popwreckoning

In the wide world of female performers, you have two camps: one that values extravagant style over substance (e.g., Lady Gaga, Beyonce, recent upstart Kreayshawn) and the other valuing substance over their own understated style (the folk singers, generally). Of the latter category is 20-year old Alessi Laurent-Marke, who records under the name Alessi’s Ark. Laurent-Marke will be getting her first widespread North American debut as the Londoner supports Laura Marling on a 2-week tour of our continent.

She will also be promoting her first full-length release in America, Time Travel, scheduled for release on September 27 on Simon Raymonde’s Bella Union label. (The album was already released in the UK in April, and there are some songs on Spotify [some old, some new] to tide you over until the actual release of the album here.) I am quite pleased that Alessi’s Ark is finally getting attention on this side of the Atlantic, as I’ve been keeping tabs on Laurent-Marke since her first album, Notes from the Treehouse, was released in Britain in 2009.

Alessi’s Ark songs generally follow one rule: they’re all very short. On Time Travel, only the title track and “Stalemate” go over 3 minutes, with some of the other songs not even going past the 2-minute mark. This can be good or bad; in the good sense, Laurent-Marke’s thoughts are put into small, compact compartments, like something you want to scuttle away in a dark corner of your pocket and save for a rainy day. But in the bad sense, you’re left wondering where the song would have gone, had she decided to soldier on with her thoughts. The best example on the album is “Wire” (download it from Bella Union here, video below). It appears to be a cryptic love letter to an important woman in her life (her mother? a lover?) that is now dearly departed. Yet there is also clear the acknowledgment that she feels lost, forsaken, and misunderstood (“I’m tired of walking this wire / it keeps me awake for heaven sake / I was made for this girl / I feel lonely / my friends don’t seem to know me / like I thought they did / I thought they did, but they don’t”). The angst of growing up is of course a common theme across many genres of music, but I’d like someone to come up with a song as elegant as this.

The beauty does not end there. “Run,” barely clocking in at a minute and a half, is the musical equivalent of seeing the moon’s reflection in a still lake. In “On the Plains,” Laurent-Marke uses simple chord changes against her effortless vocals for a simple love song. Flutes add a level of whimsy to this track, and throughout the album, you will find also find brass instruments supporting the standard folk backdrop of thoughtful guitars and Laurent-Marke’s calm voice. It’s almost unbelievable that someone so young could have such great control over the sounds that come out of her mouth. Then again, remind yourself who she’s touring with: Laura Marling, merely 1 year her senior. In the tune “Stalemate,” she admits, “the only thing I’ve learnt is I like singing / all the lessons that the guitar is bringing.” Something America should learn – and quickly: all aboard Alessi’s Ark, and prepare to enjoy the ride.

Time Travel, the first American release for Alessi’s Ark, will be released on September 27 on Bella Union. Catch Laurent-Marke on tour, supporting Laura Marling, on the dates below.

Track Listing
01. Kind of Man
02. Wire
03. On The Plains
04. Must’ve Grown
05. Time Travel
06. The Fever
07. Blanket
08. Maybe I Know
09. Stalemate
10. The Robot
11. Run
12. The Bird Song

Tour Dates (supporting Laura Marling)
Sept 22 – Lincoln Hall / Chicago
Sept 23 – Great Hall / Toronto
Sept 24 – Corona / Montreal
Sept 25 – Brighton Music Hall / Boston
Sept 27 – Sixth & I Historic Synagogue / Washington, DC
Sept 28 – Webster Hall / New York City

Alessi’s Ark: website | myspace

I spent the second birthday in a row at Sasquatch – this year it was my 22nd birthday, on Monday. And this year I can clearly say was better than last year’s birthday when Kid Cudi fans started booing They Might Be Giants.

My day began at the Bigfoot stage for Givers, the Lafayette, LA natives with an insane amount of energy, and they all look to be about 18 years old. I’d seen Givers earlier this year when they toured with Ra Ra Riot, and when I saw them then, they out-shined both acts they played with. I was not disappointed seeing them the second time around, in the early afternoon of the last day. This band is full of a bunch of kooky hippies that was some of the most genuine people I’ve ever met. Givers played the Endsession tent later that day, and when I arrived, Taylor Guarisco came up to me and another photographer.

