It’s been yet another extraordinary year for the music industry and with ElectricGhost Music. Set against global economic disaster and political chicanery there was an increase of  musicians using their lyrical skills to speak out against the corruption in Banks, Governments and Corporates. Many artist like Jackson Brown supported the global Occupy movement. In the industry itself a significant number of musicians chose the independent own label approach to promoting their work and the use of Bandcamp became an affordable way to put their music out there and deal direct with their fans. This independent attitude particularly favoured woman musicians who took full advantage of not being so dependent on the male dominated music industry.

We are very choosy about what we include in ElectricGhost and all the musicians in our 12 issues are special. We don’t get involved with awards or top ten lists. However there were certain artists and bands that particularly shone for us in 2012. What follows are some of our highlights.

January EG49

In what was to be a major year for the solo career of Simone Felice we began by reviewing his first full length novel, Black Jesus. We said, “Felice’s work reflects the new wave of musicians who are making great literary work. The death of the American Dream is vividly played out in this brilliant novel.”
Black Jesus

As a part of the centennial celebrations of Woody Guthrie’s birth the remarkable super group, New Multitudes, comprising Jay Farrar (Son Volt, Gob Iron, Uncle Tupelo), Will Johnson (Centro-matic, South San Gabriel), Anders Parker (Varnaline, Gob Iron) and Yim Yames (My Morning Jacket, Monsters of Folk)  deliver an intimate interpretation of American icon and musical legend Woody Guthrie’s previously unrecorded lyrics.
New Multitudes Teaser

Richard Thompson live tour, supporting his album Dream Attic was a highlight from last year. A DVD, Live At Celtic Connections, was released which provided a special treat for those to catch the great man live.
Richard Thompson Wall Of Death Live 2011 DVD

February EG50

Guitar driven album, The Secret, from the son, Vieux Farka Touré, of the legendary Ali Farka Touré. Regular writer for ElectricGhost Charley Dunlap said, “When I first saw Vieux, it was like seeing Albert King for the first time with his stinging guitar and emotive blues. That was amazing, but The Secret is so much more.” He concludes “Now he is poised to be the next family legend.”
All The Same

Deadman from Austin Texas use to be a duo. After going off our radar the returned as a Gospel infused Southern Rock sextet with the album Take Up Your Mat & Walk. Bandleader Steven Collins and band won a sizeable following both in Austin Texas and the UK and Europe for their Springsteen/Jayhawks influenced music. We said, “Together they make a joyful sound that is expanded with horns on tracks like the soulful We All Need Love. Another favourite is the Dylanesque This Old World’s Not Gonna Change. The five minute plus title track harks back to classic Band. Highly recommended.
This Old World’s Not Gonna Change

March EG51

Babajack, roots music band from Malvern UK, released they’re third album Rooster that had a very live feel. We said, “Babajack have an authenticity and musical brilliance that many bands would die for. Rooster is devastating slice of magic from one of our finest roots artists.
Gallows Pole

Former drummer, writer and vocalist of Catskill Mountain band The Felice Brothers, and the creator of folk-soul outfit The Duke & The King, Simone Felice released his eagerly anticipated eponymous solo album. Largely self-produced with help from Ben Lovett (Mumford & Sons), the debut album was recorded in deeply resonant places, settings that were as haunted in their rafters as Felice felt in his bones: a barn near his house in the woods, an old church in London, an abandoned high school building by the Hudson River. We said, “This album is a stunning masterpiece from start to finish confirming,  beyond any doubt, that Simone Felice is a stone cold genius on a par with Dylan, Cohen & Young.”
New York Times

April EG52

Father John Misty aka Josh Hillman left Fleet Foxes as their drummer and moved from Seattle to Laurel Canyon to focus and develop a solo career. This turned out to be an inspired change as the resulting album Fear Fun was an unqualified success and showed a whole new sir to this enigmatic artist. We said, “The result is a remarkably bold album that blends a dark, mysterious and yet conversely mischievous playful, almost Dionysian quality, with Tillman’s vocals sounding stronger and more confident than any previous solo outing. A true original who’s found himself.”
Hollywood Forever Cemetry

