releases so far
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Cub Country ******************************
Silver Ray ******************************
Matt Suggs
Kevin Tihista Home Demons Vol I
The UK issue of Home Demons has 21 tracks as opposed to the 15 track issue that the "Wimps" at Parasol (Kevin's words not ours) have released.
The tracklisting is as follows:
Dracula
Can I Count On You
I Don’t Blame You
#32
Wake Up Captain
Stratford Upon Avon
I Love You
Sweet
The Long Way Home
We Just Disagree
The Greatest Thing
Idiots
This Should Be A Duet (Really)
Lovely One
15 Hundred Miles
Budge
Is That All There Is?
Keep My Cool
Jim Henson’s Blues/You’re Not Bad
Dracula II
There's also a bonus hidden track to be found somewhere....
£10.00 UK pounds inc p/p (UK/Europe/Rest of the World-availble via Parasol in the USA/Canada).
“…these melody-rich cuts capture his soft-pop fragility perfectly, somewhere between McCartney, The Lilac Time and John Sebastien.” UNCUT 4/5
“Delicious pop etchings….shows a man in sparkling form. Bring on the second volume.” Q
“…filled to the brim with great songs brilliantly showcasing Tihista’s engaging vocals, which fall somewhere in the middle of the post-Beatles John Lennon and early Paul Simon….a great piece of fun.” WORD
"Fortunately it's a case of quality & quantity, his soft voice, cheap keyboards and fuzzy guitar, wrapping themselves together into a smorgasboard of woozy love songs...Tihista is carving a legend all of his own" MAVERICK 4/5
Stay Poor, Stay Happy BKH-CD 007
£10.00 UK pounds inc p/p (UK/Europe/Rest of the World-availble via Future Farmer in the USA/Canada).
"Sounds like the urban descendent of of a whistling brakeman or the country bedsit cousin of Paul Westerberg"
UNCUT
"A formidable slice of urban Americana ..Since Wilco have moved on , it seems there are plenty of bidders for their throne of indie tinged country. Cub Country are definitely one of the more promising hopefuls" MAVERICK 4/5
"Chatelain has studied his Parsons and Stones and Dylan and thankfully avoided the note-for-note perfection of today's most popular derivative artists. chatelain and the boys play with a delightful fallibility that harkens back to the days when Uncle Tupelo was just three guys writing the only music they knew how to write. it basks in beefy guitars, blue collar harmonies and happy hour twang. "
Rough Trade Shop (London)
"The album moves effortlessly from simple acoustic arrangements ('Leaving the Bar' & 'The Sun') to full rock band blowouts ('Missed the Train'). And any artist that employs the wonderfully monikered 'Spanky Van Dyke' just has to be checked out" Americana UK
"Straight out of UTAH-STATE, U-U-U-UTAH STATE (Salt Lake City to be exact), Jeremy Chatelain is the latest in a long-line of singer songwriters to take on the mantle of Americana. Released through Manchester's Broken Horse label, 'Stay Poor, Stay Happy' is liberally coated in the fingerprints of artists such as Wilco, Ryan Adams and (to an extent) Johnny Cash, with Chatelian assuming an after-hours confessional tone that is equally inviting and intimate. With lyrics that sound as though they should be lamenting lost loves (even if they're not), Cub Country is simultaneously uplifting and melancholic in the great tradition of such records. So whilst 'Be Your Own Hitman' is a slow build acoustic rollercoaster and 'If We Should Fall' takes a leaf out of Smog's well thumbed book, it is Chatelain's electronic injection on 'The West' which shines brightest."
boomkat.com
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Cub Country is the songwriting project of Salt Lake City native and now Chapel Hill resident Jeremy Chatelain. From Jeremy’s punk rock roots throughout the 90’s, firstly as front man of Handsome to then bassist of Jets To Brazil, some downtime between JTB tours lead to Jeremy writing songs of his own.
"I had an acoustic guitar that had been gathering dust for years and got inspired to write some songs," he said. "I bought a little recording system and started tracking things, and it just sort of came together."
