FLAC | 311 MB | LINKS
Tracks:
1. Farther Down The Line 3:07
2. Cowboy Man 2:52
3. God Will 2:15
4. Why I Don’t Know 2:44
5. Give Me Back My Heart 3:02
6. She’s No Lady 3:15
7. I Loved You Yesterday 2:56
8. If I Had A Boat 3:09
9. I Married Her Just Because She Looks Like You 3:15
10. Stand By Your Man 2:45
11. Nobody Knows Me 3:08
12. If I Were The Man You Wanted 3:59
13. Don’t Touch My Hat 3:48
14. Private Conversation 4:34
15. Closing Time
320 kbps | 104 MB | LINKS
Lotta Sea Lice, Barnett and Vile’s first collaborative album together, makes for a remarkably sublime pairing that brings out the best in each artist, an unexpected gem that sits near the top of either’s discography. The way Barnett and Vile lock into grooves, trading barbs and asides in deadpan tones, and dueling with seemingly effortless yet entrancing guitar riffs makes for a delightful endeavor that plays to both artists’ strengths.
Written and recorded in a couple week-long spurts over a two-year span in Melbourne, the album’s origin is one of mutual fans finding common ground. Barnett first discovered Vile like many, through 2011’s Smoke Ring for My Halo, which became a touchstone of her burgeoning relationship with Jen Cloher, another musician from Melbourne that she’s now married to. Barnett then opened for Vile in 2013 and handed him a copy of A Sea of Split Peas, which he instantly took to. The two formed a friendship, emailing back and forth for months, and after Vile sent her a half-finished version of “Over Everything” because he thought she would fit well with it, the two hit it off, trading ideas until one song turned into nine and Lotta Sea Lice was born.
While Lotta Sea Lice veers closer to the jangly Americana of Vile’s later records compared to the punchy energy of Sometimes I Sit and Think…, the ease at which the two find themselves in sync with each other embodies a true collaborative spirit. The call and response of “Let It Go” takes its lyrics from actual emails written back and forth and recalls the musings of two longtime friends just shooting the breeze. On “Over Everything”, they trade fond memories and anxieties, answering each other’s statements with amusing quips. They lightly rib each other until their sprawling solos overwhelm the track, turning it into a winding jam that could easily extend for several minutes longer than it does.
In addition to their sharp wit, Vile and Barnett’s guitar playing serves as a perfect complement to each other. On “Continental Breakfast”, Vile’s flowing fingerpicking drives the backbone of the song while Barnett fills in the empty spaces with flourishes, bending every few notes to stretch it out. Their comfort with each other’s playing styles works wonders, like on “Let It Go”, where two rambling lines offset each other to where they almost sounds like different songs, until they coalesce as Barnett’s broad, noisy swaths and Vile’s pointed soloing form a unifying groove.
Even when one takes the lead, the other follows in accompaniment with just the right backup. On the gentle, breezy, “Blue Cheese”, a song Vile has had in the can for a couple years, Barnett’s cheerful harmonies give Vile’s self-deprecating storytelling just the right bounce. When Barnett leads on “Fear Is Like a Forest”, a cover of a 2009 song by her wife, Vile’s low harmonies on the chorus give the song a full-bodied approach that helps ground the squalor of guitars that elevates an already great track.
As they play each other’s tracks, the elements in their style that drew the two together are immediately apparent. Barnett’s winding version of “Peeping Tomboy” emphasizes the humorous yet affecting lyrics and entrancing fingerpicked line. Vile’s take on “Outta the Woodwork” accentuates Barnett’s ability to stretch out her riffs, dragging the song through a slowed-down tempo that lean into its bluesy undertones. When the two come together on a beautifully stripped-down cover of Belly’s 1993 track “Untogether”, they turn the blissful dream pop of the original into a gorgeously drawn-out ballad with a winding slide guitar, finding a charming harmony in the song’s bittersweet lyrics.
Lotta Sea Lice is a surprising marvel that amounts to much more than a stopgap for either artist. Even more, it hints at exciting new directions for the future, especially with “On Script”, where Barnett impeccably captures the exhaustion of having to spend every night like “a well-rehearsed stage show.” Languid and heavy, the song recalls past standouts like “Kim’s Caravan” and finds Barnett mastering a slow build into a tremendous breakdown. The album sees Barnett and Vile pushing each other to new heights, challenging one another. They sound locked in yet relaxed, and in between tracks, they’ll play studio laughter or the sound of a phone going off as if the songs are the result of jam sessions recorded in a couple of takes. Barnett and Vile’s chemistry together is undeniable, and not only does Lotta Sea Lice sound as fun to listen to as it must have been to make, but it stands as one of the best collaborative rock albums in recent years.
320 kbps | 133 MB | LINKS
CD 1
01. Where Has Justice Gone?
02. K.S.
03. Land Of Ice
04. Our Time Will Come
05. Mr. 9 To 5
06. Gone With The Breeze
07. Thunder In The Cities
08. The Strong Survive
09. Suddenly
10. Wasted Life
11. Searching
12. Land On Fire
13. The Road To Valhalla
CD 2
01. Phoenix Rising
02. Green Fields Of France
03. Suddenly
04. Freedom (What Freedom)
05. Sleep Well My Brother
06. Europe On My Mind
07. Another Prayer For The Dying
08. Night Trains
09. Justice
10. Our Time Will Come (Live)
11. Wasted Life (Live)
12. Gone With The Breeze (Live)
320 kbps | 84 MB | LINKS
‘Ready The Horses’ is a melange of country, soul, blues and Americana with a confessional singer-songwriter bent, that demands focused attention. Dickenson draws us into heartfelt narratives with enough substance to avoid cliché.
Jarrod Dickenson is self evidently a confident singer-songwriter with something to say. From the unabashed opening line of ‘Faint Of Heart’, he draws the listener in on the back of a tremolo laden shuffle which sounds like an old bluesy work song: “No this ain’t for the faint of heart, No You’ve got to be strong, ‘cos it’s bound to go wrong”.
As in the classic opening scene of a film, it’s the power of suggestion that carries us through a cross-genre roots album cemented by real songcraft.
A combination of strong songs with a contrasting vocal vulnerability draws us into an album title that conveys the feeling that we’re being taken on a journey.
Jarrod Dickenson’s ‘Ready The Horses’ will have immediate appeal to both country and Americana fans, but it’s the quality of the songs that will surely bring him much wider appeal.
