Logan Melia: What are you drinking there?  

Jano Rix: I’ve got a black tea, a Fiji tips out-of-the-box from out there. 

Logan: Only the highest quality. 

Jano: Only the highest quality with nothing in it. Half a cup of water because that’s what it was like. 

Logan: You got to stay hydrated. Are you a coffee guy usually? Or are you tea?  

Jano: I have coffee in the morning. In fact, my whole life until I don’t know, two years ago, I never drank caffeine. 

Logan: Really? What changed? 

Jano: I don’t know. I started to like getting an espresso, like something sweet, like that one. And then I was like, I literally said, maybe I’ll see what getting a habit is all about with caffeine. And it’s on. So yeah. 

Logan: I just started like three months ago drinking coffee. 

Jano: Really. 

Logan: Yeah, like in college, I was like, I’m not going to do it because I can do it without it. I got this. And then over the summer, I worked at a golf course, and it was earlier mornings than I’ve ever had here at school. And that’s what made me fold. I’m a little disappointed in myself. 

Jano: Yeah, you know, it worked. Getting the habit worked. I got it. The thing about it, though, is that, I don’t know, it doesn’t really work that great if you didn’t get enough sleep. It makes you feel awesome if you got enough sleep, it’s even better. And if you didn’t get enough sleep, then you still feel like crap but jittery. 

Logan: Are you a full 8 hours guy or?  

Jano: I’m in a stage where, yeah, that’s good. Seven and a half. Seven and a half. 

Logan: You need it?  

Jano: I need it. Yeah.  

Logan: Do you feel like sluggish if you oversleep? Like if you are wiped, you sleep 10 hours, one day you wake up at, you know, 1130 A.M. 

Jano: If I, well on the road, 11:30 is reasonable. But I, it’s like all about timing. If it’s, I do believe in sleep cycles, at least for myself. So nine hours is awesome. 10 hours would suck. 

Logan: On the road, do you like the on the road thing? Does it mess with that schedule? 

Jano: Oh, I mean, yeah. It messes with my schedule. Yeah, last night wasn’t so great. You know, it depends on how the roads are, if the bus is going to stop in the middle of the night to fuel up. it depends on a lot of things.  

Logan: How long have you been touring for?  

Jano: 25 years, maybe? 

Logan: A little home on the road there, you know? You’re getting used to it. After the 25 years, maybe. 

Jano: Yes, I’m definitely used to it. I’ll tell you what, when I went away in COVID, I did miss it after a while. I loved it at first, actually. That particular thing of not touring, it was so awesome. I was home for months. And then after a while, it was just a huge part of my life, my expression, and also just being used to just seeing new places and waking up in a new place. And just, I don’t know, we have a tour family. I really missed it. 

Logan: When COVID first hit, were you like, I’m not going to do anything musical, I’m going to cleanse myself of this, or were the creative juices still kind of running for you? 

Jano: Oh, I mean, that was not a point in my life where I was like, no, I don’t want to do something musical. I had a point in my life, a few years before that, where I decided to quit music as a profession and that didn’t last. All that did was let me know that it was what I needed to do. It was good in that way. I tried to be a carpenter and I started working and doing like construction stuff. Working for a company and I quickly realized this is cool, but no, I need to put everything into music so that I can figure out a way to make a living doing this. I forget what year that was. I mean, 2009, something like that. But what was your question? Oh, COVID. COVID. Yeah. No, but it was just, I was, you know, I could do without the travel. So like stopping travel. I mean, I also spend the other, part of my artistic life is mostly spent in the studio. And that was mostly gone, but then we started doing sessions with masks and stuff, but touring was dead for a while. And I do remember vividly the first tour date, this live show date. 

Logan: What do you remember about it? 

Jano: Oh man, I cried. Like it was really awesome. I think it was outside, indoor/outdoor, like trying to do the COVID thing. At City Winery in Nashville and I think, what was it? Gosh, I’m trying to remember. Was it an Oliver Wood? I think we did an Oliver Wood Trio solo gig. And Seth Walker also played that night, like a bunch of people I’ve worked with and our friends and musicians I love. And I just, we played our set and then I just remember that felt amazing. And then I remember sitting in the audience, standing by the soundboard and watching Seth play. And I was just like, I was just so struck and moved by like how lucky I am to know these people and that we get to do this and I get to hear this, like after not hearing anyone play live music for so long. 

Logan: In those moments like that, is there like a song that kind of sticks with you from that exact time, or like maybe any other moments where you have a specific song that you remember hearing in a place during a time and you’re like, this is sticking with me? 

Jano: Oh, for sure. I don’t know if I remember a specific song from that night, but speaking of, it might’ve been, because I remember this from Seth Walker, hearing him, “Grab Ahold” which we’ve also done with the Oliver Wood solo stuff that I worked on. And I guess I worked on the original Seth Walker recording of that too. And he wrote that with Oliver and Oliver produced that first album and then I produced the subsequent ones. So I don’t know, that song goes way back and I’ve just, what really struck me, what I’m thinking about is hearing him from across festival grounds. Playing a daytime set, which can be tough in a festival early on, and telling a bunch of people there who didn’t know Seth, I was like, you have to go see Seth. And walking over to the stage and he was on the main stage and it was just like, you know giant fields, sun beating down, and he had everyone transfixed. Like you could hear a pin drop. When he gets into it, it’s remarkable. So I don’t know, there’s one. There’s one, yeah.  

Logan: You mentioned kind of coming out of your little, I’ll say, hiatus/retirement and realizing that you needed to do it more and more. When did you first realize that you needed to do it? Do you remember like how old you were or, you know, what’s really solidified that? 

Jano: I guess I wasn’t like a lot of people who were like, maybe, you know, they got a guitar in high school or something and they’re like in love with it. And I’m like, I think I want to do this because it was around me since I was a kid. My dad’s a professional drummer. And so I grew up, you know, from the time I was tiny, watching him play gigs. And like, there was a, I heard a cassette years ago of me playing when I was 4, playing and singing, and I was like that’s pretty good. I don’t really think I’ve gotten that much better from a four year old, I was just improvising a blues. My parents, they were outside and I went in the basement and just pressed record on a tape deck. And I played and made-up a blues about being all alone in the house, where they were and what they were doing. My dad’s in the shed, my mom’s out working in the garden and like. 

Logan: And here you are, all alone. 

Jano: Yeah. So I kind of, I wouldn’t say I knew I was going to do it because I was also, my mom’s a painter and I drew and painted growing up like equal time to music. So it was like, if I wasn’t skateboarding or something like that, because I also like to do athletic things, but I was drawing, painting, or working on music, piano or drums, mostly drums. So I don’t know, it was kind of bred into me. 

