Here are two self-explanatory categories for music released this year and some random superlative action. Y’all really have to slow down with the great records. I can barely keep up.

Enjoyed Well in 2011

LOW – C’mon
Danny Paul Grody – In Search of Light
Hallock Hill – The Union
Phantogram – Nightlife
Stephen Mathieu – A Static Place
Feist – Metals
Deaf Center – Owl Splinters

Loved, Obsessively in 2011

Frank Ocean – nostalgia, ULTRA.
Frank Ocean’s debut “album” came this year in the form of a free mixtape – a brief, but fulfilling exposition of Frank’s (formerly Chris Breaux) talent. In a similar way to how rappers use mixtapes to freestyle over hit beats of the day, this guy had the chutzpah to take songs from such varied artists as The Eagles, Coldplay, Mr. Hudson and even MGMT and rewrite them for his own as new songs. “Hotel California” re-imagined as a song about the sacrilege of American marriage? Wild. And it’s not just the “covers” here on this virtual tape, it’s the originals. “Songs For Women”, “Novacane”, “Dust” and “Swim Good” all shine with the promise of a well-versed young artist.

A Winged Victory for the Sullen – s/t
It’s been noted that this neo-classical “supergroup” is not treading any new ground on their Kranky debut. And while this notion might be true, this is nonetheless a timeless recording that may just leak into folks who might not normally dig “classical” music’s ears.

Bobby – Bobby
The music of Bobby comes from young minds that must be old musical souls. It was a given that I would listen to this album, what with the Mountain Man connection and all. But having Molly Erin Sarle sing as a foil to Tom Greenberg is just the welcome mat – this is a fantastic, beguiling album. Jazner did a great job here in dissecting the band’s music.

Nils Frahm – Felt
This album from Berlin producer/composer Nils Frahm is torrentially enveloping. By attempting to dampen the strings of his piano at home to avoid disturbing the neighbors, Nils discovered a mysterious world of errant noises in the hyper-amplified sound environment. A supreme listening experience on vinyl.

Grouper – A | A Alien Observer
Two full-length albums from Grouper in 2011? I’ll take them. Of the two, I’d pick Alien Observer as my favorite, but both are equally gorgeous and quietly disarming.

Top Musical Occurrences Witnessed in 2011

Jon Hopkins at EMPAC
RestFest Day 2 at St. Joe’s
We Were Jeneric / The Parlor unveiling at The Foundry

Long-Time Vinyl Scores in 2011

Ida – Will You Find Me
Grouper – Dragging a Dead Deer Up a Hill

Albums to Look Forward to in 2012

Winterpills – All My Lovely Goners
The Red Lions album
Will Stratton – Post-Empire
Cuddle Magic – Info Nympho

Folks have been asking where they can pick up copies of the album – best case scenario / payment for me is through the Matthew Carefully Bandcamp page, where you can pick either the full 15-track soundtrack experience on CD or the 10-track digital version.

If cash is tight and you have gift certificates or credits to any of the following digital download stores, here are links to where The Brunswick Soundtrack is available (alphabetically):

The Brunswick Soundtrack on Amazon
The Brunswick Soundtrack on eMusic
The Brunswick Soundtrack on iTunes

Customers of each of these download stores can help support this recording greatly by posting reviews or “sharing” the albums on social networks. Many of these options are built-in and take only seconds to engage. Thoughts about the recordings – likes and dislikes as well as ratings are helpful to other folks who are browsing the stores, trying to make decisions.

If you were unable to join us for the release party at Caffé Lena on Sunday, here is one little clip from an overwhelmingly amazing show with the Bonesteel Memorial Concern. (via Bryan Thomas)

I’ll be taking a break for the next month or so to recharge/work on new material.

Please enjoy this album! I am very proud of it.

On Sunday, December 4th, 2011 Caffé Lena presents the Matthew Carefully Brunswick Soundtrack CD Release Show!

Special guests Bailiwick will kick off the evening at 7PM SHARP and may indeed join-in later in the evening as Matthew Carefully and the Bonesteel Memorial Concern performs the music from Matthew’s Brunswick Soundtrack.

The Bonesteel Memorial Concern:

From left to right: Mitch Masterson – banjo, Ian White – mandolin, Bob Buckley – dobro/singing, Katie Hammon – singing.

Named in honor of Sanford Bonesteel, the farmer who is the focus of the Brunswick documentary, this small acoustic group will enjoy one performance of this music especially composed for the film on this night only!

Advanced tickets are recommended as they are expected to sell out at the door, possibly the week of the performance.

I’d always dreamed of writing music for a movie and this project seemed to fit like a perfect glove.

