Dark Dark Dark

One of my newer discoveries is the Minneapolis band Dark Dark Dark. They're a richly instrumented indie-folk, which seems to be described often as chamber-folk, but that's not a term I feel comfortable throwing around myself. They use a lot of piano and accordion and are very melodic.

They trade off vocal duties between male and female, but it's mostly Nona Marie Invie that does the singing, and she's certainly the one which makes them interesting to me. In that regard they remind me of early Rilo Kiley, whereas it feels like they're letting the guy sing the occasional song to be polite, but really Nona makes the band what it is.

If you sign up for their mailing list on their site you will get a free track from their latest album, which is lovely. In the meantime, check out this track from their previous one.

• Bright Bright Bright

Civil Wars Holiday Songs

I admit, the last few years have left my interest in holiday music at an all time low. I think this year I will listen to it on Christmas Eve and Day only and that will be it, if that perhaps. Working retail has ruined me.

But I am always excited for new songs from The Civil Wars. They are one of my favorite new bands over the last year, having offered up a stellar EP and an even more impressive live album that is a free download. Now they offer us 2 holiday tracks for signing up with their mailing list, a new track, and a version of "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel".

The Civil Wars are singer-songwriters Joy Williams and John Paul White. Together they make melancholy and beautiful acoustic folk music that makes my jaw drop at times. Gorgeous.

Get the holiday songs, as well as their free Live At Eddie's Attic album on their site, and look for their much anticipated (by me) debut LP "Barton Hollow" on February 1st.

But for now, enjoy the video for their beautiful single "Poison & Wine".

No, Really

One great feature of the site Last.fm is that many free tracks are available there. One discovery I made there a few months back was Tennessee musician Hannah Sheehan who goes by the moniker "No Really" (no, really!). Fun times abound with a name like that.

No Really has a bunch of free songs on Last.fm, all of which are also available on her website, along with a link to donate, which is totally worth it if only for the smirk-worthiness of getting your credit card bill and seeing the words "no really" on it.
She is listed as rock, so these tracks are just acoustic demos, and so they sound more like folk as is. I can see how the stand-out track "Rust" would be fantastic with full band, but at the same time, they are all remarkable just as they are. Here are some of my favorites, and again, you can find the rest on her site

• Rust
• Stop Payment
• Go

Nina Kinert

My latest discovery and minor obsession is the music of Swedish singer-songwriter Nina Kinert. Her latest album "Pets & Friends" came out in her native Scandanavia last year, but I only discovered it last week. Within a day of hearing her initially, I was ordering the album as import because I couldn't be without it.

She is modern folk and reminds me a bit of Laura Marling. She has an absolutely breathtaking voice and has been touring in support of friend Ane Brun, whose backing vocals (as well as Britta Persson's) are featured on "Pets & Friends". "Pets & Friends" is a very solid album and I am very impressed. The single from the album "Combat Lover" is fantastic. No links for the music, but check out the video below.

I am not sure how I feel about the video, actually. I don't particularly feel like it matches the song other than the sinister qualities they both share, but at least it gives you an idea of what to expect as far as her music is concerned.

A Camp, New Album due in April.

Side project of Cardigans singer Nina Persson, A Camp has announced the release of the second album "Colonia". It has already been released throughout Scandanavia, and now Europe, but Americans can expect to see it on April 28th from Nettwerk Records.

A Camp is a collaboration of Nina Perrson and her husband Nathan Larson (a music producer who often works on films), and fellow musician Niclas Frisk. What makes A Camp stand out from The Cardigans (whom I love, by the way) is their interest in Americana. The bluegrass and Americana revival is going strong not only in our own country, but abroad. The band has been nominated for many Swedish Grammys already, and performed their newest single on this year's show.

Their first single from the album "Stronger Than Jesus" is available as a "free gift" if you sign up for their e-mail mailing list (you can do that by following the link above to their website). In the meantime, you can listen to more at their MySpace page and download some tracks at A Plague of Angels.

