The Goodish – Music Blog -

Doug Burr’s “Should’ve Known” from Jon Todd Collins on Vimeo.

Denton’s own Doug Burr has a superb new video for “Should’ve Known,” from last year’s On Promenade. The setting, a beautiful but decaying building in Tehuacana, Texas, fits perfectly with the haunting intensity of the song. Also, check out the behind-the-scenes extra that gives you a peek at the production of the video, most of which was shot on a Nikon D90 DSLR. Crazy.

The video comes just weeks before the release of Burr’s next full-length, The Shawl–an album with lyrics straight from the Bible’s book of Psalms set to Burr’s original compositions. The Shawl is out on Jan. 13.

Lost Highway

How come the bands that kill it on stage have so much trouble in the studio?  Bottom line, the latest release by Ryan Adams and the Cardinals is “OK.”  A couple stand out songs, but overall a bit of a letdown.

The album opens with “Born Into A Light” a hum drum opener with a catchy little guitar riff and things do not get much better until the rock parody “Magick” wraps up and the opening chords of “Cobwebs” begin to sing.  The first person lyrics on “Cobwebs” are the kind of lyrics only Ryan can get away with and not come off as pretentious (it is expected from Ryan…).  The next 3 tracks (”Let Us Down Easy”, “Crossed Out Name” and “Natural Ghost”) sort of meander along not offending but not impressing either.  ”Sink Ships” is saved by the prowess of John Graboff on the Pedal Steel but the tune never crosses over into anything memorable.  ”Evergreen” shows the boys starting to put things together and is maybe the “best” song on the album.  The pedal steel, guitar and soft drumming seem to come together on this number.  With hopes elevated the listener is brought down once again by “Like Yesterday” with some rays of hope shining through on the final “Adamsesque” piano ballad “Stop” which is a beautiful number that closes Cardinology.

Don’t underestimate these studio versions.  Live, some of the numbers are already amazing.  ”Fix It” lets Ryan open up his vocals while the rest of the band hammer along (with Neal Casal making it work with his harmonies and guitar) and “Crossed Out Name” slowly builds into a rollicking number that is worth the ride.

Because of their prowess on the stage and their devotion to their fan base “The Cardinals” remain one of the most revered live bands around currently.  The inability to put together a great album tosses their studio efforts to date onto the pile along with the Grateful Dead.  Some great album tunes here and there, but save your energy for the live shows because nobody does it better than the Cards right now!

Cardinology is worth picking up and adding to your collection so you will know the tunes when they kill it live on stage, but as a stand alone product Cardinology leaves the listener a bit confused and searching for something more…

Bless the crew at RAA for giving us the more in their librabry of live shows:

Fix It – 2008-11-17, Birmingham, England

Crossed Out Name – 2008-09-30 Palace Theatre, Cleveland, OH

Lots of new stuff from Bruce Springsteen lately.  For Halloween he posted a new video for “A Night With the Jersey Devil,” he wrote “The Wrestler” for the Darren Aronofsky film of the same name, and now a new video for “My Lucky Day.” Although I didn’t enjoy Magic nearly as much as Born to Run, I still get excited about new stuff from Springsteen. Look for his latest, Working on a Dream, on Jan. 27.

The Tallest Man On Earth is Kristian Matsson, a young Swede with more aptitude for American-style folk music than most Americans. He released his debut full-length album, Shallow Grave, in March to much critical acclaim.

Shallow Grave is a low-fi fury. Rapid-fire finger-picked acoustic guitar and vivid lyrics delivered in a cracked staccato provide an urgency that sets Matsson apart from many of his neo-folk counterparts. Shallow Grave’s recording feels live and raw, with many blemishes left in the mix, like it was recorded in some attic or barn or cabin on the quick.

Following the folk tradition, the lyrics play the lead role in these songs and Matsson proves his strength as a songwriter. This is evident on “The Gardner,” a twisted love song whose hero turns to murder to hide his inadequacies from his lover (”I know the runner’s going to tell you/There ain’t no cowboy in my hat/So now he’s buried by the daisies/So I can stay the tallest man in your eyes, Babe”).

But Shallow Grave’s highlights don’t end there, and despite the tendency to compare Matsson to Bob Dylan or any number of his folk forefathers, it deserves it’s own distinction. Shallow Grave has definitely made it’s way onto my list of favorites for 2008.

For more of The Tallest Man On Earth, check out the great videos over at Shoot the Player. The Tallest Man On Earth is opening for Bon Iver this month.

The Tallest Man On Earth – “I Won’t Be Found”