Category Archives: Folk

Band of Horses set to release new album, Infinite Arms.

Posted on by
1

Just the other day, I was listening to Band of Horses and this thought swept over me: “When the F*** [yes, I curse in my head] are BOH releasing their next album?!” Then, as if my inner-voice rained down on them from the heavens, they announced their upcoming album. It was magical. Their album is called Infinite Arms, and it comes out on May 18. It will not be released on Sub Pop, which means my April Fools report from a few years ago was dead on.

According to our friends over at Pitchfork, frontman Ben Bridwell said, “in many ways, this is the first Band of Horses record.” I guess we’ll see who makes better music–Ben Bridwell or Ben Bridwell & Co.

(mp3) Band of Horses – Ode to LRC

(mp3) Band of Horses – Monsters

site | myspace

Cool video from Lollapalooza:

‘continue reading’ for Tour dates:

Continue reading →

Pale White Moon – Call of The Wolf Peach (2010)

Posted on by
1

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

Jordie Lane – Sleeping Patterns (2009)

Posted on by
1

Jordie Lane’s music is one of the best kept secrets out there. Lane’s 2009 debut album, Sleeping Patterns, literally makes me want to go door to door and spread the goodness. His music and songwriting is beautiful and refreshing in every sense of the word.  Sleeping Patterns is a must hear for any music fan (especially recommended for fans of Wilco, Bob Dylan, and Johnny Cash).

One thing I love about the album is its diversity. Lane has a gift for connecting genres in a way that expands what I imagine is most listeners’ comfort zones. His album is influenced by folk, bluegrass, country, and other genres.  While his folk songs “I Could Die For You,” “The Day I Leave This Town,” and “War Rages On” are gems and most like the music I typically listen to, tracks such as “Fell Into Me” “Walking that Way,” and “John W. Thistle” are throwbacks to the 60s (“There Once Was Life to Come” is fantastic and brings Johnny Cash to mind). Lane’s music is extremely cultured and is a great homage to all the musicians who have helped us get where we are today in music.

It blows my mind that Jordie is only 25 years old, and wrote most of Sleeping Patterns when he was 21.  He is based out of Melbourne, Australia, and makes up one half of the duo Fireside Bellows, alongside Canadian songwriter, Tracy McNeil. He’s shared the stage with Neko Case and Cat Power, and it’s only a matter of time before his music spreads far and wide.

Sleeping Patterns (2009):

(mp3) Jordie Lane – I Could Die Looking At You

(mp3) Jordie Lane – Walking That Way

Myspace | Buy

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BMfXxC90ag&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

Cuckoo Chaos – We Are From Deerplants (2010)

Posted on by
Reply

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

Cuddle Magic – Picture (2010)

Posted on by
1

If you’re a fan of large, multi-instrumental bands be sure to check out Cuddle Magic’s sophomore album, Picture. It just released yesterday, and includes some great tracks.

The ensemble is based out of New York and Philadelphia, and made up of  12 musicians, or more, at any given time (and a 3-foot plastic penguin). Their sound covers a wide range of genres, including folk, world, and avant-pop. The diversity won’t be for everyone, but it’s always interesting to see how bands craft their music with such a variety of instruments (strings, percussion, vibraphone, clarinet, keyboards, guitars, and a whole lot more). Several tracks I recommend include “Expectations,””Anyone,””One Useful Song,” and “Say When.”

I might need to take a breather in between, but here’s the current roster in the band: Alec Spigelman, Ashley Paul, Ben Davis, Bridget Kearney, Christopher McDonald, Cole Kamen-Green, Dave Flaherty, (inhale-exhale), Eric Lane, Kristin Slipp, Lucy Railton, Max Haft, and Mike Calarese. Many of them got their training from the New England Conservatory.

Picture (2010):

(mp3) Cuddle Magic – Expectations

(mp3) Cuddle Magic – Anyone

site | label | MF (IndieMuse’s new music store where artists keep all the proceeds, cause we love em)

Headless Heroes – The Silence of Love

Posted on by
Reply

I highly recommend checking out Headless Heroes if you’re a fan of Beth Orton, Cat Power, or simply a fan of great cover songs. Headless Heroes is a group of established musicians who got together to cover songs spanning forty years. Artists covered include Daniel Johnston, The Jesus & Mary Chain, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Vashti Bunyan, Linda Perhacs and The Gentle Soul.

The album, called The Silence of Love, is the brainchild of producers Eddie Bezalel and Hugo Nicholson. They recruited talented musicians for the album, including Alela Diane, Josh Klinghoffer (Beck, Jon Brion, Red Hot Chilli Peppers), Joey Waronker (Elliott Smith), Woody Jackson, Leo Abrahams, and Gus Seyffert.

Alela, an artist signed to Rough trade, is the female vocalist you hear on all the tracks. She was asked to take part in the project after Bezalel came across her Myspace page. The music varies from what she is used to making, but she says “it was quite liberating to just sing! And not worry about it being my record, or it being different from the type of music that I’m used to making.”