"Stronger Than Jesus" from The Grammis:

New Maria Taylor this Spring

Maria Taylor, half of the amazing duo that was Azure Ray, has announced the release of her third solo album for this Spring. She has recently parted ways with her record label, Saddle Creek, and teamed up with Canadian record label Nettwerk. The album is entitled "LadyLuck" and should hit stores on April 7th.

According to her MySpace page, the new album is diverse, inspired by the end of a relationship, and finds a good balance between the melancholy and the inspiring. Nettwerk has pre-released two songs from the forthcoming album, "Time Lapse Lifetime" and "Orchids", and made them available on iTunes. From what I've heard, it has a lot of promise and sounds very much like some of her best solo work to date.

• Time Lapse Lifetime

Laura Marling - Night Terrors

I've liked British singer-songwriter Laura Marling since I first heard her months ago, but finally got her album for Christmas. I must say I cannot get enough of her song "Night Terrors". It's haunting without being overly melancholy and absolutely beautiful. This album has already become one I would consider the best of the year and I've only had it a few days.

Admittedly, I am slightly bitter that she's only 18 and making an album this amazing, mostly because I can't believe I am a fan of someone who was born in 1990, and less because she's 18, just because 1990 feels like it was just yesterday. Even so, it's amazing that such outstanding folk music is being made by one so young. I hope this level of work continues.

That being said, I saw the video for "Night Terrors" for the first time tonight and I adore it. Check it out:

My favorite album of 2008

This time of year begins everyone's chiming in to say what their favorite album of the year is. Unfortunately, generally I am pretty slow on the draw as far as getting albums and will wait to find them used and therefore I rarely feel I can hold an opinion on the subject. HOWEVER...that's also usually because there wasn't a clear winner for me, and this year is different.

This year Lisa Hannigan, best known as the female vocalist on Damien Rice's albums, released her first solo album. I had been waiting for it for years. Most people who like Rice's work wondered why such a talent as Hannigan was simply a backing vocalist for someone else. Her album, Sea Sew, was released only in the UK though. This drove me nuts, despite knowing it would eventually be released in the U.S. (the release date for the US is scheduled for January 20th), but knowing it was out there, and having heard some of the tracks on her MySpace made me a bit desperate. I had to order the over-priced import. The album is everything I hoped it would be. It's sweet and quiet, and there's a touch of the Lisa Hannigan silliness at times too.

You can hear the beautiful closing ballad of the album in this YouTube video that has footage of Lisa and her crew in the studio making the album:

Miwa Gemini

Recently I've really been enjoying the music of Miwa Gemini. She is New York-based singer-songwriter that is classically-trained in piano, but her new found loves are the guitar, banjo and mandolin.

I was sitting here trying to think of who to compare her to or how to explain her style, and the first thing that came to mind was to say that she's the sinister side of bluegrass. Is that even possible? Saying she is sinister is probably misleading, as there's nothing menacing about her music, but there is definitely a quality that feels a bit darker, richer and edgier than the typical finger-pickin', toe-tappin' of other bluegrass and folk music. But perhaps even saying she is bluegrass is misleading considering some songs, like "Crazy Over You", sound strictly indie folk-rock. Either way, she's good and there's a quality about her music that feels smooth, seductive, and playful at the same time.

• Traveling Man
• Sad About Joe
• Crazy Over You

Jenny Lewis

Jenny Lewis, beloved 80's star of The Wizard and Troop Beverly Hills, and ultra cool leading lady for indie favorite Rilo Kiley, will be releasing her new solo record, minus the Watson Twins (since they've released their own now) on September 23rd.

The album is entitled "Acid Tongue" and from all reviews I've read and what I have heard from it, it will prove to be just as good, if not better, than her first solo album "Rabbit Fur Coat". Like "Rabbit Fur Coat", her new album gets its name from a track off the record. You can hear that title track here on the XPN blog...hotlinked below.

• Acid Tongue

Sera Cahoone

This past week I found a used copy of Sera Cahoone's latest album "Only As The Day Is Long" and decided to get it since I had liked what I had heard so far.

