Supercrow – Captain EP

Posted on May 28, 2013 by Colin J. Nelson

supercrowSupercrow – Captain EP
(2013, self-released)

Allow me to introduce to you Supercrow, a band fresh out of Portland, Oregon. I am about to dive into their new recording with you, but first, for you tl;dr types I should mention they are in town tonight, playing at the beautifully-restored Comet Tavern in the up-and-coming Capitol Hill neighborhood, not far from downtown Seattle.

Now then, Supercrow is a band founded by Christopher Benson (one of the growing roost of Seattle expats residing in Stumptown). Their forthcoming debut release, Captain EP, is due out June 28, but you can already listen along here  (and a little Portland bird told me you might be able to score a real copy at tonight’s show). Continue reading →

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Ball of Wax at Northwest Folklife Festival

Posted on May 9, 2013 by Levi Fuller

2013NorthwestFolklifeIt’s spring in Seattle, and time once again for the annual orgy of free music and culture known far and wide as Northwest Folklife Festival! Ball of Wax is very proud to continue our association with the fine folks at Folklife, presenting our third Ball of Wax showcase at this year’s festival. For this year’s showcase – Saturday, May 25th from 7 to 10 pm on the Vera Project stage – we bring you sets from our good friends Gems, The Great Um, Virgin of the Birds, and Sun Tunnels. It’s bound to be a good time, and did I mention it’s free? It’s free. See you there!

In addition to this slab of Ball of Waxiness, many more of our friends are playing throughout the Festival, and you should go see them all! Here’s what not to miss: Continue reading →

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Songs from Boston, for Boston

Posted on April 19, 2013 by Levi Fuller

I spent the first twenty-five years of my life in Boston. I don’t have a lot to add to the ocean of ink and pixels that have already been spilled on the subject of the craziness that’s been going on all this week (and is, I hope, ending as I type). But an old and dear friend of mine who still lives there started a Facebook thread of youtube links to songs by great artists of Boston origin, and it quickly escalated into a gargantuan outpouring of nostalgic obscurity. I figured this here blog was as good a place as any to repost some of this fantastic, all-too-little-known greatness from my hometown. May it be the soundtrack to a happy and safe weekend for all of us.

[One giant-ass pile of embedded video below the cut.]

Continue reading →

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New Records Coming from Corespondents and Gems!

Posted on April 3, 2013 by Levi Fuller

SoCRRII far this year has been a slow one for me, musically speaking; I haven’t really heard much that’s grabbed me and gotten me excited. Something tells me that’s all about to change, though, as two of my favorite groups of (mostly) instrumental noisemakers are poised to release new records – and I’d be shocked if they weren’t among the best of the year.

Corespondents got so into planning the release show for Land of the Low People that they couldn’t keep it all contained to one night. Next weekend, on April 12th and 13th, The Josephine will play host to a cavalcade of musical madness hosted by Sospunwespunwest, all in celebration of this anticipated new release. Continue reading →

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Submit to Ball of Wax 32!

Posted on March 25, 2013 by Levi Fuller

Yet again, with the release of a new volume of Ball of Wax comes a round of complete slackerdom on my part on this here blog. This one is really good and special, though. Why don’t you listen to it right now?

[bandcamp album=699353412 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=grande]

And while you’re doing that – or after you’re done – you should think about sending us some music for Volume 32, set for a late spring 2013 release. The deadline is April 15th. That’s plenty of time! Go check out our guidelines, and send me your sounds.

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Ball of Wax 31 Originals: The Music of Grayface – Averybrieftale

Posted on March 8, 2013 by Jon Rooney
[Ball of Wax 31, as previously announced, will feature 15 local songwriters and bands all covering each other’s songs. Between now and the release show on March 9th, I will share the originals with you to provide a little background, and perhaps a deeper appreciation of the CD and show. (Which is March 9th. Did I mention that? March 9th. Columbia City Theater.) We’re posting the cover versions on Bandcamp, where you can pre-order the CD now.]

The Music of Grayface could be the most enigmatic member of the larger Ball of Wax universe. First appearing on Ball of Wax Volume 5, the band (revolving around singer/songwriter Christopher Hydinger) has made just a smattering contributions in the subsequent years and volumes. The Music of Grayface has a small online presence and doesn’t seem to have a huge released body of work – their Soundcloud page has just 3 songs (including an ambient, barely recognizable cover of “Lean on Me”).  One of those 3 songs is “Averybrieftale,” which, like the rest of their songs that I’ve heard, is stark, often beautiful, occasionally unsettling and fiercely original. To force a crappy analogy, it sounds like Jeff Buckley fronting late-period Talk Talk (see, I told you it would be crappy). Robb Benson’s cover of “Averybrieftale” fills in the spaces with guitar, bass and drums, transforming the meditation into a sweeping jaunt.

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Ball of Wax 31 Originals: Slow Skate – Hourglass

Posted on March 7, 2013 by Jon Rooney
[Ball of Wax 31, as previously announced, will feature 15 local songwriters and bands all covering each other’s songs. Between now and the release show on March 9th, I will share the originals with you to provide a little background, and perhaps a deeper appreciation of the CD and show. (Which is March 9th. Did I mention that? March 9th. Columbia City Theater.) We’re posting the cover versions on Bandcamp, where you can pre-order the CD now.]

