album: Liam the Younger Revel Hidden Worlds

"Bob Dylan"

Liam the Younger isn't one to play into public perceptions or preconceived notions. On his latest record, Revel Hidden Worlds, he sheds much of the tape hiss and acousic balladry that populate Clear Skies Over Black River and After the Graveyard and, in the process, finds his voice as redemtive Tiresias. As usual his lyrics are prophetic, words not just for singing, but for living, the sort of songs that become ingrained in your psyche after only a few listens. When "Lie" punches through the drywall caked "All Here For" it's clear this record isn't just a day in the park, but a beast with motives and intentions neither you nor I will ever understand, no matter how hard we try. But in that non-understanding lies the pay off; Revel Hidden Worlds does just that, peeling the coating from the everyday, highlighting the everyday bullshit and beauty that make life worth living. Revel Hidden World was recently released on LP by Brave Men Run as a limited pressing of 300 vinyl, complete with photo/lyric book. I highly suggest you purchase it here. Copies of the album are also available on cassette through Wild Animal Kingdom. In addition, Liam's also made the record available for free download, which you can do below.

Download Liam the Younger's Revel Hidden Worlds

photo: Church Show with Mountain Man, Alex Bleeker, ETC

It's been a few weeks since the show at the Church in McGolrick Park. Nevertheless, it's an event that I'm more than happy to take a look back at. It helps even more when you've got photographers like Rez Avissar to remind you how special of an evening it was. His shots in this phenomenal set that truly captures the cozy, communal spirit of the evening. Hats off to Rez.

No Demons Here







Lux Perpetua








Liam the Younger







Alex Bleeker and the Mountain Man Singers









Mountain Man

show: Mountain Man, Bleeker, Liam the Younger

"Sewee Sewee"
Going to be a special evening. Bring blankets, yoga mats to sit on. Baked goods will be sold on the premises. BYOB. Click here to see a large scale, beautiful rendering of the work, done by Mike Mahon.

live: Mountain Man, Alex Bleeker, Liam the Younger

"Who Walked the Dog"

A month from today Chocolate Bobka will host another show in our concert series, and this one, in all honesty, may be the best yet. On Friday December 11th, Mountain Man, Alex Bleeker (accompanied by the Mountain Man singers), Liam the Younger and Luka (No Demons Here) will descend upon the majestic Lutheran Church of the Messiah in sleepy Greenpoint, Brooklyn for a night of quiet, unamplified ballads and hymns. It's a real pleasure to host this show in the amazing Church, which has previously been host to performances by Mt. Eerie, Marissa Nadler, Calvin Johnson, and Kria Brekkan, among others. The intimate venue, along with a heaping of blankets, should make the Church basement feel more like a coffee house, or house show, which, in my opinion, is the only way to absorb real, honest to god Folk music. Details will trickle out in the coming weeks, so keep your eyes peeled. Also, if anyone is interested in volunteering at the show, shoot me an email at mcgregor [at] me.com. See ya in a month.

bobkast #29: A Sunflower Earth

"Some People Chew Gum for Fun"
(hand drawn cover art by cuti ballve)
The humidity is fading like a bad tattoo. The days don't seem to drag all that long. And all of the sudden I keep finding myself reaching for a cardigan. That's right kids, summer is slowly sinking into fall. Fortunately for all you sun seekers, summer ain't going away overnight. Instead, its a prolonged transition, with nights hitting wooly lows and days scorching Umbro highs. It's a bit bi-polar, but in the end it makes sense. One season gives way to another and so on, and so forth. This mix is meant for those days that run the gamut; chilly morning breezes sweep through apartments until giving way to swampy lunch breaks that melt your PB&J making the whole wheat a bit too soggy for premium enjoyment. By nightfall things have calmed down. The wind picks up a little and all of the sudden your reaching for the wool blanket, the one your grandma knit you when you were born. It's a good feeling, ya know, seasons, change, evolving, etc. Of course, if ya don't like it, you can always move to San Diego. They say it's lovely there, but I don't buy it.

I should also note that this is the first Bobkast that will be available in a very limited quantity on cassette tape. Yep, cassette tape, that obsolete medium that the kids can't seem to get enough of. The tape, of which only one will be produced for each Bobkast, comes with handmade art and will be produced and packaged with loving hands at home. To acquire said tape, pictured here, email me your favorite wild flower at mcgregor{AT}me{DOT}com. Contest will be open for one week starting....now.

Bobkast #29: A Sunflower Earth
1. Takeshi Terauchi & the Bunnys- Tsukuba-San
2. Paralyze Humanity Sequence- Hammock
3. Pill Wonder- What We Know
4. Henry Pedro- Midnight Sun
5. Sunnybrook- Big Waving Hands (demo)
6. jj- Are You Still in Vallda?
7. Pure Ecstasy- You're In It Now
8. Alex Bleeker & the Freaks- Prisoner
9. Mountain Man- Animal Tracks
10. The Fresh & Onlys- Arm's Advice
11. Jana Wenderen- Drifts
12. Atlas Sound- Walk the Thin Line (Fleetwood Mac Cover) [over "Drifts"]
13. Taken By Trees- Watch the Waves (Memory Cassette remix)
14. Nancy Sinatra- Sundown Sundown
15. The Olivia Tremor Control- "Various bits " (McG's OTC sound collage)
16. Grateful Dead- New Potato Caboose
17. Julian Lynch- Waiting Music
18. Desolation Wilderness- Boardwalk Theme
19. Galaxie 500- Here She Comes Now
20. Woods- Rain On Radio
21. Liam the Younger- Beneath the Weeping Willow Tree
22. Ganglians- To June
23. White Antelope- Silver Dagger (traditional)
24. Marissa Nadler- Cortez the Killer (Neil Young cover)
25. Kurt Vile- Nicotine Blues (Live on WFMU)

Download Bobkast #29: A Sunflower Earth (direct download)

album: Liam the Younger

"Tomorrow Will Be Good Too"
"One day I'll leave here never to come back."

It's something anyone whose ever read Dharma Bums or longed for a box car life has dreamt. The urge to run, escape in the dark dark night and ride the rails, the stars glistening on the steel below, shimmering on stand still creeks marked with dry brush. It's a feeling as uniquely American as huckleberry jam, and as haunting as the first time you hear the legend of Bloody Mary. Even in a world moving at a broadband pace, the idea of getting off the grid and never coming home, ever finding a home, or even trying to define "home," is not fleeting. It's ingrained in the spirit of the lonely wanderer searching for a quiet place to rest his head and an untouched piece of the world. Discover, observe, and leave behind. All of this, and so much more (a miner's cough, the warmth of bottled bourbon in your belly, smoke thick in lungs), can be found in the songs of Liam The Younger, whom you might recognize from his contributions to the Underwater Peoples compilation. Rather than sum up the sounds of summer, Liam's "Country Wide" and "This Land Pt.1" instead conjure images of Guthrie on the plain and migrant workers battling for a better life. It's desperate and lonely and makes me long to rid myself of city life, in exchange for a lean-to, a lamp and a can of beans.

Liam The Younger has two albums available for free download on Brave Men Run. Both are linked to below.

Liam The Younger's After The Grave
(“Passed through a graveyard. Fifteen songs about my mind and my surroundings.”)
Liam The Younger's Clear Skies Over Black River
(“Written alone. Recorded alone. ‘Slumber punk’”)