I played Exitmusic‘s “The Sea” on my KSVR radio show a few weeks back. I found the music to be somewhere between the haunting melodies of Beach House and the hushed whispers of Still Corners. The band consists of New York duo Aleksa Palladino and Devon Church. And if Palladino looks familiar, it’s because she also plays a character in HBO’s Boardwalk Empire.

Shawn Fogel has a light-hearted way of conducting himself that makes his lovable indie-pop songs so damn interesting and enlightening.  And this is probably why FensePost has featured his worked damn near religiously since his inception of the moniker known as Golden Bloom.  With every move the man makes, we are right there behind him.  And the release of his fantastic new video for “Rhyme The Reason” should hold no exception.  Once again, Mr. Fogel performs brilliantly and in a fashion that is not only entertaining, but might make you …

Gem Club has now released their debut LP, Breakers. On it is the song “Twins” and the band has given it video treatment. Featuring Eva Perrotta and Michael Pope, this music video is just as haunting as the minimalist music Gem Club creates.

I’ve always found the cello to be a haunting instrument, filled with sadness and mystery. You hear that in Mire Kay‘s “So You Learned”, off her latest EP Sea Monster. The song features a soft acoustic guitar strum backed by cello, which is nature-esque and folk-like.
Mire Kay put together a video for “So You Learned” that encapsulates this perfectly. It was filmed back in June, deep inside the Ekerö forest in the outskirts of Stockholm, Sweden.
Of late, I have found myself digging folk more. …

Solander is a Swedish folk-pop trio that creates mystically beautiful songs. Their latest is called “Flight” and it is just as pleasant and sad as the band’s prior work (you can hear tracks dating back to 2009′s “Looking For Gold”, which we raved about, on bandcamp). Solander handed “Flight” over to Iris Piers for a video and the result is ethereal and dream-like with amazing color and fantastic footage.

For me, Letting Up Despite Great Faults has always evoked a sense of youthful bliss, carefree and unburdened by the trials of life, and elevated by the prospect of new love. These feelings are, frankly, what could only be described as beautiful. The band has returned with a new video for the song “Teenage Tide” and, like that of “Our Younger Noise”, it has a young playfulness about it. It is very present; in the moment.

Hot off a few local performances, Star Anna has released a new video directed by Craig Brooks and Lindsay Daniels. “Alone in this Together” fits Star Anna’s country-tinged folk sound. It’s powerful and emotive, beginning softly then dropping in a hefty guitar riff about a third in. The video is an interesting play on memories; images from the past are nothing new in music videos, but here it’s a new refreshing take with them projected on walls.

Blitzen Trapper are arguably one of the hardest working (and most estranged in character) bands out today. With a relentless tour schedule that makes you wonder if Eric Earley and crew actually have homes to go back to, and what seems to be an “album a year” strategy going for them, they have definitely earned this title. But, the best is yet to come. Everyone’s favorite indie-folk group is due to release their fourth album, third from Sub Pop Records, very soon! And if “Love The …

Fishboy returns after giving us Classic Creeps with a new video from “Aspen2k” off the album and a tour, which includes a number of performances around the Seattle area. “Aspen2k” is one of the more upbeat tracks off Classic Creeps and it features Fishboy main man Eric Michener, a look-a-like hand puppet, and some fun indie pop art.

An airy whisper cuts the chilly late summer night. A synth plays an eerie but soothing organ-like melody. A set of beats backs it all, borderline drum box. “Cuckoo” by Still Corners, one of Sub Pop’s latest artists, is a song that screams the uncanny. Rightfully so, the video follows suit, layering colors atop the band for a ghastly, oddly hologram-like appeal.