The Big Nowhere: Don’t Burn the Fortune
Pull Down the Moon (2012) rollicked and rolled; Don’t Burn the Fortune, the second record from The Big Nowhere, is contemplative, quieter, and a little melancholy, more evocative of a piano bar than a frontier dance hall. Whatever kind of heartbreak you have, they probably have a song for you. The following are three … Read more
[strangers], Something New
Something New, from [strangers] featuring Eleanor Fletcher (Crystal Fighters), music for: Here we go over the falls, one more time. Maybe this is a terrible idea, but we don’t care. We can see the white water and the rocks but it doesn’t matter, we have each other. We’re too busy making new universes every time … Read more
The Honorable South, Hide & Go Seek
Do you need to kick yourself into gear today? The Honorable South have a song for YOU. It is their take on a 1962 classic by Bunker Hill. "Hide & Go Seek" Single by The Honorable South DON’T FORGET TO TAKE OUR READER SURVEY!
Rhubarb Whiskey: Same Sad End
Rhubarb Whiskey is Emchy (accordion, vocals), Boylamayka Sazerac (guitar, mandolin, upright bass, vocals) and Sizzle La Fey (violin, mandolin, banjo, piano), and they’re back and better than ever with their second record, Same Sad End. There are, well, not murder ballads, exactly; maybe a murder waltz? Murder two-step? Songs which could be used to score … Read more
Navy Skies: Cut My Teeth
Today is the first day of spring. Time to open the windows and get the air moving in the house. Make sure there aren’t any cobwebs in awkward locations, like, say, stretched across the entrance to your front porch. Lay out your garden – window gardens count – and start looking at seeds. Gather up … Read more
Alex Culbreth and the Dead Country Stars: Heart in a Mason Jar
Heart In A Mason Jar is the new record from Alex Culbreth (Parlor Soldiers) and his band The Dead County Stars. They play both kinds, country AND western. The record is full of things I like, including some honky-tonk swing: Where Will My Troubles Go? by Alex Culbreth & The Dead Country Stars … Read more
Willy Mason: Don’t Stop Now
Around the time Now This Sound Is Brave started, back in 2010, I found myself in the habit of inadvertently seeing Willy Mason play live as he seemed to be opening for everyone I wanted to see. While he clearly had talent and skill, it took a while for me to be won over. … Read more
A Good Read, a Good Listen, and a Good Drink: Murder by Death
It’s a simple yet sublime pleasure, and just thinking about it can make you feel a little calmer, a little more content. Imagine: You bring out one of the good rocks glasses (or your favorite mug or a special occasion tea cup) and pour a couple fingers of amber liquid (or something dark and … Read more
Murder by Death Is Coming to Cleveland
The best voices in modern music are not those that are technically proficient but those that are dented and torn, so full of character that they could tell a whole story just by humming a few notes. Tom Waits, Billie Holiday, Ray Charles, Leonard Cohen… as their careers continued their lives seeped into their … Read more
Feel Bad For You, February 2013
A new FBFY mix is live, and I’d personally like to thank our FBFY commander-in-chief for not choosing a Valentine theme this month. “…and we’re back! I considered and then threw out a number of ideas for different themes and went with goulash (def: an eclectic and uncoordinated mixture of something). What a mixture we’ve … Read more