What does it take to get my attention these days? The following sentence:
Centered around Megan Hickey's achingly plaintive voice and mournful lap steel, The Last Town Chorus trades in sad, slow-burn country vibes with enough spaciness to achieve low orbit.
That one line from a post at the always excellent Chromewaves sent me to eMusic where the debut album from The Last Town Chorus was available for download. As much as I love the look and feel (scratch-n-sniff) of an album, I thrive on the immediacy of downloading music: Change Your Mind (mp3)
From an article in Dusted Magazine online:
Megan Hickey may be the first person inspired to start a band in order to realize country’s affinity with polished ‘80s dream-pop. “Standing in my living room on 4th Avenue in Brooklyn,” Hickey recalls, “I had a sudden and certain feeling about a musical sound – the push of solid ethereal pop (a la Cocteau Twins’ Heaven or Las Vegas) and the pull of country songs, all doused in the feeling of life in New York City.”
It is not surprising that their cover of Culture Club's "Do you really wanna hurt me?" (mp3) is amazing.
Their new album Wire Waltz is only available overseas at the moment but is scheduled to be released in North America this March.
When I did I become someone who listens to country music? Maybe I just needed to find the right musician to spark my interest. I used to loathe country music. Of course, my music collection at this time consisted of mostly Madonna, Bobby Brown, and the rest is even more embarrassing. Now, I do not hesitate to listen music I would describe as country or alt-country. Lap steel. Twang. "Three chords and the truth." I love it.
Sounds good.
Posted by: Lisa | Saturday, 06 January 2007 at 03:28 PM
I went to see The Last Town Chorus tonight. Great show. It was at a little place in where I had never been. It was pretty small with not many people there so it was an intimate show. Thanks for the heads up on this band.
Posted by: Lisa | Sunday, 28 January 2007 at 10:20 PM
I found your blog post when I was Googling this band after finally seeing them live at SXSW Music Festival in Austin, TX (which is odd, because I live in NYC like they do - I just haven't been in town when they've performed). First heard them on Grey's Anatomy last season and wondered ever since. Anyway, the girl who sings and plays lap-steel guitar was awesome - intriguing. I guess that Jon Pareles from the New York Times was also at the SXSW show because he talks about the show in his journal about SXSW: http://www.nytimes.com/ref/arts/music/sxsw-journal.html -- well deserved. Downloaded the new album Wire Waltz, and absolutely love it - it's on endless repeat in my car (I drive around for a living). Later --Greg.
Posted by: Greg D | Friday, 23 March 2007 at 02:50 PM