Logan: Who were your favorite artists or painters? 

Jano: My favorite artists or painters, here’s an inside one, Frank Frazetta. He did a lot of illustration, like he did a lot of book covers. My mom was really into illustrators and he was very much in a kind of fantastical fantasy sci-fi style, but fantastic craftsman and fantastic painter. Anyway, that’s kind of a random one to pick out because a lot of the greats I love too. I remember becoming obsessed with Picasso for a while. But yeah, I just saw someone wearing a Frank Frazetta t-shirt and I was like, where’d you get that? And she’s like, there’s this museum. I was like, you went? You know, it’s very inside, but in Pennsylvania, there’s just this Frank Frazetta museum. Yeah, so I don’t know. I was very, you know, that was another thing like my parents, my mom passed down that kind of stuff to me. So just, yeah, a bunch of illustrators I was into. That was a great one. 

Logan: Were you in the comic books at all? 

Jano: I wasn’t. I wasn’t, but I had a friend who really was, so I gained an appreciation of that. Actually, his name is Ben Mara, Benjamin Mara, and I was just seeing, he does amazing comic book stuff now. Really? He’s in it. He followed it all the way through. So I got an appreciation for what that was at the time, but no, I guess just more kind of like fine art stuff and painting. I don’t do too much of that. The most is like, people are like, Who painted that on your ‘shituar’? It’s like, Oh, I just did that. Randomly every few years, I’ll get the bug and I’ll like paint an owl on my ‘shituar’ or something. 

Logan: There you go, an owl on your ‘shituar’. Yeah. You mentioned skateboarding a minute ago. Now, when I think of a kid skateboarding, this music isn’t exactly, The Wood Brother’s isn’t exactly the music that comes to mind. So were you skating, listening to Rancid, or were you skating, like listening to John Prine? 

Jano: We were totally listening to The Misfits. You know, I think musically I had my own thing, but I was on the edge of that skate culture. So I did listen to that stuff. But musically, I was always kind of like, not with necessarily what my friends were listening to, because I had a very focused musical life and stuff I was into. I went through some phases with friends around, but I was really into Pink Floyd at that time. Like really, really into Pink Floyd. 

Logan: I was never a Pink Floyd guy. Me and some buddies put on The Wall for the first time I ever heard it. And it was a life-changing experience. You feel it over your whole body. It just washes over you. 

Jano: That’s cool to hear how someone else felt. I’ve never talked to anyone about what they thought of The Wall the first time. But yeah, I used to, I mean, I was young and I used to watch that movie. I didn’t know what the hell was going on in that movie. But it was like a feeling and they just were able to conjure certain feelings. And when I look back at it, they’re very patient. That music often moves very slow and there’s 16 measures, 32 measures in the middle of a song of just the groove vamp with maybe like 3 guitar licks. It’s like so patient and there’s so much space. And I think I’ve always gravitated to stuff like that. whether it was that or more funky music. Yeah. 

Logan: Do you feel like you incorporate some of that patience into your own music? 

Jano: I do. I don’t think about it consciously much. But if anything, like in the confines of making a record maybe, sometimes I listen back and I’m like, oh, I need to like, hit it a little harder sooner because there’s not enough time to be just patient. But I don’t think about it. It’s something that’s kind of automatic for me, I think. 

Logan: We talked about your mom’s influence a little bit. You were putting together an album with your father. Legacy. Not a whole lot of musicians are able to do that, you know? So I mean, obviously, I’m sure it feels incredibly special. But is there anything in that album that you just haven’t felt before while making music? 

Jano: Oh, good question. Yes. You know, and I don’t know if it’s purely a musical thing as far as like the aesthetics of the music, like the musical choices. But it felt very difficult. different to make that record. I make records all the time. I’m very lucky to have been doing that for a long time. Either as a musician or a producer and we have our studio, you know, me and The Wood Brothers in Nashville. But making a record with my dad was, I think I put more pressure on myself. Not that it had to be, it’s not going to be, I didn’t care if it was a commercial product, but it was just, it just felt more like, I don’t know, I wanted it to be good. I wanted him to like it. I don’t know. It was just, it was harder for me to finish it. I found myself dragging my feet, which is part of, I blame myself partially. We’re equally to blame why it took us 12 years from our first notes put down and recording to the end.

Logan: During those 12 years, were there any songs that you were able to get down in a day or get a good chunk of it down? Or were they all really laborious? 

Jano: Oh, I mean, in the end, I mean, we only had maybe five times we ever got together and recorded. I’d say probably 5 days. Total. 

Logan: To make an album, that’s a pretty good time to make album. 

Jano: There was a lot, okay, but there was a lot of… I spent other days myself, but I erased a lot of it because what we would do is we’d get together, the first time we got together at Southern Ground Studios in Nashville, and we spent an entire day, maybe it was two days, I think it might have just one day, and we tracked basics, just the two of us for, I mean, it’s only the two of us playing everything on the record. Yeah. And we got like half the record done that day. And then another day in the town where my parents live in New York, I went up there and we tracked again. We got basically the other half of the basic the tracks done. And then overdubs, I would work on them like in Nashville and I would add a lot. And in the end, it was just like, a lot of times I just stripped it back to mostly just me playing like a Fender Rhodes, my dad playing drums, our vocals. No, it can’t have been five days. I’m going to give us seven days, but totally working together. But I worked I worked a lot of other days on it myself, just adding little things, taking things away.

(Part 2)

Logan: Do you think you work best with simplicity?

Jano: Yeah.

Logan: In your dream scenario, what are the only things on a record or on a song? What’s the core that can’t be stripped away for you? 

Jano: Well, it could be anything. It could be anything, but I find myself often, like my favorite record by an artist is one with usually with like very little production. Sometimes there’s no crumbs on it, sometimes there’s, you know, not like the instrument I play like I necessarily care about hearing, you know. Like a Dylan record, like a really old one. That is just mostly just him. Yeah. Like, I’m like, oh, it’s not. No offense to my dad who played on Dylan Records. 

Logan: Your father played on Dylan Records? Which ones? 

Jano: The most known recording would probably be “Hurricane” or “Desire”. And he played on “Desire”, he’s playing with congas on that.  

Logan: That’s wild. You ever get to meet Bob? 

Jano: Unless I did when I was really tiny, no, but I heard plenty of stories. 

Logan: Any ones you can share? 

