April 13: Cambridge: Alasdair Roberts + haeti...

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13th April
Very special guest Alasdair Roberts
+ Haeti + The Benjamin Theory
8PM
£6/5 (adv / conc.)
The Portland Arms
Cambridge
On sale www.harvest-time-recordings.com

Alasdair Roberts

Alasdair is touring in support of his new release 'No Earthly Man' on Drag City. This is a record of Alasdair's interpretations of traditional British Isles death ballad folk songs. Beautiful and moving, it's as archaic as it is new. Produced by Will Oldham.

If this release is received as well as Ali's previous record Farewell Sorrow which featured high in The Wire, Guardian and Mojo end of year lists, this could be a last chance to catch him within the intimate setting of the Portland.

The Times on 'No Earthly Man'
5 stars out of 5

Roberts’s decision to abandon the indie rockers Appendix Out and devote himself to traditional music has resulted in three fine solo albums, of which this is the crowning achievement. Will Oldham oversaw the sessions, recorded in a converted Aberdeenshire barn, and Roberts effortlessly makes explicit the shared vocabulary of folk’s natural weirdness and experimental music’s studied strangeness. With skeletal singing, scraping fiddles, sinister drones and unwavering, death-like tempos, he discovers the inner mystery of traditional music and shows that if this infinitely expressive material is respected, it may yet reward us with results that sound utterly unprecedented.

The Guardian on 'Farewell Sorrow'
5 stars out of 5

It has been suggested that the current interest in blues and folk is the result of audiences desperate for something to listen to, rock music having reached a creative nadir.

There's certainly historical evidence to suggest that when roots music becomes a cause célèbre, rock is in big trouble - it previously happened in the dark age between Elvis and the Beatles, in the dreary post-psychedelic late-1960s and the equally grim mid-1980s - but it's hard to feel anything other than warmth towards the new wave of folk when it produces albums like this.

Discovered in a Perthshire village by Will Oldham, Alasdair Roberts has a similarly dolorous worldview and shambolic charm. His voice is mournful, his richly melodic songs filled with slain kin, murderous gamekeepers and perfidious women ("you could not maintain your chastity," sniffs Come My Darling Polly, "even with the wearing of a girdle"). Perhaps the most original and exciting album to emerge from the British folk scene in years.

Haeti

A performance of 3 folk songs framed within drones, field recordings and experimental tonal explorations. Performance will feature a special guest manipulating the live acoustic elements through Max MSP software. Haeti is a founder member of Lionshare.

The Benjamin Theory

Intricate finger picked guitar touching on Bert Yansch and Jackson C. Frank with unique vocals. Benjamin manages to be both touching and funny with his wry sense of humour.


The Portland, Chesterton Rd, Cambridge
01223 357268

Harvest Time, Monday, 4 April 2005 16:29 (8 years ago) Permalink

i dont like this album and i am wondering why--i keep thinking that it doesnt go far enough, that it doesnt deconstruct or play or work with the traditions, but it aslo not fiedliutous--but i keep thinking about it and listening to it, and it makes wonder about things geographic/theoritical and i also dont think i read the actual music well enough

anthony, Friday, 8 April 2005 04:19 (8 years ago) Permalink

I could never really get along with this guy's voice particularly. I liked Appendix Out quite a bit, but that was very much in spite of his flat moaning tone. I liked the palette of new sounds they were blending with the traditional elements, but now I guess that every folksy bugger out there is doing this idea to death. Still haven't checked out the solo stuff. What am I missing?

NickB (NickB), Friday, 8 April 2005 07:39 (8 years ago) Permalink

Crook of My Arm is just Ali and his guitar and a bunch of old folk songs. It's lovely and his voice is much sweeter.

Farewell Sorrow is superb, all originals, dark, romantic and occasionally mischievous.

No Earthly Man is really quite a step forward sonically. He's got Isobel Campbell doing some cello drones, John McCusker playing fiddle, and Scatter's Alex Nielson doing his incredible pagan-jazz drumming.

