Ryan Adams has already amassed a catalog of fine tunes that sometimes seems to be overshadowed by an idiosyncratic, overdriven personality. I think the new song, Lucky Now, is a stripped bare affair that shows he's a great songwriter and performer. I could imagine this one covered by Alison Krauss, Bruce Springsteen or Lyle Lovett. The track is a teaser for Ryan Adams' new album, Ashes & Fire, out October 10.
The Joy Formidable are a Welsh trio that is now based out of London. They recently released their first full-length album, The Big Roar. Their sound pulls in pieces from all over the stylistic map - some hazy vocals and fuzzy guitars from shoegaze, frenetic rhythms and reedy guitar from the post-punk era, serious stomp and crash of the so-called grunge sound. Perhaps the most compelling aspect of the band is the voice of Ritzy Bryan, which reminds me of a stronger version of a few 90's period UK bands that shall go nameless. Is The Joy Formidable the next big thing? Leave a comment below.
Anthrax is finally releasing a new studio record after 8 years. Worship Music will be released September 12 internationally and September 13 in the U.S. The band has also re-enlisted Joey Belladonna, who hasn't fronted the band in the studio since 1990's Persistence of Time. Honestly, the band's gone back and forth with singers in the past years more than some guys change their underwear (you know who you are).
I enjoyed the Belladonna years the first time (1985-1992), but preferred the vocalist who followed, John Bush. Belladonna is a classic metal vocalist, with those unbelievably high notes coming into play, and the the new tunes seem to reflect that old school metal, with few aspects of the more adventurous John Bush era. Check out the U2 or Radiohead covers below and you can hear how Anthrax was willing and able to step try some different things. Even before Bush came along the band made some interesting moves, collaborating with Public Enemy way before rap and metal held hands or writing songs based on books or films. The two new songs (immediately below) sound fine, I just hope the guys haven't morphed into just another old metal band covering themselves.
I'm pretty sure I have never posted about a television show on this blog. I can't say I'm a big TV watcher. But I stumbled across Durham County, a pretty good little series which started...4 years ago?! Okay, I'm out of touch. Anyway, the show's won a bunch of awards, many of you have probably at least heard of it, unlike me. The first season is exceptional, if you ask me, especially the bad guy, played by Justin Louis, who is also known as Louis Ferreira - amazingly creepy. But I also realized that Hugh Dillon is a decent actor. I never got into Flashpoint, the last thing I watched him in was Hard Core Logo, which was a long time ago. So, here's something different, a post about TV, which I rarely watch, and Hugh Dillon, a guy I never paid a lot of attention to when he sung in Headstones. But he did rock a good snarl, fine spiky hair, and a ragged, frayed long-sleeve ribbed sweater, and he was quite different from his character in Durham County, because he was always swearing, spitting, or chain-smoking, even onstage.
Headstones. That reminds me of a story, and while I might not recall all of the details, it goes something like this: Years ago, I remember a friend telling me about when she was a waitress at a pub/restaurant and a rock band came in - Headstones. The guitar player orders a beer. The drummer orders a beer. The bass player? A beer. Singer Hugh Dillon ordered a coffee, or a Coke or something non-alcoholic. My friend the waitress says, "Are you sure you don't want a beer?"
"No thanks."
"Come on, your friends are all having a beer."
"No."
"Awww, why not!"
"Because I'm a recovering alcoholic, that's why!"
This young whippersnapper Bryan Ferry shows no signs of slowing down. He's ubiquitous, playing more than one show in a day, getting a CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) award, and making some of his hard-to-find material available online. And from the live videos surfacing, you'd think he had an amazing twelve-year-old kid on drums (one kit, anyhow) and a 15-year-old whelp on wailing guitar. Maybe these people are keeping him young. Anyway, here's pretty good interview, along with some other videos you might not have seen and some non-album tracks. I'm glad that with David Bowie pretty much out of the picture these days, Ferry seems to have become a go-to guy.
I've been seeing some tweets regarding a pre-game show featuring The Watchmen before the first tilt for the revitalized Winnipeg Jets. Watchmen drummer and Winnipeg Biz guy Stefano Grande have been in touch concerning the festivities, we'll see what transpires. Maybe Danny singing the anthem? I'd like to see Danny on skates. Make sure you get him a good helmet if he goes anywhere near the ice.
Meanwhile, the band is playing what is so far a one-off Hogtown show September 24 in which the fellas will perform the entire Silent Radar album plus a whack of fan favourites.
I just finished racing through Bob Mould's autobiography, See a Little Light: The Trail of Rage and Melody. I was not surprised to find it was well-written, but I was happily surprised to find that Mould put the auto in autobiography; not that it was done on auto-pilot, but it was an intensely personal account. Mould isn't your typical rock star, so we aren't treated to numerous accounts of groupies and hotel-room destruction, but we are given peeks into going through punk rock as a gay man, working in the pro wrestling business, and struggling through a myriad of problems most of us never encounter. I wish he would have expanded on accounts of certain aspects of his life (such as the break-up of Husker Du), but overall, a quality read.
Scott Hinkson's third album, One Beside Two, will be officially launched at the release party September 24 at the Park Theatre. If you want it sooner, try his website, itunes, or Planet of Sound. You can also download the first single Simpleton free from his website. I've been wracking my brain trying to figure out how to describe his music, and I'm falling short (I tried 4 1/2 years ago here), because there are no easy tags here. It's modern rock that eschews overt influences, and maybe it is what you might expect from a guy who is as comfortable covering duos such as Simon & Garfunkel or Hall & Oates as he is interpreting Tool or Kyuss. Listen, tell me what you think and post a comment below.
In my town, it's been an amazing summer - very warm, no mosquitos, all good. However, it's left me little time to post here - sorry. Here's a few tunes that have spelled summer for me, old and new.
mp3s will be posted for a limited time and are for promotional purposes only. If you like it, buy the albums, go to the shows, buy the t-shirts - support the artist so they can keep on keepin' on. Artists - if you would like an mp3 or video removed, please contact me directly at chrisyakchart@hotmail.com.
If you've got something Scruffy should hear, same email. Snail mail is cool too.
Scruffy the Yak 34 Allenby Cres Winnipeg Mb R2C 3J4
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