Album of the Day 5/21/12: Royal Thunder - CVI

There was a very short list of albums at the beginning of the year that I was waiting on patiently for their release dates.  Possibly no other album was as highly anticipated for me as the new one by Atlanta's Royal Thunder.  Much like their label mates, Horseback, not only was their album well worth the wait but it is instantly in the running for my personal choice for album of the year.

Album of the Day 5/15/12: Horseback - Half Blood

At the tail end of last year and into the beginning of 2012 I started to make mental notes on bands that I dig that had announced release dates for new material.  There were two or three releases in particular that piqued my interest more than usual.  One of those bands was North Carolina's Horseback.  I am happy to report that the juice was worth the squeeze. 

Album of the Day 5/9/12: Wagons - Rumble, Shake And Tumble

So I've lamented many times about how what most of the unwitting music buying population in the U.S. calls "country music" is, in fact, not country music at all but just crappy pop rock with cowboy hats.  We'll I'm hear to tell you that there are real country bands out there playing real country music...sometimes you just have to go to Australia to get it. 

Album of the Day 5/3/12: Farewood - Wings of Gold

I've always said that one of the best things about the CT music scene is its diversity.  There are so many different little sub-genres represented all over the state.  There really are dozens of bands that don't sound like any other band actively recording/playing out in the state.  One of those bands is Meriden's Farewood. 

The 13 Most Essential Willie Nelson Albums

Album of the Day 4/25/12: GraveRobbers - Burgundy

It should not be a surprise to anyone by now that I like pretty much anything that falls under the banner of "Americana".  But every now and then an album (or in this case an EP) comes along and blows me away. Today that album is Burgundy by GraveRobbers.

Photos: EULA @ The Outer Space

EULA made a triumphant return the CT with a blistering set at the Outer Space in Hamden on 4/13.

Album of the Day 4/12/12: Curse the Son - Klonopain

So last year I made a list of what I thought some of the best releases from CT bands were for ths website at the behest of my bosses (because I think these end of the year lists are a dime a dozen).  One of my fears was that I'd forgot one or more albums that probably should be included.  Yup.  I did.  I present to you Klonopian by Curse the Son. 

What to do with an empty iPod

So a friend of mine at work handed me an empty iPod, her five favorite artists, and simply said, "fill it".  So instead of trying to give her entire albums of material she might not like I gave her one song from 224 different artists I could relate to her top five.  So what you have below is the list of artists/songs with links to most of them for your listening enjoyment. 

Album of the Day 4/2/12: Dr. Dog - Fate

Most days these albums are chosen completely at random.  Sometimes though I go out of my way to choose an album and it could be something as simple as someone mentioning them in conversation.  Today that album is Fate by Dr. Dog.

Album of the Day 3/30/12: Elliott Smith - XO

One of the points of this exercise is to be a herald for the art of the complete album in this age of singular digital downloads.  So going back and revisiting albums in their entirety that I haven't explored in some time is extremely refreshing for me.  Today that album is XO by Elliott Smith.

Album of the Day 3/27/12: Christian Mistress - Possession

Sometimes I get so excited about an album that prior to the release date I build it up in my head to heights that often, upon my first actual listen, I'm slightly disappointed.  Then there are times when an album not only achieves what I was hoping for but blows my expectations right out of the water.  Today the band that blew my mind is Christian Mistress.  

Album of the Day 3/20/12: String Theorie - Little Elephant

There are a bunch of bands in CT whose new albums I am highly anticipating this year.  One of them is about to be unleashed to the general public in the form of Little Elephant by Hartford's own String Theorie. 

Album of the Day 3/19/12: Ozzy Osbourne - Blizzard of Ozz

I usually choose these albums randomly but on certain days there's a clear reason why I'm listening to an album.  Today there is a very clear and sad reason for pulling out this one. 

Album of the Day 3/16/12: Agents of Oblivion - s/t

I have a lot of pet peeves when it comes to music.  Possibly my biggest is when a band puts out a great debut album and then breaks up, leaving us with just that one disc to go back to.  Today that band I'm revisiting is Agents of Oblivion

Album of the Day 3/14/12: Witchcraft - The Alchemist

There are a lot of bands I'm hoping to see new albums from in 2012.  But until that happens I'll have to make do with their most recent output.  Today that band is Witchcraft.

Album of the Day 3/9/12: Iron Maiden - Killers

Sometimes I get on a kick with a certain band and I ride their entire discography for weeks on end.  This week it's been all about one of the greatest bands ever - Iron Maiden!

