Album Review: "Haw" by Hiss Golden Messenger

Haw is released on April 2, 2013 on Paradise of
Bachelors

M.C. Taylor is a songwriter whose talents have flourished with each subsequent release under the moniker of Hiss Golden Messenger.  Taylor has been eloquently intertwining love, life and faith with a unique blend of roots driven country/folk for years now, but his 2011 release Poor Moon garnered heavy acclaim.  Poor Moon made waves in the North Carolina music scene, the unparalleled sense of honesty and individuality even led to attention from publications like Paste and Washington Post.

As Hiss Golden Messenger gains more attention, the defining characteristics of Taylor's music seems all the more clear.  Haw is named for the landmark Cape Fear tributary and reeks of Southern sentiments, it's filled with passion, devotion and rustic images that resonate not only with the native southern but with anyone that's ever battled with their inner-most thoughts or pondered upon days that were and days that might have been.

Haw opens with a rattling statement of self-identity, "Red Rose Nantahala" kicks off with Taylor's soulful croon begging to let him be the one he wants as he proceeds to do just that.  The bouncing country rhythms give way to powerful lyricism lined with forked-tongued detractors and a powerful plea to the lord for happiness.  M.C. Taylor's sense of character and purpose is powerful but most importantly it's a characteristic that defines this brilliant album.  Haw is a mystical blend of gospel, country and folk that makes for an instantly gratifying listen.  Each track feels like a vital piece of the puzzle, from the flooring emotion displayed in "Devotion" to the smooth-jazz stylings that can be found in "Cheerwine Easter," the listener is taken on an adventure through Taylor's ethos that feels as relatable as it is personal.

Shakori Hills announces spring lineup

Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival of Music
and Dance is on April 18-21, 2013

Twice a year festies from all over the area travel to their mecca, the four-day paradise in Pittsboro, NC known as Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival.  The spring and fall installments fall within the perfect timeframe, six months apart and right as the weather is finally settling in to a consistent temperature.  To be honest the lineup barely matters at this point for me, Shakori Hills is a guaranteed great time filled with old and new friends and fantastically diverse music.  This spring gives us much of the same, as Shakori Hills announced their lineup yesterday much to my excitement.  While Shakori always brings in a couple of unique headliners, this year's pull feels like a truly special event.  From April 18-21 festival goers will be enjoying the sounds of Keller Williams & The Traveling McCourys, Oliver Mtukudzi & The Black Spirits and countless local and international acts that will get your feet stompin' and your hands clapping.

Known for it's wide-spread diversity, this year's festival brings back some Grassroots favorites and welcomes some new members to the family as well.  Late night sets from acts like Noot d'Noot, Dirty Bourbon River Show and Equanimous Minds have given way to vivacious dance parties while local standouts like The Tender Fruit and Sarah Shook & The Devil provide intimate shows that showcase the connections that these artists are capable of making with their music.  Sitting on the floor of the Dance Tent or Cabaret Tent while listening to a stripped down set from your favorite local folk artist is a feeling that's absolutely incomparable.  Shakori offers the highest of highs and the lowest of lows, with wild sets from Diali Cissokho & Kaira Ba and The Beast (a special big band performance with trumpets, saxophones, trombones and more!) fitting in perfectly alongside the deep country acts and low-key folk artists that are found throughout the festival.

Hear Here: February 28 - March 7

Justin Lacy & The Swimming Machine

Last week was jam-packed with fantastic shows and this week showcases much of the same.  Sometimes within the Triangle we'll see a particular city jam-packed with shows while the rest are left to twiddle their thumbs or make the drive up I-40, but every now and then there's that one week where the entire area is filled with incredible performances.  You can welcome that particular conundrum this week.

With a raucous show from Spider Bags at Slim's kicking off the week and a sold out performance from Alt-J at Cat's Cradle, this week runs the gamut of musical genres.  Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill are getting equal amounts of lovin' from both touring acts and local favorites, so make your way out to a show this week!


Show of the Week: Onward, Soldiers w/ Wiley Hunter & The Cazadores and Justin Lacy & The Swimming Machine @ Kings Barcade on March 2

Thursday, February 28
Spider Bags w/ Flesh Wounds & DJ Suggadelic @ Slim's in Raleigh
$5

• Two of the areas finest punk acts are going to be packed into one of the Triangle's finest clubs for gritty, high-energy shows.  Needless to say this show is going to be incredible.  Spider Bags solidified their spot in 2012 as one of the local powerhouses, receiving high acclaim from national publications like Pitchfork, Shake My Head was release that boosted Spider Bags to the glory that they deserve.  I finally got to see their southern blend of punk rock at Double Barrel Benefit earlier this month and suddenly understood why this band has received the acclaim they have.  The energy was bouncing across the stage, much like the band, as they powered through an engaging set filled with sing-a-longs and wild antics.  Spider Bags' fans are a dedicated bunch, exerting just as much energy as the band when taking in their frenetic live performance.  Flesh Wounds couldn't be a better opener either, I got the chance to see them in a crowded Berkley Cafe at Hopscotch last year and saw much of the same that I did at Spider Bags, but with far more grit.  Flesh Wounds give fans exactly what they want, no frills balls-out punk rock with jaunting rhythms and fast-paced melodies.  Slim's is at its finest when it's packed in tightly and filled with the brash tunes that we'll see on display on Thursday.  A fantastic way to kick off this batch of shows.

