I'm liking "estrella"
― . (Michael B), Tuesday, 12 February 2019 23:58 (five years ago) link
count me in the crew who never felt mangy love and is loving this new one. the beginning and ending jams are a blast.
― call all destroyer, Wednesday, 13 March 2019 23:35 (five years ago) link
I adore the single “Wine of Lebanon.” It is like Bel Canto pretty to me.
― rb (soda), Saturday, 20 June 2020 14:28 (three years ago) link
i'm still not into the last two albums (or wine of lebanon) but here is a great show from 2016: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dh_duzOrRZo
― mizzell, Monday, 6 July 2020 15:27 (three years ago) link
saw this pop up on discogs:
https://www.discogs.com/Cass-McCombs-Mere-Demos/release/12670944
a cdr he apparently handed out around 2001 called mere demos. needless to say very interested in hearing it. i can find no other mention of it on the internet. anyone know anything about it?
― Griff_Doge, Wednesday, 2 September 2020 16:26 (three years ago) link
To all the McCombs fans - if you haven't already, be sure you check out the Blake Mills album that was released earlier this year, Mutable Set. Aside from it being my favorite album of the year, Cass McCombs co-wrote a bunch of the songs. He doesn't sing on any of it, but the overall vibe is not far from a McCombs album.
― sctttnnnt (pgwp), Wednesday, 2 September 2020 21:00 (three years ago) link
thx for the tip
― corrs unplugged, Friday, 4 September 2020 08:09 (three years ago) link
Apparently there are many, many albums of demos floating around his friend group. I've kind of back-burnered PREfection and Writ in favour of Catacombs onward but I'm gonna pull those albums out today
― flamboyant goon tie included, Friday, 4 September 2020 14:15 (three years ago) link
I am quite into that 2016 show with some nice jamming upthread. He looks a little like Robert Forster (in the beginning of the thread the Go-Betweens were mentioned...), doesn't he? And his voice reminds me of someone else. Lawrence from Felt, anyone? A little stilted but I like it.
― walking towards the sun since 2007 (alex in mainhattan), Thursday, 10 September 2020 16:24 (three years ago) link
PREfection is a lovely album
― unpaid intern at the darvo institute (Simon H.), Thursday, 10 September 2020 16:36 (three years ago) link
I have this memory that I watched a video of Cass playing Dreams Come True Girl and the organ player goes off on a really really really long solo, like he's trying to push Cass or annoy him or something. Did I imagine this? Am I remembering the wrong song?
― in twelve parts (lamonti), Saturday, 12 September 2020 06:53 (three years ago) link
Yes the blake mills is quite good. You can really hear the cass in the first track. It’s the easiest for me to imagine as a pure cass song. That and the chorus of vanishing twin. My Dear One shares lyrics with a song he played on a pitchfork way back in 2012 called “More or Less”:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7Y1cdLW461k
God I’m a dork.
― Griff_Doge, Saturday, 19 September 2020 00:26 (three years ago) link
The new album by Cassandra Jenkins is excellent and really scratches that itch for new music from the other Cass. Check out the song “Crosshairs”.
― Griff_Doge, Friday, 26 February 2021 13:44 (three years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXAEULWPzw4
― mizzell, Friday, 29 April 2022 20:08 (two years ago) link
Reminds me quite a bit of "Everywhere" by Fleetwood Mac.
― mig (guess that dreams always end), Saturday, 30 April 2022 04:58 (two years ago) link
It seemed familiar but I couldn’t place it. Will listen again thinking about Everywhere.
― mizzell, Saturday, 30 April 2022 12:31 (two years ago) link
beautiful little tune
― corrs unplugged, Sunday, 1 May 2022 08:55 (two years ago) link
Def hear Everywhere in it.
― mizzell, Sunday, 1 May 2022 11:39 (two years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sjQAx22SMA
― mizzell, Friday, 5 August 2022 17:58 (one year ago) link
haha a bit on the nose that, but enjoyable
― corrs unplugged, Monday, 8 August 2022 10:27 (one year ago) link
Yes but neat execution for sure. Nice song!
― Evan, Monday, 8 August 2022 17:06 (one year ago) link
Yeah, feels very unlike him but also...not?Probably my favorite Cass song since 2013.
― mizzell, Monday, 8 August 2022 17:20 (one year ago) link
I started to lose track of his work when too much of his material traded in the vocal melodies in favor of a sort of speak-singing storytelling thing, and when he did this it was with a very similar cadence. I missed the distinct vocal melodies circa Catacombs. He never got bad imo but the shift meant I was paying less attention. Going to keep an eye on this release though.