“So you guys are the ones who are taking photos?”

“Yep.”

“We don’t usually let strangers take pictures of us, so… I’m Taylor.”

“I’m Abby.”

“There, now we aren’t strangers anymore!”

And there were several other instances throughout the day that exemplified their friendliness and sincerity, but then this would get to be a really long post.

Noah and the Whale was next up on my agenda, the English folk rock band, whom I’d been anxiously awaiting to see. The whole band looked quite dapper on stage, with well-coiffed hair and sharp suits, and the sound that came from the band definitely didn’t match the appearance. They looked like New Order, but sounded like Mumford and Sons (in the simplest of analogies). I’ll gladly see them again, because they were pleasant, but not boring.

There were plenty of bands that fit into that category during the weekend – pleasant but boring.

Local dance rock band Head Like A Kite merely gained my attention when I was sitting in the media room right next to the Yeti stage. I’d completely forgot that they were playing, and when I heard the frantic dance music from outside, I had to run out. It’s a testament to Head Like A Kite’s persona. No matter how you feel about their music (which I quite enjoy), they put on a showstopper – with just two band members I might add.

Back at the Bigfoot stage was Black Mountain, a Black Keys-esque (not just because of the name) blues rock band, but with a female singer. I was rushing around like a chicken with my head cut off at this point, but from what I did see of Black Mountain, they had a lot of soul and a lot of edge. I’ll have to check them out again.

Stornoway also hit the Bigfoot stage that afternoon, but they couldn’t be more different from Black Mountain – English, alternative folk, and a majority of the band looked like squares. But they were equally as enjoyable. They were like Noah and the Whale, but more adorable, and I wish I’d seen more of their set, but like I said before – chicken with my head cut off.

I followed my fellow photographers over to the Yeti stage for Foster the People, as they were highly anticipated – and rightly so. I hadn’t seen a crowd for the Yeti stage bigger all weekend. I honestly thought they should have put Foster the People at the Bigfoot stage because the crowd was so big. But with how much radio play “Pumped Up Kicks” has been getting, I wasn’t surprised. The band was good, had plenty of energy, but to me, didn’t live up to the hype.

However, this next performer surpassed my expectations by miles (or kilometers for the Canadians at the festival).

Macklemore is amazing. I’ll just say that. If you haven’t heard his music, you may have heard his song “My Oh My” if you’re local. He sang it at opening day of the Mariners’ baseball season this year, and when I first heard that song it brought me to tears and gave me goosebumps. I didn’t know his whole performance would be that fantastic. The guy can put on a show, I’ll tell you. He had conversations with the audience, gave shout-outs to people born in the 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s, crowd surfed, and jumped around the stage in a fringe jean jacket with David Bowie (circa Labyrinth) on the back. I cannot give Macklemore any more praise than anyone else can, but I will say that his album with his producer Ryan Lewis “VS” was the only album I bought for myself at the festival.

Seriously. Even after I was done shooting the first three songs, I went back in the media room to charge my camera battery for just a bit, but as soon as I heard the opening chords to “My Oh My,” I literally sprinted outside to listen. And again, I got goosebumps and I teared up. Thankfully I had sunglasses on.

I dare say that there wasn’t a greater moment at the whole festival, than when the huge crowd of his local fans screamed at the top of their lungs, “MY OH MY!”

I don’t even like hip-hop, and when Macklemore and Ryan Lewis did that Monday afternoon was perhaps my favorite performance of Sasquatch (except for the Foo Fighters). He’s just awesome.

So after that spectacular display of musical perfection (pardon the hyperbole, but it’s not all that hyperbolic!), the rest of the evening just paled in comparison.

However, I will say that !!! (Chk chk chk) is now my new favorite band to shoot. Not because I love their music (which I do), but after I thought I’d missed the first three songs, a friend of mine came into the media room and asked me, “Did you shoot Chk chk chk?”

“No, I missed the first three songs.”

“Get out there right now. He’s letting photographers in the pit the whole time. He said, ‘don’t let the photographers leave!’”

So I did, and I was glad I did, because he was strutting all over the stage, shaking his hips all which ways, going into the crowd multiple times, and loving the photographers. When a musician loves the photographers, we love him right back.

