Music Write-Ups
How do you know Chris Earley?
How many MP3s do you have on your hard drive?
This post is actually a couple weeks old….
The Wisconsin winter looms on. After what must have been a month straight below 32 degree weather nature played a cruel trick letting us feel some warmth. But this weekend we were once again hit by the back of natures cold hand. Not only is the ground a foot higher now due to snow but there are head high pyramids of snow on every street corner and lining every empty parking lot. The ground cover I can take but those piles are sneering at me exposing their smug truth that they are not going anywhere in a hurry.
The solution is obvious. Hole up with a steady drip of cheap beer and melancholy sounds. This song in particular feels like a thick blanket. I am certain this baseline could melt ice(If I only had big enough speakers). The whole album smothers you with calm sparse music that somehow creates an almost tangible aura so much meatier (at least to me) than a lot of todays more drony emo.
Mark Lanegan has a raw honest sound that seems to be a hallmark of many of the lead-singer-of-a-famous-band-turned-lesser-known-solo-musicians that I have grown fond of. Years of hard living + musical experience seems to lend itself to a certain authenticity and sense of patience that appeals to these ears. And it certainly helps me get through a my first sconny winter.
-Doug Phanstiel