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The reviews of Dan Bryk’s Pop Psychology are trickling in, but they’re pretty enthusiastic thus far:
“A strong candidate for best album of the year. Dan Bryk’s new cd is a triumph of intelligence and wit, an oasis in a world full of idiots. [50 Best Albums of 2009]” –Lucid Culture
“…a Clipse for Burt Bacharach fans, peddling witty cynicism like crack. Pop Psychology adds up to an acerbic but ultimately forgiving snapshot of the mercurial musical world Bryk inhabits. [7.4/10]” –Pitchfork
“…a treasure that few will unearth, but one that will be held tight by all that take the time to listen. I know that sounds like hyperbole, and maybe it is, but there is something precious about how Bryk sees the world that has raised him up only to drag him down.” –Hero Hill
“…each clever turn of phrase, jangly guitar, layer of odd instrumentation, and overdubbed vocal is a revelation. And with every release he continues to upgrade, update, and redefine what is possible from the simple pop song.” –songs:Illinois
 
La lucha continua. 

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Dan Bryk‘s long-delayed, tortured-epic-as-pop-record Pop Psychology is available for streaming and download at downloads.bryk.com RIGHT NOW.

And the REALLY crazy part is, thanks to either the recession, a desire for web 2.0-ness, slavish devotion to Radiohead, submission to the right brain or whatever crazy rationale(s) Mr. Bryk might have up his sleeve, he’s gone and made the entire album available for FREE for a limited time (we’d prefer to think of it as “pay what you can”, which in fact, you very easily may.)  Pop Psychology will be available on all normal download services next month, but here’s your chance to listen (and spread the word) early…

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“In addition to being a great songwriter, Amy Allison is also one of the funniest performers around. Once she gets going it pretty much steamrolls from there, but this time out, playing solo for most of the show, she basically stuck to the set list without a lot of interplay with the crowd. Instead, it was a night of masterfully crafted, minute inflections that packed a wallop: she can say more with the careful twist of a phrase than most singers can in an album’s worth of songs…” for more follow the link: 

http://lucidculture.wordpress.com/2009/06/02/concert-review-amy-allison-at-banjo-jims-nyc-53009/

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Worldwide Praise for Luke’s Jackson’s …And Then Some continues to pour in…

“…an eloquent, expressive set that exudes both confidence and an enthusiasm that’s downright infectious. Jackson’s drive and desire race at full throttle. And yet, in those moments of sublime repose, where the strings swell and the emotions soar, he demonstrates an intrinsic taste, craft and intelligence that affirm his natural pop pedigree. “It’s only January, but it’s not too early to declare … And Then Some one of the most significant discoveries of the year.” 9/10
– Lee Zimmerman, Blurt

“I had never heard of Luke Jackson before but today he is the smartest man alive!”
– What To Wear During An Orange Alert
Interview

“The sweet guitar fills, the cascading harmonies, Jackson’s happy as heck vocals — it’s all here, a complete pop package.”
– Mike Bennett, Hablo Ennui

“Wer auf knackigen Pop-Rock und atmosphärische, melancholische Kleinode steht, der wird hier bestens bedient.”
– Markus Kerren, rocktimes.de

“Sounding something like Teenage Fanclub if they were lost in Scandinavia and developed a taste for string sections …And Then Some is power pop paradise that’s as lush as it is poppy. With lush, delicate arrangements, the tender moments on …And Then Some become even more poignant and emotional…”A Little Voice,” is a perfect example of this as Luke Jackson gently plucks his guitar to a harmonizing string arrangement that makes the song so hauntingly fragile that it sounds as if the song might just break. Songs like these are intimate heartfelt breathers that show Luke Jackson to be in touch with his soul; they truly are stunning songs.”

