So I have been a bit MIA around here lately, so long time no chat? I thought I would put down some tunes here based on a referral from fellow blogger Tart over at Love Shack, Baby. Tart was watching The Wailing Wall playing in Chicago and immediately tweeted that I needed to listen & pick up the new album.
Who is “The Wailing Wall”? Well it is 23 year old multi instrumentalist Jesse Rifkin. Again, it always makes me feel old when you find someone so young that seems so talented. But I digress.
So…the new album “The Low Hanging Fruit” is from JDub Records (see here) but alas, it is sold out currently from the site (but pre-order the bonus track version on iTunes). Good sign I think. So…what do you do now? Well you listen to the numerous available free downloads from the label of course! Well with that thought I have been listening to this fringe folk artist’s demos and earlier works and they indeed deserve a shout out for purchase. I have included a favourite track “Dear Mother” with the demo and final version from the Hospital Blossoms album. Its a great little diddy, especially the uber lo-fi start to the final version – frickin’ good. Also attached is the album title track for juxtapose (or not) to the remainder of the songs.
Find the remainder of the downloads on his artist page over on JDub (here) along with some bonus tracks from Archive.org (here). You can also find all the links in one convenient location on his MySpace page, along with a crap load of other info (here).
~Smansmith
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I know, I know, you can’t buy or grab any album i’m writing about. So if you’ve missed the last Brook Lee Catastrophe, here’s a new chance to discover this bright californian band ! They offer you for free and for a limited time their brand new album : American Hotel.
I’m just discovering this 11 tracks collection… And with no doubt – i’m listening to track 7 – I can tell you that the band keep digging their atypical explorations mixing an undefinable but addictive sound between rock, folk and americana. It’s brilliant, it’s simply gorgeous !
According to the band, this new album is the first of a two companion-pieces set to released summer and fall 2010 (woot woot hooray ) !
If “American Hotel” is designed to keep the intensity burning all the way to last call, “Motel Americana” (Fall 2010) is the hair of the dog—the cold comfort of the morning after, the soundtrack of the battered and the bruised. Squarely rooted in the folk tradition, “Motel Americana” also incorporates textures of country, bluegrass, and gospel in service of a song cycle that is at once melancholy and celebratory, the perfect antidote to a cold and cynical world.
Voilà de quoi nous mettre l’eau à la bouche ! In the meantime, let me tease you with the first track, then go and grab your album and please tweet about it as loud as you can, facebook it, myspace it, well spread the word, this band is huge !
Wise Children is a musical project from the South Coast of England created by multi-instrumentist Robin Warren-Adamson. He released couple days ago (on April 7th) his second ep “Absence & Reunion” a stunning 6 tracks collection. Don’t miss his previous one available as a free download on his bandcamp site ; this guy is gold.
So Third Floor Sessions have done it again…a great live performance caught on video (and mp3) from Canadian indie icons Ohbijou!
There is something about Ohbijou, they are just a dreamy pop sound that is thick with lush melodies. They create moments instead of songs…I can very much see them sound-tracking moments in time. That perfect moment in time (or not so perfect moment) where through your mind’s eye it has sound. It is the kind of music that can create something deep within you while listening. The same way (for me) Sigur Rós create such deep emotion with music – the sounds can be epic, heart-warming and tragically beautiful.
Enjoy a couple of the tracks and a video: get the full 8 tracks over at Third Floor Sessions HERE.
Probably my favourite J. Tillman track is “Casualties”. I almost fell of my chair when I saw Luxury Wafers put a nice little video of a live recording of it for their recent session with the Tills.
I know I (and others on this blog) preach about Josh Tillman…but seriously, chills.
Visit Luxury Wafers for 3 live tracks (even a nice version of a track from his new 7″ that just came out last week) for free download with one simple click RIGHT HERE.
So “Song o Day” today is a great cover. I say this as not all covers are great, some are simply imitation. It is nice to have a song that even though it is a cover, it can stand on it’s own. This is one of those tracks from Kyle Swartzwelder and his cover of the Kathleen Edwards track “Away”. Kyle sent these over to me the other day (along with a Neil Young cover of “Powderfinger”, nice), and I needed to share at least one of them. Man the slide guitar (or what I think of as the slide guitar) is just gorgeous, waning and waxing throughout!
Enjoy a bit of folky Americana for your Thanksgiving. Canadian Thanksgiving that is, and give thanks for talent such as Swartzwelder and Edwards. If you like this unreleased cover track – pick up Kyle’s album over at CD Baby HERE. If you wanted to hear more of Kathleen Edwards, visit her on her website HERE.
~Smansmith
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Well my affinity for all things bearded and acoustic have lead me to singer songwriter Josh Preston. There I said it…now did that sound creepy?
Well creepy-ness aside, Josh has recently been kind enough to offer up some free downloads of his material via the his Bandcamp site. There are five (yes 5!) albums available for download that were released in the last 3 years more or less. So come on people, head on over for some sampling!
I first came across Josh when I was looking for some acoustic stuff to include over on Slowcoustic for a playlist and picked up his amply titled album “Josh Preston’s Perpetual Bin of Demos and Other Sods You May Have Heard Live But Are Not Live Now” and included his song “Fire”.Josh being the nice guy he is, found me on twitter (follow him @joshpreston) and linked me up for the rest of the downloads! I have picked his EP “The Complex Wooden Heart” as come on, it was labeled as acoustic and sounded like it could be some good old sad bastard music. If you know me that is a combination I enjoy (yes, I enjoy music that evokes bleak hardships…it is just the type of music that has the ability to move you that much easier). So I have included the four fully solo acoustic beauties for your listening pleasure – you can visit here to download a zip with it all together as well. So ease your way into the weekend with some well scripted laments delivered right on cue from Josh.
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