Jano: Oh man, my dad was on the Rolling Thunder Revue. Yeah, if you know that one, it’s like, that’s just a wild tour. Dylan was, I think the cool parts about it, some of the cool parts are he was tired of, he was such a big star at that point. He felt like his fans didn’t necessarily get tickets to the shows because everything was becoming expensive and would sell out right away. So he decided to do a tour, but not book it ahead of time. And he just got some buses, put the band together, because him and Rob Stoner put the band together. And they would just, as I know the story, show up in a town like the night before and just say, hey, we want to play your venue here like your veteran’s hall or something like that. And they would just put posters up, said Bob Dylan playing tomorrow night. And so it was very, to use the term freewheeling, and like, you know by the seat of their pants. And on that tour he kept adding artists and buses, just like pick up people. And then suddenly Joni Mitchell’s on the tour and Alan Ginsberg’s on the tour and like everybody’s on the tour. And it was, you know, so it was like this crazy social hang and wild tour, you know. 

Logan: That’s crazy. Is that something like, is there any off the wall ideas that you would ever want to do as an artist? Anything like a tour where you got, you got no direction in mind? 

Jano: I have, yeah, I have fairly ambiguous ideas that I haven’t really locked down of because I dance a lot. I don’t know if a lot of people know that, but like I teach dance. My wife and I teach Casino and Salsa. Casino is often called Cuban Salsa. But just through that world and interacting with music that way, I would love to incorporate that heavily for the audience into a set, as well as participating in rhythms in the music more than just clapping along every once in a while. Which goes to your question of, which I think this started out with a while ago, of what are the elements that you can’t get away from in music? And there’s a style of music that I really like, Cuban Rumba. And I love Huapango. And in Huapango, it’s just percussion and vocals. And man, music does not need any more than that. When anything’s grooving that hard, you do not need anything else, and all the space is wonderful. That said, I love guitars and keyboards and bass, but I love the simplicity of it too. I think that’s, and the rhythmic grooving nature of it. So I would just, and there’s something, our culture doesn’t have a lot of participation either. in dance socially, at least not white people. So social dances, that’s like, hardly anyone knows how to do those anymore, like partner dancing. But even just dance as a celebration and a ritual. And dance classes are for kids, you know, and then adults, unless they like to go to concerts and dance, they don’t really dance. So I would love to incorporate that, as well as, I think, everyone can play and sing and do music. It’s just like we’re not raised with that as part of our culture. And man, it’s very healing for people to do that. So I’d like to incorporate that. 

Logan: I remember hearing one time, one of my, I took choir in high school and a teacher said, singing and dancing is like running. Everybody can do it. doesn’t matter how good you are at it. And do you find that there’s a level that people need to cross them to be more comfortable dancing and doing that stuff? Do you find that there’s a switch that needs to be flipped because like, I think the average person isn’t maybe comfortable or think they’re capable of dancing. So is there some threshold that they need to cross, do you think? 

Jano: It depends on the person. Because in a way, no, because a little kid can do it. And a little kid can play and sing music and it’s perfect. It’s just what it should be. But I was that person who, I grew up on the bandstand on stage, I did not step foot, I did not dance until I was an adult. I was deathly afraid of dancing, which is probably why I got so into it once I conquered that fear of it, why it made such a difference to me. But yeah, so I was one of those people. It was not in my culture. And I was really afraid of dancing. And then my wife, we went to the Dominican Republic and we took some little dance lessons on the beach. We did some bachata lessons. And then we got back home and she’s like, I really want to take salsa lessons. And I was like, okay, I’ll go with you. And so we went week after week, I was kicking and screaming every week. I did not want to go and be bad at, because I was used to being good at art from the time I was little. I was like, I was like the one who was really good at the art, you know? And here I was terrible. I was terrible at dancing. And salsa requires, you know, a vocabulary, it’s a language. But once I finally got over myself and went to a social, which everyone told me to do, and just dance with people, which I was afraid. I was like, no, I’m going to get good first. They’re like, no, you’re not. You have to go and that’s going to make you get good. You just have to go and suck and dance with a lot of people. When I finally did that, I was so hooked. 

Logan: Really? 

Jano: Yeah, because you are basically dancing duets with different people all night. You’re improvising. It’s like a full body improvisation with music and another person. It’s just like a beautiful connection. It breaks the boundaries of physical connection. We don’t really touch much in our culture, except like with your lover. That’s it. Like otherwise you don’t really touch, you know, you pat your bro on the back. That’s that, yeah, that’s that. So yeah, it was like really opened my world and it was whole, opened my world to new cultures, new language, and the language of dance. So I don’t know, yeah. 

Logan: You mentioned it being like a full body, like experiencing that thing. Do you feel the same way when you’re on stage doing music? And is that, if it is, is it the same use of your full body or is it a different feeling? 

Jano: It’s a different feeling, but it can be very much the same and it should be. And dancing has informed me with my music because my music, has been a professional thing for so long. And in a lot of ways, I put pressure on myself since I was pretty young to perform at that. But dancing started as an adult, and I got to watch myself as it was like a third space. It was not, for a long time, it wasn’t professional and I became professional. And I also saw what that did to my experience of it, you know. And, but it made me aware that I was missing out on some of the joy I originally had in music. Because dancing, and I was like, I couldn’t believe I’d become this person who would just be like, no one on the dance floor, that’s me. You want to dance? Let’s go. I had no problem asking, going to an unfamiliar city somewhere in Europe and meeting everyone, asking them to dance. And it was just with so much joy, like that connection, just the joy of connecting in the moment to just that life between the two of you, between the music moving in the air. And so, yeah, you should have that with music too. And it is a full body experience. Even if you’re playing an instrument that mostly just your fingers touch some keys or something, your whole body’s involved, your breathing’s involved, you can dance with it. 

Logan: Do you feel like that kind of the love, that you’re describing, do you feel it growing every time you do it? Or do you find it to be maybe a little repetitive at times? 

Jano: Well, yeah, it goes through phases and it’s night to night and it’s moment to moment. And I think once you’ve done it long enough, at least for some of us, the only thing to really think about is to notice where you’re at. The music’s happening, like you’re playing the music, thinking about what you’re going to play next is a complete waste of time. Your conscious brain is really way too slow to do all the cool things that you can actually do. But you just kind of realize where you’re at, like, oh everything’s feeling hard. I’m feeling like I can’t hear, I’m annoyed with my in-ear mix, okay where am I at? Like, how am I feeling? Where is this in my body? Can I breathe? Can I just get curious about the sounds and where I’m at? And kind of sometimes I look at the lights in the room and that’ll like bring me back. I think you go through stages too, where it’s like all joy and you’re just excited about it. And then I noticed myself with dance and then I got a level of expertise with it, and I started teaching as people start looking up to you. And then you feel like you’ve got to be somebody. Like when you dance, people are watching you. And you’ve got to represent and you’ve got to, then the joy is gone. And you still might do some hot dance moves, but you’re not really connecting with your partner, you’re not really letting loose in the moment, and you’re not even modeling what you should be modeling. You’ll look back and you’ll, if people videoed you, see you’re not smiling.

