H-Burns is French. H-Burns is Renaud Brustlein and friends. H-Burns has webpages that Google translates for me and that end up with funny little bits and pieces of English. H-Burns is about the best thing I’ve listened to in the last calendar year. Way back in November, “Horses With No Medals” was posted by Largehearted Boy (nice one!), and that song has occupied a little space in my head for a long time since. It’s a beautiful little piece of work, the kind of combination of lyrics and music that makes me want to learn how to play the guitar, the way that Neil Young’s “Thrasher” did the first time I heard it. Over at H’s Hinah session, you can pull a Dylan cover, a cover of Magnolia Electric Co.’s “Farewell Transmission,” and a few other covers besides the two originals available here. And at MySpace you can listen to How strange it is to be anything at all, Renaud’s latest full-length spin. I think I’ll go learn French next, in case there are any songs in the original; it’s that good.
Ox
Regarding that which we would term “Americana,” do they call it “Canadiana” in the land to the North? Just curious. Ox = American lo-fi alt country from Canada. They showed up on a nice little sampler from Weewerk that I’ve been listening to like a homemade mix-tape lately. My favorite among these tracks is probably “Transam,” which with its wavering vocals and shady narrative (not to mention the Bond-themed guitar solo) kind of reminds me of those Neil Young songs about drug shipments and getting burned. The thing is, download any of these freebies from Ox’s two albums and you’ll find great narratives wailed over stripped down simplicity. This time less is more.
Great Lake Swimmers
My wife and I are lately big fans of the parenting blog Sweet Juniper! The writers are Detroiters, they’re friends of 3hiver Jon, and they’re just funny. I even offered Dutch a guest writing gig after checking out his post on hip urban music. Anyway, they’ve got a few music suggestions on the site, very indie stuff for the most part, like Great Lake Swimmers. This up-and-coming Canadian band has a mellow sound full of rootsy influences, two good albums, and handful of music awards heralding them as the next big thing. Sweet! Thanks to the Juniper crew, and hopefully we’ll get them to visit here one day.