| DIY Top 12 Picks: July/August 2006 by Mare Wakefield |
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In support of the independent spirit of songwriters who have
released a CD without the backing of a label.
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The Flying Club
Far and Away
Cool jazz meets steamy samba on the Flying Club’s latest release. If Sergio Mendes collaborated with Steely Dan, it would sound something like Far and Away. The smooth vocals of lead singer Amanda Walker groove over the Latin drumming of main songwriter Bruce Popky. Sonic space is filled nicely by multiple guitars, bass, keyboard, strings and a variety of percussion instruments including cowbell and triangle.
 Highlights include the funky beat of “Bird,” the intricate classical guitar work of “Another Day” and the soothing vocal delivery of “I’d Still Know You.” “It’s halfway done, a third from the sun or a quarter to none / I’d still know you,” sings Walker as the band sails away on maracas and the rich string arrangement. Fans of Sade or Dave’s True Story, this is the music your soul’s been longing for.
www.flyingclubmusic.com
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Annie Gallup
Half of My Crime
Delicate harmonics on acoustic guitar provide the introduction to Annie Gallup’s latest release, Half of My Crime. On opener “14 Days of Rain” a gently loping beat is slapped out of the stand-up bass as Gallup’s husky voice sings about “How it feels to step off the curb and hail a taxi … and you still sleeping deep and dark in your bed.”
Gallup has a knack for storytelling with feeling and humor, like the story of the Irish immigrant in “1917” whose mother sewed his father’s fortune inside her son’s coat: “He cut his coat open to find his father’s treasure was just a deck of cards painted with naked ladies.” Her voice combines the smoothness of Suzanne Vega and the throaty delivery of Stevie Nicks. Instrumentation on the album is mostly sparse—just acoustic guitar and bass for the most part—allowing listeners to lose themselves in the richness of her lyrics and incredible stories.
www.anniegallup.com
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Annie Keating
Take the Wheel
Make no mistake, Annie Keating is a rocker in the best possible sense of the word. Her melodies contain enough twang to be called country, and her lyrics tell a folksinger’s story, but throw in her road-wizened voice and wailing electric guitar and what you’ve got is rock. As in rock solid.
The New York City-based Keating and producer Chris Tarrow make the minimalistic most out of the guest musicians on this record. Bass and drums are omnipresent without being invasive, while extras like banjo, Wurlitzer and pedal steel add lines and still leave plenty of space. From the unrequited love of “Finish What You Start” to the seductive “Half Light” to the smoky surrender of the title track, Keating’s Take the Wheel will take you on a ride you’ll not soon forget.
www.anniekeating.com
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The Mary Dream
Beautiful World
The Nashville-based Mary Dream display an adept pop sensibility on their latest release, Beautiful World. Laid-back drums a la Shawn Mullins’ “Rockabye” underscore lead singer Elise Bellew’s Sheryl Crow-style vocals and lyrics assuring listeners that “It’s all good” on the title track. But if you’d venture to think Beautiful World is meaningless fluff you’d be sadly mistaken. Bellew’s stacked harmonies at times rival the complex arrangements of the Beach Boys while bandmate Blake Ryan’s well-placed guitar lines complement without complicating.
Lyrics get deeper as well. On “Liar,” Bellew goes beyond the typical woes of betrayal to ask the perpetrator “What have you done to your precious heart / What have you done to your soul?” Overall, the Mary Dream have combined all the best elements of pop with a sentiment that runs deeper. It would be a beautiful world indeed if more musicians followed suit.
www.themarydream.com
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Richard McGraw
Song and Void
The mournful “Butter Hill” kicks off the latest release from Richard McGraw. With a voice that’s part Lyle Lovett, part Tom Waits, McGraw tells us how “Truth is a light that I could not handle / With my can of Hamm’s I started that ritual.” Hammond organ and a slow, backbeat-heavy snare keep the time.
The record is a true masterpiece, and each song sheds light on a different aspect of the human element. McGraw boldly romps through the piano-laden, teenage angst of “Natasha in High School” (“I dream of Natasha in high school, and all the blood flows to my head / Filled with all the stupid things I said”). He folds his hands over the whispered prayer of “Find Me Then” (“What life is left for me / In the love of my country and the hate of its men?”). He cries above the apocolyptic electric guitars in “Death Is Not Peace.” There’s a sense of tortured darkness on Song and Void, but McGraw expertly navigates the waters of our communal subconscious, showing us the beauty in even our bleakest moments.
www.richardmcgraw.com
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Dale Nikkel
Passages
The easy cadence of Paul Simon colors the voice of Canada’s Dale Nikkel on his latest release, Passages. Lyrics vary from brand-new families (“These Are the Glory Days”) to backpacking adventures (“Heathrow”) to relationships both good (“Any Day”) and bad (“Worrying’s My Way of Loving You”). Jangly acoustic guitars provide the sonic foundation while electric lines and soulful organ add subtle melodic touches.
The whole album is terrific, but if we had to pick a favorite, it would be “Everybody Knows How to Pet a Dog.” Nikkel’s half-spoken lyrics about his dog Moppy morph into a look at his own life: “I wish I could run that fast, I wish I could jump that high / If I was only that forgiving I wouldn’t be asking why.” Contemporary folk fans, this one’s a must-have.
www.dalenikkel.com
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Dave Sills
Waiting Room
“How many times can we say ‘Let’s give it one last try’?” That’s the question Dave Sills opens with on his latest offering. And if you say you can’t relate to that, you’re either extremely lucky in love or you’re lying. Waiting Room is the soundtrack to a breakup, and Sills has a way of putting words and music to all the feelings that accompany such a heart-rending experience. Whether he’s singing of frustration (“All Messed Up”), anger (“Wrong About You”) or acceptance, Sills’ husky tenor really tells it like it is.
