New Ruins – “The Sound They Make” (2007)

Just downloaded this from Emusic.  In many ways, ‘The Sound They Make’ is a little too cosily close to the acoustic guitars/rough-hewn harmonies, skeletal pedaled piano and cello territory that marks out so many ‘elegant’ Americana bands.  But when it’s done so well, it’s irresistible.  “Ships” kicks the record off at a deceptive rush.  “Your Ghost” might be almost too self-consciously ‘entrancing’ if it didn’t succeed so well.  The songs are uniformly short, sharp and to the point, reminiscent of Wheat in the hazy atmospheres they evoke. This one’s a keeper.

MySpace page

Blood Meridian – “Kick Up The Dust” (2006)

Blood Meridian are part of the rambling Seattle collective including Pink Mountaintops and Black Mountain. You can think of them as characters from Near Dark, with Black Mountain as redneck biker vampire from hell Severen (the Bill Caxton character). Diamondback would be the creepily feminine Pink Mountaintops. Blood Meridian are pretty damn creepily masculine, of course, and line up neatly with the 150 year old leader of the gang, Jesse, played by the godlike Lance Henriksen.

“Blood Meridian” showcases the Mountains crew in dissolute Stones circa 68-72 mode and they wear it well. Going by recent press, Keith Richards would approve of the sentiments of songs like ‘Kick up the dust’ (“Kick up the dust/Kick up the dust/It’s only the bones of our friends”) . The ambience is suitably dusty and dank at the same time (a desert of black rain?).

It’s not a great record, but it’s a good one and I’ve playing it a lot. Samples etc at Blood Meridian’s site. There’s bound to be a MySpace page but I can’t be arsed to go look for it. The backgrounds always give me a migraine.