We’re just a couple weeks away from our 10×10 Series show with The Ballroom Thieves and we’re very much looking forward to their folk pop sounds filling the Soreng theater. With their newest release Clouds, the duo explored new sonic territory for their unique brand of folk so we asked Martin Earley and Calin Peters what they’ve been listening to recently.
The following was provided to us by The Ballroom Thieves.
Orange Blood – Mt. Joy: This record pulled us in right from the first note and it never let go. It’s fun, catchy, whimsical, serious, heavy, light, lyrical, and all sorts of other positive adjectives, but it’s also just really, really good. We always find it refreshing to listen to a band that doesn’t seem to take itself too seriously and just writes great songs about whatever they want to write about. In case you need more evidence for our affection towards this record, we got married in September and ‘Don’t it Feel Good’ was our first dance.
Stay In Touch – Georgia Harmer: Georgia’s voice is so piercingly pure, she could sing your lawnmower’s instruction manual and it would sound wonderful. If Georgia had sung the Mueller Report people would have paid a lot more attention to it. If Georgia sang a Dj Khaled song it would be good. But she’s not just a ridiculously talented singer. No, she also writes elegant, poetic, introspective songs with hooks that simply will not leave your head. Do yourself a favor and listen to her album.
Get It Together – Lyle Brewer: Lyle is one of our favorite guitar players out there and this collection of his instrumental songs is just flawless. He makes complex movements and chord combinations sound bewilderingly simple and he writes delicate melodies that convey so much feeling that you never even come close to wanting anyone to sing over them. This is a record we come back to time and time again and we never get tired of it.
This Empty Northern Hemisphere – Gregory Alan Isakov: Gregory has a knack for writing perfect songs and then capturing perfect recordings of those perfect songs, and this whole record is a great example of that. The way his balmy voice dances effortlessly through the often sparse arrangements just sounds so damn natural and fluent that it inspires you to write songs of your own in a vain attempt to achieve the same effect. Oh, and then you add Brandi Carlile’s vocal harmonies on a handful of the songs and the proverbial cup doth runneth over, as they say. And as if that’s not enough to make this one of our favorite albums of all time, it also happens to be the one we had on repeat when we first got together as a couple, so there’s a lot of nostalgic warmth in this one as well.
Docks – Amanda Bergman: Amanda Bergman’s Docks is one of those records that gets better and better with each listen, which is really impressive when you consider that it’s already breathtaking the first time. But you find new moments to cling to, a lyric you didn’t catch the first time, a melody that calcifies a little more in your memory with each run-through. It’s an experience. Our favorite song is ‘Fire Hits the Snow’ but we’ve been known to listen to this whole record on sunrise drives across the country. Something about fresh golden sunlight just works with these songs, like a well-paired wine with mussels or a shoe with another, matching shoe.
And remember, every ticket in our 10×10 series is just ten dollars! And we’ll see you at The Ballroom Thieves.