The Wilderness was the fourth and last in a series of thematically based albums released by The Cowboy Junkies titled The Nomad Series. This album evoked the classic sound of their most popular early albums, The Trinity Sessions, Caution Horses and The Black Eyed Man. The content is darker and more mature than before.  We said, “This is a band at the height of their powers.”
Staring Man

Andrew Bird is a multitalented musician with an extraordinary work ethic. Break It Yourself was put together in a more traditional way, recorded to eight track at Bird’s barn in Western Illinois with a core group of drummer Martin Dosh, guitarist and keys man Jeremy Ylvisaker and Mike Lewis on tenor sax and bass. Bird followed this up later in the year with a companion piece Hands of Glory. In our review of Break It Yourself we said, “The result is a stunning genre defying set of music and song that dazzles and amazes. Absolutely essential listening.”
Eyesoneye (From Here’s What Happened)

May EG53

The Imagined Village are a ten piece folk roots world music band who produce a mix of traditional and contemporary material that blends English folk, Indian music and electronica into a rich musical stew. Their album Bending The Dark arose out of adversity and is a testament to pulling together turning the situation around and coming out of the darkness stronger and more confident. We said, “A totally unique band create a stunning masterpiece.”
Bending The Dark EPK

Smoke Fairies, a home counties duo, came back this year with an album, Blood Speaks, that was tougher and fiercer that their shy and innocent debut. The songs and performances combine a fragility with a humid sensuality and spectral melodies. We said, “This is the sound of two women who have popped their musical cherries. And the journey continues.”
The Three Of Us

Howe Gelb is a totally unique musician. Apart from his wildly eclectic solo work there is his band Giant Sand. This year, with the release of Tuscon billed as a ‘country rock opera’, it expanded With guest soul, jazz and mariachi singers, mariachi and jazz trumpets, a string section, as well as an augmented regular Giant Sand crew. Our reviewer, Charley Dunlap, said, “The album probes solidly into all those genres and more, an uninterrupted stream of truly excellent songs, with not a single errant flight of fancy. Who knew Mozart lived in Arizona?”
Thin Line Man

June EG54

Patti Smith released her eleventh studio album, Banga, her fist since tramping’ in 2004. It featured guests include Tom Verlaine, Jack Petruzzelli, Smith’s son Jackson and daughter Jesse Smith. The version we received was encased in a beautiful book with Smith’s photography and lyrics. We said, “This album is full of jewels. Her visionary poetic skills address spiritual, social and environmental issues with passion and power.”
After The Gold Rush

The Blood Choir, the Bath/Bristol band started as a duo by Rob Maddicott and Joe Mountain made some big changes this year. They added bass player Rod Brakes and drummer Sam Selby, played a series of stunning live shows (including this year at The Fleece, Bristol and Moles, Bath) supporting Arbouretum and their sound evolved into the darker and heavier feel of stoner psych rock. We said, “The songs, whilst familiar to this reviewer are totally transformed on this album. ElectricGhost favourites with a great future ahead.”
Horror Head

Dawes, the Los Angeles quartet, were one of several inspired signings by our favourite label Loose Music. They are a group of two brothers, Taylor on guitar and lead vocals and Griffin Goldsmith on drums, joined by two long-time friends, Wylie Gelber on bass and Tay Strathairn on the keys. We loved their incredible live performance as well as prequel to 2011’s Nothing Is Wrong, North Hills.
Peace In The Valley

July EG55

Wussy, acclaimed Cincinnati four-piece rock and roll band released their third album. Chuck Cleaver, the tattooed, bearded, barrel-chested frontman of the Cincinnati band Ass Ponys suffers from stage fright and asked his equally tattooed girlfriend Lisa Walker to join him for a series of solo shows. The musical chemistry sizzled and in early 2000 they formed Wussy. We said, “A band to totally fall in love with. Highly recommended.”
Wussy Live On KEXP Waiting Room, Pulverized, Grand Champion Steer,Pizza King, Little Miami

Moulettes are a unique eight piece folk rock ensemble with an epic orchestral feel. Their album The Bear’s Revenge was  a totally bewitching and potent stew of celestial harmonies, haunting harmonies, woodwind weirdness, swirling strings and compulsive driving rhythmic wildness. They wilfully blended folk, classical, prog-rock into a unique and highly engaging presence. We  said, “A world where tethered circus bears wreak gory revenge; and strange woodland creatures dance spiky jigs. Mad magical and marvellous.”
Some Who You Love

