With the holidays approaching, Local Spins rolls out Phase One of its year-end roundup of albums released by regional acts, including An Dro, Megan Dooley and The Bootstrap Boys, with audio samples.
Comfortable in Their Musical Skin: The Crane Wives earlier this year released the first of two new albums recorded in Kalamazoo. (Photo/Anna Sink)
Since late summer, Michigan bands and solo artists have released a virtual treasure trove of new recordings, some of them debut albums, some of them with a twist on what these acts do best.
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So, with the holidays fast approaching, check out Phase One of the Local Spins’ roundup of new releases and start adding some standout albums and EPs to the gift list for your favorite music mavens. And come back to Local Spins later this month for Phase Two.
DAVE HARDIN
“Magnolia”
Weaving its way throughout Grand Rapids singer-songwriter Dave Hardin’s latest masterwork is an authenticity born not only of the region in which he grew up – between the Ohio River basin and the Appalachian foothills – but of an incisive, intensely personal understanding of the characters and situations he sings about. With a muscular sort of Americana swagger, Hardin captures the essence of life’s turns and travails, from the doleful coal-mining grit of “Can’t See Nothin’,” delivered with a Steve Earle-like fire, to the hillbilly back-porch charm of “Magnolia” to the roots rocking “Judas Tree,” which gives a significant – and impressive – nod to Neil Young. Produced by Hardin and multi-instrumentalist John Fritz (with musicians Robert Decocq, Lauran Hardin and Kim Deschamps also aboard), Hardin has assembled one of the year’s true gems. He’s done it by taking songs where they’re supposed to go. When an edgy track like “Rock Me Down” calls for it, he rocks with determined fury. When it’s a lighthearted ode to lost love like “Not Enough Morning” or a poignant ballad like “Sorry,” arrangements focus on what’s important: acoustic guitars, pedal steel, harmonies and those penetrating lyrics.
Website: davehardinmusic.com
Listen: Dave Hardin, “Rock Me Down”
BENNETT
“A Moment’s Time”
For a bunch of young indie-folk musicians, the much-celebrated members of Bennett (Josiah Gentry, Nick Rolls and Nicholas Warren) have been remarkably sage about their music and the direction they want it to take. The Grand Rapids trio – which often performs as a quintet these days – even rejected an earlier recording project because it didn’t feel quite right. Instead, they traveled to Nashville to record this EP at The Study with Konrad Snyder (Kopecky). What emerged more than two years after their last album was a far more pop-oriented affair that drenches the band’s folky foundation with charming soulfulness and undeniably catchy hooks, from the snappy opening track, “Give a Little Love,” to the final atmospheric, harmony-rich strains of “Hold On.” This is indie-folk on steroids. If as Gentry says, the boys were aiming for music to “groove to,” Bennett has more than achieved its goal.
Website: bennettband.com
Listen: Bennett, “Wait Love”
JESSE RAY & THE CAROLINA CATFISH
“Dead Man Walking”
This Grand Rapids rockabilly-fueled duo made a lasting impression in a very short period of time, especially with raucously rollicking live, loud shows that had frontman and singer-guitarist Jesse Ray clambering atop tables or lying on his back while cranking out particularly boisterous tunes as drummer Josh Worsham hammered away sweatily on his kit. They brought a fair amount of that club-styled hyper-energy to the duo’s most eagerly awaited studio project, “Dead Man Walking,” recorded at Cold War Studios. The opening guitar whine of “Catfish” prefaces an explosion of raw guitar, furious drums and Jesse Ray’s signature hoots and howls, qualities weaving their way throughout this 11-track romp of blues-driven garage rock and rockabilly. That the duo surprisingly split up only weeks after the official release of the album may have disappointed some fans (Jesse Ray has continued with a new drummer), but in a way, it’s the perfect tribute to what this unusual duo has brought to West Michigan’s simmering music scene.
Website: facebook.com/jesserayandthecatfish
Upcoming shows: Dec. 4 in The Stache at The Intersection in Grand Rapids, Jan. 1 at Rockford Brewing in Rockford, Feb. 4 at H.O.M.E. in The B.O.B.
Listen: Jesse Ray & The Carolina Catfish, “Dead Man Walking”
THE BOOTSTRAP BOYS
“Country Songs for Sale”
In some ways, this is Jake Stilson’s dream come true. The Grand Rapids singer-songwriter had plotted for four years to release a country album, so when Jon Pataky suggested forming a country band, The Bootstrap Boys were inevitable. And lucky for fans of throwback outlaw country, this five-song EP recorded at Matt Ten Clay’s Amber Lit Audio serves up a refreshing whiskey glass of broken hearts, muscle cars and drown-your-sorrows twanginess. Nothing fancy, just unadulterated, polish-free, bona fide country music, the way Hank Williams and Waylon Jennings intended.