Logan: How do you kind of disperse those expectations? When you feel them setting it, is there anything you do to make them go away? 

Jano: You schedule therapy.  

Logan: Not bad advice.  

Jano: Yeah, you know, and I don’t think there’s one solution, but over time, you get different home mantras to tell yourself. If you can remember to remember, then you, like this week I’ll tell you what it is this week on stage, it’s someone talked about curiosity. And so I just like try to get really curious. I mentioned that a few minutes ago, just get really curious about the moment. That’s what I’ve been doing this week, that word comes to mind. In fact, I wanted to paint it on one of my instruments, so I just see it. But I remember last week, I put a little, preparing for the tour, I put a little sign, put it on my rig, and it said, I think, smile, like smile with your body. And when I think of that, my posture gets better. My posture tends to smile and my chest comes up and I tend to breathe in. I smile with my face. And I realize, like, what are you practicing? Are you practicing being stressed out and worried about screwing something up and not being able to, not having your chops up for this tour? Because that’s how you’re going to feel on the tour. No matter, if you practice that for 1000 hours before the tour, you will still not feel ready for the tour, no matter how good your chops are because that’s what you practiced. So try to practice letting it flow and being curious and interested in the sounds as they happen, rather than trying to turn yourself into a machine, being constantly looking for your own faults. Because I can do that. I’m good at that. I spent years doing that. I can play like a machine, I know how to. 

Logan: But it’s better if you let it flow. 

Jano: Yeah. And you can. There’s machines, I mean, you can just have it tell AI to do it now. I think it can make you machine music. 

Logan: It’s not good music. 

Jano: It’s not good music, but it sounds, honestly, it sounds like lackluster music and a lot of people make lackluster music because they’re trying to treat themselves like machines. We’re lucky that’s not what our fans want. At least not with the Wood Brothers. Like they want to hear, like have a human, you know, they always say, God you guys sound so honest. I think it’s, we just let ourselves be what we are, you know, warts and all. 

With support from Irish duo DUG, The Englert was lively for The Wood Brothers. For over two hours, fans were showered with songs old and new with an encore of their hit “Luckiest Man”. It was a busy year for Rix as The Wood Brothers dropped their new album “Puff of Smoke” in August and “Legacy, Vol 1” from Jano and his father released in November. The Wood Brothers will continue their tour this winter, you can find dates here.

The post Interview: Jano Rix of The Wood Brothers appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Born and raised in Vinton, Iowa, a town of just over 5,000, Moen’s midwestern drawl is part of her signature sound. Her most popular song Headgear, a punchy indie rock song, is surprisingly different than what she has released lately. Headgear was released in 2019, and her music took a notable shift after the pandemic.

Like many others, several opportunities were taken from Moen when COVID-19 hit. She was scheduled to perform at the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas before it was cancelled. Despite this blow, she took her newfound free time and channeled it into creativity.

On her 2020 EP Creature of Habit, her vocals are much more stripped back and the muted production creates a softer, more introspective atmosphere. The EP is largely about dealing with loneliness and helplessness during pandemic isolation, and the song titles are cleverly titled to match the theme. The track list is: Creature of Habit, Eating Chips, It’ll Get Tired Too, Who Wants Takeout? and Studio Apartment, along with an acoustic version of the title track.

Moen’s most recent single, Is Heaven Just A Waiting Room? leans even further into the blues sound than her 2020 EP. The artist’s website says to expect a full-length album later this year and if this is an indication of what will be on it, listeners are in for a treat. See our 2016 profile on Moen to get an idea of her live presence. Elizabeth Moen performs at the Englert Theatre on April 7, at 7:45 p.m.

The post Mission Creek Preview: Elizabeth Moen takes on the blues appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Just look at this album cover. Is this not the most hardcore Halloween banger album art you’ve ever seen?

As we descend into October, cool mists roll across campus and the veil between our world and the supernatural grows ever thinner. There was a new moon on Sunday, a good time for reflection and refreshing for this next cycle. Cultivate an intention for this month, set a little energy aside to reach a goal, whether personal, academic or otherwise.

Happy Libra season, you beautiful foolish Libras. There’s a full moon early in the first decan of Scorpio this year. A full moon means that it’s time to cash in on the energy you’ve put toward making or manifesting something. Use this energy for good, act where you have previously refrained. Come out of the shadows and into your own this October.

Track #1 – “Can’t Play Dead” by The Heavy

We kick off this playlist with a romp into the world of B-list zombies, werewolves and vampires with The Heavy’s “Can’t Play Dead”. Imagine you’re sprawled across your couch on a cold October night, as the wind howls outside and tree branches rattle against the windows. The TV is tuned to a channel showing old school horror movies. You’re starting to fall asleep and as your dreams grow strange…

The Heavy is a rock band of four that hails from Bath, England. In this decidedly monster mash vibe, “[‘Can’t Play Dead’] feels like the soundtrack to a zombie B-movie” according to lead singer Kelvin Swaby. With lyrics like “Walks like a zombie / talks too cold / lives in a graveyard like the one I call home”, the song comments on the cutthroat and profit-driven cycles of the music industry.

The drama of this absolute Halloween banger is topped with a homemade feeling claymation music video. The music video showcases the song’s “filthy garage riffs” and is complete with nods to monster movie imagery and sound.

Track #21 – “Lose Your Soul” by Dead Man’s Bones

We finish off with a personal favorite of mine. There’s nothing like a children’s choir on backing vocals to make it feel like someone’s walking over your grave. The project is led by Hollywood beloved actor Ryan Gosling and his friend Zach Shields. The two first connected in 2005 over their shared obsession with all things supernatural, and embarked on creating what would be the album “Dead Man’s Bones”.

The album centers around an almost fireside retelling of a monster-ghost love story. Every instrument was played by either Gosling or Shields themselves, even instruments they had never played before. They incorporate the Silverlake Conservatory Children’s Choir to give it that extra eerie and honest feeling. Experimental, weird and so much fun, I highly recommend you give this album a listen if you’re into the thematic and dramatic. Read more about the project here and check out Pitchfork’s review!

These jams are guaranteed to get you in the mood, whether you tear it up at a house party, or run howling at the moon this Halloween.

Listen to the whole playlist below!