Ides Of Gemini are a US stoner psych rock trio. Constantinople was their full length debut. The band produce a reverb-soaked choir of etherial ghosts floating over scratchy guitars and narcoleptic spaghetti western soundscapes.
Martyrium Of The Hippolyt

August EG56

The Gaslight Anthem are a New Jersey rock quartet. Frontman Brian Fallon was originally inspired by raw energy of The Clash and describes  the band’s music as “Tom Petty songs [being] played by Pearl Jam”. Handwritten is perhaps their most compelling album to date. They fuse ’60’s soul, ’70’s stadium rock, ’80’s hardcore and ’90’s grunge into a breakneck ride of pure adrenalin fuelled rock. We said, “There is an incredible raw, live-off-the-floor feel to Handwritten. They rock the truth!”
Handwritten

Chains Of Love, Vancouver based rock soul duo released their debut album Strange Grey Days. Sonically it fuses ‘wall of sound’ meets Motown boogie with rock. Some songs experiment with noisier guitar textures, while others venture into more psychedelic, darker territory. All of this hangs off Nathalie Pizzaro and Rebecca Marie Law Gray’s haunting vocals with catchy hooks and rousing sock-hop harmonies. We said, “This is a wildly intoxicating mix that will hook you in and not let go. Destined for great things.”
He’s Leaving With Me

And now for something completely different. Utterly bonkers Oklahoman Psych Stoner quintet, The Flaming Lips, collaborated with musician friends  to devastating effect and released The Flamings Lips & Heady Fwends. In between one-off shows scattered around the world over the past several months The Flaming Lips still found time to record a series of unique and experimental sessions for an album featuring a diverse cross-section of heavy friends from every corner of the musical spectrum. We said, “One of the most creative bands on the planet unleash a potent case for the derangement of the senses.”
The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face

September EG57

Bob Dylan returned with his glorious and menacing 35th album, Tempest. His voice is like a cigar/whisky soaked Tom Waits and for me deeply satisfying as I never cared for his ‘clean’ Bing Crosby croon. The voice really suits the heavily blues orientated material on the album. We said, “A unconditional masterpiece from a stone cold genius.”
Duquesne Whistle

Half a decade after their last album release, Two Gallants were back with The Bloom & The Blight. An they were back with a ferocity that is breathtaking. A mix of incendiary  rock and gentle folk blues. We said, “Back with a glorious vengeance, Bloom & Blight has album of the year stamped all over it.”
My Love Won’t Wait

Heritage Blues Orchestra are a perfect synthesis of old and new, a fresh return to the spectrum of the rich African-American music tradition.They released the excellent And Still I Rise. Our reviewer Charley Dunlap said. “The core of this six person aggregation is two elder statesmen steeped in the traditions of their culture, guitarist-singer Junior Mack and blues multi-instrumentalist Bill Sims Jr, and Sims’ daughter, R&B-Gospel singer Chaney Sims. Add to this the contributions of two Frenchman, harmonica master Vincent Bucher and saxophonist-arranger Bruno Wilhelm, and you have a potent combination.”
Hard Times

October EG58

Bellowhead were back with a vengeance, the eleven piece folk ensemble take no prisoners. Festival favourites and brilliant live in concert, Broadside was packed with what we love. They mix a unique blend of folk, jazz, drama, theatre instrumental virtuosity, verve, humour and sheer blind cheek that has taken the roots scene by storm. We said, “They have a musical fire power that hits you like a hurricane. Outstanding.”
10,000 Miles Away

Show Of Hands, the 20 year musical partnership of Steve Knightley and Phil Beer is celebrated by an album, Wake Of The Union, that weaves together both the English and American Roots  that has inspired their musical journey. We said, “Just when you think they can’t get any better, they floor you. God I love this band so much! An album of musical and lyrical brilliance. Buy it!”
Company Town

