Brooklyn based singer Lily McQueen captures well the
restlessness of early adulthood. Closing out an EP heavier on danceable summer
vibes than quiet introspection, the demo for her track “Home” is a stripped down take
on leaving what you know in order to know yourself. Her voice sits beautifully
atop an echoing guitar and toe tapping snare drum, while the verses loop as
though she needs reassuring of the decision to leave. McQueen reassures
that her departure is not permanent, but that she must achieve an independent
self-discovery before home keeps her still too long.
Catch the release show for Lily McQueen’s self-titled EP
tomorrow night at Elvis Guesthouse.
A bi-monthly blues program spinning vintage and contemporary sounds from the Mississippi Delta and beyond: | Women in the Blues | koko taylor - blue prelude || big mama thorton - wade in the water || jo ann kelly - whose been telling you buddy brown eyes || jessie mae hemphill - jump baby jump || ada richards - i'm drunk and i'm real high || linda ballentine - you're a hard habit to break || helene smith - true love don't grow on trees || the tonettes - i gotta know || jean wells - after loving you || shirley ann lee - how can i lose || sister rosetta thorpe - up above my head || buffy sainte-marie - a soulful shade of blue || janis joplin - me and bobby mcgee & mercedez benz | christine mcvie - and that's saying a lot || precious bryant - the truth || ginny reilly - wildman || jolie holland - rex's blues || sibylle baier - tonight || first aid kit - emmylou || karen dalton - something on your mind || alison krauss, emmylou harris, gillian welch - didn't leave nobody but the baby
Madlib has reemerged for the first time since 2014's stellar Freddie Gibbs collab Piñata with another excellent teaming. With the help of Future Island's front man Sam Herring under the name Trouble Knows Me, Madlib comes through with another classic. An unlikely collaborator despite his brief history as an emcee, Herring's delivery compliments the beat perfectly, with just enough rasp to allow you momentarily forget the beautifully eery croon of his day job. Listen to the track below.
Trouble Knows Me's self-titled EP is out September 1 via Madlib Invazion.
Last month Dangerbird Records released T. Hardy Morris's Drownin on a Mountaintop, a project he credits to his latest outfit Hardy & The Hardknocks. Hailing from the unlikely musical hub of Athens, Georgia, Hardy's catalog includes southern twinged music both as a solo artist and member of the grunge/alt/country band Dead Confederate. On his latest record, Hardy has takes elements of his previous work and gives it depth and warmth. Plenty of reverb and noise still resonates on the surface, but a softer Allman-esque accompaniment on the backing guitar strikes a cozier sound.
Below, listen to the album's opening track "Young Assumption", a song lamenting the idea of venturing out of the house when everything that is sought is available right where you are.
Introducing the first installment of Family Tree, a new series at Hangover Mass where we're shining a light on songs and the artists who've adapted them over the years.
| Grown So Ugly |
Robert Pete Williams: "Grown So Ugly" is a song born of bitterness and frustration from a man who spent twelve years in jail and many more in servitude parole for a murder done in self-defense. Apostasy is what Williams did best. His music never followed traditional blues tunings or chord progressions, yet he did so for some intended effect. We see this here: a single guitar theme played ad nauseam with very little modification, mimicking the sickness griping him as he's forced to meet the aged man he's become.
Captain Beefheart: The Captain Beefheart version appears on the 1967 album, Safe As Milk, recorded alongside his rotating cast of supporting musicians, the Magic Band. While the first half of the cover is a replica of William's tune, Beefheart builds into the verse a chilling variation. The narrator visits an old girlfriend who no longer recognizes him as the man she had once loved. Ry Cooder's composition brings a jittery pace to the budding story and emphasizes the narrator's emotional crisis.
The Black Keys: Among the handful of covered tracks on The Black Keys' Rubber Factory, none is more well-taken than "Grown So Ugly." Covers aren't meant to be verisimilitudes of the originals - they are best served as caricatures that accentuate certain aspects. The Black Key's deliver that wonderfully here as Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney wring out as much dread as they can from the Cooder arrangement. Carney beats the hell out of the drums in measured amounts and Auerback spins contorted riffs howling with distortion.
A bi-monthly blues program spinning vintage and contemporary sounds from the Mississippi Delta and beyond: | International | rory gallagher - sinner boy || derek & the dominoes - tell the truth || chicken shack - when my left eye jumps || taste - catfish || mick taylors - alabama || jo ann kelly - me and my chauffeur blues || alexis korner - mary, open the door || duster bennett - bright lights, big city || pep laguarda & tapineria - caseta del plater || groupe folklorique montagnais - tshekuan mak tshetutamak || chico buarque - jorge maravilha || tabaco - samantha || pappo - hombre suburbano || yamoah's band - nkrabea || orchestra baobab - mouhamado bamba || ali farka toure - bakoytereye || boubacar traore - mali twist
