There’s something dark and eerie about the opening tracks of Damon Moon’s new LP, Lungs, Dirt & Dreams. The title track flirts with dreamy guitars, but not in the sense of the pleasant atmospheric; rather they echo through the darkness, seemingly coming from every direction. And then there’s Moon’s soft vocals somewhere between a mystery and a (surprise, surprise) whisper.

This continues throughout Lungs, Dirt & Dreams.

In a way, the album is a bit conceptual. Songs blend into each other, many of varying length from less than a minute to just over seven. They, too, range from borderline folky (“The Fool” and “Gild The Lily”) to wild with epic noisy shoegaze (“Restless Roads End”).

But there is more. The sounds are all great, but dive into the metaphysical nature of what Damon Moon has put into his lyrics and you’ll be transported to a different plane of existence. It took a while for that realization to strike, but it was the instrumental “Robert Pirsig’s Blues” that did it (the title). Pirsig, of course, being the author of the brilliant Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.

Within Lungs, Dirt & Dreams are twelve songs that aren’t entirely songs, rather experiences frozen in time that blend together like faded memories into that which makes up the life of a man. It’s a miraculous thing, what Damon Moon and The Whispering Drifters have created. Plush with experimentation, ripe with emotion, and filled with all the angst, love, heartbreak and hopelessness we all experience from day to day.

Download: “Loose Ends” by Damon Moon and The Whispering Drifters

Adair Park Recordings [CD, 2012]

1. June 22nd, AR
2. Lungs, Dirt & Dreams
3. We Nominate Oursleves (As The Heroes of Own Stories)
4. Further On
5. Restless Roads End
6. Robert Pirsig’s Blues
7. The Fool
8. Ten Sleep, WY
9. Loose Ends
10. Seasonal Suite No. 62
11. Glid The Lily
12. We Make Our Own Traditions (Homesick Blues)

Seattle and Austin are both towns with very distinct personalities, both as cities and through the musicians that reside within. Yet here is one man — Jack Wilson — that flirts with geography, calling both locations home and melding together the two sounds for a style of folk-based americana rock that is entirely captivating.

On his self-titled LP, Jack Wilson bares his innermost self that evokes the wanderer’s deep longing for the beauty of new sunsets, picturesque scenes of nature, and the comfort of being in the wilderness. Of personal nostalgic recounts of memories good and bad. At least, those are the images it conveys to me.

You can hear it in Wilson’s voice, that personal element so endearing in Americana music. “Valhalla”, the first track on Jack Wilson, immediately showcases his ability to weave together lyric and music in ways clever, intricate and intimate. This continues throughout the album.

To be honest, it took me a while to get beyond “Valhalla”. I listened to the song several times over the past week. Beyond that first song, it’s clear: this is an album that splits the two areas quite familiar to Wilson. In Seattle, it’s him with backing band The Wife Stealers and in Austin, he performs his songs stripped down and solo.

This album may have just arrived at my doorstep, but it’s been around a while. Sound on the Sound covered Wilson back in mid-2010 and Austin Sound put together several words on the album a year later. Yet as true with such music, it could have been released a decade earlier, or just yesterday. And as always, it’s definitely worth a listen.

Download: “Valhalla” by Jack Wilson

[CD, 2010]

1. Valhalla
2. I’ll Do The Same
3. The Cure
4. Red Feather
5. Clean
6. Black Hills Fiction
7. Dogwood Days
8. Paying For Misery (Thanks To You)
9. The Watchers
10. Fell Inside
11. The Truth

Bears are a delectable pop band out of Cleveland, Ohio that blend indie pop sounds with psychedelic instrumentation and the clash between sleepy and mopey vocals. If there’s anything I like, it’s rainy-day pop music, and that’s precisely what this is. Greater Lakes is the band’s new LP — their third at that — and it comes out on Misra Records on Valentine’s Day 2012.

