Sound Cloud Sunday – May 3, 2020

Sound Cloud Sunday May 3, 2020

Another week goes by here at Laurel Canyon Radio.  Every day is the same EXCEPT for the amazing influx of new music coming from near and far.  If you are like us here at the station, you marvel at the opportunity while in hiding, to avail yourselves to more music than you ever thought you might listen to in the next two lifetimes, a glass-is-half-full moment if there ever was one.  We’ve pulled together some amazing indie music (again – marvel that) and you can click and listen below:

 

Magnolia Boulevard – Ride

 

Hometown:  Lexington, KY

Album:  First single out May 1.

 

Review Snippet:

 

 

Website:  https://www.magnoliaboulevardband.com/

 

John Baumann – Next Time Around The Sun 

 

Hometown:   San Antonio, TX

Album:  From the album “Country Shade” out June 5 on The Next Waltz Records

 

Review Snippet:

On his latest release Proving Grounds (released June 9), John Baumann honors the Mount Rushmore of Texas country songwriters within the first few lines of album-opener “Here I Come.” In the song, Baumann names The Flatlanders – Joe Ely, Butch Hancock and Jimmie Dale Gilmore – and Terry Allen among the Texas troubadours who lead the Amarillo-born Baumann to songwriting.

“I’m really inspired by the forefathers of Texas songwriting: Guy Clark, Robert Earl Keen, James McMurtry, Adam Carroll,” Baumann tells Wide Open Country. “A lot of those guys kind of shaped what I do now and what I hope my career looks like in the next 10 years or so.”

 

 

Website:  https://www.johnbaumannmusic.com/

 

 

Season Ammons – Show Me Your Love 

 

Hometown:   New Braunfels, TX

Album:  From the album “ Steel Hearts” released last August on Cobalt Blue Records.

 

Review Snippet:  Now, living back home in New Braunfels, Texas, Ammons kicked her career into gear by cutting two releases in quick succession with producer David Percefull (Green Day, Gary Clark Jr., Meat Puppets) at the console. In January, Ammons released ‘Neon Side Of Town,’ which highlighted her mastery of neo-traditional, throwback Texas country and features stellar musicianship from key Texas players including Adam Odor on bass; Geoff Queen on pedal steel, resonator and slide guitars; Josh Center on drums and Percefull on guitars and keys. The first three releases from this album to Texas Regional Radio have reached top 40, with the best yet to come.

Next, for the ‘Steel Hearts’ album she recruited three pillars of her longtime Florida band, guitarist Scott Rockwood, drummer Roberto Padron and keyboardist Shawn Hartung; added base ace Glenn Fukunaga (Dixie Chicks, Bob Dylan, Shawn Colvin) and gathered them to record the rhythm section and backing vocals at Percefull’s yellow DOG Studios. Season’s primary vocals and the orchestral arrangements were then recorded in the legendary Studio 2 at Abbey Road Studios in London.  Percefull mixed ‘Steel Hearts’ at Abbey Road in Studio 3, and the album was mastered there by Sean Magee.

The deep blue, Muscle Shoals/Stax and churchy intensity of Steel Hearts confirms that this singular artist has a lot more to say and infinite ways to say it. Every track echoes a more soulful era in music, when singing from the heart was more than a carefully cultivated illusion. Who can listen to the last minute of “Desperately In Love” without being reminded of Season’s roots in Otis Redding’s inspired riffing at the end of his “Respect?” Or tapping into the same Muscle Shoals/Al Green current that informs Ammons on “Love’s A Losing Game”? Sometimes Ammons’ electrifying performance doesn’t conjure anyone at all but her own unique, searing intensity on the reprise of the title track — a moment that will probably remain vivid to her for the rest of her career.

 

 

 

Website:  https://www.seasonammons.com/

 

 

Fabian Simon And The Moon Machine – The Gifted And The Damned

 

Hometown:   Tubingen, Germany

Album:  From the album “Coconut Dreams” released April 24 on ListenRecords.

 

Review Snippet:  Fabian Simon grew up in Tübingen, under the influence of Hölderlin and Hegel, Beethoven and the Beatles. As a small child he learned to play the classical piano and practiced composition. In the youthful storm and urge he exchanged the piano for the electric guitar and the seriousness of the old masters for the sexiness of rock 'n' roll.
Far from all opportunistic hipsterism, Fabian Simon has since worked on his charismatic music, which has become one of the best-kept secrets in the German music scene.
Joke, wisdom and warmth permeate his texts. He sings with an unmistakable baritone voice, the depth of which seems to reflect the depth of his songs. Sometimes she tells with brittle timbre, sometimes with impulsive emotion from a timeless and radically romantic world.

 

 

 

Website:  http://fabiansimon.com/

 

 

American Aquarium – Me And Mine (Lamentations) 

 

Hometown:   North Carolina

Album:  From the album “Lamentations” released May 1 on New West Records.

 

Review Snippet:  Album opener “Me and Mine (Lamentations)” is brooding and stormy, plaintive acoustic guitar undergirding Barham’s weathered vocals. Searching, frustrated, and sad, the song was written from the perspective of a conservative Southern voter who feels unseen, unheard, and short on hope. The broader message is immersive and immediate: Settle in and listen closely. Times are hard, and this record is going to talk about it. Barham, who doesn’t agree with the song’s protagonist politically, imbues him with respect and sympathetic fatigue. “There are so many people who come out nowadays and say, If you voted this way, you’re a racist. You’re a misogynist. You’re a nationalist,” he says. “But that was my teacher, my librarian, my uncle. I know they aren’t bigots. So instead of saying, You’re a bad person because you did this, I want to know why you did this. I want to talk to you about this.”

