Shock Mountain

Those who have been loyal followers of mine since my old blog are no strangers to Paul Baribeau. Paul is a very active force in the D.I.Y. Folk Punk scene. His songs are from the heart and his voice is incredibly sincere. Utilizing lots of palm-muting he has created his own unique style of playing. This album, which features Ginger Alford of Good Luck, is compiled entirely of Bruce Springsteen covers. He is releasing this in conjunction with a tour that they are going on together. They’re coming to Cleveland at the end of March and I am definitely going to pick this album up. If you don’t like Bruce Springsteen, at least download this for Paul’s beard.

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Elliott Smith is by far my favorite singer-songwriter. His tragic death is the issue of much dispute and it is still unclear whether it was a suicide or homicide. This was his last release while he was still alive. Utilizing multi-layered vocals and a legitimate production value, he created an iconic album that was definitely a good note to leave on. His earlier work was restricted to lo-fi recordings that gave ti a lot of heart, but lacked a certain grandeur that is present in his later work. If you’re new to Elliott, I would suggest getting this album first and then find Either/Or.

The Mountain Goats is the main artistic venue for singer-songwriter John Darnielle. Until recently, I didn’t have any Mountain Goats on my computer. I have known about them for a long time but never knew where to start since they are so incredibly prolific. My friend Max sent me a link to a torrent that contains every release and dozens of live sets. Of all the albums of theirs I have listened to in the past few weeks, this album stands above them all. This album is very Lo-Fi and has a lot of heart. It’s one of the most sincere and genuine acoustic albums that I have ever heard. His lyrics are incredibly literate and intelligent. DOWNLOAD THIS ALBUM.

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