Tag Archives: Bloodshot Records

Summertime Podcast Picks

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Fernando Viciconte’s new album, “Traitors Table,” is an incendiary masterwork. Seriously.

Leave it to Fernando Viciconte to sum it up so succinctly. The Portland-based singer-songwriter has a long history of penning poignant songs that get right to the heart of the matter, and he’s done it again on the opening track from his new record, Traitors Table, out now on Fluff & Gravy Records.

“Division Lines” turns the mirror on America, where the lost arts of diplomacy, compromise and consensus have been replaced by obstruction, partisanship and name-calling. It’s a perfect state-of-the-union address to kick of our Summertime Podcast Picks, a collection of tunes to get you rolling into the summer festival and road-tripping season.

This batch of picks features lots of cool new music from a bunch of our modern alt-country favorites, including Paul Cauthen, Sturgill Simpson, Chuck Mead, Mike & the Moonpies and Buddy & Julie Miller. But a handful of the tunes sprinkled in — including songs by Lukas Nelson & The Promise of the Real and Will Hoge — touch on the dark political climate that hangs like a cloud over our increasingly less civil society. Some are hopeful, some are sad, some are satire, and all are meant to make you think about how far off-course we’ve run as a nation.

But because it’s summertime, these picks also are designed to put you in the mood to rock. Rising Texas song-slingers Whiskey Myers set the tone with their swaggering new tune “Die Rockin’,” sure to have hips swaying and heads banging in Portland this coming Saturday night when they headline a show with Brent Cobb at Roseland Theater.

Also pointing toward the weekend, we share a couple of tunes by The Stubborn Lovers and country chanteuse Carson McHone, who share the bill Friday night at Alberta Street Pub in Portland. McHone also will join a killer lineup over the weekend at the Jackalope Jamboree in Pendleton in Eastern Oregon on Saturday.

The picks also get a little funky here and folksy there, and in the spirit of the baseball season, we try to touch ’em all. “Junk Town” by Ian Noe shows you why he’s the talk of the folk circuit heading into summer — he’s blowing up thanks to the recent release of his full length LP Between The Country.

Like a loaded gun, R&B in the wrong hands can be a dangerous weapon. But Rich Layton and his band Tough Town have things locked up tight and nailed down on their new album, Salvation Road, out now via Never Lucky Recording Co. It’s a cool rockin’ collection of 11 songs delivered with confidence, clarity, and cleverness from a man who has mastered his craft through years of writing and performing, as demonstrated on the album’s opening track, “Live To Rock.”

We also share some of the best of the year so far, including songs by Caroline Spence (leave a spot on your ‘best of ’19 list’ for her latest record), Nashville’s Charlie Marie and a new song from Jason Hawk Harris, out now on Bloodshot Records.

And we wrap things up with a nod to songwriter Dave Bartholomew, the longtime Fats Domino collaborator who passed away last weekend at the age of 100.

But before we go, we turn your attention to our friend, podcast partner and team photographer Anne Marie Barrett. Her song “Coffee,” a poignant look at racial injustice in America, is available here for download, with all proceeds going to the Portland Freedom Fund, a local nonprofit that shines a light on “the injustices of the cash bail system that preys on the poor and people of color.” Great song, Anne! And a great notion. You make us proud!

So dial ’em up! Here’s the playlist for our Summertime Podcast Picks:

Division Lines, Fernando Viciconte
Cocaine Country Dancing, Paul Cauthen
Die Rockin’, Whiskey Myers
The Dead Don’t Die, Sturgill Simpson
What You Don’t Know, Caroline Spence
Turn Off The News (And Build A Garden), Lukas Nelson & The Promise of the Real
My Favorite Picture of You, Willie Nelson
Junk Town, Ian Noe
Nikki’s a Republican Now, Will Hoge
Whiskey Sisters, The Stubborn Lovers
Maybe They’re Just Really Good Friends, Carson McHone
Cussin’ At The Light, Jason Hawk Harris
You Look Good In Neon, Mike & The Moonpies
Rhinestones, Charlie Marie
Live To Rock, Rich Layton & Tough Town
Daddy Worked The Pole, Chuck Mead
Blue-Eyed Wanderer, Matt Woods
The Wheels of Laredo, Tanya Tucker
Break Down on 20th Ave. South, Buddy & Julie Miller
Ain’t That A Shame, Fats Domino
Coffee, Anne Marie Barrett

Review of Deserted by Mekons

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Deserted by Mekons (2019, Bloodshot Records)

By Mike Lee
That Much Further West Podcast

The desert is bereft of forgiveness for those who choose to inhabit the shifting land. I don’t speak of those residing in concrete and glistening glass, monolith cities who survive on borrowed hydration and whirring A/C units. No, I am talking about the desert rat. The sidewinder who shifts through the land leaving little trace of existence.

