persisted, and that tenacity is very much evident in his
music. Despite the raw, even bleak, clarity of songs like “Politics na Big
Business” and “Nothing to Show For It,” Kuti infuses his new album with a hopeful
defiance—a cry of both collective struggle and fierce individuality. No Place For My Dream is available
through Kitting
Factory Records.
Listen: “Nothing to Show For It” by Femi Kuti
(To download, right click—or control click for Mac users—on the link and "Save Target As")
Liberation Prophecy
The Louisville-based indie jazz collective
resurfaces after a seven year hiatus with Invisible
House. The album marks an experimental shift for composer, Jacob Duncan.
“You can hold music too tight, and I realized I needed to let go a little and
not hold it so close to my chest. So I got together with three songwriters who
I respect as part of that letting-go process…it was a beautiful and fascinating
experience.” He also mixed and matched an assemblage of like-minded musicians
along the way. The result is a well-tuned, fluid, experienced crew featuring
Jacob alongside band veterans, guitarist Craig Wagner and trombonist Chris
Fortner join bassist Chris Fitzgerald, drummer Michael Hyman, trumpeter Kris
Eans, Steve Good on tenor and bass clarinet and vocalist Carly Johnson. Check
out the upbeat and infectious rhythms of “You”, featuring the soft, brassy, and
airy vocals of Carly Johnson paired with the jazz ensemble. Invisible House is set to release May 7th through Calvin Cycle Collective.
Listen: “You” by Liberation Prophecy
(To download, right click—or control click for Mac users—on the link and "Save Target As")
Rodion G.A.
The music of Rodion Ladislau Roşca is almost as fascinating
as the story of the man behind it. Half-Hungarian and half-Romanian, Roşca challenged
the rules and rigidity of mid-1970s Romania, and managed to blossom as
a creative artist in spite of a suffocating cultural environment. Thanks in
part to a brief exposure to American and English rock bands during one of
Romania’s liberal phases, Roşca soaked up a variety of influences and utilized
an array of Tesla tape machines, reel-to-reels, drum machines, and conventional
instruments to create a unique style of DIY electronic music that no one else
in Romania was making at the time. The story is worth reading in its entirety,
and the music still surprisingly innovative despite spending the last 20 years
collecting dust. Here’s the track “Cantec Fulger” off the impressive
compilation The Lost Tapes, out
May 28 on Strut, in association with Future Nuggets and Ambassador’s
Reception
Listen: "Cantec Fulger" by Rodion G.A.
(To download, right click—or control click for Mac users—on the link and "Save Target As")
Treetop Flyers
Taking
their name from a 1991 Stephen Stills ballad, the Treetop Flyers know their folk-rock
history well. The band’s rich, laid-back harmonies and driving electric guitar
riffs have easily earned comparisons to CSNY and Simon and Garfunkel, and they
even chose to record their debut album in Malibu rather than their native
London. But if that makes the Treetop Flyers sound dated, don’t be fooled. The
band’s roots may be deep, but their sound—expansive, wistful, and bright, even
as it evokes ‘60s Americana—is all their own. Nostalgia without imitation is a
tough balance, but the Treetop Flyers pull it off. The Mountain Moves will be available June 25 through Partisan Records.
Listen: “Things Will Change” by the Treetop Flyers
(To download, right click—or control click for Mac users—on the link and "Save Target As")
Woody Pines
Old-time style and a slightly haggard voice disguise the
youth of Woody Pines, but his travelling tales are as good as any train-hopping
musician of yore. He’s busked on the streets of New Orleans,
traveled the west coast with his jugband, The Kitchen Syncopators, and gigged
at bars from Asheville to Nashville. He’s hitchhiked to visit his
favorite musicians, played folk festivals and the Grand Ole Opry. By 19 years
of age he’d played in 49 states, more than many Americans visit in a lifetime. Rabbits Motel is Pines’ fifth
full-length album, in which he sings about gin and lies, trains and threadbare
suits. Hyperbole becomes metaphor, and lyrics like “drinkin’ gasoline and
wipin’ it off her chin” are just part of the fun. Rabbits Motel is available through Pines' Bandcamp site.