Word is floating around that this is their best album yet, and with a few listens, it’s easy to hear the truth in that statement. It opens strong with “Eleven a.m.” and “You’re Going” and continues to what, in my opinion, is the album’s showstopper: “Don’t Wait”. That song, hovering around the midpoint, is among their most psychedelic influenced tracks yet. And the greatness continues through the end of Greater Lakes.

Longtime fans of Bears will rejoice in this new album, and new fans will likely rush to pick up their previous catalog. Albums like their self-titled and singles like the masterful Who Knows b/w Making Something are all worthy of any pop fan’s collection, but they stand in this album’s shadow; Greater Lakes is an instant classic.

Download: “Eleven a.m.” by Bears

Misra Records [CD, 2012]

1. Eleven a.m.
2. You’re Going
3. From Good to Bad
4. More Left Out
5. Don’t Wait
6. The City Still
7. I Don’t Have You On My Mind
8. Perfect Girl
9. Wash My Hands
10. I Can’t Make Things Right
11. Until The Very End

Originated in Boise by Eric Ingersoll, Night Genes channels the likes of Tom Waits and Nick Cave with deep baritone folk. Accompanied by a trusty acoustic guitar, the songs Night Genes creates are light and playful – a contrast to the meditative and contemplative vocals and lyrics of Ingersoll.

Thematically, Like The Blood ponders mortality and the quandary of the evolutionary progress of mankind; in other words, are we truly better off than the generations of past? In a way, it reminds me a bit of 2011′s Apocalypse by Bill Callahan.

Joined by keyboardist Amy Foote’s operatic vibrato on select tracks, there’s always an element of surprise and obscurity with Night Genes. You never quite know what to expect, and that’s half the fun of Like The Blood. Rounding out the trio is David MacFadden-Elliott on percussion and samples.

Look for the album on January 31.

Download: “Cyber Me” by Night Genes

[CD, 2012]

1. I’d Rather Feel Small
2. Cyber Me
3. Woods Are Full Of Animals
4. Ornaments
5. Jesus Bugs
6. Soaring Through The Chromosomes
7. Letting Go Of A Moonbeam
8. Sweeper
9. Sunset Tulips
10. Life’s Not Too Short
11. Peel The Paint
12. Impression: Flood

It’s been a while since we covered Bourgeois Heroes, a little indie pop duo out of Northampton, MA (Jason) and Austin, TX (Elise). Who communicate over that long distance to create the music contained within their releases. At the time, I likened the duo to melodramatic 80s bands like Echo & The Bunnymen. On their latest single, Olé/Hola, the band slips away from those earlier sounds and holds its ground steady in indie pop. In fact, here they side more with modern underground indie pop artists like Afternoon Naps.

Their signature sound remains; there are mopey, melancholy melodies, but they aren’t depressing. There’s substance here that was there before, but now it’s more prominent. “Olé/Hola” is playful and has a chorus that will stick with you for a year and has a Beatles meets Apples in Stereo sound to it. Then there’s “When You’re Dancing”, blends indie pop with hints of 60s psychedelic pop. Jason coos in the latter: You’re beautiful / When you’re dancing on repeat, and it couldn’t be more perfect.

If anything, Olé/Hola is two exceptional tracks from a great band that simply must be heard. This single is why singles are such a great medium for music. My recommendation: add this 7″ to your collection. It’s very much worth it!

Grab the single, digital or on 7-inch wax, from bandcamp.

Listen: “When You’re Dancing” by Bourgeois Heroes

[7" Single, 2011]

1. Olé/Hola
2. When You’re Dancing

With The Shins stripped down to James Mercer, Dave Hernandez has been free to pursue other projects. And pursue he did; the new band is called Little Cuts and it’s a bit louder than his previous band. A little garage rock, a little punk, and definitely up a notch in terms of volume. It’s a bit of a return for Hernandez to the noisier side of music; that which can also be found in former band Scared of Chaka.

Plastic Disaster is Little Cuts’ new 7″ EP single. Within the confines of this little paper sleeve, you’ll get plenty of great punk hooks and excellent compositions of Hernandez on guitar and vocals, Andrew Church (Broadcast Oblivion) on bass and Curtis James (Old Haunts and Excuse 17) on drums.