These vagabonds have no archetype. They are devoid of country or nationality and these travelers stand hard with an edge against the wind and sand. They move underground, live in the shadows and embrace the freedom of the chilled night air in the deserted corners of our earth.

The life in the desert makes people adapt to survive, to grow and to learn. “Deserted,” a collection of nine songs by the Mekons is a great capsule of desert life. A genre-bending sonic excursion led by well-seasoned guides who can transform their musical experience into a Saguaro cactus blossom or a scorpion sting. 

Review of Forever by Vandoliers

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Forever by Vandoliers (2019, Bloodshot Records)

By Mike Lee
That Much Further West Podcast

The bandstand prophets of the Texas saloon must preach to their flock with conviction. They must reach a common ground and the message must be genuine. Their converts must know their musical guides have travelled the same roads and the mud drying on their boots has the same mix of bravado and despair. We don’t step up to the pine to drown our sorrows but to confide in our brothers and sisters with a round of shots and boots stomping on the dance floor in front of our roadhouse preachers.

The Ft. Worth-based Vandoliers certainly seem up to the task with their latest effort, “Forever,” on Bloodshot Records. They guide us through the ups and downs of modern American life of not only the Texan but every hard-working, blue-collar soul in this country.  We don’t take jet-away vacations but long road trips with our crew, enjoying all the local flavor of the places our wheels roll through.  We hate our jobs but find pride in our hard work and reward ourselves plenty with the sinful pleasures of our wild world.

January Podcasts Picks

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Thars the Stars: Portland’s Stars of Cascadia are back with a new record, Fairfield.

We’re keeping it live and local to start off 2019, and kicking things off with a killer cut from that fun and rollicking band of Portland alt-country grinders, Stars of Cascadia. Their new CD Fairfield just hit the streets this week, and “The Great Divide” is a near perfect tune to sum up the mid-Trump swamp we find ourselves wading through daily. Singer Scott Jeffries gets nostalgic on this new disc, ruminating on the Viet Nam era and the last time . . . say, 1968 . . . when the U.S. felt this very divided.

The Delines may be considered a local band in our neck of the woods, but they’re killing it right now in the U.K. and Ireland on their first tour in a couple of years. We caught both of their warm-up shows in Portland before they headed across the Atlantic to promote their brand new album, The Imperial, which is pulling rave reviews around the globe. We share the title cut here.

And while you’re cranking this latest playlist, be sure to stick around for a song from the Portland trio Five Letter Word. We first saw these talented ladies at last year’s Wildwood MusicFest & Campout, and they blew us away with their amazing harmonies and stellar musicianship. Their debut record, Siren, dropped earlier in January, but we expect to be hearing a whole lot of great things from them throughout 2019 and beyond.

We also share new music from Son Volt, Joshua Ray Walker, Ryan Bingham, Vandoliers, Bob Sumner and a song by Ryan Adams with a title that pretty much sums up our feeling about the winter weather in the Pacific Northwest. Not that we’re complaining. Sending out good wishes to our friends in the Midwest (we’re looking at you, Bloodshot Records crew) who are suffering through a record-shattering Arctic blast that arrived in the Great Lakes region overnight.

Since you folks are pretty much stuck inside for a bit, crank up our January Podcast Picks!