Album of the Day 3/7/12: The Doors - Live At The Matrix 1967

Raise your hand if you dig The Doors.  Now raise your hand if you are a completest when it comes to your favorite bands.  Alright, then this album is right up your alley.

Album of the Day 3/6/12: 1974 & The Battle For The Lazer Fortress

I really do love when a band surprises me from out of nowhere.  I also love it when a band does something that I honestly wasn't sure was possible.  That band in both cases is CT's own 1974

Album of the Day 3/2/12: Ferocious Fucking Teeth - s/t

I love when a CT band that I dig puts out a new record.  I love it even more when that record is one of the better records I've heard over the last year or so.  So is the case with Ferocious Fucking Teeth.

Album of the Day 2/27/12: Autopsy - All Tomorrow's Funerals

One of my favorite parts of this album of the day exercise is when I can talk about bands that I feel should be more widely known and respected.  I especially like when I'm talking about a new album in the process.  So today I'm doubly stoked to be writing about Autopsy.

Album of the Day 2/21/12: The Field Recordings - The Elastic Nostalgia

One of my favorite things in the world is when I hear a band on some type of recorded medium and then watch them pull it off live.  The Field Recordings not only "pulled it off" when I saw them live but they pretty much melted my face right off. 

Album of the Day 2/16/12: Belle & Sebastian - The Boy With The Arab Strap

Did you ever listen to a band and then literally forget about them for maybe years, only to wake up one morning and go, 'hey, I really like this band.'  Yeah that's me with Belle & Sebastian.

Album of the Day 2/15/12: Twin Peaks - Fire Walk With Me

Anyone who knows me should already be well aware of my love of all things Twin Peaks.  One of the best parts about the show and the eventual movie was the music. 

Album of the Day 2/13/12: The Can Kickers - Mountain Dudes

When you think Appalachian mountain music you don't think of it having drums and you probably don't think of it coming out of New London, CT...well maybe you should start.

Album of the Day 2/9/12: Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee - Live at The New Penelope Cafe

I'm really not a huge fan of live albums.  I own maybe two dozen tops and even that is probably a generous number.  However every now and then a live album stands the test of time and acts as a brilliant snapshot of an artist at the top of their game.  This is one of those albums.

Album of the Day 2/8/12: Superart - The Weirdbeard Sessions

Connecticut loses bands to other scenes sometimes but sometimes we gain them back.  That's a good thing.  One of those bands we got back is Superart.

Album of the Day 1/7/12: Acid Bath - Paegan Terrorism Tactics

Sometimes I listen to an album that wound up being the last recordings of a band and I think about what could have been.  Today that band is Acid Bath.

Album of the Day 2/6/12: Titles - Dirt Bell

There have been a lot of great albums released over the last few years from Connecticut bands.  A handful of those albums I would put up against anything from anywhere in the world from within the same genre.  One of those albums is the most recent offering from Titles.

Album of the Day 2/1/12: Scorpions - Lonesome Crow

A lot of bands evolve and change over time.  Most of the time I'm o.k. with it, especially if each album is a progression of the next.  Sometimes though the material of a certain era is just flat out superior.  That is absolutely the case withGermany'smost famous rock band - Scorpions.

Album of the Day 1/31/12: Possessed - Seven Churches

I'll be the first to admit that I sometimes get a little over excited about music and throw about superfluous terms when describing a band or an album.  But when I tell you that today's album of the day is one of the most influential metal albums of all time I'm really not exaggerating. 

Album of the Day 1/30/12: Tyler Ramsey - The Valley Wind

Before I had this blog I used to just post little blurbs on Facebook about the music I was listening to or bands/songs/etc. that were stuck in my head.  One of the artists I had implored anyone who cared to pay attention to was Tyler Ramsey.  Just warning you.  I'm going to do that again.

Album of the Day 1/27/12: Brown Bird - Salt for Salt

I have this crazy numerical system I use that picks what album I'm going to revisit for this daily exercise.  However every now and then there is an album I just have to listen to so bad that I buck the system and just go for it.  Today that album is Salt for Salt by Brown Bird.

Album of the Day 1/26/12: Echo.And.Drake - Sundrenched Elsewhere

I'm sure that every music scene in the country is diverse and rich with bands flowing from all sorts of varying genres.  But I'm not convinced at all that most of the other scenes stack up to what we have and are continually building here in CT.  Case in point: Echo.And.Drake

The Proud Flesh @ BAR

The Proud Flesh opened a killer show at BAR on January 25 for Rhode Island's brown bird and O'Death. they unleashed killer new material as well as tracks from their Tiny Picture Frames album.

