It’s been a long time since I’ve connected with live music the way I did recently at The Civil Wars’ show. You may already know The Civil Wars from their song “Poison & Wine” being featured on Grey’s Anatomy — but if you don’t know them yet, you soon will. The Civil Wars are the power-duo of Joy Williams and John Paul White. The artistic intimacy between these two artists is shown through their songs and their musicality is an amazing experience to see live.
Between the amazing vocals and complete emotional experience that The Civil Wars provide, it is hard to pick out their best songs. I personally enjoy “Tip of my Tongue”, “Poison & Wine” and their cover of “Dance Me to the End of Love”.
The Civil Wars are currently heading back to the studio to finalize their first full length album which should hopefully be out this summer. In the meantime you can purchase their EP Poison & Wine on iTunes. You can also download their “Live at Eddie’s Attic” album for free (and legally) at http://www.noisetrade.com/thecivilwars
Zoot Woman’s latest video is a first person perspective with an overwhelming “Take On Me” type of feel. Serious visual skills in this video for Memory.
Finally, Seattle can give us more than rain! Since discovering Hey Marseilles, the seven member folk/pop band has been on heavy rotation on my iPod. Having seven band members proves to be a strength for these guys as it brings an eclectic range of instrumentation and styles to each track.
Strong vocals from lead singer Matt Bishop is a solid base for the band and is only accentuated by his six other band mates. The accordion in “To Travels & Trunks” makes me feel like I’m at a French cafe enjoying good eats and good tunes. Clapping also becomes a cool backup instrument on “Rio”.
Matt, Nick, Philip, Patrick, Sam, Jacob and Colin have recently started branching out from the Seattle music circuit and just finished a run at the SXSW music festival in Austin, TX. There is no doubt that Hey Marseilles will catch the attention of many and grow a solid following.
Song Standouts
- To Travels & Trunks
- Rio
- Hold the Morning
Nashville singer-songwriter Tyler James got to Music City by way of the midwest, and boy does he fit right in. James really blew the doors off with his debut LP, It Took the Fire. This album is soulful and takes you on an emotional roller coaster from start to finish with a great mix of vocals, piano and horns.
It Took The Fire is an album of well thought out lyrical pieces that gives us a story with each track. It’s hard not to feel good just after listening to the first track, “All I Got”.
James sings, “you don’t need a soapbox to be heard”…he will definitely be heard. Keep your eyes and ears peeled for this one!
Song Standouts
-Soapbox Shakedown
-Sweet Relief
-Stay Humble
Many artists I’ve discovered are now in heavy rotation on my iPod, but Ben’s music always seems to be getting a lot of plays from me. Rector’s songs “The Kill” and “After All” are the ones that initially got me hooked and I’ve been anticipating the release of Into The Morning for some time now.
This marks Ben Rector’s fourth official release, and my personal favorite of his so far. This album is a great piece of pop music that offers something new with each track. It also doesn’t hurt that the album is addicting right from the start. It took me a fifteen minutes to get past the first track…”The Beat” is one of the catchiest tracks on the album for sure. Great choice in song placement right there. It pulls people right in leaving them wanting more! Overall, Into The Morning is a great collection of songs. Ben gets us hooked with some great upbeat songs like “The Beat”, “Out of my Head” and “Loving You Is Easy” and keeps us hooked with a few slow tracks like “When a Heart Breaks” and “Moving Backwards”.
Rector did some great marketing leading up to the album release as well, posting video clips of the new tracks every few days. I know that got me pumped for the album, and I’ll be keeping my eye out for some full-length videos for these new songs. Ben definitely has an intriguing creative side and I’m looking forward to seeing what he has in store for us next!
Right now Ben’s out on the road with Steve Moakler and Andrew Ripp on the “Three Amigos Tour”. Check out Ben’s Myspace to see if he’s coming to a city near you. Make sure you head over to iTunes and pick up a copy for yourself!
