Phosphorescent’s latest release, “To Willie”, is a respectful tribute to one of the most prolific songwriters in music history. Covering eleven of Willie Nelson’s songs, singer Matt Houchuck is faithful, for the most part, to the original tunes. He preserves the bounce in tracks like “Gotta Get Drunk” and the introspection in others like “Can I Sleep In Your Arms?” while adding a little more twang and that rich, “Phosphorescent” sound throughout. The melodies and overall “Willie” vibe of the original songs, however, remain the foundation of this album.
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I’ll Stay ‘Til After Christmas is a compilation album for indie music lovers who feel ambivalent about Christmas. You won’t find songs about snow flakes or cozy hearths on this digital-only release, which features a track about a holiday breakup as well as one entitled “It’s Christmas and Everything’s Wrong.” What you will find is a thoughtful mix of anxious lullabies. Bosque Brown’s rendition of “Silent Night” evokes child-like isolation while Au Revoir Simone’s version of “Christmastime is Here,” provides a delightful, slightly creepy escape from a fraught family Christmas.  Blitzen Trapper’s “Christmas is Coming Soon” is a standout track about nostalgia, at once wistful and optimistic.
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Little Joy is putting on warm jeans right out of the dryer; it’s realizing that you’re just happy to be here. The big surprise (or little joy, I guess) is that musicians from bands such as the Strokes and Los Hermanos could collaborate to produce something so slow in pace and breezy in style. It is as if Fabrizio Moretti and Rodrigo Amarante are killing time on the slow boat to Christmas Island with an arsenal of chimes, ukuleles, Hammond organs and ethereal background harmonizing. The much larger joy is that this album often works beautifully. Little Joy is a real pleasure to soak into, due to a rare combination of selfless collaboration and well considered production.
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September 9th marked the release of the newly rediscovered Pussycat sessions by the late John Phillips. The sessions, which featured members of Traffic and the Stones and were produced by none other than the Glimmer Twins, Keith Richards and Mick Jagger, were shelved or lost in late ‘76 or early ‘77. This album is one of a few that began bubbling up to the surface shortly after Phillips’ death in 2001. Lost music that involves some big names in rock sure sounds like an exciting proposition. Unfortunately, anything sounding good about this album ends there.
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Wistful lyrics and boisterous music are almost always a winning combo, and on She’s the Dutchess, He’s the Duke (out now on Hardly Art), the Dutchess and the Duke have mixed all those elements with some excellent musical influences from the likes of Dylan, the Stones and the Mamas and the Papas.  They sings songs about lovers’ regrets, underpinned by aching optimism. On some tracks we hear no more than a guitar, a tambourine, and the harmonies of frontman Jesse Lortz and his childhood friend and collaborator Kimberly Morrison; on others the duo is accompanied by a flute, sitar, or congas – instruments reminiscent of the White Album or the Rolling Stones’ “Paint it Black.”
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Old Crow Medicine Show has released their first album since relocating to Nashville, Tennessee Pusher (out now on Nettwerk Records). I had the chance to catch them live last Friday with the (very good) Carolina Chocolate Drops at the historic Ryman Auditorium. The tone and feel of their music certainly has developed in a manner that will surprise you, especially if you’ve previously dismissed them as an ol’ timey bluegrass gimmick.

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The Rosewood Thieves’ Rise & Shine is the best summer album that you’re probably not listening to right now. This effort is a meticulous slight of hand that manages to sound new and fresh, and somehow does so despite lots of borrowing from Bob Dylan and John Lennon’s solo work. When a young songwriter follows in the footsteps of such musical giants, the potential for an overly ambitious crap fest seems inevitable. What results here, though, is an immediately likable and nuanced pop sound that rarely feels trite or wooden. (more…)

Directions to See a Ghost, out now on Light in the Attic Records, finds theBlack Angels tightening their sound from 2005’s self-titled EP and 2006’sPassover. The result is a focused and methodical effort reminiscent of older songs like “The First Vietnamese War”, but at the expense of the loose and dirty experimentation that energized their previous efforts.

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Dear God, one day, when I’m 62 years old, please let me look like the legendary Miss Dolly Parton. On the cover of Backwoods Barbie, she successfully combines a curve-hugging leopard print mini-dress with a flowing hot pink dandy coat while stretched out on some hay. Her platinum-blonde hair is at least a foot tall, and she’s grinning ear to ear with that mega-watt smile that’s broken at least a thousand hearts this side of Appalachia (you’re a lucky man Carl Dean). There’s a reason the woman who famously quipped “it takes a lot of money to look this cheap” has an entire amusement park named after her and it’s got nothing to do with her looks. When it comes to music, Parton’s talent spins you around, lifts you up, and then drops you down in an explosion of glitter, fiddles, and good ol’ honky tonk.
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