Pokey LaFarge

To us St. Louisans, Pokey LaFarge has become something of a local treasure. From his sets at Blues City Deli, to his rising star-like sold-out Off Broadway shows, we've always been proud of this time-traveling troubadour and his love for our fair city. 

To those unaware, Pokey drives in a lane that's part tribute, part satire, and part brilliance when it comes to representing traditional blues, roots, delta, folk, whatever you want to call it, really. He looks as if he's just stepped off a time-travelled locomotive from the 1930's. You may think to yourself, what is this guy doing? After all, nods to music's simpler and finer times are all too familiar in modern music, be it 50's, 60's or even 80's eras. However, Pokey reaches even further back in time, and pulls it front and center for all of us to enjoy. And, he takes it quite seriously. 

So, another purveyor of music past, Jack White, paid attention. He brought Pokey down to his Nashville studio to record a Third Man Blue Series single ("Chittlin' Cookin' Time In Cheatham County") and also had Pokey and the South City Three back him up on a tune from his solo album, Blunderbuss ("I Guess I'll Just Go to Sleep"). This led to Pokey signing to Third Man Records, proper, and now the release of his new album, simply titled Pokey LaFarge.

Simply said, Pokey's new record is fantastic. The songs are richer, his stories strong, as always. And while he's ditched the South City Three moniker for his backing band, they shine as bright as him throughout the album. The record starts strong with "Central Time," a song sure to make any Midwesterner beam with pride.  The upright bass, harmonica, and guitar work on "The Devil Ain't Lazy" is spectacular, and they backing vocals perfect his words of wisdom. The mix is very clean, and the album relies more on instrument choice (and skill) rather than trickery to make it sound 'old.' Muted horns, saloon piano, and classical guitar do that just fine (dig "What the Rain Will Bring or "Kentucky Mae" or "Day after Day"). "Bowlegged Woman" is a fabulous jig sure to inspire a few dance moves, and there's a little more truth in "City Summer Blues" than we'd like to admit. I could go on and on, but you'll just have to hear in for yourself. It could open your mind to a different era of music, a prospect I'm sure would make Pokey grin. 

This record is sure to make Pokey a bigger star, and as far as I'm concerned, it's much deserved. Do yourself a favor and pick this up. Play it at your next house party, drink some whiskey and dance until the sun comes up.

New Spins

Portugal.The Man  Evil Friends
(Atlantic)

After being underwhelmed by the first few singles released by Portugal.The Man this year, I finally had a chance to sit down with the entire album. It wasn't as instantly great as In the Mountain, In the Cloud, but after a few listens, it gets really good. The songwriting is a little darker and dirtier (Dangermouse produced it, after all). The singles dissolve into the album's frame and make more sense, and the deep tracks show a lot of growth and willingness to experiment. Just solidifies the practice of not listening to anything until the album comes out. Worth a download, at least.

Queens of the Stone Age  ...Like Clockwork
(Matador)

Queens return with their best album since Songs for the Deaf, and with it returns the sound of jumping around on the tuner dial. There are nods to their previous three records' styles, and a myriad of guests make this quite a ride. Dave Grohl mans the drums on half the record, and Trent Reznor, Elton John, Mark Lanegan, and Alex Turner all lend a bit of spice to tracks to which they contribute. Obviously, though, the star is Josh Homme. His riffs are just as heavy, just as weird, and there is a new sense of personality to his lyrics (that is to say, if you've ever wondered what it would be like to have a tail). With this powerful, interesting album, QOTSA prove they are perhaps the most unique band in modern rock, and quite possibly give us the album of the year.

New Spins, Ketchup

Playing a little bit of ketchup today.
Been preoccupied by baseball. Dig.

Har Mar Superstar Bye Bye 17
(Cult Records/Frenchkiss Label Group)

Crazy bastard starts to take music a little more seriously and applies a vintage R&B vibe and some killer horns. His voice is quite good here, especially on the opening track "Lady You Shot Me." It will suck you right in. Plus, when Fab from the Strokes is on your album, you know you're pretty cool.

Junip s/t
(Mute)

The second record from José González is a little darker, a little softer and a bit more concise. Another one that starts strong, with "Line of Fire." Kudos to KDHX for this one. The mix is a bit muffled, which makes the songs sound better, I think, it plays well against the electronic additions. Listen to it twice.

Kurt Vile Wakin On A Pretty Daze
(Matador)

This mumbly long-hair finally has my attention. Despite the title, it's perfect on a dreary day. The tunes are long and relaxing, spacey and cool. He can be funny, witty, and uses inspired melodies. These wonderful songs are over so quick, you won't notice the length. Time to dig through the back catalog and find what I was missing.