Jeremy formed Cub Country in 1999 as a vehicle to feature songs of his own that would otherwise have had no outlet. Because he and everyone else he knew were already in bands, his theory from the beginning was to take each song, perform them with friends and commit it to tape with the urgent energy of a song freshly enjoyed. Though slow to start, the theory panned out. Jeremy and Utah Slim recorded the first Cub Country EP in a Brooklyn apartment that became known as "Castle Coldshins", and released it on Ear To Ground Records in September of 2000.
Next, Jeremy set about to record another, more involved record. 'High Uinta High' was committed to tape in Salt Lake City, Seattle, Brooklyn and Tenafly, NJ. Once again, he'd put his theory to a successful test, having written a multitude of songs and taught them to different people, with excellent results. 'High Uinta High,' named after the Uinta mountain range in Utah, was released by Jade Tree in February 2002. At that point it was crucial to go out and spread the word a little bit. So Jeremey assembled a band of "other folks who didn't have real jobs, namely Jets To Brazil, Spanky Van Dyke, and Scott Schoenbeck" to play three weeks worth of shows. The group kicked off the tour in New York at Joe's Public Theatre in February , 2002, continuing through such cities as Kansas City, Houston, Orlando and Raleigh, finishing off with a triumphant show at the Mercury Lounge In NYC.
'Stay Poor,Stay Happy' unveils ten more tales that continue in the incredible tradition of Americana that Jeremy has spoken of his love for in the past years. Set for UK release on Broken Horse on June 27th , the album was recorded over a two-year span in such diverse locales as Brooklyn, Salt Lake City and Chapel Hill, NC. 'Stay Poor, Stay Happy' showcases Jeremy's undeniable songwriting / musical talent and serves as a solid follow-up to 2002's debut 'High Uinta High'. The album was mixed by Brian Paulson (of prior Wilco, Jayhawks & Son Volt projects). According to Jeremy, the title 'Stay Poor , Stay Happy' comes from graffiti he encountered in a bathroom in New York City. Explaining his choice, he says, "It's pretty much the reality that I face in my life at the moment. And, I thought it sounded like a great title when I said it back to myself."
Cub Country has since evolved into what Jeremy describes as a full-time band, comprised of North Carolina musicians Matt Sumrow, Jeff Clarke and Justin Ansley. As for where Jeremy sees going, he states "I'd just like to continue making records and putting them out for a long time to come with people who get it, and want to be involved." Tales of the love for life, love lost ('Be Yer Own Hitman') and the longing for days past ('If We Should Fall') are evident - as is the potential to make Jeremy and his newly gathered band of talented musicians household names... or at least in Urban Outfitters.
Humans BKH-CD 006
£10.00 UK pounds inc p/p (UK/Europe/USA/Canada/Rest of the World).
"Humans deserves a place alongside the best of Godspeed, Explosions In The Sky and their most obvious peers, The Dirty Three." (Uncut)
" A stately tour de force...Humans shimmers with the romantic playfulness that lit up Jim O'Rourke's Bad Timing." (MOJO)
"Silver Ray are as deliciously exciting as a spin across a crowded dancefloor.A triumph of imagination without pretension." (The Guardian)
"They do the quite to loud thing but they do it with subtlety, and they take just as much care with the loud to quiet bits. Should you ever need your spirits lifted late at night, this should do nicely." (The Sunday Times)
"Punctuated by a blend of the powerful, the majestic and the bombastic..an unexpected gem "(City Life)
"Recorded live in studio, it uses guitar, drums and piano to create a series of sweeping symphonies that can't fail to lift the spirits.. One for the adventurous." (Entertainment Ireland)
"Humans sits squarely in the post rock bracket but witha unique approach to music making that sets it apart from Mogwai, Godspeed, Explosions and the rest "(The Independent)
"Listening To Silver Ray's music is an emotive, almost transcendental experience." (Metro)
"(Humans) is breathtaking, loaded with so much melody and emotion it is an exhausting, though ultimately rewarding listen. Essential." (Stranger Magazine)
Amigo Row BKH-CD 005 (to be released late Summer 2004)
