(What no clever play on lyrics title for this one? Nope. You try being clever when it's 9 million degrees outside. Anyway, "Rawr" means "I love you" in dinosaur, isn't that good enough?)
There really must be something in the water in Wisconsin. Earlier this year we were gifted the amazing
Foreign Fields, have had a taste of the brilliant Field Report, and now
Daniel and the Lion. Bringing their sound to you from Baraboo/Madison, Wisconsin,
Daniel Pingrey (Piano, Marimba, Accordion, Drums) and
Jimmie Linville (Vocals, Guitar, Banjo, Uke) are Daniel and the Lion. The band is folk/rock/pop, or as I like to call it, beautiful sounds that my ears love.
Last week, one of my most reliable new music sources, Adam Duritz of
Counting Crows posted on Facebook/Twitter that he had been given Daniel and the Lion's record
Death Head, and that he loved it. So, of course, being the sheep that I am, I followed the link he provided and downloaded
Death Head (Side A) and also
Sweet Teeth, their full length album from 2011
. So far, I am thoroughly enjoying everything I am hearing from this band.
Daniel and the Lion reminds me of something I've heard before, but at the same time it's completely new. The music is light and refreshing, the vocals smooth, full of feeling and soul, the lyrics perfect.
Sweet Teeth is a beautiful record. From start to finish, all ten tracks are worth listening to over and over again, something I have been doing for the last couple days (I call it "research") A few of my favorite tracks on the record are Hollywood, this song gives me images of driving down an empty highway on a sunny afternoon, why? Don't know, just does. Horses is another track that I love. I love the vocals in this song, I love the lyrics. Hand in Hand is a beautifully crafted song. It's simple beginning with a naked acoustic guitar and piano flows into an almost haunting duet, between guest vocalist Kelly Steward and Jimmie Linville, almost a lament of sorts of lost love. Another shining track, Baraboo, a beautiful homage about the Wisconsin town from which they came. And to round out the record, I think my favorite, Seeds. It's upbeat, almost bouncy tempo is great. I love the guitar work in the song, and I love the vocals, especially in the chorus. All in all, this record is fantastic. It's one that like me, you'll want to listen to a lot. For reals.
Now onto Death Head, Daniel and the Lion's newest release. We, for now, just get "Side A" of this record. That's good, but not good enough; I want the rest! Side A is five tracks of musical goodness. Out of those five tracks, Need You, Forever, and Flash Flood are my top picks. Wait, that's over half the record! What about the other two songs? Oh, they're great too, I've just listened to those three more I guess. Need You has a yearning to it, the vocals hit your soul in just the right place. Forever gets you with an opening drum line that's like, "hey there, listen to this song, it's super" then the guitar reiterates that fact. Flash Flood is the track which Adam Duritz was just raving about on Facebook. When the lead songwriter of one of your favorite bands, who has written heaps of amazing songs himself, recommends a song based on it's lyrics, you listen to said song, coz the man knows what he's talking about. Listen to all of these songs, they are all amazing. But the record, it's only $5. Heck, you can get Sweet Teeth for free! What's stopping you?
***Later that night --- the more I listen to
Death Head (Side A) the more I love it. Seriously, get on this record.
NOW.
Need more info?? Go here:
http://www.datlband.com/
http://www.datlband.bandcamp.com/
http://www.facebook.com/datlband
https://twitter.com/andthelion
No comments:
Post a Comment