NPR know what they are doing with this concert. Personally, they have a great eye for talent, and have proved it numerous times and this Lucy Dacus Tiny Desk is no exception. Again I was a newbie to hearing Lucy Dacus but from the first 30 seconds in I knew I was going to be a fan. She has quite a chilled out sound, which some could list under easy listening. For me, its her vocals that hit me the right way, poetry of the smoothest kind with a great musical balance. Now to delve into her LP. Enjoy!
As I hope you can tell, I have had a bit of a re-brand of this blog. Musicopedia no longer....now The Beacon, I think it looks and sounds nicer, more professional and all that good stuff. I hope you like it too. Anyway, on with the feature:
This month I want the whole world to know about Jessica Lea Mayfield and fall for her music as hard as I have. She is a 26 year old singer songwriter from Kent, Ohio and has released 4 solo and one joint album to date. Yes she is incredibly prolific.
Her first released material back in 2005 was called White Lies and she released it under the name of Chittlin'. The album is very much rooted in folk/roots sounds with a splash of Country here and there. Finding out she made this when she was a teenager shows how talented she was from such a young age.
Following that came her first release under her birth name called With Blasphemy So Heartfelt. The difference between her first and second album (and so far all following releases to date) is the progression and experimentation that is added and grown with each piece of music she releases. WBSH shows JLM keeping the great guitar techniques from the previous but mixing and messing with vocal effects and adding other more electronical sounds and techniques to the music. One of many of my favourite tracks off of the album is Bible Days which has haunting yet melodic vocals that I find oddly hypnotic.
Her next release was Tell Me which was released in early 2011 and is her most commercially popular LP to date. On first listen I noticed a clear difference with the vocals (than from the previous work), possibly how they were recorded, they sounded slightly brighter, definitely clearer, the instrumentation sounds more refined and you can tell she is getting even closer to truly becoming a master of her instruments.
The latest solo release 'Make My Head Sing...' is a turn down a different alley in terms of sound. If the previous LP was JLM sounding slightly 'pop' this has dirty grunge written (or wiped) all over it. Straight off from the first track 'Oblivious' you can tell, everything has a darker, more dulled down sound with catchy chugging guitars and more down heartened vocals. This album has to be my favourite from JLM, I think it includes the bits and pieces that I loved from each of her previous albums and combines them to create this epic piece of music.
JLMs latest musical venture is with Seth Avett (from The Avett Brothers fame) They have released a 12 track album of Elliot Smith covers. Prior to this LP I hadn't really heard much music from Elliot Smith, only references made of him from people in movies and TV trying to sound cool. But these two singers make the songs feel so heartfelt and full of emotion I can imagine that they are in a relationship singing the songs into each others eyes. Beautiful performances all round.
Wherever she goes next, I know it is going to be magical and truly exciting. Check out the video below for some live tunes. She is a talent and hopefully keeps making stuff for years to come. Enjoy!
What better way to bring Autumnal cheer than this three song concert from The Wild Reeds. They visited the NPR space and performed a great acoustic set featuring a track from their début album and a couple of new ones which equally kill it. The thing that I loved the most about this video is that it is rare to see bands with multiple lead singers that have such a high standard of vocals that they could easily front the band by themselves. I think The Staves are similar but The Wild Reeds just have an edge over them with their multi instrumental-ism. It is also nice to hear the harmonica being used not just by a grizzled old man sitting on a wooden crate. Enjoy!
It has been a while since I have seen a NPR Tiny Desk that I have enjoyed watching as much as this one which is why it is my choice this week. The lady herself is Holly Williams and her set includes 3 tracks: Drinkin', Railroads and Waiting On June. Before watching this video I only heard Drinkin' but I was really amazed by the new songs that I heard. Her voice is really strong and holds a lot of emotion and passion, especially with tracks like Waiting On June which is about her personal life with her family (as mentioned) like I am sure the other tracks she sings are personal to her also which helps give the songs heart and not be bland standard tracks. She is obviously well known in the Country music genre but more than that, she should be well known for just being a great musician, songwriter and overall performer. Enjoy!
I have only just came across this video last night. Its a set of 3 songs performed by Skinny Lister. All songs were for the NPR Tiny Desk Concert and NPR have produced yet again another good video. I first got into these Tiny Desk Concerts when Tallest Man In The World performed. The sound quality just seems to be at least a little bit better than other live performances I have seen on YouTube. This bands set particularly attracted me because they are another band that sing with such passion and energy it really gets you excited for their music and it really gets you up and into a good mood. Again they are also a group of talented musicians as well as singers. Check it out!