As I stumbled back to my computer and clean water, I saw the sky start to darken – and not just sunset dark, like storm cloud dark. Soon after, thunder and lightning. Lots of lightning. All I could think of was, poor Wilco. They were playing the mainstage last that night, and I didn’t even stay late enough to see them, to avoid the nasty storm coming our way on my three-hour drive home.

But I did stay late enough to catch all of Deerhunter‘s set at the Bigfoot stage, where I ran into Givers again, so we all stood in the middle of the crowd for our last performance of the night. I could not have thought of a better way to end the festival. All of Deerhunter was rocking hoodies with their hoods up, in case the rain decided to invade their stage, but it held out for the hour of moving ambient rock. The last time I’d seen Deerhunter was last April when they opened for Spoon, and this was so much better with the eerie color of the sky matched with Deerhunter’s sweeping melodies and Bradford Cox‘s lulling voice.

I wouldn’t have closed the night any other way.

Jesse Lacey had it right with the lyrics “I know that you’re a sucker for anything acoustic.” But we’re not talking about Brand New. This is William Fitzsimmons. This is the man famous for delicious, acoustic-y folk music and one amazing beard. His fifth full-length album Gold in the Shadow will soon be gracing your ears, and believe me. It’s great.

Fitzsimmons had me at “Please Don’t Go” many years ago, and he still has me enraptured now. It was back in the days of the tv drama “ER” when I first heard him. It was such an intense song at the end of an episode and I made it my mission to find out who it was. I frantically typed bits and pieces of lyrics into my phone, saved them as a drafted text message, and Googled until the name William Fitzsimmons came up, and I had found a Youtube video of the song. I probably watched it ten times in a row and may or may not have shed a few tears. Maybe that sounds a little ridiculous.  But that song really struck a chord deep within me. So much passion. It made me feel something that I can only describe as a hopeful sort of melancholy, and I was in love with it.

I pressed play on Gold in the Shadow with nervous fingers. Can you ever go wrong with a soft, crooning voice and delicate acoustic guitars? And then I breathed a sigh of relief. Because it’s William Fitzsimmons. There’s no way this would be a flop. And I couldn’t have been more right.

The album starts out with “The Tide Pulls From the Moon,” a perfect intro to a solid album. It’s catchy and it pulls you, but doesn’t overdo it. My favorite on the album would have to be “The Winter from Her Leaving” and lucky listeners, it’s the third song! I like instant gratification and there’s nothing better than finding the gem just three songs in. The fifth song, “Psychasthenia” immediately brings up thoughts of The Postal Service, to which I was very pleased. There’s a tinge of electronic noise throughout and it’s moody and desperate with the repeated line “cut me open please.” I may have an interest in psychology, but by no means is it my forte. So I had to consult my handy dictionary for the precise definition of  psychasthenia. Here’s what I found: a psychological disorder characterized by phobias, obsessions, compulsions, or excessive anxiety — which makes a lot of sense. Fitzsimmons has a master’s degree in counseling and worked as a mental health therapist for many years. it was at this time when he began recording music. It certainly makes for great song material. His lyrics are personal and that’s what makes his music so compelling. He speaks to you. He speaks right to your soul.

“Let You Break” is a nice change of pace, as we get some female vocals from Julia Stone, of Angus and Julia Stone. I’ve never been a huge fan of her voice. It’s a little too whiny for my taste. But in this situtaion, it works. And it’s been steadily growing on me, so much that I find myself humming her melodies instead of his.

“Wounded Head,” “Tied To Me,” and “What Hold” round out the album and give it a solid finish. It’s hard to keep a steady flow when you’re ten songs deep on your fifth major album. But Fitzsimmons finishes strong. My only qualm? The last song ends so abruptly and leaves me with a “that’s it?” feeling. But then again, maybe that’s the point. Because I find myself going back to the very beginning and starting all over.

Track Listing:

1 The Tide Pulls From the Moon
2 Beautiful Girl
3 The Winter from Her Leaving
4 Fade and then Return
5 Psychasthenia
6 Bird of Winter Prey
7 Let You Break (feat. Julia Stone)
8 Wounded Head
9 Tied to Me
10 What Hold

Spring tour starts soon, so be sure and check out dates here and pick up a copy of Gold in the Shadow. Just $7.99 on iTunes plus 2 bonus tracks.

