Travis Elliott-Swan Dive. A couple of Americana/roots-rock releases on tap here today, the first of which is the debut EP from Virginia singer-songwriter Travis Elliott. Things start off strongly with "Release", a slow-building rocker that recalls Ryan Adams and Alejandro Escovedo in places followed up by the Tom Petty-esque title track, but the disc really hits its stride with the midtempo "Waking Up", a melodic number not unlike The Wallflowers and Minibar. The rest of the EP ain't bad either, and in a nice touch Elliott gives way to Marianna Bell on the haunting ballad "Miles Away". A worthwhile debut.CD Baby | MySpace | iTunes | eMusic | Listen at Bandcamp
The Del Toros-Come Down. This Oklahoma band has drawn comparisons with the aforementioned Mr. Petty and Wilco, and they have the tuneful chops to go with their rootsy sound to justify those namedrops. The tracks to listen to here are "Hi-Hat Blues", an anthemic rocker; the wonderfully jangly "Nineteen"; the (pardon the pun) dreamy "Insomniac", which sounds like Elliott Smith in a roots band; and the hypnotic "Song", which recalls AbPow favorite Wiretree. An ear-catching effort from The Del Toros, and that's no bull.CD Baby | MySpace | iTunes | eMusic | stream at official site
2 comments:
The Del Toros - I streamed this and had it playing in the background for the first five tracks. I was struck by the musical composition--these guys know hot to construct a song. I then had a chance to sit and listen to the remainder of the album. I was suddenly hit by the lyrics--"Oh...this is a Christian band." Needless to say, it was the source for an interesting conflict. I am not religious, and I had a hard time relating to a lot of the imagery and allusions present throughout. Anyway, if you have any friends who like Christian inspired music, this is good. I am not going to buy it though.
I love this album. The first track, Give Up, along with the title track, Come Down are my two favorites, if I had to narrow it down. I also really love Blind Man, but you have not heard it until you've heard it live. The Del Toros play this intense, heavy intro to the song, that is not on the cd. It sent chills down my spine. Also, the cd goes out with a bang with the epic outro on their last song, You. I cant stand radio christian music. This band definetely has some spiritually inspired lyrics on a few songs, but I would not call them a christian band. Just like U2 has many spiritually inspired songs, they are still a rock n roll band, and that is what I would say the Del Toros are.
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