Sixteenth studio album, Rooster Rag, from the legendary California based sextet, Little Feat, who are one of rock n’ roll’s best live bands ever. Southern rock, blues, jazz fusion and some Cajun funk thrown in it all makes for a rich musical stew. Despite having lost both the extraordinary guitarist/vocalist Lowell George and more recently drummer/vocalist Richie Hayward they have not only survived but thrived, and continuing to produce new and vital music. We said, “A classic Feat album with all the musical dexterity we love.”
Rooster Rag

November EG59

Neil Young & Crazy Horse. The Horse are back, after ten years, and Young is in reflective mood with their second album, Psychedelic Pill, this year. Coming in at nearly 90 minutes this is a long and sprawling double album of just nine tracks. Clearly influenced by his autobiography Waging Heavy Peace the album is full of fond memories and reminders of promises broken and ideals betrayed. Sonically it moves between sweet CSNY harmonies and raging garage rock. We said, “With a potency unmatched by musicians half his age Young has given us a blinder of an album. Rock ‘n Roll will never die.”
Born In Ontario

Joshua James. Outstanding third album, From The Top Of Willamette Mountain, from the incredibly talented US independent singer songwriter. The name Willamette Mountain came to him in a dream symbolizing his Utah home, where he lives a simple life with his wife on a small farm connecting with nature away, his utopia. Thanks to Sue Taylor who put us on to this magical artist and reviewed the album.
Queen Of The City

Mary Gauthier the acclaimed Nashville songwriter released a stunning live album, Live At Blue Rock. Recorded with a small band at the very highest level at the incredible Blue Rock Artist Ranch and Studio just outside of Austin, Texas. The album contains songs, story songs and tales that speak to the heart of the human condition. We said, “This is an emotional record from an artist at the top for her game.”
Cigarette Machine

December EG60

We’ll here we are at the end of an astonishing year in which we gained a great American Correspondent in Sue Taylor from Pennington New Jersey and have just launched out the micro- business ElectricGhost Live Music (see our EG60 for more details). Tomorrow is Christmas Eve and EG60 will be mailed out. Enjoy and see you on the other side.

01 Devotionals
Chest Like Expansive Wings

02 Jonathon Segal
Live at the Camper Van Beethoven & Cracker Camp-Out Festival

03 Emily Barker & The Red Clay Halo
Pause

04 The Emperors Of Wyoming
Avalanche Girl

05 The Gaslight Anthem
Here Comes My Man

06 Jonathon Wilson
The Way I Feel

07 Delta Spirit
Bushwick Blues

08 Rich Hopkins & Luminarios
Friend Of The Shooter

09 Kathleen Edwards
Independent Thief

10 Tame Impala
Elephant

11 Kyla La Grange
The River

12 The Giving Tree Band
Dead Heroes

The Return of Stuff Dreams Are Made Of

“We are such stuff as dreams are made on,” Prospero declared at the close of The Tempest, defining the transient nature of the human condition, while at the end of The Maltese Falcon, Sam Spade identified the fake statuette that had brought about any number of deaths as “the stuff that dreams are made of.” The music contained on these two discs is, like Prospero, very much concerned about the human condition, but the rational behind The Return of the Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of puts it firmly in Sam Spade territory.

That’s not to say the praiseworthy folk at Yazoo have left a trail of corpses in the collecting and remastering of these folk, country and blues rarities, but the urge to possess is the force that brought it into being.

The first volume, The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of, appeared six years ago with cover art by R. Crumb of a record collector gloating over his new acquisition, and with two never-before-heard recordings by Son House that were everything a country blues obsessive would have dreamed of and more.

The sequel boasts another memorable cover, by Drew Friedman this time, and another 46 fabulous and fabulously rare recordings of American roots music, though perhaps nothing as revelatory as the two House cuts.

While there may not be many names that the casual listener will recognise, rest assured that the quality of music is uniformly high, mixing all-time classics (High Water Everywhere by Charley Patton, Last Kind Words Blues by Geeshie Wiley, That’s No Way to Get Along by Robert Wilkins) with little known jewels such as Koscieliska by Karola Stocha and S Bachleda, Two White Horses by Joe Evans and Arthur McClain, and Little Rosewood Casket by Lulu Jackson.

