Biting Other Blogs is an occasionally occurring feature that will direct your attention to a specific blog post or two that, most likely, I wish I had posted myself. Giving credit where credit is due, I typically wont blab too much, except to encourage you to get up on whatever blog I am highlighting…

In what has ben a disturbing trend for myself as of late. I’m late to another party. I’ve really been diging Root Jack’s In the Pines album recently, but alas, tons of others have beat me to it pretty well. Check out what these fine folks have had to say about this country rock band from Portland…

• Nine Bullets digs it in part to the band that came before Root Jack…

• The boys at Front Porch Musings have actually liked Root Jack for some time now…

LISTEN: “Pastor of the Pines” – Root Jack

Biting Other Blogs is an occasionally occurring feature that will direct your attention to a specific blog post or two that, most likely, I wish I had posted myself. Giving credit where credit is due, I typically wont blab too much, except to encourage you to get up on whatever blog I am highlighting…

I have had a blast going back in time and listening to what would’ve been The Jayhawks debut album. The Bunkhouse Album is a rollicking good, country-rock time. Many people are writing that it’s odd this album is only coming out after the “genre” the band helped launch is all but dead. I don’t get that at all. The bands like Uncle Tupelo, Whiskeytown and Old 97′s didn’t purposely create a genre and call it “Alt-country” or “Cow Punk” or whatever, that was the writers and critics who felt uncomfortable letting the music be what it is, without a nice, tidy and neat little label that made it easier for them to turn in their assignments on time.

• Roughstock isn’t too worried about the death of alt-country…. 

• …neither is American Songwriter …

• Austin 360 thinks the album is solid, even if a bit late to arrive (duh).

Biting Other Blogs is an occasionally occurring feature that will direct your attention to a specific blog post or two that, most likely, I wish I had posted myself. Giving credit where credit is due, I typically wont blab too much, except to encourage you to get up on whatever blog I am highlighting…

Well, I’ll just get right to it. I’ve come upon some of my favorite blogs recently that have pointed me into the direction of some mighty fine new and FREE music. Enjoy.

Check out the new and free record from Golden Bones. The boys over at FPM were kind enough to point this out.

The always reliable blog, A Truer Sound, also did a fine job of busting out an intro. This one was to Duquette Johnson…go get it.

Another blog that not only puts mine to shame, but always seems to show me something I love, just about each time out, Common Folk Meadow, went ahead and did it again. See what he has to say about Uncles.

Just like with acts such as The .357 String Band, I love it when rough and tumble front-porch pickers get it right. As I’ve said before, here on The Knob, I was getting sick of hearing a ton of alleged punk-flavored string bands act rebellious when they sounded anything but.

I’ve really been enjoying the self titled debut album from Canada’s Moonshine Ramblers (Myspace) lately. To be fair, it’s not a straight-up acoustic or string-based album. The occasional use of drums and even a stratocaster actually give the album a bit of a punch that helps keep the album from veering off into monotony (give “Chicken Skull” a listen for what I’m talking about). Those electro-country touches are nice, but the heart of the album is the ramshackle glory that tracks like the opener, “Way Downtown” provide when the five-piece act gathers around the microphone and belts it all out, together.

LISTEN: “Way Downtown” – Moonshine Ramblers

LISTEN: “Chicken Skull” – Moonshine Ramblers

As you may or may not remember, I enjoyed my single day at last year’s rain-soaked ACL Festival in Austin. Two of my favorites from that day were the sets from Deer Tick and from Bon Iver. Both performances garnered mixed reviews from other fans and critics, but not from me. I just enjoyed catching them live in what was a pretty crazy, if not surreal, setting. Hulu has added clips from both of these sets, among others to their site recently. Enjoy.