The album is solid and pleasant, but not something you're going to hear many people getting fanatic over. All the same, if you're into her type of music, it's definitely worth a listen. Sera was the drummer of the now defunt band Carissa's Wierd, and now is making indie folk/country reminiscent of Kathleen Edwards.

Only As The Day Is Long

Marte Wulff

My latest discovery has come from Last.fm. If you click enough "similar artist" or genre tags you will find something good, and this time I really did. I was listening to Norwegian singer-songwriter Ane Brun and decided to look for other Norwegian singer-songwriters since I have such a love affair with the music of it's neighboring country, Sweden. I found many interesting artists, but my favorite was Marte Wulff.

In her home country, Marte has received plenty of airplay as well as gotten a nomination for the Norwegian version of a Grammy. Here, I think she will appeal very much to fans of Ingrid Michaelson.

Check out the video for her song "Accident" below, and listen to more of her music on her website or her MySpace page.

Lotte Kestner

Lotte Kestner is the moniker Anna-lynne Williams of Trespassers William has taken for her solo project, named after the heroine of Goethe's "Sorrow of Young Werther". She released her first album "China Mountain" under this alias a few months ago and I have been impressed every since.

If you're a fan of Trespassers William I think you will love Lotte as well. It's Anna-lynne's stunning poetry set to music, as Trespassers William is, except with less of the ambient qualities that the full band and elements of electronic sounds sometimes add. This is full on folk/shoegaze goodness with no fillers.

The album is available through CDBaby.com.

Fleet Foxes

The new music blog darling, Fleet Foxes, are making music they themselves are referring to as "baroque harmonic pop jams". I am not sure I quite agree with that description, but at the very least it gives you a sense that this is not quite easily classified under normal categories. They're a mellower, less jam-band-ish My Morning Jacket, or a more folk version of Band of Horses, or a modern take on a cross between Simon & Garfunkel and the Beach Boys or a myriad of other comparisons I could make. But what I keep coming back to is that they're taking the best parts of other things and making something truly extraordinary.

They are five (mostly) bearded guys (and hey, why are beards the new rock 'n' roll thing? I'm still trying to figure that one out) making music that makes me pause and say "wow", there's something about it that makes it feel almost spiritual. I see great things for these guys, because there's definitely something there.

• White Winter Hymnal

The Old Believers

The Old Believers are far from old, but they do have an old style at times. I'd say they manage to get to the core of folk music by making this old timey sounding Americana that feels both nostalgic and timeless but yet have given it a distinctive modern twist too by means of some interesting drums and electronic sounding beats thrown in for good measure on some tracks. Beautiful lyrics blended with beautiful male and female vocals make for intimate and heartwarming music.

They are Nelson Kempf and Keeley Boyle, natives of Alaska who now call Portland, OR home. Their debut album "Eight Golden Greats" hits the shelves on July 10th, and I must say I think they are going to be one of my favorite discoveries of the year.

Here are a few of my favorites off of their new record, and there are a few more from a previous EP available for download on their MySpace page.

• Granny's Song
• That's All
• Betcher Ass

The Chapin Sisters

The Chapin Sisters are sisters Abigail, Jessica and Lily. They are a Los Angeles-based folk trio that sing beautiful melancholy music that reminds me very much of the many folk-country classics.

I first discovered them when on one of my many recent searches for great cover songs. It seems that Britney Spears' "Toxic" has become the new "it" song to cover. Admittedly, it is one of the few songs by her I think deserves to be covered though, and the covers I have heard have all been so great that you almost wish Britney hadn't gotten her hands on it first! Perhaps my favorite version is The Chapin Sisters version, which you can download on their MySpace page. You can also hear a cover of Madonna's "Borderline" which is equally beautiful.

Their website offered a few tracks of their own and I must say they are just as beautiful. Their new album is entitled the "Lake Bottom LP" and was released this year.

• Bird Song

KaiserCartel

Paste Magazine is a great resource for new music like the sort I post here, in case you hadn't heard of it before. It's by far my favorite magazine and it has once again proven to me why, by bringing the band KaiserCartel to my attention.