Featuring three songs including the A-Side title track and two stellar B-Sides, this little single dropped via Dirtnap Records back on December 20.

Little Cuts “Plastic Disaster” by 230MP3

Dirtnap Records [7" Single, 2012]

1. Plastic Disaster
2. He Finally Must Eat His Own
3. RRHS

I love straight up rock and roll.  Well, not just rock and roll, but the dirty kind!  You know the type.  The kind of group that harmonizes as well as the Velvet Underground, yet springs and bangs across a soundboard like Sonic Youth.  Whenever this type of blend happens, you are sure to find something beautiful.  Thankfully, this specifically happens on the debut album from Augusta’s Turf War.

Turf War as a group is most definitely not “punk”.  But the carefree vibrant feel of Years of Living Dangerously could honestly confuse an initial listener.  The echoing, cranked to 11 simple closing track “100 Years” could easily have them confused for an early 90′s anarchist group sprawling the alleys during the days of grunge.  But the group’s ability and yearning to harmonize can not actually deter the idea that these guys just want to rock.  

Move back up the playlist to hear “Back Home”, and you find a more specialized, and much more mellow, version of the band.  But, of course, the happy medium, and finest track on the album, is definitely “Cheers To The Years” with an enigmatic and energetic set of hooks, swings, and choruses, it’s really a no-brainer.

Years of Living Dangerously may not be the soundtrack to a relaxing drive through the Southeastern countryside.  And you probably wouldn’t care to listen to these cats while walking along the beaches of the Carolina’s hand in hand with a new love.  But, if you’re looking to understand the beauty in cutting the back of your friends neck with a rusty switchblade in a dirty Georgia bar and laughing it off together as you mosh the night away and spilling Miller High Life over fresh lacerations and bruises -or- you know, whatever you consider to be fun, this is definitely your band!

Download: “Cheers To The Years” by Turf War

Old Flame Records [CD, 2011]

1. For The Last Time
2. Cheers To The Years
3. Where I Belong
4. A Little Harder This Time
5. Bones
6. Friends & Co.
7. Back Home
8. Enemies
9. Stay Runnin
10. Pick Up The Pieces
11. 100 Years

He’s been known by many names over the years.  For avid FensePost readers, Menhirs of Er Grah will probably ring a bell.  For avid Thom Carter followers, March Rosetta, Black Crown, Minimal States, Needleleaf, and a few more names might seem a bit more recognizable.  But, now, we have Mr. Carter directly in the flesh. With his most personal record yet, we find the rocket man who has hidden behind several different names over the years, spread out with a naked soul on his debut album under his own name. Strange Dreams is a perfect love letter for a career that has contained nothing short of a collection of musical displays of amazing ambiguity and “souvenirs and cigarettes” (as the man quotes) of one of the hardest working men creating amazing music today.

Strange Dreams finds us where we left off on the more obscure piano-driven folk tracks we heard on Carter’s earliest EP’s as Menhirs of Er Grah (definitely see Mourning Dove).  Although he greatly improved on the pluck and twang aspect of his later MEG records, there has definitely become a distinct difference between what we knew of this incredible talent back in later half of last the last decade.  This album brings us a bit of nostalgia for things that didn’t really take place that long ago, but has definitely been respectfully missed.  Essentially, as we hear Thom on his debut album under his own identity, we manage to hear a culmination of the 30 plus records he has created thus far under whatever name he may choose.  Here we find the man stripped down to the bare essentials of existential expression.  And of course, we find no vulnerabilities in this brilliant artist’s attempt at full fledged self expression.  Only love, and total endearment as he echoes out words of life unlike damn near anything we have heard before.