― Evan, Monday, 8 August 2022 17:39 (one year ago) link
"The Wine of Lebanon" is the best piece of branded content of all timehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gH9qJxTB5oU
― bain4z, Monday, 8 August 2022 19:02 (one year ago) link
new album is great, getting ryley walker vibes
― corrs unplugged, Thursday, 25 August 2022 08:05 (one year ago) link
saw him live, excellent stuff, he really has a great catalog by now
new album very blue, very good
― corrs unplugged, Sunday, 30 October 2022 15:41 (one year ago) link
i think this is a new song? sounds really good. bummed i missed all his recent shows.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4YDdMtdncM
― mizzell, Thursday, 27 July 2023 17:54 (nine months ago) link
Definitely new. Loved his last album (no respect in the ILM top 77 was criminal!). Catacombs has been getting a lot of spins by me lately too. A timeless classic, desert island pick for me.
― hrep (H.P), Friday, 28 July 2023 01:01 (nine months ago) link
Catacombs is my favorite of his. “Harmonia” is probably my favorite song of his, any album.
― sctttnnnt (pgwp), Friday, 28 July 2023 03:48 (nine months ago) link
Every year it’s gets a few spins and every year I get a new favourite song. My sister my spouse is 2023’s hit for me, though yeah harmonia had that place for a while
― hrep (H.P), Friday, 28 July 2023 03:50 (nine months ago) link
Wits end is what I consider to be his other classic, but falls to catacombs due to not having the variety of style that catacombs does. Reading a lot of the reviews on catacombs where it’s described as a one-note, plodding sort of album which is totally off the mark. Sure the songs can be one-note, but which artists can pull more from one chord progression and one vocal melody than Cass? I love that part of his style, no bells and whistles, no big thrills and changes, no accessories, just a killer story, a killer melody, a killer spirit, a killer tone, killer everything
― hrep (H.P), Friday, 28 July 2023 03:54 (nine months ago) link
Aside from County Line, which is all-time, I really dislike most of Wits End (and I’ve also fallen out of love with his more recent stuff too.)
He collaborated with Blake Mills on Mills’s excellent Mutable Set album and I feel like his influence there is very palpable (even though his voice isn’t); but it’s offset by Mills’ musicianship which is another level.
― sctttnnnt (pgwp), Friday, 28 July 2023 04:12 (nine months ago) link
It’s less a variety of style that wits end lacks, more a variety of tone. It’s all so solipstic, melancholy, blue, existential. Great if you’re in the mood, and the last track on that album is one of my favourite sets of lyrics ever. I’m always partial to lyrics that function as a philosophy of aesthetics, and a knock upon the door still knocks me on my feet with its beauty and smarts
― hrep (H.P), Friday, 28 July 2023 04:18 (nine months ago) link
I’ll check out the mills album, I listened to the first track of his most recent one and his musicianship was distracting to me. I’m correct in thinking he was the guitar player for some tracks on catacombs right? Remember looking at the liner notes a while ago. If it’s him that plays that solo on harmonia then he’s got all my love.
County line is the anomaly of style on that album. A pop hit surrounded by dirges. Classic track though. Definitely give a knock upon the door another chance if you can be in the mood for it, it’s a knock out
― hrep (H.P), Friday, 28 July 2023 04:23 (nine months ago) link
it really is - and it's a very fun song to... knock along to
that live video, what a location! looks greathis bands are always great
last album was very good, "a blue, blue band" and "belong to heaven" personal faves
"tip of the sphere" is also a great album, had that on repeat in 2021
never listened to catacombs for some reason... I will
― corrs unplugged, Friday, 28 July 2023 07:34 (nine months ago) link
Report back with your findings!
― hrep (H.P), Friday, 28 July 2023 09:15 (nine months ago) link
I’m correct in thinking he was the guitar player for some tracks on catacombs right? Remember looking at the liner notes a while ago. If it’s him that plays that solo on harmonia then he’s got all my love.
I don’t think he plays on Catacombs, but o could be wrong. Wikipedia doesn’t list him among the personnel but I don’t have the actual liner notes to refer to.
― sctttnnnt (pgwp), Friday, 28 July 2023 14:08 (nine months ago) link
I think Wit's End is meant to be an experimental album via its uncomprimisingly stubborn compositions. It's a difficult album with a lot of really understated subtle beauty. County Line however is effortlessly beautiful but I do think it fits in just fine with the rest of the album.
― But his face would not turn into hot Kirby (Evan), Friday, 28 July 2023 14:27 (nine months ago) link
uncompromisingly*
Last album seems SUPER slept on by the way?
― But his face would not turn into hot Kirby (Evan), Friday, 28 July 2023 14:28 (nine months ago) link
― sctttnnnt (pgwp), Friday, July 28, 2023 10:08 AM (eighteen minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink
Blake toured with Cass in 2009/10, so right around Catacombs, but according to discogs, the only album he's on is Mangy Love.
