Posts in the Folk Pop Category at Rock Torch, Page 2

Sarah Jaffe carries a torch for Robyn

November 1, 2010 by admin

Sarah Jaffe and Robyn

Sarah Jaffe’s recommendation: “For the past year I’ve been listening to more current music than anything. I think overall I’ve listened to Robyn more than anyone else. For the past couple years the records she has put out never tire with me. I remember hearing Bum like You for the first time and I had it on repeat for about a month. She had also collaborated with Royksopp on a few tracks that I flipped out over. I think mainly, she’s just a bad ass. There is so much energy in her melodies. I’ve yet to see her live, but I YouTube the hell out of her.”

New to The Robyn? Sarah recommends you start here: “I know Body Talk Pt 1 and Body Talk Pt 2 were released separately, but I think they both have some killer tracks that are worth being on repeat. Choosing between the two of them, Iâ€™d have to say Body Talk Pt 2. It didn’t get the best reviews, which is dumb. It’s a great record.”

Related: Eric Zeiler of Xylos and Ryan McPhun of Ruby Suns also carry a torch for Robyn.

About our guest author, Sarah Jaffe: Hailing from Denton, Texas, Sarah Jaffe first got the attention of the music world when she self-released an EP and cleaned house at the Dallas Observer Music Awards in 2008. Since then, she’s completed her full length album, Suburban Nature and has been collecting praise from the best and brightest in the biz, from USA Today (“…best thing I heardâ€¦”) to NPR (“…Jaffeâ€™s immensely promising career is just getting started…”). Stylistically she has a mellow sound and her lyrics are downright revealing and heartbreaking. She’s toured with Norah Jones and Lou Barlow and her road show continues to roll through December.

Anthony D’Amato carries a torch for Joe Pug

October 25, 2010 by admin

Anthony D'Amato and Joe Pug

Anthony D’Amato’s recommendation: “The first time I encountered Joe Pug was at the 2009 Newport Folk Festival. From where I was standing, I could hear him, but I couldn’t see him. He had these absolutely brilliant lyrics and this weary, grizzled voice. I was expecting someone Steve Earle’s age, so I couldnâ€™t believe it when I found out he was only in his twenties. He writes with such clarity, such purpose. Nothing is wasted in a Joe Pug song. Each line is so packed with meaning that you discover something new every time you listen.”

New to The Joe Pug? Anthony recommends you start here: “The Nation of Heat EP is a fantastic introduction to Joe’s songwriting. It’s just him and an acoustic guitar/harmonica—as sparse as a production can get, but still somehow it has this expansive sound. You feel like you’re listening from inside his guitar or something. The songs just envelop you. You can listen to the whole thing for free on his website.”

MP3: The Sharpest Crown by Joe Pug

About our guest author, Anthony D’Amato: Before recording his self-produced album, Down Wires, Anthony D’Amato honed his songwriting skill with some of the most skilled teachers you can dream up. First he met with Paul Muldoon, the Pulitzer Prize winning poet to talk lyrics. Then he teamed up with Canadian rocker Sam Roberts (who wound up playing on the album). On the performance side, Anthony has opened for the likes of Marah and Jesse Malin and even shared the stage with Bruce Springsteen at a recent benefit show. The press is buzzing about Anthony and you can bet your last guitar pick that No Depression had it right when they said, “…the attention is indeed warranted…Dâ€™Amato seems to be on the fast track to a stellar career.” Check his MySpace page for more info on your new favorite singer/songwriter.

MP3: My Father’s Son by Anthony D’Amato

Justin Jones recommends Otis Redding and Ray Charles

September 27, 2010 by admin

Justin Jones and Otis Redding

Justin Jones’ recommendation: “Ray Charles and Otis are the only singers I really truly admire. I can hear other singers and like it, but nobody touches Otis or Ray. When I’m on the road, I always listen to I Love You More Than Words Can Say. That one’s for me and my wife. It’s just perfect soul music. No bullshit. His singing is simultaneously effortless and strained. It’s amazing. And Dock of the Bay was my dad’s favorite song so that means a lot to me as well. The last time I saw him before his death we sang it together, me on guitar and him on harmonica.”

Justin Jones’ Otis Redding album pick: Sittin’ On The Dock Of The Bay

About our guest author, Justin Jones: If you live in the DC area and you’re a live music fan, then you most definitely have been to the area’s premiere venue, The 9:30 Club. The club and its co-owner Seth Hurwitz see a ton of great acts fly on and off of their stage, but when it came time for Seth to create a record label, he recruited Justin Jones to be the first act to record for his newly launched 930 Records. Give the self titled track from Jones’ new EP Little Fox a listen (MP3 below) and you’ll hear why Justin was given the honor of being the label’s first round draft pick. “You can imagine Iâ€™ve been exposed to more music than most,” Hurwitz says, “but once in a very blue moon, a new artist stops me dead in my tracks.” Jones has also caught a lot of attention with his live performances where has been seen opening for heavy weights like Loretta Lynn, Alejandro Escovedo and Levon Helm. Don’t miss the opportunity to see him open for Sheryl Crow in the coming weeks. Check Justin-Jones.com for the full tour schedule.

MP3: Little Fox by Justin Jones

Jace Everett carries a torch for Mark Eitzel and American Music Club

September 10, 2010 by admin

Jace Everett and American Music Club

Jace Everett’s recommendation: “One that I always go back to is American Music Club. Mark Eitzel was the singer and songwriter of the group. “Never in my life/Have I ever seen/Such a mess,” an epic line from an amazing song, Johnny Mathis’s Feet sums it all up pretty well. These are songs of hopelessness and despair so beautifully rendered that they actually inspire hope!”

New to American Music Club? Jace suggests you start here: “The band made several records throughout the ’80s, but I didn’t discover them until Mercury, their major label debut in the early ’90s. Some AMC purists decried this record as a “sell-out,” which is just fucking hilarious. Half the songs are in 6/8. The lyrics are crushingly good; funny, beautiful, heartbreaking. Each album has shining moments, but if you can’t get into Mercury, you may need to check your soul for a pulse.”

MP3: Only Love Can Set You Free by American Music Club from Patriot Songs For Lovers

About our guest author, Jace Everett: Jace is a former preacher, traveling musician, and truck driver who hit the big time when music supervisor Gary Calamar picked his Bad Things cut from his first album to back the opening montage of HBO’s vampire show, True Blood (see the credit sequence here). Jace took his newly found fame and enlisted Chuck Prophet to produce and co-write his latest album, Red Revelations, a wonderful modern mix of folk, pop, and roots based music. Be sure to visit Jace’s site to sign up for his newsletter updates and check the clip below about the new song he recorded for True Blood.

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