Record Store Day 2013

I participated in this year's Record Store Day at my go-to store, Euclid Records. It's my favorite record store in town (we do have a few, unlike a lot of cities). I was up at 7:00 and in line by 7:45, with around thirty people ahead of me. A cold two hours and 45 minutes later I was ushered into the store, a tad nervous that the quantities of my desired titles would be too scarce for me to snag, a feeling the fifty people behind surely shared. Luckily, Euclid does a great job, and most of what I wanted, I got (except for that Sir Paul single, rats!)

I love the idea of Record Store Day, taking the time to support the brick and mortar record stores; the special edition new and reissue records; the spirit of collecting and spinning for favorite music. Most of the releases are limited, anywhere between 500 and 7500 copies, often on colored vinyl. Some artists and labels will do reissues, others will do unreleased material or compilations. There really is something for everyone (assuming your store gets it) as the list was long again this year.

Everyone at Euclid, staff, patrons, and performers were all smiles, and it was a very exciting place to be. It's interesting to hear all the various things people want, and the surprise and satisfaction of grabbing that last copy. Patience is a virtue, the line moves slowly in a single file. It's also easy to miss or forget and there is no going back. I found out the hard way, forgetting Tame Impala's debut EP until I made it home. Luckily I swung back up there Sunday, and they surprisingly had a few leftovers.

The hard part about Record Store Day, is the labels seem to know that we just "have to have" these titles, and over the few years the prices have gone up considerably. The pinnacle of At the Drive In's career, the Relationship of Command on orange swirl vinyl. Price: $35. The Flaming Lips strange Zaireeka, pressed on four LP's, each of a different color with a booklet in a box. Price: $70. You have to pick and choose, it adds up quick. To make matters worse, the small quantities are spread over the US (and the UK) and this leads to many people buying the popular titles, and listing them online for ten times the price. So if you missed something, be ready to be swindled even harder.

Overall, Record Store Day is a challenge, a lot of fun, and it's nice to see a record store so full of people. It's also nice to go into an empty record store on a Tuesday and flip through rows of vinyl in peace.

What I grabbed:

Blind Melon - 20th Anniversary Reissue + Sippin' Time Sessions - /2500
Dazed & Confused - Soundtrack - /4750
Junip - Junip - /500
Pornography - Seven Minutes in Heaven - /2000
Elliott Smith - Either/Or Alternates - /3500
Tame Impala - Tame Impala EP - /5000
The White Stripes - Elephant - /????

New Spins

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club Specter At The Feast
(Vagrant)

This is the first BRMC record that had me interested since HOWL, largely due to the teasers that were posted to the band's website in recent months. Black Rebel's sound doesn't really change album to album, but this one has the tight focus that the first two records had. Heavy jackets, heavy guitars, heavy subject matter, and finally a return to form from a talented band that felt as if they were going through the motions there for a minute.

Youth Lagoon Wondrous Bughouse
(Fat Possum)

With today's general acceptance of the merging of electronic and analog music, it can sometimes be difficult to tell the difference between new artists. You won't have this problem after Trevor Powers starts to sing. And while his prepubescent nasal delivery is the same, Wonderous Bughouse is a musical expansion on 2011's Year of Hibernation. This album is more colorful (like the cover) and the songwriting seems more positive/upbeat/adventurous than wistful/sleepy/indifferent. Use headphones for optimum immersion.

New Spins

White Fence Cyclops Reap 
(Castleface)

Tim Presley's exercise in destruction continues to know no bounds. Not quite as ambitious as last year's WF//FP, this new album Cyclops Reap is, however, equally challenging. 

Starts with a weird title, but also called "b/w Pink Gorilla" on the cover. Comes with 7 inch that has "Pink Gorilla" as the A side, b/w the title track, "Cyclops Reap," which isn't actually even on the album. Yikes. This record gives new meaning to making your listeners work to find meaning to make. 

Cyclops Reap is the lo-fi pop mixtape on the floor of your uncle's '92 Taurus. 

Jacco Gardner Cabinet of Curiosities
(1-2-3-4-GO!)

Jacco Gardner's strange dream of a river through a jungle inside an armoire. Dense and meandering experimental songs recall a Syd Barrett sense of humor and a smoky Carnaby Street sideshow. Basically, 60's studio pop. 

This album came recommended by Todd, of the infamous Basement Bell Ringers. 

I've listened to the new Strokes record 20 times

So, how does this ad for RCA disguised as a record measure up? It's complicated. 

If you liked Angles, you will probably like this. Maybe not, though. If you didn't like Angles, you might like this, but I somehow doubt it. 

Comedown Machine is a good deal stranger than anything the Strokes have done. It's very interesting, some of the songs sound like they were culled from some B movie soundtrack. It felt a little schizophrenic the first, I don't know, five times I listened. After that, it started to take on hypnotic qualities (combined with 10+ hours staring a computer monitor probably didn't help). "Call it Fate Call It Karma" on repeat and another cup of tea. 

The New Strokes all but kill the Old Strokes with this one. What really matters is, what do you think? How could they, right?!

Listen to it here.