There’s an interesting blog post over at Pinup Nights which asks about the ‘The ill effects of on-line cherry picking’. John D ponders if the ease of just ‘sampling’ single tracks rather than making the bolder choice of buying an album on speck, leads to a lesser engagement with music. Does a greater level of commitment in terms of finding and buying new music create stronger bonds with bands? I won’t say any more here, but I recommend you take a peek. Like John D I get my tips and recommendations on the stuff that mainstream music magazines no longer cover from blogs such as Aye Tunes and Peenko (see the links at the side of this post for further examples). One such recommendation that I must thank Lloyd at Peenko for is Washington Irving.
Apparently named after Yossarian’s pen name in Catch-22, (I always thought Doc Daneeka would be a great name for a band) rather than the author, Washington Irving have been doing the festival thing this summer and are part of the King Tut’s Summer Nights line-up, playing on a bill with French Wives on the 29th July. (See the full line-up here )
It might be an obvious comparison to make but if you have Mumford and Sons, Burnt Island and/or Stornoway on your i-pod then you’ll love Washington Irving. I also think there’s something Arcade Fire-esque in there as well. I really look forward to their first full album, which I will buy in full if only for the fact that it’ll be nice to spend a summer in Glasgow and hear the flute played properly. From their excellent EP Little Wanderer, Head Thee Home, this is Dear Liza live at Glasgow’s Oran Mor: