Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Popa Tunes Top 50 Picks Of 2013 Part Two of Five

40. Fruition - Just One of Them Nights

‘Just One Of Those Nights’ Fruition push the boundaries of old-time folk and bluegrass which makes them hard to pigeon hole, the album kicks off with the sing-along ‘Git Along’. The laid back ‘Whippoorwill’ features Mimi’s beautiful vocals that drew the band together in the first place. ‘Boil Over’ with bluesy vocals and fast pace with rockish strings is just one song that shows off their instrumental work while ‘Come On, Get In’ highlights their sweet three-part harmonies. The album closes with ‘Portland Bound’ a joyous romp about heading home and Mimi’s longing heartfelt vocals on the sentimental ‘Gotta Get Back Home’
It’s an outstanding album that shows why this band has such a dedicated fan base and are on the accession on a national level.

Tracklist:
1. Git Along
2. Whippoorwill
3. Blue Light
4. Mountain Annie
5. The Wanter
6. Broken Hearted
7. Come On, Get In
8. Just One of Them Nights
9. Boil Over
10. Portland Bound
11. Gotta Get Back Home

39. Elephant Stone - Self-Titled
There is so much grooviness coming from this East meets West psych band I think George Harrsion is smiling ear to ear. Expansive, daring and absolutely essential listening!
Montreal’s Elephant Stone was formed in 2009 by sitarist/bassist Rishi Dhir. As one of the most highly sought out sitar players in the psychedelic music scene, he has recorded and toured with the Black Angels, Brian Jonestown Massacre, the Horrors, the Soundtrack of Our Lives, and many more.

38. The White Kites - Missing
All aboard leave your cares on the dock, The White Kites new album ‘Missing’ is a Carnivale tour of trippy excursions, awash with musically painted imagery and storytelling. ‘Sailing the seas going where the wind will take me’ with serendipitous psychedelic scenery out every port hole.

Tracklist:
1. Arrival
2. The Foreigner
3. Stowaway Sylvie
4. Percival Buck
5. Beyond The Furthest Star
6. Should You Wait For Me
7. Turtle's Back
8. When Will May Return?
9. Clown King
10. Pause For Thought
11. The Missing
12. Farewell

37. Escondido - The Ghost of Escondido
Nashville's Escondido debut album 'The Ghost of Escondido' was recorded live in a single day, the 10-song album was released Feb 26, 2013 on Kill Canyon. Frequent readers of this blog know how much I dig bands that incorporate an Ennio Morricone flavor into their music and with a nod like this from David Lynch I pay attention.
At times lyrically dark with life lessons learned and loves lost, Jessica’s gorgeous vocals mixed with arousing melodies and layered instrumentation create an atmospheric ten song saga.

Track List:
1. Evil Girls
2. Bad Without You
3. Cold October
4. Rodeo Queen
5. Willow Tree
6. Special Enough
7. Don't Love Me Too Much
8. Keep Walkin'
9. Black Roses
10. Chase The Moon

36. Helldorado - Bones In The Closet
From Stavanger, Norway, Helldorado consists of Morten Jackman (Drums) Dag Vagle (Guitar & vocals) and Hans Wassik (bass).
These three musicians like the world of Sergio Leone, Robert Rodriguez and David Lynch and you can feel in their music.  Helldorado presents cinematic music inspired by Morricone and Tarrantino, epic and dramatic murder ballads, Americana, and Rock Noir with a flare for B-movies ala Faster Pussycat, Kill, Kill! Horn sections are added like habanero peppers to an open wound. Under the open sky, and across hot desert landscapes, the faithless characters of Helldorado’s world burn holes in our souls.
They draw on a strong tradition of combining blues, country, rock and hardboiled crime. Murder, prison, crime, confession, remorse and punishment runs like a dark stream from the music of Johnny Cash, Tom Waits, Bob Dylan, Nick Cave and Stan Ridgeway among others. Helldorado brings this tradition into the new century by giving you the music, colours, smells and atmosphere usually connected with the image of southern USA and Mexico.
Track List:
2. Misery And Woe
3. Dead World
4. John McMiller
6. Times Of Trials
8. Two Headed Horseman
9. '69 Camaro
10. Lost Highway Motel
11. Johnny's Song
12. Sixty Seconds To What? 


