Every few years it seems as though an indie folk singer comes out that creates something beyond strange lamentations and disturbing psychosis through acoustic guitars and eerie piano solos. Yes, every few years there is an artist that distributes the idea to our heads that it is okay to keep it simple, with only minor complexities to cloud our minds, and still be able to make sweet and beautiful pop oriented folk music. Similar to Norah Jones stealing the show almost 10 years ago, Kacey Johansing has arrived …

With a sly folk swagger and gravely chops to match the masters, Seth Augustus has created an album somewhere between the laid back ramblings of Tom Waits and the kooky vocals of Captain Beefheart. Opening with “To The Pouring Rain”, Augustus’s dust-bowl folk styling is fit for a wanderer or vagabond from near a century ago.
Such artists seem to have little in common with modern times; instead, they transfer the listener to another point in time. You can hear it not only in the make-up of …

What do you get when you combine bay-area love-folk and southwest obscurity with a pinch of world music influence? Well, all corniness aside, you would have Mark Matos & Os Beaches and their album Words of the Knife. Mark Matos, formerly known as Tucson-based folk vagabond Campo Bravo, brings a stellar collection of ParrotHead friendly tracks that make him sound like a Portuguese Jimmy Buffett. Alongside Os Beaches, here is an album you will be humming to yourself for days to come.