New Music Tuesday

This week is a lot more exciting than last week, so get ready to break out your wallets. There are already two albums that I've listened to a lot and am borderline obsessed with.

Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit - Here We Rest
This alt-country album focuses a lot on Jason Isbell going back to where he grew up in Alabama. It's a wonderful homecoming album. Don't be scared of that alt-country tag I gave it, because this album has a mass appeal effect due to the song writing skills and use of mandolin, banjo, guitars, and an accordion. Some of my favorite songs off of this are: "Alabama Pines", "Heart on a String", "Stopping By", "Tour of Duty" and of course the first single "Codeine"...I had to stop myself from listing all the songs there. It really is a stand out album start to finish. There is even a 28 second ballad to Nobeard that makes good use of the accordion and makes me laugh every time.
Listen: Codeine

The Apache Relay - American Nomad
I did just recently find out about this band, but yesterday when the temperature was near 80 degrees I got to give the album the ultimate test--driving with the windows down and blasting their songs. It passed with flying colors and I have a feeling it's going to be a go to driving album. Read my live review here. There is unbelievable talent and an energy that gets right under your skin. The title track is my current theme song.
Listen: Home is Not Places


To keep it short I'll just list the rest of what might be interesting and let me know if I forgot anything.

Paul Simon - So Beautiful or So What
Agnes Obel - Philharmonics 
Atmosphere - The Family Sign
Cameron McGill & What Army - Is a Beast
Elbow - Build a Rocket Boys!
The Feelies - Here Before
Jamaica - No Problem
Low - C'mon
A Lull - Confetti
Mount Moriah - Mount Moriah
Panda Bear - Tomboy
Sarah Jaffe - Ever Born Again
Sonny & The Sunsets - Hit After Hit
TV on the Radio - Nine Types of Light
Vessels - Helioscope
Washington - How to Tame Lions
Little Scream - The Golden Record Listen: The Heron & The Fox

Good luck with your picks. Happy listening.

The Apache Relay at Great Scott April 7th

During SXSW I was held captive in Boston and spent a large part of that week picking up on patterns in tweets. I realize this sounds really pathetic but at least half of the people I was following were in Austin and dropping names of bands I had never heard all over the place, so I collected those names into a nice little pile. One that was mentioned more than a few times, and by people whose opinions and taste in music I respect, was The Apache Relay. When I saw they were coming to Boston I knew I had to see them.

The Apache Relay opened for Tristen and Ezra Furman & The Harpoons last night and it felt like the headlining act was going first. They had so much energy, enthusiasm, and amazing dance moves (that I am totally stealing) that their stage presence trumped the following acts. The five of them crammed on stage looked like they were about to knock each other out with every twist and leg kick. Sometimes the fiddle looks ridiculously small and delicate in the midst of a roots-rock band, but the way Kellen Wenrich played it, it fit right in like it was incredibly natural to be jumping around and foot stomping with a traditional instrument in hand. 

They moved around far too much to get a good picture...but that's a good thing.

Halfway through their set they broke out the song "Home is Not Places", a song about that homesickness a band can experience during the long weeks on the road. This song kicked their performance up another notch as they played with a fervor usually not seen until the closing song for most bands. They started visibly sweating and their faces turned bright red while belting out the song.  From there on out, it was action packed songs and the crowd continually crept closer and closer. The Apache Relay's songs showcase a tremendous amount of talent from the well crafted lyrics, to the perfect blending of fiddle, guitars, and keyboard. Their sound can go from delicate quiet verses, to crashing drums, and seriously shredding their guitars in an instant. It really gets your blood pumping. They closed with even more energy than they started with, playing "Can't Wake Up", a song off their new record, American Nomad, out next week.

Most of the time I leave shows thinking one of two things; either "that was good" or "I can't wait to see them again", and this was very much the latter. I might just end up in Philly on Saturday night to see them again. They really are that fantastic and I highly recommend going to see them.

The Apache Relay - Home is Not Places

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Visible Voice recorded the show and I'm sure the audio files will be up soon.