At the end of March I received a message from Dastardly frontman Gabe Liebowitz regarding Ty Maxon’s latest LP, Calling Of The Crows. Knowing that in the endless wave of music available on the internet I may have overlooked this release by his friend and sometime tourmate, he wanted to ensure that I took a listen. After that, things got busy. Both at work and here on the site there were things that took my mind away from Mr. Maxon’s album and left it a blurry image in my mind’s rearview. Within the last week I was suddenly startled by the memory. So I went to the bandcamp page where this album is kept, and I listened. And listened. And listened.

On this, his sixth album, Maxon has crafted a tapestry of folk styles detailing american music from the turn of the century to modern times. His subtle finger-picked guitar and soft, haunting vocals bring to mind a sepia-toned train ride through the wild west. In the effort to conjure these images, he is joined by Ryan Suzuka on harmonica. Suzuka’s locomotive call is more than enough to put your mind in a dark and dank railcar inhabited with hoboes and travellers looking for a better tomorrow. Continue reading “Ty Maxon-Calling Of The Crows”