In “Yours & Mine” he sums up a typical split: “I won’t say we’ll still be friends, it probably won’t be the case / ’Cause we were never friends in the first place.” Uplifting it ain’t, but Sills softens the blow with Hammond organ, shimmering electric guitars and a drum beat to drive your breakup blues away.
www.davesills.com
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Jeff Talmadge
Blissville
The gritty, country folk of Jeff Talmadge falls somewhere between Steve Earle and Waylon Jennings. From the strong opener “40 Days of Rain,” in which Talmadge muses “Sometimes you just get thunder when rain is what you need,” to the lilting dobro serenade of “Wild and Precious Thing,” to the accordion-laden, Cajun-flavored “Ophelia,” Talmadge captivates with his attention to lyrical detail and steady rhythms.
The album’s crown jewel is the poignant “A Soldier’s Christmas,” in which Talmadge pours his heart into solo acoustic guitar. “We took Basra just by driving through, and we took Baghdad in a day / The day the war was over was the day our war began, and they can’t tell us how long we’ll stay,” he sings, reminding us that sometimes all you need to make a song great are three chords and the truth.
www.jefftalmadge.com
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13ghosts
Cicada
Unusual might be the first word to pop into your head as you listen to the latest offering from 13ghosts. The Birmingham, Ala.-based band has divided their new record into two distinct parts and provides sonic introductions to both—the first in Spanish. Part One exudes a slow, classic-rock vibe with a twist. Imagine Pink Floyd with banjo and you’ll get the idea. Highlights include the angry “Wormhead, My Dear” and the subdued “Ain’t It Low.”
Part Two kicks things up a notch with heavy percussion, overdriven guitars and mysterious, electronic noises. Pay special attention to “Worldshaker,” in which the melodic verses belie the heavy lyric: “When I come home in the middle of the night / I’m scared I’ll find your body cold.” Cicada is the sophomore release for 13ghosts, and the record clearly brands the group as one of the more innovative unsigned acts in the market today.
www.13ghostsmusic.com
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Jamieson Tobey
Everybody Feels the Same
“Love is lost in the black and white / Her colors run till we lose the light,” Jamieson Tobey sings in “Love.” But before you furl your brow and try to decipher the lyrics on his latest release, just sit back and soak up the gorgeous, luxuriously full music. The thick keyboard makes a soft cushion for his half-whispered baritone, while expert arrangements part clouds of sound to make room for a glittering glockenspiel or melodious melotron.
Highlights include the title track, in which Tobey comforts listeners by assuring them that “Everybody lives a lie, and everybody is having doubts … We are all just as mad as you.” The atmospheric “Where the Waves Begin” conjures the same sounds as Sgt. Pepper’s-era Beatles as Tobey asks, “Did you know that you are the ocean? / Did you know that I’m sinking in?” “A Perfect Rose” features an electronic Latin beat superimposed over a music-box melody and Tobey’s baby nephew cooing away happily. If enigmatic lyrics and lush music are your cup of tea, then pour yourself a steaming mug of Everybody Feels the Same.
www.jamiesontobey.com
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Dan Wallace
Neon and Gold
Singing with the same suave whine that made you fall in love with Morrissey, Chicago-based artist Dan Wallace waxes poetic on his latest release, Neon and Gold. Rocking drums and multiple electric guitars contrast nicely with Wallace’s dreamy lyrics. “I fell upon a face tattooed in bronze / It had an air of grace, knee-deep in sin,” he sings in “Fell.” Stacked harmonies and classical guitar decorate “Ladies, Gentlemen,” while “Too Soon” carries a chaotic, circus-like air as Wallace pounds out dissonant chords on the piano while singing of illicit bargains and rebirth.
It would be too easy just to categorize the entire album as avant-garde, but there’s definitely something innovative about Neon and Gold. Maybe it’s the neo-psychedelic arrangements, the Alice-in-Wonderland lyrics or the smooth-as-silk delivery. Maybe we should listen again.
www.danwallacemusic.com
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Zedicus
Zedicus
It’s an Indian raga. It’s a Jamaican reggae party. It’s an African adventure. Ethiopian-born Zedicus combines elements from all corners of the globe on his debut CD. “Fill Up” kicks things off with a world groove, complete with djembe and tabla drums as Zedicus encourages us to “Fill up your head with knowledge / Fill up your heart with love.” Following that is “Dancehall Rajah” which, as the name implies, combines dub-style reggae with Indian melodies. “Dr. Crazy” features funky jazz chords on electric guitar over a beat that switches from reggae to something that sounds almost like a Brazilian samba.
You’ll make out influences from Alpha Blondy to Burning Spear, but the truth is Zedicus is blazing a trail all his own. The fusion of globe-spanning music is exhilarating, and his positive lyrics are something the whole world can appreciate.
www.zedicus.com
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To Submit Your Album:
Please send CD, bio, mailing address and e-mail to:
Performing Songwriter
ATTN: DIY
2805 Azalea Place
Nashville, TN 37204
You will be contacted if your album has been chosen, so there is no need to call the office regarding this. Please be patient and continue to send us your new releases. We do listen to all submissions for DIY consideration.
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