Thanks for the nudge about Wovenhand—honestly haven't spun them in maybe 10 or 12 years, not since I last sat through their Consider the Birds album.
Since we’re talking about sadness—you know, that deep listener's melancholy and empathy—hardly anyone earns it quite like those introverted singer-songwriters who were basically paralyzed for life.
There's one absolute legend we lost way too soon named Vic Chesnutt, and he left us with these three devastating classics:
Jamie Davis9 said:A buddy of mine from Sweden—he does window washing over there—hit me up saying how much he's loving it right now... he even mentioned that when he thinks about how we won't have any tourists down here in Texas this winter, he gets hit with this massive wave of nostalgia. texas sun
Super interesting—at least to me—since I tend to just dive headfirst into this sound without being too critical, especially since none of the folks involved in this collaboration (which is soul-soaked, by the way) actually call Americana their "home base."
I gotta say, these Khruangbin folks probably have the most compelling bassist since the days of Tina Weymouth—so their seductive The Big Country vibe—kind of an art-country thing, also a "non-stationary" genre for Headset—fits perfectly with this thread:
Plus, everything coming off the unexpected Fear of Music deserves a standing ovation:
No matter how good they ever were, I’ll never regret Jason Isbell leaving Truckers. This top-tier, sweaty Southern Americana ballad from the amazing The Dirty South is exactly why.
Goddamn Lonely Love
I’m already tearing up by the first chorus—now I'm just reaching for that Hood's rock energy and those killer riffs.
This might just be the peak for introverted troubadour Mark "E" Everett—his 2005 double studio album Blinking Lights and Other Revelations is easily one of the best in its class... honestly, it's packed with these incredible, subtle, melodic folk-rock tracks from start to finish (33 of them!)
Everything on here hits, but if I had to pick favorites for today, I'd go with
Blinking Lights (For Me)
Trouble With Dreams
Railroad Man
Whatever Happened To Soy Bomb
I'm Going To Stop Pretending That I Didn't Break Your Heart
I'm not really the type to dwell on pure gloom without some positivity—or at least a bit of irony (looking at you, Leonard Cohen)—but these guys are basically the kings of absolute darkness.
My personal favorite—one of the most beautiful tributes to that fleeting, messy mix of love and obsession that I get way too well—is Dalai Lama:
Another tribute to hope (even if it feels pointless)—lepota:
No fear left:
drobilica:
Easily one of the greatest rock instrumentals ever made:
The one and only The Kinks at their absolute peak—honestly, this stuff from the 1971 masterpiece Muswell Hillbillies is criminally underrated whenever people talk about the best country-folk or Americana records ever made.
I think it’s pretty obvious what I was getting at—basically, trash the whole 80s commercial vibe and all those cheap imitators that followed—while maybe low-key pushing for a 90s revival since that's where the real magic is. VB isn't really the focus here, though we definitely lucked out that Amanda Robinson4 is being chill about it.😁
Man, you guys are actually more obsessed than the Toolov fans—it’s wild. 🤣
It isn't even about being a hater, though I used to find that kind of stuff funny once. It's just that the songs don't really hit for me. What's the big deal? It's not like my opinion changes anything.
Sometimes—and I mean sometimes—VB’s vocals really remind me of Puljiz. Like when M. P. hits that "So beautifuuuuul..." line at the start of the track, for example.
But hey, I might be off base here, since I honestly struggle with Bou’s stuff—aside from that one song I mentioned. I can't even remember if they have any other tracks worth noting.
All 5, I was just sharing my take—I’ve always been a sucker for stuff that sounds a bit "off" or experimental, honestly. And it's really not that deep, I just don't vibe with them—from a musical standpoint, the tracks are pretty weak.
But hey, I'm not gonna complain if the kids are listening to it; I'd much rather they listen to VB than some generic pop trash.
I’ve known about this band since they first popped up—over the last few years, I’d throw on a couple of their tracks every month or so—so seeing this thread now feels pretty familiar.
My take? Honestly, I still don't get the hype, other than the fact that they sing in some regional dialect—though I'm not even sure if it's actually the Brač dialect, since I spent nine summers vacationing out there and it doesn't quite ring true to me.
