Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson is playing at Schubas this Friday, January 16th and we’ve got a pair of tickets to givaway.‚ He’s on the bill with All the Saints, Colourmusic, and Cursive, all of which I’m completely unfamiliar with, but‚ I’m still loving Miles’ debut album from last year and am looking forward to seeing him in person.
If you want the tix, just email us at freeshit@hearya.com with “Miles” in the subject line. If you win, you’ll get your name on the guest list with a +1 at the door.
MBAR is also performing in-store at Reckless Records on 3161 N. Broadway on 1/17 at 1pm in case you can’t make the Schubas show. And if you miss that, we’ve got you covered with an upcoming live session.
We’re knee deep into the top 25 albums of 2008 and this batch features two bands from Alive Records – Left Lane Cruiser and Hacienda. The Rural Alberta Advantage was arguably our biggest surprise of the year, building buzz with nothing more than their music – no label, no publicist.‚ ‚ The Morning Benders and Sam Champion were both in our live session studio, so make sure to check out those tracks if you have a few extra seconds.
21. The Morning Benders – Talking Through Tin Cans (our review)
The Bay Area quartet have hints of The Beatles, a dash of Pet Sounds sound, and a little Zombies tossed in for good measure. Thankfully they don’t come off as cheap imitators and instead put forth an excellent effort. A good shot of melodic California pop.
A step down from The Stage Names, but that was to be expected. You’ll find a few gems – just not the transcendent album that its predecessor was. Okkervil’s b-sides are still good enough to land in the top 25.
Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys produced this album and is preparing his solo tour with Hacienda as his backing band. Dr. Dog performs backing vocals on the album. It’s safe to say that they have the seal of approval from some of music’s finest.
29. Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson – Self Titled (our review)
MBAR was homeless and strung out on drugs before cleaning up and focusing on music. The result is folk album with his signature lazy, organic vocal delivery.
Best appreciated in a live setting, Black Mountain perform amazingly good psychedelic rock songs that either punch you in the face or get you in a slow groove.
My Dad always says “never trust a man with two first names.” He never said anything about three first names. I guess Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson is either a gentleman or Satan in flesh.
I’ve been in and out of following baseball this year, but the story of Josh Hamilton is astonishing. The guy was homeless, hooked on crack and down about 90 pounds off his playing weight before turning his life around and finding his way back into major league baseball. Now he’s batting over .300 with 32 home runs and a .543 slugging percentage. Oh, and he leads the league in RBI’s.
Why, Oz, are you talking baseball? Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson was in a similar situation before clawing his way out of addiction. He’s only 24 years old, but was homeless and sleeping on park benches in Coney Island. Thankfully, he got clean enough to put out this folk inspired album that now has me addicted.
The tracks below will give you a good sense of the entire body of work. MBAR’s sound is not clean and tidy.‚ His delivery is lazy and organic, like the old guy at the end of the bar that mutters somewhat incoherently to himself after 6 or 7 brown colored cocktails. The more you listen, however, the more sense he makes. “Buriedfed” leads off and it’s one of those tracks that make it difficult to move through the rest of the album. Eventually you will and you’ll find yourself craving its imperfections. I’m already regretting writing this review because two weeks from now, I’ll see the full beauty of the album and know that I didn’t do it justice.
