Billy Bragg | Tooth & Nail Cooking Vinyl
There are few musicians that I take time to listen, really listen, to the poetry that makes the song. Billy Bragg is one of those few.
From his earl y days as a punk rocker on Talking with the Taxman( 1986) to the folk / r ock Wilco collaboration Mermaid Avenue( 1998), Bragg has al ways sung with passion and purpose.
Along comes his la test release, Tooth & Nail, after a fiv e year hiatus, and the w ords pour out with the same Billy Bragg conviction. This time it’ s less about politics and mor e about love and ageing. The melancholy tempo of the trac ks perfectly match the 55-y ear-old’ s wavery voice as he con vincingly paints pictures of homelessness, greed, and lost love.
If you’ re into the likes of Dylan, Young, Waits, or Guthrie(“ I Ain’ t Got No Home” is a Guthrie cover), then you are going to love Bragg’ s latest book of poetry, er, I mean album. – Glen Ingram
Andy Stott | Luxury Problems Modern Love
Andy Stott is a DJ and dub techno producer from Manchester, England. He’ s dark and quirky, preferring to craft strange soundscapes and minimalist mood music than bash out dancefloor fillers. That isn’ t to say his tunes are strictly ambient. His la te- 2012 release is an oppr essive and menacing album, but it does come with a rh ythm section. These aren’ t your typical 4 / 4 house beats, though. Instead, his sound is reminiscent of Josh Wink and Plastikman.
Some of the alb um’ s tracks feature vocal samples of Stott’ s old piano teac her Alison Skidmore, an opera tic vocalist. These come acr oss like a beautiful but sinister industr ial interpretation of opera.
This is lush, wellcomposed and complex music that matches the mood of being awake far too long, prowling foreign city streets in the dark. Don’ t go into this album depressed— you might not come out the other side. – Matt J. Simmons
[ sic ] magazine travels
That’ s right, we’ re doing wha t airline magazines do, except we don’ t have CICK planes to help us.( But I bet [ sic ] would make a wicked paper air plane.) Above, we took a jaunt to Calgary and below, we found a reader in a Montr eal café. Sure, our roots are in Smither s, but we’ re spreading our sic-ness elsewhere. If you’ re road tripping this spring / summer, you’ ll likely see us infiltrating coffee shops and book stores all over northern BC.
When you next fl y into the blue yonder, snap a shot of yourself with our little rag and send it to us. Who knows, maybe it’ ll win you something, like a prize. editor @ smithersradio. com.
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