This year Danish band Iceage released their third album, the critically-acclaimed, Plowing Into The Field Of Love.  Our favorite song from the album is The Lord’s Favorite.  Check out the great song and unsettling video below.  The song’s lyrics follow.  We’ll have more about these Danes later.

“One hundred year old [Euro] wine;
I do believe in heaven and I do believe it’s time.”

Indeed.

The Lord’s Favorite:

“You are probably the only one, though it is hard to admit
That can save me
And I never liked to ask for a helping hand
But I do now

I look into your eyes
This hard, bewildered stare
Part of me wants to hurt you
Tear in your hair
But I don’t do that now

A naive, open wounded exchange of stories that transforms us
Here
But I think I am the only one breathing on this planet
Tonight

The cheap sweat smothered makeup
Makes her face look as if dissolving
Yet full of grace
Here in the darkness now

One hundred year old wine
I do believe in heaven and I do believe its time
Yes its time now
Five inch white high heels
I do believe in heaven and I do believe its real
And its okay now

Vast scarlet leisure
Immense blood pressure
Scatterbrained love lecture
Come here and be gorgeous for me now

After all I think it’s evident that I am god’s favorite one
And now is the time I should have whatever I desire

I look into your eyes
Staring back at mine
Part of me wants to hurt you
Tear in your hair
But I don’t do that now

One hundred year old wine
I do believe in heaven and I do believe its time
Faceless company
It don’t matter much to me
Five inch white high heels
I do believe in heaven and I do believe its real
Dreamlike mirage haze
I’m positively god’s favorite one

Favorite one
Favorite one
Favorite one
I do believe I’m the lord’s favorite one”

The world lost one its best (soul-baring) artists this year when the great songwriter Jason Molina went AWOL-into-the-next-world.  Thankfully, many continue to carry the torch for Molina and all of his various fronts (Songs: Ohia; Magnolia Electric Co.).  Included in this worthwhile effort are his label Secretly Canadian, but also the Avett Brothers and a murder of others.  Most recently, Secretly Canadian released the superb Deluxe Edition of Didn’t It Rain.  If you don’t own it, then Merry Christmas to yourself.

Adding to the host of homilies for Molina, Strand of Oaks also paid perfect homage to Molina this year with the song JM off of their 2014 album Heal.  We love everything about it, including the lyrics and the Neil Young/Built to Spill guitar razing.

We’ll admit to being somewhat ambivalent about Strand of Oaks (Tim Showalter) until recently.  But with the album Heal and a recent stream of captivating cover song releases, we’ve been completely won over by the artist.  You can go HERE to read the back-story on Heal, but as the Jamaicans say: “Dem dat knows it feels it.”  And with Heal, we all definitely feel it.  Without getting too maudlin and specific, when we listen to Heal (and, specifically, JM) it’s as if the words were written on our souls.  Lived through this and that, and out the other end.  Oh that it were so for JM.  The crow has in fact lost its wings.

Check JM out below (the song’s lyrics follow the song), and while you’re at it, go HERE to see our post about and listen again to one of our favorite re-releases of the year in Molina’s Journey On: Singles Collected, including the sweetest of songs, Soul.  Desolation row has never sounded so good.  Hammer down, heaven bound, dearly departed.

JM:

“I was an Indiana kid, getting no one in my bed I had your sweet tunes to play I was staring at the map, feeling fire in my head I had your sweet tunes to play I was mean to my dad, cause I was mean to myself I had your sweet tunes to play Stealing smokes in my car, with the window way down I had your sweet tunes to play Your sweet tunes to play I was sitting in the bath, cleaning off the ash I had your sweet tunes to play And I hated all my friends, and wouldn’t let them in I had your sweet tunes to play On a long desert train, with a knife in my bag I had your sweet tunes to play Under the Market Street Bridge, burning one in my hand I had your sweet tunes to play Your sweet tunes to play Now its hard to hear you sing, the crow has lost his wings I got your sweet tunes to play I’m getting older everyday, still living the same mistakes I got your sweet tunes to play Either get out or stay in, I won’t let these dark times win We got your sweet tunes to play Your sweet tunes to play.”

