There’s an ancient Greek myth about a dude named Orpheus who lost his wife Eurydice to the underworld due to a series of very nasty poisonous snake bites, on their wedding day of all times. The story could end there and still suck, but it gets worse.
Orpheus travels to the underworld and so moves Hades with his beautiful, mournful songs, that he agrees to release both he and his bride-to-be back into the upper world with one, admittedly odd, condition: Orpheus must lead the way, Eurydice must follow silently behind, and Orpheus can never look back at her until both have reached the upper world.
The moment he set foot back on solid earth, he turned to gaze upon the face of his beloved, forgetting that they both had to be in the upper world before he could look back. Eurydice, of course, got sucked back down to hell and Orpheus never would see her again.
Your asking yourself what this story has to do with popular music, and it’s a valid question. The answer is simpler than you think, and her name is Anais Mitchell. An Ani DiFranco product, Mitchell is a soulful, talented songwriter who in March of 2010 finally released a recording of “Hadestown,” her folk opera based on the story of Orpheus and Eurydice.
The term “folk opera” sounds like it’d be the lamest genre of music in the history of life, but the score to “Hadestown” is so diverse and emotional and—dare I say—blessed with the hard-to-achieve virtue of relistenability, that it’s anything but boring. Featuring such talented musicians such as DiFranco, Bon Iver, and a folk artist named Greg Brown that’s got one of the most guttural, affecting voices in the genre.
My personal favorites are “Way Down Hadestown,” “How Long?” and “Hey, Little Songbird,” but there are a ton of tracks on this record that could be stand-alone successes. A few are a little experimental, but there’s a reason this Anais Mitchell album (and the live show it’s based off of) has been so critically acclaimed. It’s smart, moving music, but with a story like this one, how could it not be?
It’s a musical experience you won’t regret you had. You won’t look back. In fact, you’re forbidden to. Just like Orpheus.
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I’ve been in sort of a chill mood recently. Whether it’s the coming of summer or just the fact that I am progressively getting lazier, I’ve found myself in more of a “hang out” mood rather than a “go out” mood. That’s not to say I’ve lost my sense of fun and excitement. When I put my mind to it, I party harder than Teen Wolf in his prime. But when I’m ready to relax I need the right music to fit my mood. As I was looking for something to be the staple for my relaxing, I came across an artist that we featured in our Weekly Jukebox a few months back. His cover of Kanye West’s “Heartless” is one of the best hip-hop to singer-songwriter covers I’ve heard. I guess William Fitzsimmons is a little bit gangster.
This now Illinois-based, then Pennsylvania-based singer-songwriter is an extremely powerful and heartfelt musician. His style is comparatively close to that of Sufjan Stevens, but a little milder in tone and melody. William Fitzsimmon’s story is most likely different than most as both of his parents were blind and recreational musicians. They taught him to appreciate a number of different artists including James Taylor, Bob Dylan and Simon & Garfunkel. Something must have stuck, because his most recent release, The Sparrow and the Crow, reached #1 on the iTunes folk charts and #56 on the iTunes top albums charts. Not too shabby.
You’ll find a slew of instruments on his album including guitar, piano, banjo, mandolin and ukulele. I guess you could say he is his own family band. He also performs with one other thing on stage: his beard. This massive piece of facial hair inches closer to Grizzly Adams status than that of mere recreation. It’s a signature of his that you will learn to love. I’ve learned to love it so much that I’m currently attempting to grow my own. Progress is slow.
Check out the video for “If You Would Come Back Home”:
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Like William Fitzsimmons? Check out The Low Anthem!
Court Yard Hounds – “Ain’t No Son”
I wasn’t quite sure how I would feel listening to 2/3 of the Dixie Chicks. I mean, I am in love with Natalie Maines’ voice and without it I wasn’t sure how it would go. But then I reminded myself that Martie Maguire and Emily Robison were the ones that created the Chicks and they both are incredibly musically talented. Thankfully the sisters deliver with good old rockin’ country. “Ain’t No Son” is a hard driving track that will get you thumping your foot along to the beat. I am still waiting patiently for the Dixie Chicks to release a new record, but in the meantime the Court Yard Hounds satisfy my need for some good country twang.
