I’ve spent quite a bit of time as of recent listening to Hezekiah Jones. For whatever reason I had never checked out their music, assuming they were an Israeli ska rap group or something of that nature (which is what I often default to when I don’t know a band). But turns out they actually make really great folk music!

I highly recommend Hezekiah Jones’ 2007 release, Come to Our Pool Party.  It contains super catchy folk melodies, including my personal favorites “Cupcakes for the Army,””Knives of Summertime,” and “Rain-stars.”  There’s a lot of personality coming through Herekiah Jones’ music, which is one of the reasons why I really like them. The poetic lyrics are cleverly written and clearly the band isn’t afraid to experiment and have a little fun. Their debut, Hezekiah Says You’re A-Ok, is really solid as well.

Hezekiah Jones is based out of Philadelphia and is the brainchild of Raphael Cutrufello. He writes the songs and plays piano, guitar, rhodes piano, harmonica, melodica, slide whistle, vocals, pots and pans!, kazoo, xylophone, and accordion. Raphael is backed by a rotating group of friends, and if you look at it Myspace, you’ll see he has more bandmates than perhaps any artist in the history of music.

Come to Our Pool Party (2007):

(mp3) Hezekiah Jones – Cupcakes for the Army

(mp3) Hezekiah Jones – Knives of Summertime

site | CD Baby | Myspace

I’m in love with NPR, and in particular the podcasts “This American Life” and “Radiolab.” They should be mandatory listening, as far as I’m concerned. Apart from featuring incredible stories, and addressing fascinating questions, they also contain really, really good music. As you may know, “This American Life” recently became a TV series on Showtime (you can stream on Netflix!), and their soundtrack includes some music from the band, Pale White Moon. If you are a fan of instrumental music definitely check out the debut album that released today called, Call of The Wolf Peach.

Pale White Moon’s music has an elegant, baroque sound that I really enjoy. “Heirlooms” and Yann Tiersen-esque “Sir Basil Humphrey’s House Oh The Hill” are my two favorite tracks on the album. And believe it or not, the band was able to somehow pull off using cicadas as instruments in the song, “The Seven Year Cicadas!” It’s actually enjoyable to listen to and they get major points for quirkiness. Instead of buying a sound sample of cicadas, frontman, Doug Slawin, went around New Haven, Connecticut to record. Awesome.

I think the story behind this album is really cool. Instead of Pale White Moon being a band, it’s more of a collective started by  Slawin. He dedicated the album to his hometown of New Haven, CT and got various people around his community to contribute. Read more about Pale White Moon at the New Haven Register.

Call of The Wolf Peach (2010):

(mp3) Pale White Moon – Heirlooms

(mp3) Pale White Moon - Sir Basil Humphrey’s House On The Hill

Buy at MF (only $6!)| Myspace

I’m really digging Cuckoo Chaos’ new EP, We Are from Deerplants. The band will be releasing their debut later in the year, and this is a sign of good things to come. If you’e a fan of Devendra Banhart, The Bowerbirds, or that general folk sound, I highly recommend checking them out.

My favorite track on the EP is “It’s Easy, Ya Know. ” It’s short and catchy, and among my favorite songs of the year. I’m also drawn to the tracks “Hymn Number Twelve,” and “Preparing for the Eternal Winter, We,” both of which creatively incorporate eerie, staticy voices to fully drive that lo-fi sound.  Overall, just a solid EP. Keep your eyes on Cuckoo Chaos.

Cuckoo Chaos is based out of San Diego, and is fronted by Scott Wheeler.

We Are From Deerplants EP (2010)

(mp3) Cuckoo Chaos – It’s Easy, Ya Know

(mp3) Cuckoo Chaos – Slowly Counting Down To Nothing

Myspace | iTunes