Thom Carter has recently invited the demise of his once beloved Verlaine Records.  Opting out to start a whole new label, with a whole new form of existence known as Self Released Records.  While a transformation is still underway, rest assure that the beauty we have become accustomed to over the last few years will always be intact.  But, as you lay awake during ungodly hours of the night with a beer soaked memory and never ending cups of black coffee as your guide, take a moment to remember all that Thom Carter and Verlaine Records has given us.  And bask in the glory of an album like Strange Dreams, let your thoughts become lost in the idea that there will always be more in the making from one of the finest acts of our time, and just plain appreciate one of the finest albums to be dutifully released this year.

Download: “Before You Go” by Thom Carter

Verlaine Records [CD, 2011]

1.  Inside A Fire
2.  Albatross
3.  Before You Go
4.  You Are The Land
5.  In Denial
6.  Surrender
7.  Strange Dreams
8.  Sunshine Girl

Pour out some sweat tea, fire up the banjo, warm up the rocking chair, and get ready for some good old fashioned Americana rock that will easily set your soul aglow and leave you with aspirations towards shucking and diving as The Dustbowl Revival serenade you with some of the most perfect blend of blues, jazz, and pure down home American fun.

Americana can mean so many different things to so many different people.  And as far as the Holy Ghost Station EP is concerned, it means combining every genre of music that makes our country’s version of dirty life so damn crisp and clean.

The Dustbowl Revival is just about everything their name represents.  The songs these entirely eccentric characters create are a brilliant modernization of a time when having the blues was true to life, and a good time could be found in the simplicity of a few instruments being played fast or subtle, short or sweet, and with a strenuous desire to entertain, not just to sell a few records.  Holy Ghost Station is a record that enlightens the soul, and disproves the idea that there is no talent left in the youth of our nation.  This is a record that is perfect for the young and old.  With a fire up the kazoo, and clean out the horns attitude, this is about as perfect as nostalgia based jazz-folk music can get.

The shared duties of The Dustbowl Revival is definitely one of the band’s most appealing aspects.  Each and every member has a place, and they sit in as well as they could ever wish to.  There is the ever important dueling male and female vocals that seem to be a dire essential these days.  And the idea that the fiddle, banjo, horns, etc. could be played so well by some folks under 70 is a wonderful thing.  If you feel the need to get in touch with roots you’ve never really understood, Holy Ghost Station is without a the album you most definitely should be getting on down to.

Download: “Lowdown Blues” by The Dustbowl Revival

[CD, 2011]

1.  That Old Dustbowl
2.  Holy Ghost Station
3.  Lowdown Blues
4.  What You’re Doing To Me
5.  Le Bataillion
6.  Solid Gone
7.  Western Passage
8.  No Anchor Rag

The Lovely Sparrows have a way of putting together words and music that make the band one of today’s leading folk-rock and folk-pop artists. With Tall Cedars of Lebanon, the Sparrows continue the trend they began as early as their debut EP, Pulling Up Floors, Pouring On (New) Paint. The musicianship remains just as tight and focused as was on Bury The Cynics. But Tall Cedars isn’t without its difference from the band’s prior work.

Where Tall Cedars stands out is in its heightened intricacy. Always one to tout ornate instrumentation, The Lovely Sparrows utilize this ability in full force on their new EP. Each song is best taken in with headphones or high-quality speakers. It’s the only way to truly capture the layered detail in “We Take Flight” or the beautiful harmonies in “National Monuments”.

Tall Cedars Of Lebanon may not be as pop-ridden as was found on songs from The Lovely Sparrows’ prior releases, but do not fret. There is not a weak song to be found within. And, better yet, this EP is vast in its beauty, elegant and educated in both instrumentation and vocal prowess, and a perfect compliment to an already impressive library of outstanding music.

Download: “National Monuments” by The Lovely Sparrows

Abandoned Love Records [CDEP, 2011]

1. While I Was Out Sailing
2. We Take Flight
3. If Love’s A Sparrow
4. National Monuments
5. A Fire Escape

London’s finest breath of fresh air has returned to us once again.  And on his third outing, The Nearest Door, the lovely Robin Grey gets even more personal than we have heard in the past.  He has many a tale and lament to tell and confess.  With his distinctively English vocals, and beautiful interpretations of earth, sea, and love, this folk hero soars to his greatest heights even succeeding beyond his sophomore release Strangers With Shoes.  Which I will admit, seemed to be impossible.

