The Coloring Pages

a collection of music encountered daily.

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Shook the Rain

Patrick Collins

Finally, my friend Patrick Collins will be playing a show here in Boston. Here’s an original song by him, featuring more instruments than I feel confident identifying, all skillfully wielded by Patrick himself. It’s a lovely song; why not come see it live? (here’s the event)
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Tahiti

Magic Magic

Magic Magic is one of those bands who you can’t help but enjoy. And this breezy, hypnotizing track - dreamy but sincere - hits just the right place. “Tahiti” is the sort of song you could include in a mixtape and not suck. Magic Magic has this vaguely 60s lo-fi sound that manages to be still very immediate. In no way are they a throw-back; they’re making good music of and for the present. The Boston locals are as swell to hear as they are to see; a great band all-around.

[check out their bandcamp]
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Battle Hymn Sk8step

The Skateboards

Breaks are lovely in that I get to reimmerse in the Philadelphia music scene. This always leads to meeting really excellent new people, becoming better friends with people I’d only encountered briefly before, and acquiring craploads of new and excellent music. Case in point: released almost exactly one year ago by my dear new friend’s band The Skateboards, a cover of Battle Hymn of the Republic that is nothing short of radical.

[be sure to check out their album Bad Dads Doin’ Bad Dad Things. There is literally no way for you to be disappointed.]
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crystal truth

Guards

This spacey, bluesy track from the California band Guards is a bit of a different sound from the rest of the EP [available for free on their bandcamp] in terms of influence, but the overall feel of the song fits right in with the self-described “pop wave doom” that the EP embodies. They’re a very fine group, with that muffled not-quite-lo-fi sound that so many try but so few excel in executing. They’ve got it, though. Give them a listen.
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Could It Be Christmas?

Jon Lindsay

I love this song. That’s really all there is to say. It’s past the 25th now, so it can’t really be Christmas. But happy Kwanzaa, anyhow.
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Wake Up

Dr. Dog

Dr. Dog, in celebration of being home in Philadelphia. One of my very favorite bands, right here. As much as I love their new stuff, I love the hard-core lo-fi going on with earlier albums. And, of course, I am super stoked for the new album.
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South

Laura Jorgensen

Laura Jorgensen had her farewell show last night in a friend’s living room. She and her band ended the show with this song. Jorgensen is leaving for Paris, a city that flavors the accordion lines throughout her music. Along with feelings of Paris roam hints of Slavic states, Decemberists-esque bach rock, even loungey jazz. They’ve much better live, but even in recordings the way they blend so many influences into a cohesive whole is impressive. South - until its raucous end - has tones of a lullaby, perfectly befitting the conclusion of this band’s final performance.

{bandcamp}
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Wicked Heart

Tristen

I had the great pleasure of seeing Tristen open for Justin Townes Earle this past weekend at the Royale, and I was reminded of this song while writing the show review for AllstonPudding. Wicked Heart is a haunting, old-feeling song. Her voice is absolutely gorgeous, low and sweet, with wonderfully ragged edges. She often gives the impression of a revived 60s-era folk singer, perhaps along the lines of Vashti Bunyan, though this is a much heavier sort of song. It is, quite simply, beautiful.
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With Tomorrow / I'm On Fire

Ólöf Arnalds

This is a brilliantly folky cover of Gene Clark’s With Tomorrow and Bruce Springsteen’s I’m On Fire by Icelandic singer-songwriter Ólöf Arnalds that my friend Windham (who is major-league into Icelandic music for no particular reason that I can tell) showed me the other day. The Springsteen bit of the song is what I really love, because she manages to emulate Johnny Cash’s cover of the song really profoundly through this adorable soft voice that gives the impression of a Björk-esque Vashti Bunyan. It’s a sweet tune, perhaps obscurely doleful, but above all simply a very nice song to sit and take in by oneself on a grey day.
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Turn The Radio On (Down in the Holler Theme)

DJs Pappy Long Legs & Laura Jane

My friend Patrick and I recorded a cover of this John Hartford diddy as the theme song for our old-school bluegrass/country/folk radio show, Down in the Holler. Patrick’s on the banjo and leads, I’m on harmonies. We’re recording our first show tonight, so if you’d like to hear us and some mean ol’ folk jams just click here for the live stream. We’ll be on 12-2am.