Ferraby Lionheart – The Jack of Hearts

It’s been a couple of years since we last year from troubadour Ferraby Lionheard with his fantastic debut album Catch The Brass Ring and self-titled EP. I really enjoyed both efforts, and such songs as Small Planet, Vermont Avenue, Before We’re Dead and Pure Imagination regularly come up on my playlists at home. Lionheart brought together a rich, interesting and diverse sound with his songs, and in the time since his first album, I’ve been eagerly awaiting for the next album.

That has come in the form of The Jack of Hearts, and it’s a bit of a different album than I initially expected. The Jack of Hearts is a superb album one that demonstrates that Lionheart’s voice, sound and songwriting has improved since the last outing, and this album is his best work yet. When it arrived a couple of weeks ago, I put it into the CD player and it’s been playing since.

The song that caught my ears first was Harry & Bess, the third track on the album, with an excited beat and groove, coupled with a fantastic guitar backing everything up. There’s something between the lyrics and instruments that makes me really want to move, and the swing feel with this song is all but irresistible. Other tracks on the album carry with them a diverse sound and feel as well, from Arkansas to Sweet Tanzini to Dear Corinne. Each song really has their own stories, and like the country singers that clearly influenced this album, there’s equal emphasis on the lyrics and storytelling throughout the album.

What makes this album so good is that there’s a lot that falls into place here – the songwriting, the music, vocals, instrumentation and packaging (this, for me, is important as well, and Jack of Hearts nailed the cover this time). Indie-singer/songwriters have a difficult time really standing out in the internet age, with so much variety, but Lionheart manages to do so with a unique, interesting sound and image. The Jack of Hearts confirms that he’s onto something good here, continuing his successes with the first album, and will hopefully continue to do so in the near future.

Dear Corrine – Ferraby Lionheart

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Carry You Away’s Best Songs of 2007

It was difficult to narrow down just ten songs out of everything that I’ve heard this year. But, here are the songs that I feel are the best that I’ve heard or enjoyed.

10 – Rangers, A Fine Frenzy

From A Fine Fenzy’s debut album One Cell in the Sea, this song has a really good sound to it, with a pace and energy that really matches her tone. The chorus is a really good one, followed up with some fantastic lyrics. Everything really comes together nicely here for this tune. This song really turned me onto A Fine Frenzy, and will keep me listening for years to come.

9 – Heart Made of Sound, The Softlightes

The video for this song really got me hooked here, and brought me back time and time again for listen after listen. This song gives me the same feeling that I had on my best summers here in Vermont – sounds weird, but for some reason, I connect this song to walking around Burlington Vermont on a sunny summer afternoon. The sound here is bright, energetic and just fantastic. Even when I’m in a horrible mood, I’ll listen to this and it’ll bring me right back up.

8 – Seed of Wonder, Jesca Hoop

This song sounds really different, with some absolutely fantastic guitar work and vocals from Hoop. It’s unconventional, with influences from Hip-Hop and alternative rock. It’s got a lazy beat that’s incredibly catchy.

7 – Hard Sun, Eddie Vedder and Everybody Knows, Ryan Adams (Tie)

This is a tie for me, because both songs remind me of the other. Hard Sun is a good, solid rock song, one that reminds me of driving on a highway, while Everybody Knows brings out the same feeling – both have a good beat behind it backed by lyrics and a sound that just works, really well.

6 – Vermont Avenue, Ferraby Lionheart

I didn’t take to this song at first, but it grew on me quite a bit as time went on. Lionheart’s voice is like gold here, lazy and seductive, with lyrics that match that. The guitar and drum work is wonderful, and I like this song more and more as time goes on.

5 – In the Mausoleum, Beirut

Beruit’s back with more of a fantastic Balkan sound. This song starts off with a fantastic beat and sinks in with some fantastic vocals and lyrics. What’s really catchy is the use of other instruments, such as their distinctive use of a trumpet and stringed instruments. This song floats along wonderfully through the entire three minutes.

4 – Time Is A Runaway, The Alternate Routes and Who You Are, Cary Brothers (Tie)

This was another tie for me, between Time is a Runaway and Who You Are. Neither song really stands out on a technical level, but both songs really grabbed me for their sound and lyrics. Who You Are has a wonderful LA sound to it with a fantastic beat and energy, while Time is a Runaway has some fantastic lyrics coupled with their vocals and background instrumentation. Both are songs to relax to.