It would be entirely advantageously ridiculous to try and decipher the star track from The Nearest Door.  The title track is exceptional to say the least.  ”Mariam’s Cake” (which original appeared on the charity based compilation album Children of Mercy) is true work of art that is as gentle as a warming sea.  ”The Ballad of Hawkwood” is a fun little ditty reminiscent of the golden ages of folk music.  Basically, each track is distinctive in it’s own right, and deserve praise for entirely distinctive reasons.

Grey puts a substational amount of time into creating a full fledged album.  This could be the reason we don’t hear from him in a full fledged fashion for almost three years.  This could also be why his entire catalog is completely solid in every way.  Every song this storyteller of our age seems to represent a certain time and place where emotions ran high, and a lesson from experience was definitely learned.  Like a warm cup of coffee on an autumn morning, Robin Grey drapes us with wonderful story based folk masterpieces like falling leaves on resting gently over the first sign of snow.  His voice is gentle and soothing, exactly what we need in these trying times.

Download: “Mariam’s Cake” by Robin Grey

[CD, 2011] 

1.  Mariam’s Cake
2.  These Songs Were Begun One Winter
3.  The Hackney Gentrification Song
4.  Stick Or Twist
5.  Looking For Distraction
6.  The Freezer Song
7.  The Ballad of Hawkwood
8.  This Ungodly Hour
9.  The Permaculture Song
10. The Nearest Door

Let’s just get this out of the way right now, if you ever use the line “you’re the sugar to my tea”, you should be getting laid.  Portland based singer/songwriter Shawn Lawson Freeman definitely knows this.  And when you sing and play guitar in the fashion of Sting or Justin Nozuka, yet have a real depth to your style that comes off more like Neil Young or a happy-go-lucky Elliott Smith, you may have created a “winning” combination.  And on Freeman’s latest project under the surfer friendly pseudonym, Beneath Wind and Waves, we find a master of simplicity moving in a direction that is both sea bound and earth friendly.

I can’t lie, there were was one deliberate reason I looked into Beneath Wind and Waves’s Non-etre.  And that was Stephanie Schneiderman.  The brilliant songstress (her album Rubber Teardrops is one of the finest examples of electro-folk created in this millennium) notably guest-stars three times on this album.  But, once you get into the rhythm of the album, you are likely to not only forget Schneiderman’s influence (if you are as obsessed as I am), but find yourself surprised when you actually hear her sprout up on a few tracks.

Listening to Non-etre through it’s entirety is not only an experience worth a simple listen, it is an experience worth total exposure that features beautiful lines for getting lucky, losing love, losing life, and tearing apart demons that rest inside your weathered bones.  Likely, the first descriptor is the most important, but you can have the chance to decide for yourself on this amazing debut album of Beneath Wind and Waves.

Overall, Non-etre is a gentle, heart warming expose of the gently humorous world we should be living in.  Sure we all feel pain from time to time.  But, it’s best not to revel in it for too long.  Of course, the concept of pain and misery makes for a perfect fucking song, but sometimes we really need to be a little bit more like Lou Reed in the 80′s rather than Sigur Ros of the now.  That is just a fact of life.  Sometimes we have to say to hell with it, let’s get our dicks wet in the salt water of the earth, and see if he turn out alright.  Most likely we will.  And this is exactly the sort of positive yet negative vibe that Beneath Wind and Waves has created with amazing success.

Listen: “Transference” by Beneath Wind and Waves

Listen: “Loop Me In” by Beneath Wind and Waves

[CD, 2011]

1.  Transference
2.  Loop Me In
3.  To Be Special
4.  Angry Love
5.  I Am You
6.  God Said
7.  Persephone
8.  Hold On Tight
9.  The War Time Days
10. 98
11. Counter Transference

Orca Team is Seattle’s answer to twee-ish post-punk beach pop, and they prove it with their new HHBTM Records 7-inch single. Title track “Take My Hand” is packed with a 60s-pop bass, a jangly guitar, reverb-soaked vocals, and hefty stomping drums with plenty of cymbal rides.