 

 

Next Time in LA:  July 28 at the Echo

Website:  http://www.americanaquarium.com/

 

 

Hamish Anderson – The Fall 

 

Hometown:   Melbourne Australia

Album:  From the album “Out Of My Head” self-released in Australia last May,

 

Review Snippet:   A student of the three Kings (Albert, BB and Freddie), Peter Green and Keith Richards with influences of Jeff Buckley and Tom Petty.

 

 

Website: http://www.hamishandersonmusic.com/

 

 

Sunny Sweeney – Poet’s Prayer 

 

Hometown:   Austin, TX

Album:  New single on Aunt Daddy Records just out.

 

Review Snippet:  The success of artists including Margo Price, Brandy Clark, Kacey Musgraves, Miranda Lambert, and others make it seem like the world is more open now than ever before to smart women singing smart country. It’s about time. Sweeney is a veteran of the trade, and has logged her miles the old-school way. A three-year residency at the Poodle Dog Lounge in Austin––“It was a dump,” she says. “They didn’t even have a credit card machine or liquor license.”––along with improv and stand-up comedy experience went a long way toward teaching her how to hold a room of cynical drunks in the palm of her hand.

 

 

Website:  https://sunnysweeney.com/

 

 

The HawThorns – Memphis Rain

 

Hometown:   Los Angeles

Album:  From the album “Memphis Rain” out May 8 on Song Syndicate.

 

Review Snippet:  “Already a leading light in L.A.’s independent country scene, the HawtThorns swing for the heartland country-rock fences with “Shaking,” whose brightly-strummed guitars and sunny harmonies channel the warmth of the band’s west coast home.”- Rolling Stone Country

 

 

Website:  https://www.thehawtthorns.com/

 

 

Steve Gunn – Among The Trees 

 

Hometown:   Brooklyn, NY

Album:  From the album “Livin in Between”  out April 27 on Matador Records.

 

Review Snippet: The tune doesn’t reveal much about him, especially compared to what his son has disclosed in recent interviews—like the one he did with Ryley Walker, where he talked about how his dad would smuggle booze into Eagles game or the one with NPR which explains how he was drafted but never sent to Vietnam.

 

 

Website:  http://www.steve-gunn.com/

 

 

Slackhouse And The Garden – Lockstep  

 

Hometown:  Portland, OR

Album:  First single released April 15.

 

Review Snippet: Mystical folk pop rife with poignant lyricism and stark honesty. Harmonies unafraid of tension and release.

 

 

Website:  https://www.stackhouseandthegarden.com/

 

 

Seth Anderson – Finding Bliss

 

Hometown:   Canmora, Alberta, Canada

Album:  From the album “We Could Be” released in February on Snappy Little Numbers Records.

 

Review Snippet:  Seth Anderson has spent his time on earth on a journey; in search of his truth, purpose, and an understanding of the world around him and his place in it. His songwriting offers an honest view of life from a unique perspective that has stemmed from years of travelling, moving from town to town, city to city, highway to highway; the high peaks, the low valleys, and all the spaces in between. Through all of this, there maintains one common thread- a bellow for love and hope. Few artists have such an intense emotional connection to their craft and this is where he shines. His delivery is genuine, yet at times ferocious with both conviction and vulnerability, comparative to artists such as John Moreland, Chuck Ragan, and Frank Turner. Seth’s musical intensity crawls up your backbone making the hairs stand on your neck while adding goose bumps on your skin. His evolution began in a small town punk scene where he grew up in Hartland, New Brunswick. It was then followed by years of a blue-collar approach to his career, putting in thousands of miles while taking his music to audiences all over the world. His highly anticipated February, 2020 release, “We Could Be.” (Snappy Little Numbers), is another impressive step forward for Seth in his exploration of songwriting, musical styles and sounds. 

 

 

Website:  https://sethandersonmusic.com/

 

 

Mild Orange – Freak In Me 

 

Hometown:   Dunedin, New Zealand

Album:  From the album “Mild Orange” out May 29 on Rosham Beau Recordings.

 

Review Snippet: Mild Orange have an experimental, mellow and decidedly ambient sound. It’s very relaxing and uplifting. A sound that is most definitely unconventional and has an Indie soft rock vibe

 

 

Website: https://www.facebook.com/mildorange/

 

 

The Sweeplings – Shake The Dust 

 

Hometown:   Washington and Alabama

Album:  From the EP “Losing Ground” Vol 1 out March 13 on Nettwork Records.

 

Review Snippet: The Sweeplings might make the most gorgeous music by a folk-pop duo since the unfortunate demise of the Civil Wars following their official split in 2014. If seeing (and hearing) is believing, though, Whitney Dean and Cami Bradley have the ability as the Sweeplings to avoid that sad ending by blending their sweet, dreamy voices into a committed musical relationship.

 

 

Website:  https://www.thesweeplings.com/home

 

 

Ari Hest – Against The Sky 

 

Hometown:   Bronx, NY

Album:  From the album “Against The Sky” released April 10 on Project 4 Records.

 

Review Snippet: With a distinctive voice and beautiful melodies, Ari Hest has carved out a diverse career as an independent artist. Several of his songs have appeared on TV and Film soundtracks, and 2014 collaboration with Judy Collins earned him his first Grammy nomination for their album Silver Skies Blue.

 

 

Website:  https://arihest.com/home

 

 

Billy Porter – For What It’s Worth 

 

Hometown:   New York via Pittsburgh.

Album:  Single released April 24 on MRI Records.

 

Review Snippet:

 

 

Website:  https://billyporter.com/