Ball of Wax 49 Songs: The Ex-Optimists – “DeSoto Down”

Posted on August 15, 2017 by Bart Cameron

From College Station, Texas, The Ex-Optimists know how to plow into a power pop tune. Somehow I’d forgotten that the father of power pop, Buddy Holly, honed his craft in Texas. For this revved up rock tune, there’s a hint of Devo in the vocal delivery, and a dash of Ramones in the beat, and there’s a remarkable joy in language for language’s sake. Finally, a tip of the hat to production value. It’s worth noting that a song dedicated to the mechanical failure of Chrysler’s most ignominious auto line (which is saying something) packs a sonic power that Bob Ezrin would respect.

For a more sprawling exploration of the possibilities of noise, The Ex-Optimists have a formidable album on bandcamp. Every note this band plays seems fully earned and invested.

Posted in Ball of Wax, Check Out This Song | Tagged | Leave a comment

Ball of Wax 49 Songs: Chris Moore – “Relentless”

Posted on August 14, 2017 by Bart Cameron

“Relentless” feels a little like a working title for a song. And as this song by Chris Moore begins, with strummed guitar and a spare kick drum, there is the feeling of a demo. The opening images, that of being stuck in a current or a river, are a little loose. There is a lack of bite. That bite eventually comes. And the title is later effective. The song sticks in your brain.

For me, it’s not until the third verse, when we get the line “There’s been talk among neighbors. Neighbors and strangers. Saying they’re just going to ride it out. Ride it out.” That a mood is fully established. At that point effective, emotive electric guitar and piano have been added. The song is moving and conveys the psychological experience.

And what is the talk among neighbors today? It’s August 14, 2017, and for all the buffoonery that we used to discuss about the current president, the actual core of this hate-monger is starting to ignite. This is our president.

Knowing this, knowing our friends and family are in danger and by not reacting forcefully enough we may be complicit, the abstract but painfully accurate “Relentless” is a good song for today.

The words of one of the refrains of this song are “These days you gotta stay low. Can’t tell when it’s gonna blow. You just gotta stay low.” Again, as a psychological description, painful and accurate. We’re all afraid, and there’s good reason to be afraid. Of course, if we all stay low this will only get worse.

Posted in Ball of Wax, Check Out This Song | Tagged | Leave a comment

Ball of Wax 49 Songs: The Heligoats – “Little Gain”

Posted on August 14, 2017 by Levi Fuller

It starts quietly enough, crisp acoustic guitars strumming stereo left and right, then the vocals come in, plaintively wondering where the time went (tell me about it?). Two and a half minutes later, The Heligoats‘ “Little Gain” has gained quite a lot: cut time drums and bass relentlessly pushing; arpeggiated counterpoint in guitar stereo left and what sounds like a toy piano stereo right, building up, building up; then a child’s voice finally harmonizing as the singer, who sounds a fair amount like Eef Barzelay, agrees, “I know what you mean, I know how you’re feeling, I know what you feel, I know what you’re meaning.” But not before a cutting line, “so you made your point: below freezing.” Amazing. I love how this song has no chorus, just a series of exclamations and affirmations ’til it’s said enough. Perfection.

Posted in Ball of Wax, Check Out This Song | Tagged | Leave a comment

Ball of Wax 49 Songs: Strong Sun Moon – “Lovebird”

Posted on August 11, 2017 by Louis O'Callaghan

Mike Antone and Camelia Jade are mainstays of a Snoqualmie Valley folk scene loosely centered around the Black Dog Cafe. They’ve been writing and playing together for a long time, the last several years among other longtime collaborators in a 5-piece called Strong Sun Moon.

The recording of “Lovebird” feels like it was made live; it’s intimate, anchored by Antone’s acoustic guitar and tenor vocal and percussionist Samantha Hiatt’s haunting harmonies. Hand percussion and harmonica drive dynamics and respond between verses. The lyrics seem to find a connection between bird flight and human love, though the references to owls, eagles, ravens are presented with a mysticism – sacred, dreams, magic – that brings to mind a certain other Snoqualmie Valley-affiliated work of art that’s recently reentered the popular consciousness. I’m sure it’s just a coincidence.

Posted in Ball of Wax, Check Out This Song | Tagged | Leave a comment

Ball of Wax 49 Songs: Darryl Blood – “Dead Memories”

Posted on August 10, 2017 by Louis O'Callaghan

Smooth as molasses on a hot summer day (if you will), Darryl Blood‘s “Dead Memories” is laid back and perfect. It’s the sound of afternoon light through a dirty window falling on a shag carpet. It’s the soundtrack to your river tubing trip to Leavenworth. It’s both of those, and it’s also a slower kind of country shuffle, stereo left guitar arpeggiating to Blood’s Tweedy-esque vocal while a pedal steel sings counterpoint on the right. Crisp rim clicks and solid bass, backing a certain resignedness: “circumstance has come and gone, memories seem so useless.” The chorus asking, “if you love me let me know, if you don’t need me then let me go.” Passive. Resigned and passive, like that float on the river, and similarly pleasant.