Album of the Day 1/25/12: Waylon Jennings - Ol' Waylon

I don't like to bandy about the term "hero" when talking about musicians.  I think it's a watered down term that gets used out of context way too often.  But there are certain musicians that I have a special place for in my blackened heart and Waylon Jennings is one of them.

Album of the Day 1/24/12: William Elliot Whitmore - Field Songs

People talk all the time about artists painting a picture of a certain place or people with their songs.  Few artists actually do it well and even fewer do it as well as William Elliot Whitmore.

Album of the Day 1/23/12: In Solitude - The World, The Flesh, The Devil

I'm not really sure what's in the water in Sweden that they keep churning out band after awesome band and album after awesome album.  For metal fans especially Sweden is heaven (or hell, I suppose) on Earth.  Today's Album of the Day focuses on one of those amazing Swedish metal band - In Solitude.

Photos: Heirlooms @ Firebox

Hartford's own Heirlooms unleashed new material and busted out the old favorites during their set at Firebox Restaurant on January 20.

Album of the Day 1/20/12: Wolf People - Steeple

Did you ever wish you had caught onto a band sooner than you finally did?  Then when you do you wish more people would fall in line and give said band their due?  That's me with England's Wolf People right now.

Album of the Day 1/18/12: V/A - Urban Cowboy Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

I don't own a lot of "original motion picture" soundtracks.  To be honest most movie soundtracks just aren't worth owning in my book.  But there are a handful I own because either a) they break the trend and actually have more good music than bad or b) because it's a movie that I absolutely love.  In the case of Urban Cowboy it's a little from column A and a little from column B.

Album of the Day 1/17/12: The Manchurians - Deliverance

I keep talking about the CT music scene and how diverse it is.  One part of the scene I haven't really touched on yet is the Blues scene.  Connecticut really does have some amazing Blues and Blues influenced acts out there and one of the best is The Manchurians.

Album of the Day 1/16/12: Quiet Life - Act Natural

It bums me out when the CT music scene loses a really good band to someone else's music scene.  In this case we lost New London's Quiet Life to the west coast.  At least we have some amazing music they've left behind in their wake. 

Album of the Day 1/10/12: Nebula - To The Center

Did you ever look at a certain style of music from the rear-view mirror, so to speak, and think about the bands that really made an impact on the scene as a whole?  Today I did that while thinking about the stoner rock boom in the late 90's and listening to Nebula.

Album of the Day 1/9/12: Neko Case - Middle Cyclone

I have a long list of artists I'm really hoping to see new material from in 2012.  So in lieu of not having any new material I have to settle for revisiting their most recent recorded efforts to see if they still stand the test of time, so to speak.  Today that artist is one of my favorites - Neko Case. 

Album of the Day 1/6/12: Steppenwolf - The Second

There are certain bands that in my mind will forever be underrated.  It doesn't matter what hall of fames they are in or not in, how many gold or platinum records they have or how many times they show up on various silly Rolling Stone magazine lists.  These bands just don't get the respect they deserve compared to some of their contemporaries.  One of those bands on my list is Steppenwolf.

Album of the Day 1/5/12: Victims - A Dissident

I've mentioned this before but I love when I go see a band live and then buy their newest album at the show only to find the recorded material holds up as well as it did in the live setting.  Today that band is Sweden's Victims.

Album of the Day 1/4/12: Ponybird - Climb Yourself Up

When you are a fan of a music scene as robust and talented as the one we have here in Connecticut it's sometimes too easy to forget about an artist you really like.  That's one reason why I've grown to love this daily exercise.  Because every now and then I pick up a CD I haven't listened to in awhile and I get to revisit its awesomeness.  Today I revisit the awesomeness of Ponybird.

Album of the Day 1/3/12: Carolina Chocolate Drops - Genuine Negro Jig

I love "old-time" music.  I love the blues, folk and country music of the first half of the 20th Century and the bands of today that celebrate and respect their musical roots.  With that said, there is possibly no other band in the U.S. right now who celebrates and respects their musical roots as well as the Carolina Chocolate Drops.

Album of the Day 12/30/11: Lys Guillorn - Wayward Children

I love the music scene in Connecticut. It's an extremely diverse and talented pool of musicians creating some really eclectic music.  One of those artists is Lys Guillorn.