The hypothetical casual listener should be warned, however, that rarity does often make for a great number of scratches and crackles since the master recordings are inevitably lost and the few remaining copies will have often had to survive for decades in a one-room shack with a family of ten before the collectors took possession of them. Three quarters of the tracks here have a relatively low level of surface noise, and the remastering by Yazoo is excellent, but allowances have to be made for the other quarter.

Such matters go with the territory, but the subject of the liner notes is more problematic. The set is handsomely produced in DVD-case proportions with an illustrated 55-page booklet, but it is hard to figure out who Yazoo had in mind when they put it together. If it’s for obsessive 78rpm record collectors, then all well and good, but there aren’t many of them, and most of those are more interested in collecting and playing the records themselves than listening to digitized versions.

If, however, the anthology is aimed at the music lover with a passing interest in the history of record collecting then the extensive liner notes seem to be a big miscalculation.

The booklet contains a three-page introduction by producer Richard Nevins followed by A Collector’s Story (10 pages of it), by Charles Huber, then an account of a collecting trip in search of Charley Patton records by R Anthony ‘Flea’ Lee, a 20-page transcript of a conversation between record collectors Nevins, Dick Spottswood and Pete Whelan, seven pages of excerpts of letters by James McKune, an early collector, and – finally – some notes on the music. There is however, only three and a half pages given over to the music, half of which is taken up by photographs. “We will abstain,” Nevins writes, “from the superfluous exercise of relating who the artists are, since at this late date endless biographical annotations have been delivered to the public, and Google stands at the ready to fill the breach for the few obscure names here.”

Now by the same reasoning, I should just stop writing and let you seek out whatever information you can glean on the search engine of your choice. Forty-six internet searches may well provide information on these 46 pieces of music, but most of the search results will take you to Amazon, eBay or other sellers and the volume under review, or to fans of who knows what level of expertise and eloquence. Getting a balanced, informed view of this music through Google would, if possible, take many hours, hours that Nevins should have realized was his job to provide.

So if you’re after a two-disc collection of pre-war American roots music and are either unconcerned with such matters, or you’re an avid 78rpm collector who wants something to play in the car, then this set is strongly recommended. But if you’re a music lover who likes to read about what you’re listening to – and if you’re still reading this then I imagine you are – you might want to look elsewhere. (Roots ’n’ Blues: The Retrospective 1925-50 is worth seeking out – it’s still available as a download but if you can track down the 1992 boxed set, you’ll find a fabulous booklet that shows how it should be done.)
Buy from Amazon
Buy from iTunes (and hear samples)

Bellowhead Live

My, my, haven’t Bellowhead gotten popular? When I last saw them a couple years back they were at the relatively small Komedia in Bath. Now their sold-out crowd can only be held by Brizzle’s Colston Hall – with its slick cafes, numerous levels of seating and an abundance of bellicose security men speaking through walkie talkies, threatening to remove flailing revellers immediately, and generally pretending to be in Minority Report.

Support came from Mama Rosin, an endearingly enthusiastic Swiss Folk Rock trio – think a lot of bouncing around, accordion plus washboard and a singer 93% composed of floppy Afro.

Bellowhead thrust themselves into the proceedings with Boden screeching through a bullhorn megaphone about the disgusting contents of Black Beetle Pies! Through the assortment that followed (perhaps one could term it Baroque Folk Thrash?) Boden played tambourine and whistle whilst contorting like an eel being exorcised; Kirkpatrick leaped from high surfaces at any opportunity, wielding electric guitar/bouzouki/mandolin/banjo; the wind section did a trousered can-can; and in the delirious punk of Little Sally Racket, Kelly clearly revelled in sporting retro shades whilst playing two saxophones simultaneously.

Surely one of the elements of their success has been this ridiculous overabundance of talent in the band, and the unlimited possibilities of orchestration this allows. When late in the set Boden picked up the fiddle to play with Sartin, Sweeney and McShane, I remembered with a start that he also is an extremely good fiddle-player.

Their set almost entirely comprised songs from the new album Broadside – thus depriving us of well-loved songs of previous albums, but when everything – even a couple songs which glitter slightly less brightly on the album – are rendered into an awe-inspiring combination of musical virtuosity and bone-rattling vigour, one can’t complain too much.