The bigger issue, though, is the songs. They’re just—as my old man used to say so perfectly—totally half-baked. People love to trash that specific 80s sound (which, in my opinion, is legit), yet at the same time, the trendy crowds and hipster groups absolutely love itfrom a distance. I’ve never been able to wrap my head around that kind of attitude—like, how can you claim to love something while simultaneously making fun of it?
This might sound like the bitter rambling of a grumpy old man—and hey, you won't be wrong if that's how you label me—but I get the feeling the people behind this music have that exact same attitude.
Going back to what I said earlier: nailing that 80s aesthetic isn't easy. In a sea of crappy bands who spend their lives daydreaming about 80s icons—usually worshiping them from afar while totally butchering the vibe—I haven't heard more than 20 songs worth remembering. Valentino Bošković, man, this band doesn't have a single one of those 20.
To wrap this up, despite everything, the singer reminds me of Mladen Puljiz—and even though boa was always on my shit list and comparing them to Boom doesn't really make sense, they still have a tako lijep track that I wouldn't trade three notes of the entire VB catalog for.
Ashley Grant66 said:These tracks are straight-up indie classics. During those last few weeks at the office—back when I was still grinding away—we’d blast Sister Buddha every single day, usually around the same time too. Out of Andrew's stuff, *The Mysterious Production...* is my favorite—and the song Fake Palindromes is the best, even if it's a little dark for me 😁
she says, "I like long walks and sci-fi movies If you're six foot tall and east coast bred Some lonely night we can get together And I'm gonna tie your wrists with leather And drill a tiny hole into your head"
It's a bit much for me—way too intense—but I dig the vibe overall.
I play these smooth covers of rock classics: Gus Black - Paranoid
Jamie Davis9 said:I can't even begin to process this—honestly, just totally lost on what you're trying to say here.🙂 🙂
Man, that's just pure beauty—straight up perfection.
Man, nostalgia is hitting me hard right now—it’s actually heavy. So, here's a little trip down memory lane: a track from Bird, one from The Shins, and one from Belle and Sebastian. I still remember playing them back-to-back during an indie-pop set on the radio back in 2010 or 2011.
I honestly can't get enough of this track—it’s just pure magic from start to finish. Such a vibe. I can't believe this video just dropped—absolute perfection. It’s basically everything I wanted to hear right now. That track is just—wow. Pure magic. Truly one of those rare moments where everything just clicks perfectly.
Thirty-one minutes of pure bliss—that St. Stephen/The Eleven/Turn on Your Love light medley from the legendary Live/dead era. This captures the Grateful Dead right at the start of that massive upward climb in early '69 that basically carried them all the way through '78.
The only time they really fused The Eleven/Turn on Your Love light into one seamless unit was during that San Francisco set at the Avalon Ballroom on January 26, 1969. That transition between tracks is easily the most effective thing I've ever heard—I think it hits right around the 15:45 mark on this recording—and honestly, pigpenov’s lead vocals on this 15-minute version of Turn on Your Love light might just be the best blues anyone white has ever tackled.
There’s plenty of heavy, depressing music out there—some of it is legit, some of it is just an act. But honestly, nothing I’ve ever heard hits quite like this one... it just swallows you whole with pure hopelessness. It captures that total mental and physical breakdown of its creator so perfectly:
For my 14th birthday, my old man handed me four CDs: King Crimson's In the Court of the Crimson King, the debut from Wishbone Ash, On the Road, and Grateful Dead's Europe '72.
That last one was my first real brush with the Dead—it turned me into a bit of an addict. I wouldn't call myself a hardcore Deadhead, but when the mood hits, I can go weeks listening to nothing but them.
From that Europe '72 set—which is stacked with incredible music—comes maybe the most vital ten minutes of their entire catalog. It’s basically a staple of their live shows: the China Cat Sunflower / I Know You Rider medley, captured right here at the Paris Olympia on May 3, 1972.
The way they pivot from that initial spacey psychedelia into the more grounded, country/folk-rock vibe of the jam is just wild—there's this indescribable, phenomenal feeling during those 3 or 4 minutes where they just float in a quantum state between songs.
Even now, I still don't get how they pull it off—how the band sounds like some kind of living organism—and this recording is the ultimate proof.