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viewing 1 To 5 of 5 items
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LP
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GONG 013LP
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2024 restock, originally released in 2009. "Michael Hurley is one of the last remaining ramblin' American folk troubadours. Hobo-ing around the country, making music since the days Bob Dylan first set foot in New York City's Gaslight club, Hurley recorded his first album for Moses Ash's legendary Folkways label in 1964 and continued to release albums for both Warner Brothers and Rounder. His mid-'70s Have Moicy! album was among the top ten for the decade selected by Rolling Stone magazine. While many of his contemporaries are long past their prime (or deceased), Hurley's muse is still intact. Hurley's songwriting talent hasn't gone unnoticed by a new generation of musicians. In recent years, he was invited to tour with alt-country heroes Son Volt and Lucinda Williams. He's also shared bills with Smog and Palace Brothers, played with the Giant Sand rhythm section, and has of course appeared with (and been covered by) Vetiver and appeared on their records. His songs have also been covered by indie stars Cat Power and Yo La Tengo, among others. So, the matter at hand, a new album of recordings sung and played by Hurley, backed by Ida, appropriately titled Ida Con Snock: Snock himself marvels at this 21st studio album, recorded at Levon Helms' studio in Woodstock, NY. Ida's less-is-more finesse shines on these rich recordings, melding perfectly with Hurley's playing and singing. Many of these songs are already well familiar to Hurley's devotees. There are seven originals and five loving covers of '50s rock 'n' roll, C&W, and vintage folk, each tune capturing Hurley and band at peak performance levels."
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LP
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GONG 007LP
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2024 restock. "Ancestral Swamp is the 20th full-length album by legendary rambler, cartoonist, 'outsider' folk singer, and guitarist Michael Hurley. It arrives just in the nick of time for the rabid Snockophile. A batch of new vittles and encores of some of his classic tunes, Ancestral Swamp bubbles with laid-back ease and tre-molodic goodness. Most songs have the simplest of arrangements: Hurley singing solo, accompanied by his guitar, Wurlizter organ, or fiddle. Tara Jane O'Neil helps lend a nice touch to 'El Dorado,' and Snock calls upon frequent past accomplices Dave Reisch and Louie Longmeyer for their graceful touch on sleepy winners like 'New River Blues' and 'Gamblin' Charlie.' As with all Hurley's albums, once one sets the needle down, one is put in a certain peace and place. His voice and songs are unique, shuffling with characters and visions clear and wild. With Ancestral Swamp, it seems Snock has left his front door open a bit wider than usual. If you lean in close, you can inhale a little of the vapor rising off the water, and enjoy a tale or two."
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CD
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GONG 014CD
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"You & Me is Kevin Barker's debut album, released by Gnomonsong. Though it's his first solo release under his own name, Barker's no newcomer to the scene -- he's spent the last few years recording, touring, and collaborating with Devendra Banhart, Joanna Newsom, Vashti Bunyan, Vetiver, Antony and the Johnsons, and Espers, to name just a few. Essentially acting as everyone's favorite sideman, Barker has influenced and helped create a sound with which this generation is happily familiar. During his college days, Barker became interested in the finger-style guitar playing of John Fahey and Bert Jansch and began to record under the name Currituck County. This solo project (sometime a duo with Vetiver / Espers drummer Otto Hauser) recorded albums for Teenbeat Records, Troubleman Unlimited, and the UK's Track and Field Organisation. Now Barker has assembled an unbelievable group of musicians for You & Me. Produced by Thom Monahan (Vetiver, Lilys, Gary Louris, Devendra Banhart), the album features Pat Sansone (Wilco), Joanna Newsom, Jonathan Wilson (Elvis Costello, Jenny Lewis), Eric Johnson (Shins, Fruit Bats), and Otto Hauser (Vetiver, Espers). Full of sunny, rural country rock, You & Me recalls the rustic grooves of The Band and The Grateful Dead, the heady melancholy of Roy Harper, and the golden harmonies of CSNY."
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GONG 004CD
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"Papercuts is Jason Quever's cathedral of sound, a place for the desperate worship of all things analog and devotion to the musicianship of the old world. His new album for Gnomonsong, Can't Go Back, is a marriage of timeless songs, richly textured studio sounds, classic rock/pop hookery, and focused narratives -- all delivered with Quever's warm voice and wonderfully layered melodies. The first formal Papercuts release, Mockingbird (2004), received a warm critical reception, earning four stars in Great Britain's Uncut. The song 'Pan American Blues' was a top-five download of the week on insound.com and the album rode the CMJ Top 200 for months. Before this, life was different. Raised in a commune in Humbolt County, Quever drifted up and down the West Coast, eventually making a home for himself in San Francisco. The seeds of Papercuts were sown in 2002 when he broke into a vacationing friend's apartment, eight-track in tow, to record piano tracks for Cass Mccombs' Not The Way. Ever since, Quever has kept busy, playing with and recording other friends' bands. He's collaborated with Casiotone For The Painfully Alone, The Skygreen Leopards, as well as Vetiver, and considers working intimately with such contemporary songwriters to be a significant influence."
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GONG 001CD
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First release on this new Devenda Banhart run label. "Jana Hunter is from Texas, the fifth of nine children. She played classical music throughout her youth, but that doesn't really explain why she writes such haunting songs. Hunter is one of those rare artists whose craft does its work on listeners before they even notice. Deceptively simple, clear and concise, these songs surround and envelop, seeping into the skin until they are a part of you. Blank Unstaring Heirs of Doom is a collection of songs written over the period of a decade. The album is a thirteen song 'best of,' recorded on four-tracks, two-tracks and computers, mostly in Texas and mostly alone."
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