Produced by longtime collaborator Dan Horne (Circles Around The Sun,
Allah-Las), MAPACHE’S new album, From Liberty Street, captures the
Los Angeles duo at their finest, with Sam Blasucci and Clay Finch
weaving airtight harmonies around stripped-down, organic arrangements
that blur the lines between traditional folk and modern cosmic
country. The songs here reckon with longing, desire, and change, and
the arrangements draw on everything from Hawaiian-steeped surf and
Mexican boleros (Blasucci spent two years living South of the border)
to Bakersfield twang and lonesome cowboy campfire tunes, all delivered
with the kind of easygoing charm and natural intuition usually
reserved for blood brothers or married couples. It’s an instantly
engaging chemistry the two share, a captivating musical bond that
mirrors the comfort, closeness, and camaraderie of the album’s
homespun roots."This record is about as close to the sound of home as
you can get,” says Blasucci. “We recorded it with a bunch of our
friends in the house where we were living in a neighborhood that we
loved. The studio was right downstairs, so we had the freedom to try
all kinds of new ideas without any pressure or limitations. All the
other folks who lived in the house were musicians, too, so it made for
this communal atmosphere where everyone was always collaborating and
creating together.”
The freedom of living where they recorded meant that Mapache could
take their time experimenting with sounds and textures in the studio,
a far cry from the way the pair captured their self-titled debut,
which was cut live and raw around a single microphone. Praised by
Aquarium Drunkard as sounding like “a blazed up Everly Brothers”
and given a six-star review by UK magazine Shindig, that record helped
the band earn festival appearances from Hardly Strictly Bluegrass to
Pickathon, where Rolling Stone named their set one of the weekend’s
top highlights, as well as tour dates with Chris Robinson, Beachwood
Sparks, and Mandolin Orange among others. The Boston Globe hailed the
duo’s “intricate, intertwined acoustic guitar and close harmonies
wedded to simple, plainspoken lyrics,” while No Depression fell for
their “lilting melodies,” and Saving Country Music declared that
the pair “can fill up a room with more soul soaring harmony than
most symphonic assemblies.” The music also caught the attention of
veteran indie label Yep Roc Records, which recently reissued the
group’s debut album in advance of From Liberty Street’s arrival.
--
TIM HILL
A ladybug on a warm leaf, a lazy dog asleep on a diving board, a
thirsty LA scene wrapped in a tequila duvet. Tim Hill’s songs stall
you in a cul-de-sac of forever summer, offering all shades of sonic
blue, blurred Mexican mirages and the heavy velvet of a closing night.
Los Angeles born. Whittier grown. He translates what he knows; a
hometown where the Dodgers rule the roost, time carved out for slow
endeavors is paramount, and coffee is the blueprint for the day.
He seasoned his musical skillet as a keyboardist touring with artists
such as Nick Waterhouse, Curtis Harding and the Allah Las. In 2018, he
released a 45 entitled “Paris, Texas,” b/w a cover of Warren
Zevon’s “Steady Rain,” under the Allah Las’ label, Calico
Discos. His presence mirrors the soul of a weathered saguaro as he
pushes loveless notes through an apathetic ache. The audience sways to
the molasses and is given a glimpse of what it would be like to not
care.
Tim Hill’s full-length release, “Payador”, puts itself on the
villa’s shelf, painted with sounds of introverted West coast
visions. Some songs are fraught with above-the-palm tree vocals and
lonely harmonica solos while others park their front tire on top a
warm Hollywood curb. Its full throttle suburban shade, acoustic
strands of sun and that Spanish radio station floating from your
neighbors window.
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09/04/2020 Last update