On Dizzy Demos: 2 Tickets to Cheeseburger in Paradise, songwriter Mike Polizze reveals the ramshackle core of his solo debut Long Lost Solace Find, collecting demos and outtakes from the album’s original sessions. The former Purling Hiss frontman’s songs shine in nascent form, tugging at threads that connect to country rock, glam, and classic loner folk. For his first ever Lagniappe Session, Polizze keeps things similarly direct and locked in, with two sparse traditional songs.
Category: Lagniappe Sessions
The Lagniappe Sessions :: Al Riggs
For their first ever Lagniappe Session, North Carolina songwriter/singer/producer Al Riggs takes on songs by The Who, Liz Phair, and Hidden Cameras.
The Lagniappe Sessions :: Tim Bernardes
São Paulo’s Tim Bernardes swept us off our feet earlier this month with his new album, Mil Coisas Invisíveis. Across fifteen tracks sung in beautiful, tender Portuguese, he mines love, loss, and change with equal splendor bringing his diaristic existentialism to vibrant sonic life. For his inaugural Lagniappe Session, Bernardes keeps the flame aglow, tackling one from fellow countryman Gilberto Gil’s 1971 self-titled album, the Dirty Projectors’ knotty, Tropicália-tinged art rock, and one of The Beatles’ most spiritually mystic moments.
The Lagniappe Sessions :: Neal Francis
The past few years have seen Neal Francis carve out his name with an incendiary live show and a refreshingly well-schooled, analog-obsessed interpretation of 70s soul. His dry tenor has been compared to that of Allen Toussaint, and the late maestro would certainly approve of Francis’ keyboard stylings, as well as his affinity for billowing grooves and charged arrangements.
The Lagniappe Sessions :: Andrew Bird
Andrew Bird’s virtuosity is no secret. It’s a disservice at this point to dip into adjectives of praise and find a new way to say as much. Bird’s been around the well-regarded block, with a discography and collection of co-signs to prove it. It’s tough to think of a time he wasn’t simply out there, doing his talented thing – playing live, popping up on your tv screen, releasing attentive albums.
The Lagniappe Sessions :: Johanna Samuels
For her Lagniappe Session, Johanna Samuels looks back, calling on nostalgic childhood sounds. There’s Dylan’s “Simple Twist of Fate”, the Beatles’ “Yes It Is”, and The Only Ones (by way of Yo La Tengo) “The Whole of The Law”. All careful, attuned, and respectful interpretations…
The Lagniappe Sessions :: Modern Nature
Bandleader, singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, Jack Cooper continues to push boundaries, expanding upon the breadth, depth and scope of the ever-evolving Modern Nature. Open-ended in approach, Cooper and co. return with their second Lagniappe Session, this time digging into the lovelorn, torch perennial, “Stormy Weather”, and the Billie Holiday penned blues lament, “Fine & Mellow”.
The Lagniappe Sessions :: Erin Rae
Following up the set she laid down in 2019, Erin Rae returns this month with her second Lagniappe Session. Comprised of live, single mic takes cut at a rehearsal before performing at the Newport Folk Festival, the following four recordings find Rae reflecting on the music of her childhood, the wisdom of a young Kathy Heideman, and the aching blues of Karen Dalton.
The Lagniappe Sessions :: Vetiver
Hardly a stranger to this exercise, in 2008 Vetiver’s Andy Cabic released Thing of The Past, a lovingly curated collection of covers paying tribute to a grip of his favorite songs. For this installment of the Lagniappe Sessions, Cabic takes on a favorite from Scottish folk iconoclast Bert Jansch, along with the first track off Pete Dello & Friends’ 1971 long-player, Into Your Ears.
The Lagniappe Sessions :: Hayden Thorpe
On the heels of his sophomore lp, Thorpe’s session comes off like an extension of that collection via a pair of seemingly disparate covers. First up is an aching take on George Michael’s 1996 pop ballad, “Jesus To A Child”, buttressed by a minimalist reinterpretation of Bill Withers’ 1972 folk-funk anthem, “Use Me”.
The Lagniappe Sessions :: Wednesday
Countrygaze outfit Wednesday cover Gary Stewart, Roger Miller’s “Lock, Stock, And Teardrops,” and offer a loose and heavy one for all the “Cooley Heads” in the house with Drive-By Truckers’ “Women Without Whiskey.”
The Lagniappe Sessions :: Monde UFO
Monde UFO—the LA-based duo of Ray Monde and Kris Chau—put out one of our favorite records last year with 7171, a vibrant collection of free jazz and bossa nova inflected low-key psychedelia. For their inaugural Lagniappe Session, the duo covers three selections from Fugazi, meeting the seminal post-hardcore band’s skeletal manifestos with their own woozy bedroom-pop prescription.
The Lagniappe Sessions :: Garcia Peoples (Second Session)
Garcia Peoples have been on the move. Since we last rendezvoused with the band they have expanded to a sextet performing live feats that are leaving audiences in puddles of their own diethylamide daydreams. If that wasn’t enough they still found time to cut a new album, Dodging Dues, with Mr. Auxiliary himself – Matt Sweeney – resulting in a tighter and more concise record that still goes hard on the choogle. For their second Lagniappe Session the group tackles a trio of artists whose influences orbit this new album and beyond.
The Lagniappe Sessions :: Elijah Wolf
Elijah Wolf kicks off the Lagniappe Sessions for 2022. Recorded alone in his Brooklyn apartment at the end of last year, before digitally landing in Los Angeles, London and upstate New York for additional accompaniment, the four covers find the folk artist tapping into 70s stalwarts and contemporaries, alike.
The Lagniappe Sessions :: Philip Frobos
For his third Lagniappe Session (counting two with OMNI), Frobos digs into Lou Reed’s Berlin, along with the ’77 Lust For Life gem, “Tonight”, via Iggy Pop’s hyper-creative stint in the city.