Another thing I really like about Rolling Stone is their magazine installment, Artist To Watch. One of their recent installments reminded me that I forgot to mention a great band on the HearYa Top 25 albums of the year. So before I continue, I would like to offer my apologies to Oakley Hall because they easily should have made our top 25 and I simply forgot to mention. So go the perils of having infant twins.

All I can picture when I listen to Oakley Hall is a rather bohemian bunch piling out of an Old VW van into some run down honky-tonk, plugging in their hand-me-down instruments and tearing the place down. Oakley Hall released two albums in ‘06, Second Guessing and Gypsum Strings. They are unique and very different from one another, and they are both fantastic.

Oakley Hall’s first release of ‘06, Second Guessing, had me thinking of The Band’s collaboration with Emmylou Harris on The Last Waltz. The vocals are shared by Patrick Sullivan and Rachel Cox. The harmonies mesh well with the extensive fiddle and banjo that are present throughout the album. Cox reminds me of a young Donna Godchaux in that she is able to sing so effortlessly with a male lead and deliver the goods on her own as well.

While the whole album is strong from start to finish, my favorite is “Landlord”, a song where Sullivan tells of how his “father’s father’s father” escaped execuction at the gallows. Claudia Mogel’s fiddle blazes away throughout this song to lend the feel of Sullivan sitting on a porch with his grandkids as he tells him about his pappy’s gran-pappy. His lyrical story-telling will remind you of DBT.

While Second Guessing is more alt-country in nature, Gypsum Strings kicks you square in the teeth right from the onset. Greeted with a rumbling bass line and a whole shitload of distorted guitar, I almost thought I had downloaded the wrong album when I first listened to it. Ah, but then Sullivan and Cox practically jump out of their skin, belting out the first lines of “Confidence Man” and you know you have found a phenomenal band able to run amok through all pre-conceived genre labeling.

If “Confidence Man” and the third song of the disc, “Lazy Susan” don’t make you stand up and take notice, then you are either dead or a Yanni fan. The rest of the album blurs any label you could give them.

So again, my thanks to Rolling Stone for reminding me of my egregious error of leaving Oakley Hall out of our top 25.

From Gypsum Strings:

Oakley Hall - Lazy Susan MP3

Oakley Hall - Living in Sin in the USA MP3

From Second Guessing:

Oakley Hall - Landlord MP3

Oakley Hall - Eyes, Lock and Steel MP3

If you’re familiar with his surfing, then you’re probably familiar with his music which is enjoying a rising swell of another kind. But those not plugged into the surfing world might not have heard Timmy Curran’s unplugged offerings.

A popular and heavily sponsored professional surfer (more accomplished than fellow surfer/musician contemporaries Jack Johnson and Donavon Frankenreiter), Timmy has, like friends Jack and Donavon, paddled into the music lineup catching some rave reviews. TC’s six-song EP Citsuca is available on iTunes (among other places) and worthy of a listen if and when you are in the mood for something on the mellow side.

Originally recorded, in part, to accompany a surf documentary, this EP is a soothing selection of acoustic songs without pretense or polish. The simplicity and sincerity of the music is refreshing, with vocals reminiscent of Paul Simon. It seems the Foo Fighters agree, as almost overnight Timmy Curran went from coffee shops to opening for some of the Foo’s West Coast tour stops (as well as some shows abroad). A full length album is apparently expected from Curran this summer. In the meantime, check out Citsuca. If it’s good enough for Grohl and crew, it may be good enough for you.

Timmy Curran - Comatose

Timmy Curran - Daylights Comin

Timmy Curran - Horses on the Range

Timmy Curran - Blue Eyes

Timmy Curran - Trouble

Timmy Curran - Dream

The Early Years are a British threesome that will be releasing their self-titled debut in the States come January on Beggars Banquet. This is a trippy and spacey album that cooks right from the onset. David Malkinson and Roger Mackin (both on guitar) demonstrate their talents without stepping each others toes. The guitars are layered in feedback and distortion but not to the point where its just noise for the sake of being noise.

The great thing about them is that while they are being creative and experimental; it’s not to the point where the music is out of reach for the average person. I found it very easy to connect with the first time and each listen has been a treat. The disc ebbs and flows in such a peaceful manner that you ease from atmospheric portions into the extended jams without missing a beat. It all just feels so natural and organic.

The lead number, “All Ones and Zeros,” has been getting a steady diet of airplay in the UK, including a Nike commerical. Kinda kicks in like something off the last Built To Spill disc. Actually, if you enjoy losing yourself in Built To Spill or The Secret Machines, this is right up your alley. Enjoy!

The Early Years - All Ones and Zeros MP3