We’ll be honest (for once). We had unfortunately forgotten about Adult Jazz.  No, not that Kenny G sleep-inducing musical-pablum.  No, we refer to the Leeds’ band of smarty-pants-lads by that name, and their debut album, Gist Is.  Our lamenesia was overcome recently by the band’s appearances on many Best of 2014 lists.  Their complex, atmosphere-laden album is filled with lofty topics ranging from religion to lust.  Sonically the band is full of fits and starts, and falls somewhere between Alt-J, Dirty Projectors and Noah and the Whale.  Not a bad place to be in our books.  To get a feel for the band, check out their official video for one of our favorite tracks off theirs, Springful, along with Shabazz Palace’s inventive, otherworldly remix thereof.

The R&B/Old Soul field has been tilled and planted, and is seemingly full-up with legitimate throwback talents such as Sharon Jones and Charles Bradley, and newcomers such as Sam Smith and host of hundreds.  In short, the genre is at risk of over-saturation.  So one has to ask:  is there room for another R&B artist in the form of Scottish hear-throb Paolo Nutini?

Nutini is appearing on a lot of Best of 2014 Album (Caustic Love) and Song (Scream–Funk My Life Up; Fashion) lists.  We’ve slowly come ’round to him and particularly like the take below of one of our favorites of his, Let Me Down Easy.  Check it out and let us know what you think.  Is Nutini a legit artist here to stay or mid-pack fodder that’ll go away?  We’re giving him the benefit of the doubt for now.  Listen in below.

Given yesterday’s ode to Christmas from the bountiful Bahamas, it seems apropos to follow with this fantastic song and video from one of the Best New (to us anyway) Artists of the year and best acts we heard at this year’s Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival, Parker Millsap.  Before HSB we had heard word of Millsap from reliable sources and knew something was up when The Porch meadow at HSB was filled with a rapt audience prior to his set.  Turns out it was for very justified reasons.  Millsap (with superb bandmates Michael Rose on bass and fiddler Daniel Foulks) totally tore the trees off the park.

Millsap (no relation to Ronnie) is from tiny Purcell, Oklahoma and has taken the music world by storm with his great story-telling songs, gifted voice (at times similar to, but better than Jack White, if you can imagine), and spry guitar-playing.  Millsap’s eponymous debut album was released early this year and garnered him resounding critical acclaim.  His debut album and songs, the wisdom in which belie his young age, are now being featured prominently on the Best of 2014 lists.

To get a feel for Millsap, first check out his official video (his first) for Truck Stop Gospel, which is making many of the Best Video and Best Songs lists.  We love everything about it.  Though he has other songs to the contrary on the subject, we were relieved to see that this version doesn’t feature the deceitful, double-talking preacher trope.  There’s something for everybody in the video (aficionados will note the ESV and Message translations).  Afterwards watch vignettes of Millsap and his fantastic backers live, including Truck Stop Gospel performed at the Opry, the mind-blowing You Gotta Move, and the older, heart-rending Homeless and confessional Palisade (hang in especially for Foulks’ song-closing violin on this one).

Keep an eye and ear on this lad.  We expect HUGE things from him in the future.

It’s that time of year.  Leave it to the great Canadian Bahamas to cover one of our favorite Christmas songs, The Band’s Christmas Must Be Tonight, which was best featured on The Band’s last studio album, Islands.  Afie Jurvanen is one of the greats, and he, band and backing vocal-angels give a glistening reading of the song below.  After, listen to the Robbie Robertson-penned original, with the dynamic Rick Danko convincingly delivering and former Anglican-church organist Garth Hudson augmenting so well from behind the organ keys.  Sublime.  The song’s lyrics follow the videos.

“Come down to the manger, see the little stranger
Wrapped in swaddling. Lo! the Prince of Peace
Wheels start turning, torches start burning
And the old wise men journey from the East

CHORUS:
How a little baby boy bring the people so much joy
Son of a carpenter, Mary carried the light
This must be Christmas, must be tonight

A shepherd on a hillside, where over my flock I bide
On a cold winter night a band of angels sing
In a dream I heard a voice saying “fear not, come rejoice
It’s the end of the beginning, praise the new born king”

I saw it with my own eyes, written up in the skies
But why a simple herdsman such as I
And then it came to pass, he was born at last
Right below the star that shines on high”

We led today with British sister-group The Staves (see below), but would be remiss to not add on Swedish sister-duo First Aid Kit whose recent songs and album (Stay Gold) have rightfully and repeatedly been appearing on the Best of 2014 lists.  We have loved this duo for years, but this year they took their recorded game to another level with Stay Gold.  It’s a little-bit folky and a little-bit country, and hits all of our alt-country sweet spots while managing to be everything to most other people.  First Aid Kit have added to their plethora of breath-taking live performances of late.   Check out below their recent performances on Ellen (last Friday), on Conan (earlier this month), and KEXP.  And if you don’t own Stay Gold, the time is now.