KaiserCartel is a Brooklyn-based folk-rock duo consisting of Courtney Kaiser and Benjamin Cartel, thus the name. I know very little about them other than that since I only just today heard of them on the most recent Paste sampler. What I can tell you is that they make beautiful male/female dual vocal folk music that makes me smile and want to hear more.

The magazine shows the track "Okay" being from their new album entitled "March Forth", but it does not appear to be released as of yet. So until then we can enjoy tracks from their EPs "Okay (And Other Things We Feel)" available on iTunes and at Amazon, and the tracks they've made available from their "Double Standard" EP via their website.

• Okay
• Before
• Dead on the Lawn

I dig Hailey Wojcik

I love music that doesn't take itself too seriously. There's plenty of folks out there that simply can't take a song that's a little silly or tongue-in-cheek and it really is a shame because no one ever said that good songs can't also be a bit funny. I say this because Hailey Wojcik's song "Dinosaur Bone" came up during random play on iTunes tonight and it made me remember how charming it is.

Hailey is a quirky singer-songwriter based out of New York (but originally from Michigan), that got some recognition via YouTube when their music editor featured her video for the aforementioned song "Dinosaur Bone", in which she roams the New York streets wearing what looks like a child's dinosaur Halloween costume while singing about her crush on a geologist and how she wishes she were a dinosaur bone because then, as she says "one day you'd really dig me".

Her album is available on iTunes as well as at CDBaby and you can listen to clips of all songs from her album "Jealous Sees" on her website and hear a few whole songs on her MySpace page. But until then, watch her video for "Dinosaur Bone".

Hello Saferide

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day, so what better time to talk about artist Hello Saferide since she/they has a wonderful song dedicated to the holiday of hearts.

Hello Saferide is a Swedish band fronted by singer-songwriter Annika Norlin. She works as a music journalist in her home country, as well as having won awards for her music there. I would describe Hello Saferide's music as light-hearted pop-folk, if there is such a thing. But the lyrics are sweet and matter-of-fact but at the same time smile or even chuckle-worthy. Definitely music that is fun to listen to and sing along with.

Their music is not available on the American version of iTunes, but their albums can be purchased on American (Amazon) or international sites if you're willing to pay the import price. It's definitely music worth the price, or at least a listen.

• Valentine's Day
• San Francisco
• Highschool Stalker

Classin' Up the 80's

This past weekend I started working on a mix. I was trying to combine two of my favorite types of music...lo-fi indie, folk and/or bluegrass, with cheesy 80's pop music. My mission was to find some great covers of 80's pop music and compile them into a mix that sounded more like any respectable indie/folk mix you might share with a friend. I accomplished this task, and have been listening to the result ever since.

Since I was so content with the result I thought I would share the tracklisting with you and include a few links for the songs with you guys. Enjoy!

Classin' Up The 80's

The Pickin' On Series - "Unskinny Bop (Poison)"
The Be Good Tanyas - "When Doves Cry (Prince)" (via My Old Kentucky Blog)
Gilli Moon - "Need You Tonight (INXS)"
Nina Gordon - "18 and Life (Skid Row)"
Emm Gryner - "Pour Some Sugar On Me (Def Leppard)"
The Puppini Sisters - "Heart of Glass (Blondie)" (via Adzuki Bean Stash)
The Boy Least Likely To - "Faith (George Michael)" (This can be streamed on his site)
Rasputina - "Fire & Ice (Pat Benatar)"
Jerree Small (w/ Scott "Starfire" Lunt) - "You Spin Me Round (Dead or Alive)"
Adrianne - "Blister In The Sun (Violent Femmes)"
The Harvey Girls - "White Wedding (Billy Idol)"
The Softies - "Together Forever (Rick Astley)"
Petra Haden - "Don't Stop Believin'(Journey)" (left click)
Greg Laswell - "Girls Just Want to Have Fun (Cyndi Lauper)" (via Line of Best Fit)
Christy Jefferson - "Come On Eileen (Dexy's Midnight Runners)"
Jonatha Brooke - "Eye In The Sky (Alan Parsons Project)"