3 – Horse Soldier! Horse Soldier!, Corb Lund and the Hurtin’ Albertans

Corb Lund and the Hurtin’ Albanians come forth with this fantastic ballad-like song that exhols the wonders of mounted cavelry, looking at their use through history. As a history person, this is just a wonderful song to pull apart line by line, and it’s got such a fantastic song to go along with it.

2 – Ah, Mary, Grace Potter & The Nocturnals

I knew that my #2 song would be a Grace Potter song, but it took me a little while to figure out which one. I went with the first one that I heard, Ah Mary, a sort of protest song that pulls you in nicely with Grace’s fantastic voice before cranking it up a notch exactly a minute in as it turns to something you’d expect from some of their idols, like Neil Young. Their studio version seems to be a little subdued – go see this live for the full effect.

1 – Boy With A Coin, Iron & Wine

And my number one song of the year – Iron & Wine’s Boy With A Coin. Like Grace Potter’s album, there were a bunch here that could take the #1 spot, but there’s something here. Maybe because this song stands out so much from Sam Beam’s other songs and typical sound, or maybe because it falls into a fantastic beat and rhythm, this song just completely blew me away when I first heard it.

There you have it, the top 10… er… 12 songs of the year. Here are the ones that didn’t quite make it:

Dreamworld, Rilo Kiley
Sea Legs, The Shins
Down The Line, Jose Gonzalez
Rumors, Josh Ritter
The Pretender, Foo Fighters
Dashboard, Modest Mouse
Keep The Car Running, Arcade Fire
You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere, Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova
Love Song, Sara Bareilles
Pressure Suit, Aqualung
Sci-Fi Kid, Blitzen Trapper
Eh Hee, Dave Matthews

There were others, but overall, fantastic year for music. Let’s see what’s next.

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The Top Ten Albums of 2007

The following list was at times very, very hard to come up with, while at other times was very easy. Early on, I knew what my top album of the year was from when I heard the first song on it, as was the second and third picks. The rest required quite a bit of deliberation.
There was a lot of good music this year. I added 2257 new songs to my music library this year, 6.3 days and 12.63 gigabites. That’s a lot of music. I found a lot of new albums that I’d never heard, rediscovered some old music and generally immersed myself in everything. Along the way, I came across a lot of good music, and some bad music.

Here’s ten albums that I really liked, but they just didn’t crack the top ten:

20 – Say No To Being Cool, Yes To Being Happy, The Softlightes
- I loved these guys sound all the way through, great first album.

19 – The Flying Cup Club, Beirut
- They’ve followed up their first with more Balkan-flavored sounds.

18 – The Reminder, Feist
-1,2,3,4 was stuck in my head for much of the summer and fall. There are plenty of worse songs out there, so I’m fortunate for that.

17 – In Our Nature, Jose Gonzalez
-Jose Gonzales followed up his fantastic first album with a fantastic second album – another cool cover and more acoustic rock goodness.

16 – Good and Reckless and True, The Alternate Routes
- Ryan Adams fans might like this one. It’s an all around solid rock album.

15 – Kismet,Jesca Hoop
- Hoop brought a fanastic, unique sound that really was pretty cool.

14 – Dylan, Bob Dylan
- This compilation of Dylan’s music pulled together a fantastic set of his entire career. A must.

13 – Neon Bible, Arcade Fire
- These guys had some really good cuts off of this album – it’s tight, together and really well done all around. Canadians were on fire this year.

12 – Little Voice, Sara Bareilles
- This first album really impressed me from her first song Love Song, but overall, the entire thing did really well, and was really solid.

11 – Who You Are, Cary Brothers
- Cary Brother’s first album was a long anticipated one from me – I don’t think that there was a track on here that I didn’t like. From the fantastic Who You Are to Blue Eyes, this is another guy who’s going to have a good career ahead of him.

Here are the albums that I loved:

This was an earlier album in the year that’s come up and down on my list before settling here at number ten. I’ve been a fan of The Shins for a while now (Yes, I found them when the rest of the world did with Garden State), but I loved both of their earlier albums. This one didn’t disappoint, with the fantastic Phantom Limb, Sea Legs, Australia and Girl Sailor. They brought along their fantastic sound and even better songwriting skills for a third fantastic time.

This album showed me that not all country is bad, and more importantly, reinforced that country songs are really storytelling songs, and that they can be really good at it. Here is a fantastic concept album of the use of horses in warfare throughout history. The title track blew me away, and as a historian, really impressed me with some of the songs.