How far forward to you want him to take the tradition? Use beats, glitches? That's not really what he wants to do. He doesn't consciously think of himself as an updater of the folk tradition, he's just doing the music he likes.

Stewart Smith (stew s), Friday, 8 April 2005 08:38 (8 years ago) Permalink

Crook of My Arm is just Ali and his guitar and a bunch of old folk songs. It's lovely and his voice is much sweeter.

Farewell Sorrow is superb, all originals, dark, romantic and occasionally mischievous.

No Earthly Man is really quite a step forward sonically. He's got Isobel Campbell doing some cello drones, John McCusker playing fiddle, and Scatter's Alex Nielson doing his incredible pagan-jazz drumming.

How far forward to you want him to take the tradition? Use beats, glitches? That's not really what he wants to do. He doesn't consciously think of himself as an updater of the folk tradition, he's just doing the music he likes.

Stew (stew s), Friday, 8 April 2005 08:38 (8 years ago) Permalink

i wrote a review of it for stylus, and then i wrote a refuation of it in a sort of david foster wallace thing, which wont be anywhere -something between sandy dennis and patty waters.

i find the oldham connection interesting. because of the idea of a musical scottish diasporia in kentucky.

the two brothers is really the one that i have trouble processing musically

anthony, Friday, 8 April 2005 08:58 (8 years ago) Permalink

4 years pass...

The single ("Hazel Forks") or whatever from the new one is breathtaking..

bear, bear, bear, Sunday, 3 May 2009 22:56 (4 years ago) Permalink

new one is killer. really, really good.

tylerw, Sunday, 3 May 2009 23:49 (4 years ago) Permalink

searched for an Alasdair thread yesterday after downloading the new album. Haven't heard it yet though. But I'm inclined to trust Tyler's opinion on this.

willem, Monday, 4 May 2009 06:05 (4 years ago) Permalink

i actually just did a little email interview with him, which turned out nicely. will post the link when it's up. this new one is sort of drunk on beautiful archaic-sounding language, nice band interplay, lovely melodies. he's apparently touring the states with bert jansch this summer! a dream come true.

tylerw, Monday, 4 May 2009 14:33 (4 years ago) Permalink

I love Spoils, the melodies, stuff going on in the background (that noisy guitar in "You Muses Assist"), funny/awesome lyrics ("Unyoked Oxen Turn" is quite hilarious. Also the way the instruments start running after the protagonist starts running in the song). Fantastic. Here's to hoping he'll tour the continent as well.

willem, Thursday, 7 May 2009 09:08 (4 years ago) Permalink

2 weeks pass...

here's the link heavy interview i did with alasdair: http://junkmedia.org/index.php?i=2503 i had to look up a lot of the stuff he's referencing, heh heh.

tylerw, Tuesday, 26 May 2009 16:19 (4 years ago) Permalink

great interview tyler

bear, bear, bear, Tuesday, 26 May 2009 19:59 (4 years ago) Permalink

thanks! he's an interesting guy -- I liked this bit: "I suppose my thing is always about flexibility, multiplicity, confusion wanting to reflect the turmoil of reality... always trying to remember that the oar in the ocean is a winnowing fan on dry land." Really think that this new one is great.

tylerw, Tuesday, 26 May 2009 20:08 (4 years ago) Permalink

That's my photo accompanying the interview. I'll have to hit them up for a credit. http://krakow.zenfolio.com/alasdairroberts

Very good piece. I agree that the new album is fantastic.

krakow, Tuesday, 26 May 2009 20:47 (4 years ago) Permalink

ha! i guess we are unwitting collaborators. sorry about that -- not sure where Junkmedia got the photo ... from Drag City I presume, or maybe they just grabbed it from his site?