– Paul Zimmerman, First Coast News 

“Från de här förtsättningarna får vi helt enkelt en snygg, nittiotalsinspirerad britpopplatta med snygga arrangemang”
– Petter Seander, Red Hot Rock Magazine

“Instantly catchy choruses and plenty of dreamy harmonies. This is a expressive album that wears it’s heart on it’s sleeve. Fans of Bleu, Jeff Lynne, Canadian or Swedish power pop will flip for Luke Jackson. Just an excellent album that touches the spectrum of emotions. 8/10
-Aaron Kupferberg, powerpopaholic.com

“A Little Voice is the kind of affecting rumination that would resonate widely (instead of just deeply) if only some enterprising song wrangler were to place it over the closing scene to a Grey’s Anatomy episode.” 
– John Sakamoto, Toronto Star

Continue reading →

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We all use numbers, every day.

Like today, since Bull City are on the Raleigh News & Observer‘s list of 8 Great Triangle Bands To Watch in 2008.

Quoth the N&O’s David Menconi: “There is much to admire about Bull City, particularly ex-Dillon Fence drummer Scott Carle’s time-keeping, guitarist John Kurtz’s effortless playing and the overall level of songcraft. But the most impressive part is how well the pieces fit together on Bull City’s debut mini-album, ‘Guns & Butter,’ a mixture of jingle-jangle catchiness and blues-rock whomp…”

Read the rest of the review, watch a video interview, listen to a pair of tracks from Guns & Butter or just download the nifty wallpaper pictured above at the N&O site

And speaking of late reviews, Lee Feldman‘s 2007 platter I’ve Forgotten Everything received the prestigious Five Bagels (with whitefish) rating in a lengthy review at Lucid Culture yesterday.

“Impeccably and tersely produced, this album has cult classic written all over it. Shame on us for taking so long to review it. Five bagels. With whitefish. Because it’s full of mercury and makes you forget everything.” Read more…

(See, we didn’t make that particular ratings metric up.)

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Urban Myth artistes Bull City and Dan Bryk have both been voted by the music writers of the Raleigh Independent to The Triangle’s best 35 songs of 2007 list: Bull City for their epic track Game and Bryk for his quasi-jingle Discount Store.

This dropkicks ’em alongside many of our local faves: Bowerbirds, Future Kings of Nowhere, Hammer No More The Fingers, Red Collar, Schooner, and (winner of the UM office pool for best band name of 2007) I Was Totally Destroying It. Yaaaaay to everyone who didn’t make the list too.

Download the mixtape of all 35 tracks here and discover why they still call Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill “not a bad place for music.”

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Bryk’s interview with Shelagh Rogers will actually be on the air the morning of Labour Day Monday, Sept. 3rd, not Friday 31st as previously noted here.

Bryk has a nice little article in this week’s Toronto Eye Weekly.

Review of Discount Store (and a stream) in last week’s Indy

A Discount Store review, this one from the Daily Tar Heel’s Diversions Blog. (Dan will be playing the Diversions Party at Local 506 with Schooner and Red Collar September 29th.)

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Already the hardest working band around the office, Bull City will celebrate the release of their debut UM release Guns & Butter with an epic summerlong tour of NC. They will play not one, but TWO CD release shows–one for Chapel Hill, one for Durham. We’ve been teasing them that they’d better get a Raleigh show in there for the trifecta.

Here’s a show preview/G&B capsule review from this week’s Independent Weekly Music Worth Leaving the House for:

Former Ashley Stover Jim Brantley’s been working on Bull City for three years, and their first proper relase, Guns & Butter, pays waiting-game dividends. Brantley brings a range and finesse to his songwriting uncharacteristic of freshman efforts, capitalizing on sharp, guitar-forged hooks and tastefully built harmonies. Like Cracker sharpening Countrysides to a not-ironic gleam or—better yet—an album-rock suckler whose sense of song and like of jangle survived a career as an indie rockist, Bull City gets smart, efficient pop about right. It’s not hard to conceptualize Bull City as the Connells or Roman Candle of, yeah, the Bull City. Free/ 10 p.m. —Grayson Currin

And from Ross Grady of trianglerock.com and alt.music.chapel-hill:

Bull City are just about to release their debut album, and it’s a good ‘un. Early demos sounded like a pop band in search of an angle, but in the year or so since, they’ve found their footing & have recorded a great record of southern country-rock that starts out all Crazy Horse, but then veers into weirdo smartass Alex Chilton/Big Star territory, to great effect.