I have good news and bad news. Bad news: Departing doesn’t blow the first Rural Alberta Advantage album out of the water like some of us were hoping. Good news: it’s still pretty great.

I often think of RAA as beat centric folk music. I’m pretty sure this has more to do with the way the drums on the first album, Hometowns, were placed higher in the mix than anything else. It was something that took me a half dozen listens to notice (never call me perceptive), but quickly became one of my favorite things about the album. It’s something that can be heard to a certain extent on the second song, “The Breakup”, but it’s mostly dispensed with here. “The Breakup” is a wistful (this band does a lot of wistful) song about the end of a relationship. The drums kick aggressively against a single mournful keyboard chord before the vocals. The way the lyrics are sung reminds me of old Death Cab. “I held you tight. We were waiting for the breakup.” My heart breaks a little each time I listen. These are sad songs sung as anthems.

My favorite track is number three, “Under the Knife”. Its folk music you can dance to, I swear to god. The beat plays against keyboards and the vocals are slightly nasal, but totally gorgeous. “Oh, the kids are never right. Oh, the kids will never find us”. I’ve listened to this song something like thirty times in the last couple weeks, and it’s already made its way on to one mix. It’s definitely the best thing here.

Track four is “Muscle Relaxants”, and finally a fast one. It’s a song about drugs and, of course, love. The electric guitars twitch, the drums kick, and the whole song kind of swings.

The only thing I don’t really like here is “Goodnight”, the final track. It feels a bit unfinished, and kind of annoys me. It’s an acoustic number that doesn’t really go anywhere. It’s a weak finish to a pretty enjoyable album.

This is recommended, for sure. It doesn’t really light anything on fire, but it’s pretty soothing. If RAA do the same thing for a couple more records, I might get annoyed, but as a sophomore record it works. They’ve found a sound and they’ve settled into it. I just hope next time they bring more to the table. I’d love to be as excited about their next album as I was about their first album.

Track Listing:
01 Two Lovers
02 The Breakup
03 Under the Knife
04 Muscle Relaxants
05 North Star
06 Stamp
07 Tornado ’87
08 Barnes’ Yard
09 Coldest Days
10 Good Night

There were two show options for Kansas Citians this past Sunday: Ke$ha or Pete Yorn with Ben Kweller & the Wellspring. While an absurd amount of KC kids chose glitter autotune fest 2011, I opted for the latter show where the performances were intimate and authentic. I think I made the right musical choice (Not to mention my parking was free. Take that Ke$ha folk.).

The Voodoo Lounge wasn’t packed when The Wellspring took to the stage, which was the stragglers loss. The small group that was there right at the show’s start was treated to some amazing harmonies from Dov and Talia. Seriously: a-m-a-z-i-n-g. I hadn’t heard even heard about this band until their publicist reached out, but I’m glad they’re finally on my radar.

They started their set with “Uncertainty,” which could be about the big risk they took in pursuing the band. Dov left a band and Talia quit a successful film production career to take on a risk/uncertainty with The Wellspring, but again–worth it.

Their songs are Americana folk and though the recorded versions have a few more instruments backing from the studio, the live versions really put the duo in the spotlight. They were only backed by a friend on drums- though he did have an impressive bag of percussion tricks. Talia and Dov stuck to guitar for most of their set, but a few songs did prominently feature piano. The sparse use of instruments throughout their set worked to their advantage, because live, their talent really is in their vocal harmonies.

I also really enjoyed “Oh New York,” a song about both of them leaving behind their well-known city and giving LA a try instead. I had the pleasure of chatting with The Wellspring before the show, so look for an interview on PopWreckoning soon.

Next was the energetic and convivial Ben Kweller. The last time I saw Kweller, he had a band backing him. For this tour, it’s all Ben. But the Ben show is actually more entertaining then the Ben Kweller with band show (sorry, other guys, but it’s true). With the freedom of an empty stage, Kweller was free to kick his feat and dance around. His songs are upbeat and they tread a line between serious and silly, but he treads that line well. I especially love when he kicked on the effects pedal to turn his acoustic guitar into sounding-electric for some of his riffs. It was a fun surprise.

