november mp3 roundup

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Englishman – Boy T. Rex
Daniel Martin Moore – Dark Road
East River Pipe – Cold Ground
MINKS – Cemetary Rain
White Fence – Lillian (Won’t You Play Drums?)
Lord Huron – Mighty
Banjo or Freakout – 105
Jonny Corndawg – Night Rider
Telekinesis – Car Crash
The Moviegoers – Avalanche
Apex Manor – Under the Gun (ex-Broken West)
Ethan Gold – Come On Beat It Down

i got sad halfway through because i knew it would end

Lexington, Kentucky trio Englishman (Andrew English, Justin Craig, and Matt Duncan) are back, this time with a full-length album. Recorded to tape in a converted barn in Ohio, the band polished their sound for Englishman without losing the quirky charm of the lo-fi apartment recordings of Taxidermy.

Andrew English’s voice is at the forefront of the album, augmented by acoustic guitar, piano, and a few other flourishes to keep it interesting. As on Taxidermy, it is the lyrics that really make Englishman’s songs something special, each track a tiny gift covered in layers of beautiful and intricate wrapping. Some lyrics lie in the fantastically abstract, some bite, and others are literary snapshots. To wit: “crushed under the pounding blue pinhole sky;” “kissing your lips was a contract I wish you couldn’t read;” “if I must die last / I want someone in the middle looking over her shoulder.”

The music isn’t to be forgotten, though. Englishman has a talent for ensconcing its words with the perfect chord here and electronic fuzz there. The lighter sound of “First Prize” serves to counter-balance the heavier lyrics, and the chord progressions in the chorus of “The Sticks” push the message of loss in a way that’s hard to describe but just right. A refurbished “Boy T. Rex” (also found on their debut EP) has a childlike sweetness about it, though anchored by sadness.

Cozy and accessible, Englishman gives listeners something to sink into. Beautiful melodies and lyrical delights arise at every pass, each listen yielding something new.

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Englishman dropped 11.23.10.
Check out Englishman’s bandcamp site.
Download “Boy T. Rex“.

paint over your rock and roll walls

On their debut EP Taxidermy, Kentucky trio Englishman (led by Andrew English and comprising members of These United States and The Scourge of the Sea) serve up relaxed, folky tunes and picture-perfect lyrics.

Though the EP is primarily an acoustic venture, Englishman rounds out their sound with the occasional electronic blip and garage riff. The songs have a comfortable, lived-in feeling – it wouldn’t be the least bit odd for English and his cohort to be sitting at your kitchen table playing these songs over tea.

Englishman’s strong suit falls with the lyrics. With curious lines like “the light’s on in the house with the pumpkin eyes,” English provides striking and specific images and crafts tiny tall tales that linger somehwere between fable and dream.

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Taxidermy dropped 05/19/2009.
Listen to the album in its entirety here.