in which sallie ford & the sound outside tell it like it is

so, it's a bit difficult to pigeonhole the portland quartet sallie ford & the sound outside into a music genre. my first inclination is to say retro, but...not in the official (by this blog's standards) retro way, ala sinatra and fitzgerald. no, it's more like 50's and 60's retro, and it's so charmingly delightful that you can't help but visualize all sorts of sock hops and black and white tvs and the like when you listen to it.



please don't confuse this throwback style with the sweet, innocent lyrics that populated the early years of rock and roll, because that's not what sallie ford & co. is all about. despite her cute librarian appearance, sallie isn't hesitant in letting you know how she feels in the band's energetic rock-jazz-country-oldies-tinged music.

i swear, as a matter of fact, is basically a big eff-you to all the bland so-called popstars out there that are being foisted upon listeners nowadays. "what have these people done to music?" sallie asks you. "what is this robot sounding bullshit? we sell our souls to the man."

amen, sallie. preach it, sister!

we turn on the radio
it all sounds the same
it all sounds the same
what have these people done to music?
they just don't care anymore
they just don't care anymore

(mp3) i swear (daytrotter version) by sallie ford & the sound outside

the video is absolutely delicious. it's SO lovably retro, but not in the hipper-than-thou way.

Sallie Ford & the Sound Outside - I Swear from Matthew Ross on Vimeo.

want to see sallie ford & the sound outside live? check them out at one of their following dates:

6/23 - Louisville, KY @ Uncle Slayton's
6/24 - Athens, OH @ Casa Cantina
6/25 - Thomas, WV @ Mountain State Brewing
6/28 - New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
6/30 – Ithaca, NY @ The Haunt (w/ Th' Legendary Shack Shakers)
7/1 – Erie, PA @ The Crooked (w/ Th' Legendary Shack Shakers)
7/2 – Buffalo, NY @ Mohawk Place (w/ Th' Legendary Shack Shakers)
7/5 - Cambridge, MA @ Club Passim (w/ Jolie Holland)
7/6 - Northampton, MA @ Iron Horse Music Hall (w/ Jolie Holland)
7/7 – Portland, ME @ The Space (w/ Jolie Holland)
7/8 - Montreal, QC Canada @ Le Cabaret du Mile End (w/ Jolie Holland)
7/9 - Toronto, ON Canada @ Horeseshoe Tavern (w/ Jolie Holland)
7/11 - Ann Arbor, MI @ The Ark (w/ Jolie Holland)
7/12 - Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall (w/ Jolie Holland)
7/14 - Minneapolis, MN @ Cedar Cultural Centre (w/ Jolie Holland)
7/16 - Kansas City, MO @ Record Bar (w/ Jolie Holland)
7/20 - Dallas, TX @ Kessler Theater (w/ Jolie Holland)
7/21 - Austin, TX @ Lambert's (w/ Jolie Holland)
7/22 – Houston, TX @ Fitzgerald's (w/ Jolie Holland)
7/23 - New Orleans, LA @ Tipitina's (w/ Jolie Holland)
7/25 - Tampa, FL @ Crowbar (w/ Jolie Holland)
7/26 - Orlando, FL @ The Social (w/ Jolie Holland)
7/31 – Holyoke, MA @ Mountain Park (w/ The Decemberists)
8/2 – Vienna, VA @ Jammin' Java
8/3 – Philadelphia, PA @ World Café Live
8/27 - Eugene, OR @ Eugene Celebration

buy dirty radio, the album i swear is off of, HERE. go HERE to download their brand-spankin' new daytrotter session for free!