tylerw, Tuesday, 26 May 2009 20:52 (4 years ago) Permalink

It'll have come from Drag City and/or his PR people, as I took the photos for them. Should be credited though, so I'll just email junkmedia to ask for a credit/link (every little bit helps).

krakow, Tuesday, 26 May 2009 21:14 (4 years ago) Permalink

oh yeah, that shouldn't be a problem -- just hit up Laura Sylvester, the editor, at l✧✧✧@veri✧✧✧.n✧✧

tylerw, Tuesday, 26 May 2009 21:17 (4 years ago) Permalink

oops lsyl @ verizon.net

tylerw, Tuesday, 26 May 2009 21:17 (4 years ago) Permalink

Thanks very much tyler, I'll drop her a line. Appreciated.

krakow, Tuesday, 26 May 2009 21:36 (4 years ago) Permalink

2 months pass...

i'm on an alasdair/appendix out binge
love him so much

in fact, i saw him on the no earthly man "tour" in chicago and it was one of the best shows i've ever seen. riveting, extremely quiet, and, not surprisingly, sparsely attended. there were some drag city ppl and about 20-25 others.

figgy pudding (La Lechera), Friday, 31 July 2009 17:07 (3 years ago) Permalink

there's an EP coming out this fall -- just got the "digital promo" but haven't listened yet ...

tylerw, Friday, 31 July 2009 17:09 (3 years ago) Permalink

ooooo
anyone know anything about the US august tour dates w/bert jansch?!?!?!?!?

figgy pudding (La Lechera), Friday, 31 July 2009 17:17 (3 years ago) Permalink

oooo! in chicago aug. 10!!
excited.

figgy pudding (La Lechera), Friday, 31 July 2009 17:18 (3 years ago) Permalink

07/31 SPACE Gallery Portland, ME
08/02 The Bar New Haven, CT
08/03 La Sala Rossa (w/ Bert Jansch) Montreal, QC,CAN
08/04 Casbah Lounge Hamilton, ON,CAN
08/05 Horseshoe Tavern (w/ Bert Jansch) Toronto, ON,CAN
08/07 Andy Warhol Museum (w/ Bert Jansch) Pittsburgh, PA
08/08 Wexner Center for the Arts (w/ Bert Jansch) Columbus, OH
08/10 Martyr's (w/ Bert Jansch) Chicago, IL
08/12 The Dame (w/ Bert Jansch) Lexington, KY
08/13 529 Atlanta, GA
08/14 Farm 255 Athens, GA
08/15 Pilot Light Knoxville, TN
08/16 The Southern (w/ Bert Jansch) Charlottesvill, VA
08/17 Golden West (w/ Lesser Gonzales Alvarez) Baltimore, MD
08/18 Velvet Lounge (w/ Kuschty Rye Ergot) Washington, DE
08/19 Bruar Falls Brooklyn, NY
08/20 City Winery (w/ Bert Jansch) New York, NY
08/21 Johnny Brenda's (w/ Bert Jansch) Philadelphia, PA

tylerw, Friday, 31 July 2009 17:20 (3 years ago) Permalink

not coming to my neck of the woods :( and bert jansch canceled his show here last month :(((

tylerw, Friday, 31 July 2009 17:21 (3 years ago) Permalink

i saw bert j when he was at the empty bottle too, so seeing them together -- whoo! i am having trouble verifying the martyr's gig, though -- website doesn't list it.

figgy pudding (La Lechera), Friday, 31 July 2009 17:24 (3 years ago) Permalink

riveting, extremely quiet, and, not surprisingly, sparsely attended. there were some drag city ppl and about 20-25 others.

At the Brighton (UK) show I went to on this current tour, there were maybe about 15 people or something like that. I hope he doesn't take this sort of turn-out to heart.

