Posts Tagged ‘Colin Meloy’


12.12.2008

Myers’ Top Ten

posted by Will

in Year End Lists

Myers Truluck – Charleston, SC

1. Blind Pilot – 3 Rounds And A Sound
2. Throw Me The Statue – Moonbeams
3. MGMT – Oracular Spectacula (technically 2007 and sort of gay, but fuck off it’s catchy goodness.)
4. Death Cab For Cutie – Narrow Stairs (yeah me and every 13 year old girl like it, but it wasn’t a good year for music… for me at least)
5. Drag The River- You Can’t Live This Way
6. O’death – Broken Hymns, Limbs & Skin – ( I used to play in a band with this kid, so I am biased and I’m running out of anything I liked this year.)
7. Conor Oberst- Conor Oberst (not that great of an album but I listened to it more than once and again…2008, was not that Great…..Like that? “2008, was not that great” I think I’m going to have koozies made.)
8. Calexico – Carried To Dust
9. Colin Meloy – Colin Meloy Sings Live (not amazing as a live album or anything, just a way to get some good songs into my top 10 list with a “new album” technicality)
10.                                <—I’m leaving position 10 in protest of the lack of amazing music this year. I’m sure there were some other gems that flew under the radar…but that is irrelevant to MY list.. so yeah. Do I get a cool Picture list like Dave?

The top 4 are in order of favorite to least…after that, I stopped caring.

06.06.2008

The Accident That Led Me To The World: The Island Gospel

posted by Bradley

in Music Reviews

Part folk, part country, part bluegrass; it would be easy to squander paragraphs attempting to categorize TATLMTTW’s (Christ – even the acronym is long!) The Island Gospel. Following the lead of record label Nobody’s Favorite Records, let’s simply call it “Acoustic” and move along.

Much like TATLMTTW’s 2006 self-titled debut, The Island Gospel scarcely contains a song that clocks in over three minutes, which makes the actual content of each song that much more formidable. Songwriter Mark Mandeville skillfully crafts intricately arranged layers into the musical equivalent of a vignette; graceful sketches that are clear despite their conciseness. The results are nothing short of alluring.

Like the tuba player in a brass band, Zack Ciras and his upright bass lay down a solid foundation for his band mates to feed on, leaving the casual listener oblivious to the absence of any traditional percussive instruments. The hauntingly beautiful clarinet phrases of Raianne Richards play second stage only to her vocals that fit hand in glove with Mandeville’s own Colin Meloy-esque sound. Icing it all with a bit of banjo interspersed where needed and you’ve got the makings of some a truly zestful album.

I’ll be the first to admit that the catch-all Americana genre does not receive very much attention on this stereo. I’d go so far to say that I find most of what is being produced quite boring and predictable. While it will take a lot more than TATLMTTW to convince me otherwise, they have certainly made me a believer in The Island Gospel.

Genre: Indie/Americana

RIYL: The Decemberists, Iron & Wine, Gillian Welch

Label: Nobody’s Favorite Records

Hole of Doubt

Hole%20Of%20Doubt%20by%20TATLMTTW.MP3

Caves

Caves%20by%20The%20Accident%20That%20Led%20Me%20To%20The%20World.MP3

www.myspace.com/tatlmttw