Rufus Wainwright once said that Kylie Minogue is the musical shorthand for joy. Well then, Bellowhead are a hairy 44-limbed Kylie – the very best sort of joy.

Katy Carr Live

The unlikely but opulent setting - all stained glass windows and gilded columns – of Bath’s Royal Mineral Hospital seemed fitting for the heightened reality of songs from Paszport – an album uncovering the perilous adventures and tragedies of Polish men and women in WW2, but rendered through the vividity of Carr’s technicolor imagination.

A similarly unusual combination of ukelele, piano, double bass and trombone accompanied her voice, which soared up to the very curves of the cornicing, whether losing herself in the distinctive tones of 40s Polish song Dzis do Ciebie przyjsc nie moge or the breathless urgency of Kommander’s Car.

Interspersed through the songs were mini lessons in Polish pronunciation (How many gigs can leave you with the knowledge to pronounce Krzysztof Kieslowski’s name correctly?) and banter with filmmaker Hannah Lovell. Lovell, who made Kazik and the Kommander’s Car and Carr’s beautiful videos, projected the videos and archive film and illustrations throughout the concert, adding an apt extra layer of theatricality. A truly transporting evening.

Richard Thompson Electrifies

Camper Van Beethoven To Release New Album La Costa Perdida January 2013. Their first studio album in nine years!
The release will mark CVB’s first album recorded as a unit with the band cutting songs organically with all in attendance and produced entirely by the band’s members. La Costa Perdida vividly depicts untamed characters and bizarre experiences on northern California’s coastline, where the band began its musical adventures.
For More Information Click Here

My Bloody Valentine Are Back?
Kevin Shields of the legendary My Bloody Valentine has announced the release of a digital album to be released in December. Given their record for procrastination we await with baited breath.
Their Facebook Page
More info

Thalia Zedek New Album
Major ElectricGhost favourite Thalia Zedek is set to follow up her last album Liars & Prayers (2008). Titled Via it is due for release in March 2013.
More Info

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds new album and trailer video
The new album Push The Sky Away is due for release on February 18th 2013. It will be available in number of formats in addition to standard CD. Limited Deluxe Box set, Vinyl, and Super Deluxe Box Set.
Website
Album Trailer

And Finally… A Free Download from Golden Void
We reviewed their new album in our November issue.Psych rockers Golden Void covers 1983 (A Merman I Shall Turn To Be) in honour of Jimi Hendrix‘s 70th birthday. As Golden Void singer Isaiah Mitchell explained to Rolling Stone: “I heard the song for the first time when I was in my teens and I remember I staring off into a lit fireplace listening to the song melt into The Moon Turns the Tides Gently Away. Changed my life forever.”
Download from Soundcloud 

01 Two Gallants
My Love Won’t Wait

02 The Smoke Fairies
Let Me Know

03 Israel Nash Gripka
Drown

04 Sharon Van Etten
Magic Chords

05 The Murder Barn
Gotta A Good Man

06 White Hills
I Write A Thousand Letters 

07 Waters
For The One

08 Hurray For The Riff Raff
Little Black Star

09 John Martyn
May You Never

10 Miss Quincy & The Showdown
Making Money

11 The Lumineers
Ho Hey

12 The Wooden Sky
River Song

Tranmissionary 6 are re-transmitting
The made wonderful music from 2002-2008, and are now back and making more music.They plan to release Transmissionary Six, a 15 song compilation of songs from 2002-2012. Included are a dozen favourites from the official releases along with three brand new songs. It will be in beautiful packaging, and all remastered by Dr. Matt Brown.
Go To Their Website
Watch Almost Every Dog