As mentioned previously, Justin Vernon (Bon Iver, Volcano Choir) is producing The Staves’ upcoming sophomore album If I Was  (due February 2nd on Atlantic).  The sisters recently got together with The Line of Best Fit and performed song Open off of their interim Blood I Bled EP.   Check their one-take performance below in all its pristine and evocative glory.  After watching Open, check out the group’s trailer for If I Was.  We can’t wait.

Given the duo’s name, it’s not surprising that DJ Dodger Stadium’s videos have featured the environs not far from Dodger Stadium.  In the case of their video for Love Songs, Westlake and the artists’ Pico-Union locale are featured via drones.  Check the video below, followed by their similar video for track Never Win, both songs off of their critically-acclaimed album Friend of Mine.  Cool vignettes backing the duo’s hypnotic, mantra-lyric songs.  No, they don’t just drone on.  We like ’em.

We’ve been spouting off about Britain’s Jamie T. since we first heard his debut album Panic Prevention in 2007.  But following his second album (the outstanding Kings & Queens), a four-year recording hiatus ensued for Mr. Treays.  Thankfully, that chapter ended with the release of his phenomenal new album, Carry On The Grudge.  Ever since, our raves for Mr. T. have been dialed up full-tilt, and our ardor heightened to see the artist live for the first time.  At long last a scant four shows were announced for the US, and finally on Wednesday we caught Jamie T. and his great backing band at the historic Roxy Theater in LA after a seven-year wait.

Following an “interesting” opening set by LA’s Irontom (England got Slaves, ferheavensake, but we got this LA band featuring the lead singer’s incessant interpretive dances–not our cup of tea–while his capable bandmates wailed on their instruments–oh well), and a lengthy break in between, Jamie T. and band finally hit the stage, and the ardent audience was off and running with their mate at last.  And they would not be disappointed.

Despite the band’s jet-lag (“anyone else here suffering from jet-lag?” Jamie demanded of the audience), singer and band raged throughout as they kicked off the set with Carry On The Grudge’s superb opener, Limits Lie.  In the first portion of the set, Jamie sang while turned side-stage, crouched down to the mic, giving us a great view of the singer, who exhibited a few tics but whose singing was excellent throughout (we don’t know the nature of his recent illness that caused some European shows to be cancelled, but he showed no signs of any lingering effects this night).  Jamie’s gestalt is somewhere between Joe Strummer and Alex Turner.  A perfect mix, but he still makes it his own, in part owing to his hip-hop additions.

The set featured songs from throughout his discography, with emphasis appropriately on the new album.  Other highlights from that album during the show were Rabbit Hole, Turn On The Light, The Prophet and, later, the touching They Told Me It Rained (with it’s Madness quote).  Treays also raved through a sped-up version of single Zombie and a thrashing Peter (“about schizophrenia–well mine anyway”).  Jamie regaled the crowd with talk throughout the night, our favorite being his tale of an LA cabbie/Uber-driver sizing him up and then demanding “Are you fucking Jamie. T??!!“).  His band delivered pitch-perfect support throughout the night (especially on backing vocals and with a particular nod to the fabulous “Hurricane Victoria” on drums).

As the set revved on, older crowd favorites were also delivered, including If You Got The Money, Sticks ‘n Stones, and the encore performance of his biggest hit, Sheila.  The crowd knew every word to all the older songs (in particular) and sang along in unison, but no more so than on Sheila.  One of our all-time favorites, The Man’s Machine was revelatory and rightfully ate up by the crowd.  Sure there were some sloppy moments during the set (undoubtedly owing to the jet-lag and recent illness), but between the songs, the singer and the band the seven-year wait proved oh so worth the wait.  Here’s hoping that Jamie T. doesn’t wait another seven years before returning to California, ideally returning again for a less jet-lagged rendezvous soon during the stretched out, worldwide Carry On The Grudge tour.  Jamie, we always loved ye.

To get a feel for the show, check out the vignettes HERE.

Photo by Lefort.  For some far better shots of the band at the Roxy, go HERE.