― mizzell, Friday, 28 July 2023 14:37 (nine months ago) link
Last album was super slept on. Maybe my favourite of his in the past decade.
I don’t take wits end as anymore understated/subtle/ than catacombs. Though yeah maybe it’s slightly more difficult due to being a more claustrophobic album (the middle two tracks of harmonia and the executioner’s song bring a lot of fresh air to Thats combs which wits end doesn’t really have). Part of why catacombs is my favourite is it’s pacing, it’s such a well layed out journey. I actually think of catacombs as more subtle as it’s doing most of what wits end does (in its creation of a mood), but with more conventional musical forms.
― hrep (H.P), Friday, 28 July 2023 18:59 (nine months ago) link
The executioner’s song also one of my personal favourites this year
― hrep (H.P), Friday, 28 July 2023 19:01 (nine months ago) link
I voted for Heartmind pretty high but unfortunately no-one else on ILM did. "Karaoke" is such a beautiful song. I really love "Estrella" from Tip of The Spheres too which is another totally slept-on album of his. As is Mangy Love from 2016! There's a lot of soul stylings on that one that really work well. It took me a while to come around to Wit's End. Its pretty dark and one-note. I'm in agreement with most here that Catacombs is his classic.
― Saxophone Of Futility (Michael B), Monday, 31 July 2023 14:53 (nine months ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2FM4zuAlNI
Cass has always been an incredible vocalist, and I knew the bridge of this song was incredibly difficult vocally, but seeing someone else try it really gives some context to how much he kills it.
― H.P, Sunday, 17 December 2023 01:51 (four months ago) link
Perfect song for a harp cover too!
I do think that his vocal melodies really toned down after around Catacombs by and large. His vocal delivery approach narrowed and lots of songs ended up sounding kinda samey as a result.
Windfall is the polar opposite of that problem, as demonstrated there
― Evan, Monday, 18 December 2023 21:50 (four months ago) link
On the other side, windfall has always bordered on the offensively saccharine for me. I still love the song because its really the only saccharine song in his discography, so its worst qualities are balanced out by the rest of the work (I think I'd have no time for this song by anyone else). His wide vocal stage were definitely still there for Wit's End. County Line, Memory Stain (a top 5 Cass melody), buried alive/the lonely doll/hermits cave/pleasant shadow song.... so really everything besides a knock upon the door and saturday's song.
Windfall also has to be one of his only songs with a third section! It's normally always either A or A-B. Amazing how much putting a bridge in a discography without them makes the song sound completely out of character. The more time I spend with Cass's music, the more I grow to love his "one section repeating over and over" songs more
― H.P, Monday, 18 December 2023 23:52 (four months ago) link
A return to a wider vocal range on his new album too. Love the vocal harmonies on Karaoke. The wandering, where the hell is this melody going? vocal lines on Music Is Blue. Every track is interesting vocally, it's the instrumentation and production that I haven't fell in love with on Heartmind (except for Karaoke, a cracker track)
― H.P, Monday, 18 December 2023 23:57 (four months ago) link
enjoy reading your thoughts
I never considered Cass a strong singer, in the sense that his vocals seem a bit fragile or... well, they're very understated... but they work perfectly, live too
can't put a finger on the instrumentation, my favorite from Heartmind is A Blue, Blue Band
― corrs unplugged, Tuesday, 19 December 2023 08:24 (four months ago) link
Wit's End kinda his masterpiece, no? got a vinyl copy. haven't listened to him/it in a long time. pressing is sadly a little loud/surfacey at the beginning of each side. and a little loud otherwise. in that way of modern vinyl. still sounds good though. i do think "County Line" is his best song but the whole album is nearly as strong. i don't know if i have the inner fortitude to do a Cass deep dive right now but this album will do for now.
i got this copy from a musician i know named nat baldwin. he's very nice. he makes cool avant garde music. has a tape label. he just got his Masters! he's moving to town from a couple of towns over. anyway, he sold me a crate of records - which was a very hip crate - and he had a bunch of singer/songwriter LPs that i had never heard. Wit's End was one of them. and of them was put out by my friend Teddy on his Feeding Tube label and somehow i missed it - Ted usually brings me in a big box of FT releases to sell every blue moon - and I think anyone here would really like it. Ned Collette - Old Chestnut. it's REALLY good in a late-60s/early 70s folk-psych vein. it reminds me of a lot of not-famous british singers that i like a lot. anyway, check it out. came out in 2018.
― scott seward, Monday, 6 May 2024 16:02 (one week ago) link