How many Smiths are there in any given phonebook? Twenty? Eighty? Infinity? Eighty-one?
Let’s just agree that there’s a lot. According to the most recent census, “Smith” is the most common surname in the United States, tagged to 2.5 million Americans. That’s one whole friggin’ percent of the damn population. To be a true individual, one can not be a Smith. It’s a law. Look it up.
If one were, say, a Messersmith, however, we’re staring down the throat of an entirely different beast. The throat of this particular beast, Mr. Jeremy Messersmith, is one of golden vocal cords, and it’s been providing fans (even the regular Smiths) with complex, sweet, throwback pop for almost half a decade now. And he’s just getting started.
His 2010 release, “The Reluctant Graveyard,” is full of haunting yet soothing tracks like “Organ Donor,” and “Toussaint Gray,” but my favorite of the batch is “Violet!” which sounds like it should’ve been on the Forrest Gump soundtrack. It would be right at home in the late 1960s, but it’s also right at home here in the 21st Century, so I’m not sure how to classify it. If you like the Shins, you’d like Messersmith. Same kind of vibe.
It also just occurred to me that some of our readers are undeniably cursed with the last name of “Smith,” and that some of the things I said in the intro may have been offensive. I’m sorry your last name is more ubiquitous than Betty White. Maybe if you added a little Messer to your Smith you’d feel better. It worked for our boy Jeremy, didn’t it? And now he’s making great music and getting featured on FreshScouts.
Maybe it could work for you too. Just maybe…
Check out “Violet!” here:
And make sure you grab “The Reluctant Graveyard,” too!
Today’s music scene is saturated with auto-tune, lyrics with no meaning and airbrushed photo shoots. Andrew Dykers has been placed on this planet to save our ears. Dykers embodies fresh music. His lyrics come from the heart, not a thesaurus. Prepare to feel his music and let it wash over you. Yeah, it’s that good.
Andrew never signed with a major label. He hasn’t had his songs featured in CW television shows. You most likely have never even heard of him. Yet, he has toured all over the United States playing venues large and small. He has shared the stage with music industry heavyweights. Mainstream music would make us question his success as an artist. For me Dykers’ album Zoot is one of my personal top ten favorite albums.
Andrew Dykers
For me this album was less about mainstream popularity and more about meaning. Listening to Zoot always reminds me of the fall. While listening to the tracks this morning I can almost smell the leaves on the ground. Well, it helped that there are leaves on the ground. More importantly though is the fact that I got a chance to see Dykers perform live nine years ago right in the middle of the fall season.
And that is why Zoot is so amazing to me. One listen transports me. Dykers’ music is so real and so raw that it dares you not to be taken in. It was always clear to me that when on stage he became his music. He channeled the emotion of soulful performers that have come before him. Every movement and every word is intended to provoke an emotional response.
My reactions to this album are why I love music so much. Maybe you won’t have the same response from Andrew Dykers. And that is ok. To each their own, right? I would be shocked though if at least one track didn’t speak to you. I dare you to listen. I double-dog-dare you.
I would highly recommend that you give “Saturday”, “Do What You Gotta Do” and “In Spite Of You” a listen. Oh, and don’t forget my personal favorite “Shine”. The video below showcases Dykers on this track when he recently stepped back into the studio after a temporary vacation from performing.
Buy the album
If you’re anything like me, the first time you heard the name Colin Hay you were probably a little bit confused. How can this guy be a “throwback” when I don’t even remember him to begin with? Bear with me. Colin Hay is from a little group called Men At Work made popular by 80s pop culture. They are popular for the song “Down Under” and are from, you guessed it, Australia.
Colin Hay
But beyond the novelty of their popular single, Colin Hay has produced songs beyond his time with Men At Work that are powerful and catchy. I first came across his solo work through the show Scrubs. There is one episode that utilizes the song “Overkill” for a particularly emotional scene in an episode for an earlier season. I immediately fell in love with the song and had to find out who it was. Imagine my surprise when I googled it to come up with the lead singer for Men At Work. I thought to myself, “This isn’t right. I have to dig deeper.” So using my extreme computer hacking skills, I checked an underground website known for digging up this kind of information (Wikipedia) and confirmed that it was in fact the Aussie from the 80s pop band.