Not only were his songs rambunctious fun, but so was his banter with the crowd.

“I named my dog after you!” shouted one fan.

“Ben or Kweller?” asked Ben.

“Kwella.”

“Nice feminization. You know, I had an Australian woman tell me they named their baby after me. But a dog’s nice. Name your baby after me, though,” Kweller joked.

Kweller ended his set with the popular, “Penny on a Train Track,” put his fist in the air and gave a one-armed hug to a roadie as he left the stage. This man is just pure fun – without the effects and tricks that so many modern m

For you KCers that missed his set, he promises he’ll be back more as he really loves our town–he even dedicated one song to the Boulevard Brewery. So don’t miss him!

Finally, Pete Yorn rounded out the night. After the more singer-songwriter style performances of the opening acts, I kind of expected Yorn to be flying solo as well, but he performed as a traditional alt-rock band. This wasn’t a bad thing, mind you, just a surprise.

The bluesy rock songs of his set were solo filled and not only did the bandmates twist their bodies toward whomever was letting their fingers fly on their instrument, but the dark stage lights switched spotlights swiftly on and off. Also backing Yorn was a video projector. Images of powerlines and fields played behind the band as they covered their four song catalog. Yorn’s performance was more subdued than Kweller’s set, but fitting for the darker lyrical matter of his songs.

So Ke$ha-goers, I hope you enjoyed your glitter, because you sure missed one hell of a night of straight up musicality.

Last year, I spent a lot of time trying to wrap my head around the last Low Anthem album, Oh My God, Charlie Darwin. It had a great title, some high points, but really only one truly great song. It was a bit of a mess to be honest. I’m happy to report that Smart Flesh is a much stronger record.

It starts well, with a nice piano ballad, “Ghost Woman Blues.” It’s very mellow and easy to sink myself into it. Generally, a decent start to the album.

Next is “Apothecary Love,” a traditional folk ballad driven by an acoustic guitar. I like the concept behind the song, as the lyrics go: “if you see me down by the apothecary again/I can’t find a cure for the shape that I’m in.” An apothecary is an interesting place to begin a doomed relationship.

Next up is “Boeing 747.” Finally, the album starts to wake up. The guitars sound like they’re being played violently in a way that I enjoy.  The whole thing-drums, bass, horns-is produced in a way that kind of mashes everything together. It’s obviously done on purpose.  The lyrics that begin the song are great, as well: “I was in the air when the towers came down/in a bar on the 84^th floor.”

Track 8 is called “Hey, All You Hippies.” The title alone had me sharpening my knives before I actually heard it, but it isn’t bad. It’s a pretty standard ‘70’s style country rock number.

This album is generally pretty solid throughout. It’s nothing mindblowing, but it’s enjoyable. There are no real missteps, either. As much as the album doesn’t really dazzle at any point, it doesn’t fail, either. If you enjoy relatively standard folk/country/rock stuff, you could enjoy this.

Track listing:
1. Ghost Woman Blues
2. Apothecary Love
3. Boeing 737
4. Love and Altar
5. Matter of Time
6. Wire
7. Burn
8. Hey, All You Hippies!
9. I’ll Take Out Your Ashes
10. Golden Cattle
11. Smart Flesh

Find more from Low Anthem here.

If you were to forget that Kaputt is a Destroyer record, it wouldn’t be surprising.  At first listen, the element of it that sounds like what has come before it, is Dan Bejar’s unmistakable voice. Screw Neko Case; Bejar, for a long time, has been the only reason I listen to New Pornographers records.

This, however, is a Destroyer album. The fact that this sounds like no other Destroyer record that has come before it cannot be overstated.  I consider this a good thing. I did not enjoy the previous Destroyer album, Trouble In Dreams. I thought it was over cooked, and full of things that had already been done, and better.

Kaputt is something else entirely. The last time it took me this long to figure out if I like an album was Kate Bush’s The Dreaming.  It’s hard to pin down the exact sound of the album. It’s sort of a bastard child of ambient folk music, and ‘80’s synth pop.  It’s full of disorienting female vocals, spacey horns, and thumping beats, and probably the most deceptively brilliant album you’ll hear this year.