Joerg Hi Dere (NickB), Friday, 31 July 2009 18:00 (3 years ago) Permalink

here's the info on the new EP

New Alasdair Roberts EP "The Wyrd Meme" out October 20th

1. The Hallucinator and the King of the Silver Ship of Time

A Sybilline island-dweller is courted and berated by the King of Time, Chronos, when he comes sailing by in his opulent vessel. Her island exists outside of linear time and therefore does not fall under his jurisdiction; his courtship and berating prove useless and both the Hallucinatrix and Chronos go their separate ways. He advises her to mould a child of wax or chisel one from stone to banish her solitude; he also leaves her his garment, with the arrogant suggestion that she touch the hem now and again.

2. The Yarn Unraveller

The power of matriarchy, as represented by the symbol of the double-headed axe. The speaker is unfit to be an equal companion to the matriarch, who provides over her clan’s vast and ancient store of knowledge; he must serve as her yarn unraveller only. “Liberator, Lancer and Marauder” are street names in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The “harp of triple song” is that of Calliope, Erato and Euterpe. “Pastor Glass” is a controversial figure in Scottish religious and political life. The island of Simi in the Aegean was formerly known for its sponge-diving industry.

3. The Royal Road at the World’s End

The Royal Road mentioned in this context is Freud’s “Royal road to the unconscious”; that is, dreams. It is conflated with the Scottish folk tale “The Well at the World’s End”; the song describes a phantasmagorical journey narrated in the first person. Ouroubouros is invoked as a symbol of eternal recurrence (one of the themes of ‘Spoils’ LP, of which this EP is a companion piece); it transmutes into Abraxas, who entered the song via Jung’s “Seven Sermons to the Dead.” There is a reference to the display of stuffed animals in Winnemucca, Nevada, a settlement of Basque shepherds.

4. Coral and Tar

The titular substances are invoked as symbolic of a subtype of quasi-Manichaean duality. It is hoped that this song might be sung by those wishing to apologise to friends, family and loved ones after bouts of heavy drinking and/or other forms of substance abuse or self-destructive behaviour.

tylerw, Friday, 31 July 2009 18:02 (3 years ago) Permalink

lol, love this guy

tylerw, Friday, 31 July 2009 18:02 (3 years ago) Permalink

worst thing was a few years ago talking to a Decemberists fan who saw Ali open for them a couple years ago ... dude was totally making fun of Roberts and then raving about the Decemberists. X^0

tylerw, Friday, 31 July 2009 18:13 (3 years ago) Permalink

props to the Decemberists for giving Ali the gig though!

tylerw, Friday, 31 July 2009 18:13 (3 years ago) Permalink

LOVE THIS GUY

figgy pudding (La Lechera), Friday, 31 July 2009 18:50 (3 years ago) Permalink

haha, he does seem like he'd be a fun guy to have a drink with -- from Freud’s “Royal road to the unconscious” to stuffed animals in Winnemucca, Nevada all in one breath ...

tylerw, Friday, 31 July 2009 18:57 (3 years ago) Permalink

dude can discuss protolanguages
<3 <3 <3

figgy pudding (La Lechera), Friday, 31 July 2009 19:01 (3 years ago) Permalink

The Hallucinator and the King of the Silver Ship of Time = kosmische folk

Dying to hear this ep. There remains so much to discover on Spoils though :)
Still hoping for some european dates...

willem, Friday, 31 July 2009 19:09 (3 years ago) Permalink

sadly i just found this
Unfortunately, Bert is ill and his North American tour has been cancelled.

;_; for real

figgy pudding (La Lechera), Monday, 3 August 2009 21:47 (3 years ago) Permalink

4 months pass...

Spoils is totally killing me today. So excellent.
Reminds me that I need to buy the EP.

figgy pudding (La Lechera), Friday, 4 December 2009 21:01 (3 years ago) Permalink

EP might be better than Spoils! So good.

tylerw, Friday, 4 December 2009 21:09 (3 years ago) Permalink

Excellent picture of Alex Neilson on the back of it too!

krakow, Saturday, 5 December 2009 08:31 (3 years ago) Permalink

2 months pass...