Posted in Ball of Wax, Check Out This Song | Tagged | Leave a comment

Ball of Wax 49 Songs: Caroline Keys – “Dance Wax”

Posted on August 9, 2017 by Bart Cameron

Proper steel guitar from a Montana country artist sets the scene for this tasteful, gentle seduction without promise of tomorrow song. An understated but damned polished arrangement, Caroline Keys‘s “Dance Wax” feels rooted to a place, with honest small town imagery. “I saw you shaking out the salt, making it easier to walk,” says a lot. It’s good songwriting. Leading to the refrain command “Sway, just sway.” If you have time to listen to this a few times, it pays dividends. The composition and dynamics alone are a kind of masterclass in subtle country folk.

Posted in Ball of Wax, Check Out This Song | Tagged | Leave a comment

Ball of Wax 49 Songs: Who Is John Smith – “Chasing Frogs”

Posted on August 8, 2017 by Bart Cameron

The joy of limitations. Who Is John Smith‘s “Chasing Frogs,” featuring polyrhythms that might have been tapped out on an acoustic guitar [actually that’s Yaw Amponsah on hand drums and prempremsoa -ed.] against a set of pinched guitar chords, is mesmerizing. There is that unique joy when simple recordings layer together and find that organic mesh. This was a pleasant surprise, and a reminder of how much can be done with what is easily around us. This piece could possibly be composed in a studio apartment with nothing but a single microphone and an iphone, but the effect of the piece is equal to what accomplished five-piece bands pull off with Nords and drums and mallets.

Who Is John Smith – Yaw Amponsah, Greg Campbell, and James Whetzel – will bring this intimate sound to Conor Byrne for the Ball of Wax 49 release show on Saturday, August 19th.

Posted in Ball of Wax, Check Out This Song | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Ball of Wax 49 Songs: Peter Colclasure – “County K”

Posted on August 7, 2017 by Levi Fuller

When he’s not flying to Seattle to squeeze the accordion with the Foghorns* or writing clever/righteous/wistful pop songs or DJing on Santa Clara college radio or rocking the keys with San Jose band Cola*, Peter Colclasure is sitting down at his piano and composing beautiful music in the contemporary classical vein. He recently released Antigo, a whole album of this stuff, and it’s highly enjoyable listening, like the soundtrack to the movie you wish you were watching instead of whatever you finally settled on after an hour of desperately clicking through Netflix.

The world of newly-composed music that could broadly be called “classical” is large and overwhelming. It includes everything from atonal minimalism to cornball romanticism, and honestly it’s just not a very helpful term at all, but here we are, all these pianos and strings and a need to put things in categories. To get a bit more specific, the music on Antigo – especially “County K” – is somewhat reminiscent of the work of Yann Tiersen. (Whose name you might not know, but you know that one tune from Amelie, right? Of course you do.)  I do like the weird, discordant stuff, but this hits a sweet spot for me, emphasizing harmony and melody and counterpoint, but not to the point of being cloying or lacking in tension. Enjoy “County K,” and then go ahead and get the whole album already.


*The Foghorns and Cola happen to be playing with my own band next Wednesday at Conor Byrne. Just throwing that out there.

Posted in Ball of Wax, Check Out This Song | Tagged | 1 Comment

Ball of Wax 49 Songs: Steven Arntson – “Minor Yodel”

Posted on August 7, 2017 by Levi Fuller

Writer/musician Steven Arntson makes his Ball of Wax debut with the aptly titled “Minor Yodel,” a brief, tantalizing dollop of concertina and voice (Arnston is backed up by our pal Anne Mathews of the Lonely Coast) that leaves one wanting much more. Thankfully there is more on offer, as this is but one selection from Without Haste, Without Rest, a full-length album that should be out any moment. Keep refreshing stevenarntson.com for more info on the album and some kind of CD release event; I know I will be. In the meantime, just keep this on repeat and feel your state of mind improve with each spin.

Posted in Ball of Wax, Check Out This Song | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Ball of Wax 49 Songs: Michele Khazak – “A Song for the Willful”

Posted on August 4, 2017 by Louis O'Callaghan

If not for its one reference to texting on a cellphone (and a contemporary eff bomb) you might think this track from Michele Khazak was recorded many decades ago. With its minimalist piano over a gothic, soulful blues vocal and a sound like one mic in a bar after closing time and a sentiment to match, this song is, for me, quite evocative. The verses unroll slowly to reveal the singer struggling to recapture the feeling that gave meaning to . . . to what exactly? The desire to make music? To get up in the morning and face the day? You don’t quite know from the words but you do, of course – who wouldn’t? Later verses reveal loneliness, crisis of purpose, and regret at repeated mistakes, but also an acknowledgement of dignity and perseverance: “No it’s not like you’re not trying. You just gotta go and try it again.” Each verse then opens up minor to major into a repeated and hopeful chorus reminding herself and the rest of us, “but you’ve got to be willing,” which is oh so true, so true. Great song.

Michele will open up the Ball of Wax 49 release show with a rare solo set at the house piano. Don’t miss it!

Posted in Ball of Wax | Tagged | Leave a comment