Author: Angela Sanchez

I’ve been posting this on Christmas Eve for the last few years. People seem to enjoy it, so I thought I would share it with you again this year. Consider it my little gift to everyone who has been so supportive of our efforts here at Popdose. Click on the link below for a wonderful story.

I want to wish you and all of your loved ones a very Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year. May the peace of Christmas be yours throughout 2018 and beyond.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Louis Armstrong – “The Night Before Christmas”

 

The final installment of a great Christmas tradition took place in 2014. Fortunately, we have the video to keep the memories alive.

An interesting mixture of sounds and styles on this 4-song E.P. from The Get Ahead, a Portland-based five-piece outfit.  Incredibly powerful – almost haunting vocals; flavors of gospel, soul, folk and blues make this one of the more cohesive pieces of music I’ve heard this year.

The opening track, “Stella” has a slow, deep Delta feel; an aching ode to a wayward love; very taut and tense with the rhythm section and dry production which makes the power of the performance all the more effective; the title track, “Mind Is A Mountain” is more of a straightforward blues-y piece; some sweet harmonies and quality riffage – I also like the use of a traditional middle eight that bridges the verses.  “To The Wild” opens with a very Staple Singers-kind of chorale but then kicks in with a frenetic riff and explodes with a pure ’70’s soul power/tempo/vibe; the use of handclaps gives greater credence to the gospel influence and “Love Crime” is crisp, with a dynamic guitar, call-and-response vocals and something of a “spy”-melody/theme.

Four songs may not be a lot, but these four songs are simply very, very good.  This is another one of those bands now on my radar (they have one previous album available) and I’m curious to see/hear where they go from here.

RECOMMENDED

Mind Is A Mountain is currently available

http://www.thegetahead.com/

‘Tis the season, ya’ll! Seriously, where has this year gone? As 2017 comes to a close, I’m thinking back on all of the amazing artists I’ve reviewed for Popdose and wondering how the time has passed so quickly. While I battle that eternal mystery, I wanted to share with you three new Christmas tracks I’m loving this year.

It’s true that I practically binge A Christmas Gift for You From Phil Spector for a month straight, but I do deviate from time to time and enjoy other holiday tunes, mostly from my massive Spotify playlist I’ve built over time (which I might clean up and write about some year).

These songs below came across my desk over the past few weeks and I’m obsessed and, if you know me, you’ll know why I can’t get enough of these tracks.

Let’s start off with something as saccharine as a candy cane (and, this time of year, it’s what we’re all craving, right?). Meet Matteo Markus Bok, an up-and-comer in the same vein as Justin Bieber. If you shirk at the mention of the Biebs, though, you’ll probably dig what Bok’s laying down, especially this infectious holiday earworm, “This Christmas.” Fair warning: You probably won’t be able to get this one out of your head. Seriously.

Next, rising pop star Matt LeGrand covers Stevie Wonder’s “What Christmas Means to Me.” If that name rings a bell, you might recall that I wrote about LeGrand’s song “All Good” back in September. Far removed from the party vibe of that banger, this one’s all class, suits, and pianos for a stunning rendition of one of my own, personal favorite Christmas songs.

Finally, and I admit, I may have saved the best for last, is none other than Dick Van Dyke teaming up with the incomparable Jane Lynch for the oh-what-fun instant classic “We’re Going Caroling.” One of my highlights of 2017 was seeing Van Dyke perform here in Los Angeles, and, now in his 90s, he’s still a superstar. His vocals and fancy footwork in this feel-good video will wake up anyone’s inner child. (Also, an Easter egg for Kids in the Hall fans — Dave Foley gets a “thank you” in the video’s credits, probably because his ex-wife Crissy was involved in production. No idea what part Dave played, but it was really just the cherry on top of this already fab find.)

Wishing you and yours the happiest of holidays! Enjoy!

There’s a strange familiarity to the sounds coming from the debut self-titled album by Chicago’s Lucille Furs.  I know I’ve heard the sinister harpsichord sound; the swirling organs, the ethereal harmonies – if you mashed together a good portion of The Nazz, The Left Banke, The New Colony Six, The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn and other refinements of 1967, we’d probably be close to what I’m trying to describe.  This band seems to have stepped right out the Wayback Machine and found themselves offering a sound of yesteryear in the hear and now.  Which is welcome and none too soon.  Even funnier – at least in my mind – is that I can see the old orange Mercury label, with the jagged design, being just right for this band’s first album.  But here’s some of the why…

Opening with “The Fawn Of Teal Deer”, my immediate thought was – rhythmically and structually speaking – “Grimly Fiendish” by The (fabulous) Damned – because of the melody and the use of the harpsichord, as stated above.  But the guitar strokes and spaciousness of the overall recording have some very Jefferson Airplane elements about it as well and is an immediate attention grabber; “Thoughts And Words” (not to be confused with The Byrds’ song of the same name) has a garage-y feel, sans fuzz; “Pink Noise” screams two things to me – these gentlemen know how to come up with a strong riff and they REALLY know how to arrange a fucking song (thank God) and this is a pure, instant masterpiece – listen to the harmonies – so tight and on point and “Baby Blaise” wouldn’t be out of place on The Turtles’ Happy Together or Present The Battle Of The Bands albums – this is how wide their spectrum seems to go, consciously or unconsciously.

The real standout of this album (of which there are a few, to be sure) is “Our Lady Of Perpetual Frustration”.  First off, great title.  Second, it’s weird, melodic and brilliant as fuck – psychedelic in all the aurally colorful ways you can be psychedelic without falling prey to the easily tedious cliches.  Catchy, radio friendly (in a just world) and arranged absolutely gloriously.  “Alabaster Crayon” has an early ’70’s feel with some groove, which is a bit different from the rest of the album but no less filled with a stellar vibe and “Between Us Two – I Saw You” is (not surprisingly) Byrds-y (definitely in the Younger Than Yesterday period) with a hypnotic 12-string Ric sounding cascading riff – and I’m hopeful these young men also took notes and notice from The Rain Parade, because this definitely could have been an outtake from Emergency Third Rail Power Trip.

File Lucille Furs under:  very late entry into my top albums of 2017 and I’m damned glad.  This is simply fantastic and would suggest you stop reading, listen to the track posted below and then seek out the album and the band themselves, if they’re playing somewhere near you.  I’ll be looking out – that’s for sure.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Lucille Furs’ debut self-titled album is currently available

http://www.lucillefurs.com/