Adobe & Teardrops: Episode 164

Hey, y’all! Welcome to episode 164 of Adobe & Teardrops! From now on, you can read the a transcript of the podcast on Adobe & Teardrops, and I’ll link to it in the show notes. 

My computer decided to pick a fight with me, so this one is super late and I won’t be doing an extended cut for Patreon subscribers cuz I just want to get this done. Sorry about that.

Photo by Beto Lopez

Passover is happening THIS Saturday, so let’s kick it off with Karen and the Sorrows’ “Walk Through the Desert,” though that’s technically about what happens after Exodus. This is from her 2017 album The Narrow Place.

(1:15) Karen and the Sorrows — “Walk Through the Desert” (The Narrow Place)

(6:05) Sunny War — “Like Nina” (Simple Syrup)

(10:34) Esther Rose — “Keeps Me Running” (How Many Times)

(14:31) The Wanted — “I Guess” (Strange Flight)

(18:26) We followed Karen up with Sunny War, whose album Simple Syrup comes out on Friday. I reviewed it in No Depression, so you can click through to that in the show notes. I love how Sunny’s compositions feel so fragile and…inexorable. That was “Like Nina.” Then we got into Esther Rose’s album, also out Friday, called How Many Times. We listened to “Keeps Me Running.” We closed it out with veteran Canadian roots rock band The Wanted, off their album — also out Friday — Strange Flight. The song was called “I Guess” and they have a cool Tom Waits thing going on, so check them out. 

Up next, is my album of the week: Miko Marks’ Our Country is truly a testament to what country music can sound like when we expand our definitions of it. Spoiler alert: it’s so much better. This album came to Marks in a dream several years after she gave up on Nashville when it pushed her out. You can read my interview with her by clicking on the link in the show notes or in the transcript. Our Country is a tour de force of classic country, soul, and their meeting place. We’ll begin with the first track off the album, “Ancestors.” 

(19:39) Miko Marks — “Ancestors”(Our Country)

(24:08) Josh Hoyer & Soul Colossal — “Changing” (Natural Born Hustler)

(32:52) Kris Angelis — “Meet You In Our Dreams” (Single) 

(36:00) We kept the party going with Josh Hoyer & Soul Colossal’s new album Natural Born Hustler and the song “Changing.” Then, we disappeared into Kris Angelis’ “Meet You In Our Dreams.” 

For our last full set, we’ll dig into some bluegrass and classic country. We’ll get a different sort of party going with The Armadillo Paradox, a goofy Texas bluegrass band that reminds me of The Refreshments, and you’ll soon see why with “Eyes Like Stars” off of Out of Gas in Oil Country. As a note, there’s also a song you need to hear on there called “Reincarnated Werewolf Astronaut.”

Speaking of Arizona, we’ll also jump into Chevel Shepherd’s EP Everybody’s Got a Story. Shepherd was a contestant on The Voice and is from New Mexico…and you’ll hear both of that very strongly in the title track. 

(37:14) The Armadillo Paradox — “Eyes Like Stars” (Out of Gas in Oil Country) 

(40:24) Chevel Shepherd — “Everybody’s Got a Story” (Everybody’s Got a Story)

(43:13) Dave Wilbert — “It’s All Yours” (Single) 

(46:00) One Way Traffic — “Good Thing” (Single)

(50:26) That was Dave Wilbert’s classic story of guy meets girl, girl scams guy: “It’s All Yours,” the Nashville artist’s new single. We ended the set out with St. Louis-based bluegrass band One Way Traffic and their single “Good Thing.”

Before we close it out, check out all the cool t-shirts and hats you can get on Adobe & Teardrops.com. You can also support the podcast through my Ko-Fi or Patreon! Patreon subscribers get hidden tracks, they get to vote on their favorite songs, and they get a discount on merch! You can be like them!

Thanks as always to Alma Contra for the intro, and Two Cow Garage for letting us use “Stars and Gutters.”

Lastly, we’ll close things out with a little J-Rock. This is Dada Gaugin’s single, “Haru no Hi,” which means “spring day.”

(51:24) DADA GAUGIN — “Haru no Hi” (Single)

Podcast intro by Alma Contra, music from Two Cow Garage’s “Stars & Gutters”
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