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Category Archives: Ball of Wax
Ball of Wax 50 Songs: Julia Massey – “Never in Extremity”
A fun fact about Emily Dickinson: you can sing pretty much all of her poems to the Gilligan’s Island theme song. Fortunately for us, Julia Massey did not chose to take that obvious route when setting Dickinson’s poem “‘Hope’ is … Continue reading
Ball of Wax 50 Songs: Moe Provencher – “The Light Is You”
I come back again and again to trying to proselytize the appeal of the plainspoken folk blues song. Among well-trained musicians, I feel there is rarely a full appreciation of the craft. Thankfully, Moe Provencher has made my argument for … Continue reading
Ball of Wax 50 Songs: Harbor Island – “Your Call”
The lovey mood continues (sort of) with “Your Call,” from Josh Schramm’s mellow, folky Harbor Island side project. While Harbor Island sometimes includes collaborations from the likes of Kevin Suggs, Nila K. Leigh, Kory Nagler, and Dave Bush, “Your Call” … Continue reading
Ball of Wax 50 Songs: Shenandoah Davis – “Supernatural Powers”
Leave it to me to pick the sweet, loving song on an album of breakup songs. Our old pal (last heard around these parts on Ball of Wax 31, covering Colin J Nelson and being covered by Emiko Blalock) Shenandoah … Continue reading
Ball of Wax 50 Songs: Faith Eliott – “Grouper”
Edinburgh-via-Minnesota songwriter and visual artist Faith Eliott contributes the stunning “Grouper” to Ball of Wax 50, a track recorded with Ball of Wax stalwarts Colin J Nelson and Paul Beaudry (the Foghorns, Caleb & Walter, my band Virgin of the … Continue reading
Ball of Wax 50 Songs: The Foghorns – “40 Watt Light”
The Foghorns are back (not that they ever really go away, bless ’em) with “40 Watt Light,” a tune whose warm, smoky swing belies the cold, bitter lyrical content. We seem to have here a portrait of a man trapped … Continue reading
Ball of Wax 50 Songs: The Laughing Group – “What Happens Stays”
A year after making their BoW debut as The Laughing Group, Seth Howard and co. return with “What Happens Stays,” a pretty little waltz number (replete with jazz chords, melodic Casio, and lush backing vocals) with subtle, evocative lyrics. I’m … Continue reading
Ball of Wax 50 Songs: Sun Tunnels – “I Guess Not”
Louis O’Callaghan (once the Graze, sometimes just Louis O’Callaghan, now Sun Tunnels) is one of Ball of Wax‘s oldest, dearest friends. He first popped up way back on Volume 2, and while he’s had some extended absences, he always finds … Continue reading
Ball of Wax 50 Songs: Visceral Candy – “Doot Doot”
Our pals Visceral Candy are back with more densely layered, thoughtfully constructed art-funk – this time in the form of an exasperated comment on the Current State of Affairs, this absurdist dystopia we somehow became trapped in about a year … Continue reading
Ball of Wax 50 Songs: Wiscon – “More Bones”
With four hand-claps on an 808, Wiscon gets Ball of Wax 50 off to a rollicking start with “More Bones,” probably the most delightful song about the blood feuds of paleontologists you’ve heard all year. For most of the song … Continue reading