It wouldn’t be a Destroyer record without lyrics that will make your head spin. Bejar outdoes himself here. Lines from this album will be littering Twitter and facebook feeds for years to come. I’ve barely begun to decipher what they mean, but, yes, I’m floored.  Obscure literature, drugs, communism, pop music, it’s all here, and more. This stuff was made to provoke infinite discourses.

I suppose the inevitable question is if you should buy this. If you like good, cerebral pop music, the answer is an unequivocal yes. “Suicide Demo for Kara Walker” should be the new national anthem, and this record will transport you to a place you didn’t know existed. You’ll be richer for the journey.

Track Listing:
01. Chinatown
02. Blue Eyes
03. Savage Night at the Opera
04. Suicide Demo for Kara Walker
05. Poor in Love
06. Kaputt
07. Downtown
08. Song for America
09. Bay of Pigs (Detail)

I first heard Laura Jorgensen about a year ago, crammed into a little indie record store outside of Seattle, singing her heart out with such an intensity that her lyrics could be heard a block away. Playing the accordion and dulcimer, her soulful and haunting voice has a very signature sound that is all Laura, and has won a very special spot in my playlists and my heart.

Laura’s first full length album Feathered Arms is an ethereal journey of incredibly touching lyrics made infinitely more beautiful by the sultry sound of her voice. These lyrics float above a background of precisely crafted tracks laden with trumpet, accordion, dulcimer, violin, percussion, and bass, all carefully put together with such care that the tracks are obviously very intimate, personal, and above all, a testament to a group of wonderful and talented artists.

An album for everyone, the tracks fall somewhere between Indie Folk and old school blues and is perfect for those long days where you are stuck at work or in your car in traffic. Undeniably one of my favorite albums of 2010, it makes you want to wander around in the rain singing at the top of your lungs, passion spilling forth along with the sound of Laura’s own lungs belting it out. In my opinion, words cannot do this album justice. Go take a listen at one of her sites, and check out the interview below.

Recommended tracks:  Pens, The Most Beautiful Fear, Your fingers, Pulling Strings

Feathered Arms Track List:
1. From the creaks of our chairs
2. Pens
3. And the way our heart beats
4. Heart of Clay
5. From our thin walls and doors
6. The most beautiful fear
7. And the noise of our streets
8. Pulling strings
9. From our hollow-throat cries
10. Tenement song
11. and the death of the trees
12. What we stand on
13.how to turn back again?
14. Your fingers
15. how to just up and leave?
16. Forest kind
17. Abandon our cities
18. South
19. Return to the Sea

———————————————————————————————————

Annastasia, Popwreckoning: What are the major influences that impacted your writing?

Laura Jorgensen: Much of my inspiration comes from eclectic women who use their voices and songwriting in unique ways. Harpist/singer Joanna Newsom is who I’m currently drawing the most from because of her very literary lyrics and incredible pioneering with song form. Kate Bush, Mariee Sioux, Anais Mitchell, and Tori Amos are other important artists to me. I’m also influenced by folk music from all over the world, since my school studies revolve around what I call “Global Music Cultures.” Nature, particularly trees, is also a big force in my life and music.

PW: How did you get started writing and what is your background?

LJ: My background is actually mainly classical- growing up I sang in many different choirs and studied opera, musical theater, and some jazz. By the end of high school I was more interested in contemporary music and writing my own songs, which led me to Berklee College of Music in Boston. Being surrounded by so many other young, talented musicians was very motivating, and I started looking for a fun instrument to accompany myself on. Once I started picking up accordion, the songs started to flow very easily.

PW: When was your first open mic gig and how did you feel you did?

LJ: It was at King’s Lounge, a popular open mic for Berklee kids, in April 2009. I had just written my first couple of songs, so after going many times to listen I was excited to finally play something of my own. My friends were very supportive, but I also had strangers coming up to express their appreciation for my music, which was so encouraging. It really motivated me to continue writing.

PW: Coming into the industry at this point, how do you feel about the climate between major labels and “Indie” artists who now have all the tools to make records?

