The Muckrakers are probably a band you’ve never heard of, somehow fame has eluded this group out of Louisville, Kentucky. Proof that it’s hard to make it big out there, even if you create pop masterpieces like this one. “Beautiful Goodbye” is a swaggering riff-led number featuring Rob Carpenter’s great vocals and a great little narrative to boot.
Download It Here:
With thanks to Sup Pop Records and Blitzen Trapper, here’s their new video for their second released song from their upcoming album American Goldwing. I love the album already and I can’t wait to see these guys play live in October.
When it comes to ranking Beatles albums, everyone (I included) seems to give Beatles For Sale a blind eye, perhaps due to the dearth of originals on it, the fact that it wasn’t released as an album until the CD remasters in 1987 and that it came between two great albums A Hard Day’s Night and Help!. However two of their best songs start the album, "No Reply" and “I’m A Loser” which finds Lennon at his early peak as a songwriter, both charismatic and insecure, and quite capable of making a great melody. Despite all the hoopla that always surrounds the sound quality of any recording by The Beatles, early or otherwise, these two are recorded to perfection and are fine examples of The Beatles already perfecting the pop songwriting form.
Download Them Here:
“And in my constant quest for truth
I am condemned to facts alone
And though my dreams all lead me nowhere
I won’t forget my way back home”
Dawes, led by brothers Taylor (guitar, vocals) and Griffin Goldsmith (drums) has a great thing going for them. Taking the best from their local forebears, Dawes brings to mind the close harmonies of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young as well as the simple rock instrumentation of The Eagles, coalescing into a tight-knit roots rock group who are unabashed in their love of Americana. If you haven’t heard their debut North Hills yet, I suggest you do because their new LP, Nothing Is Wrong is as much of a partner to it as it is a counterpoint. “My Way Back Home” is a song written about the road, something the ever-touring Dawes has a lot to contribute to. Yet it’s to Goldsmith’s credit that the songs here sound incredibly intimate despite their new fuller sound. Ever the modest man, Goldsmith claims its due to writing on a typewriter, an instrument he feels makes every word have to count, no emotions out of place. And a powerful feeling it is.
Download It Here:
Special Bonus Download:
The Art of the Mixtape 