Spoon was a band that took a bit of time to grow on me, but I was incredibly impressed with Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, their latest independent album, which is at best described as minimalist, with some fantastic new songs from them, such as Underdog, Don’t Make Me A Target, and Rhythm and Soul. It’s a great addition to their already really good repertoire.

Brandi Carlile’s follow up to her first album really surprised me this time around – my first impressions of her was lukewarm, but right from the start, this album really impressed me, and after seeing her live in concert, her energy and sound completely blew me away.

One In the Sea impressed me from the start A Fine Frenzy’s voice. It’s delicate and powerful at the same time, and coupled with her songwriting, was an incredible first effort. Her songs are both light and somber, especially with Ashes & Wine, Rangers, Hope For The Hopeless and most of the others on there. Seeing her perform with Brandi Carlile this year was a big highlight here.

This was apparently one of the most anticipated albums of the year, and for good reason. Rilo Kiley pulled out a fantastic effort here, bringing a sound that reminded me a bit of Fleetwood Mac, but with an angry indie-rock singer edge to it.

Dreamworld – Rilo Kiley

I caught Josh Ritter opening for Grace Potter and the Nocturnals earlier this summer, and really had a fun time – their latest album, The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter is a marvel of storytelling and a nice bridge of country-folk and rock music. There’s some really cool stuff here musically, and their song writing skills are certainly sharp from some of the songs here.

Rumors – Josh Ritter

I first was introduced to Ferraby Lionheart with Vermont Avenue, which sort of lurked at the back of my head for a couple of months while I heard more and more from him over the summer. Quickly, his unique sound won me over with some really great songs from this album. Like A Fine Frenzy, this is a fantastic debut album from a newcomer that I’ll be looking forward to hearing more about.

Before We’re Dead – Ferraby Lionheart

This was almost #1. It’s really, really close, because I love Sam Beam’s sound, and to hear this album compared to his other ones is a huge jump. The sound became rich, with lots of peripheral instruments, while not loosing one bit of the fantastic sound and style that he employed for his first two albums. He’s no longer a guy playing acoustic guitar in a closet, he’s out there and brought a wonderful album with him. I can’t wait to see what’s next.

Innocent Bones – Iron & Wine

This is Somewhere was easily my most anticipated album of 2007, from the beginning of the year when I first learned that the Nocturnals were putting out their first studio album. I loved it from the beginning, and not because they’re from Vermont. It’s because they’ve got an incredible sound, and have moved to a somewhat more mainstream rock sounds that really works with Grace’s vocals and the band’s talents. Their first two albums were fantastic, don’t get me wrong, but this album just plain rocked. And in person, these guys were like nothing else I’ve really seen, with an incredible amount of energy. Easily my favorite album of the year.

Mastermind - Grace Potter & The Nocturnals

Tomorrow, the best songs of 2007.

The Best New Discoveries of 2007

Now that the new year is upon us, I’m going to spend the week looking back on what I liked from 2007. First up, the best new artists that I came across.

Last year was particularly rich in music for me over the entire year, but even more since I’ve started this site. I’ve come across a number of really good artists. Many thanks to everyone who’s gone out and shared a little of what they’ve liked with everyone. I’ve gone out and purchased more music than I ever have before, through iTunes and hard copy and even vinyl. Here’s some of my favorite new discoveries this year:

Adam Ezra Group
These guys I just discovered a couple of weeks ago, and are a smaller indie band out of Connecticut who’ve just started out and are playing smaller gigs around New England. If you like Dispatch or Blues Traveler, you’ll likely like these guys. They’ve got a ton of songs up for grabs on their website, and they’ve got a pretty energetic live show.

Small Town City - Adam Ezra Group

The Alternate Routes
The Alternate Routes really released their first CD back in 2005, but they re-released Good and Reckless and True to fairly good radio coverage – You’ve probably heard Time Is A Runaway on the radio. I got to see them twice this summer, and their first album is a fantastic first effort on their part, there’s a bunch of really good sounds. A good one for any Ryan Adams fans out there.

Time Is A Runaway - The Alternate Routes

Blitzen Trapper

These guys were highlighted on NPR, which led me to check them out. They’ve got a bunch of really good songs and a new album out this year that I really enjoyed, especially Sci-Fi Kid and Wild Mountain Nation.

Sci-Fi Kid - Blitzen Trapper

Ferraby Lionheart

I loved this guy – Ferraby Lionheart’s got a wonderful sound along the lines of Rufus Wainwright. He’s been busy this year, with his first album, called Catch the Brass Ring and a self-titled EP. Catch the Brass Ring was in my time five albums of the year, and comes highly recommended from me.

