Jim Lauderdale - Buddy and Jim - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Jim Lauderdale - London Southern [COMPACT DISCS] UK - Import date 03/10/2017

2022 . At any given time, you're likely to find Jim Lauderdale making music, whether he's laying down a new track in the studio or working through a spontaneous melody at his home in Nashville. And if he's not actively crafting new music, he's certainly thinking about it. InchIt's a constant challenge to try to keep making better and better records, write better and better songs. I still always feel like I'm a developing artist,Inch he says. This may be a surprising sentiment from a man who's won two Grammys, released 34 full-length albums, and taken home the Americana Music Association's coveted Wagonmaster Award. But forthcoming album Game Changer is convincing evidence that the North Carolina native is only continuing to hone his craft. Operating under his own tag, Sky Crunch Records, for the first time since 2016, Lauderdale recorded Game Changer at the renowned Blackbird Studios in Nashville, co-producing the with Jay Weaver and pulling from songs he'd written over the last several years. InchThere's a mixture on this record of uplifting songs and, at the same time, songs of heartbreak and despair-because that's part of life as well,Inch he says. InchIn the country song world especially, that's always been part of it. That's real life.Inch

The follow-up to their well-received 2020 self-titled debut stays true to STYGIAN CROWN's sprawling doom template that also incorporates elements of classic metal and death metal. Tracked at five different studios from Los Angeles to Melbourne, Australia, with mixing duties falling onto Mark Kelson and mastering courtesy of Charles Elliott, the album occasionally drifts into traditional metal territory but largely keeps it's boots on the ground in doom. Stygian Crown (who are comprised of vocalist/keyboardist Melissa Pinion, the guitar team of Nelson Miranda and Andy Hicks, bassist Eric Bryan and drummer Rhett Davis) benefitted from contributions from all band members. The process included the band tossing early songwriting ideas or re-writing them altogether. InchThe BargainInch was finally committed to tape after it's third revision, while album standout InchBlood Red EyesInch was originally a full band composition but ultimately scaled back to include vocals, piano and violin. Pinion's emergence on Funeral for a King cannot be understated. While she appeared comfortable on the self-titled debut, here, she is in command of songs that are unabashedly heavy and loaded with dynamics. Funeral for a King's lyrics tackle a recurring theme for Stygian Crown the nature of monsters and how they are defined. The album features cover art from the hailed Kris Verwimp, who discussed a multitude of ideas with Davis before the drummer landed on the Funeral for a King title while practicing Rainbow songs in his home drum room. It proved to be the perfect tie-in to the band's mythological themes and their love of classic metal. The beauty of Funeral for a King lies not only with the craftsmanship of it's songs but also with the shared experiences of the members of Stygian Crown. All five have been in a variety of bands before Stygian Crown, but none have quite gotten the creative s