Website: thebootstrapboys.com
Upcoming shows: Dec. 10 at Elk Brewing Co. in Grand Rapids, Feb. 20 at Tip Top Deluxe Bar & Grill in Grand Rapids
Listen:
THE CRANE WIVES
“Coyote Stories”
After more than five years of touring and recording, one major lineup shuffle and the cultivation of an incredibly devoted and ever-growing fan base, The Crane Wives have ascended to what could be described as a creative pinnacle – road-tested, more seasoned in their songwriting and arrangements, and more than ready to conquer the folk-rock world. “Coyote Stories,” the first of two albums recorded this year at Ian Gorman’s La Luna Recording in Kalamazoo, is not only the band’s best, most ambitious album to date (the follow-up to their sophomore album, “The Fool in Her Wedding Gown”) but a subtle-yet-significant expansion of the band’s distinctive sonic direction, which continues to be propelled by harmonious guitarist-singers Emilee Petersmark and Kate Pillsbury and powered by drummer Dan Rickabus and bassist Ben Zito. The melancholy track, “Unraveling,” with Savannah Buist and Katie Larson of The Accidentals pitching in on violin and cello is one such example, but so is the country-fied “Hard Sell,” which follows, complete with Seth Bernard’s lap-steel contribution. “Sleeping Giants,” with its pounding drums, searing guitars, thundering bass and choral chants, already has become a fan anthem at live shows. And there’s a trumpet (Justin Dore), electric guitars (Pillsbury and Steven Leaf), organ and more. This is a band that’s grown really comfortable in its musical skin, one that’s unafraid to augment its sound. And that means we can’t wait to see what comes next.
Website: thecranewives.com
Upcoming shows: Nov. 21 at FestivALE in Ferndale; Dec. 17 at Limelight Event Plex in Peoria, Ill.
Listen: The Crane Wives, “Sleeping Giants”
AN DRO & FRIENDS
“The Music of James Spalink”
There’s always been a certain refined beauty about An Dro’s music – a rarefied treatment of Celtic and world music that owes as much to Carolyn Koebel’s brilliant percussion work as it does to bouzouki player and harpist James Spalink’s shrewd musical sensibility. So it’s no surprise that the latest album from one of Michigan’s most respected Celtic music bands would have a foundation in Spalink’s fetching compositions and Koebel’s far-reaching musical connections. This orchestral and cinematic rendering of An Dro pulls in more than a dozen musicians from across the state to deliver a haunting and irresistible soundtrack to Michigan’s incredible natural landscape.
Website: andromusic.com
Upcoming shows: Nov. 22 at the White Crow Conservatory of Music in Saginaw, Nov. 28 at One Trick Pony in Grand Rapids
Listen: An Dro & Friends, “Cliffs of Moher”
MEGAN DOOLEY
“Made in Kalamazoo”
Megan Dooley may have been born in the wrong generation musically, but she’s certainly making the most of her adoration of Prohibition Era ditties and torch songs. Dooley’s voice – accompanied by banjulele, guitar, kazoo and way-impressive whistling – is the ideal vehicle for her vintage-sounding music, from the up-tempo, finger-snapping “Bluenose Baby” that launches this project produced at La Luna Recording to the spare and absolutely delectable, winter-weary “Seven Below” and nostalgically poignant indie-folk tune “Fall” that closes the album. Through it all, Dooley proves that she’s a rare musical treat.
Website: megandooleymusic.com
Upcoming shows: 9 p.m. Friday at Tip Top Deluxe Bar & Grill in Grand Rapids, Sunday at Funky Buddha Yoga Hothouse in Holland (with Delilah DeWylde)
Listen: Megan Dooley, “Seven Below”
LIPSTICK JODI
“Good Not Great”
If Garbage shared a taxi with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs on their way to a Bjork concert, they’d probably be quite happy listening to Lipstick Jodi. Karli Morehouse, Luke Rockhold and Charissa Courteau make the sort of insanely catchy indie-rock/pop that feels like it could have been made a decade ago yet seems deliciously relevant and vital amid a hefty dose of brazen guitars and fuzzy psychedelic splendor. This four-track EP will be tough to excise from your playlist.
Website: lipstickjodi.com
Upcoming shows: 8 p.m. Saturday as part of an indie showcase at Camp H Skate Park in Comstock Park; Nov. 28 at Tip Top Deluxe Bar & Grill (EP-release show)
Listen: Lipstick Jodie, “Caught By a Whim”
Copyright 2015, Spins on Music LLC
