Jenny & Johnny’s Jenny Lewis and Johnathan Rice are no strangers musically, but they admit it was a little change of pace to work together in the studio. Rice and Lewis say their new album, I’m Having Fun Now, is a true collaboration, and Rice admits that was something different for him. Lewis notes Rice was originally working on a solo album, but once they started teaming up on songs they could see a different project taking shape. She explains, quote, “I think it was more in the attitude towards the material than the material itself. I think once we decided to actually make something together, we both suddenly became very open.” Lewis adds, quote, “We had collaborated in the past, but with this it was clear there was no boss.” Jenny & Johnny’s “ I’m Having Fun Now is in stores now.  You can see Jenny & Johnny when they perform at Jefferson Theater on Tuesday, October 26^th.

Mumford and Sons have been playing the festival circuit over in Europe all summer long. The reaction from concertgoers has been huge with massive numbers turning up for the band’s sets. What does singer Marcus Mumford chalk their success up to? He joked with NME saying, “It’s down to lots of strobe lights, lots of nudity, handing out chocolate and pouring vodka into people’s mouths down the front. That will get any crowd going.” Mumford and Sons’ debut album, Sigh No More, is out now.

From Rolling Stone

Band of Joy follows the intimate, moody vibe of his Grammy-winning collaboration with Alison Krauss, Raising Sand, but the songs are more powerful, like the blazing spiritual classic “Satan, Your Kingdom Must Come Down” and a hard-driving take on “Harm’s Swift Way,” a rare Townes Van Zandt track.

Resurrecting the Band of Joy, Plant picked out top-notch roots musicians and session players for the group: multi-instrumentalist Darrell Scott, guitarist and co-producer Buddy Miller, drummer Marco Giovino and bassist Byron House. “I’m working with arch-bishops of good taste,” Plant said.

The band first hit the studio last December, recording in the 10 days leading to Christmas, but Plant was a bit disappointed with the results. “It sounded like Moby Grape outtakes,” he said. “I was in absolute heaven. But I took it home and realized there was absolutely nothing that kicked up.” He called up Patty Griffin and asked her “to add her Shangri Las-type vocals,” Plant said. The singer gave the group the jolt Plant was seeking: “After Christmas, we went into overdrive.”

Band of Joy hits stores September 14.

From PopMatters:

More so than the debut, Ra Ra Riot’s The Orchard feels like a labor of love. One of the best things about The Rhumb Line was its sense of urgency, the feeling that these songs had something to say, that they couldn’t have been released at any later date. There is a kinetic energy on Rhumb that permeates every track, giving each word and note a sense of necessity. Not a sound or second is wasted. The Orchard is the flipside, offering a set of songs that takes its time to impress, reveling in the small details along the way.
This is a good thing. The Orchard not only sounds like a labor of love, but also, in its heartfelt outpouring, like it’s about love. In this respect, the band hasn’t traveled thematically very far since Rhumb, which still seems like one of the most romantic and emotional indie debuts in a long while. Vocalist Wes Miles is a big reason why—his fragile tenor quivers with an honest vibrato that feels more heartfelt than just about any other vocalist around. Ra Ra Riot makes emo for adults.

Ra Ra Riot embraces an unexpected and completely awesome influence on The Orchard: ‘80s Abacab-era Genesis, with its slick synthesizer patterns, rhythmic basslines, and monstrous, ornate drumming (courtesy of newcomer Gabriel Duquette) that ably recalls some of Phil Collins’ beastliest. The Invisible Touch is most visible during the instrumental bridge of “Too Dramatic”, where huge synths fondly echo those of Genesis keyboard master Tony Banks both in tone and rhythmic emphasis, while Duquette throws down on an assortment of busy percussion instruments. It’s refreshing to hear a band follow its own musical compass, chasing the influences that matter most, whether they’re cool or not (as for Genesis, uncool would be the case in today’s indie rock landscape).

Tune in Friday morning at 9AM to hear Anne Williams’ interview with Michael Franti and Spearhead from this past weekend. Franti played to a crowd of WNRN winners at Sound of Music Recording Studio in Richmond. It was all made possible by BK Music!

Tune in to WNRN tonight at 1AM for Live at The Southern this week featuring David Wax Museum!