Upon further exploration I came across Hay’s album Man At Work which contained the song “Overkill” as well as some retakes on the popular single “Down Under”. The entire album is very pleasant, but what really sticks out for Hay are his simplistic “guy and guitar” tracks. In my opinion, he’s best when it is just the melody and the lyrics. With songs like “Waiting For My Real Life To Begin” and “I Just Don’t Think I’ll Ever Get Over You” (made popular by the movie Garden State) Colin Hay has a real knack for simple, powerful acoustic tracks.
Check out his appearance on Scrubs:
Buy Man At Work:
So we here at FreshScouts have been following Jack Johnson for almost 10 years now. We first heard some of his debut releases even before they were debut releases. During the Napster craze, we came across a recording of “Flake” almost a year before its commercial radio success. How did we know it was going to be so popular? Because we’re awesome. That’s why.
His latest release (6th album release to be exact) is back to the same old Jack Johnson we first fell in love with. He’s followed a long and winding road since the release of Brushfire Fairytales in 2001. Since then he’s recorded two signature style albums, one children’s album and one album that definitely showed the darker, emotional side of his music. It’s hard not to love a Jack Johnson album and this one’s vintage flavor (at least vintage to 2001) is just in time for summer. He tends to bring a little Hawaii to wherever you are listening to him which is always a good weapon to have to fight the rainy day blues.
If you want to get in on the action, check out one of his summer tour dates and grab your tickets early. His shows generally tend to sell out and they promise to be the perfect thing to make your summer an awesome one. I still remember my entire summer with Brushfire Fairytales. I probably listened to it 1,000 times. Or at least 20 times. That’s still a lot.
Check out the video for the single “You and Your Heart”:
Buy the album:
When it comes to Christian music you can pretty much go one of two ways. The first conjures up images of fans totally dominated by the power of the Holy Spirit, raising their hands as if they can’t control them and signing along to tunes with titles like “Awesome God.” Tears are streaking down their faces and you find yourself just waiting for someone to start speaking in tongues.
We at Fresh Scouts are happy for those people who can get so into their sacred songs, and we respect their ability to get so emotionally attached to music, but it’s all just a little too cheesy for us. Honestly, we prefer the other type of Christian music—the kind that tricks you into loving it long before you realize it’s about God.
Bands like Needtobreathe are really good at this. They write fantastic music that just so happens to be about Jesus—not really intense prayers that just so happen to be music. I first heard their song, “Washed by the Water,” on XM Radio while driving a rental car in Massachusetts, and I loved it to so much I took a picture of the tuner with my cell phone so I wouldn’t forget the title.
When I got home I pulled down the MP3 immediately and listened to it over and over again. I even found this YouTube video that made it even more amazing, because lead singer Bear Rinehart is a voice best experienced live. Dude can sing, for realzies. All kinds of oomph and feeling behind those vocals.
So I dug deeper and found that they had a relatively new album out with another soulful single, “Something Beautiful,” that I grew to love almost as much as “Washed by the Water,” and from there I just immersed myself in the group’s catalog and found that pretty much everything they’ve ever written is gorgeous, acoustic, meaningful music. The fact that it’s got some serious religious undertones doesn’t bother me one bit, the way some overtly Christian music does sometimes.
Look, there’s nothing wrong with Christian music, despite the fact that there are so many people who won’t give it a chance once they see the crucifix on the CD cover. But Needtobreathe is genuinely good stuff. Bands like Creed and Evanescence hit the mainstream despite religious subjects in their songs, so there’s no reason Needtobreathe shouldn’t get the chance, too. They’re just as credible as those other bands, and quite possible even better.
Can I get an Amen?
Check out Needtobreathe’s 2009 Album, “The Outsiders,” here:
