July 28, 2012
Scott Foley
There are certain artists whose every album I eagerly await, confident in their consistent quality. Malcolm Holcombe is one of those stalwarts. While he's grown as a songwriter over the years, his albums have been charmingly predictable - swampy country-folk, propelled by a hard strummed guitar and a stomping boot, Holcombe's unmistakable vocals growling and spitting backwoods story after story. Some albums feature little more than the boot, guitar and voice, while more recent efforts are more instrumentally fleshed out. Holcombe's new release is his most ambitious to date. Backed by a band composed of Ken Coomer, Viktor Krauss, Tammy Rogers, Darrell Scott and more, he is also joined here and there by Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle and Kim Richey. This is a huge step for a man who seemed content to keep his musical light under the proverbial bushel.
Also on this Episode, we encounter another gruff voice in the person of Reverend Peyton and his Big Damn Band, taking a step towards more robust songwriting on their new album. We also enjoy one of the most wonderful voices in americana in Bonnie Phelps and her Clydes (from beautiful downtown Longmont) on their sophomore release.
* Driftwood Singers, "Band of Diamonds House of Gold" Driftwood Singers (Trailer Fire, 12)
* Flatlanders, "Way We Are" Hills and Valleys (New West, 09)
* Turnpike Troubadors, "Southeastern Son" Goodbye Normal Street (Bossier City, 12)
* Sister Sparrow & the Dirty Birds, "Millie Mae" Pound of Dirt (Self, 12)
* Rev Peyton's Big Damn Band, "Big Blue Chevy '72" Between the Ditches (Side One Dummy, 12) D
* Johnny Hickman, "Another Road" Tilting (Self, 12)
* Jayhawks, "I'd Run Away" Tomorrow the Green Grass (American, 95)
* Tift Merritt, "To Myself" Traveling Alone (Yep Roc, 12) D
* Billy Joe Shaver, "Black Rose (live)" Live at Billy Bob's Texas (Smith, 12) D
* Rev Horton Heat, "I'm Mad (live)" 25 to Life (Yep Roc, 12) D
* Great Unknowns, "Homefront" Homefront (Self, 12)
* Gun Street Ghost, "Fine" One Home (Self, 12) D
* Kate Campbell, "Boulder to Birmingham" Twang On a Wire (Large River, 03)
* Mary Karr & Rodney Crowell, "My Father's Advice" Kin (Vanguard, 12)
^ Malcolm Holcombe, "Trail o'Money" Down the River (Gypsy Eyes, 12) D
* Two Cow Garage, "Saturday Night" Wall Against Our Backs (Shelterhouse, 04)
* Bonnie & the Clydes, "Feel the Wheels Turn" Wrong Side Up (Self, 12) D
* Bonnie "Prince" Billy, "I See a Darkness" Now Here's My Plan (Drag City, 12) D
* Sonny & the Sunsets, "Pretend You Love Me" Longtime Companion (Polyvinyl, 12) D
* Kasey Chambers, "Sweetest Waste of Time" Rattlin' Bones (Sugar Hill, 08)
* Old Crow Medicine Show, "Mississippi Saturday Night" Carry Me Back (ATO, 12)
* Felice Brothers, "Lincoln Continental" God Bless You Amigo (Self, 12) D
* Zoe Muth & the Lost High Rollers, "Heart Like a Wheel" Old Gold (Signature Sounds, 12)
* Longest Day of the Year, "Eloise" Turn Into the Ground (Mulewax, 12)
* Shovels & Rope, "Keeper" O' Be Joyful (Dualtone, 12)
* Townes Van Zandt, "Standin" High Low & In Between (Tomato, 72)
* Catherine Irwin, "Mockingbird" Little Heater (Thrill Jockey, 12) D
* Radney Foster, "Nobody Wins" Del Rio Tx Revisited (Devil's River, 12)
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