The post Conundrum of the Veil: Monster Mashes appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Last night Elizabeth Moen took the stage in the historic Englert theater and was a fountain of powerful music. I have seen Moen twice now, once in the spring when she opened for another band, and both times she has amazed me with how much emotion and soul her music brings out of me. This September, Moen dropped her second LP, “A Million Miles Away”, and is currently preforming shows debuting it. Because of this, I went in thinking that would be the majority of her set list, but I was pleasantly surprised to find out she played both songs off the record, new unrecorded songs, and the first songs she had ever written.

The audience was warm, enjoyed every song and was not afraid to let the band know it, with shouts, wooing, and yelling of appreciation towards the music filled the Englert Theaters.

The last time I saw Elizabeth Moen she was preforming a solo act on stage with just her guitar whilst she sang. Last night, she had a full band with backup singers and trumpets. It was amazing to see how with each version of her performances, she still brought the same level of intensity and musicality to her act. The aspect I find truly special about Moen is her ability to take a simple song and by adding her beautiful voice to it, making it into something truly memorable.

The band ended their set but didn’t make it off the stage before the crowd was screaming for an encore. The whole band was almost half way off stage, turned around and played one last song to send the crowed out into Iowa City.

My favorite aspects of seeing local music such as Elizabeth Moen is getting to see how their act has both changed and stayed the same. Since my last time seeing Moen, she has travel overseas on a tour and released a second album. A lot has changed but the same power and emotions are brought to the stage every time she takes it. Elizabeth Moen’s music and especially her voice, is something that will stay within you long after the song/concert is over.

Elizabeth Moen’s openers were Sweet Tang and Young Charles. These are new bands that show promise and definitely had a few songs that I added to my Spotify as they left the stage. Sweet Tang’s “Secret Beaches” has made a hole in my head and still has not left it even now.

All of Elizabeth Moen’s music can be found on both Apple Music, Spotify, and your local music shop. If you haven’t heard of Moen before, now is definitely the time to take a dive into her rich and powerful music.

Below are a few of the tracks by Moen that I have really enjoyed and also tracks by Sweet Tang and Young Charles.

Best I Can Do – Elizabeth Moen

Red – Elizabeth Moen

Secret Beach – Hot Tang 

Armageddon Party Dress – Young Charles

The post Elizabeth Moen Album Release @ The Englert 9/14/18 appeared first on KRUI Radio.

This concert was intoxicatingly cute and sweet, needless to say, I enjoyed this performance very much. The Weepies kick-started their first stop on their 10^th Anniversary Tour Thursday night in a truly grand fashion at The Englert. I went into the show knowing very little about this adorable duo but after the night was over I now understand how they sold more than a million records and have such a loyal fan base.

I was surprised by the wide variety of fans in the audience, ages from 5 years-old to 75 years-old were in attendance. I don’t want to paint this band as a simple small family band because they rocked the house in a grand way that anyone could dig it.  There were some bumps and rust dusting that happened very rarely but the duo was always quick with a joke and recovered in a very charming and professional way. The energy in the audience was that of people who were all enjoying their time and were all happy to be seeing this musical group.

Deb Talan and Steve Tannen’s cute personalities truly did shine bright and complemented their folk-pop style music. Deb and Tannen’s little anecdotes were both entertaining and enduring with topics ranging from the weather to porno. These two literally were making dad jokes and knock knock jokes, truly hitting my adorably soft spot on my heart. Their stage layout and lighting was simple but added a great effect to vibe.

The stage was set with quaint shrines on the left and right corners of the stage with the themes of the sea and the sun. The background was a changing combination of their logo of a hand drawn bird or whale. They were a joy to watch and listen to. At the end of the concert, they even gave away free glow in the dark stickers and buttons!

I really enjoyed their songs Crooked Smile, Fancy Things, and Be My Thrill. I highly recommend looking into their albums Say I Am You, Hideaway, and Sirens. This band is yet another reason why I have loved this year’s Mission Creek Festival. This event has brought truly a diverse and wide style of art, music, and literature to Iowa City.

I was shocked to learn that the couple live in Iowa City with three children. It’s always exciting to see local musicians like The Weepies play at venues and still going strong. Elizabeth Moen opened for The Weepies. Moen, a local Iowa City musician, has truly a very captivating voice that paired perfectly with her beautiful and haunting lyrics. Elizabeth Moen recently released a new album, That’s All I Wanted.

The Weepies’ Folk-Pop and Elizabeth Moen’s blues were a great combination of a show.  I highly recommend looking into The Weepies and Elizabeth Moen, both can be found on Apple Music, Spotify and Amazon Music.

The Weepies tour dates are below. They are definitely a joy to watch and I would totally see them again!

The post Mission Creek Festival: The Weepies @ The Englert Theatre 4/5/18 appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Being a fan of Moen since her self-titled debut album in 2016, I can honestly confess that her music has the capability of transcending you from your current place in the world to an environment that sings of nothing but pure nostalgia.

From the multiple genres – folk, indie, and blues to name a few – her voice contains a certain fluidity that just draws you in and holds you captive until the last note is sung.

While watching the show, even though I was mesmerized by her voice, it was quite an experience to see how her music affected those around me. Halfway through the set, it was simply amazing to see so many not only listening to her music but actually listening to the words of her songs as well.

In a way, it showed how much of an important role artist play in our lives, whether we realize it or not. For some, it was clear to see that the words Moen spoke were honest and relatable. Which, if I may say, is quite rare to see manifest in artists in today’s day and age.

One thing that I did not expect was holding a conversation with a young woman during her performance.

It started off as a simple excuse me as I scurried to my seat and quickly turned into an impromptu friendship where I learned many interesting things about Moen.

For instance, only a few years ago did she walk these same streets as I, as a student here at the University of Iowa. While that simple fact may seem not as a noteworthy one, I can tell you it is anything but irrelevant.

Being a student, I cannot begin to describe what it felt like to see someone who was in the same shoes as you follow their passion and become successful.

In a way, it was a subtle push of encouragement in regard to reassuring me – and all my fellow Hawkeyes – that it’s okay to follow your passion.

Being a college student on the verge of graduation, it can be quite fearful to imagine the world outside of Iowa City; however, seeing a former student come back and perform, is simply amazing.

I can sit here and rift for hours on how wonderful Moen’s show was but what I want to iterate the most is simply how amazing it is to see an artist in person.

I mean, listening to them via any streaming website is one thing, but actually seeing and hearing them is an entirely different thing.

Which is why, I am more than happy – pleased – to have reviewed Elizabeth Moen’s show tonight at the Englert Theatre.

