He’s just another name on the never-ending list of acoustic folk singer-songwriters. Or is he? Scott Bondy, like my last ACL highlight, has totally reinvented himself for his newest release. The former frontman of the 90′s grunge-rock outfit Verbena, who now performs under the moniker A.A. Bondy, has just released his first solo effort, American Hearts. And I am here to tell you that this musical transformation is worth your attention, especially if you are planning on attending the Austin City Limits music festival. I am having a hard time putting into words why this guy stands out among the ever-growing mass of aspiring musicians armed with nothing but an acoustic guitar. How about this. His music sort of exudes a similar sense of honesty and sincerity you get from guys like Ray Lamontagne, Ryan Adams, and Bob Dylan. Not really sure what that means, except for that I think that he deserves some of the respect that these guys are getting.
In all seriousness I think one of the easiest ways for me to describe him would be an American version of Fionn Regan. I can’t believe that it took me this long to hear one of the best alt-country albums of the past decade. Had I heard it just a couple months earlier, it would have had a real good shot of making my top ten list. So please check it out. I have here for your listening pleasure, the title track from American Hearts and then a traditional track he recorded for Daytrotter that he heard from a guy named Blind Willie McTell. I have no doubt that after hearing these songs that A.A. Bondy will end up on your must-see list for ACL.
i just had rumor confirmed that ray lamontagne is indeed set to release his third full-lenth studio album on rca records september 9th. unlike his two previous works, which were both pretty stripped down solo creations, gossip in the grain will feature ray joined by his traveling band members, bassist jennifer condos and bassist eric heywood. he is also joined on two tracks by singer songwriter leona naess. having seen ray perform live with condos and heywood, i am so incredibly excited to see what they are able to put together in the studio. lamontagne is one of the few artists that can say absolutely nothing in a live performance and still have the entire audience captivated for the duration of the set. so be excited about more great music coming your way. and do not miss an opportunity to see lamontagne live.
tracklisting:
1. let it be me
2. hey me, hey mama
3. sarah
4. i still care for you
5. winter birds
6. meg white
7. achin’ all the time
8. henry nearly killed me (it’s a shame)
9. a falling through
10. gossip in the grain
if the gnarls barkley cover i posted a few weeks ago wasn’t enough to convince you to buy all of his records, this video surely will.
so do you remember back in the summer of 2006 when you couldn’t turn the radio on without hearing gnarls barkley’s hit song crazy. so yeah i liked it, but obviously i got very tired of it. but i was really glad that many great cover songs came out of it. all of a sudden everyone and their mom was playing this song live. so today i thought that i would share with you my favorite version of the song, performed by ray lamontagne. if you don’t know ray, you are truly missing out. one of the best singer/songwriter types out there. so check out his laid-back acoustic version of the catchiest songs of 2006.
ray lamontagne – crazy (gnarls barkley cover) (removed 8/28)
He’s just another name on the never-ending list of acoustic folk singer-songwriters. Or is he? Scott Bondy, like my last ACL highlight, has totally reinvented himself for his newest release. The former frontman of the 90′s grunge-rock outfit Verbena, who now performs under the moniker A.A. Bondy, has just released his first solo effort, American Hearts. And I am here to tell you that this musical transformation is worth your attention, especially if you are planning on attending the Austin City Limits music festival. I am having a hard time putting into words why this guy stands out among the ever-growing mass of aspiring musicians armed with nothing but an acoustic guitar. How about this. His music sort of exudes a similar sense of honesty and sincerity you get from guys like Ray Lamontagne, Ryan Adams, and Bob Dylan. Not really sure what that means, except for that I think that he deserves some of the respect that these guys are getting.
