My December 28th show at BIg V’s is the featured show of the day as picked by City Pages! Check out the nice write up here.

Another good review of Sticks and Stones printed in the Pioneer Press. Check it.

” Bethany Larson is the latest in a string of local singer/songwriters with the sort of striking, memorable voice that seems untied to any era, whether it be 2009, 1969 or 1939. Larson plays up that timelessness on the first track of “Sticks and Stones,” her seven-song debut disc, which she celebrates tonight with a CD-release gig at the Turf Club. She wraps the song “Why Don’t You Come Over” with a warm, low-fi production that makes it sound like it’s being played on a dusty old piece of forgotten vinyl. Elsewhere, Larson uses a full band but wisely keeps the focus on her voice throughout. No Bird Sing, Aby Wolf and Peter Wolf Crier open. “

The City Pages attended the Sticks and Stones release show, took a couple pics, and wrote a nice piece on the show. Go check it out.

” With a music scene as dense as ours, there’s opportunities to catch great local music on pretty much any night of the week, but it’s rare that a lineup of four groups of varying backgrounds and styles can deliver a concert so consistently engaging and high-caliber as the one that took place Friday night at the Turf Club. Case in point: Not once in the evening did I even check to see if the downstairs bar was open let alone seek it out as a resting place as I so often do at Turf shows, and it was out of fear of missing even a minute of what was happening upstairs.

I had seen many of the bands on the bill before, save for one — the promising new country-influenced folk singer Bethany Larson, who was releasing her first EP at Friday night’s show. Listening to her debut CD, Sticks and Stones, before the show, I had already pegged her as a fairly mellow, almost precious singer-songwriter, but in the live setting her music blossomed into something with a slightly harder edge that was ultimately much more intriguing. Her band built on her simple folk songs with dirty slide guitar flourishes and rustling, galloping snare drums, and Larson herself seemed to open up more on stage and push her voice further than in the studio. At softer points her grace recalled Channy Moon Caselle of Roma di Luna, but during louder and more upbeat numbers she came closer to sounding like a young Lucinda Williams, adding a bit of snarl to hard-luck stories like “But I Love Him.” “

The Onions AV Club wrote quite the flattering review of Sticks and Stones giving it a “B” rating. Go check it out.

” Bethany Larson & The Bee’s Knees, Sticks And Stones
(Self-released)

Bethany Larson, Sticks And StonesMore a promising set of rough-hewn demos than a proper album, Bethany Larson’s 7-track EP is nonetheless an auspicious debut, marking the arrival of a young songwriting talent worth keeping an eye on, and a possible heiress to Haley Bonar’s throne as the Cities’ finest alt-country cowgirl, should Bonar decide to make her relocation to Oregon permanent. Larson’s lovelorn lamentations are sparsely adorned with little more than acoustic strumming, which means her low-key twang must do most of the heavy lifting—a task she proves more than up to on ukelele-and-kick-drum ditties like “But I Love Him.” Although the spare sound doesn’t make for much in the way of rewarding repeated listening, Sticks And Stones truly shines when Larson opens up her sound by letting backing unit The Bee’s Knees kick up some dust and inject a bit of sass into her sorrow, as on the album’s two high points, the title track and “Domino Men.”

Grade: B “

Check out the awesome show flyer for my cd release show done by my good friend Kyle. Kyle recently lost his job and would love to do some more awesome illustrations for your band. Give him a shout out now.

So you or anyone else for that matter can now purchase my illustrious debut “Sticks and Stones” at CDBaby.com right now for only $5.99. Itunes availability will be coming shortly but you can also purchase the MP3 album at the CDBaby.com. So what are you waiting for, Get it now.

Hey…i got my band together for the cd release show! the lineup is…
Sara Beth Horishnyk-drums
Joshua Adrian-bass
Adam Roddy- lead guitar
it’s gonna be a realllll fun show…

source – http://www.cakein15.com/2009/10/27/bethany-larson-sticks-stones/

Bethany Larson – Sticks & Stones

Published by staciaann on October 27th, 2009 in minneapolis, music, review

Unfortunately Bethany Larson’s website isn’t working quite right. I’ve been trying to find out a bit more than her MySpace would tell me, but gibberish keeps pouring out.

So far I know she’s played at the 331 Club, Shuga Records, and is scheduled to play at the Turf Club on Dec. 11. She’s from Minneapolis. I only know these things from perusing the comments on her MySpace & checking out her photos – recognizing wallpaper and such. It’s sort of a letdown, but sort of a mystery begging to be solved.

I’ll be up front with you and tell you that most of the time I don’t like female vocals. I don’t know why. I’m just partial to men’s voices I guess. It’s no dis on women and it’s no weird sexist thing, it just is. Every once in a while I’m able to find someone I really enjoy – Natalie Merchant (in her 10,000 Manics days), Basia Bulat, Channy Casselle, & Caroline Smith – all good examples. So receiving Larson’s disc in the mail didn’t really excite me, but I decided to check it out anyway.

Upon first listen I compare her to Ingrid Michaelson a bit for her lyrics (feminine and sweet, yet melancholy), and the mandolin of course pushes Basia Bulat into my head. As I listen I find I’m not turning off the album, but instead turning it up. This is a rarity for me when it’s music I’m completely unfamiliar with. I have a habit of plowing through tracks and hitting eject, even when it’s something I’m interested in. I just tell myself I’ll come back to it later (which doesn’t happen much). Larson’s album, however, makes me want to listen.

“Why Don’t You Come Over?” starts out the album with a lo-fi recording quality, and things progress from there. The album keeps things stripped down – there’s no overproduction, which is refreshing. Even on the tracks with a full band, it’s all about Larson’s voice and lyrics. Her song “But I Love Him” has me tapping my toes and bouncing around the kitchen as I make pot roast in the slow cooker. It’s a classic song that instantly puts gangster girlfriend imagery in my brain. It starts with an upbeat rhythm and “My man went to the jailhouse/but I love him, I love him./ He wrecked his car, now he can’t drive/But I love him, I love him.” It’s a classic bad boy song, sung with innocent sweetness and simplicity. It floats along, easy to sing to, easy to like. “Forest City, 1985″ is a relationship apart, but “the world knows I’m yours, the world knows you’re mine.” Larson’s voice is smooth with a slight rough edge, which lends well to these sort of folk songs. Don’t fear, the album’s not all saccharine sweet. In fact, the best part is it’s just plain sincere. My fingers are crossed that her live show is as good as her recording. If so, she’ll be picking up local gigs right and left as soon as her CD release show is over.

Bethany Larson’s CD Release for “Sticks & Stones” is Friday, December 11 at the Turf Club.
No Bird Sing, Aby Wolf & Peter Wolf Crier open.