Rilo Kiley member Blake Sennett’s side projectThe Elected hasn’t released an album since 2006. For that matter, Rilo Kiley hasn’t released an album since 2007, and Sennett had quit the music scene in favor of creative cinematic endeavors as of 2010.
However, there is a new album slated for release on May 17th from The Elected, titled Bury Me In My Rings, and we have a free preview track for your enjoyment.
It sounds like Sennett is back and has enough potential to fuel a change: taking the Elected from side project to main creative focus. We’re looking forward to the new release and hopefully more material from them soon.
The thought for this feature crossed my mind the other morning as I streamed the illegally uploaded Bright Eyes cuts from the upcoming Saddle Creek Records release The People’s Key. It just kinda hit me randomly how fantastic the Omaha, Nebraska based record label’s catalog is from start to finish. Seeing the talent this label has for scouting is as simple as it comes.
More difficult I found however was narrowing their catalog down to my ten favorite songs. They ended up looking something like this:
If you can manage to listen to this song (and that bass line) without shaking your ass you’ve got more body control than I do. Every time I listen to it, I either have to skank or rush off to play Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland. Fantastic song from a fantastic band.
9. Rural Alberta Advantage – In The Summertime
When PopWreckoning received the review copy of Hometowns I probably listened to this song 250 times. There is just something about the lyrics and the way they’re presented over a somewhat simple but strikingly beautiful orchestration of notes that seems to help this song grasp me with a white knuckle grip. It is simply beautiful.
8. The Good Life – Heartbroken & 7.Cursive – Rise Up! Rise Up!
In my humble opinion there is no one better at capturing dysfunction, heartbreak and the all around angst than Tim Kasher. Though it was nearly impossible to narrow it down (hell, I could’ve just shoved the whole Album of the Year album on here and been pleased), Last.Fm claims these two songs to be the winners of my listening choices.
6. Bright Eyes – Easy/Lucky/Free
I think this song is a perfect example of how personal experience and relatability can alter the impact of a song. I listened to this song almost exclusively during the six week period in which I lost both my grandfather (who was also my best friend) and my mother. The line: “I never really dreamed of heaven much until we put him in the ground, but it’s all I’m doing now,” capsulized exactly what I was feeling and reminded me to keep it together.
5. Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson – The Sound
I think there are two types of people in the world: those who love this artist and those who have never heard of him. Seriously, I think that Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson is without a doubt Saddle Creek’s most underrated artist. Listen to “The Sound” and give it a judge yourself.
The line, “I was afraid to be alone, but now I’m scared that’s how I’d like to be…,” grabs me like few other songs have. To this day the cellos give me goosebumps. This song is as flawless as they come.
Maria Taylor (also of the above mentioned Azure Ray) has a way with words that I find difficult to find in female musicians. She doesn’t hide behind her sexuality in order to sell records. “Song Beneath The Song” is a splendid example of Taylor’s magical gift for words.
2. Bright Eyes - Lover I Don’t Have To Love
Conor Oberst is a lyrical genius. He captures situations, depicting them with his words in a way most author pine to be able to do. In my opinion, “Lover I Don’t Have To Love” is Oberst at his strongest.
“And sometimes when you’re on
You’re really fuckin on
And your friends they sing along And they love you
But the lows are so extreme
That the good seems fuckin cheap
And it teases you for weeks in its absence.”
So what about you? What are your favorite Saddle Creek songs? What did I leave off the list that you would have added? What are your top ten?
Jenny Lewis of Rilo Kiley and her man, Johnny Rice, whom you may have already seen open for her, have a new project and new tour.
Tickets are already on sale for several of these special Jenny and Johnny shows; full dates are below. Unfortunately, this means we’re going to have to wait even longer before we ever get new Rilo tunes.