Here’s the playlist:

The Great Divide, Stars of Cascadia
The Imperial, The Delines
Burn It, Joshua Ray Walker
Jingle And Go, Ryan Bingham
Mountain Girl, Shane Smith
5 Acres Of Turnips, Pistol Annies
Saturday Satan Sunday Saint, Charley Crockett
Me And Hayes, Mike and the Moonpies
Jesus And Elvis, Hayes Carll
Troublemaker, Vandoliers
The Way She Looked At You, Sarah Shook and the Disarmers
Bourbon And Blood, The Comacheros
Southern Accents, The Steel Woods
Go Home, Garrett T. Capps
Riverbed, Bob Sumner
Easier To Go, Five Letter Word
Living Free, Jack Waters and the Unemployed
F*ck The Rain, Ryan Adams

November Podcast Picks

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The Bottle Rockets are back with a killer new record, Bit Logic. Photo by Cary Horton courtesy of Bloodshot Records

Stream or download November Podcast Picks: November ’18 Podcast Picks

The Bottle Rockets cemented their place in the history of alt-country long ago, when the Missouri-based band emerged from the mid-90s wave as one of the genre’s most trusted acts. With singer-writer-guitarist Brian Henneman at the center of things, the band became well known for its catchy, witty and raucous tunes while surfing in the wake of the breakup of St. Louis-area mates Uncle Tupelo.

Twenty-plus years later and The Bottle Rockets are still at it, and the acclaim is rolling in for their brand-new Bloodshot Records release, Bit Logic. It’s everything you’d hope for from a Bottle Rockets record, with memorable songs in their unmistakable style stacked one after another.

We launch our November Podcast Picks with “Lo-Fi,” an easy-going homage to the A.M. radio and a reminder of how Henneman can take a simple groove and melody and turn it into something special. This month’s picks also include new music from rising Austin star Carson McHone, Whitey Morgan and the 78’s, smoking hot country singer Dillon Carmichael and Kentucky-based songwriter Dan Conn.

We also have a brand-new song that represents a bit of a comeback by The Delines, who have been out of commission for about a year due to an injury to singer Amy Boone — great to see them back in action. Be sure to look for their new record, The Imperial, due early next year.

There are also a number of our favorites, both national and local to our scene in Portland, OR, USA, including Roseanne Cash, Tim Barry, Jason Isbell, Brandi Carlisle and Taylor Kingman. And be sure to make it all the way through this extended list of picks because The Resolectrics wrap things up with their instant classic “I Love You.”

So dial it in, crank it up and kick back. It’s our November Podcast Picks . . . here’s the playlist:

Lo-Fi, The Bottle Rockets
Drugs, Carson McHone
Three Sheets To The Wind, Jim Boyer
Last Lion Of Albion, Neko Case
Rise Again, Root Jack
Eddie And Polly, The Delines
What Am I Supposed To Do, Whitey Morgan and the 78’s
8 Gods Of Harlem, Roseanne Cash
Old Flame, Dillon Carmichael
Undercover Agent For The Blues, Tina Turner
Polk Salad Annie, Tony Joe White
Harder To Forgive, Brandi Carlisle
Green Eyed Gal, Dan Conn
Always Been You, Lucero
Swingset Assassin, Two Cow Garage
Testify, Blackberry Smoke
A Curious Pride, Taylor Kingman
Streets of Aberdeen, Hellbound Glory
Dog Bumped, Tim Barry
Cumberland Gap, Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit
Icicle Tusk, Fleet Foxes
The Very Last Day, Parker Milsap
I Love You, The Resolectrics

Live Review: Sarah Shook & The Disarmers at Mississippi Studios

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Sarah Shook & The Disarmers returned to Mississippi Studios in Portland and proved good as gold.

Sarah Shook & The Disarmers
Live at Mississippi Studios
Porltand, OR, USA
7-24-18

By Mike Lee

Followers of That Much Further West Podcast are probably already well aware that we (and I in particular) are big fans of the music of Sarah Shook & The Disarmers. We’ve included several songs from the band’s two albums on our podcast playlists, promoted the band’s video releases, and I even wrote a glowing review for their latest album, Years.

Last September, I went to see Sarah Shook & The Disarmers at their first show in Portland at Mississippi Studios with much anticipation after several spins of their excellent debut record, Sidelong. I left the show, well let’s say, disappointed. The band was great and they played the songs with precision and very true to the album versions, but the problem was a lack of energy. The show was flat, and for an old punk rocker like me, I need to get something, anything, from the band to be able to reciprocate, or else all that whiskey I consumed would go to waste (sort of). I still bought the vinyl and a trucker hat and went about my night.