Seth Lakeman Live with The BBC Concert Orchestra
5 Track Live EP
Set to be released on December 3rd 2012
In March 2012, folk-inspired, multi-award winning singer-songwriter Seth Lakeman played with the renowned BBC Concert Orchestra at Plymouth Pavilions in Devon. Seth is releasing a five track LIVE EP on December 3rd featuring recordings from that night mixed by Richard Evans. The live EP features versions of some of Seth’s best known songs, arranged by Anne Dudley and conducted by Matthew Coorey. It features Blacksmith’s Prayer from his current album Tales from the Barrel House, Kitty Jay the title track from his 2005 Mercury nominated album, Lady of the Sea and King & Country from his gold-selling album Freedom Fields and Changes from Hearts & Minds. Seth embarks on a high-profile tour of the UK in October with his band including musicians Sean Lakeman, Ben Nicholls, Cormac Byrne and guest musician Lisbee Stainton. The tour includes a sold out show at London’s Cadogan Hall on Saturday 13 October.
Go To His Website

Andrew Bird’s  Hands Of Glory
New album released in UK, November 6th 2012. A companion record to Break It Yourself out earlier this year. This new record from Andrew Bird out in the UK on November 6th, it is the product of a pair of recording sessions prompted by the overwhelming response to his ‘old-time’ sets on recent tours. Reinterpreting songs from Break It Yourself and featuring covers of classic country tunes that include Townes Van Zandt (If I Needed You) and The Handsome Family (When That Helicopter Comes).
Watch Hands of Glory Teaser

Easton Stagger Phillips Kickstart new album
In January, 2013 Tim and Evan will pack their things and fly to the barren, windswept prairies of Lethbridge, Alberta to record at Leeroy’s basement studio, The Rebeltone Ranch. Once there, they’ll spend 2 weeks recording and mixing a brand new batch of songs they’ve been writing over the last 4 years. The band’s artistic bar is high, and the goal is simple: to make the best record possible for themselves, and for their fans. The purpose of this Kickstarter campaign is to help finance flights, mixing and mastering of the new album, artwork, cd and VINYL duplication, merchandise, and a new website.
Go To Their Kickstarter Page

And Finally Wild Swim float debut single
Tempered by heartache and defiance comes the debut single from Oxford’s Wild Swim. Swarming with expansive guitars, haunting vocals and delicate keys, Echo touches on anguish and mythology, it is also reminiscent of fellow Oxford band Radiohead. Currently they are one of Oxford’s most hotly tipped bands.
Go To Their Facebook Page
Watch Echoes

Most most music publications do a music playlist. We thought we would be typically different and do a regular series of music video playlists. ElectricGhost Music e-Journal has links to relevant videos for review or other content. But we watch a load of videos that often don’t make it into the Journal. So here we are again with a dozen more videos of music that currently delights us. Enjoy. Please Note: The numbers are there for the running order and do not imply any kind of chart with a number one.

01 The Blood Choir
Horror Head

02 The Gaslight Anthem
45

03 Bob Dylan
Subterranean Homesick Blues
A Hand Lettering Experience

04 Blood Red Shoes
In Time To Voices

05 The Felice Brothers
James Felice Interview

06 Built To Spill
Hindsight 

07 Richard Thompson
The Dimming Of The Day
with Dolores Keane & Mary Black

08 Ryan Adams
If I Am A Stranger
Live On Letterman

09 First Aid Kit
Wolf

10 Joe Cocker
With A Little Help From My Friends

11 The Band
The Weight

12 Bruce Springsteen
Lost In The Flood
Live

The Murder Barn Get A Good Man In November
The Murder Barn release their debut EP Gotta Good Man on November 5th 2012. The East London based band was first started by sisters Chesca Dolecka and Becca Grover Jones then in 2011 they were joined by Matt Jones (Minuteman, Ultrasound,Jamie T and Beady Eye), producer Kevin Feazey (The Fierce and the Dead, The Kills, Lydia Lunch and The Duke Spirit), childhood friend Ryan Wilson and Serbian drummer Velibor Krstic to begin work on The Murder Barn.The six members of The Murder Barn have spent a year locked in their studio creating beautiful authentic music. Fans of PJ Harvey, The Bad Seeds and Anna Calvi will enjoy this earthy-rock six piece. Gotta Good Man EP shows The Murder Barn are heavily influenced by The Band, Scott Walker, Ennio Morricone, Elton John, Wilco, 16 Horsepower, Black Mountain and The Bad Seeds.
Watch: In Every Sea We Drown (not included on the EP
Go To: The EP on BandCamp

