SOME WICKED: Dashiell Brown's Blog

 

I play this song all the time on The New Spin, so check out this video. Herman Dune are brothers of Jewish descent from Stockholm and were propelled into the limelight by John Peel. His latest album, Next Year in Zion, is fantastically orginal and has the homegrown anti-folk sound that sprung from New York in the early 80’s. When Lach got kicked out of Folk City, he started a place for folkies that were “too punk,” the Sidewalk Cafe in the East Village–this began a rebellion against the commercialization of the mainstream folk-scene that dominted in Greenwhich Village. Read more about it here in NY Times. I actually played there ten years ago, and Lach was still the MC there for open-mic night. It turns out that Lach’s new album The Calm Before is nominated for a Grammy in the “Best Contemporary Folk/Americana” category. In celebration of this, he has the entire album streaming here. It’s not my favorite, but certainly worth a listen–there are some gems on it.

Herman Dune is currently on tour with Arcade Fire and The Kooks. The John Natchez Bourbon Horn Players give a wonderfully full sound on the album, who also lend a hand to Arcade Fire and Beirut.  For fans of Johnny Cash, Calexico, and anywhere in between, this is my Track O’ the Week for sure.

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