The Ruckus

Feature Interview: Terra Naomi

Terra Naomi has an impossibly beautiful voice and writes lyrics with astounding rawness. One way or another, Ms. Naomi is sure to pull on your heart. Her intense honesty makes her refreshing and relatable. It is hard to imagine anyone not falling in love with Terra.

Terra Naomi took the internet by storm one night when she recorded herself playing her song Say It's Possible, inspired by the movie An Inconvenient Truth and uploaded it to YouTube. As I type this, that video has been viewed 3,843,019 times. In March of 2007, she received one of the inaugural YouTube Video Awards for the music video category. In July of 2007 she performed at Live Earth at Wembley Stadium in London in front of 80,000 people. After a stint with a major label, Terra is now contract free and working on a new album, powered by herself. To quote Ms. Naomi's twitter: "Is there anything I can't do? I'm beginning to think the answer might be no."

Those inspired and touched by Terra Naomi via YouTube now span the globe, myself included. I couldn't believe it when I saw that Ms. Naomi was scheduled to perform at the Pride Fest in Colorado Springs, a mere seventy miles from my home, when I was sure I would have to travel to Los Angeles. In person, Terra is just as sweet and genuine as a fan of her music would think. She is so warm, so kind, so friendly, and so candid. She was all smiles and honestly loves what she does and the people who support her. After watching Terra perform, we made our way to the edge of the festival grounds to have a talk that left me all smiles.

How are you enjoying Colorado?

I love it. I love Colorado. I’ve spent quite a bit of time here, actually. Both of my brothers went to university here and my cousins live here.

Album Review: Langhorne Slim: Be Set Free

As with all things Langhorne Slim, I am loving this album. Be Set Free is a more mature, developed sound that should come with time. However, Langhorne Slim keeps his music on a level that allows people to access it and relate to it in their own way. Be Set Free is ballad driven and feels incredibly personal. His unique vocal style is intense and full of emotion. I have spent all weekend with this album in my car stereo as I drove all over the greater Denver area in search of a new car, friends, food, and the last show of the year at Red Rocks. Halfway through the day, I was singing along, bobbing my head, and even doing a bit of seat dancing when appropriate. Langhorne Slim has created another album that I'll keep with my favorites.

Be Set Free starts out magnificently with the powerful Back To The Wild which appropriately sets the mood for the rest of the collection. This one carries a lot of memorable lines like I've had it better than some and I know I shouldn't complain/ though my grandfather told me once that all pain hurts the same. The simple honesty is where much of Langhorne Slim's charm lies and is sure to stick with you. Say Yes carries a misleading cheerful, simple chorus while the rest of the track carries a good deal of weight. The combination makes for an eclectic and wonderful song. The smokey, bluesy For A Little While begins with rough, edgy guitar laced with delicate piano then jumps up with Langhorne Slim's soulful voice and percussion into this incredibly impassioned place, making it one of the stand out tracks on the record. So Glad I'm Coming Home achieves a vintage feel from the Rhodes piano. The brilliant Sam Kassirer's keyboards lend a lot of help in giving the album shape.

Make sure to pick up a copy of Be Set Free on September 29th. The album is available from Kemado Records on CD, LP, and MP3 here. For more on Langhorne Slim, visit him on MySpace.

Back To The Wild - Langhorne Slim

Watch This: Thom Yorke: All For The Best

Here is the video for Thom Yorke's cover of All For The Best from the compilation Ciao My Shining Star due out on September 29th. Order the album here. Read our review here.

People We Like: King Charles

King Charles from Black Cab Sessions on Vimeo.

So, I discovered King Charles while casually perusing the Black Cab Sessions on Vimeo awhile back. I'm not usually so easy, Internet, but it took me about 30 seconds to fall for this song (which I believe is called "Ivory Road"). Essentially what I'm saying is that if this were a date, I'd be putting out right now. King Charles is from London, which is completely unsurprising given the tunes that are coming from across the pond. You'll want to check YouTube for more of his music, soonest.

His new single, "Love Lust" will be out on October 26th (via Mi7 Records). Babies, it is not an exaggeration when I say that "Love Lust" is my new favorite song (and I was equally blown away by the B-side, "Mr. Flick"). You know what I mean, right? It's a rare and wonderful thing, and I love when it happens.

King Charles - Love Lust

Download: Love Lust

More at MySpace

New York ♥ Swimming in Speakers

Take guitarist Chris Clarke and singer Meadow Eliz, add in some talented instrumentalists (including a recently added Appalachian fiddler), and you've got Swimming in Speakers, an indie acoustic/electronic band from The Adirondacks who are poised to take New York by (sweet, melodic) storm. Their music brings to mind the best kind of evening - you know the kind, right? Lazy June nights, drinking lemonade and dozing off in the hammock in your back yard while fireflies flicker around you.

They rock out in an "Adirondacky summerness kinda way", but it's not hard to make the leap from summer in the Adirondacks to Autumn in New York City. In fact, that's where they've been this week, starting with a show at The Living Room on September 24th, and moving on to The Cameo Gallery in Brooklyn to perform at On Another Note Records' label launch party on Saturday, September 26th (check the sidebar or here for more information about that).

Want more (of course you do - have we ever lead you astray?) you can read what we've written about them before right here, then listen to a fantastic in-studio live session on their local NPR station, North Country Public Radio. You'll also want to follow them on Twitter and Myspace to keep up with everything that's going on. If you're not familiar with Swimming in Speakers, now is the time get down.

In Pictures: Bobby Long

Bobby Long | 23 August 2009 | Click to embiggen | See the full set here

In Pictures: Ra Ra Riot

Ra Ra Riot opened July 14th at Red Rocks with an entertaining and energetic set. An electric violin and cello provided a twist to the danceable pop sound that the group provides. To view the entire set, go here.