Jeremy Messersmith – The Silver City (2008)

 

photo credit: Steven Cohen

Minneapolis singer/songwriter Jeremy Messersmith just released his sophomore album, The Silver City. I featured Messersmith on the site two years ago when his debut album The Alcatraz Kid came out, and I’ve been following him ever since.

As traditional as his music is, and as easy as it is to compare him to a more upbeat (happier) Elliott Smith, I’ve always found him to have a unique sound. His vocals are the forefront of his music, and I feel many similarly influenced musicians hide behind their instrumentals and somberly whisper in a way that he doesn’t. When I’m in the mood for music that offers a balance between light & dark, Messersmith’s music fills the role perfectly.

While The Silver City hasn’t had as big of an impact on me as The Alcatraz Kid, I still really like it. The album has a concentration on the Twin Cities (Minneapolis), and focuses on geography, such as life in the suburbs, city, and the commute between both. Right now, “Miracles,” “Skyway,” “Virginia,” and “Light Rail” are among my favorite tracks on the album.

I noted in my last feature on Jeremy, and it’s worth noting again, that he seems like an extremely friendly guy (just like everyone from Minneapolis, am I right?!) It looks like his blog has disappeared from his recently updated site, but he sometimes uses Myspace to make blog posts. They are really enjoyable to read, like this older post about his apartment getting broken into. We could use some more honest musicians out there like Messersmith.

The Silver City (2008):

Jeremy Messersmith – Virginia

Jeremy Messersmith – Miracles

The  Alcatraz Kid (2006):

Jeremy Messersmith – Beautiful Children

Jeremy Messersmith – Great Times

Site | iTunes | Amazon | Myspace | ‘Cake In 15’ Interview

Below is the music video for “Miracles.” Supposedly it’s the first full-length music video shot by iPhone. This better not turn into Apple’s next iPhone commercial.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-Woqa-XJfs[/youtube]

One thought on “Jeremy Messersmith – The Silver City (2008)

  1. Maybe it’s because I am from Minneapolis (despite the implication in this article, is only one of the Twins), but this album is full of tired cliches. One need look no further than “Suburbia” to find an example. “Welcome to suburbia welcome to the rest of your life.” If you’re going to throw joining the enumerable procession of artists point out the dystopian nature of suburbs, at least do it in a more subtle and creative manner. See also, “Dead End Jobs”, “The Commuter”, “Skyway”, and “Light Rail.” This album reads like a perversion of a Kevin Smith movie and American Beauty in just over a half hour.

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