LJ: I have always been firmly opposed to major labels. They are profit-driven corporations, and I think profit motives have no place in music (or anything, for that matter). At the core, music is about community, and I think that’s where the industry is headed. Big labels trying to push the next top 40 single will be replaced by small labels and collectives of artists pooling resources to create and distribute their own work. This will foster supportive local music scenes, wide accessibility to music, and passion for creation over pop idol appeal.

PW: If you could work with anyone you wanted to right now, whom would it be?

LJ: Probably Andrew Bird, who is not only a great singer/songwriter but also a great innovator on the violin. He’s grown so much as a musician and songwriter from his very folky fiddly roots to the extraordinary songs he’s writing now. It would be a lot of fun to play with him and see how he creates. Still, the musicians I’ve been working with for the album are all so talented and I could not possibly have had a more wonderful group.

PW: Tell us about the album and the previous EP and the process behind creating each of them.

LJ: Both projects started because of someone else’s desire to be involved in the music, which is one of the best parts about being constantly surrounded by other young artists. the wings and the waters ep came about because a friend asked to record my first songs, which I had written near the end of my first year at Berklee. He set up his equipment in a practice room and we recorded it all in one afternoon as everyone was moving out of the dorms. The fourth song, Pulling Strings, was added at the last minute since I wrote it in a room across the hall while trumpet parts were being recorded for the first three.

The album, Feathered Arms, consists of new versions of all of those songs plus five more written over last summer and fall. I was playing accordion on a song for my good friend and songwriting influence Emily Peal, and after hearing my music her producer/ percussionist Andrew Nault approached me about working together. I had enough songs for an LP and wanted to put together a band, so I gathered friends (Andrew on drums, Amy Alvey on violin, Orion Boucher on bass, Nolan Eley on trumpet) and we started rehearsals. One thing both Andrew and I were sure about was that we wanted for each musician to create their own parts, which they did beautifully. The collaborative aspect made the process really fun for everyone, and each person’s influences really add depth to the songs. In April, a year after I wrote my first song, we headed to Andrew’s hometown in Southern MA and took over his parents’ rec room for three full days of recording. From the start our goal was to record live instead of tracking instruments individually, to retain the movement of the songs and the fellowship of playing as a group. Getting basic tracks for all 7 full-band songs in 3 days was tiring, but so rewarding. In post-production we added background vocals and some guitar parts (by Kenyon Kowal), and Andrew created sounds and transitions to make the album into more of a journey through the songs.

PW: What do you like most about what you do?

LJ: Though expressing myself and my ideas is integral, the best part is interacting musically with others. Hearing my songs develop with the musical ideas of others is such an incredible experience. I also love performing- especially busking- because of the connection with those listening. What I want most from music is to share with others, so when I’m playing at a festival alongside countless other groups and someone wandering by stops to listen for half an hour or more, watching them respond to the music is the most uplifting thing.

PW: You play some rather unusual instruments (ie accordion and dulcimer). How did you get into playing them?

LJ: I started playing dulcimer my senior year in high school. Joni Mitchell played one, particularly on Blue (my favorite album of hers), and at the time she was one of the women inspiring me to want to write. My musician neighbor found a mountain dulcimer in a pawn shop just in time to tip off my mom before Christmas, which was such a great coincidence, and I started learning a lot of Joni covers and messing around with different tunings. I got my accordion a year later, after being inspired by the sound of artists like Beirut. I wanted a chordal instrument to accompany myself on, and that ended up really being the trick. The accordion pulled the first few songs out of me, and once I’d started writing I went back to the dulcimer and turned some alternate tunings into songs.

PW:  Seeing you live the first time, you seemed like you were right at home in the little indie record store. Where do you usually shop for your music and what do your musical tastes run towards?

LJ: I can appreciate basically anything with a creative spark from talented musicians, but lately everything folk-related interests me most. That includes everything from traditional Bulgarian laments, African tribal music, and Indian ragas to the many modern subgenres of folk. Aside from all the artists I’ve mentioned already, I love Akron/Family, Iron & Wine, Fleet Foxes, Caetano Veloso, and Devendra Banhart (except his latest album). As for acquiring music in physical form, I mostly go for vinyl and love searching little record stores for both old and new. If an artist is independent or with a small indie label, I try to get the music directly from them.

PW: What’s in the future for you, both musically and non-musically?

