Nine Inch Nails - Ghosts I

Band/Artist: Nine Inch Nails
Year: 2008
Genre: Score, Industrial, Ambient, Instrumental

My Review:
I'm pretty much sure that anyone who would be stopping by my site would have already had this release, but just to be sure, I figure I'll share.

About a year before the time that "The Slip" was released, Trent Reznor had gone somewhat silent while in the studio on an experiment with some collaborators. What came out of that experiment was this boxed set. It was just around the time of the "pay-as-you-will" experiments from radiohead and so forth, and long before Reznor went crawling back to the big record labels instead of really doing something revolutionary.

This is the first disk out of a set of 3 disks, so if you love it, spend the 5 dollars to get the full set. There is artwork that comes with the pack, and you aren't really being mislead, the free download is a good quality one.

This album is a gigantic step away from the rest of the Nine Inch Nails discography or radio hits. There are no lyrics except for humming or singing at any point during the full 3 CD set. They are all built like the scores to some non-existant film, and range in emotion and composition from rage filled industrial rock, to ambient pieces that sound nearly meditative.

 Nine Inch Nails - Ghosts

Sunny Jain's Red Baraat Festival - Live on WFMU's Transpacific Sound Paradise broadcast from Barbes, Sep. 13 2008

Band / Artist: Sunny Jain's Red Baraat Festival
Year: 2008
Genre: Brass band, Indian, Dance, Jazz

My Review:
A wonderfully bright and lively album. Sunny Jain's Red Baraat Festival is a Brooklyn Indian brass band. Coming off of the carnival season in New Orleans, Brass bands are a great thing to hear from outside Louisiana. From what I get, Sunny Jain is the percussionist, who does his own solo work, and decided to bring the band together.

Here's his solo site.
http://www.sunnyjain.com/

And here's the band site.
http://www.redbaraat.com/flash.html

A mix of New Orleans brass band sound (like you'd hear in the Treme), with Indian and Balkan street band sounds. Its good for a little street party, or it might be awesome for a little bit of an international flavor at a bar. Enjoy.

Sunny Jain's Red Baraat Festival - Live on WFMU's Transpacific Sound Paradise broadcast from Barbes, Sep. 13 2008

3 days left - Josh Garrels Megapack

Band / Artist: Josh Garrels
Year: 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012
Genre: Breakbeat, Folk Pop, Jazz Rock, Modern Classical, Indie

My Review:
I posted the B-sides for Love & War a good while back, but then I saw this the other day and thought it might be time to revisit Mr. Garrels..

Its a very extravagant sort of folk/ndie. I don't really know what else to call it. At one of his shows he had a short talk about it, and he said "I'm not sure what to call myself...so I say folk".

SO the point of this mega-share is saved in a quote.

From March 14 to March 28, all 5 of Josh Garrels' most current albums will be available for free, exclusively on Noisetrade. This free catalog of music is given as a gift, but 100% of the tips received for any and all of the 5 albums will be given to World Relief and their courageous work in Congo. Congo is currently the most unstable, violent, and impoverished country in the world, with thousands displaced due to warring factions and a majority of the women suffering from gender based violence. Please consider leaving a tip, and in so doing, becoming a partner in the work for restoration in Congo. Thanks.

So I'd imagine that it would be worthwhile to donate a little to this one if you feel like supporting a good cause. I'm always happy when people do this. As always, enjoy, and share with others.

 5 Albums By Josh Garrels

Chance McCoy And The Appalachian String Band - Self Titled

Band / Artist: Chance McCoy
Year: 2008
Genre: Folk, Bluegrass, Americana

My Review:
I volunteered for more than 2 years with a historic fort in Savannah, GA. I got paid nicely for my time, had my own confederate uniform (it was slightly more comfortable than the Yankee blues), and got to teach/yell at middle school kids. If you ever want to know about civil war river defense and communication, as well as history about Sherman's march to the sea, I'll talk to you for an hour.

But that's not really here or there. The point is, that historic American music is not very often heard these days. My general distaste for modern country stems from their disregard of the instruments and skills in their own history. But this release does none of that. Mr. McCoy knows that history, and he holds true to it. This is no small album. He plays out 19 tracks with his companions, and he does it with skill and with heart. That fiddle, banjo, acoustic guitar, and bass all meld into a sensation that's incredibly hard to describe. Here's his website.

http://wildhogintheredbrush.com/

This brings be back to bold sunsets, hot humid days, the stink of black gunpowder and burnt flour, biting sand gnats, the taste of Brunswick stew and drinking a beer with my coworkers after hours, and the muddy water of the river flowing past the reeds on the bank. If I ever find anything that gets closer to that, I'll post it without haste. I hope you enjoy.

Chance McCoy And The Appalachian String Band - Self Titled

Nine Inch Nails - The Slip

Band/Artist: Nine Inch Nails
Year: 2008
Genre: Industrial rock, Alternative rock, Electronica

My Review:
You might have heard of this band before just a little bit. This was farly and widely publicized, and probably shouldn't be something I go out of my way to post, but it was well worth a review and download. After being around for 20 years, and managing to be incredibly popular, Nine Inch nails released this album as a gift to the fans that had given so much money and love throughout all of those two decades.

This is one of those rare albums that is free, not a promo, and you would hear a song from it on the radio. There was a feel to this album that seems like since Trent Reznor had no monetary incentive behind it and the release, he took liberties and just explored it in whatever way he wanted to. Some big NIN fans were a little harsh on this, especially closer to the end, but I personally enjoy something that shows a growth and a personal touch, especially with what this album represented. It even comes with a collection of artworks, all minimal, ominous, and gritty, representing each track on the album.

The sound is similar in ways to with teeth, using some really strong, hard hitting rockstar sounds, and warping them with a mindblowing expanse of synth hookups, circuit bending mods, post processing edits, and god knows what else. There are a few tracks that harken to the rare "Still" EP that was released with the "And All That Could Have Been" tour video and album, as well as some tracks harkening to the "Ghosts" project released earlier the same year. It isn't the longest album, or maybe the best of their track history, but it really holds its own, especially with the slow down and fade out that it has, and how far it steps from (and around, and within) the rest of the NIN discography.

If you are a fan of Nine Inch Nails, enjoy the gift, and hopefully the band will come out of their retirement and make another album in the future.

Nine Inch Nails - The Slip