The 2024 12 - Part 5: Carolina In My Mind
In 2023 I bought about 175 records. Come 2024, with storage space tight, a growing one-year-old, and a cross-country move on the horizon, a radical shift was in order. This is the third in a series of posts about my “2024 12”, the only twelve records I permitted myself to buy this year in radical departure from my excesses of 2023.
Today’s entries are two artists who participated in Raleigh’s annual Hopscotch music festival, two guys in their twenties from North Carolina, carrying the torch of 70’s Folk Rock and 90’s/early 00’s Indie legends.
Poetic, Sensitive, Country-Tinged Indie
Radial Gate by Sluice (2023). Awaiting Ty Segall’s solo acoustic set, I parked myself at Raleigh’s Lincoln Theater for Night 2 of Hopscotch 2024. No expectations, just waiting to take in new sounds from bands I knew nothing about. Tall, lanky, soft spoken Justin Moore took the stage to lead his group Sluice at around 9pm. Justin’s basic, spoken word style of singing made his music feel vulnerable against the lush and dreamy soundscapes surrounding his poetry. I found myself delightfully swept up in his abstract imagery and storytelling, appreciating its thoughtful ebbs and flows, and loving the violin accompaniment.
Leaving the theater with my wife (post-Ty performance) I spotted Justin manning his humble merch stand. Kind and approachable we chatted about his music, involvement in other bands, and the local music scene. It’s always a pleasure to support local artists and to have a keepsake from a great night of music and discovery. Was great to fork over some cash straight to the man behind the music and walk away with a great piece of locally sourced art.
Manning Fireworks by MJ Lenderman (2024). Hopsotch also featured Asheville-based MJ Lenderman whose latest album has made the rounds on Top Albums lists far and wide. At the time, I was sadly oblivious to Lenderman’s reputation and did not catch his performance. Some month or so later his Manning Fireworks was popping up everywhere I looked online so I gave it a chance. My initial impression - “this is pretty good” - quickly morphed into adulation as I could not stop listening. Simple but effective, sardonic but not obnoxious writing, this album perfectly locks in on Lenderman’s laid back and bemused perspective on life while wearing its influences on its sleeve.
Much has been written about the musical waters that Lenderman treads in - David Berman, Wilco, 90’s Slacker Rock, Jason Molina. But the most resonating influence that grabbed my attention and remains at the heart of my enjoyment is that of Neil Young, particularly his 1974 masterpiece On The Beach. Lenderman’s depressive tone and bummed out vibes coupled with the deceptively simple and laid back sounds of his guitar tone, slide guitar swoons, and Folksy violin embellishments make the music feel honest and familiar. These are songs that are easy to slip into and which beckon to be played louder (and louder and louder) as their nuances reveal themselves and the emotional weight of the writing becomes more apparent.
For this “2024 12” challenge, I knew I wanted to include at least one record released in 2024 itself. This one just gets everytihg right from start to finish. It looks back on my favorite music era of the 70’s while feeling of today due to its youthful protagonist using blatant references from Dylan to John Travolta in modern meme fashion. Check out the Decades Music Night to see how well this album closes out an awesome retrospective on music reaching back to the 50’s until today.
The Finale To Come: Our House
And then there were two. To bring this year to a close, I’ll be sharing two albums by Folk legends that do a great job representing how Mrs DJ Bex and I can be so similar yet so different.
