If I make a playlist anytime soon, I will be including this song (I’ve decided I’m making a playlist soon). The ethereal quality of Young Lady allows you to lose a little bit of yourself in the moment. Young Lady is just majestic and the time it plays (nearly seven minutes), you get this sense that there’s something magical happening. Their music surrounds you with its presence, like a warm blanket on a cold night, like your thoughts when you’re enchanted with a young lady.
This post is my second about The Great American Canyon Band. If you haven’t heard of The Great American Canyon Band, they are the husband and wife duo of Paul and Krystal Jean Masson. You should really be listening to them.
The last song I posted was a folk song and this song is also a folk song. If you read just my words, you would think I’m on some sort of folk kick. But just take a listen and you’ll realize both awesome songs are worlds apart. Slow It Down by The Lumineers is rather rootsy. This song, Tumbleweed, by The Great American Canyon is atmospheric. The first is akin to Ryan Adams, the latter, and the one I’m featuring here, is more like Bon Iver.
Originally from Baltimore, The Great American Canyon Band is the husband and wife duo of Paul and Krystal Jean Masson. Like their name, their sonic presence is expansive. Now from Chicago, they only had access to some secondhand guitars and microphones. They made due with whiskey jugs, an old rocking chair, hand clapping, and feet stomping for their forthcoming debut album.
Tumbleweed is their first single and as a song about love and travel, it fits right at home here on 1146 miles.
Happy in-between-the-holidays, everyone! I took an unintentional hiatus from 1146 Miles posts–partly due to Thanksgiving, but mostly due to laziness. It happens. But I wanted to take the time to introduce you to a band that, as of a week ago last night, no longer exists. You are welcome.
Meet The Bridge. Hailing from Baltimore, The Bridge was arguably one of the most popular bands in town, particularly in the jam scene. They had achieved pretty widespread success touring across the country, playing at popular music festivals like All Good, and filling local venues including Baltimore’s The 8×10 on a regular basis. On Thanksgiving eve, The Bridge played their last-ever show to a sold out Rams Head Live! downtown, and the evening was bittersweet.
A clip from the band’s last show, spanning almost five hours. Not the best sound quality, but great energy.
It’s disheartening to see a band that spent ten years together call it quits. Especially when they’re as talented as this group of guys was. When a local band can sell out a venue with a capacity of 1,600 but is still brought down primarily by “money issues,” you kind of question, well, everything about the music industry.
But the band members will continue on in various forms. Frontman Cris Jacobs is a hell of a guitar player, and he’ll be fronting the Cris Jacobs Band with new songs, plus a few from the Bridge catalog.
In the meantime, get to know what made this band special. Beatboxing and and twang in the same song? The Bridge dared to do it.
Among the artists I’ve recently come across and been obsessing over is Future Islands. Future Islands came to my attention thanks to Jess‘s recommendation. I owe her because this Baltimore group is something that I wouldn’t have gone out of my way to listen to but it’s something that I have a great affinity for now.
I don’t know if I should admit this, but sometimes I daydream where those daydreams are playing out scenes like they would be played out in a movie. It’s soundtracking life in some sense (a very real sense when the daydreams are vivid or merge with points of minutiae from reality). Just listening to Where I Found You sends me into a movie sequence of a Zach Braff film and that’s the best way I can describe why I like it so much.
It’s on the album On The Water, which is out now. Go get it. I hope you like.
I like to look back on how little accidents and tiny choices end up altering the events your life. A long time ago, in a college dorm far, far away, I heard a sound coming from a new friend’s computer that intrigued me. So, I got the name of the song and the artist (Murder by Death‘s “Those Who Left” for the curious out there) and headed over to my laptop to do some Googling. On that day, at that time, I happened to wind up striking gold at the first music blog I had ever seen: charlatantric.com.
Sadly, the site is now defunct, but it was a treasure trove of indie bands that I would have never found elsewhere. I still listen to many to this day: Asobi Seksu, Youth Pictures of Florence Henderson, Moving Mountains, The Most Serene Republic, Hammock, and this posts’ titular Thrushes often accompany car rides and self-reflection sessions.
I chose Into the Woods as this post’s song because it is such a great summation of the band’s sound. Bright, shimmery guitars crash with intense drumming and throbbing bass. Anna Conner sings the chorus like the fate of the world is resting on her performance- it’s rare to hear such emotion in the way-too-self-conscious indie music realm these days. There is no eye-winking or ironic song titles in Thrushes’ work- just raw emotion and hypnotic tones.
Who knows, maybe you’ll find a song today that will inspire you to post on a Facebook page which your friend will repost and his friend will write a tweet which will be read by some kid who will fall in love with a band and thus the cute girl standing next to him at a concert. I’m quite glad that happening to be in the right dorm room at the right time ended up with me listening to some truly gorgeous music live. While I ponder my next universe-altering decision, I’m going to let Into the Woods continue to tickle my ears a few more times.
(Thrushes were scheduled to play at BIMAfest this weekend, but that incorrigible Hurricane Irene is just ruining everyone’s weekend… check out http://www.facebook.com/thrushesfor more shows dates!)
Baltimore’s Wye Oak will being appearing on Jimmy Fallon tonight. You might have heard of them because of the indiesphere but if you haven’t you’re missing out. Civilian is great and is one of my favorite records of the year. They are awesome live as well. Check your local listings for Fallon and watch.
I know I’ve already featured Civilian but I’m going to feature it again because I love it and I’ve already featured a bunch of their other songs anyways.
Congrats to Jenn and Andy; it’s awesome to see Wye Oak blow up.
Small Sur is the musical alias of Bob Keal and his collaborators Austin Stahl and Andy Abelow. They have released a new album this week entitled Tones (which can be streamed at AOL Spinner) and the simple, understated nature of their folk music is beautiful. The album features Andy Stack of Wye Oak and Geoff Graham of Lower Dens among others and helps to showcase the strength of Baltimore’s burgeoning music scene.
I simply could listen to Prettyboy any time. Its soft sounds render me thoughtful and serene. I hope that you enjoy.
Small Sur will be having their album release show in Baltimore, MD at the Metro Gallery on July 7th so go check them if you’re in the area.