Vermont Avenue - Ferraby Lionheart

Glen Hansard and Marketa Irgova
These two guys starred in the movie Once, which I’ve heard a lot about. Neither are actors, but singers, and covered a Dylan song for the soundtrack I’m Not There, which I also want to see (I think I have to wait until DVD). They also contributed to Once’s Sountrack.

You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere - Glen Hansard and Marketa Irgova

Gregory Douglass

Douglass was recommended to me earlier this summer. He’s another Vermont musician, and has been doing gigs in the area. Hopefully I’ll be catching him next February when he comes to the Higher Ground. He’s got a really easy sound, somewhere along Rock and Soul. He just released his latest album Up & Away, which is quite good.

Hang Around - Gregory Douglass

Jesca Hoop

I think Jesca Hoop is one of my favorite new artists of the year. A breakout hit from Myspace and KCRW in California, she’s really gotten big in the blog world with her really unique sound and songwriting. Kismet is her debut album this year.

Money - Jesca Hoop

Jess Clemons & The Cooperative

Jess Clemons is another musician who I’d gone to high school with (the other being Grace Potter from the Nocturnals). She’s about to release a self titled album that sounds really good, and is someone to check out if you like Grace Potter.

Make-Out Song - Jess Clemons & The Coopertive

Kate Nash

Kate Nash, out of England, has her first album, Made of Bricks, coming out soon. She’s got a really cool sound. She’s got spunk and energy, and her entire first album is a fun one to listen to.

Foundations - Kate Nash

Priscilla Ahn

I saw Ahn open for Cary Brothers earlier this year, and she did fantastically on her own. She’s done a bit of work with other artists before, with Cary Brothers and Amos Lee, providing backup vocals, and now She’s released her first self-titled EP earlier this year and should have her first album out shortly, which I’m looking forwards to.

Lullaby - Priscilla Ahn

Sara Bareilles

Bareilles became a big internet hit with myspace and iTunes earlier this summer with her song Love Song. She has an incredibly strong voice and is probably one of the best female singers to come out this year. Love Song’s getting a lot of radio play, but there are a bunch of good songs on her album.

Love Song - Sara Bareilles

Skye

Skye came to my attention with a fantastic cover of Gorillaz’s song Feel Good Inc. She was a singer with another band, but is now solo, having released her first album Mind How You Go recently. She’s got a soft, easy sound that’s good for chilling out.

What’s Wrong With Me? – Skye

The Softlightes

I found these guys with their video for their first single, Heart Made of Sound, which is probably one of my favorite songs of the year, and probably one of the best videos that I’ve seen. Very creative. These guys have a wonderful sound with their first album, which came out earlier this spring, Say No To Being Cool, Yes to Being Happy. If you like Death Cab for Cutie, these guys sound similar, and very upbeat.

Heart Made of Sound - The Softlightes

Vampire Weekend

I suspect that these guys will make their big splash next year when their first album is released. They’ve already been huge this year on the internet, and it’s easy to see why – these guys are fun and interesting and really out there. They’ve got a weird afro-indie sound that’s pretty cool. I suspect that they’ll be one of the bigger indie bands to come out this/next year.

Oxford Comma - Vampire Weekend

Some other groups that’ve been around for a long time that I just came across:

Josh Ritter
Corb Lund and the Hurtin’ Albanians
Brandi Carlile
British Sea Power
Cary Brothers
Arcade Fire

Coming Up, the best Albums and Songs of the year.

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New Ferraby Lionheart Video & Tour Dates

Ferraby Lionheart, one of the fantastic new singers of this year, has just released the video from his debut album, Catch the Brass Ring, for the song Small Planet. Here it is:

He’s also announced several new tour dates with Richard Hawley, starting in December:

Dec. 1 Bowery Ballroom, New York, NY
Dec. 2 World Cafe Live, Philadelphia, PA
Dec. 4 T.T. The Bear’s, Cambridge, MA
Dec. 5 Horseshe Tavern, Toronto, ON
Dec. 6 The Abbey, Chicago, IL
Dec. 7 400 Bar, Minneapolis, MN
Dec. 10 Crocodile Cafe, Seattle, WA
Dec. 12 Cafe Du Nord, San Francisco
Dec. 13 Troubadour, Los Angeles, CA

