An American expat based in Paris, Frank Maston crafts sonic worlds of singular origin. Reminiscent of the deepest crates of library music and vintage Italian film scores, Maston’s output (four LPs to date beginning with 2013’s Shadows) feels at once widescreen and cinematic, yet intimate. Following up last year’s collaboration with Swiss septet L’Eclair, Souvenir, this month sees the release of Panorama via the London based Be With Records. To accompany the album’s release, Maston laid down his first Lagniappe Session in Paris, paying tribute to Dutch popper Alice Deejay, along with a tune via a 1966 episode of Star Trek.
Category: Lagniappe Sessions
The Lagniappe Sessions :: Lee Baggett
Lee Baggett’s Just a Minute, released earlier this year, marks his first outing under his own name after decades in the West Coast underground. For his first-ever Lagniappe Session, he breaks out selections from Def Leppard, The English Beat, and Van Halen, reflecting on the cuts as he goes along.
The Lagniappe Sessions :: Kolumbo
The nom de tune of sonic chameleon Frank LoCrasto, Kolumbo features vast and intricate orchestrations reminiscent of the symphonic exotica and jazz-pop records birthed by Capital records in the 50s and 60s. Strings, woodwinds, brass, keyboard and percussion all make an appearance, buoyed by an edge of psychedelia complete with synthesizers and loads of tape echo. On the heels of the project’s debut release, Gung Ho, LoCrasto and co. touch down with their inaugural Lagniappe Session, sonically juxtaposing the works of Stevie Wonder, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Brian Wilson, Duke Ellington and more.
Lagniappe SuperSession :: Birthday Blues | 33 Artists Interpret The Music Of James Toth
Surprise! The first Lagniappe SuperSession is a birthday party gathering of 33 artists interpreting the music of songwriter, James Toth. The songs in this collection cover over 20 years of music from James’ career, from his early band Golden Calves to his last Wooden Wand record, Clipper Ship. Featuring artists Woods, Marisa Anderson, Lee Ranaldo, William Tyler, Ryley Walker, Tashi Dorji (as Mount), Thurston Moore, Meg Baird, and 25 more, the range of styles and sounds on this compilation show off the universality of Toth’s impressive oeuvre.
The Lagniappe Sessions :: Eli Winter
For his debut Lagniappe Session, Eli Winter applies his solo guitar to a set of songs by Don Cherry and Ed Blackwell, Maria BC, Judee Sill, and Karen Dalton.
The Lagniappe Sessions :: of Montreal (Second Session)
Last month saw the release of Of Montreal’s 18th long-player, the seven track Freewave Lucifer fck, and with it the perennial project’s second set of covers for AD, this time paying tribute to a pair of British iconoclasts and longtime influences. First up is Barnes’ rendering of Syd Barret’s “Dark Globe, off The Madcap Laughs, the singer-songwriter’s 1970 debut following his departure from Pink Floyd. Up next, the majesty of Marc Bolan circa ’71, courtesy of an acoustic take on “Cosmic Dancer”, via T. Rex’s Electric Warrior.
The Lagniappe Sessions :: Mapache
Mapache returned earlier this summer with the release of Roscoe’s Dream, the Los Angeles duo’s third, and tightest, LP to date. Comprised of Sam Blasucci and Clay Finch, we described their sound in 2017 as something akin to “a blazed up Everly Brothers” — something the pair make good on in 2022, via their debut Lagniappe Session. Here, Mapache pay tribute to Don and Phil’s “Always It’s You”, originally cut by the brothers in 1960 as a b-side. Next up is a faithful cover of Gillian Welch and David Rawlings’ “You Only Have Your Soul”, a tune found on the second volume of Welch’s lost songs collection, Boots No. 2.
The Lagniappe Sessions :: Alex Izenberg
Alex Izenberg resurfaced this past May with the release of his third full-length, I’m Not Here. Introspective and impressionistic, it’s an album that defies easy categorization. This is both a testament to Izenberg’s idiosyncratic pop-craft, and the sonic palette set forth by producer Greg Hartunian, with an assist from Dirty Projectors’ Dave Longstreth. For this, his second Lagniappe Session, the singer-songwriter reflects on the nature of impermanence via a cover of Jim Croce’s 1972 hit single, “Time In A Bottle”. Fast-forward to present day and we find Izenberg paying tribute to Fleet Floxes’ “I’m Not My Season”, culled from the group’s 2020 lp, Shore.
The Lagniappe Sessions :: Mike Pollize
On Dizzy Demos: 2 Tickets to Cheeseburger in Paradise, songwriter Mike Polizze reveals the ramshackle core of his solo debut Long Lost Solace Find, collecting demos and outtakes from the album’s original sessions. The former Purling Hiss frontman’s songs shine in nascent form, tugging at threads that connect to country rock, glam, and classic loner folk. For his first ever Lagniappe Session, Polizze keeps things similarly direct and locked in, with two sparse traditional songs.
The Lagniappe Sessions :: Al Riggs
For their first ever Lagniappe Session, North Carolina songwriter/singer/producer Al Riggs takes on songs by The Who, Liz Phair, and Hidden Cameras.
The Lagniappe Sessions :: Tim Bernardes
São Paulo’s Tim Bernardes swept us off our feet earlier this month with his new album, Mil Coisas Invisíveis. Across fifteen tracks sung in beautiful, tender Portuguese, he mines love, loss, and change with equal splendor bringing his diaristic existentialism to vibrant sonic life. For his inaugural Lagniappe Session, Bernardes keeps the flame aglow, tackling one from fellow countryman Gilberto Gil’s 1971 self-titled album, the Dirty Projectors’ knotty, Tropicália-tinged art rock, and one of The Beatles’ most spiritually mystic moments.
The Lagniappe Sessions :: Neal Francis
The past few years have seen Neal Francis carve out his name with an incendiary live show and a refreshingly well-schooled, analog-obsessed interpretation of 70s soul. His dry tenor has been compared to that of Allen Toussaint, and the late maestro would certainly approve of Francis’ keyboard stylings, as well as his affinity for billowing grooves and charged arrangements.
The Lagniappe Sessions :: Andrew Bird
Andrew Bird’s virtuosity is no secret. It’s a disservice at this point to dip into adjectives of praise and find a new way to say as much. Bird’s been around the well-regarded block, with a discography and collection of co-signs to prove it. It’s tough to think of a time he wasn’t simply out there, doing his talented thing – playing live, popping up on your tv screen, releasing attentive albums.
The Lagniappe Sessions :: Johanna Samuels
For her Lagniappe Session, Johanna Samuels looks back, calling on nostalgic childhood sounds. There’s Dylan’s “Simple Twist of Fate”, the Beatles’ “Yes It Is”, and The Only Ones (by way of Yo La Tengo) “The Whole of The Law”. All careful, attuned, and respectful interpretations…
The Lagniappe Sessions :: Modern Nature
Bandleader, singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, Jack Cooper continues to push boundaries, expanding upon the breadth, depth and scope of the ever-evolving Modern Nature. Open-ended in approach, Cooper and co. return with their second Lagniappe Session, this time digging into the lovelorn, torch perennial, “Stormy Weather”, and the Billie Holiday penned blues lament, “Fine & Mellow”.