Nate envisioned the music of Iron & Wine, Gillian Welch, Sufjan Stevens and Horse Feathers as the backdrop to the beautiful scenes of Brunswick’s rolling hills. Each of the aforementioned artists have influenced me at different times throughout my life, so it felt only appropriate to give a shot at writing the soundtrack.

The process took much longer than either Nate or I expected. He would be wrestling with editing the story while I would be trying to find the right mood for the “public meeting scene”. I would work on the music in-between projects and album releases, adding-to and subtracting-from tracks I might have worked on months, even years earlier. Sometimes that dobro part would work, sometimes it needed to be rewrote!

Then I’d hear from Nate a few weeks later, who’d say – “I need a song for this _____ scene”, so I’d go back to that “Brunswick” folder on my hard-drive and start a new file.

After four years of working like this, I found myself having gone completely in another musical direction on my own, utilizing all kinds of electronics, loops, tape delay and half-learned wizardry in my work, so I found it refreshing to have to pick up the banjo to write and finish songs I started in a completely different place.

Finally, I’m proud to say that the movie and the soundtrack are completely finished and ready to be shared with the public! I’ve already shared “Walks With Purpose“, now hear “McChesney Avenue Extension“, the second song on the soundtrack album.

I’m pleased to announce that the soundtrack is now available for pre-order!

There are two versions:

The “Digital Album” version which contains 10 tracks – 6 instrumental acoustic pieces (like “McChesney Avenue Extension”) and 4 acoustic songs with words (like “Walks With Purpose”).

-or-

The “Deluxe CD” version which contains 15 tracks – 11 instrumental acoustic pieces and 4 acoustic songs with words! That’s right, FIVE bonus tracks. Just for buying a CD!

( Click on over to the Discography page to check out the tracklistings! )

Both are available at my Bandcamp page, which will automatically deliver the two songs listed above and will notify you when the rest of the soundtrack is available for download (on or before its “official” release date of December 6, 2011).

I am very proud of how this recording turned out. I liked the music, but what really caught me off guard was hearing Troy Pohl‘s final mixes and mastering. He was able to take four years of work recorded in three very different locations and make it all sound cohesive. Fantastic.

Without trying to, I created an album that is perfect for road-trips in the car or headphone listening. Two of my favorite kinds of albums! This is a recording that is a perfect gift for the upcoming holidays – listenable and memorable without being overbearing. That’s my pitch to you!

Details on the CD release show (12/4 at Caffé Lena – advance tickets recommended!) are coming very soon. I have a special small acoustic group who will be joining me that evening to perform the music from the soundtrack as well as sharing the stage with Bailiwick. This will be great.

This song features Katie Hammon on vocals. It would be a crime to not check out her music as Bear Grass or as one-half of Slender Shoulders.

Soundtrack pre-order begins on Wednesday, November 16th.

If a man walks with purpose, will you remember him?
By the way his hands sink sideways in the dirt and nested green
Would you dare to bless his silence as he walks away sincere?
Without a word, unblinking eyelash
with a clear intended gleam

I don’t know what leaves him silent
I don’t know
I don’t know what leaves him silent.
I don’t know

I don’t know what leaves him silent in the evening

If a man walks with purpose
If a man walks with purpose
If a man walks with purpose, will you remember him?

Day One: Saturday – featuring Deer Tick, Titus Andronicus and a host of Albany area bands went off without a hitch. A huge turnout coupled with nice weather, great beer and fantastic music made for an unforgettable day.

Day Two: Sunday – roared in with Hurricane (well, by then Tropical Storm) Irene dumping high winds and heavy rain all over the Capital District. While my B3nson pals swiftly handled the back room flooding that occurred at St. Joe’s overnight, I tried to keep in touch with all twelve of the other Undone Ensemble members – almost all of which were already preparing to make their way to the Ten Broeck triangle!

Plans had to change for the festival, since Sunday’s two headlining acts – A Hawk and a Hacksaw and The Music Tapes were coming from out of town by plane and by van, respectively. Both bands bowed out early due to the weather, so after bailing out buckets of rainwater, the B3nson crew decided to make Sunday’s RestFest “pay what you want”, shove the schedule back two hours and open the doors wide for anyone who could make it to downtown Albany. A move which Harith over at The Rev Recs blog calls “SO ALBANY” – to cobble together something out of nothing and fight for what we believe is beautiful.

As the rain and wind abated, Paul Coleman (drummer in Undone Ensemble!), Mrs. Matthew and I packed up the banjo and the drums and headed down to Albany. We noted that the “Emergency Travel Only” warning signs were appropriate in this case – this was a musical emergency that required our presence!