Fast forward to July 2018, and again I find myself anticipating (with some reservations) another performance by Sarah Shook, this time at last weekend’s Wildwood MusicFest. Again the band was great, but this time the energy was on point and solidified in my mind the need to go see the band three days later at our original rendezvous point, Mississippi Studios.

My how things have changed. The crowd was eager and enthusiastic and easily three times the size of the show way back in September, and on a Tuesday night no less. The band’s lineup was the same except for a drummer who had been replaced by Kevin McClain (ex-American Aquarium), and they were ready to go when Shook took the stage, strapped on her guitar and walked to the microphone.

With her long hair hanging in front of her face, Sarah shared some playful banter with the crowd before they launched into the first song off of Years, “Good As Gold.” The band played two more songs, and then it happened again — Sarah took to the mic and engaged the crowd! She was funny, charming and exuded all the swagger her music projects. I was hooked. The crowd was dancing and singing along and it all felt so good.

With the energy flowing from the stage to the crowd and back, the band was tight and continued to set the songs up to showcase Sarah’s lyrics and vocals, the real star of the show. Over the next 90 minutes or so, Sarah joked with the band and guided the crowd through 21 songs and punctuated the encore with “The Nail,” a great song from the debut album. The crowd was cheering, hooting and hollering for more as the band slipped behind the closing curtain for the night.

Set List:
Good As Gold
Heal Me
Parting Words
Fuck Up
No Name
Over You
Road That Leads To You
Nothin’ Feels Right But Doin’ Wrong
Make It Up To Mama
Lesson
Damned If I Do, Damned If I Don’t
Heartache In Hell
Keep The Home Fires Burning
Sidelong
The Bottle Lets Me Down
Misery Without Company
New Ways To Fail
Years
What It Takes
Encore:
Dwight Yoakam
The Nail

Review of Years by Sarah Shook & The Disarmers

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Years by Sarah Shook & The Disarmers (2018, Bloodshot)

100 Words on Years
By Mike Lee
That Much Further West Podcast

How do you avoid the sophomore slump when your debut album punched through the country music scene in 2017? You craft 10 country songs infused with a frantic punk rock energy spinning a carousel of earnest lyrics about love, whiskey, heartbreak, redemption and two middle fingers up at the music establishment. Years expands where Sidelong left off teaching a lesson of all thriller and no filler. Tight, well crafted songs with an efficiency of rhythm, melody and lyrics that had me reminiscent of the mighty, Los Angeles, cowpunk legends, X!

Sidelong was the setup and Years is the knockout punch.

Mixtape Trio Bravo:

Listen to “Good As Gold”:  Good As Gold

Listen to “The Bottle Never Lets Me Down”:  The Bottle Never Lets Me Down

Listen to “Lesson”:  Lesson

Catch up on all things Sarah Shook and the Disarmers on their Facebook page or through Bloodshot Records. WEST COAST PEOPLE be sure to catch the band in July  as they hit the left coast and play our favorite festival, Wildwood Music Fest & Campout July 20-22, 2018.

Review of Somewhere Else by Lydia Loveless

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somewhereelse

Lydia Loveless, Somewhere Else (2014, Bloodshot)

She was all dressed up and ready to be crowned alt-country’s queen-in-waiting, but a funny thing happened on the way home from the prom. Lydia Loveless rolled down the window, tossed the tiara, took a left turn and hit the throttle.

On her third full-length record, the 23-year-old Loveless says goodbye to the raging banjos and cowpunk shuffles that made it so easy to box her in as the future of alt-country. Somewhere Else is something very different — a radio-ready rock album that aligns the singer less with country blues songstress Lucinda Williams and more with a fellow Ohioan, rocker Chrissie Hynde.

Sure, many of those good ol’ country music themes (drinking, cheating, etc.) remain at the heart of Loveless’ songwriting, and she’s not afraid to cast herself in a bad light. On Somewhere Else, the singer is a drunk, a home-wrecker, an obsessive helplessly bent on self-destruction and destined to wind up alone. But she also knows her way around a song, with lyrics so direct and sexually frank it’s hard to miss the point — or not get caught up in the naughty fun.