Amber Gatherers really is a great record huh?

"I get through more mojitos.." (bear, bear, bear), Sunday, 14 February 2010 01:08 (3 years ago) Permalink

Cover artist on the current Wire. Photogenic chap.

willem, Sunday, 14 February 2010 07:09 (3 years ago) Permalink

love this guy.

by another name (amateurist), Sunday, 14 February 2010 08:04 (3 years ago) Permalink

will buy this "wire."

by another name (amateurist), Sunday, 14 February 2010 08:04 (3 years ago) Permalink

also he disappeared from facebook. i was enjoying his updates re. his recording.

by another name (amateurist), Sunday, 14 February 2010 08:04 (3 years ago) Permalink

Shot this with him the other day...

Plastic toy guitar jamz!

krakow, Sunday, 14 February 2010 10:54 (3 years ago) Permalink

2 months pass...

sadly i just found this
Unfortunately, Bert is ill and his North American tour has been cancelled.

;_; for real

― figgy pudding (La Lechera), Monday, August 3, 2009 4:47 PM (8 months ago) Bookmark

Bert is coming back to Chicago -- will AR be there too? Does anyone know? Venue is the same...fingers crossed!!

an outlet to express the dark invocations of (La Lechera), Wednesday, 28 April 2010 11:32 (3 years ago) Permalink

Bert Jansch is opening for Neil Young in May here in the southeast.

Robert Necrofrost, Wednesday, 28 April 2010 15:30 (3 years ago) Permalink

3 weeks pass...

new record! looks like trad songs: http://www.dragcity.com/products/too-long-in-this-condition

tylerw, Wednesday, 19 May 2010 18:18 (3 years ago) Permalink

oh and a free Ep too!
via Drag City:

ALASDAIR ROBERTS IS FREE

…free, that is, of the hang-ups and put-downs that come from selling music and making money from it. No, this time, you can have Alasdair’s music and it’s not even “up to you” to decide whether to pay a dime or not for it. This particular music was born free and that’s the way it’s staying, courtesy of Ayrtime. They sponser free shows too – but the inheritance has to run out sooner or later, right? Check it all out here while you can. http://www.ayrtime.org/roberts.html. Meanwhile, back in the world that we’ve known, the world that employs all of us down here in the ivory bunker to serve what we love (music, kids!), we’re preparing an Alasdair Roberts record for release on June 29th that will appeal to the old-fashioned among us, and not just because you need to pay money for it. No, Too Long In This Condition is a record of traditional songs that are hundreds if not thousands of years old when all placed end-to-end. Don’t forget, our Alasdair is a man deeply impressed by the intersecting belief systems and mythologies of the world. His last album, Spoils, put forth the proposition of syncretic contemporary folk rock – and quite successfully, we might add. For Too Long In This Condition, he’s once again working with a group of like-minded contemporaries to unravel the mystery behind the immemorial inclinations of our all-too-human race. In some ways it’s Alasdair at his most traddy with fiddles, harmony singers and a rich danceable beat; at other times, he’s at his most boldly forward with arrangements that couch the songs in the modern muddle, with the eerie sound of fingernails scraping at the coffin lids of the ageless dead. It’s too much to miss! Check out a representative sample of this album on this website right now.

tylerw, Wednesday, 19 May 2010 18:25 (3 years ago) Permalink

Haven't heard it - who is Mairi Morrison?