Some of my favorite tracks on The Silence of Love include “Just Like Honey,” “The North Wind Blew South,” and “Blues Run the Game” (Nick Drake also has a great cover of this song).

The Silence of Love (2009):

(mp3) Headless Heroes – The North Wind Blew South

(mp3) Headless Heroes – Blues Run the Game

itunes | myspace

Extras:

Nick Drake – Blues Run The Game (off  2007 release Family Tree)

Abigail Washburn – “It Ain’t Easy”

Posted on by
1

I immediately fell in love with Abigail Washburn’s song “It Ain’t Easy” after one of my friends shared it with me last year. I’m not all that familiar with her music, but I continually find myself going back to this song’s gorgeous vocals and instrumentals.

Washburn has a pretty interesting background. She had no intentions of focusing her career on music, and as a hobby, experimented with a lot of different genres including R&B, gospel, and reggae. It wasn’t until a trip to China, where she immersed herself in the Chinese bluegrass culture, that this became her style. Her diverse background is apparent on her most recent release, Afterquake, which is an electronic/folk  benefit EP she made with Shanghai Restoration Project’s David Liang (it released on the one year anniversy of the 2008 Sichuan Earthquake).

Abigail Washburn & the Sparrow Quartet:

(mp3) Abigail Washburn – It Ain’t Easy

Afterquake benefit EP:

(mp3) Abigail Washburn & the Shanghai Restoration Project – Sala

About “Sala”: The Qiang ethnic minority (the group most impacted by the 2008 Sichuan earthquakes) traditionally dances around the fire while singing this song. The words contain no meaning and are simply meant to inspire dancing.

itunes | myspace |afterquake site

Follow IndieMuse on Twitter!

Leif Vollebekk – Inland (2010)

Posted on by
6

First feature by Alie, our new IndieMuse contributor.

I have an unabashedly soft side for The Hits of Today: the Cyruses nodding their respective heads like yeah and all those single ladies (wuh uh oh). But after an extended session of top forties, I realize that the radio has really just been rhyming at me in glorified baby talk laid over sick beatz. And I’ve been singing right along with every ga-ga-ooh-la-la, because that is exactly what I’m supposed to do.

But what about words? What about Scrabble-acceptable words used in beautiful, surprising ways? For these and other, non-linguistic reasons, I turn to musicians like Leif Vollebekk. It’s obvious that the guy has some sort of timeless troubadour quality, but what really warms me is his style of songwriting that is more hint than statement. Inland unfolds like a subtle run-on sentence, both musically and with inexplicably satisfying lyrics (The coming and going spirit’s in the door hinges / And I’m sitting peeling Suzanne’s oranges) that explode from nowhere, only to settle in quick and get comfy.

So Leif Vollebekk, if you’re reading this, you’re triple-word score all the way.

Inland (2010):

(mp3) Leif Vollebekk – You Couldn’t Lie to Me in Paris

(mp3) Leif Vollebekk – Northernmost Eva Maria

Site | iTunes | MySpace

Field – Be Brave (2010)

Posted on by
Reply

You know those people who are somehow good at everything they do? Yeah, those ASSHOLES. Well, Spencer Berger is one of them. He’s the screenwriter and lead actor in the award winning film Skills Like This, and now he’s taking a stab at music under the pseudonym Field. He’s an extremely talented musician, and even worse, a really nice guy.

Field’s debut, Be Brave, is still in the process of being mastered, and will be released this year. The unmastered version is a sign of good things to come. Field’s music is among the most creative being produced today–a truly engaging sound that can’t be categorized in a genre other than saying it lies somewhere between Bowie and Flight of the Conchords.

I’ll definitely keep you posed on the release date. In the meantime, check out the below tracks and music video, which will undoubtedly brighten your day.

Be Brave (2010):

(mp3) Field – Sunday

(mp3) Field – I’m the Enforcer

myspace | skills like this

“I’m the Enforcer” music video. One of the best videos I’ve seen in a while.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzVEFWYTHHE[/youtube]

Eels – End Times (2010)

Posted on by
Reply

The Eels just released their eighth studio album, End Times,  and it is a lot better than Pitchfork’s arbitrary 3.9 rating (seriously Pitchfork you really couldn’t just round up to 4.0?).

The album was written about Eels frontman Mark  Everett’s divorce. It’s definitely not my favorite Eels album, but it’s one of  his most genuine to date. His lo-fi recordings keeps things simple and to the point. It may be a depressing point, but it does a good job of capturing the feelings of a broken heart.

It’s tempting to dismiss this as a self-pity album, but I think that there’s more to it than that. Everett knows that love is in many ways an irrational feeling that makes people do a lot of stupid things that they don’t want to do (maybe even write an album about it). But love is so powerful that most people have no immunity, regardless of past experiences and knowing that things will get better. It’s tragic, yet humbling at the same time.

End Times (2010):

(mp3) Eels – Mansions of Los Feliz

(mp3) Eels – Little Bird

Site | iTunes | Amazon | Myspace (stream full album)