Album Review: "Miracle Temple" by Mount Moriah

Miracle Temple is released on February 26, 2013
on Merge Records

Mount Moriah is a band that can connect with their listeners on a very rudimentary level.  Albums like Miracle Temple and the band's self-titled debut perfectly encapsulate life in the south.  Heather McEntire's vocals are dripping with emotion and packed tight with vivid imagery.  You're likely to be transported back to a blistering summer day in a college town with tracks like "Younger Days" or to a day filled with sporadic thunderstorms and dark clouds with the intensity found in the album's closer "The Telling Hour".

Mount Moriah are capable of exploring a vast array of emotions and textures within their albums, and their full-length debut on Merge Records does so in a way that Mount Moriah has never done before.  While Mount Moriah was filled with just enough sheen and substance to attract fans in droves, Miracle Temple shows the true depth of this talented act by displaying a refined and enriching piece of music.

Within the opening seconds of "Younger Days" we're greeted with a nostalgia-tinged line from McEntire that seems to glide over the crisp guitar-work from Jenks Miller, "You were always wild" croons Heather in a track that laments on the hopelessness that comes with being left behind.  "August is over, so when are you coming back?", it's a reprise found within "Younger Days" that feels so bright texturally, but upon further inspection proves itself to reek of abandonment.  Mount Moriah's music doesn't dwell on this sadness though, but rather embraces the full spectrum of our emotions.  A track like "Younger Days" serves as the perfect opener for Miracle Temple, it's bright and catchy and perfectly transitions into the bouncy, anthemic track "Bright Lights", but even then it's a song that contains multitudes.  Most of Mount Moriah's songs do.  There's the surface aesthetic that a listener can immediately appreciate, but there's also a veil to be peeled back that opens up a possibility to truly connect with this artist.  Miracle Temple is filled with big-town dreams from a small-town perspective, lyrics that are filled with a deep desire to clutch on to some sense of security.

Around The Triangle: Tame Impala, Virgins Family Band, Frontier Ruckus and Brand New Life

Photo by Agatha Donkar

2013 has proven to be a busy year for shows in the Triangle and it doesn't look like that tradition will be going anywhere soon.  While it's been some time since we've posted an Around The Triangle, this influx of incredible music can't go ignored!  So alas, Around The Triangle has returned once more with another stack of awesome photos from recent shows around the area.

Thanks to contributors Agatha Donkar and Emily Ritter, we've got some fantastic shots from the last few weeks of shows in the area including a sold-out Cat's Cradle show from Tame Impala, an incredible outing from Virgins Family Band for their album release, and a magical Valentine's Day performance from Frontier Ruckus.

Tame Impala w/ The Growl @ Cat's Cradle
February 21, 2013

Hear Here: February 21 - February 27

Baobab (Phil Torres & Whitney Trettien)

After a few weeks of Hear Here downtime due to that pestering obligation known as "school", it's back in full effect with an incredible week of shows.  From a sold out Tame Impala show at Cat's Cradle to a couple of highly anticipated local outins from personal favorites like Baobab and Naked Gods, there's a wide array of awesome live music for you North Carolina folks to check out.  Thankfully the shows are relatively spread out throughout the week as well, so for once there's little worry about missing one show for another or attempting to breaking the laws of time and space and being in two places at once.  Diversity and excitement is abound in the Triangle this week, so let's get to some shows!

Show of the Week: Baobab w/ Virgins Family Band @ Local 506 in Chapel Hill, NC on Friday, February 22

Album Review: "Desert" by The Dead Tongues

The Dead Tongues released Desert on February 9
at The Cat's Cradle

Ryan Gustafson is a songwriter that I'd only heard of for years, but until Hopscotch 2012 I had never actively listened Gustafson.  Big mistake.  While I'm glad I made sure my first experience with the talented songwriter was a live show, I wish I'd hopped on the train earlier.  After releasing Donkey in 2009, Gustafson hopped around from notable projects like Max Indian, The Light Pines, and Mandolin Orange all the while working on instrumental tracks of his own under the moniker The Daughter Is Ambiguous.  However, 2013 marks the return of Gustafson's solo work, and this new Dead Tongues release is something truly special.  It's clear that Gustafson's break in songwriting allowed him to develop a sense of purpose within his songs, everything feels as raw and personal as it did on Donkey, but it feels far more dynamic than Gustafson's previous release.

Each track has a defining voice, driving the album down a road that contains many exciting peaks and curves, but ultimately arrives at the same comforting sense of sincerity that drew the listener in to begin with.  Ranging from alt-country anthems to expansive six minute tracks like "Milestone" that careen effortlessly through a wide-open musical pallet, Desert is a unique album that can truly connect with listeners through powerful lyrics and gorgeous instrumentation.

Gustafson's lyricism is something that can't be emphasized enough, while each song remains entirely enjoyable musically, the textures and feelings that are brought out through Gustafson's raw approach to songwriting is what makes The Dead Tongues the powerhouse they are.  Tracks like "Depression" boast a bouncy yet rustic approach both melodically and musically, but from the opening lines it's clear that this song contains much more than a catchy hook.  "I get in depression/Like you get into cars driving you home/Like she got into cutting/And I got into drinking on my own".  One of the joys of this album is that each song contains these lyrical gems, these moments where you feel like a veil has been lifted between you and the musicians and you can truly connect with their music.  Tracks like "The Desert" and "No Intentions" feel like sincere statements that can evoke the memories of a particular place or time, sonically they contain memorable melodies and lyrically they draw upon feelings of self reflection and aimlessness that many can immediately connect with.