Romi Mays Gets Lucky in 2013
We featured the trailer video for this in our August Video Playlist.A feature-length documentary following the creation, performance and real-life tribulations behind Canadian musicians Romi Mayes and Jay Nowicki’s album Lucky Tonight. A film by Steven K. Johnson. 75 minutes. Coming early 2013. Making a legitimate living as an artist has rarely been easy. In late 2010, Romi Mayes, a single mother of one and touring musician, teamed up with life-long friend Jay Nowicki to write and perform a live, original electric-duo album. After the Show is a tribute to all independent musicians, chronicling the utter commitment to an art form where success is measured by creative persistence instead of widespread financial fame.
Go To: http://www.romimayes.com
Watch: Lucky Tonight

ExitMusic Join The Modern Age
To coincide with their UK/European Tour in November Brooklyn, NY’s Exitmusic – comprised of Devon Church and Aleksa Palladino have released a new video for their new single The Modern Age. The beautiful pastoral and haunting images from director Daniel Ryan fit smoothly with frontwoman Aleksa Palladino’s achey croon. Of the inspiration for the shoot, Palladino says,“Devon and I spent a few years volunteering at wild life rescue centers and, despite all the best efforts of very knowledgeable and compassionate staff members, sometimes an animal would just die from the shock of being captured. Their bodies would shut down because they knew they were not free. It has always stayed with us.  That’s where we got the idea for the video.”
Watch: The Modern Age

Arbouretum Come Out Of The Fog
ElectricGhost major favourites, and Baltimore’s finest release their fifth full length album Coming Out Of The Fog in January 2013. After listening to an advanced copy we can report that this is a brilliant new addition to their body of work. We’ll have a full review in our January 2013 issue. To coincide with this they are coming to The UK for a special short tour. This will include a London gig on November 9th as part of the Thrill Jockey 20th Anniversary celebration (see final news story) and Moles, Bath on November 7th. We’ll be reviewing the Bath gig which has the awesome Blood Choir supporting (see their new darkly brilliant Horror Headvideo in our September Video Playlist. The full UK dates are: The Railway, Winchester November 4th, Moles, Bath (w/ The Blood Choir) November 7th, Start The Bus, Bristol (w/ The Blood Choir) November 8th, The Lexington, London (Special 20th Anniversary Thrill Jockey show with Radian/Alexander Tucker and Kandodo) November 9th, Audioscope Festival, Oxford November 10th and The Prince Albert, Brighton November 11th
Go To: Coming Out Of The Fog

A Murder of Crows
The Murder of Crows is a new duo by Gaelynn Lea and Alan Sparhawk (Low) that was formed when they did a live soundtrack to a Lon Chaney film in October 2011. Turns out they kind of enjoy playing together, and so the Murder was born. This violin / guitar duo plays long, winding, hypnotic instrumentals that hopefully create a kind of mental journey. A few vocal songs are thrown in for good measure. Ideal bird-watching music.
Watch: Your Battle
Go To: Their Website

An Finally…Thrill Jockey Celebrates 20th Anniversary
Thrill Jockey is proud to announce a very special London show this November as part of the label’s anniversary celebrations at the grand old age of 20! To mark the celebrations, a series of 20th anniversary shows will be held, showcasing some of the label’s established and up-and-coming acts. The events kicked off last week with shows in New York and Baltimore, including show-stopping headline sets from Future Islands and Tortoise. Further planned events will be held in LA, Chicago, San Francisco, Portland and London later this year. The Chicago-based label founded by Bettina Richards has released some of best and most diverse independent music of the last 20 years, from the likes of Tortoise, Boredoms, The Sea & Cake, Sidi Touré, Fred Anderson, Wooden Shjips, The Fiery Furnaces, Barn Owl, Tom Verlaine, David Byrne, Oval, Trans Am, High Places, Future Islands, Liturgy, Freakwater and many more.Celebrations include a series of special concerts, a comedy records of sorts, a very special poster series, short film series and ongoing LP re-issues. Dates include:
Nov 9 – London, UK – The Lexington
Dec. 13 – San Francisco, CA at The Independent
Dec. 14 – Los Angeles, CA at Los Globos
Additional show To Be Announced:
TBA – Chicago – December
Go To: http://www.thrilljockey.com