Badmen and innocence
October 15th, 2010 by illlit.com
Ill Lit’s original label was the Badman Recording Co., located in Portland, Oregon (with strong ties to San Francisco). Dylan Magierek has been the (bad)man behind the mask since the label’s humble beginnings, and uses the facilities of Type Foundry studio to make his artist’s material soar. Here’s a look at some of the label’s artists and releases.
- the innocence mission, the long-running husband-and-wife folk-pop group, returned to Badman for the release of their tenth album. Titled My Room in the Trees, it’s the group’s fourth release on the label. Karin Peris’ vocals are as sweetly entrancing as ever, and the group’s spiritual side shines through on tracks like “God Is Love” and “Shout for Joy.”
- Singer-songwriter Patrick Park recorded his first EP (Basement Tapes) in 2000, and since then he’s had various brushes with success while still maintaining his indie credibility. Park released his 2010 album Come What Will on Badman. The album has garnered him comparisons to early Ryan Adams and Josh Rouse. If you’re looking to sample a track, opener “You’ll Get Over” is a highlight that’s hard to ignore.
- Pianist/singer-songwriter Mark Mallman has been a staple of the Minnesota indie music scene since the late 1990s when he played with his band The Odd. In 1998, Mallman released the solo debut, The Tourist, and he’s been prolific since then. 2009′s well-received Invincible Criminal was his third album for Badman.
- Weinland, the band of John Adam Weinland Shearer, embraces a variety of American guitar-based songwriting genres. Traces of alt-country and indie-rock wind through their songs. Badman released their second album, La Lamentor, in 2008, and their third, Breaks in the Sun, in April of 2009. We expect to hear something new from the group in the near future, but until then do yourself a favor and go check out their back catalogue.