Arriving just in time to witness Slender Shoulders coming off stage at the end of their set was a bummer, but feelings were assuaged by the presence of their debut EP.

The next hour was a flurry of text messages and phone calls to track down the rest of the ensemble members who were not present. Thankfully everyone arrived with plenty of time to prepare and to even enjoy some music in advance of our set. Swamp Baby turned in a widely dynamic set filled with new songs and old songs that were given new life with We are Jeneric‘s Eric Krans playing drums for the entire set!

By the time We are Jeneric hit the stage, I was a bundle of nerves. Thankfully they were in the middle of performing the best set of their career, enrapturing everyone in the building while no one noticed that I was pacing in the green room!

These were tactical nerves – will we set up the stage quick enough? Will Sooze’s crack stage team be annoyed by our “first show” newbieisms? Will I drop my banjo like I dropped my mandolin at TulipFest?

via Flickr user BVCPhoto. Used with permission.

Luckily, only one of my fears came to life (I kind of forgot some of the words to the first song – “Brooklyn or Bust”) and the first and only Undone Ensemble show came off without a hitch!

Here are the songs we played:
Brooklyn or Bust
Infinitely Red (from Kentucky)
Modest Birds (from Kentucky)
Neighborhood (from A Book About the Rest)
Mustang Walk
O My Luck
Poughkeepsie (from Community Balloon)

The Matthew Carefully Undone Ensemble – ‘Poughkeepsie’ from Bryan Thomas on Vimeo.

Major thanks are in order here: to all ensemble members for their dedication and energy towards this project, to all the ensemble member’s wives, girlfriends, dogs, cats, babies, pets, and families for loaning their loved ones for the summer, to SwordPaw for the availability and awesomeness of their SwordPaw HQ for our rehearsals this summer, to Frank Moscowitz for some crucial advice and cobbled together rehearsal sound fantastics, to Ben Karis-Nix and Taylor Gillis at Design it Together for some fantastic band apparel, and to everyone at RestFest/B3nson for giving us the opportunity to put this show on.

Over the next few weeks, I have a few more posts relating to the Ensemble that I want to share. Stay tuned.

This is the beginning.

The first fifteen people who purchase either a $10 bundle of Matthew Carefully CDs or a $10 clearance Penny Riddle t-shirt get a 10-song mix CD featuring unreleased music I’ve been working on or have been sitting on!

Once these are gone, they are gone.

Due to Tropical Storm Irene’s magic precluding many folks from making it to RestFest Day 2, this mixtape is now available to listen here!

All but “Diamonds (demo)” and “Prayers & Palms (live)” are exclusive to this compilation.
“Ceiling Life” songs are for a more experimental project to be released someday.
The Brunswick Soundtrack will be released by the end of 2011.
Songs I’ve written for eScape will be released as an EP by the end of 2011.
A Deluxe Kentucky iteration will be released someday.

All songs and music written and performed by Matthew Loiacono, except “Relocation Tactics” by SPOUSE/José Ayerve & co. (used without permission – sorry José!)
All songs recorded, mixed and “mastered” by Matthew Loiacono, except “Prayers & Palms” by Holland Hopson and “Poughkeepsie” by Frank Moscowitz
Assembled for RestFest 2011.
All the love.

The lovely B3nson folks were kind enough to ask me to perform again this year, at which point I began to think about putting something very special together for this year’s event.

So what does Matthew do when Matthew considers putting together some sort of musical group to play music at Restoration Festival 2011?

Matthew assembles a 12+ person ensemble.

While playing alone is all well and good, I’ve had an urge to collaborate on music with other people lately. What better way to do so than to find some folks willing and able to work on music together for a few months?

Two rules for this show –

1. No looping.

2. No electronic instruments.

For this special one-time-only performance, the Undone Ensemble will perform a song or two from each of my full-length records, some old stuff and a few newer things. It’s been a real treat to hear my ideas go from budget MIDI keyboard demos to living, breathing instrument parts.

Can’t wait for you to hear it!

Tickets are available at the Restoration Festival website. We’ll be playing around 4:30pm on Sunday, August 28th.

See you there?

You can stream the entire compilation here, or order your own physical copy of this masterpiece by heading to that same page. The book is a gorgeous, large-format publication featuring many stories and anecdotes regarding the festival.

Matthew Carefully – Singing Upwards II by O+ Festival

“Singing Upwards II” lyrics:

Feeling you pass by me -
only your hands are wrapped above you in a circle.
I let Amy know we’re almost down,
we’re almost out,
we’re almost there
today.

Feeling you pass by me -
only part of you is singing to the heavens.
If there’s a winner now
they’re holding out
an empty sound
and wishes all delayed.

