Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part of our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJs think you should hear. Today’s song, featured on the Afternoon Show with Kevin Cole, is “Rain Plans” by Israel Nash from the 2013 album Rain Plans, out now on Loose Music in the UK and to be released this summer in the US on Thirty Tigers.
Israel Nash - Rain Plans (MP3)
If someone told you that Israel Nash was blood relation to any member of CSNY, you probably wouldn't doubt it, especially not after hearing his latest release, Israel Nash’s Rain Plans. The truth is, he's not, but the Missouri born Israel Nash Gripka does draw the line from Neil Young's Ontario to Laurel Canyon to Dripping Springs, TX, where Israel Nash currently lives. Lest you think Nash is a newcomer to the scene, Rain Plans is his third album and a glorious neo-psychedlic masterpiece that's a step well-beyond his well-received first two albums. (And he's already quite popular in The Netherlands!) In dropping the "Gripka", Nash is also shedding the raw Nashville-to-Muscle-Shoals grit, instead building lush melodies and gorgeous harmonies on this mostly meditative collection. Today's featured song, the epic title track, and a particularly CSNY-influenced number, highlights Nash's warm vocals as it sweeps listeners from one eddy of jangling or grooving guitar to another, eventually building to a long, delectable jam. While "rain plans" may be your backup for inclimate weather, you're not going to want to go anywhere else while any song from Israel Nash's new album is playing.
Israel Nash just announced a tour with Jessica Lea Mayfield, which will bring him to The Crocodile in Seattle on June 16th. Check out his website and Facebook page for more information. For now, here's a stripped down yet amazing version of "Rain Plans" performed in a boat in the canals of 's-Hertogenbosch in The Netherlands:
photo by Renata Stenier
Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part of our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJs think you should hear. Today’s song, featured on the Afte…
