Carl Anderson

I was familiar with Carl Anderson only as the writer of “Heavy”, a track off Andrew Combs’ debut album Worried Man. That a great writer like Andrew Combs would think highly enough of someone else’s work to cut their track on an album of otherwise original material indicates Carl’s talent. It wasn’t until I saw Carl and his band perform at Acme Feed & Seed Friday night in Nashville that I discovered his own music. I picked up an advanced copy of his upcoming album “Risk of Loss”, set for January release. Like Andrew, Carl writes and sings with wisdom beyond his 27 years.

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John

LAZY – High Density 60 CS (Great American Records)

Since playing with Lazy in Davis over Summer 2013, grabbing a promotional copy of the Obsession LP and becoming, well, obsessed with it, Lazy has been high up on my list of bands currently killing it. Lazy possesses the youthful ironical sting found in early records by The Fall, an undeniable male-female vocal chemistry reminiscent of X, and the tight musicianship of a group of seasoned musicians. All of it runs through a sci-fi filter, with samples and modulations abound. The brand-new High Density 60 cassette compiles the band’s singles, remixes, some live cuts and four-track demos recorded between 2012 and 2014.  “Soft Sheets” from the Volar Records single is worth the entire tape alone.

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Charles

Mary Kaye and Kristyn Harris

I’ve been on a bit of a Western music trend lately.  Here are two current award winning female Western music songwriters to look out for, Mary Kaye and Kristyn Harris. 

These were forwarded from one of my very best amigos Jay “Kelly” Veach.  Kelly writes many of his songs in the western style and it’s been a pleasure to watch his growing songwriting skills featuring  beautiful melodies and extremely poignant lyrics. He’s become a really nice storyteller with his music. I enjoy the chance to sit in on his songwriting group now and then so anything he recommends is certainly worth a listen.

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Alex

Silver Snakes

Last week, United Nations played at 924 Gilman Street in Berkeley with Silver Snakes as the opener (a show I didn’t get to attend, but that’s another story). Aside from the awesome Legend of the Hidden Temple reference, their name didn’t ring any bells, but I decided to give them a listen based on a recommendation from a friend who did make it out to see them.  I haven’t listened to a band signed to Bridge 9 Records in years, so I was a bit skeptical, but a few minutes in I was sold. Their sound is a mixture of post-hardcore and melodic punk, with a bit of sludginess thrown in for good measure. I’ve only listened to their most recent album, so I’m looking forward to going back through their discography to hear how their music has evolved.

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Mahlon

Mark Z. Danielewski’s House of Leaves

Written by Mark Z. Danielewski, House of Leaves, at the base level, is about a family who discovers that their home is a quarter inch bigger on the inside than it is on the outside. After returning from a vacation, the family discovers a room has appeared in their house that should extend well outside of the walls of the home, but doesn’t.  Written in a nontraditional way, some pages feature text crammed into a corner on the page while others only contain a few words. Some choice words are even inked in different colors. This is done to illicit particular feelings from readers such as loss of breath, claustrophobia, confusion and more. If you’re looking to read something a little different be sure to check it out!

The post Weekly Discoveries 11.14.2014 – Carl Anderson, LAZY, Mary Kaye, Silver Snakes and House of Leaves appeared first on Blackwing.