{"id":973,"date":"2016-10-07T05:45:28","date_gmt":"2016-10-07T09:45:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nickzaino.com\/departmentoftangents\/?p=973"},"modified":"2016-11-08T23:40:20","modified_gmt":"2016-11-09T04:40:20","slug":"973","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nickzaino.com\/departmentoftangents\/2016\/10\/07\/973\/","title":{"rendered":"New Release Roundup: Shovels & Rope, Todd Snider, Springtime Carnivore, Brent Cobb"},"content":{"rendered":"

MUSIC <\/strong>
\n1. Shovels & Rope<\/a> \u2013 Little Seeds<\/em>
\nWhen I first saw Shovels & Rope live, I had the same thought I\u2019m sure a lot of their fans had their first time \u2013 how is the huge sound coming from just two people? It\u2019s often just one guitar and drums, and two voices, supplemented occasionally by harmonica or some keyboards (played by whoever\u2019s on drums). Of course, in the studio, they can flesh things out a little more. But on Little Seeds<\/em>, you can really hear how powerful Cary Ann Hearst and Michael Trent are together. It all starts with the harmonies. Their voices are perfectly matched, and they both sing like they\u2019re about to be raptured, whether it\u2019s an old-timey sounding ballad about gratitude like \u201cSt. Anne\u2019s Parade\u201d or a flat-out rocker like \u201cInvisible Man.\u201d The first two singles (as much as anything is actually a \u201csingle\u201d anymore) made this an album to look forward to. \u201cI Know\u201d has that mile-wide fuzzed out guitar sound (think \u201cSpirit In the Sky\u201d) and lyrics that kind of a sympathetic kiss off to a competing band. \u201cI know exactly where you got that sound,\u201d they sing, \u201cSee I was at the same shows that you used to hang around\/I know exactly where you got that sound\/See you in a year on your way back down.\u201d It\u2019s all good, though. \u201cCall it even, baby, take a bow.\u201d The more frantic \u201cBotched Execution\u201d came next. It\u2019s the perfect Halloween story, too. Literally, the story of an outlaw who escaped after their execution didn\u2019t take, and how they\u2019re on the run with no hope of proving their innocence (mostly because they\u2019re not innocent). Dig this eerie little couplet \u2013 \u201cThe body\u2019s in the closet \u2018cause I never got to move it\/Now the neighbor kids are talking, saying \u2018Everybody knew it.\u2019\u201d Hard not to appreciate a tribute to Garth Hudson, possibly the most underappreciated member of The Band, on \u201cThe Last Hawk.\u201d \u201cFrom my piano bench I saw it all,\u201d they sing, \u201cFrom the great ascension to the mighty fall.\u201d <\/p>\n

There\u2019s some adventurous stuff on here, musically and thematically. \u201cBWYR\u201d is a stunning plea for equality. There\u2019s a kind of friction in the way Hearst and Trent\u2019s voices intertwine and echo, with a spacey delay effect, over a droning acoustic guitar. \u201cBlack lives, white lives, yellow lives, red,\u201d they sing, \u201cLet\u2019s all come together and share the bread\/Let\u2019s all join hands and share the dread\/Black lives, white lives, yellow lives, red.\u201d The album is capped off with \u201cThis Ride,\u201d a tribute to friend who died while they were finishing off the record. It\u2019s introduced in a separate track called \u201cEric\u2019s Birthday,\u201d which is their friend\u2019s mother telling a story about how he was born in the back of a police car over a fingerpicked acoustic guitar and some hand claps. \u201cThis ride,\u201d they sing, \u201cwhat a ride.\u201d Simple and direct, exactly what\u2019s needed. Makes you feel spent and exhilarated. That\u2019s what Shovels & Rope do best.
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