Next time she’s in town, I’ll be sure to attend.

I hope to see some of you all there.

The post Mission Creek Festival: Elizabeth Moen @ The Englert Theatre 4/5/18 appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Buffy Sainte-Marie is a Canadian singer-songwriter and visual artist born in 1941. She released her first album “It’s My Way!” in 1964 when she was 23 years old. While the album never charted, it was still deeply influential in the folk genre and to Native American peoples.

Buffy Sainte-Marie, along with being a talented songwriter and singer, is also one of the most recognized advocated for the rights of indigenous peoples throughout the Americas. She focuses on protecting the intellectual property of Native peoples and fights against the exploitation for Native American artists.

In 1997, Sainte-Marie created the Cradleboard Teaching Project, which makes multimedia core curriculum about Native American cultures. Cradleboard is the branch of the Nihewan Foundation for Native American Education, founded in 1969 by Sainte-Marie. The foundation supports Native American college-bound students and helps students with lower grades gain access to a college education. Sainte-Marie has also been awarded with the American Indian College Fund’s lifetime achievement award for all of her hard work.

Her passion against the mistreatment of indigenous peoples is evident from the first song on her album titled “Now That the Buffalo’s Gone”. Sainte-Marie uses the near-extinction of the American buffalo as a metaphor for genocide against native peoples by the Europeans. The song is so powerful that it is now considered a classic folk protest song.

The final verse says the most to me: “Oh it’s all in the past you can say / But it’s still going on here today / The governments now want the Navajo land / That of the Inuit and the Cheyenne / It’s here and it’s now you can help us dear man / Now that the buffalo’s gone.”

“The Old Man’s Lament” is a very depressing song sung from the point of view of a man is raising a son that he knows isn’t his. “She goes out every night to a ball or a party / And leaves me here rockin’ he cradle alone / The innocent laddie he calls me his daddy / But little he knows that he’s none of my own.”

“Ananias” is a song that surprised me to hear. Ananias was a member of the early Christian church in Jerusalem, and suddenly died after lying to the Holy Spirit about money. After his death, people started to fear the Lord. The lyric “Ananias, Ananias / Tell me what kind of man this Jesus is, my Lord” is repeated for the majority of the song.

I think Sainte-Marie’s point is that she doesn’t understand the grace of a God that could allow one of his followers to drop dead or could allow any of his followers to fear him. This would be an interesting message for her to give out, especially since there is such little variety in the song’s lyrics.

“Mayoo Sto Hoon” is a beautiful song, and I’m really sad that I could find lyrics or translations anywhere. The song is sung in (I’m assuming) a Native American language that I do not know, and I wish I couldn’t found any information about it. Until I can find out more, all I know is that Sainte-Marie’s vocals sound absolutely lovely on this slow-paced, calm track.

“Cod’ine” is about addiction to the pain medication, codeine. “You’ll forget your woman, you’ll forget about man / Try it just once and you’ll try it again /  It’s sometimes you wonder and it’s sometimes you think / That I’m a-living my life with abandon to drink / And it’s real, and it’s real, one more time.” Since there is, unfortunately, such little information about Sainte-Marie that I can find, I am not sure if this song comes from personal experiences or if there is another inspiration for this song.  

The song begins to kind of drag on near the middle, since each verse ends with the same repetitive line, but I imagine this is a representation of addiction. The song was later covered by Janis Joplin and appeared on her album “This is Janis Joplin 1965”, though she changed some of Sainte-Marie’s lyrics.

“Cripple Creek” is an Old Time Appalachian folk song that has been popular since at least the early 1900’s. It definitely sounds out of place at first on “It’s My Way!” but it’s also really neat to hear Sainte-Marie recreate one of the very first folk songs since she would go on to influence the genre herself. It is a fun, uplifting song to listen to, and is a welcome break here.   

“Universal Soldier” became one of Buffy Sainte-Marie’s most famous songs, especially so after it was covered by the popular artist Donovan. The song tells the story of a soldier that believes he is fighting for peace, but doesn’t recognize that he is part of the unrest. This song became a definitive anti-war anthem for the 20th century.

“Babe in Arms” is the story opposite of “The Old Man’s Lament”. In this track, a pregnant woman already mothering one child is stuck at home alone while her husband is away drinking and living a freer life. To end the story, we get the lyric “And were it not for this wee baby / Well, you know what I’d do / Ooh, to my fine man / Ah, don’t you know, I’d shoot him and put an end to his life of sin.”

“He Lived Alone in Town” is perhaps the most melancholy song on the album. It tells the story of a man who is left by a woman he loves. While they both love each other, she leads him on a chase to find her, though she knows will never end and she will not be with him. The song ends with the lyric “So, wander with me now / Or wander off alone / But know I love you, tearful one / Much more than I can show.”

“You’re Gonna Need Somebody on Your Bond” is another traditional folk song Sainte-Marie covers on this album. Her rendition is very quick and upbeat, but has a daunting message. “You’re gonna need somebody on your bond / Way after midnight when Death comes a-creepin’ in your room.” Blind Willie Johnson, a blues musician this song is accredited to, says the song deals with the idea that one needs a legally binding contract in order to get into heaven. Donovan also covered this song after it was on Sainte-Marie’s album.

“The Incest Song” is an incredibly morbid story. The lyrics describe the death of a woman carrying the child of her brother. The woman’s brother is in love with her, but chooses to stab her to death since he’s been given a bride by their father. He then goes to his wedding directly afterward, where his father asks why he’s crying so much. This would have to be my least favorite song from the album, both because it isn’t as musically interesting and because the subject matter is a little too out of place for me.

The lyrics of “Eyes of Amber” are lovely in their imagery.  It is a song about the lessons of love, or about the person who teaches someone how to love, even if it is a self-taught love. “Heart of fire light / Heart of the flowers of the / Jungle / Heart of snow / You come again and you are / Midnight wind.” The fleeting feeling this song gives is very light and precious.

And finally, at the end of the album we get the title track, “It’s My Way”. I really, really wish that I could say I liked this song, and I do like the message an independence that Sainte-Marie is claiming within it. However, the song is very repetitive, with almost each line beginning with the words “I’ve got my own” and very little variation in the guitar accompaniment. I wish there had been more poetic lyricism, but I still appreciate the meaning.

As I was researching Buffy Sainte-Marie, I became more and more shocked that I hadn’t heard anything about her ever before. She was covered by Janis Joplin and Donovan, both extremely popular artists in the 60’s, but of course there is endless information about both of them.

