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As you may already know The Decemberists have been on fire lately, and their 2009 album The Hazards of Love is an eclectic and amazing piece of work that bears repeated listening. It just came in at the top of Sound & Vision Magazine’s Best of 2009 list, and deservedly so. But that’s not the point of this post. The point is the announcement that went up on their website last week, to wit: We’re also pleased as punch to introduce Black Prairie, a side project featuring Decemberists Chris Funk, Jenny Conlee, and Nate Query plus local Portland musicians Annalisa Tornfelt and Jon Neufeld. This eclectic bluegrass-but-not-really group will make its live debut at Noise Pop in San Francisco next month. Their record, Feast of the Hunters’ Moon, will be released later this spring. Black Prairie’s website will be launched soon. In the meantime you can follow them on Twitter or visit them on Facebook. Ambient, progressive, post rock. One can put a lot of labels on this Italian band. I simply like it. At times I hear Eno, Floyd, 801, and others. But progress the time chart to 2010 and you have their latest album A Sense of Loss. And despite the mellow nature of this music I suggest playing it loud. The 5.1 mix that’s included will help! So, at the very least, go to their web site, sign up for the mailing list, and get some incredible music for download including a 20-minute cover of Pink Floyd’s Echoes. And then go buy ASOL or their equally strong prior album called lightdark. I kid you not – and yours truly has a ticket .. Courtesy of my good friend Stephen (T) … He who spotted that they were playing a small gig in Foop – Camden Town – SW and 150 of his closest friends – well that is how I see it Porcupine Tree will return to North America in April for the second leg of the Incident tour, concentrating on many cities that were not included on the first leg. Of course, I will make the 3 hour trek to Charlotte. It’s odd there is nothing on the west coast (sorry John) but perhaps that’s where that “mystery festival” appearance comes into play. Having seen The Incident performed in NYC and Baltimore, I can say I will be walking down a street in Amsterdam or NYC in 20 years, and some cover band will be performing it beginning to end. Find a city near you: Porcupine Tree News
Over the years Steven has released what is known as “Cover Version”. To date five have been released (known as CVI, CVII, CVIII, CVIV, CVV). Each Cover Version includes a cover of another artist’s song plus an original Steven Wilson song. The covers have included the likes of Alanis Morisette (Thank You) and The Cure (The Forrest). CVVI has been been recorded and you can hear the “non-cover” song at Steven’s myspace. http://www.myspace.com/therealstevenwilson A long time – LONG time – since I heard anything about him – but was a big fan = back in the day
The Prog Rock festival “NearFest” has announced Riverside will play on the first day, opening for Steve Hackett. June 18th, 19th & 20th, 2010, Zoellner Arts Center, Bethlehem, PA. Announced earlier this year is Pineapple Thief’s appearance. Perhaps a reason to travel to Bethlehem PA? Confirmed bands:
Steve Hackett (England) Three Friends (England) The Enid (England) Iona (England) Riverside (Poland) Forgas Band Phenomena (France) The Pineapple Thief (England) Astra (United States) Moraine (United States)
Taylor Hicks Maybe You Should High Noon Saloon from 4Tay on Vimeo. Just wow. Taylor sings this song so powerfully it makes grown men cry. Spread this song around. Everyone should hear this! I love Opeth and the trail they have blazed in metal. So when I saw a quote from Mikael Akerfeldt stating something positive about the new Katatonia album (see quote at end of post) I ordered it up immediately. The Opeth influence is strong but perhaps that’s because both bands are from Sweden. I know nothing of their back catalog, but if this new album is any indication of their previous efforts I will be digging deeper into their past recordings. Night is the New Day, while not “Opeth light”, avoids the heavy metal “cookie monster” vocals. With that said, it’s not for the faint of heart. It delves into some rather dark places with songs such as Nephilim, Departer, The Promise of Deceit, well….you get the picture. Night is the New Day is an album that is best listened to end to end. It starts well enough with the song Foresaker and it sets the stage for the first half of this musical journey. The song Idle Blood could have fit on Opeth’s classic Damnation. The pay back is how well the album holds up through the first half and then takes off to another place from track 6, Nephilim, through the closer Departer. Departer has a guest vocalist, Krister Linder, who apparently is held in high regard in the Swedish music scene. A good recording, strong presentation, and representative of the best in rock/metal music being made today. Highly recommended it this genre is your cup of tea. If you’ve seen Opeth you know what a comedian Akerfeldt can be. It’s refreshing, especially considering he is fronting a heavy metal band. I had to laugh at his quote: “Katatonia – Night is the new day is possibly the greatest ‘heavy’ record I’ve heard in the last 10 years. Most people know my history with them and also my friendship with the guys. Jonas and I have been best buddies for the last 18 years or so. Everytime Opeth or Katatonia has a new record we arrange a small private listening party. Usually with myself, Anders and Jonas. For years we’ve managed to record albums around the same time and had both the new Opeth album and the new Katatonia album played back on the same session. It’s always great fun, however disciplined. You can’t talk during playback (death penalty), you listen to the album all the way through twice, and then we have the ‘comments’. Everything is washed down with beer or wine…there might be snacks on the table.” quote sourced from metalunderground.com – http://www.metalunderground.com/news/details.cfm?newsid=48299 |
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