LJ: This summer I’m going to be traveling and attending music festivals throughout the Balkans, and this fall I’ll be studying Greek music in Athens. After that I’ll return to Boston to finish school, and hopefully record another album with the Feathered Arms band. After August 2011, things are pretty up in the air. I hope to move abroad, since my ultimate goal is to live in many different countries and directly experience music and culture all over the world. For awhile I’ll just be skipping around, trying to use my work to help people, until I figure out for sure where I wasnt to live long-term. Promoting collectivism, environmentalism, and a movement away from a monetary-based society to a resource-based one are high on my list of priorities. I’m also very interested in film, so I’m looking into film schools all over Europe and hoping to learn more about cinematography, screenwriting, and directing.

Find Laura here:
Myspace
Facebook
Bandcamp

Before Frank Turner became a solo artist, he played in a London post-hardcore outfit, Million Dead. When that band fizzled, he decided to strike out on his own, he did so in a very different musical genre, folk rock. Five years post-Million Dead, three solo albums, and two EPs later, Turner finds himself being revered and highly sought after, easily selling out venues at home in the UK. Despite having toured stateside over the last 2 years as support for the likes of the Gaslight Anthem, the Offspring, and Social Distortion, he’s not a household name in America. Yet. But his latest EP released this week, the simply-titled Rock & Roll, should help matters.

Thanks to the BBC, folk gets a lot more attention nationally in the UK than it does here in America, and in Britain, there is a glut of folk and folk rock acts eager for mainstream success. Three reasons I think Frank Turner has come out on top of the heap and succeeded in Britain and in Europe? His down-to-earth persona, his eagerness to communicate with his fans (check out his Twitter and his blog, usually detailing his life on the road but more recently, the difficulties of touring during a freakishly early winter snowfall in Britain), and the protest bent of his lyrics, making him a present-day, Bob Dylan-style folk hero, if you will. He champions the little guy, a position that usually doesn’t translate to fame, fortune, and success in the popular music world. Yet back home in Britain, he’s idolized. I never got into Tom Waits like some of my friends and some of the people in the music business I’ve run into as a blogger. But I imagine for many people, Frank Turner is their Tom Waits.

The melodic guitars and Turner’s engaging vocals make this EP highly enjoyable. “Pass It Along” starts slowly with a folky sensibility. It reminds of how some of Led Zeppelin‘s songs would start off quietly and introspectively before ripping into monster, now classic riffs. (I bring up Led Zep because they are the band that created arguably one of greatest rock ‘n’ roll songs ever, aptly titled “Rock and Roll.”) In the case of “Pass It Along,” it’s at the 3-minute mark that all lets loose for what feels life-affirming. “Rock and Roll Romance” is a short piece, just Turner and his guitar. Simple, yet gorgeous and heartbreaking, all at the same time.

If you feel like the EP is flagging, then “To Absent Friends” reignites the fire. Listening to this song, I’m sure you can feel the excitement that is Frank Turner and his band live, Turner giving his vocal cords quite the workout as piano keys bang. The tune “The Next Round” is the most country of the five on this EP, and is the regretful musings of an alcoholic. What could sound fake doesn’t in Turner’s deft songwriting hands. But the rallying cry of this EP is the anthemic track “I Still Believe.” Turner sings, “who would have thought / after all / something as so simple as rock ‘n’ roll would save us all?” Decades after the first rock ‘n’ roll tunes came out of its rhythm and blues roots, rock ‘n’ roll is still going on strong. And it will continue to thrive with people like Frank Turner, committed to making music under his own terms. This album might not be as aggressive as what is being passed off as “rock” these days, but it’s sure got plenty of substance. And heart.

Track Listing:
01. I Still Believe
02. Pass It Along
03. Rock & Roll Romance
04. To Absent Friends
05. The Next Round

The Rock & Roll EP by Frank Turner will be released on December 07 on Epitaph Records.

Frank Turner: website | myspace

PopWreckoning.com is pleased to present an exclusive premiere of folk musician Nick Jaina‘s new video for “Days in My Room” off his new record A Bird in the Opera House.

The Portland artist is having a CD release show this week and then heading out on tour. Check Nick Jaina’s MySpace for full dates.

by Jason Quigley