Tag: 2010s
-
Savages, Adore Life, 2016 on Matador
Sophomore LP from English post-punk band fronted by Gemma Thompson (guitar) and Jehnny Beth (vocals), with Ay?e Hassan (bass) and Fay Milton (drums). Love the post-punk revival sound here but they’re no tribute act – this is vibrant compelling and modern. Unfortunately they’ve not released any new music since 2017. Found this copy at Vinyl…
-
Benjamin Booker, Self-Titled, 2014 on ATO Records
Wonderful debut full-length on ATO from New Orleans based blues / soul guitarist/singer/songwriter Booker. Recorded (analog) at the Bomb Shelter (Nashville) and produced by Andrija Tokic who worked with Alabama Shakes and Hurray for the Riff Raff. My copy via Vinyl Destination in Lowell MA
-
Depeche Mode, Speak & Spell: The 12″ Singles, 2018 on Mute
Reissued box of singles by Rhino / Sire / Mute. The singles: “Dreaming of Me,” “New Life,” and “Just Can’t Get Enough” all came out in 1981, the same year as Speak & Spell the band’s debut album. This reissue from 2018 also includes a flexi-disc with “Sometimes I Wish I Was Dead” (which was…
-
Depeche Mode, Live at Crocs Night Club Rayleigh Essex 27th June 1981, unlabelled bootleg, 2018
Per discogs, this seems to be a 2018 Spanish pressing of a bootleg that first appeared in the UK in 2006. Track A6 is listed just as “Boys” before being renamed “Boys Say Go!” on the album Speak & Spell. Someone’s uploaded it to YouTube: You can listed to (and download) a soundboard at dm/live…
-
Japandroids, Celebration Rock, 2012 on Polyvinyl
Japandroids are a duo out of Vancouver BC – while this was their second album (the first was 2009’s Post-Nothing), it was their big breakout record and was pretty unavoidable in the early 2010s. My copy is the 2023 reissue by Vinyl Me Please, on what they call Fire’s Highway vinyl.
-
Kacey Musgraves, Pageant Material, 2015 on Mercury Nashville
The follow up to her break out Same Trailer, Different Park, released in 2015 on Mercury Nashville. Love the songwriting here – modern twist on classic country songwriting, co-produced by Musgraves with Shane McAnally and Luke Laird. My copy is the Vinyl Me Please reissue on gold nugget vinyl, with listening notes by Amileah Sutliff
-
Kevin Morby, City Music, 2017 on Dead Oceans
Morby‘s fourth solo album and second on Dead Oceans – he was previously in Woods and The Babies. Includes a cover of “Caught in My Eye” by the Germs and a passge from Flannery O’Connor My copy is the Vinyl Me, Please reissue from 2023 on white & orange tie-dye vinyl, which includes a 12…
-
Various Artists, Inside Llewyn Davis (Original Soundtrack Recording), 2013 on Nonesuch
My copy is the 2023 Vinyl Me Please reissue on “Seaglass Wave” vinyl. Wonderful soundtrack from the Coen brothers movie, with lots of star Oscar Isaac but also Marcus Mumford, Punch Brothers, Chris Thile, and even Justin Timberlake, Adam Driver, and Carey Mulligan. “Please Mr. Kennedy,” a novelty song in the film that Davis misses…
-
Nikki Lane, Highway Queen, 2017 on New West
This was Nikki Lane‘s third studio album and her second on New West. Not sure where she first got called the “First Lady of Outlaw Country” (or whether she calls herself that), but love this album. Seven hundred thousand rednecks / That’s what it takes to get to the top / Seven hundred thousand rednecks…
-
Buddy & Julie Miller, Breakdown on 20th Ave South, 2019 on New West
Buddy & Julie have been releasing great Americana/Roots music since the 90s (for Julie since the 80s), and as a duo since 2001. Buddy’s also been an active session and touring musician, working with the Down from the Mountain tour, Emmylou Harris, Patty Griffin, Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings, Linda Rondstat, Shawn Colvin, Jim Lauderdale…
-
Shovels & Rope, Busted Jukebox Volume 2, 2018 on Shrimp / New West
I’m a sucker for a good cover/tribute album, perhaps especially with an Americana / Alt-Country / Folk twist. This volume 2 came out digitally in 2017 but on vinyl in 2018 – Volume One was released in 2015 digitally and on vinyl in 2016 – it’s still in my wishlist. There’s a third as well,…
-
Lisa Hannigan, At Swim, 2016 on ATO Records
Like many people, I first got familiar with Lisa Hannigan given her role on Damien Rice’s debut record O, but it is well worth checking out her solo work which starts around 2009 with Sea Sew. This LP, her third, was produced by omnipresent Aaron Dessner of The National. My copy via Newbury Comics in…
-
Bob Dylan, Fallen Angels, 2016 on Columbia
While I realize it’s not for everyone, I really like elder statesman Bob, here working his way through standards like Come Rain or Come Shine, Skylark, and Young at Heart. Producer credit to Jack Frost (a Dylan psuedonym). Supporting musicians include Tony Garnier, George Recile, Donne Herron, Charlie Sexton, Dean Parks, and Stu Kimball. Then…
-
Kacey Musgraves, Same Trailer Different Park, 2013 on Mercury
My copy is the 2023 Vinyl Me Please reissue (in the VMP Essentials, not VMP Country track) on “green galaxy” vinyl. Love Musgraves’ songwriting – this was her fourth LP but is the one that got her lots of attention, and deservedly so. Mama’s hooked on Mary KayBrother’s hooked on Mary JaneAnd Daddy’s hooked on…
-
Alison Krauss & Union Station, Paper Airplane, 2011 on Rounder Records
You really can’t go wrong with anything Alison Krauss touches. Got this one directly from Rounder online. Great versions of Lori McKenna‘s “My Love Follows You Where You Go,” Aoife O’Donnovan‘s “Lay My Burden Down” and Jackson Browne’s “My Opening Farewell” but every song is solid.
-
Billy Strings, Home, 2019 on Rounder Records
This was the 4th LP from Billy Strings (the first two with Don Julin) and his first on Rounder – it won Best Bluegrass Album for 2021. I heard about Billy Strings through youtube videos suggested based on other Americana acts – some really strong word-of-mouth based on touring, though I haven’t had a chance…
-
Lucinda Williams, Happy Woman Blues, 1980 on Folkways (FTS 31067)
My copy is a 2019 reissue on what is now called Smithsonian Folkways (the Smithsonian acquired Folkways in 1987 from the estate of Moses Asch). This was Williams’ sophomore album, after Ramblin’ On My Mind. I didn’t come to know Wiliams until much later – Car Wheels on a Gravel Road in the late nineties…
-
Dawes, Nothing is Wrong, 2011 on ATO Records
My copy is a 2021 reissue on two 45rpm 12″ records plus a bonus 7″ single (Strangers Getting Stranger / Rest Easy) and a die-cut jacket that shows one of the custom sleeves from inside, which I picked up direct from Rounder Records last year. I love this album, which has a couple of my…