Slipped Discs
Discs You May Have Missed
by John Noyd
Wilders - Someone’s Got to Pay
WildersSomeone’s Got to Pay
Label: Free Dirt
From hoedowns to honky-tonks, the Wilders’ commando jams swing through toe-tapping tempests and last call melancholy. Somber, fuel-injected traditions and snazzy, twang-filled philosophy highlight “Pay” with big returns on the listener’s investment as real-life murder ballads meet slammin’ solos of fiddle and dobro. The Wilders hit Madison’s High Noon April 16th.
• The Wilders WebsiteHoots And Hellmouth - The Holy Open Secret
Hoots And HellmouthThe Holy Open Secret
Label: Mad Dragon Records
Delivering rollicking honky-tonk, twisted mountain music jive and sweetly impassioned ballads, Hoots’ tight, bluegrass flashes and funky country-gospel revivalism weave traditional pickin’ through omnipresent social issues to produce relevant, toe-tapping Americana. “Holy,” rolls foot stompin’ razzamatazz around ironclad narratives shouting out injustices, suspended by suspicions and slathered in talented fretwork.
• Hoots And Hellmouth WebsiteCurtis Harvey - Box of Stones
Curtis HarveyBox of Stones
Label: Fat Cat Records
Gently genuine, the congenial, nimble-fingered troubadour whose multi-instrumental skills also include a talent for understated lyrics parlays a childhood affection for bluegrass to fuel his long-awaited solo debut with rich, melodic charms. “Box,” crafts tightly-woven tomes offering immediate relief, imposing subtly constructed rocking chair thoughts to crisp, swinging, altogether calming, fireside desires.
• Curtis Harvey WebsiteMittens On Strings - Let’s Go To Baba’s
Mittens On StringsLet’s Go To Baba’s
Label: Soungs Records
A veritable garden of quirky curiosities, existential wit and literate kismet, “Baba’s,” boasts both gray, no wave guitar psychedelia harvesting lofty, alt-Goth waltzes and banjo, cello and mandolin spiking pastoral, prog-rock rodeos. MoS’s smirking, earnest grandeur merges into democratic genre-jumping offering sentimental laments and mocking double-talk, deadpan stanzas and granola-soaked anecdotes.
• Mittens On Strings WebsiteDave Rawlings Machine - A Friend of a Friend
Dave Rawlings MachineA Friend of a Friend
Label: Acony Records
Assembling a crackerjack team including long-time collaborator Gillian Welch, revivalist and raconteur Rawlings picks and fiddles contemporary Dust Bowl bluegrass. Toe-tapping happiness grazing cautionary tales, “Friend,” renders and remembers faith-based fables and gospel-flavored shotgun swan songs. Train yard bards shooting the breeze, DRM play Madison’s High Noon Saloon Dec 7th.
• Dave Rawlings Machine Website • Dave Rawlings Machine WikiSoutheast Engine - Canary
Southeast EngineCanary
Label: Misra
Penitent and persevering, rowdy and reverent, SEE’s gurgling Wurlitzers and Delta-bound brass rile rustic ruckus for relapsed travails, electrified revivalists fronting frontier racketeers, recasting tragic burdens into grizzled, gratifying honky-tonk. A ragged tabernacle, “Canary,” canvasses unflappable affirmations etched in mournful cornfields, barnyard brimstone and boardwalk morality; rousing rust belt ballads conjuring coal mines and cold spells, bad luck and love-sickness.
• Southeast Engine Website • Southeast Engine Facebook • Southeast Engine WikiAlison Krauss and Union Station - Paper Airplane
Alison Krauss and Union StationPaper Airplane
Label: Rounder
Slow country waltzes court tranquil restraint bathed in tender nuance and worldly-wise meandering. Alison and her classy, Grammy-winning mavericks, Union Station reunite to unravel talented toe-tapping tapestries tastefully tethered and graciously plaited like sunshine on crystal streams. Soothing and lucid, “Paper,” embraces lean times and troubled souls combating the sadness with rich, picturesque refrains, welcoming harmonies and unrepentantly sentimental renderings.
• Alison Krauss and Union Station Website • Alison Krauss and Union Station Facebook • Alison Krauss and Union Station WikiGillian Welch - The Harrow and the Harvest
Gillian WelchThe Harrow and the Harvest
Label: Acony Records
Despair transported through compassionate salvation, Gillian‘s crisp blues-baked biscuits feed the soul while easing tired bones and weary hearts. Resonant and refined, “Harrow,” embellishes wisely, speaking volumes in rich bluegrass tapestries overlaid in subtle Celtic runs and casual country-jazz licks. Impeccable Dustbowl Americana lovingly embraced, “Harvest,” trims tradition, updating with sharp, unvarnished vision. Gillian plays Madison’s Capitol Theater July 21st.
• Gillian Welch Website • Gillian Welch Facebook • Gillian Welch WikiBrown Bird - Salt for Salt
Brown BirdSalt for Salt
Label: Supply & Demand
Somber and sensual, brisk gypsy jigs saw bluesy two-steps and woodsy rocking-chair tattletales conjuring back-porch baptisms from sawdust dance-floors. The East Coast duo’s raspy pluck, rosin-heavy flights and twisted tempos season blackwater stomps. Boosted by devilish bravado, “Salt,” bows and curtsey, bone-thin and thirsty, packing galloping insights into gossip-bound ghost stories, wily waltzes where goblin gauchos prance, scamper and canter.
• Brown Bird Website • Brown Bird FacebookNanci Griffith - Intersection
Nanci GriffithIntersection
Label: Thirty Tigers
Uncovering long-forgotten gems and producing rousing originals, feisty folk-singer, troubadour humanist and starry-eyed archivist Griffith reflects pro-actively, learning from spurned lovers and turning everyday adversity into affirming portrayals of grass-roots salvation. Respect and regret mingle in sing-along story-songs strong in sympathy, social conscience and down-trodden decency, “Intersection,” questions countless doubts and nurtures worthy mercies, touching lives and trusting in people.
• Nanci Griffith Website • Nanci Griffith Facebook • Nanci Griffith WikiThe Deadly Gentlemen - Roll Me, Tumble Me
The Deadly GentlemenRoll Me, Tumble Me
Label: Rounder
Vibrant and resourceful, TDG’s traditional blue-grass line-up revel in elaborate narratives, scene-stealing playfulness and folk-rock leanings, the wistfully twisted Boston quintet’s runaway-train changes pit brisk riffs against unstoppable chops as each member’s voice gathers steam unleashing serene harmonies. Peppered in tasty jam-band grand-slamming, “Roll,” coasts in casual one-upmanship; quietly providing a spidery drive to dive-bombing romps double-dipped in top-tapping happiness.
• The Deadly Gentlemen Website • The Deadly Gentlemen FacebookRun Boy Run - Something to Someone
Run Boy RunSomething to Someone
Label: Sky Island Records
A jaw-dropping combination of Gaelic bluegrass and mountaintop chamber-folk the Arizona quintet’s fiddles, mandolins, cello, bass and guitars borrow from history-rich traditions to foster a scholarly hodgepodge underwritten in moonshine and molasses. Led by strong female harmonies and nimble pickin’, “Something,” skips past rootsy troubadours to branch into torch-song confidants sauntering in enchanting shanties, worldly-wise Americana and twinkling Texas swing.
• Run Boy Run Website • Run Boy Run Facebook • Run Boy Run Wiki