Back in March we posted the good news that Mason Jennings was working on a new record that was, in his words, "on the rock side of things". Recently, in a post on the Brushfire Records website, we got some more details on the record: it's called Blood of Man and it's due out September 15th on Brushfire Records. Mason also elaborated on his move to a more plugged-in sound, which involves The Who, Christmas ornaments, and dancing children (read it here).
Mason also posted a tour announcement on his website last Tuesday (my birthday!) that went like this:
"I can't wait to get out on the road and play the new songs from Blood of Man. This batch of songs is so intensely personal, so dark, and so rocking that I am a little afraid of what will happen. That's why I am bringing out my good friends Brian McLeod on drums and Chris Morrissey on bass. I will be playing a lot of electric guitar and I can honestly say that I have no idea what will be conjured up. I only know that it will be really open, really loud and really real."
Wow. So dark? So rocking? Conjured up?! There's a bunch of good news in there - but mostly that Mason's hooking back up with his Use Your Voice-era lineup: Brian McLeod and Chris Morrissey. Honestly, I can't tell you how excited I am about that. These three probably make up my favorite live-incarnation of Mason's music - bringing the heart and soul of his music like no other backing band has been able to. Here's a clip of them bringin' it in Charlottesville, VA to demonstrate:
Also, through August 1st iTunes is offering an exclusive Mason track, benifitting the Surfrider Foundation. Go grab it.
"In other news, I have been writing a bunch of new songs this winter and playing a lot of electric guitar and drums. The new songs are definitely on the rock side of things. That may sound like a departure but anyone who has seen me play live knows that it is not. I grew up playing rock and I guess the new stuff is a return to form. Only Transformed. It feels really really really good and that’s what matters. Not thinking too hard about it. Just getting the songs down as demos, following my heart. I will hopefully begin recording the new album soon."
This makes me so so happy. Mason is a master of musical story-telling, but he can also rock out pretty hard (like he said, as anyone who's seen him live can attest). If I have any qualms about the last few times I've seen him it's that his shows have gotten a little more tame than back when he'd pull out a raw version of 'Godless' or 'The Mountain' with band blazing. I'm excited for this "(Transformed) return to form" from one of my very favorite artists.
Below are a few of Mason's more rockin' numbers from past albums. I don't know if he'll pull out anything as raucous as 'Godless' on the next record, but I sure wouldn't complain.
Also, check out this video of Mason performing 'Jackson Square' from Pandora's On Stage & More Series. There's also versions of 'Soldier Boy', 'Nothing' and 'I Love You and Buddha Too' here. Enjoy.
Oh the love song. A good one can reduce you to tears; a bad one can too, but only because you've lost all hope in humanity's emotional response. Unfortunately, there seems to be no end to the bad ones in the world today, so I offer this little helping of some that I think are pretty good. Enjoy. UPDATE: So apparently Blogger deemed this post unsuitable and removed it. I took down the mp3's, but if you still want a .zip of the playlist just shoot us an email at whaleinacubicle@gmail.com.
mp3: The Bird and the Bee - My Love from the albumRay Guns Are Not Just the Future (iTunes) These two do indie-pop love songs right, and I think they know it. For further examples, see last year's Valentine's EP, One Too Many Hearts.
mp3: Josh Ritter - Kathleen from the albumHello Starling (iTunes) Josh has mastered the love song in my opinion, and he's got more than a few great ones. This is from his 2003 album, Hello Starling, and you should love it - if not only for its opening line, "All the other girls here are stars, you are the northern lights!" Favorite.
mp3: Leona Naess - On My Mind from the albumThirteens (iTunes) This one's been stuck in my head for a couple of months now, and I think it's one of the cutest little love songs I've ever heard. Yep, I said that.
mp3: Landon Pigg - Falling in Love at a Coffee Shop from theCoffee ShopEP (iTunes) A little cornball, for sure. But the melody is pretty, and I really like the dream-like production.
mp3: M. Ward - Never Had Nobody Like You from the albumHold Time (listen to it at NPR) I'm a sucker for M. Ward's dusty ballads, and it seems like his song-writing might be getting a little less cryptic since pairing with the She (of She & Him), and possibly even a little more... romantic? You be the judge, but I think this is a pretty good casual-love-song, if that's such a thing. It's off his newest album, Hold Time (out in March).
mp3: Joshua James - You're the Cocaine (iTunes) I fear this might become a lost gem due to its exclusion from last years re-release of The Sun is Always Brighter - it's a tender ode to his wife that makes me a little teary-eyed just about every time I hear it. While the lyrics are pretty sweet, I think it's his delivery that really gets me.
mp3: The Submarines - Swimming Pool from the albumHoneysuckle Weeks (iTunes) Ok, I just love this song. And the fact that these two are married and singing it together? I mean, c'mon. That's pretty adorable.
mp3: Mason Jennings - In Your City from the albumIn The Ever (iTunes) I love this little vignette, and the old-timey piano is the perfect backdrop. While it's not your typical love song, it's one of the most romantic songs I can think of.
