Add Date: February 9
Artist: Ben Sollee and Daniel Martin Moore
Album: Dear Companion
Label: Sup Pop
Genre: Folk/Rock
Comments: Dear Companion jets off at a thousand miles per hour with the opening track "Something, Somewhere, Sometime." And I don't mean just the tempo, the whole sha-bang took me by surprise at first listen. Sollee and Moore, obviously a male duo, have both released individual solo albums in the past. Their collaboration sparked the interest of Yim Yames (My Morning Jacket, Solo artist, Monsters of Folk) who produced the album that comes out on Sub Pop on February 16.
These are folk songs that seem traditional at the very lightest glance. A deeper look into things shows that although the structure and chords may sound familiar, the voices, harmonies, melodies, cellos, banjos, and most of all lyrics all combine to create an exciting, flavorful and refreshing folk pop album. However pretentious it is to say, I am drawn to describe Solle and Moore's sound as intellectualized folk that any simple man would find accessible. Beyond music, the three (Sollee, Moore and Yames) are united by a strong concern for the harmful effects of mountain top removal, and it shows in the songs. The seventh track "Flyrock Blues" is just one of the handful of tracks that directly address the issue: "In West Virginia the water's bad... Maybe you're living far away... but if they ever find a black rock ther, you better be aware or you'll know the flyrock blues too."
The album's finger picking is exceptional, the voices are comforting, and the songs all move in the same direction leaving whoever listens to the whole thing through feeling excited, challanged, and invested. Start with 1, 6, 10.
Artist: Ben Sollee and Daniel Martin Moore
Album: Dear Companion
Label: Sup Pop
Genre: Folk/Rock
Comments: Dear Companion jets off at a thousand miles per hour with the opening track "Something, Somewhere, Sometime." And I don't mean just the tempo, the whole sha-bang took me by surprise at first listen. Sollee and Moore, obviously a male duo, have both released individual solo albums in the past. Their collaboration sparked the interest of Yim Yames (My Morning Jacket, Solo artist, Monsters of Folk) who produced the album that comes out on Sub Pop on February 16.
These are folk songs that seem traditional at the very lightest glance. A deeper look into things shows that although the structure and chords may sound familiar, the voices, harmonies, melodies, cellos, banjos, and most of all lyrics all combine to create an exciting, flavorful and refreshing folk pop album. However pretentious it is to say, I am drawn to describe Solle and Moore's sound as intellectualized folk that any simple man would find accessible. Beyond music, the three (Sollee, Moore and Yames) are united by a strong concern for the harmful effects of mountain top removal, and it shows in the songs. The seventh track "Flyrock Blues" is just one of the handful of tracks that directly address the issue: "In West Virginia the water's bad... Maybe you're living far away... but if they ever find a black rock ther, you better be aware or you'll know the flyrock blues too."
The album's finger picking is exceptional, the voices are comforting, and the songs all move in the same direction leaving whoever listens to the whole thing through feeling excited, challanged, and invested. Start with 1, 6, 10.
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