Small Planet – Ferraby Lionheart

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The Best of October

It’s that time of the month again, a couple of days late… Here’s a selection of the best songs that I’ve come across in October. Unlike the list in September, it’s been a pretty slow month, with fewer new releases and thus, fewer really good songs. However, what we’ve gotten has been very good. Interestingly, most of these songs come from soundtracks, either the Battlestar Galactica, The War, In the Shadow of the Moon, with a couple others thrown in for good measure. Here we go:

All Along the Watchtower – Bear McCreary / BT4, Battlestar Galactica Soundtrack

This is a fantastic rendition of the Bob Dylan song, used in the finale of Season 3 of Battlestar Galactica. Apparently, this was something that the production crew had wanted to use in the show for a while now. This version is really cool.

American Anthem – Norah Jones, The War Original Soundtrack

One of the main songs from the soundtrack from the series, The War, which is a nice rendition from Norah Jones. This song really fits with the series, and is typically played at the end of each episode. The lyrics are perfect for the subject matter, and this is probably one of Norah Jones’ finest songs.

For Science Fiction - Maritime, Heresy and the Hotel Choir

This song has the lyrics: Thank God for Science Fiction. I like it.

In The Shadow of the Moon Soundtrack, Philip Shepherd
- The Eagle Has Landed
- End Titles

The entire soundtrack is a fantastic score from the documentary In the Shadow of the Moon. It’s absolutely fantastic to listen to.

Man on the Moon – Ferraby Lionheart, Sterogum Presents… Drive XV

Sterogum has done a really good album of covers of REM’s Automatic for the People, and this is the best song on there.

‘Til the Morning Comes – Grace Potter & The Nocturnals, This Is Somewhere

The bonus track from Grace Potter’s This is Somewhere album, the B&N version. A fantastic track that should have made it onto the main album.

That’s it for last month!

Weekend Mix

I didn’t have anything planned to throw up here today, so here’s a random smattering of songs that I really enjoy. So, some good stuff for listening this weekend:

Apologies – Grace Potter & The Nocturnals
Fa Fa – Guster
Fall Apart Again – Brandi Carlile
Freedom – Sara Wheeler
Lovesong of the Buzzard – Iron & Wine
On The Radio – Regina Spektor
Sister Jack – Spoon
Small Planet – Ferraby Lionheart
Torn To Tattered – Carbon Leaf
Who You Are – Cary Brothers

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Pushing Daisies, or, the Best Show of the Year

ABC aired one of their newest shows last night, and I caught it earlier today via their nifty online TV thingy.

Go. Watch. This. Show.

Asside from being utterly brilliant, the show is extremely well acted, highly, highly, highly original and quirky and is probably one of the coolest things to hit TV since … I don’t know when. Reminded me a lot of the film Big Fish.
The plot of the show is this: A boy, Ned, finds that he has the ability to bring people back to life, with just one touch.

A couple problems: 1 – if he touches them again, they’re dead, for good, he can’t bring them back, ever. 2 – If he doesn’t touch the person again, someone nearby dies. 3 – he just brought his childhood sweetheart back to life..
He’s in the business with a private investigator (who’s the same guy who played Vogler in House), and they’ve been making a living bringing people back to life, asking them who killed them, and collecting the reward.
Just simplely an amazing show. The guy who created it also did Wonderfalls, Dead Like Me, Heroes and Star Trek Voyager, as a producer and writer for both shows, so he knows the business.

Now, the real question is, can this show hold an audience? I really hope so, because this one is just too good to die. However, it’s a bit out there, and very, very different, so it might have a hard time holding onto an audience. I guess we’ll see.

Ferraby Lionheart’s coming with this, because his sound fits with the show perfectly. And of course, the title of the song…

Before We’re Dead – Ferraby Lionheart

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New Artist – Ferraby Lionheart

I first heard about this guy a while ago, with his song Vermont Avenue through another music blog. Lionheart is out of L.A., and has released his first album, Catch the Brass Ring, which would seem to be the start of a fantastic acoustic/folk career. Previously the front man of a band called Telecast, he’s since gone solo, where he released his own self titled EP, earlier in 2007. Earlier this week, Catch the Brass Ring was released. This guy’s got an interesting sound, something between Amos Lee and Rufus Wainwright. There’s some fantastic musical work here, with a nice rich sound, with some good percussion work and some really good guitar stuff. This guy’s a good one to keep an eye on.

Video for Crack in Time:

Vermont Avenue – Ferraby Lionheart (Highly Recommended)
Before We’re Dead – Ferraby Lionheart

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