In their somewhat self-titled debut, She’s The Dutchess, He’s The Duke, The Dutchess And The Duke popularized their lo-fi psychedelic folk with epic tracks like “Reservoir Park” and “I Am Just A Ghost”. With romantically-tinged dual male/female vocals, the duo of Jesse Lortz and Kimberly Morrison reverted to a sound that hinted at another time,…
Tag: hardly art
Le Loup: Family [Album Review]
Upon first hearing “Beach Town”, the first officially available track off Le Loup‘s sophomore release Family, I noted how it was surprisingly reminiscent of recent Papercuts. I failed to mention that the two artists shared a stage at CMJ 2007, where I saw each lay down a phenomenal set. Well, listening to Family in its…
The Dutchess And The Duke: Hands [Track Review]
Gritty in their psychedelic-tinted folk-pop, The Dutchess And The Duke maintain much of their lo-fi folk sensibilities on “Hands” while simultaneously progressing in their mastery of song and style. Always a group backed by the sounds of old, they are undoubtedly modern; entirely hip, in “Hands” The Dutchess And The Duke once again fill their…
Le Loup: Beach Town [Track Review]
It’s been two long years since any news has come forth from the Baltimore collective Le Loup, fronted by the once tormented Sam Simkoff. Two years is a very long time — enough time for maturity to progress, lifestyles to change, personalities to evolve. And that’s what we’re given with the first single off Le…
Le Loup: The Throne Of The Third Heaven Of The Nations’ Millennium General Assembly [Album Review]
With such a long album name, one would think elements of an experimental nature would likely be found within; and about Le Loup‘s The Throne Of The Third Heaven Of The Nations’ Millennium General Assembly one would be correct in that assumption. Actually, The Throne is a concept album largely inspired by Dante’s Inferno. “Canto…
Talbot Tagora [Feature]
As of today, Hardly Art now has seven records under their belt thanks to the release of Lessons In The Woods Or A City by Talbot Tagora. These seven hold some pretty blatant differences. Each release drastically contrasts from the last, the last two, and so on back to HAR-001 (In Camera by Arthur &…
The Dutchess And The Duke: She’s The Dutchess And He’s The Duke [Album Review]
The Dutchess is Kimberly Morrison and the Duke is Jesse Lortz. The two have been playing together for years, but it wasn’t until they struck out on their own in The Dutchess And The Duke that their creative music abilities came full circle. She’s The Dutchess And He’s The Duke is an album mixing lo-fi…
Pretty And Nice [Feature Band]
Written by Fense I thought I had them all figured out. Each Hardly Art release since their inception as a label has seen artists that dabble — albeit barely at times — in some form of folk. Sure, it may be obscure, as in the case of Le Loup, but it’s always there. Enter Pretty…
The Pica Beats: Beating Back The Claws Of The Cold [Album Review]
Written by Fense I’m reading a little note by a key force behind Hardly Art Records, the label releasing The Pica Beats (MySpace) sophomore album, Beating Back The Claws Of The Cold, today. I usually don’t quote press releases, but this one is both important and relevant: If there’s one thing I love about this…
The Moondoggies: Don’t Be A Stranger [Album Review]
Written by Fense Wow, everyone seems to be channeling 60s and 70s folk these days and you can add The Moondoggies to that ever-growing list of bands. Don’t Be A Stranger can be found somewhere between the folkier side of Crosby Stills Nash and Young, and country-ish side of Neil Young himself. All this is…
