Crooked Fingers w/ The Mynabirds

Description

After the Archers of Loaf disbanded, noted songwriter and indie-rock icon Eric Bachmann took his music in a different direction when he formed CROOKED FINGERS in 2000. Instead of the clamorous, angular tock of old, he began creating the sumptuous and delicately melancholic songs that have come to define the band.
CROOKED FINGERS' Dignity and Shame is chief songwriter Bachmann's masterpiece. The band convened at Jupiter Studios in their Seattle homebase with producer Marin Feveyear (Screaming Trees, The Minus Five, Presidents of the United States of America, Rosie Thomas) to record and mix new songs. After recording 21 tracks that were intended to be a double record, the band pared the album down to 12 powerful songs of love, lost and found, illustrated by Bachmann's heartbreaking yet newly hopeful lyrics.
The fourth proper CROOKED FINGERS full-length release, Dignity and Shame shows the band taking a decidedly new route. Their first three releases (Crooked Fingers, Bring on the Snakes, Red Devil Dawn) were filled with gorgeous portraits of the broken down and abused, the drunken and the melancholy, augmented by string arrangements and orchestral flourishes. In contrast, the beauty of Dignity and Shame lies in its simplicity and accessibility. Bachmann's vocals are at their most confident, while subtle lap steel surfaces from time to time to compliment the standard guitar / bass / drums set up. The infusion of Latin influences that began on Red Devil Dawn has been taken to the forefront on Dignity and Shamethe bold Spanish guitar of the opening instrumental 'Islero' to the hint of mariachi in the trumpet line of 'Twilight Creeps' depicts a band expanding on their signature sound. In addition, Lara Meyerattken, the Australian singer / keyboardist / songwriter who has collaborated with Ben Lee, Luna, Nada Surf and Luscious Jackson, lends her Siren-like voice to four tracks on the record. These new elements combine to make Dignity and Shame the band's most cohesive and sophisticated work to date.

Before Georgie James, Laura Burhenn (half of the former DC duo) had spent her early years crafting music on her own. So when Georgie James split, she went back to what she knew. She gathered her favorite books, records, and people around her and wrote what would become the first album from her new band, The Mynabirds.
"What We Lose in the Fire We Gain in the Flood" was recorded in the rugged hills of Oregon in the summer of 2009 with singer-songwriter/producer Richard Swift at the helm. Laura and Richard took turns at instruments until the record was fully orchestrated. When they finished recording each night, they'd polish off a bottle of whiskey and dance to records -- Dandy Livingstone, Buffy Sainte-Marie, James Brown -- until the sun came up. That energy really shows itself on The Mynabirds' debut album, particularly in "Let the Record Go" and "Numbers Don't Lie." Other songs, like "What We Gained in the Fire" and "Right Place," are more reflective, the lyrics following a Zen trajectory, echoing the sentiment of George Harrison's "All Things Must Pass."
The album features some notable guests. Besides Richard's Swifts contributions on backing vocals and nearly every instrument imaginable, Orenda Fink (Azure Ray, O+S) and musician/engineer/producer AJ Mogis (Criteria, Monsters of Folk, Tilly and the Wall) lent their voices; Tom Hnatow (These United States) played pedal steel; and Nate Walcott (Bright Eyes) arranged the horns that underscore The Mynabirds' tight, soul-soaked sound.
Having always wanted to make a record that sounded like Neil Young doing Motown, the discovery of the near mythical 60's R&B group, The Mynah Birds, featuring none other than Neil Young (and Rick James among others), seemed all too serendipitous. Thus, The Mynabirds found their namesake. The Mynabirds certainly summon that spirit, nodding to gospel and garage and making a sound all their own, with echoes of Dusty Springfield and Bobbie Gentry bleeding through the tape.

More Info

Link

http://www.cafedunord.com/?temp=calendar&cal_view=month&cal_...