Here’s the dates: Continue reading →

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Bryan Reed of the Daily Tar Heel writes:

“It’s been said (too much probably) that you can never really go home. But cliched and pessimistic proverbs don’t stand in the way of Bull City’s effort to craft a record that harks back to country-bred classic rock.

The result of that effort is the seven-track EP Guns & Butter. At times, the relatively new band lays the twang on a bit too heavy (”Ford Ranger All American”), but when the band hits its groove with a rootsy, retro, and most importantly, rocking variety of Americana rock ‘n’ roll, as on the guitar fueled “Game” or the poppy, jangly “Easy.”

Though relatively new as a band, Bull City is built on the talents of music veterans from acts including Dillon Fence and My Dear Ella. And flanked with additional support from the likes of Dan Bryk, Schooner’s Kathryn Johnson and Megan Culton, and Mark Paulson of Ticonderoga and Bowerbirds, Guns & Butter is a debut album from a seasoned band, one that generally knows what works. So when Bull City tries on a little rockabilly with “Sally,” it doesn’t feel forced, just unexpected.

The EP proves Bull City to be a band fully capable of producing solid rock music, one that is welcome into Durham’s increasingly relevant music community.

David Menconi of the Raleigh News & Observer suggests:

“This weekend has a trio of album-release shows from some of the area’s finest bands. Jim Brantley’s Bull City unveils “Guns & Butter” (Urban Myth Recordings), an album featuring veritable truckloads of killer guitars, tonight at Durham’s 305 South.”

Rich Ivey of the Independent opines:

“Like the sonically similar Wilco, Durham’s Bull City melds the pop cognizance of Alex Chilton, the face-peeling passion of Neil Young and the empirical studio slight-handedness of Jim O’Rourke. And while Ex-Ashley Stove and Bull City guitarist/vocalist Jim Brantley certainly wanders the same hook-laden turf as Jeff Tweedy, he isn’t emulating. Instead, Bull City’s first EP (barring an early CD-R), Guns & Butter, is a stunning execution of how rewarding Southern music can be when next-generation indie rockers gaze at the Archers and Allmans with equal admiration.

Over seven tracks, Guns & Butter tastefully twists styles through Brantley’s cultured songwriting and penchant for harmonies and licks. The band ebbs between swaggering hard rock, country-fried pop and delicately orchestrated arrangements, only falling short for five of the EP’s 30 minutes. Goofy saloon stomp ballad “Sally” breaks its forming momentum, but upbeat tracks like “Game,” “Everything Falls Apart” and “Knock It Down” soar with fine hooks and standout instrumentation. Bandmates Lance Westerlund, John Kurtz and Scott Carle prove essential. Slower tracks “Easy” and “Runnin'” are both lyrically and musically mature, offering some of the EP’s strongest and most dynamic moments. Ass-kicking opener “Ford Ranger All American” includes the line “I’ve got a double-barrel in my doublewide/ It ain’t about livin’ on cinderblocks, it’s ’bout American pride.” Is there a Grammy for kicking ass?

Guns & Butter is too good not to transform Bull City from another local ex-member band into a crucial part of the Triangle’s music scene. It’s not a stellar local debut. It’s a stellar release.”

Bull City plays their CD release tomorrow, Friday, May 18, at 9 p.m. at 305 South, with a solo set by The Old Ceremony’s Django Haskins and Charlotte’s The Sammies

More Bull City shows: Continue reading →

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We couldn’t help but note that Chris Warren’s Hole on Bloor St. (from Crazy Wisdom) is on two Canadian iTunes Essentials collections, Toronto iTunes Essentials (under Next Steps), and Cross Canada Backroads (under Deep Cuts).

Bryk better get his ass in gear and get Spadina Expressway back on the iTunes… although it was recently cited on in a Paved.ca blog elegy for Jane Jacobs.