I went to Waterloo yesterday and picked up a few albums I’d been meaning to buy for a long time, including two local ones. So here are two releases that it seems I missed in the past few months:
Sarah Jaffe - Even Born Again
Denton’s Sarah Jaffe has more than made a name for herself
among the right circles in Texas music, playing a number of
shows over the past few years with Will Johnson and Centro-matic/South
San Gabriel, Robert Gomez and the rest of the who’s-who of
Denton music. And while this EP has gotten its fair
share of press (both from me and others around Texas), I
think it deserves one more proper write-up before Jaffe
releases her pending full length later this month
(hopefully). Singing discretely about tense emotional
moments, Jaffe’s subtly dark themes are driven by the deep
full tones of her acoustic guitar, and a sweet voice that is
marked nonetheless with a certain weariness, an aged
sincerity that accents each line. Like her Texas
contemporary Bosque Brown, Jaffe draws predominantly from
folk traditions, but if she breaks the trend its usually, as
with Black Hoax Lie, in a Jazz-ward direction (which
means you better be able to handle a pair of brushes if you
want to drum for Jaffe). Not that Jaffe needs any
extra instrumentation to fill out the tracks, she’s more
than capable to deliver a powerful performance on her own,
and each track is undoubtedly dominated by her stirring
presence. All in all, whether you're as excited as I
am about the upcoming album or not, this EP is worth having,
even if only to tide you over for a few weeks.
San Saba County - ...Though Cheating Was Never An Option
To put it very bluntly, San Saba County should satisfy
anyone who, being of the opinion that Uncle Tupelo were the
single greatest band in the past 200 years, wish that Jeff
and Jay would bury the hatchet, un-age 19 years, and make
another glorious album. To put it equally bluntly, San
Saba County embody everything that good alt-country stands
for: electric guitars, shameless country origins and warm
whiskey. Quick rockers like Summer Solstice and
opener The Devil & Marie, two of the album’s finest
moments, should be proof enough that the band "get the
genre," but the slightly laid-back numbers like Don’t Ask
Me border on sublime in their channeling of alt-country
spirit into new and improved songs. Yes, San Saba
County answers a lot of hypothetical questions: What would
have happened if the Old 97s kept making music like
Hitchhike to Rhome? What if Billy Bragg and Wilco
made another
Mermaid Avenue?
What if the Eagles were really good? But while this
dynamic album easily offers hypothetical answers to those
hypothetical questions, ultimately it’s an album that proves
the band worthy of carrying on the alt-country torch that’s
been cast to the wayside (or sold to House of Blues, as in
Dallas). Or if that last metaphor was too convoluted:
...Though Cheating Was Never An Option is the perfect
album to drink to, and then to sober up to the next morning.
Honestly, I could use more albums like that.
- John Michael
Cassetta -
|