Even a pass through me is just the start of the beginning,
will the rest pull through?
We were laying down,
we went sleeping long,
spilled the dinner – shout
and this what we made.

This is our hands, this is our home, this is the place where we can lay down our heads.

BONUS:

“Singing Upwards II” is the sister of the song I wrote with Tim Koch for the Hoborchestra album I Only Eat You To Make Me Stronger. You can download the original “Singing Upwards” here.

While 2009 felt a little “skimpy” on the album front, 2010 seemed absolutely bursting with great albums. As if the decade flip sparked something major and spawned some wild, un-bridled recordings.

Here’s an un-numbered list, save for #1 which is detailed at the bottom. Be sure to read all the way through to find out how you can win a copy of this year’s #1 on vinyl!

The List!

• Concern – Caesarean / Truth & Distance Two excellent LPs from Portland, OR sound artist Gordon Wilson Ashworth came forth in the latter half of 2010. Diverging from much of the drone/ambient records released this year by utilizing actual instruments (shocking!) instead of synthesizers, these albums represent creative uses of tape loops, live playing and sound assemblages. At this point it’s difficult to choose which is album is “better”, so check out both and get inspired!

• Emeralds – Does it Look Like I’m Here?. This monolith of a recording represents the Ohio trio’s best recording to date. Emeralds has their own language which splays across this double LP. The lines between guitar and synth sounds blur and cross curing an intricate muscle fiber which carries the songs. Someone please make movies for these songs.

• Balmorhea – Constellations. This record could scare you upon first listen. A very specific entrance of a very specific musical part might just make you jump out of your skin, but, no spoilers here. This instrumental music is just simply alive, aware and breathing due much in part by the gorgeous piano sound. Worth the price of admission alone. Like a few of the other groups represented here, this most recent album is heads above the band’s other albums.

• Cuddle Magic – Picture. This behemoth of a musical outfit is represented well here in this second full-length album release. Cyclical motifs, kitchen sink instrumentation and double entendre-style lyrical turns are signifying features on Picture. Cuddle Magic’s strengths lie in their musical entrances and exits; deep headphone listens and analysis reveal clever, but highly advanced composition ideas.

• Will Stratton – New Vanguard Blues. Will’s prolific previous recorded output showcases his talent for orchestration and arrangement. New Vanguard Blues strips away all production to push Will’s nimble guitar playing to the forefront. This is an inspiring collection of beautiful songs presented in their most intimate of settings.

• Mountain Man – Made the Harbor. The music that the three lovely women who make up Mountain Man is far from the burl that their moniker suggests. Made the Harbor is simply three voices singing their own songs or traditional songs with at most a spare acoustic guitar as backdrop. Although the album is infinitely pleasing, it feels as if Mountain Man is just getting started. Like their collaboration was a welcome surprise and there is much more to discover. What will be next?

• Jefre Cantu-Ledesma – Love is a Stream. This album is a “game-changer”. Waterfalls of thick, melodious guitar tones rush through speakers while disparate vocal lines meander in the background. It’s out of control, with restraint. It’s searing without pain. And of course it comes on another one of Type Records‘ excellent slabs of elegantly pressed vinyl. An instant classic.

• #1: Benoît Pioulard – Lasted. This record answers so many questions: How can one balance gorgeous field recordings with songs without either sounding out of place? How can home recording sound fussed-over yet still human? What version of Earth does Benoît Pioulard (Thomas Meluch) actually hail from?

Lasted is a rich album which surpasses Meluch’s previous output, at least in spirit if not craft. It’s moments of brilliance such as when the second verse of “Sault” kicks in that listeners are revealed to be deep in a world created by one man. The brief hiss and crackle that kicks off “Shouting Distance” never distracts, but provides depth and context to the song.

The album is a complete picture filled with peaks and valleys, surprises and highly memorable moments. It’s perfect for the winter season and driving around at night, so make sure to get to it before the days are long again.

WIN A VINYL COPY OF LASTED!!!!

GIVEAWAY: 1 new/sealed (vinyl) LP copy of Benoît Pioulard – Lasted.

To enter the contest, one must name a favorite album (or song) from 2010 and a brief explanation on what made that recording special. One entry per person must be entered into the comments section below.

Contest runs from Monday, January 3rd, 2011 through Monday, January 10th, 2011 at midnight.

( This contest in no way insinuates any endorsement of Benoît Pioulard or Kranky Records to this website or my work. I simply ordered an extra copy of the LP which I thought would be nice to share with someone. Cheers! Good luck! )

1/10/11 — COMMENTS NOW CLOSED! WINNER TO BE ANNOUNCED BY THE END OF THE WEEK! THANKS Y’ALL – SOME GREAT PICKS IN HERE!