This is the second edition of the The Barn’s These Are Your Jams series. To see what this is all about, check out Volume One and for more jams check out our entire My Jams series.
1. There are some interesting trends in this installment, including lots of different takes on the singer-songwriter and moving that sound forward. This guy had a front row seat on how do it from the best. Discovering it in my stream on This Is My Jam, I actually really enjoyed this tune before I discovered that Harper Simon is the son of legend Paul Simon so I think that qualifies for succeeded on his own merits. This tune is called "Bonnie Brae".
2. Kurt Vile funnels a lot of lo-fi psych rock influence through his singer-songwriter filter. The result, "Waking On A Pretty Day", is both hummable and pretty in that slightly unsettling and extended way.
3. Yellowbirds pour on the fuzz for a much more retro/60's effect on "No Need For A Leader"
4. Phosphorescent is one of those "bands" that's just code word for one guy, Matthew Houck. His style is used to great affect on "Ride On / Right On", with hints of his Southern roots coming through in sophisticated sonic layers and urgent vocals that give the tune a cohesive feel that belies its origin.
5. Chile seems like an unlikely place weird music. But joining previous Chileans Holydrug Couple, on one of these lists is Follakzoid, with a tune that embodies the term "heady", as if composed fully formed in the mind's eye during a wild psychedelic night. After viewing the darkened-night-drive-via-strobe music video its almost impossible to think of anything else while listening to "Trees".
6. Jason Molina passed away on March 16th and I was remarked about how little I knew about this artist -- especially given the reaction of the music community. It was so disappointing that it was tragedy that inspired me to dive deeper into his catalog, but I was soon reminded about what had inspired so much grief amongst my peers. This tune, "Transmission Failure" from his band Songs: Ohia popped up on my TIMJ timeline soon after, and its melancholy Neil Young-like feel was the punctation on my mini-immersion into Jason's music.