Check out the Court Yard Hounds performing on The Late Show with David Letterman
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Josh Ritter – “Change of Time”
I really enjoy Josh Ritter. He has established himself as a singer-songwriter that other singer-songwriters look to for direction. His songwriting skill is advanced and his delivery is crystal clear. With his new album, So Runs the World Away, the 33 year-old Ritter serves up another solid track with “Change of Time”. The instrumentation beautifully sweeps across the track and the lyrics are like leaves caught in that breeze. Yeah, I’m deep.
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Gin Wigmore – “Oh My”
Oh my, I enjoy this song. Here are the reasons: 1) Gin Wigmore is a great name. It sounds like it came together in a game of Madlibs or something along those lines. Great name. 2) She is adding herself to the great list of New Zealand exports along with Flight of the Conchords and the Lord of the Rings. 3) Her bad girl image combined with her raspy tone gives me an Amy Winehouse vibe without all of the rehab and baggage.
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I’ve often found that, regardless of how hard I try to resist, I have a soft spot for women with great voices. However, if my love were only gauged by how great a woman’s voice was, I would have been married approximately 43 times. Brandi Carlile is just such an occasion where all I needed to hear was the first line of the first verse of the first song I ever heard to know that I was going to love her. Her strong folk-y sound mixed with her powerful voice make her one of the better female singer-songwriters out there today.
Her latest album Give Up the Ghost was released in 2009. The single “Dreams” has a very pop rock sound without losing the folk-y flavor. Extremely catchy and extremely hard to get out of your head for days. I know this sounds like a bad thing, but we’re talking like-ability here. Other songs on the album like “Caroline” also have the fun, pop rock sound with heavy folk accents.
If you’re into slower songs that may or may not bring a tear to your eye, check out “That Year” and “Before It Breaks”. Heck I cried just writing that. The mix of different emotions she portrays in her music exhibit her complete artistic variety and let me know that she’s the real deal. I don’t like things that aren’t the real deal. Brandi Carlile passes the test. Yay.
Check out the video for “Dreams”:
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*Main picture by PhotoJustin.com.
“Hey Tank, have you heard of The Low Anthem?”
“Nope. Is that like an anthem that you can hardly hear?”
“No, it’s an American folk band that creates a mix of haunting melodies and traditional folk songs with a slew of interesting instruments for harmonic support.”
“So you can hear them then?”
“Well yeah.”
“So shouldn’t it be called The Low (But Not So Low You Can’t Hear It) Anthem?”
“Maybe you should suggest that.”
“I’m already writing a letter.”
The Low Anthem was created in the little big state of Rhode Island. The band’s mix of style along with their eclectic mix of instrumentation allows them to explore different sounds throughout their critically acclaimed release Oh My God Charlie Darwin. The album goes from slower, more melodic songs like “Charlie Darwin” which has a powerful Bon Iver-esque falsetto harmony to “The Ghosts Who Write History Books” which sounds closer to a Wallflowers ballad (with even a mix of Bob Dylan harmonica). “Ticket Taker” reminded me of Leonard Cohen with the deep vocals and strong lyric-focused melody.
After listening to the album, I realized that this band does an excellent job of creating a number of different sounds while still keeping a common theme. I appreciated how the entire album tied together nicely for a full, melodic sound without sounding over-produced. If you like Bon Iver, Mumford & Sons, The Avett Brothers or just plain good music, make sure you check out The Low (But Not So Low You Can’t Hear It) Anthem. I mean, that’s what they’ll be called eventually.
Check out the video for “Charlie Darwin”:
Listen to the album:
Buy the album:
Like The Low Anthem? Check out Bon Iver!
Thanks Maggie!
