Archive
NEW ARTIST ALERT: “Sweet Child O’ Mine” – Taken By Trees.
Dear lord, we’re back in business. Hallelujah.
I return with a wealth of goodies, number one being this cover of an 80’s classic. Me, I lost all respect for Guns n’ Roses when I found out that Axl Rose’s name was an anagram. Classy, dude. But as we all well know, the eighties are alive and well in popular music, and sometimes I wonder if most hit songs today aren’t just remakes of older versions I’m not familiar with. Recycling is all the rage now, you know.
Taken By Trees is the solo project of Victoria Bergsman, former lead singer for The Concretes. This cover of “Sweet Child O’ Mine” is off the second album, East of Eden (kudos on the name from a Steinbeck fan). This may be a cover, but it’s also brand spankin’ new from an artist that looks promising — and that’s what discovery is all about.
wikipedia / myspace / last.fm
buy the album on amazon
“Sweet Child O’ Mine” – Taken By Trees.
NEW ARTIST ALERT: First Aid Kit.
First Aid Kit.
Indie band from Sweden.
Authenticity and honesty have come to characterize the music of First Aid Kit. It has the feel of forest folk songs, full of enchanting storytelling, and even a sense of compelling, ancient mystery. Their cover of Fleet Foxes’ “Tiger Mountain Peasant Song” has gained much press as of late, and the sisters that comprise the group as planning a full-length album released in September of 2009.
This group is made up of two girls, aged sixteen and eighteen, and by listening you’d never know it. Their music is mature beyond expectation, though there’s still the beckoning of a childhood you’ve yet to live in every song. Though their Fleet Foxes cover is exceptional, their original material should not be disregarded, as it is like a freshly laundered sheet during the summer: sweet, innocent, and smelling of sunshine.
myspace / last.fm
buy Drunken Trees EP on amazon
“Tiger Mountain Peasant Song (Fleet Foxes cover)”
“You’re Not Coming Home Tonight”
“Jagadamba, You Might”
NEW ARTIST ALERT: Loney, Dear.
Loney, Dear is a band I first heard tell of a few months ago, when a friend of mine returned from a concert where they played and proceeded to spill their praises all over my rug. I wrote them down, intending to look them up, but when life intervened and got busy my Post-It note got lost in the shuffle. Imagine my surprise and utter delight when I get a present from that same friend: the entire album, just for me! Now I can do what I do best — deliver these wonders straight to your ears.
Loney, Dear is the pseudonym of Swedish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Emil Svanängen. He has self-released four albums of music in his native Sweden. His first major release came in February, 2007 in the U.S. when Sub Pop re-issued his latest album Loney, Noir. His latest release, Dear John, premiered in January of 2009. (wikipedia)
That same friend who recommended this to me described the music as “the sounds after a long bout of crying.” (I’m sorry, if you’re reading, if I phrased that wrong.) That’s exactly it. They’re still aching with sadness and trying to figure out how to survive somewhere where this sort of thing (whatever sadness, I suppose) can happen, but there’s still such optimism underneath. Loney, Dear may be lonely, yes, but they are clouds. Eventually, the grey passes.
myspace / last.fm
buy Dear John on amazon
“Airport Surroundings”
“Harm/Slow”
NEW ARTIST ALERT: Rosi Golan.
Rosi Golan.
Singer/songwriter born in Israel.
“Rosi is indeed a long way from home, but certainly in the right place to showcase her unique talent for rich, dark melodies and a voice that not only draws you in, but still haunts you the next day.” (last.fm)
Her voice is astoundingly delicate. As it echoes in my headphones I wonder if the very song itself will suddenly break into pieces, splintering into a million pieces. It never does. Instead, her voice floats over what should shatter and weaves a beautiful tune, even if it is made of glass.
myspace
buy The Drifter and the Gypsy on amazon
“Been a Long Day”
“Hazy (featuring William Fitzsimmons)”
NEW ARTIST ALERT: Yoav.
Looking for something out of the ordinary tonight? Try Yoav. From South Africa, he manages to combine thumping rhythmic beats with a bit of pop-rock. The combination makes for something a little dark, a little out there, but just familiar enough to keep you coming back for more.
myspace / last.fm
(from the album Charmed & Strange)
“Adore Adore”
“Club Thing”
NEW ARTIST ALERT: Marnie Stern.
Marnie Stern.
American songwriter and guitarist from New York.
Stern has garnered much acclaim for her technical skill and finger-tapping style of guitar play. Her second album This Is It and I Am It and Your Are It and So Is That and He Is It and She Is It and It Is It and That Is That has garnered the title of “Best New Music” as well as #44 on “The 50 Best Albums of 2008” from Pitchfork.
(wikipedia)
With such acclaim, you’d think she’d have developed a cult following. (Especially with such a long and tangled album name.) Alas, it is untrue. She’s what would happen if Miley Cyrus were a badass — but with talent. It’s important to remember that she is playing the guitar herself, as opposed to merely singing along. There’s an alternative quality to her music, making it something you’d more likely hear during an independent movie’s “girl power” scene than on the radio. Throw something at the wall and wear the eyeliner of your teens, because finally there’s someone qualified to lead the disingenued youth (or at least those of us still young at heart).
*Note: please don’t let the Miley Cyrus reference scare you away.*
NEW ARTIST ALERT: Oren Lavie.
Oren Lavie.
Singer, songwriter, playwright, and theatre director from Tel Aviv, Israel.
Oren Lavie names his musical predecessors as Tom Waits, Jacques Brel, and Leonard Cohen. At the core of his melody-oriented compositions there is always the piano or the guitar with his singing, enriched by string arrangements (cello solo, quartet, chamber orchestra) and various, mainly non-electronical instruments added occasionally, giving each of the songs a unique style and color.
His first album, The Opposite Side of the Sea, was completed in 2006; it was released in Europe in January and February 2007. In 2009, his stop motion style music video, “Her Morning Elegance,” achieved significant popularity on YouTube, receiving over 3 million hits.
(wikipedia)
Okay, so he’s not technically a “new artist.” I’m okay with that. His debut album has yet to be officially released in the US, but with the growing popularity of the aforementioned music video, it seems like 2009 is his year. I adore his voice: all warm and deep and whispery (if whispers weren’t quiet, I suppose). It’s like butter on dark toast.
last.fm
myspace
“Her Morning Elegance”
“The Opposite Side of the Sea”
“Ruby Rises”
NEW ARTIST ALERT: Polly Scattergood.
Polly Scattergood.
singer/songwriter from Essex, England.
often described as “ethereal, dark, intense and quirky.”
Scattergood describes herself as a storyteller. “I write about emotions and moments, not all are biographical.”
(Wikipedia)
I personally find her to be a breath of fresh air. She has a whimsical quality, but with real hurt underneath. She’s been called “the Kate Nash of the 20th century,” but Scattergood comes off less flippant and more vulnerable. Either way, she’s definitely worth checking out.
last.fm
myspace
(from her debut album Other Too Endless, out March 9)
“Nitrogen Pink”
“Poem Song”
“Other Too Endless”
indie city. 