Also @everyone I’m just putting it out there now, we are doing things a little differently this cycle. You do not have to react to every single album but you ARE expected to participate—even if it’s just a few words. If several rounds go by and you have not reacted once, I will quietly remove you from the rotation and you will not get a turn. This is a club for reactions and discussion. If you’re only here to share your pick and not say a word about anyone else’s, there are other threads for that.
I’m gonna go with Songs From Suicide Bridge by David Kauffman and Eric Caboor. Came out in 1984 and sounds like the template for a lot of music that’d come out a decade later. Sparse, depressed folk music.
Gave it a skim and although it’s very much not my thing (Kauffman’s previous religious work even less so), it had enough about it to give it a proper listen at some point. Am still on a high after Bad Bunny’s half time show, so may give it a couple of days haha
Finally got to Blind Melon today, I liked it more the more goofy and less distorted and weirder instrumentation it had. There is a lot of brown…er, Ween on this record, but it’s fighting with Zeppelin too much for me to really love it. The middle chunk was really good. Never heard of Spo’s pick which is exciting
The trading off between songs (at least until the one two Kauffman punch towards the end of the record) is interesting. I think that Kauffman is the better singer/songwriter, but "Angel of Mercy" by Caboor is great. He has some cool guitar parts in his songs that interest me more than his vocals. Starting side B with Backwoods pumps a little more life into the record.
On “Backwoods” now. Enjoying this so far. Some of it is too “sad bastard” for me but that’s what you get with an album with this title. It reminds me a bit of older Red House Painters at times. I can see this being an influence on Mark Kozelek.
Thank you for sharing this album, it was a really refreshing listen. The guitar tone immediately stood out to me, warm but still a little raw. I also appreciated how unforced the songs feel like nothing sounds overworked or overly polished. Glad this one crossed my path.
This was pretty cool. Lost me a little in the middle. Life without love was probably my favorite. I’ll probably spin this again at some point.
Yeah, if anything I think it's a little long but I enjoyed the general vibe. "Tinsel Town" was another highlight for me
commenting so I dont get shadow banned. Always excited for Spo's picks. I will listen to this on Saturday.
I’ve been listening to a little more folk music lately, so this is fitting in well with mode. It is a very downtrodden record, which is unsurprising given the title. It be a little tough to get through in parts, not so much from a songwriting standpoint as much as for its unrelenting dark tone. I appreciate that it ends on a more uplifting tone with One More Day. There is something I do really like about this, but I think I’ll always need to be in a specific mood to listen to it. I can definitely hear parts of it in modern artists. I’ve been listening to a good amount of City and Colour recently, so I hear some of that here. The acoustic riffs near the end of Life Without Love sound like they might have influenced early C&C songs.