Saturday Songs – Feb. 11

1. “Smart” – Girl In A Coma

I discovered this indie three-piece band from San Antonio through NPR’s always eye-opening Tiny Desk Concert series. Although I suspected a lot of the charm of their performance came out of the acoustic mode, it turns out that their recordings remain just as likable and are true to their namesake song (“Girl In A Coma” by the Smiths). “Smart” is quick, catchy and sounds like a lost gem from the 1980s—like it could have been an outtake off The Queen Is Dead.

A few critics have even noted the striking similarity between the voices of lead singer Nina Diaz and Morrissey. Like Morrissey, Diaz is playful with her voice: listen to the way she bends the line “Do you ever start to wonder / what’s it like to be alone?” There are even traces of an inspired British accent on “like!”

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2. “Goodnight Irene” – Kelly Joe Phelps

[Apologies for the above video - I could not find a slide guitar version of Phelps, but you can find the song on all major music sites...and Spotify!]


Of all the songs in the American folk tradition, Leadbelly’s “Goodnight Irene” might be one of my favorites. Although everything about the song seems to come from such a dark, angry place, the song still bubbles with a beautiful warmth. Phelps—better than anyone else I’ve heard—succeeds in drawing out the warm inner beauty of the song. Pulling out his slide guitar (Phelps is a virtuoso), he wraps the lonesome lyrics in a hazy webbing of tremulous slide notes.

Phelps’s warm baritone presses the tune even further to the status of a lullaby. In fact, I fell asleep listening to this song last night. For a song that toys so openly with suicide, it’s a marvel that Phelps endows it with the comforting quality that it has.

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3. “Always” – Andrea Grass

[A live version, unfortunately, so there's no piano.]


Another Spotify discovery, there is nothing hugely original about Glass; she treads the familiar female singer-songwriter territory, singing about love and loss and heartbreak. You know the deal. However, this song strikes me for its encapsulating warmth despite having such thin instrumentation. I’m always glad to hear a great song like this one that hasn’t been drowned in studio affects: unnecessary percussion, silly keyboard hums, and pitch-perfect, auto-Tuned voices. The backing piano provides the helpful countermelodies to Glass’s lyrics, but other than the piano and Glass’s guitar, the song has all the signs of a coffeehouse performance…which it should!

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4. “The Ransom” – Madison Violet

The pop-country duo Madison Violet was far and away the band that I listened to most this past week. Not only have I been exploring their recent 2012 release The Good In Goodbye, I’ve also been investigating their back catalog, especially their 2009 album No Fool For Trying. While there are several tunes that I’ve had rattling around my head from that album, the one that has really stuck with me is “The Ransom.”

A forlorn tale of being musicians low on the totem pole (“motor court hotels are going to confiscate my soul”), “The Ransom” is notable, like Glass’s song, for its quiet, careful instrumentation and the beautiful, haunting harmonies between Brenley MacEachern and Lisa MacIsaac. You might also check out the second track “Lauralee” and the heart-rending tune “The Woodshop,” about a father who must build his son’s coffin.

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5. “A More Perfect Union” – Titus Andronicus

This song—and the entire album—almost resists description. From the excerpts of Civil War-era speeches to the complaints about growing up in suburban New Jersy to the quite nearly Conor Oberst-worthy lyrics to the punky Celtic thrashing which reigns sonically through most of the tunes, Titus Andronicus have made some bizarre artistic choices. However, all that said, this is a really great band with some truly rip-roaring riffs and catchy head-banging fun.