I saw Mason Jennings last night at the Murray Theater and though I wasn't planning on giving a report, I'm afraid I just can't contain myself.
He was in as good of form as I've ever seen him, and after his somewhat short and less-than-enthused show last May, it was a real treat. He played a good mix of new and old tunes which just showcased how consistently solid his songwriting really is. In fact, after hearing just about all the tracks off this year's In The Ever, I realized that I haven't been giving that record the spin it deserves. In particular, the song My Perfect Lover sounded fuller and all-around more affecting last night than it did in May - and what I once considered a somewhat forgettable track has now become one of the album's highlights for me (note: this is why I love live music).
Long-time concert favorites The Mountain and Bullet were again left out of the set - and surprisingly, I wasn't the least bit disappointed. His catalog has expanded such that he can pull from any of his records to put together a fantastic show - and some of his jauntier new numbers like Soldier Boy and I Love You and Buddha Too, along with new live staples Your New Man and Fighter Girl, leave very little lacking. He played old favorites as well as a couple of new songs inspired by his recent involvement in an environmental documentary - one a call to arms to save the planet, and the other a light-hearted look at all the ways we might die. Both were pretty great.
Here's the set list:
(solo) Memphis, Tennessee / Nothing / Keepin it Real
(w/band) Butterfly / Living in the Moment / Ulysses / Jackson Square / I Love You and Buddha Too / Never Knew Your Name-Going Back to New Orleans / Birds Flying Away
(solo) Your New Man / Darkness Between the Fireflies / Don't Let The World Go Black (new) / So Many Ways to Die (new) / Hospitals and Jails
(w/band + Zach Gill) Fighter Girl / Be Here Now / Soldier Boy / Don't Touch My Stuff (Zach Gill song) / Sorry Signs on Cash Machines / Crown
(encore) In Your City / How Deep is that River / My Perfect Lover
Mason's down-to-earth manner and rumbling vocal style will never get old for me. Add his brilliant and beautiful songwriting as well as a humble (but rocking) live sensibility - and I think you'll understand why I love this guy so much.
Zach Gill opened, and despite his Hallmark-card lyricism he put on a pretty dang entertaining set - complete with piano/djembe antics, funny-white-man ukulele dancing, and a take on The Devil Went Down to Georgia on the accordian (all this while being unabashedly lovable). Zach also added some keys to Mason's set, rounding out songs like Be Here Now, Fighter Girl, and Sorry Signs on Cash Machines (which, by the way, was the best I have ever heard that song performed. Ever. Wow.)
Sorry for the long silence. It seems like things have just been a little bit hectic the last couple weeks, what with Logan starting his new job and me getting my dental school applications together. Our sincerest apologies, we'll try and re-align our priorities in the coming weeks...