This limited press single (of only 500) features three surf-worthy pop songs that hint of 60s era garage pop bands. “Me & My Lonesome” and “Fight Song” round out the trio of tracks, both offering up just as many vocal hooks and catchy riffs as the title track.

If you enjoyed previous Orca Team releases, including the recent Vancouver B.C. 7-inch (“Take My Hand” had an appearance on that EP as well), this is an easy favorite to add to the mix. In fact, these three may be among Orca Team’s top tracks yet.

Listen: “Take My Hand” by Orca Team

HHBTM Records [7-inch Single, 2011]

1. Take My Hand
2. Me & My Lonesome
3. Fight Song

First hearing “Endless Summer” a few months back, it may have been slightly difficult to understand what Sub Pop saw in their new signee, Still Corners. Granted, the song is very good, but it alone fails to demonstrate the sheer power this band holds. That power is conveyed throughout Still Corners’ debut Sub Pop LP, Creatures of an Hour.

“Dreamy psychedelic bedroom pop” is a fairly good description of what you’ll hear on this album, but it pales in comparison to what will blow your mind when the headphones envelop your very being. First singles “Cuckoo” and “Endless Summer” are wispy tracks, uncanny and mesmerizing. Stack them next to the hazy organ and synth notes in “Circulars” and (personal favorites) “Velveteen” and “I Wrote In Blood”, and they’ll tailspin you into a Linklater-like dream world.

In a way, you can liken lone singles like “Endless Summer” and “Cuckoo” to the first time you heard “Norway” off Beach House’s Teen Dream. Pretty damn good, but not as good as it is when you stack it up against the album in its entirety. Creatures of an Hour follows the exact same path; it takes only a single listen to the full album to have that “ah-ha!” moment.

And from there, it’s all love.

Download: “Into The Trees” by Still Corners

Sub Pop [CD, 2011]

1. Cuckoo
2. Circulars
3. Endless Summer
4. Into The Trees
5. The White Season
6. I Wrote In Blood
7. The Twilight Hour
8. Velveteen
9. Demons
10. Submarine

There’s nothing like the joy felt in realizing an artist sounds just as good live as they do on a studio album. Such is the case for Danish band Figurines. Still in the wake of their 2010 self-titled release, the guys are back with a fully charged live recording of a recent show at Vega, Copenhagen.

A specific, dynamic, and energetic performance it’s obvious the band believes in their music, a confidence that makes the five live recordings a nice supplement to the band’s previous albums. With sultry vocals, punk-rock infused lyrics, and irresistible chord progression reminiscent of both the British Invasion and Second Wave music movements, this live album is bright company for dreary days.

I can’t help but think it to be a necessity for any and all late night dance parties. “The Wonder” and “New Colors” are particularly awesome though really all tracks are brilliant. Grab it off bandcamp and be sure to check out Figurines’ previous albums as well.

Download: “New Colors (Live)” by Figurines

[EP, 2011]

1. The Great Unknown (Live)
2. Continuous Songs (Live)
3. The Wonder (Live)
4. Drunkard’s Dream (Live)
5. New Colors (Live)

Six years is how long it has been since we’ve heard anything from coastal rural California band Built Like Alaska gave us their sophomore release Autumnland. In that time, the band has had plenty of member changes, recreating — in a way — their identity.

In Troubled Times… is Built Like Alaska’s third release and it finds the band rejuvenated and focused on creating an album packed with pop greatness occasionally thwarted by rock ferociousness.

Built Like Alaska did the same to a point on Autumnland, developing plenty of warm pop hooks and cleverly wrapping them in frequent bursts of psych-rock greatness. But, outside of “Ran Into A Coroner”, it never quite reached the level they achieve on In Troubled Times…

Frontman Neil Jackson remains at the helm, his vocal styling still slightly reminiscent of an early Ben Gibbard. Backing Jackson are David Burtch, Sean Norman, Anthany Rossi, and Jacob Canada, providing everything from heavy pop-rock percussion, a blend of light pop guitar and massive rock riffs, and a split between dreamy and eerie keyboard notes.

