Thursday, August 27, 2009

We don't do everything better in America ... not even country music in this case


Newest music recommendation: Baskery. A trio of Swedish sisters who play some mean country with just a tinge of occassional punkishness to bring something new to their sound.

I saw them a few weeks ago (and suck for not blogging about it until today) at a tiny show at The Hotel Cafe. There were literally about 18 of us watching the show, which was a motherfuckingshame because these women were incendiary when they were playing the fast stuff and slash the heartstrings when going more traditional countrystyle.

They caught my eye about two months ago when I was trolling the HC's events calendar. I hadn't been in a looooooong time and missed it, especially the world's greatest chicken quesadilla. While scanning the calendar grid, a picture of three very attractive women caught my eye. I clicked on the word Baskery and was taken to the band's myspace. The banjo, guitars and harmonies blew me away, along with the stylistic description of "Alternatve / Punk / Country."

And I can say that after watching them, their myspace doesn't do them justice. Live is a much more vigorous and urgent experience. The song "One Horse Down" is a great rip-roarer online, but online it was the fire-breathing dragon of the set with fierce yowls, scorching guitar and dangerously infectious energy. And the deliciously emasculating "Out-of-towner" (which features basically one lyric "I don't wanna go to bed with a man from town"), which they dedicated to the boys in Stockholm basically had all the guys there ready to prove their non-Swedish lineage. What else can one ask for in a show, right?

Discovering Baskery's existence and then being able to see them for all of $12.50 (we were the only people to buy our tix ahead of time), is what makes living in L.A. sofuckingbeautiful. So if you wanna seem infinitely ahead of the musical curve in your non-L.A. part of the world drop Baskery as a band to watch 2010 and you'll be hot shit. And in 2012 you'll be really cool for liking such a talented obscure band of Swedish sisters.

If you're still not convinced, read the reviews included on the embedded image!

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