Heaven knows I'm thirsty and miserable now (NickB), Wednesday, 23 May 2012 13:41 (1 year ago) Permalink

Oh good. Please pardon my inability to find that on my own.

game of crones (La Lechera), Wednesday, 23 May 2012 13:58 (1 year ago) Permalink

Pardon granted, go in peace

Heaven knows I'm thirsty and miserable now (NickB), Wednesday, 23 May 2012 13:59 (1 year ago) Permalink

Also

game of crones (La Lechera), Wednesday, 23 May 2012 13:59 (1 year ago) Permalink

Didn't know about the collab LP, will definitely get it. Played Spoils in the car last week, what a fantastic album. Might be my favourite of his.

willem, Wednesday, 23 May 2012 14:32 (1 year ago) Permalink

new one is pretty nice, just wrote about it over here - http://ow.ly/b4Gpc
lotsa gaelic, some very tricky tempos, beautiful harmonies.

tylerw, Wednesday, 23 May 2012 14:40 (1 year ago) Permalink

Urstan is pretty good I think but the arrangements veer into jaunty world-trad territory too often for my liking.

nagl lack (seandalai), Wednesday, 23 May 2012 14:41 (1 year ago) Permalink

yeah i see what you mean, there is something a little too straight ahead about it (at least compared to alasdair's previous work), but i've been enjoying it nonetheless.
new video here too : http://vimeo.com/41888766

tylerw, Wednesday, 23 May 2012 14:42 (1 year ago) Permalink

i bought it after my ~dentist's appt~ today as a treat for surviving a filling
even if it's a little slick, it's still ali
also that woman is adorable!

game of crones (La Lechera), Wednesday, 23 May 2012 17:57 (1 year ago) Permalink

ha yeah she is cute.
added isle of lewis to my places i need to visit list

tylerw, Wednesday, 23 May 2012 18:04 (1 year ago) Permalink

ok so this is not my favorite AR release, but it'll do. The songs where he's singing are less "adult world-trad" than Morrison's. I still think she's charming though. It's something you could put on when the parents come over?

I also picked up the Roberts-compiled Lomax recordings record because I am compelled to buy things like that whenever I see them.

game of crones (La Lechera), Wednesday, 23 May 2012 22:10 (1 year ago) Permalink

5 months pass...

new one!

In January 2013, Drag City Records will release the new album by Alasdair Roberts & Friends, entitled A Wonder Working Stone. A collection of varied new epics, Alasdair's latest is by turns metaphysical, cosmological, phantasmagorical, topical, personal and universal. This is Alasdair's most ambitious, fully-realized work to date (an extraordinary claim following the incredible excursions made on his recent releases Spoils and Too Long In This Condition). A Wonder Working Stone continues Alasdair's long-standing love affair and deeply creative interaction with the traditional music of has native Scotland (and beyond), offering an idiosyncratic and nuanced radicalization of that tradition. Indeed, he questions the very notion of 'tradition' in the modern age, with songs addressing topics such as mortality (as ever), life, love, sex, faith and history. There is a meditation on loss - the losing of self, of the music of the nation? - that is belied and ultimately denied by the lively nature of the work. The arrangements of A Wonder Working Stone are dense with the music of friends, realizing the lifeblood of community, and throughout the album, they are presented with raucously cinematic flair. In the middle of it all, Roberts delivers his unique 'scordatura' finger style guitar and distinctive tenor vocals with the backing of a core group of among Glasgow's finest musicians - Ben Reynolds (electric guitar), Shane Connolly (drums), Rafe Fitzpatrick (fiddle, rap), Stevie Jones (bass) and with special guest vocals from Olivia Chaney, as well as appearances from many other fine players on strings, brass, flute and accordion, all of which edify and expand the musical world of Alasdair Roberts and all those friends who listen.

tylerw, Tuesday, 23 October 2012 20:58 (7 months ago) Permalink

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!!! I hear Alasdair Roberts batsignal and I rejoice!

these albatrosses have no fear of man (La Lechera), Tuesday, 23 October 2012 21:00 (7 months ago) Permalink

FFFFFFFFFFantastic news. Great pic of him during a recent Glasgow festival performance in the latest Wire. I've yet to see him live, so I hope there's an accompanying tour for this album.

willem, Wednesday, 24 October 2012 13:59 (7 months ago) Permalink

by turns metaphysical, cosmological, phantasmagorical, topical, personal and universal

yessss

j., Wednesday, 24 October 2012 14:48 (7 months ago) Permalink

best title so far - "the end of breeding"

tylerw, Wednesday, 24 October 2012 14:54 (7 months ago) Permalink

FFFFFFFFFFantastic news. Great pic of him during a recent Glasgow festival performance in the latest Wire. I've yet to see him live, so I hope there's an accompanying tour for this album.