She penned the most popular anti-war anthem in the era where the United States was arguably the most anti-war it’s ever been. She influenced folk music as a whole, a genre that was extremely popular at the time. She is still doing this hard work today at 77 years old and yet, as hard as I look, I can find barely any information about her.

The album as a whole is very classically folky and very quick to listen to. These thirteen songs together are only forty minutes long, and I wish there was more. This time of year, when it’s still cold but also kind of like  spring, make me crave folk music like no other. Of course, this won’t end until the end of the summer, so this album will make a great addition to the playlist I’ll be listening to for the next six-ish months.

Something else to check out: Buffy Sainte-Marie’s “Medicine Songs”. These songs were created to not overwhelm or oppress any group of people during the tense political climate we’re living in right now. Sainte-Marie says these songs are meant to enlighten and uplift those who hear them, and are meant to motivate the listener to fight for their rights and beliefs.

Listen to both “It’s My Way!” and “Medicine Songs” below!

The post Stella: “It’s My Way!” by Buffy Sainte-Marie appeared first on KRUI Radio.

For this week’s Stella, I’ll be discussing Erykah Badu and her debut album, “Baduizm”.

Erykah Badu, born Erica Wright, changed her name in her youth. She believed that “Erica” was a slave name, so she added the term “kah”, a word meaning “inner self” to the end. She came to choose “Badu” as her last name as it was her favorite scat sound in jazz music.

While “Baduizm” was her premier album, Badu reached number one on the Billboard Chart for R&B and Hip-Hop and number 20 on the Billboard 200. She also won two Grammys for the album, one for Best B&B Album and one for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for the single “On & On”.

Released in February of 1997, “Baduizm” went triple platinum after it spawned three singles: “On & On”, “Next Lifetime”, and “Otherside of the Game”. The album firmly planted Badu as a staple of neo Soul music, perfectly blending jazz and hip-hop to create a new genre.

“Basuizm” begins with a bassline and leads into the beat of a drum with “Rim Shot (Intro)”. The drumming technique used is the namesake of the song; when a drummer hits the rim of the drum as well as hitting the drum, it’s called a rimshot. 

This song lays the foundation for the rest of the album very nicely. It exudes classic jazz and modern R&B. Combined with Badu’s perfectly catered vocals, there is no question that even the first track from “Baduizm” paved the way for neo-Soul as an established genre.

“On & On”, Badu’s first single, is the second track from the album. This song really showcases Badu’s writing talent. She was able to make many references to the same concept: a circular figure or motion, kind of like karma.

“The world keeps turning” and “My cypher keeps moving like a rolling stone” are just two examples of lyrics that point toward this cylindrical motion. Badu also makes references to her astrological sign, Pieces, whose image is two fish swimming in a circle.

The song reflects the idea that life goes on (& On) through struggles if we have faith. Badu’s faith in this respect goes toward a God. “Most intellects do not believe in God but they fear us just the same” and “If we were made in his image then call us by our names” are lyrics Badu uses to express her religious beliefs. Though I am not religious, the song still really resonates with me in another kind of spiritual way.

Religious motifs continue in the opening monologue of “Appletree”. Badu addresses her listeners are “the Creator’s righteous children”. The title “Appletree” and Badu’s lyrics mentioning “picking fruit” could be a reference to the Garden of Eden. 

After the first three tracks of the album, “Baduizm” begins to focus for a while on complex love.

“Other Side of the Game” discusses the story of a new mother who stays at home alone while her husband or boyfriend is out making money to pay the bills.

“Next Lifetime” begins with a discussion between Badu and one of her friends, explaining that while she can see herself with him, she can’t leave her current relationship.

In “Afro (Freestyle Skit)” Badu uses her and her boyfriend’s hair to describe their relationship. When he promised her tickets to a Wu-Tang Clan concert, she got her hair put in cornrows and his afro was flat on one side.

“Certainly” had become one of my favorites for its lyrics. “Who gave you permission to rearrange me / Certainly not me.” “Was not looking for no love affair, baby / And now you wanna fix me.” “The world is mine / when I wake up / I don’t need nobody telling me the time.”

I choose to interpret this as Badu’s commentary on unsolicited attention, assault, or men that are far too persistent when it’s been made clear there is no common interest. I finally have the perfect tune to play when I get fifteen Facebook message requests from the same strange man just saying “hey.”

“Certainly” is reprised later in “Certainly (Flipped It)” as the second to last song of the album. The two renditions are completely different, as the second is more groovy than it is jazzy. The tempo is quicker, the octave is higher, and Badu comes of as sassier. Both are still absolutely beautiful.

These songs in particular do an excellent job of showcasing Badu’s vocal talents. Her voice is perfect for the slow-moving jazz accompanying these complicated tales. Throughout “Afro (Freestyle Skit)” the listener is able to feel Badu’s personality more. She is giggling in the beginning, and since she sings with minimal musical background, there is more room for her to tell a story with her voice alone.

The album takes a musically stylistic turn from this point on. Especially since the previous four love songs were so similar, the change was almost striking. The songs move from slow, deep jazz rhythms to those with higher energy. This change also comes about in lyrical context. Badu isn’t always singing about sad romances or heartbreak anymore, but brings in a theme of hopefulness.

“4 Leaf Clover” is the first song on “Baduizm” that immediately strikes me as different from the rest. Badu isn’t the only vocalist on the song. There are several harmonized voices layered behind Badu’s throughout the choruses. I miss Badu’s voice as a feature in this track. I’d grown attached to it from the beginning.

“No Love” has a beautiful intro. Badu jazz scats her way into the song. While the song is about unrequited or underappreciated love, the music itself doesn’t feel sad, but rather optimistic. I feel conflicted about this song for this reason. I wonder what kind of emotional reaction Badu wants her listener to have. I feel like this song should make me frustrated or angry, but I’m confused about it instead.

“Drama” is a song that I think we could all use right now. It focuses on persevering through different kinds of oppression, namely different layers of racial segregation. “So tired of hearing people say / how can we go on?” Badu tells us in this song that there isn’t room for giving up in the fight for equal rights and recognition.

“Sometimes” tells the story of one last complicated love story. “Sometimes / I don’t love you anymore / Sometimes / I’m in love with you.” We heard a little bit of this track earlier in the album with “Sometimes (Mix #9)” which provided a short preview of the full song and gave a nice, forty second break in the flow of the album.

“Baduizm” ends it’s show with another recording of “Rim Shot” which begins with applause. This really allowed the album to go full circle and feel like a completed project. It also ties in with the karmic motif from “On & On” in the beginning of the album.

