Gotta Hear Song Of The Week

Gotta Hear Song of the Week: “When A Fire Starts To Burn” by Disclosure (playing Union Transfer in October)

“When A Fire Starts To Burn” is the anthmeic dance song that is the opening track on Disclosure’s fantastic debut album, Settle. Disclosure is brothers Guy and Howard Lawrence from Surrey, England. At ages 19 and 22, the Lawrence siblings make exuberant electronica music with influences of house, garage, two-step, and pop music. They debuted in August, 2010, and have released several singles all achieving great chart success in the UK. With the release of Settle in the States, the band has already grabbed the attention of electronica music fans and the critics. Pitchfork recently crowned the record with a 9.1 (out of 10) Best New Music, and while the band isn’t carving out any new musical ground within the genre, they bring a pop songwriting mindedness to the fore with exciting and accessible results. Below, listen to “When A Fire Starts To Burn,” and watch the spirited video for the song.

Disclosure play Union Transfer on Tuesday, October 29th. Go here for tickets.

FILED UNDER: Artists, Recordings, Disclosure, Gotta Hear Song Of The Week

June 3, 2013 | 8:30 AM | By Bruce Warren

GOTTA HEAR SONG OF THE WEEK

Gotta Hear Song of the Week: “You Can’t Be Told” by Valerie June

Born in Jackson, and raised in Humboldt Tennessee, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Valerie June is an exciting new addition to the roots music scene. June is releasing Pushin’ Against A Stone on August 13. The album was mostly recorded at The Black Key’s Easy Eye studio in Nashville and was produced by Dan Auerbach and Kevin Augunas (Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, Florence & The Machine).

June exhibits some very impressive musical versatility on her debut album. She calls what she does “Organic Moonshine Roots Music,” but that somehow connotes on old-timey sensibility that doesn’t accurately describe the breadth of her influences nor how she incorporates them. The old-time roots influences are in her music, yet there’s a very modern feel to what she does. June has released several albums and also recorded an album with The Wandering, with Luther Dickinson (North Mississippi All-Stars), Amy LaVere, Shannon McNally, and Sharde Thomas. June is quite adept at fusing folk, R&B, blues, gospel, and country into a unique sound

Stream “You Can’t Be Told” here.

FILED UNDER: Artists, Recordings, Gotta Hear Song Of The Week, Valerie June

May 27, 2013 | 8:00 AM | By Bruce Warren

Gotta Hear Song of the Week: “Can You Get To That” by Mavis Staples

Rock And Roll Hall of Famer and gospel/soul legend Mavis Staples is releasing her new Jeff Tweedy produced album, One True Vine, on Anti- Records on June 25. Mavis recently played the WXPN Non-COMMVention. She returns to town on June 28 and 29 opening for the Dave Matthews Band at the Susquehanna Bank Center. Below, listen to her cover of Funkadelic’s “Can You Get To That,” a song that originally appeared on their classic 1971 Maggot Brain. The song is a perfect match for Mavis’s folksy-gospel soulful style. While the arrangement of her cover doesn’t deviate much from the original (listen below), she more than captures the funky spirituality of it.

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FILED UNDER: Artists, Recordings, Gotta Hear Song Of The Week, Mavis Staples

May 20, 2013 | 9:40 AM | By Bruce Warren

Gotta Hear Song of the Week: “Burning Instinct” by Red Baraat (playing the XPoNential Music Festival in July)

Red Baraat have been added to the lineup to this year’s XPoNential Music Festival presented by Subaru, the weekend of July 26-28. Formed in 2008, the eight piece band from Brooklyn is led by internationally acclaimed dhol player, drummer, and composer Sunny Jain. Known for their incredibly powerful live performances, Red Baraat blends hard driving North Indian bhangra rhythms with elements of jazz, go-go, brass funk, and hip-hop. The music is a eclectic mixed bag of influences and its “extreme Bollywood” grabs listeners from the moment the band plays its first note of a song. The band released its debut album, Chaal Baby, in 2009, and its recent album Shruggy Ji this past January. Below, watch a couple of videos including an NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert with the band and download “Burning Instinct.”

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FILED UNDER: Artists, Downloads, Recordings, Gotta Hear Song Of The Week, Red Baraat, XPoNential Music Festival

May 13, 2013 | 9:00 AM | By Bruce Warren

Gotta Hear Song Of The Week: “Retreat!” by Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings

Last week Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings announced the release of new album, Give The People What They Want, on August 6 on Daptone Records. It’s a welcome return for the soul singer who sounds in classic form. Listen to the song below.

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FILED UNDER: Artists, Recordings, Gotta Hear Song Of The Week, Sharon Jones And The Dap Kings

May 6, 2013 | 9:15 AM | By Bruce Warren

XPN’s Gotta Hear Song of the Week: “Southern Sky” by John Murry

XPN’s Gotta Hear Song of the Week is “Southern Sky” by Tupelo, Mississippi native and (now) San Francisco based singer-songwriter John Murry from his new album, The Graceless Age. In February, 2013 Murry was selected as one of David Dye’s World Cafe: Next emerging artists to watch. Murry’s album has received critical acclaim from Billboard, the Wall Street Journal and Daytrotter, and Mojo Magazine just recently gave it a highly coveted 5 out of 5 stars review. Writing about the record, Mojo’s Andy Fyfe says The Graceless Age is ““a Southern gothic Americana symphony that twists beautiful, maudlin melodies around the dramatically brutal story of Murry’s personal fall.” Based on Murry’s addiction to pain pills which led to his wife and daughter leaving him, a heroin habit and an overdose that nearly killed him, the record is dark and emotionally taut, lyrically haunting, yet redemptive.

Download the song here.

Watch the video for the song below.

Purchase The Graceless Age here.
Follow John on Facebook here.

FILED UNDER: Artists, Downloads, Recordings, Gotta Hear Song Of The Week, John Murry

April 29, 2013 | 9:05 AM | By Bruce Warren

XPN’s Gotta Hear Song Of The Week: “Saint Of Impossible Causes” by Joseph Arthur

Photo by Myriam Santos

This week’s Gotta Hear Song of The Week is a new song, “Saint Of Impossible Causes,” by the prolific singer-songwriter Joseph Arthur. Arthur’s new album, The Ballad of Boogie Christ is out on June 11th and he’s asking his fans to help support and fund the project through a Pledge Music campaign. The album includes guest appearances Ben Harper, Garth Hudson, Joan Wasser (Joan As Policewoman), and Jim Keltner, Arthur calls the release a psychedelic soul record, a “concept album with a story arc about a man falling apart and coming back together in insanity and enlightenment.” Download “Saint Of Impossible Causes” below. We think you’ll agree with us that it’s some of Arthur’s finest, richest work to date. Below the song, watch a video from Arthur explaining about the album.