Samantha Crain

In just two LPs and an EP, Samantha Crain is turning out to be a female equivalent of Richard Buckner for me. I got hooked on Ms. Crain's voice and folksy sensibilities upon the release of her 2007 EP, Confiscation. It's a little gem of a record in the vein of Jolie Holland and Buckner's first album, Bloomed. Crain's subsequent LP was a terrific example of revivalist Americana. Her new record, You (Understood), finds her navigating the revisionist terrritory of Buckner's later work (esp. Impasse), and thank god for it. She's always had a voice like a train, but here she straps on the electric guitar and lets her drummer loose, a la Jim White on his AMAZING collaboration with Nina Nastasia. The results are documentation of an artist helping to redefine what Americana means in the 21st century.

Samantha Crain - "Lions" - HearYa Live Session 7/16/10 from HearYa.com on Vimeo.

Required Reading

Grinderman 2

Nick Cave's testosterone fueled side-project, Grinderman, is streaming their soon to be released album on their myspace page. It's as raw and filthy as the last album, and a must have for any Nick Cave fan. They've also released a video directed by John Hillcoat (who's film, The Road, Grinderman members Cave and Warren Ellis scored) that's probably one of the craziest and best videos ever made.

Grinderman 'Heathen Child' from Trim Editing on Vimeo.

Zola Jesus, Sea Talk Video

Zola Jesus - Sea Talk (Official Video) from Souterrain Transmissions on Vimeo.

Zola Jesus dyes her hair blonde and continues her trend of making perfect visual companions to her gorgeous and brooding songs.