I would definitely listen to this album again even if it was just Badu’s vocals on their own. This album feels vulnerable and powerful and confident and insecure simultaneously. Erykah Badu is an original artist. She was the first person to create any music like what is featured on “Baduizm”, and she was also a woman of color in a field largely donimated by men.

Badu has been a huge inspiration in many ways, but has also had her share of recent controversy.

In late 2016, Badu sang at a benefit concert in Detroit to raise funds for testing over 11,000 untested rape kits. 81% of these rape kits belonged to women of color. This was an excellent way for Badu to use her fame to advocate for thousands of women (nearly 9,000 of whom were women of color) who didn’t get the chance for justice they deserved. She also has her own charity called B.L.I.N.D., which provides community development for inner-city youth through multiple art forms.

However, Badu has come under some scrutiny in Janurary 2018. In an interview, Badu said that she “saw something good in Hitler” and went on to defend Bill Cosby, who has been accused of years of sexual abuse by over 60 women. This is odd coming from a person who has clearly been a leader in human rights, including those of women who had been sexually assaulted or raped. These statements are incredibly polarizing in the present political climate.

Badu went on to release seven more albums after “Baduizm” including two mixtapes and one live album later in 1997. Her most recent is the mixtape “But You Caint Use My Phone”.

In one of the tracks “Cel U Lar Device” and throughout the album, Badu samples Drake’s “Hotline Bling” to, in my interpretation, illustrate the woman’s side of the story or to introduce the potential double standards represented in his original song. Of course, it could also just be a cover.

More about this mixtape can be found in this Rolling Stone article. I would highly recommend listening through it!

Listen to Erykah Badu’s album “Baduizm” below or here.

Stella is a column surrounding analysis and appreciation of the 150 albums chosen by NPR as the best created by women thus far. Each week I choose an album from this list I’ve been wanting to listen to, that peaks my interest, or that seems like essential listening to write about. The column’s goal is to provide female identifying readers with the empowerment that can only be obtained through a badass woman and her amazing music.

The post Stella: “Baduizm” by Erykah Badu appeared first on KRUI Radio.

“Hello, I’m Adia Victoria, and this is my band. And we are going to sing the blues.”

Adia Victoria is a blues singer originally from South Carolina. With a turbulent childhood in the conservative and racist South, she now writes music about a variety of topics, including love, loss, and her experiences as a black woman in White America. Many songs in her setlist at the Mill on Friday night were from her first album, Blood of the Bloodhound. This is a reference to “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl“, a slave narrative by Harriet Jacobs that overturns the liberalist perspective of white abolitionists (read the book here).

Before Victoria came on stage at the Mill, Iowa City’s Younger opened the show. A well-known local band, Younger had an interested audience and a few people dancing by the end of the set. Although there were problems with intonation throughout the show, the three-piece band played with enthusiasm and good stage presence.

However, nothing can beat the charisma of the main performer of the night, Adia Victoria. The minute she came onto the stage, she commanded the audience’s attention. She started with “Out of Love,” and everyone in her five-piece band was really engaged, and appeared comfortable performing with each other.

When she began “Howl and Shame,” the band slowed the song down to half the speed of the original recording, creating a sound like thick molasses. At that point, early on in the show, I could feel the intimacy between the performers and the audience.

Afterwards, she began “Stuck in the South” by singing the first verse a cappella. When she got to the chorus the instrumentation came in with striking intensity. The way she sang gave the song a conversational effect; when she sang the lyrics “I don’t know nothin’ bout Southern belles, but I can tell you somethin’ bout Southern hell” it really felt like she was speaking one-on-one with each audience member.

Throughout the show, Adia Victoria seemed at once very solemn and casual. She performs with so much power, it’s obvious that she takes her art seriously. Yet she is also gentle and at ease on stage. At different points in the set she would pull her braids out of a hair-tie, and then one song later put them back up. Between songs she would make little jokes or tell the audience to buy her album, commenting “My credit card machine is broken, but there is an ATM outside. And don’t tell me about ATM fees, because I vomited in a gas station parking lot in Green Bay, Wisconsin on the way here, so I did my part.”

She also made very personal comments throughout the show. Before performing “Invisible Hands” she said “My parents sent to me a good Christian school, and it fucked me up real good, so I’m gonna sing about it.” Toward the end of the show, she said that “It wasn’t until I fund the blues that I found my roots.” This gave a very vulnerable dimension to her performance. At another point in the show, she went into the crowd and sang to people standing in front of the stage.

Victoria and her band ended the show with an encore, singing “Ain’t I a Woman”, inspired by the famous speech by Sojourner Truth.

Here is Adia Victoria’s website

Here are upcoming shows at the Mill

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Elle King is truly the king of the seamless combination of country, soul, rock, and blues. Her new album, Love Stuff, is gaining friction, but Elle has been around a while. She has toured with Of Monsters and Men, Train, and others artists.

Her most popular song from this album is by far Ex’s and Oh’s, a feel good song that emulates “girl power”. Check out her music video below, with a whooping 16.6 million views, here:

Ex’s and Oh’s

Certain songs like Last Damn Night and Jackson absolutely scream pure rock. With up beat tempo and amazing guitar playing, it could make anyone want to start wearing a leather studded jacket and ride a motorcycle. I would say I Told You I Was Mean would fall into the category as well, but this song also has major elements of the blues. In this track, she definitely gives off Amy Winehouse and Adele vibes.

Elle King in Love Stuff shows her variety of genres she can pull off. Tracks like Kocaine Karolina, America’s Sweetheart, and Make You Smile all embody country music through the western lyrics and instruments used (Was that a banjo I heard Elle?). Song of Sorrow is definitely one of those songs that dance on the fine line between country and folk/indie, and it is absolutely working in her favor.

Ain’t Gonna Drown, the 9th track on Love Stuff, is a mix of all of these genres. I would argue it has a elements of southern gospel as well, because it is quite similar to the church song “Wade In The Water.” This track is earthy, passionate, and has a powerful sound that’ll make you close your eyes in content. Guaranteed.

The last song on the album is appropriately named See You Again and it acts as a beautiful and heartbroken farewell song. I think this is a great way to end a great album: a peaceful and solemn goodbye. The lyrics sound like poetry and the sound makes you want to go for a walk by a lake. Yeah. That good.

In all honesty, my absolute FAVORITE song from this album is her song Under The Influence. It reminds me of a James Bond track and it is never disappoints me as a confidence booster.

All in all, the album is terrific and I recommend it to anyone interested in alternative music. Check it out!

Love Stuff on iTunes

Love Stuff on YouTube

Elle King’s YouTube Channel

The post Album Review: “Love Stuff” by Elle King appeared first on KRUI Radio.