In Troubled Times… takes Built Like Alaska in a slightly new direction. The core elements that we all loved from Autumnland remain, but there’s added refinement. As a whole, In Troubled Times… is more captivating, more intriguing and more contemplative than ever before.

Download: “Antique Love” by Built Like Alaska

Future Farmer Records [CD, 2011]

1. The Union Song
2. Antique Love
3. The Saint Is Here
4. Grapevines
5. Famous Goodbyes
6. John Henry
7. Fighting The Firmament
8. Put You To Bed
9. Break Of Day
10. In Troubled Times

There are very few certainties in life. With the economy in a downfall, natural disasters coming from all angles, and the earth slowly warming, it is very easy to become weary about any sort of regularity in this world. But, there is are two certainties you can always count on: 1) you are going to get older and 2) Blitzen Trapper is going to release an album that just gets better and better. Both of these have inevitably happened this year. And however you feel about Number 1, you should be very excited about Number 2. Eric Earley and Company have brought us their 4th album, American Goldwing, just in time for us to remember what is actually cool about living in America.

Blitzen Trapper has always been a group known for impeccably perfected songs about things of olden-times. They’ve created folk medleys that are still cool in the eyes of the young. While last year’s exceptional Destroyer Of The Void was a welcomed advancement, and a brilliant album in general, it actually wasn’t that far off from their earlier releases. But, American Goldwing is an album that literally takes everything this amazing group has learned in and from the past, and puts it to use in a way that is so damn perfect it’s almost hard to imagine.

It is too hard to avoid the folk pop pleasure that “Love The Way You Walk Away” creates. Or the total Dylan-esque cut “Taking It Easy Too Long” and it’s stoned out enthusiasm. And curse thee who can’t appreciate the rock and roll’ed sex frenzy that is “Might Find It Cheap”, which is a like a PG-13 version of Whitesnake’s “Do The Dirty With Me”. All grounds are covered in this fantastic tribute to the version of America we might actually feel fondly about. Oh, and “Your Crying Eyes” is simply The Rolling Stones replacing Mick Jagger with Hank III. Wonderful stuff!

Sub Pop Records is not a small nuance in the record label world by any means. They’ve always found themselves in the right place at the right time for the last twenty something years. But, to know that a group like Blitzen Trapper can somehow be aligned with Nirvana and Mudhoney is simple proof that their might be a higher being, and he has blessed the A&R folks of Sub Pop with the ability to spot perfect talent when it is time to be found. And it is an amazing feeling to know that Blitzen Trapper is a band that can be appreciated in these times.

Download: “Love The Way You Walk Away” by Blitzen Trapper

Sub Pop Records [CD, 2011]

1. Might Find It Cheap
2. Fletcher
3. Love The Way You Walk Away
4. Your Crying Eyes
5. My Home Town
6. Girl In A Coat
7. American Goldwing
8. Astronaut
9. Taking It Easy Too Long
10. Street Fighting Sun
11. Stranger In A Strange Land
12. Mission Moon

Eclectic pop music and Portland seem to go together like coffee, cigarettes, and Sartre. The branding itself really seems like a rationalization by critics, press gurus, and bloggers alike who can’t seem to fit an artist into a category. And this is probably where an act like the Portland (and the rest of Oregon) based John Craig & The Weekend come into play. And it is suffice to say that this is truly a wonderful characteristic by nature. Versatility is a virtue that should be exploited more often.

On Numbers, John Craig explores a whole new world of said versatility. On his second coming, follow up to his strong debut EP Umlaut, Craig has put together a strong band to guide him through the valley of pop creationism. There are so many different emotions being spread around like wild dandelions on this record. There are Neil Young-esque and sensual songs of desperation like the title track “Numbers”, which proceeds what seems to be the Prince or Simple Minds influenced “Staying Too Late”. And, of course, there is the simple indie pop goodness of a track like “Newstories” embedded in the playlist that attempts to keep the balance. But, who needs balance, really? Why not just enjoy the variable supremacy Craig and Co. have put into a very entertaining album.

