Mirah “The Old Days Feeling”

K Records

The Old Days Feeling retains that tender personal bedroom quality of her previous work that seems to mark all K artists in some way, and Mirah in particular. Mirah also retains her songwriting strength while widening her sonic palette.

“Slighted” dresses up a melancholy message with vintage reggae instrumentation. Like the old rhythm and blues sound of early Desmond Dekker and Toots, Mirah flexes the Jah muscle with ease and authenticity. “Don’t” brings the Phil Spector girl-group feel to the Dub Narcotic studio style and is the most obvious “hit” sounding track on the record. It’s the kind of song that’ll have you hopping on your vintage bike to trek down to the diner for a milkshake. “Don’t Go” kicks in heavier than we’re used to hearing Mirah, employing a power drenched chord ascension. It then transitions to the more familiar tender tone of a romantic plea that makes the case that her love is in danger of faltering when they’re not together.

It’s the only entrance of a truly heavy track. “Lone Star” uses Texan metaphors to describe the size and impact of the story’s muse in a mythic and tragic way. The clamoring refrain is infectious and seems to be in the tradition of songs like “Gigantic”.

Mirah’s songs put sexuality, love, confusion, and emotional gentility constantly side-by-side. She translates the complexity of any situation with ease and reminds you how much deeper a person’s feelings run than most art. She also explores sexuality not only from the point of experience but also culturally and socially, bravely putting herself in different shoes to see what it’s like. Like many great K artists, Mirah can weave a near-nursery rhyme with subversive sonic power and modern adult issues while retaining the sting of simplicity. She has the ability to make you truly feel like no other record you have could ever be as honest as this one.

Originally published in Impose Magazine it can be view here.

Calvin Johnson & The Sons Of The Soil

S/T
K

Calvin Johnson has always been a huge proponent of community ideals. With K Records, he’s supported and incubated many talented groups in and around his geographical haunt of Olympia, Washington. He’s best known for his staunchly independent ideals, but it’s his fostering and enabling of all that cross his path, that make his influence expand beyond his own music. This pro-community vibe has never seemed more present than it does in his current outing with The Sons Of Soil that is comprised of a K all-star list. Jason Anderson, Kyle Field of Little Wings, and Adam Forkner of Yume Bitsu fill out the Sons line-up. He’s not only part of the music scene he’s had such an impact on, that music scene is now represented in his band. The idea behind this record came from Jason Anderson and Khaela Maricich of The Blow. They wondered what it would be like to assemble a group to play Calvin’s best songs from over the years. The result doesn’t sound like a greatest hits record but more like a collection of old friends knocking around some off-center standards after a night around the campfire. The S.O.S. deftly morph from the jukebox go-go of “Lies Goodbye,” to the café spoken word of “Cattle Call Pt. 1”, from the raw attack of “Tummy Hop,” to the light folk-rock of “Love Travels Faster,” and the indie-funk of “Banana Meltdown.” The Sons Of The Soil version of “Sand” is the most enjoyable re-working of classic Calvin. All these tracks offer something new that make lack that special quality in the character of the originals, but the vibe of friends playing music together comes through in ways that haven’t been present since the days of Beat Happening.

Originally published in Impose Magazine.