The 7th Plain

The crusaders' dilemma is clearly exemplified in the song Seigneur, saichies by Thibaut de Champagne. "He who does not leave at once for the land where Christ loved and died, and takes the cross … will hardly go to paradise" and yet in the words of another song by Thibaut "God, why did you create foreign countries? It has parted many lovers who have lost comfort of love and forgotten its joy." There was, though, a joy greater than this: "It is good to be God's servant, and not to be touched by danger or chance; Serve well and be rewarded well." (Conon de Bethune). It is still, even at a distance of 800 years very touching to read these words and to hear these songs; they retain a strong quality, which, in these performances, is captured very well.

Folds’ masterful new collection, What Matters Most, isn’t so much a statement as it is an offering, an open hand reaching out to all those wounded and bewildered by a world that seems to make less and less sense every day. Recorded in East Nashville with co-producer Joe Pisapia, the album marks Folds’ first new studio release in eight years, and it’s a bold, timely, cinematic work, one that examines the tragic and the absurd in equal measure as it reckons with hope and despair, gratitude and loss, identity and perspective. The songs are bittersweet here, hilarious at times, but often laced with a quiet sense of longing and dread: a text message goes unanswered; an old classmate descends into the dark depths of internet conspiracies; a relationship unravels in the middle of a lake. And yet, taken as a whole, the result is an undeniably joyful record that refuses to succumb to the weight of the world around it, an ecstatic reminder of all the beauty and promise hiding in plain sight for anyone willing (and present enough) to recognize their moments as they arrive.

Pelican, the instrumental quartet whose singular vision of heavy music eschews classification, have announced their first full length in six years, Nighttime Stories, is due June 7th via Southern Lord Recordings.

Martin was buried on 11 November 397 in Tours. The saint, already famous throughout all of Gaul, had died three days earlier in Candes, at the confluence of the Vienne and the Loire rivers. According to Gregory of Tours, Martin’s distant 7th-century successor, when the inhabitants of Touraine brought back his body by boat, the riverbanks began to bloom again in the course of this first ‘Saint Martin summer’.

Acoustic blues that will take you back to the crossroads. Follow up to a 4 time winner of the JPFolks "Best Blues Album of the Year" awards. This is Mark Cook's 7th CD release. Born into a musical family, multi-talented electric blues guitarist Mark Cook grew up on the road, touring North America with his parents, who billed themselves as the Dale & Vicki Duo. Cook inherited his parents' gift and passion for music, namely the blues, and set out to become a serious musician after settling in Indiana at age 15. Since then, Cook furthered his masterful command of the guitar and also taught himself bass, piano, and production. Over time, he constructed a professional recording studio in his home, where he engineered, produced, and recorded his debut CD, An Evening With the Blues, in 2000. The album won acclaim, particularly from Just Plain Folks, a large music-industry organization, who voted it Best Blues Album of the Year 2001.