So just a quick run-down. On Wednesday we got to see Mason Jennings perform in Salt Lake along with Missy Higgins and Brett Dennen. Of course, the show turned out to an amazing one. Missy, whom I was the least familiar with, put on a great opening set, full of smiles and stomping feet. She even took a request that was slipped on her keyboard by a few avid front-row fans. Brett got up on stage and luckily for us, he was just as awkwardly endearing as I had always heard. For such a humongous man, he was light on his toes (and we know, because he had no shoes), and grooved through his entire set. I'd also like to present him the award for "dorkiest band that I've ever seen" - and that's even including all the bands I played with in in high school, which is saying something. Then came Mason, who was all business as usual, but never fails to put on a great show. He favored material from his new album (which had come out the day before), but played a great mix of songs that spanned his entire discography. Sadly, we didn't hear some of his live staples- Bullet, The Mountain, or Godless, but with some new crowd pleasers like I love you and Buddha too, and Your New Man, it really didn't feel like anything was missing. So here's the set:
Nothing/Keepin' it real/Be here now/Living in the moment/Butterfly/Something about your love/Fighter girl/Your new man/Darkness between the fireflies/Adrian/Jackson Square/I love you and Buddha too/Soldier Boy/Crown
Encore: How deep is that river?/Ulysses/Ballad for my one true love
So it was a great show. But now down to business - a quick review of Mason's new album, In the Ever (Amazon/iTunes). His first on Brushfire Records, I'll admit I became a little bit worried after hearing that there was indeed the obligatory Jack Johnson cameo thrown in the mix. Well, consider this my repentance, I should have trusted Mason all along. It turns out that the one Mr. Johnson turns up on, 'I Love You and Buddha Too', is one of the album's funnest moments - a foot-stomping, hand-clapping ode to peace and religious tolerance. All around, the album is a step back from Boneclouds in production terms, having been recorded almost entirely by Mason himself in a cabin in Minnesota, in the same vein as his first few homespun records. The album opens up with the bouncy but kind of strange 'Never Knew Your Name' - a song that lets itself get lost in ambient piano and chimes a few times. It got a raised eyebrow from me on the first listen, but a smile by the second. Songs like 'Something About Your Love' and 'Soldier Boy' are vintage Mason and would've sounded at home on Birds Flying Away or Century Spring. 'Fighter Girl' is great, and the only one that has Mason's full supporting band playing with him. Chris Morissey (who played with Mason on my personal favorite, Use Your Voice) shows up on the grand ol' opry-esque 'Memphis, Tennessee', and we get to hear a live version of 'Your New Man' as well, a silly and sarcastic acoustic number, akin to 'Bullet' or 'Beautiful Man'. 'Going Back to New Orleans' is short and kind of hypnotic, with a chugging drumbeat and four harmonicas blowing the same note at random times. The album closes out with an oldie that finally surfaced, 'In Your City', a moment-in-time piano piece that we originally heard on the Use Your Van DVD a few years back.
Finally, my personal highlight has to be 'How Deep is that River?', with its quiet guitar and pump organ, its one of the prettiest points on In the Ever - a spiritual entreaty and pseudo-answer to Boneclouds 'Jesus Are You Real?'.That song ('Jesus Are You Real?') has come to be one of my very favorites of all time, and is probably one of the most beautifully and starkly honest songs ever written. A search for truth and a reaching for something greater than ourselves, 'Jesus' left off with the feeling that Mason was starting a spiritual journey - in 'How Deep is that River?', he sounds like he's well into that journey and is simply asking for an assurance that where he's headed is where he wants to be.
Although it's not as immediately striking as some of my old favorites from Mason, In the Ever is a solid album that I'm sure will only grow on me more, and that's well worth your dollars.
I woke up this morning a little anxious for the next few days, which will bring exams in chemistry, biology, and exercise physiology. However, the music fates decided to smile down on me, and brought this great news... the first taste off of Mason Jenning's forth-coming album, In the Ever!
So here it is. The song is a fleshed out version of what you might have already heard on the If You Need a Reason EP from a few year's back. It's good. Enjoy.
Mason Jennings recently signed over to Jack Johnson's homespun label, Brushfire Records, and is releasing his new album with them later this year. He's just one of a few recent artists to jump on the Brushfire bus, including Ray Barbee, Neil Halstead (of Mojave 3), and Rogue Wave (previously on Sub Pop). Mason's also on the bill for the Kokua Festival this summer, along with Jack, Dave Matthews, and some other familiar faces.
The shift makes a lot of sense for Mason, who released his last album, Boneclouds, on the Epic imprint, Glacial Pace Records - which met with mixed feelings from many fans. I for one, love that album - but it was a definite departure from his earlier work, and sounded much more produced than what we'd come to expect from the largely do-it-yourself musician (who wrote, produced, performed and recorded his first album all by himself in '98). Now his move to Brushfire may put him back in the driver seat when it comes to control during recording - as he jumps in line with such grassroots artists like Matt Costa, G. Love and Mr. Johnson himself.
So we'll just have to wait and see what happens - until then, here's a song from Mason's eponymous first record. In it he muses about making the move to the Golden State, but asserts that he's 'gonna stay away from LA / I'm staying far away from there / I'm going north of San Francisco / into the cleaner air'. Ironically, it happens that Brushfire's new studio is located in Los Angeles - but never fear Mason, the new studio is completely solar powered, doing its part to keep that air clean (in fact, here's a pretty cool article about it).
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Back in March we posted the good news that Mason Jennings was working on a new record that was, in his words, "on the rock side of things". Recently, in a post on the Brushfire Records website, we got some more details on the record: it's called Blood of Man and it's due out September 15th on Brushfire Records. Mason also elaborated on his move to a more plugged-in sound, which involves The Who, Christmas ornaments, and dancing children (read it here).