Tour Dates:
9/1 Santa Cruz, CA @ Rio Theater (on sale Sat 6/26 @ 10a)
9/2 San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall (on sale Sun 6/28 @ 10a)
9/3 Oakland, CA @ The New Parish (on sale Sat 6/26 @ 10a)
9/5 Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge (on sale Sat 6/26 @ 10a)
9/6 Seattle, WA @ Bumbershoot Festival (on sale now)
9/8 Salt Lake City, UT @ The State Room (on sale Fri 6/25 @ 10a)
9/11 Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room (on sale Sat 6/26 @ 10a)
9/12 Minneapolis, MN @ Cedar Cultural Center (on sale Fri 6/25 @ Noon)
9/13 Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall (on sale Fri 6/25 @ Noon)
9/14 Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom (on sale Fri 6/25 @ 10a)
9/16 Washington, DC @ Black Cat (on sale Fri 6/25 @ Noon)
9/18 Boston, MA @ Agganis Arena (opening for Pavement – on sale now)
9/19 Brooklyn, NY @ Williamsburg Waterfront (opening for Pavement – on sale now)
9/21 Hoboken, NJ @ Maxwell’s (on sale Sat 6/26 @ Noon)
9/22 Philadelphia, PA @ Trocadero Theater (w/ Superchunk – on sale now)
9/23 Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle (on sale Sat 6/26 @ 10a)
9/24 Athens, GA @ 40 Watt Club (on sale Sat 6/26 @ 10a)
9/25 Nashville, TN @ Mercy Lounge (on sale Sat 6/26 @ 10a)
10/3 LA, CA @ Palladium (opening for Belle & Sebastian – on sale now)
PopWreckoning is pleased to announce our newest addition – a musicpodcast by Melissa Cowan and Casey Osburn. In PodWreck‘s debut, Melissa and Casey spoke with Pierre de Reeder (solo artist and bassist for Rilo Kiley). They also share two songs from his debut solo album.
There are albums that are so overproduced that they lose all their authenticity. There are albums that are just right, and then there are those albums that are almost there. With just a little more studio time and mixing, former Straylight Runner Michelle DaRosa would have an amazing little album in her catalog with It Goes On, the first album from Darosa’s new bandDestry.
On a first listen, It Goes On sounds a little like folky b-sides from Rilo Kiley’s first album – with Darosa’s voice paralleling Jenny Lewis’ softer tone. But with a couple more rounds you can see the potential that’s been brought together with Destry. “Don’t Forget Me” and “Home Isn’t Home” are probably the strongest examples of how this record is so easy to listen to. That’s exactly what it is – likeable folk pop.
The couple times Destry breaks away from the similar sound comes in the middle of It Goes On. “Trouble,” a bluesy track that shows the rich lower tone of DaRosa’s voice with a haunting bass line that sounds like walking down a dark, wet street and wind blowing through the trees. Right after comes the piano-laden title track, which is a cross between a ballad and a waltzy folk song. It would fit perfectly into the repertoire of pop songs that often provide the backing track on “Grey’s Anatomy.”
Let it be known that It Goes On came together as the band members sent demos back and forth, which is why it is such a simplistic and sometimes rudimentary first effort. Like I said before, if the band members had gotten together to properly collaborate and write the album, the plain shells of songs would have flourished into something even more beautiful. More producing would help Destry separate itself from its more established predecessors.
But as a first effort, It Goes On works on the most basic level – it’s pleasant to listen to.
Track Listing:
01. Don’t Forget Me
02. So Far Away
03. Leave the Lights On
04. Big Mouths
05. Trouble
06. It Goes On
07. Home Isn’t Home
08. I Made A Mistake
09. Sing My Song
10. Took the Money
11. Tearing It Apart
Rachael Yamagatawill hit the road as a very special guest of Irish band Swell Season for a fall U.S. tour of intimate theaters that begins November 12th and finishes up on December 5th. Yamagata has spent the last few months writing the follow-up to her Warner Bros. Records debutalbumElephants…Teeth Sinking Into Heart.
Elephants…Teeth Sinking Into Heart was released on October 7th, 2008. The follow-up to Yamagata’s 2004 full-length debut Happenstance, Elephants…Teeth Sinking Into Heart was praised by such media outlets as Entertainment Weekly (“Yamagata’s delivery is gorgeous”), People (“an ambitious double disc”), and Spin (“add some cheap scotch and you’ve got a John Cassavetes movie”).
Tour Dates:
Nov 12 – House of Blues / New Orleans, LA
Nov 13 – Warehouse Live / Houston, TX
Nov 14 – The Palladium Ballroom / Dallas, TX
Nov 15 - Paramount Theatre / Austin, TX
Nov 17 - Mesa Arts Center – Ikeda / Mesa, AZ
Nov 27 – Egyptian Theater / Boise, ID
Nov 28 - Jeanne Wagner Theatre / Salt Lake City, UT
Nov 29 – Ogden Theatre / Denver, CO
Nov 30 – Uptown Theatre / Kansas City, MO
Dec 2 – Michigan Theater / Ann Arbor, MI
Dec 3 – Chicago Auditorium Theatre / Chicago, IL
Dec 4 – The Pageant / St. Louis, MO
Dec 5 – State Theatre / Minneapolis, MN
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Rilo Kiley member Blake Sennett’s side project The Elected hasn’t released an album since 2006. For that matter, Rilo Kiley hasn’t released an album since 2007, and Sennett had quit the music scene in favor of creative cinematic endeavors as of 2010.