Slow Skate’s original version of “Hourglass” has a surprisingly icy and sinister opening for a band known for their intimate, organic arrangements. The claustrophobic drum machine and fuzzy synth bass evoke the soundtrack to one of Brian De Palma’s early 80’s films, uptight and on edge. As Caitlin Sherman’s film noir vocals and Jason Goessl’s vibrato guitar enters, the song gains more balance and warms up, but the undercurrent of dread remains. Reduced down to voice, reverb and delay, the version of “Hourglass” recorded by the Music of Grayface for Ball of Wax 31 could be the boldest interpretation in the collection. It’s terrifying and exhilarating; I can’t wait to see it live.

[bandcamp track=1126890192 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=grande]

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Ball of Wax 31 Originals: Norman Baker – Telegrams from Paradise

Posted on March 6, 2013 by Levi Fuller
[Ball of Wax 31, as previously announced, will feature 15 local songwriters and bands all covering each other’s songs. Between now and the release show on March 9th, I will share the originals with you to provide a little background, and perhaps a deeper appreciation of the CD and show. (Which is March 9th. Did I mention that? March 9th. Columbia City Theater.) We’re posting the cover versions on Bandcamp, where you can pre-order the CD now.]

If Norman Baker lets his playful side shine on his cover of “I Loved John” by Virgin of the Birds, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Caitlin Sherman selected a much more serious song of his to interpret. As I listen to Norman’s original now, having listened to Caitlin’s version more of late, it almost seems as though he wrote it for her to play. His simple acoustic/steel guitar/brushed drums arrangement, along with his baritone voice at the bottom of its range, translates perfectly to Caitlin’s solo piano and delightfully husky alto.

Norman Baker – Telegrams from Paradise

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Ball of Wax 31 Originals: Virgin of the Birds – I Loved John

Posted on March 5, 2013 by Levi Fuller
[Ball of Wax 31, as previously announced, will feature 15 local songwriters and bands all covering each other’s songs. Between now and the release show on March 9th, I will share the originals with you to provide a little background, and perhaps a deeper appreciation of the CD and show. (Which is March 9th. Did I mention that? March 9th. Columbia City Theater.) We’re posting the cover versions on Bandcamp, where you can pre-order the CD now.]

Norman Baker and Jon Rooney (Virgin of the Birds) have both appeared on more volumes of Ball of Wax over the years than I care to count. I’m thrilled they both agreed to be part of this experiment, and that Norman picked Jon as his coveree. “I Loved John,” in Rooney’s hands, is a low-fi loungey number, with subdued vocals and acoustic guitar, and sparse samba-ish percussion. You might think it’s probably about John Lennon, but it’s just vague enough to keep you guessing. Norman, on his version, goes full-bore on the lounge/samba feel (with a great little electro break toward the end) and doubles down on the Lennon references with a couple very nicely placed “Oh Yoko”s. I think it’s a wonderful interpretation/evolution of Jon’s original and I’m looking to seeing them both live this Saturday.

Virgin of the Birds – I Loved John

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Ball of Wax 31 Originals: Levi Fuller – This Murder Won’t Hurt You

Posted on March 4, 2013 by Jon Rooney
[Ball of Wax 31, as previously announced, will feature 15 local songwriters and bands all covering each other’s songs. Between now and the release show on March 9th, I will share the originals with you to provide a little background, and perhaps a deeper appreciation of the CD and show. (Which is March 9th. Did I mention that? March 9th. Columbia City Theater.) We’re posting the cover versions on Bandcamp, where you can pre-order the CD now.]

If you’re reading this, you probably know Levi Fuller and his music. Levi’s music is organic, largely acoustic and deeply rooted in all sorts of American folk styles. His songs range from quasi-poppy, like “The Mall of America” from 2009’s Colossal, to sparse and hypnotic, like “As the Crow Flies” from 2006’s This Murder is a Peaceful Gathering. Levi’s lyrics can be deeply personal and direct, often using the animal kingdom as a narrative starting point. This Murder is a Peaceful Gathering is a concept record about crows and the title track of Colossal is a foreboding cephalopod manifesto. With his distinctive finger-picked guitar and looping song structures, Levi has crafted a distinct and recognizable style.

“This Murder Won’t Hurt You,” from This Murder is a Peaceful Gathering, is emblematic of that style.  Augmented by some scatter shot percussion, the song features Levi’s distant warble and what sounds like a banjo vamping around an arpeggiated figure. It’s creepy and Pentecostal, suggesting both revelation and judgement. It seems very specific to Levi and his body of work, so I had little choice but take it in an entirely different direction when I covered it as Virgin of the Birds.  I substituted Levi’s sparse rural revivalism with Lateran artifice and bombast.  Since I’m not half the guitar player Levi is, I added chord changes and chugged them out on a slightly overdriven electric bathed in reverb.  There are synth strings, false heroic guitar solos and MIDI drums – I hope Levi’s cool with it.  Nevertheless, enjoy the original in its trance-like simplicity.

Levi Fuller – This Murder Won’t Hurt You

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