8 current artists carrying The Band's torch high

by Ivan Raczycki

March 20, 2014

0

0

0

0

0

Email this article to a friend

The Band were, well, THE BAND, man. They were four Canucks and one Arkansas cotton picker who somehow distilled and bottled the entire North American tradition into lush and muddy cuts of cosmic classic rock. They backed up The Hawk and Bob flippin’ Dylan. They were your high school music/english/history teacher’s favourite band, and your uncle’s too; he still covers “The Weight” every family Christmas. There hasn’t been a band that’s been The Band since… Man, didn’t I already say they were THE BAND?

But instead of being eternally relegated to Rolling Stone list ephemera, some folks still find the timelessness of their output—their Rock of Ages—and carry it forward. These artists and bands ain’t THE BAND, but they’re doing their good work. Your uncle would be stoked.

 

The Deep Dark Woods

Saskatchewan’s Deep Dark Woods may be the most obvious Band-worshippers of this bunch. They’ve been driving Dixie down for nearly a decade out in Saskatoon, tapping their Prairie-purgatory for lonely-sounding, country-influenced rock and roll. Jubilee took them into psych-ier territories, but their organ tones and tall tales still pulse pure Band.

 

My Morning Jacket

When Richard Manuel took his life in a Florida Quality Inn some 20-plus years ago, his spirit may have migrated over and into the body and voice of an eight-year-old Jim James, future frontman of My Morning Jacket. And it ain’t just James’ earth-shaking falsetto that’s passed over: MMJ play the same kind of smart, moving rock music that The Band created and championed for years. It’s no wonder ole Bobby D himself pegged MMJ for openers (along with adult-roots idols Wilco) for this summer’s past AmericanaramA Festival of Music Tour; heck, they’d even close sets with “The Weight. It Still Moves, indeed.

 

Iron & Wine

If you think Iron & Wine’s Sam Beam only put out that Postal Service cover from the Garden State soundtrack then went back to his bedroom, you’ve done a great disservice to your iTunes library. Beam and band have been turning his quiet, wordy reflections into technicolour expressions of the Deep South since collaborating with Calexico on 2005’s In the Reins. Like a South Carolina-born Robbie Robertson, Beam may sometimes seem too over-qualified or hyper-literate to accurately capture the oft-maligned red states, but last year’s criminally overlooked Ghost on Ghost showed just how beautiful these people and stories can be when dressed the right way.

 

First Aid Kit

If it seemed weird that four Canadian dudes could explore the history of America and folk tradition better than any actual American act of their era, it probably seems even weirder that two Swedish sisters can do the same thing today. But anyone and everyone who caught Johanna and Klara Söderberg cover fellow Band-fans Fleet Foxes’ “Tiger Mountain Peasant Song” could see how easily these two interpret the essence of Americana. They proved it 10 times over on 2012’s The Lion’s Roar, and will continue to prove it on both their upcoming third-LP and while backing Bright Eyes’ Conor Oberst on his next solo release—a perfect match for someone who’s been dubbed the next Dylan since he hit puberty.

 

Woods

Woods frontman Jeremy Earl has been tapping the energy of Woodstock’s legendary Big Pink homebase for years, letting bands and buds from his Woodsist label and beyond record either in the band’s Williamsburg-based Rear House Studios or his home out in Warwick, NY. Every album sounds cut from the same sessions that produced Dylan and the Band’s Basement Tapes bootlegs, only if the drugs were harder and laced like today’s chemical concoctions. Their new record With Light and With Love promises to feature “singing saw, heavier emphasis on percussion, and a saloon piano” so yeah I think the suit fits.

 

The Hold Steady

Like The Band, the Hold Steady are a rock and roll institution, and a great one at that, who, also like The Band, have a je ne sais quoi that propel them to a sacred place above the plodding, soulless rockers who continue to dominate FM dials. Frontman Craig Finn has a handle on a distinctly American human condition, albeit with a more personal bent than the grander bygone-focused Band. With the departure of Franz Nicolay, the Steady’s own Garth Hudson, some found their last record Heaven is Whenever closer to their radio rock rivals than anyone hoped for. However, next week’s Teeth Dreams seems to find the balance that fans and future rock and roll history book writers have been craving, guitar glory and storytelling in tact.

 

Doug Paisley

Speaking of Hudson, the multi-instrumentalist has been lending his talents to Canadian songwriter Doug Paisley’s past few records, most recently January’s wonderful Strong Feelings. Though Paisley plays a quieter, sparser brand of North Americana than The Band ever did (save “Whispering Pines” or “I Shall Be Released”), his collaborative nature (other pals and players include Mary Margaret O’Hara and Lesie Feist) echoes the Band’s flexibility and readiness to tackle whatever sound the situation called for. With Paisley’s warm warble and Hudson tinkering in the back, it sounds great.

 

Broken Social Scene

Even before they went into semi-retirement, catching Broken Social Scene live felt like watching The Last Waltz; the star power on display made every show a bona fide event. And though a wine-wasted, trumpet-playing Torquil Campbell may not hold the same gravitas as Neil Young’s coke-covered nostril, their spectacle’s cut of the same cloth. Both featured players bandying about the Canadian music scene, logging miles on their speedometer as bit-players before harnessing their collective energy into what would be their life’s best work. However, BSS has The Band beat when it comes to cultivating careers outside of their walls: releases from Metric, Stars, Do Make Say Think, Apostle of Hustle, Feist, and Kevin Drew (whose album Darlings dropped this week) have proved to be just as lasting and legendary as their parent project. Sure, BSS were a Band, but they weren’t just a Band.

Tags: Music, Lists, News, bob dylan, broken social scene, deep dark woods, First Aid Kit, My Morning Jacket, the band

0

0

0

0

0

Email this article to a friend