[contextly_auto_sidebar id="xANv3Jjm5ljwdEVoQbaPVK2EMGMYSFMx"] ONE of the most unexpectedly delightful records of the year is the new LP by psychedelic Brit Robyn Hitchcock. The former Soft Boy has been moving in a more romantic and understated direction lately, but the album -- produced by Joe Boyd, known for his work with Britfolk gods and R.E.M. -- took me by surprise. It's a low-key … [Read more...]
The Return of the the Clientele
[contextly_auto_sidebar id="GvXKWajzd59XJt2Gt7TaopxjoaWObQiN"] IT'S something I never expected: Another tour by the spooky, chiming English folk-rock band The Clientele, who sort of broke up a few years ago. For a handful of reasons -- the 25th anniversary of the band's label (Merge), the reissue of their first LP, some new songs -- the Clientele made a small U.S. tour, which on Saturday … [Read more...]
Roots of a Great English Band: The Clientele
[contextly_auto_sidebar id="dzt0X2rINHchc2UlFWD4AkubWFuBi9up"] TODAY sees the reissue of the debut LP by one of Britain’s best rock bands: The Clientele’s Suburban Light. Fans of the Clientele know that this group took bits of ‘60s British folk, the Byrds, and Velvet Underground, jacked up the tremolo, and produced succinct and chiming pop songs that become hard to forget. (Here is the album's … [Read more...]
Discovering Nick Drake
THE other day I spoke to Joe Boyd, the Britfolk impresario, because of his new tribute record, Way to Blue. The album is in honor of Nick Drake, who Boyd helped discover way back in the late '60s, and whose career was delicate, melancholy and all too short.Today, Drake is revered not only be neo-folkies but by the leading jazz musician of my generation, pianist Brad Mehldau.Boyd, of course, also … [Read more...]
New West Coast Folk
SOMETHING about the cool weather, the melange of religious songs and the reflective tone of the end of the end of the year leads me to play a lot of acoustic folk music around the holidays. (And lest you jeer at the frigid winters we have in Southern California, I’ll tell you that it was in the 50s most of today and I could actually see my breath this morning. Okay, so we’re not in Yorkshire.)In … [Read more...]