Apr 4, 2010

Regular Guy Reviews: Nightjar - Hometown Stranger

I caught wind of this album while chatting Butler (I'm rooting for you Monday night!) basketball with co-lead singer Christopher Hess on Twitter. I checked out the (3 free!) songs on his band, Nightjar's website and was hooked. Sometimes the best music is right under your nose and you don't even know it.

Hometown Stranger is a feast of heartland rock, complete with yearning lyrics, horns, organs and plenty of guitar. It's custom built for spring and summer with the windows down.

Check Your Mirrors opens the album with a Slobberbone-esque upper-shelf bar band sound and a "Bad radio vocal effect" they were very happy with (as Hess told me on Twitter). This song rocks - it's one of my favorite songs of the early year - and it's a fantastic way to lead off a varied and satisfying album.

Much like Two Cow Garage, whom they also bring to mind, Nightjar alternates between 2 lead singers with contrasting voices. There's the bumpy gravel road voiced Hess (who is a professor by day!) and the smooth voiced Greg Osborne, the respective songs they sing giving the band almost an entirely different sound. You get a more mainstream AAA leaning with Osborne and a gritty, roots rock feel from Hess.

Diamond Joe Hodson shreds on the guitar, blending hard rock-ish riffs and solos into the Americana with ridiculous ease. His playing is a definite stand-out on this album, but it never overshadows the overall product.

Besides Check Your Mirrors, my other faves include album-closer, Lonesome Whistle, a touching ode to a dearly departed grandmother, and Catch My Soul, a hook-laden pop-rocky (not to be confused with the mouth tingling candy) track which would have sounded right at home on the radio between the Gin Blossoms and Blues Traveler in the 90's (though the sound is not dated).

Fans of Bruce Springsteen, Lucero, The Replacements, Whiskeytown and the aforementioned Slobberbone and Two Cow Garage should find Hometown Stranger to be right in their sweet spot.

Check out previews and/or buy it here.

A Venn Diagram for Monday

Apr 2, 2010

YouTube Gems: Dirty Sweet

From their new album being released Tuesday, American Spiritual, here's Dirty Sweet with "You've Been Warned." RIYL: The Black Crowes, Humble Pie, Led Zeppelin, The Stones.

Apr 1, 2010

FWC&G: Rascal Flatts



Note: this also appeared on Roughstock as a little one of these.

And the Band Perry review is a fraud in case you didn't realize what day it was.

.99 Review: The Band Perry

.99 Review: The Band Perry - Hip to My Heart*


The People’s Take:

Surefire sign that the endtimes are near! (1 star) - I honestly lost faith in country radio this week when I heard this song. It’s the most trite, sorry and weak excuse for a song I have heard in my life.

- notwithstanding


As Simon would say, Simply Horrible! (1 star) - I’ve been a musician for 34 years, I’ve gone through a lot of different styles (disco comes to mind) but I can honestly say I have never done anything this bad. The lyrics are bad. They may have potential with a good writer! – javajoecool.


My Take:

Scott Borchetta already has the top “country” artist; now he’s aiming squarely at Lady Antebellum with the Band Perry for the top “country band.”


Much to my surprise, this debut single, “Hip To My Heart,” is a great start towards doing just that. It contains such cool phrases like “I like your lips like I like my coca-cola, yeah ooh how it pops and fizzes…” and “purr baby purr go ahead and say the word lets go…” but while these are clearly some of the weakest lyrics of all time, I somehow still find my foot tapping to Kimberly Perry’s kinetic Nettles-like vocal.


Despite the mandolin and fiddle fills this song is far from a country song but as far as mainstream songs go, it feels almost traditional in its arrangement and it clearly has ‘got that something’ “because brother man” The Band Perry “knows how to get hip to my heart” with this guilty pleasure.


Total Value:

.75/.99 So sue me.


Checklist:

(Checklist taking a vacation for a bit)



*Okay.... so this is obviously one of these: ****

Written by Mr. Matt Bjorke of Roughstock fame. Thanks Matt!


Oh, and this song sucks... country or not.

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