Something Like Sound

I have often expressed my appreciation for music-session-blog Daytrotter. They’ve done what I could only imagine doing: recording the best up-and-coming artists from a wide swath of the modern independent music using old-fashioned full-band recording techniques.

Yesterday’s session features 6 songs (available for free download, just click on the photo above) from former Hot Water Music singer Chuck Ragan. Earlier this summer we had the chance to see Chuck open for Lucero at the Bluebird, and as I remember Chuck gave one of the most intense folk performances I’ve ever seen.

I thought I’d also take the time to share some of my other favorite Daytrotter sessions here too. Click on the images to go the respective sessions.

Missouri band Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin (SSLYBY) released their second album, Pershing, on April 8th. The group, which is composed of Philip Dickey, Will Knauer, John Robert Cardwell, and Jonathan James, has been around since 2002, and released their first album Broom in 2005. Pershing is SSLYBY’s first professionally produced record (Broom was recorded in a band-member’s basement with low-quality equipment) and has received a large amount of buzz on music blogs and other websites.

Pershing begins with “Glue Girls.” The song, which is very similar to the material they’ve released in the past, is upbeat and makes use of fast chord changes and doubled vocals for some great effects. The song also has a few catchy melodies, both sung and played by electric guitar.

Other highlights of the album include “Dead Right” and “Think I Wanna Die.”

In both songs, backing vocals create memorable harmonies, which are offset by clean and crisp guitar playing and interesting rhythms, making both tracks very appealing.

Lyrically, SSLYBY appears to be trying too hard to match their upbeat, catchy melodies with equally catchy and cute lyrics. In “Oceanographer,” for example, almost every line has an end rhyme with the word ‘oceanographer.’ At times, however, the lyrics match the songs perfectly. “Boring Fountain” is a song about ennui and malaise, and the tired state these conditions cause. The words “by the way I feel nothing” permeate the song, perfectly balancing the melody.

Pershing finds SSLYBS more musically mature than Broom. They sound less like The Shins and The New Pornographers and more like a band creating its own sound. While this can act to their disadvantage at times, overall they’ve created a solid record whose upbeat and catchy tunes are sure to brighten a listener’s day.