While John Craig & The Weekend seem to (sort of) follow the trends beset upon them by their fare city of roses, there is definitely something different happening on Numbers. There is a certain excitement in hearing a band that is obviously inspired by something far beyond acceptable influences. This is a band that actually sounds the way the youth would love to hear The Eagles. No gimmicks, just great music. These guys seem to inadvertently send a clear message that it is okay to make radio friendly music, and still hold the power to be a truly unique and individualistic group of artists. And that is a trait that is definitely worthy of an abundance of praise.

Download: “Staying Too Late” by John Craig & The Weekend

Download: “Newstories” by John Craig & The Weekend

Loop Hole Records [CD, 2011]

1. Newstories
2. We Are Whatever
3. Don’t Think Make Mistakes Part One
4. Don’t Think Make Mistakes Part Two
5. The Only Way (Neck) feat. Gold
6. It’s Love I’m After
7. Rain and Trains
8. Sink Or Swim
9. Out All Night
10. Staying Too Late
11. Old Faces
12. Numbers

You might remember a piece about folk artists Shiny and the Spoon we ran in April of last year. With more than a year having passed and a new autumn season upon us I am excited to once again have the opportunity to write about the duo’s latest album Ferris Wheel.

The two singers/songwriters, also called Amber and Jordan, have with this newest work achieved a fuller sound through the use of more instruments, a variance in vocal ranges and patterns, and a broader lyrical focus. While their previous album is perfect for softly spoken days, these new songs have a more progressive energy; for me at least instilling images of sun-brewed iced tea, wildflowers, and sweet, sticky air.

The ukulele works its same, soothing magic as it did on their first album only this time the two have paired it with deeper and richer rhythm lines providing for a balanced forward-shift in sound. The thirteen tracks offer a contrast in reception as while listening we feel we can move, stay still, or do both. Ferris Wheel, much like their previous self-titled album, offers traditional folk music in that it reminds us of a common purpose of the genre: to make one feel at home. Overall, Ferris Wheel is a brilliant continuation of the story the band started telling us in their album prior. Don’t miss out!

Download: “Ferris Wheel” by Shiny And The Spoon

[CD, 2011]

1. Snowflake
2. Round The Corners
3. Coriander Blues
4. Killin’ The Flowers
5. Black Nag
6. Ferris Wheel
7. Take On Me
8. Run
9. 13 Crates
10. Bread And Butter
11. I Hear Ghosts
12. No Hole In My Head
13. Blessing

Clarity is an odd thing. Subjective and open to interpretation. There is clarity behind the vocals of Denise Nouvion, contrasting the dream-like nature of Evan Abeele’s compositions. Together they make up Memoryhouse, and next month they will release The Years EP courtesy Sub Pop Records.

The Years EP is a collection of five beautifully produced song, lucid yet evasive of reality. From opening track “Sleep Patterns”, the listener is treated to a hypnotic set of songs that filter life through a translucent haze.

The EP builds from these early moments into “Lately”, a song that samples the mystical melody so beloved in Michel Gondry’s Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and on into a early, subtle beats of “Modern, Normal”. “To The Lighthouse” continues with a chill, laid-back beat courtesy Abeele, while Nouvion adds a melody to match the power in that of “Lately”. Here it climaxes, leaving “Quiet America” for the cool down.

The music of Memoryhouse is soothing; it’s that fresh, perfectly-brewed cup of coffee Agent Cooper enjoys at The Great Northern each morning in Twin Peaks. It’s the moment you awake after a long night’s sleep, perfectly rested on a lazy Sunday morning. It simply makes you feel good.

Download: “Modern, Normal” by Memoryhouse

Sub Pop [CDEP, 2011]

1. Sleep Patterns
2. Lately
3. Modern, Normal
4. To The Lighthouse
5. Quiet America