35.The Bailey Hounds - All the Blood in the World
Following up the band’s 2011 stellar debut ‘Along the Gallows’ The Bailey Hounds second album ‘All the Blood in the World’ expands on their macabre cemetery blues and gothic Americana themes touched on in that album. Ryan’s harmonious raspy vocals set a dark sagacious fireside storyteller mood, while
Vince’s superb guitar work, with Chris and Gary hitting heavy on bass and drums turn these six ballads into outright blues rockers.

Track List:
1. Late Demon Rum
2. Ghosts of Sun Valley
3. Hell Ain't Forever
4. Cocytus
5. Dead & Gone
6. Book of Pagan Rituals





34. Funky Jenn –Rock and Roll Voodoo Queen
Jennifer Gibbons née Funkyjenn’s music is a pure Rock n Soul time warp plucked from the past and planted in the present, with spell bounding powerful vocals and hard rockin’ veterans “Rock And Roll Voodoo Queen” boogies, bops, thrills and gets down and dirty with six all out petal to the metal rockers.

Track List:
1. Shoulda Been My Lover
2. Boom Boom
3. Butterflies Bleed
4. Nashville, TN
5. Outta Sight Outta Mind
6. Rock And Roll Voodoo Queen




33. Morning River Band - To Suzie
While known for great songs of booze and blues, there is a glimpse of insight and depth of character on this album that show potential for a leap of growth from the band.  Two songs stripped naked and vulnerable, the instrumental opening Suzie’s Theme and the gospel cappella track ‘Bury Me’ along with ‘Lefty’s Last Stand’ and ‘A Broken Hearted Man’ hint at the underlying seriousness the lads take to their craft. On ‘Hangover Blues’ guest vocalist Morgan Caulfield adds her twangy honky tonk Mae West meets Loretta Lynn attitude singing, “I wonder if the savior ever drank too much of that wine / I'm sure he would if he were broke like me and cryin' all the time.” And of course there are the two signature ode’s to the spirits ‘Drinking Blues, No. 4 (Pills & Pabst Blue Ribbon)’ and Drinking Blues, No. 5 (Drinking Every Day)
The closer ‘So Long, Suzie (The Damage Is Done)’ sounds like something that could have been on the The Bands Basement Tapes.
Tracklist:
1. Suzie's Theme
2. Lefty's Last Blues
3. A Broken-Hearted Man
4. Drinking Blues, No. 4 (Pills & Pabst Blue Ribbon)
5. Bury Me (Vocal)
6. Drinking Blues, No. 5 (Drinking Every Day)
7. Hangover Blues
8. Requiem for Suzie
9. So Long, Suzie (The Damage Is Done)



32. The Tillers – Hand on the Plow
The Tillers don’t just sing and play their homegrown brand of joyful, driving old-time – they holler, stomp, swagger, and swing, fearlessly throwing themselves into the music and winding up in the hearts of their audiences.  The trio hails from Cincinnati, just across the Ohio River from the hills of Kentucky and at the northwestern edge of Appalachian coal country, where much of the band’s traditional style comes from.

31. James Crawford - Self-Titled Debut

What category does the music of Nashville’s James Crawford most closely fit? First and foremost he is an amazingly talented guitarist singer/songwriter with a slight touch of raspiness in his cool as an ice cube with sunglasses voice. James self-titled debut album intertwines the blues with a bit of country, folk, western swing and Dixieland in a distinctly original sound.
Track List:
1. Go Home Daddy (You're Drunk)
2. Too Scared To Run Away
3. Requiem For The Disconsolate
4. All The While
5. Thin Edge Of A Knife
6. My Guitar
7. Headed For The Promised Land
8. Tremble Town
9. It's All OK
10. May The Road Rise To Meet Your Face


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