Reclaiming and Reinventing Country-Rock
By John Schacht Kenny Roby leads a host of Carolina bands turning to country sounds and storytelling for inspiration again Like pilgrims to hallowed ground, they come to country music by many roads: via the vintage catalogs of forebears Carter, Cash and Williams, and through earlier generations of punk rockers like X, Jason & the
The Golden Age of N.C. Twang-Rock
By Peter Blackstock “Several months and three issues into the existence of this magazine, it’s becoming fairly clear to me that if indeed the No Depression community has a home base at the moment — a geographic region that seems unusually rich in alternative-country acts, in terms of both quantity and quality — it’s North Carolina.” That was the first
Rock Hill: No Need to Leave
By Jordan Lawrence As arts scenes go, Rock Hill is in a weird position. With just more than 66,000 people — according to the 2010 census — it’s the fifth largest city in South Carolina. But it’s spaced between two larger cities in Charlotte (30 minutes to the north) and Columbia (one hour to the south), meaning the burg’s population has ample
The Insider: Mount Moriah’s Heather McEntire on Lessons Learned in a Song
“Telling the Hour” has been with Heather McEntire for a long time. She wrote what would become the epic closer to Miracle Temple, the stunning sophomore effort from Durham’s Mount Moriah, back in 2004. Since then she has played it at intimate acoustic gigs, tried to include it as a stripped-back changeup for her now inactive post-punk trio Bellafea, and finally resurrected it as a cathartic hallmark for
Now Hear This: Editors’ Picks (Spring ’13)
Rare is a second record that so purposefully builds on the strengths of its predecessor. Bolstering the percolating electro-folk of Baobab’s self-titled debut, Durham’s Phil Torres infuses his self-produced constructions with stronger melodic hooks and an even more meticulous array of charming effects. The instrumental offering “Thohoyandou” builds by way of Torres’ typical Graceland-inspired picking and afrobeat backing vocals,
Of Sounds and Sales: The Foreign Exchange Music
In past issues, Shuffle has spilled a lot of ink gushing about some of the great independent record labels that call the Carolinas home. Everybody knows about the Grammy-winning, chart-topping successes of Durham’s Merge Records, but this region hosts a wide array of imprints pursuing unique artistic missions and making it work at various levels of output and profit. Between the cost of recording and pressing
Of Sounds and Sales: Sorry State Records
In past issues, Shuffle has spilled a lot of ink gushing about some of the great independent record labels that call the Carolinas home. Everybody knows about the Grammy-winning, chart-topping successes of Durham’s Merge Records, but this region hosts a wide array of imprints pursuing unique artistic missions and making it work at various levels of output and profit. Between the cost of
Of Sounds and Sales: Three Lobed Recordings
In past issues, Shuffle has spilled a lot of ink gushing about some of the great independent record labels that call the Carolinas home. Everybody knows about the Grammy-winning, chart-topping successes of Durham’s Merge Records, but this region hosts a wide array of imprints pursuing unique artistic missions and making it work at various levels of output and profit. Between the cost of recording and pressing
Of Sounds and Sales: Hearts & Plugs
In past issues, Shuffle has spilled a lot of ink gushing about some of the great independent record labels that call the Carolinas home. Everybody knows about the Grammy-winning, chart-topping successes of Durham’s Merge Records, but this region hosts a wide array of imprints pursuing unique artistic missions and making it work at various levels of output and profit. Between the cost of recording and pressing
Of Sounds and Sales: Paradise of Bachelors
In past issues, Shuffle has spilled a lot of ink gushing about some of the great independent record labels that call the Carolinas home. Everybody knows about the Grammy-winning, chart-topping successes of Durham’s Merge Records, but this region hosts a wide array of imprints pursuing unique artistic missions and making it work at various levels of output and profit. Between the cost of recording and pressing
Now Hear This: Shirlette Ammons’ Twilight for Gladys Bentley
Shirlette Ammons Twilight for Gladys Bentley (Grip Tapes) During the Harlem Renaissance of the 20s and 30s, gender-smashing blues growler Gladys Bentley sang bawdy versions of popular songs in the gay speakeasies of New York, dressed in a white tuxedo and top hat, sometimes backed by a chorus line in drag. More than 50 years after Bentley’s death, she has inspired the
Now Hear This: Estrangers’ Season of 1000 Colors
Estrangers Season of 1000 Colors (self-released) Sometimes, it only takes one record for a band to truly find themselves, one record that suddenly solves every issue that was holding them back. For Winston-Salem’s Estrangers, Season of 1000 Colors is that album. At 12 songs, it’s the first proper LP from the adaptable pop-rock ensemble and the first to receive a physical
Now Hear This: Hiss Golden Messenger’s Haw
Hiss Golden Messenger Haw (Paradise of Bachelors) Michael Taylor stands as the spout at the center of Hiss Golden Messenger, a motley and sterling crew of collaborators that exploits both the psychedelic and pastoral poles of what could aptly and reductively be summed folk-rock. On Haw, the second Hiss Golden Messenger album for Carrboro, N.C., label Paradise of Bachelors, Taylor couches the woes
