Monthly Archives: August 2016

Ball of Wax 45 Songs: The Vardaman Ensemble/Baylies Band

The Vardaman Ensemble does exactly as the song title “Kill the Jam. Kill It Like Custard.” promises, setting up a pleasingly skronky groove that you wouldn’t mind rocking out to for several minutes and then callously exploding it with no … Continue reading

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Ball of Wax 45 Songs: Colin Ernst/Country Legend Dick Freckles

From Colin Ernst, “Just a Minute” is the hook of the collection—how does he squeeze so much sound into one minute, all leading to the refrain of “Hold on, wait just a minute” organized from the lead up 30 seconds—a … Continue reading

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Ball of Wax 45 Songs: Seth Howard/Rowan Calder Adair

[There are two songs on Vol. 45 titled “Can I Have My Bullet Back?” We’re happy to welcome guest writer Rowan Adair to the Blog of Wax to explain what’s going on.] One day I lost my Nerf bullet in … Continue reading

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Ball of Wax 45 Songs: Virgin of the Birds/Matthew Brown/Duodenum

Virgin of the Birds sings a pointed question in his “Condemned Stages Become Stellar,” with well-delivered words, consonants, timing, and delivery that make you ponder while listening to beautiful light doodles on the electric guitar floated above rhythmic strumming and … Continue reading

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Ball of Wax 45 Songs: gemmules / Julia Massey / Foghorns

gemmules‘ “Olympic” is the perfect last sixty-two seconds of a late ’80s alternative gem . . . without Bono’s singing over the top. Ball of Wax Volume 45 (One Minute Singles II) by gemmules Julia Massey‘s “To Us Too” shows … Continue reading

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Ball of Wax 45 Songs: GravelRoad/Harvey Girls/Darryl Blood

GravelRoad brings the sped-up scuzzy road rock with “Med Pass,” sounding like ’70s ZZ Top on bath salts. Ball of Wax Volume 45 (One Minute Singles II) by GravelRoad The Harvey Girls‘ “Butterfly2” is a haunted, back porch dirge, like … Continue reading

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Ball of Wax 45 Songs: Mike Votava/Orphan Train

Unless your first name is ‘Weird,’ funny songs can be tough to pull off, but – as Mike Votava demonstrates on “Pants Are Optional” – if you have a severely constrained time limit and a sweet keyboard hook, anything is … Continue reading

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Ball of Wax 45 Songs: Colin J Nelson/Frustration Club

BoW stalwart Colin J Nelson, realizing that the perfect thing to do with a 60-second song is to create a jingle, gives us this musically and lyrically adept “Treatment for Online Dating Promotional Content.” Ball of Wax Volume 45 (One … Continue reading

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Ball of Wax 45 Songs: Storm the Palace/Brite Lines/Emory Liu

Leave it to Storm the Palace to squeeze more technical skill into an opening piano chord than I will obtain in a lifetime; also note that vocalist Sophie Dodds, with whom, despite the fact the she’s a sophisticated Brit, I’ve … Continue reading

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Ball of Wax 45 Songs: Luminous Craft/The Vanities

Luminous Craft‘s Dominick Campbell (performing the BoW 45 release show September 2nd) opens the fragile “Don’t Fret, Charlotte” with a groovy Fender Rhodes riff, which he quickly abandons for fingerpicked acoustic guitar and an electric guitar gently strumming chords with … Continue reading

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