Deep Cuts: Americana

The unusually gifted and soulful work of Jamie N. Commons has been prominently featured in TV's runaway smash hit show The Walking Dead on the AMC network. His track "Lead Me Home" seems like the work of a much older blues troubadour, singing to a dusty, mostly empty Mississippi roadhouse, opening up for a grumbling Nick Cave. But, this work is in fact from a 20-something musician from England.

Commons' debut album Rumble And Sway was released March 5th 2013 and performed live at SXSW in Austin, Texas on March 14th. It features even more brilliant song-writing from the dry, harsh places in America. There are tales of greedy priests and a failing search for a connection to God in the middle of stinking corruption. It's all told in Commons' unmistakable vocal style and frantically intricate guitar picking.

Jamie N. Commons - Lead Me Home
References:

• Jamie N. Commons, Official Site
• The Guardian, Interview

Deep Cuts: Alt-Rock

The Hiders' 2008 release "Penny Harvest Field" is a follow-up to their brilliant Valentine released in 2006. The Cincinnati based alt-rock act's musical influences seem to range from alt-country to mainstream rock containing Fogerty, Petty, Greenwood (Radiohead) and Neil Young. Their live sound is true to their studio sound which is kind of a seamless arrangement of guitar and vocal harmonies.

The band is fronted by a Cincinnati music veteran songwriter/guitarist Billy Alletzhauser who is a former member of Ohio indie rock group The Ass Ponys. The Pony were highly successful in 1990's before going their separate directions. Beth Harris plays rhythm guitar and her vocals are sweet and aching harmonies, bassist Glen May and drummer Brian Moeller round out the current incarnation of the group. The Hider's debut balances slow-burning love songs and full-on rockers with mesmerizing results.

The Hiders - Back Home

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Deep Cuts: Alt Rock

The Hiders' 2008 release Penny Harvest Field is a follow-up to their brilliant Valentine released in 2006. The Cincinnati based alt-rock act's musical influences seem to range from alt-country to mainstream rock containing Fogerty, Petty, Greenwood (Radiohead) and Neil Young. Their live sound is true to their studio sound which is kind of a seamless arrangement of guitar and vocal harmonies.

According to a long-time anchor member of the band, the album's title refers to an annual Brooklyn based project to collect individual pennies from students, parents and teachers. This collection amounted to over $1 million US dollars in 2007.

The Hiders - Waiting For You.mp3 (5.1 mb)

Deep Cuts From Bloggy's Vault: Americana

O.K, hipsters, hi. Do you, like me, wonder where modern country music in the vein of Waylon Jennings or Buck Owens comes from? Where, in the age of Youtube and rootless metrospeak, does this sound come from?

This sound comes from them modern day troubadours who've made their way from places like the Zone (where Mexicans and grizzled storytellers come from) to tell us about hard livin' minus glitter, jell-o shots or Rolling Stone "picks": heartache and bitter loss, no drum machine included.

Musicians like veteran solo artist Mason Reed are a part of this sound. His new album "You Can't Come Back from Heaven" is what a modern day Waylon Jennings or a Phoenix born Tom Waits would be recording right now. Listen, buy, recommend - right now.

Mason Reed - Not Perfect.mp3 (4.5 mb)