― willem, Wednesday, October 24, 2012 2:59 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

*Wiggles tie proudly*

NWOFHM! Overlord (krakow), Thursday, 25 October 2012 10:17 (7 months ago) Permalink

You're organizing said tour?

willem, Thursday, 25 October 2012 10:35 (7 months ago) Permalink

;-)

willem, Thursday, 25 October 2012 10:36 (7 months ago) Permalink

i assume he took the picture!! now we need to get not_goodwin to catch a. roberts walking through the highlands with a deer or something. then i will have seen the photos i need to see, for now at least.

these albatrosses have no fear of man (La Lechera), Thursday, 25 October 2012 13:10 (7 months ago) Permalink

huh


From the circle and quaternity motif is derived the symbol of the geometrically formed crystal and the wonder-working stone. From here analogy formation leads on to the city, castle, church, house, and vessel. Another variant is the wheel (rota).The former motif Emphasize The ego's containment in the greater dimension of the self; The Latter Which Emphasize The rotation thus appears as a ritual circumambulation. Psychologically, it denotes concentration on and preoccupation with a center. Carl Gustav Jung , The Collected Works , Volume 9, pg.352.

these albatrosses have no fear of man (La Lechera), Monday, 5 November 2012 21:50 (7 months ago) Permalink

2 weeks pass...

I just took some simple photographs of Ali this morning ready for promoting the forthcoming album... A great pleasure as ever, even on a rather soggy Glasgow morning.


Alasdair Roberts by Crimson Glow Photography, on Flickr

NWOFHM! Overlord (krakow), Tuesday, 20 November 2012 15:54 (6 months ago) Permalink

very nice. new album is sounding great, a lot to dig into as usual. any plans to come to the states?

tylerw, Tuesday, 20 November 2012 15:59 (6 months ago) Permalink

I did ask him about touring and things and I believe he'd love to head to the USA if money allows, but I'm not sure that it does readily!

NWOFHM! Overlord (krakow), Tuesday, 20 November 2012 16:14 (6 months ago) Permalink

Oh! What a nice photo. He has such a warm face. I hope he can bring it to the USA (but not with the Decemberists because I don't like them). When can we get the new album? I've been thinking about it!

passion it person (La Lechera), Tuesday, 20 November 2012 19:55 (6 months ago) Permalink

1 month passes...

just got this email from drag city
The British are Coming...ALL OVER ALASDAIR ROBERTS' NEW RECORD‏
[i did lol, i'll admit]

tylerw, Wednesday, 9 January 2013 23:18 (5 months ago) Permalink

I made a face :-/
(still can't wait to hear it!!!!)

bish borscht (La Lechera), Wednesday, 9 January 2013 23:25 (5 months ago) Permalink

http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/17554-a-wonder-working-stone/

Despite these shadows, however, the overall mood is one of celebrating in the face of encroaching doom.

j., Friday, 18 January 2013 06:41 (5 months ago) Permalink

j., Friday, 18 January 2013 06:45 (5 months ago) Permalink

shit-hot electric guitar

j., Friday, 18 January 2013 06:45 (5 months ago) Permalink

ten distinct yet not mutually exclusive adjectives

1. topsy-turvy
2. historical
3. metaphysical
4. cosmological
5. phantasmagorical
6. universal
7. oedipal
8. personal
9. satirical
10. topical

j., Friday, 18 January 2013 06:50 (5 months ago) Permalink

http://www.thelineofbestfit.com/reviews/albums/alasdair-roberts-friends-a-wonder-working-stone-115934

