SINGLES ONLY: Most
alternative genres only have a few good years. The success of an insular
subgenre can quickly turn free-spirited tunes into novelty tracks for tacky
compilations churned out a few years down the road. But in the case of the
variety of music often labeled “freak folk” or “the new
weird America,” the genre remains a bastion of originality. Ushered
in by notables Devendra Banhart, Joanna Newsom, and Espers, it’s characterized by dreamy, sweeping soundscapes or
off-kilter folk. The artists are forever tied to the underground. To
sterilize the music for mainstream consumption would leave listeners with
something sounding vaguely like the work of Joan Baez. Brightblack Morning Light released their self-titled debut on Matador Records on June
20. The duo of Nathan Shineywater and Rachael Hughes and a cast of
musicians channel the dynamics of ’60s music and throw out the
clichéd. Borrowing from soul, folk, and psych-rock, Brightblack
employs a Rhodes piano, the kind used by such soul masters as Ray Charles, and bypasses
flowery feel-good-ness. Brightblack pays homage to the era without sounding
outdated and tethered to it. From the group’s biography, Vinyl
Static learned two things about this emerging band: (1) The album was
written by Shineywater and Hughes while they were living in a tent in
Northern California. (2) The first single from the album, “Everybody
Daylight,” is a hypnotic escape, the airy vocals like a soft whisper
from a ghost and the earthy groove of the drums and bass grounding the
track in reality. The song furthers the freak-folk genre considerably,
gently pushing aside buzzwords such as “stoner rock.” The band
just isn’t that simple.
CD EXCHANGE: The lady India.Arie releases Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship, the follow-up to her Grammy-winning album Voyage to India, on Tuesday. During her four-year absence,
India’s done some growing, and she plans to impart a little wisdom
with singles such as “I Am Not My Hair” and
“India’s Song.” Pop in the disk and brew a cup of tea,
because it feels as if your best friend is back. India.Arie opens the first
weekend of St. Louis’ “Live on the Levee” series with a
July 15 show beneath the Gateway Arch that’s supposed to be followed
by fireworks — but something tells us that with India onstage,
they’ll be superfluous.
This article appears in Jun 22-28, 2006.