Listen to “Really Want To See You” “Really Wanna See You” by Lydia Loveless

The album’s first track, “Really Want To See You,” announces not just its obsessive lyrical tone but also its direction as a straight-ahead rock record. The listener is greeted with screaming guitars, heavy drums and not a hint of the twang that was a hallmark of Loveless’ previous work.

On the poppier “Wine Lips,” Loveless shows off her talent for terrific word play. Early in the song when she sings, “Ain’t there somewhere where you and me can be alone/Honey, this isn’t a party if it’s chaperoned,” you already have a good idea of who you’re dealing with. This is an artist who isn’t afraid to say what she wants, and seems to be willing to do whatever it takes to get it.

Listen to “Wine Lips” “Wine Lips” by Lydia Loveless

Eventually, steel guitar winds it’s way into the mix as the songs start to sink from the heart to the gut and, eventually, the crotch. On the slow-burner “Hurts So Bad,” Loveless sings, “I swore I’d go to bed, but I must have it bad/’Cause I got up and I pushed every button your elevator had.” On the not-so-subtle “Head,” she sings, “The sooner I go to sleep, the sooner I can dream/Well, maybe if I get lucky tonight you’ll be there waiting, ready for me.”

Listen to “Head” “Head” by Lydia Loveless

As things slow down on the back half of the record, Loveless offers a glimpse at her more gentle side. But obsession, longing and desire for love remain constant themes throughout Somewhere Else, a record so well executed, straightforward and fun that it’s bound to elevate Ms. Loveless’ profile as an indie-rock comer and destined to be included on many lists of the 2014’s best.

— PHIL FAVORITE
That Much Further West Podcast

Lydia Loveless and her band will be performing live in Portland at Doug Fir Lounge on Wednesday, April 2. The Stubborn Lovers open the show. Visit www.dougfirlounge.com for more information.

 

 

Review of Nothin’ But Blood by Scott H. Biram

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NothinButBlood

Scott H. Biram, Nothin’ But Blood  (2014, Bloodshot Records)

I guess there is really no point in trying to describe the type of music played by Scott H. Biram. I have given his new album, Nothing But Blood, at least 20-plus spins in preparation to write this review and I pick up on something different every time. The “Dirty Old One Man Band” as Scott is called could just as easily be labeled the “Dirty Old One Man Musical Library” ranging from punk to blues to country to metal to gospel and straight-up, dirty rock & roll.

The new album starts with a mellow, introspective country picker, “Slow & Easy,” with lyrics that could also be dropped in to fit a more raucous, rocking framework, or with a bit of steel guitar could convey that oozy, alt-country feel.

Listen to “Slow & Easy” Slow & Easy [Explicit]

This song takes me back to a certain summer when I was a teenager and my stepfather Garry and I spent two weeks high up in the San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado. Garry was a scrap metal guy and we got a job tearing down some old logging equipment left behind many years prior. Long days were spent cutting and tearing apart this old, rusty metal and at night we would drive up to camp above the timberline, where we would turn on the AM radio and pick up stations of all genres from as far away as Mississippi, Oklahoma and California and closer stations in Colorado. The station waves would roll in and out as the car radio scanned past each station.

Those old familiar songs from all over the dial made the nights more comfortable and the thoughts of home slip away and get lost in the thin, mountain air.

Listen to “Never Comin’ Home” Never Comin’ Home

Nothing But Blood is a definite trip throughout its 14 tracks (11 plus three bonus) and a listener might feel as if their iPod is on shuffle. It delivers The Good, The Bad and The Ugly of Biram and his music. I reckon Scott is like the majority of true music fans whose tastes and influences are wide and ever evolving. I appreciate his willingness to push his boundaries and deliver new and different styles and material. I also enjoy that Nothin’ But Blood can be just as chaotic and jarring as his live performances, but also just as moving and exciting.

Every good performer and musician learns from their predecessors and contemporaries. With Nothing But Blood, Biram takes those lessons and twists them into the hot, sweaty joyride only he can deliver.

Listen to “Church Point Girls” Church Point Girls

Scott H. Biram is currently on tour with Larry and His Flask and The Whiskey Shivers and will be performing on Saturday, March 8 at the Hawthorne Theatre in Portland. For more information, check out www.scottbiram.com and be sure to pick up his new album Nothing But Blood on Bloodshot Records.

— MIKE LEE
That Much Further West Podcast