I suspect only he could rhyme abracadabra with “intact cadaver”

j., Friday, 18 January 2013 07:13 (5 months ago) Permalink

http://www.dustedmagazine.com/reviews/7535

dusted's review links to the dragcity soundcloud, one track, 'the year of the burning'

j., Friday, 18 January 2013 09:15 (5 months ago) Permalink

which would be 'historical'

j., Friday, 18 January 2013 09:16 (5 months ago) Permalink

Shit hot guitar!! He is never disappointing. I don't like to read reviews before listening to sthg I'm anticipating, but I will listen to the track on soundcloud!!

this customer is a jerk (La Lechera), Friday, 18 January 2013 14:16 (5 months ago) Permalink

ordered! waiting!

this customer is a jerk (La Lechera), Friday, 25 January 2013 15:12 (4 months ago) Permalink

whipcrack on whipcrack on whipcrack!

it's finally here! i'm listening to it this morning before i go into work a little later. great morning!! beautiful package too. i love how he writes notes for each song, v thoughtful.

this customer is a jerk (La Lechera), Wednesday, 30 January 2013 14:53 (4 months ago) Permalink

"brother seed" is totally melting my brain right now
what a song!!!!

this customer is a jerk (La Lechera), Wednesday, 30 January 2013 15:29 (4 months ago) Permalink

lol @ "scandal and trace" with the red river valley melody

this guy, always lightening the mood with a goofy tune while singing about being on the edge of empire. i have kinda mixed feelings about this song, but it's audacious.

this customer is a jerk (La Lechera), Wednesday, 30 January 2013 15:41 (4 months ago) Permalink

i'm definitely going to try to introduce "only a cock's stride away" to my daily vocab.

tylerw, Wednesday, 30 January 2013 16:16 (4 months ago) Permalink

I believe this should be posted here -- this is the incest ballad "brother seed", totally whoa good

this customer is a jerk (La Lechera), Monday, 4 February 2013 15:13 (4 months ago) Permalink

misreading the tracklisting for this new one i was surprised to see ali going in a slightly new direction with his polka-rap, but no. :''(

hot young stalin (Merdeyeux), Tuesday, 5 February 2013 20:43 (4 months ago) Permalink

this album goes in a lot of different directions, but that's not one of them

this customer is a jerk (La Lechera), Tuesday, 5 February 2013 20:45 (4 months ago) Permalink

dunno, isn't that funky part of Rap Y Clychau Glâs pretty much Glaswegian hip hop?

tylerw, Tuesday, 5 February 2013 20:48 (4 months ago) Permalink

1 month passes...

Alasdair Roberts and his friends are coming to Chicago this summer! Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!

and that sounds like a gong-concert (La Lechera), Tuesday, 2 April 2013 22:36 (2 months ago) Permalink

coool, what are the other dates?

tylerw, Tuesday, 2 April 2013 22:44 (2 months ago) Permalink

i dunno! he is coming as part of our summer in the park music series thingie -- they usually have one act i am marginally interested in, but this year i am so excited to use taxpayer dollars to fly one of my favorite artists over here -- and his friends! i want to be on the welcome wagon committee.

surely this is being paired with other shows, though -- the city thing is a good way to get over here, and then stay a while (i hope!)

and that sounds like a gong-concert (La Lechera), Tuesday, 2 April 2013 22:47 (2 months ago) Permalink

for the sake of people in other parts of the usa, that is

and that sounds like a gong-concert (La Lechera), Tuesday, 2 April 2013 22:47 (2 months ago) Permalink

The song Craigie Hill off that Dick Gaughan album is something you really need to hear btw. First heard it when June Tabor played it on a radio show she was a guest on, total lump in the throat stuff for me:

acid in the style of tenpole tudor (NickB), Wednesday, 3 April 2013 00:10 (2 months ago) Permalink


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