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The Perm & The Skullet is a non-profit music blog devoted to bringing you music of all kinds.
Although we prefer that rustic, acoustic, unusual, whiskey soaked sound, we do like music of all styles and genres. If you have something you think we should listen to, by all mean, let us know.
All Links and MP3s are for sampling, evaluation, and introduction purposes only and are intended to provide exposure to said artist / film / site etc...
If you like it, please go buy it.
Online, we recommend Insound, emusic or directly from the artist or their label. Locally, we recommend Schoolkids Records or Bull City Records.
Most Mp3 samples are only available for a limited time, usually a week or two. If there is something you missed, and it is currently unavailable or out of print, please let us know and we can see what we can do.
MP3s, Links, and Images can easily be taken down, so if you are the owner or their representation, and would like said link or file removed, just let us know and we'€™ll be happy to do so. You can E-mail me directly here for any questions or concerns or submissions.
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Thursday, November 30, 2006
Quick Note
Just a quick note. I hope you like the changes to the site. If you want to by-pass the front page and menu, and just access this blog only, please bookmark as either:
http://thepermandtheskullet.com
or
http://mhayhurst.blogspot.com
Either will provide you with a direct link to this page only. Thanks for reading, check out the new mixtape on the directory entry page, have a great weekend and hopefully I'll get time to post tomorrow. An all day shoot planned. so I'll do my best. Thanks again for reading and enjoy life.
posted by Matt Hayhurst @ 10:37 PM
 
Bird By Snow
We’ve had a slow week here at the P&S (in terms of posts), but fear not, the momentum is picking up steam.
Fletcher Tucker is not only the founder of Gnome Life Records, but since 2002, has been producing work under the Bird By Snow moniker. He creates songs, like sculpture, writing as he records, chiseling away to flesh out his work of art.
He sings songs about a love for the world and the feeling that everything in the world loves him in return. Tucker has recorded three albums: “a red record of cyclical reverence called Antlers And The Sun; a black 7" of rebirth, clean face and clean eyes called Industrial Collapse; and a blue record of sweeping ideals, and hopeful moments called Sky.”
Sky is a vinyl release, full of light through broken glass folk, fractured and put back together in a beautiful illuminating arrangement. Stimulating instrumentation are the waves in which Tucker’s voice sails in and out of broken harbors and sea shanty towns. Sky is what has been on the phones while I’ve been updating this website and two tracks are listed below for your pleasure. Recommended!
.: The Sound and the River Within the Sound
.: Black Elk in the Mountains
[website] [purchase]
posted by Matt Hayhurst @ 11:38 AM
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Dukes of Archipelago, Redstone Lake, & Driftwood Jack
Thanksgiving. A time for thought and reflection. A time for family and friends. A time for turkey and all the trimmings. All the above sums up my holiday and I hope yours was well.
This past weekend I’ve been listening to the Montreal bands Dukes of the Archipelago, and through links from their myspace page, Redstone Lake and Driftwood Jack, all projects of the multi-faceted Jesse LeGallais. He is a writer of fiction, poetry, reviews for Left Hip Magazine, an excellent singer/songwriter, and has a knack for being apart of some great bands.
Driftwood Jack gives me a Southwest sound that would be the perfect soundtrack to any modern day western. The central focus lies with Jesse's vocals, sung unlike the following two bands, but nice, and pure, and possibly the most welcoming of the work I've heard. While the real highlights for my taste lies with the Dukes and Redstone Lake, Driftwood Jack provides a nice alternative and plays strong as a compliment to his other two ventures.
Dukes of the Archipelago play tight, but loose rock that gives me soft hints of CYHSY. A unique blend of LeGallais' strained vocals, novel lyrics, and striking instrumentation; less frantic, but without loosing the punch, the Dukes have been rocking the P&S all week. "They write songs with the heart of the forest floor and play them with the frenzied soul of the city." A must listen and highly recommended!
Finally, with broken down vocals and simple instrumentation, like a wooden floor with holes keeping LeGallais' voice from slipping through the cracks, we have Redstone Lake. Passionate, heart filled lyrics, bare bones, but subtle instrumentation, and possibly my favorite of his incarnates. Redstone Lake gives a true outlet for the poetry of the heart.
All are worth checking out and below are links to each band and tracks for you to sample. Enjoy.
Dukes of the Archipelago
.: Throw It On The Fire
.: All Called Something
.: Battle and Scars
Driftwood Jack
.: Your Eyes
.: Something I Simply...
Redstone Lake
.: Forest Fires
.: Everything Coloured...
[Dukes of the Archipelago] [Driftwood Jack] [Redstone Lake]
posted by Matt Hayhurst @ 9:43 AM
Monday, November 27, 2006
JULIE DOIRON
Just the other day I was wondering when we would be getting another dose of Julie Doiron. It's been a little over two years since her last release and the shakes have defenintly set in. Well the cure is set to be released on January 23, 2007, with Doiron's new record, Woke Myself Up, out on Jagjaguwar.
Filled with heartbreaking confessional tales, from what I've heard so far, this is going to be an outstanding album. She sounds rejuvanated, reborn, and ready to take back what was hers to begin with. Below is the first track off this release. Enjoy.
.: No More
[website] [myspace]
posted by Matt Hayhurst @ 2:54 PM
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Rio en Medio / Danielle Stech-Homsy
Rio en Medio is the musical adventure of Brooklyn-based singer/ukulelist Danielle Stech-Homsy. Armed with her baritone ukulele and a gorgeous voice, she is the latest to join the inspiring Gnomonsong label, with this February's release of The Bride of Dynamite. I recently became familiar with A Bride’s Guide to Waiting Music, Stech-Homsy’s self-released 2004 treasure, and I was blown away.
A Bride’s Guide to Waiting Music, is a collection of poems and stories sung in the most delicate and fragile of voices, set to ukulele strumming, audio loops, found sounds and layered vocals, all packaged into one of the prettiest albums I’ve heard in a long time. With influences from techno to traditional folk to early and contemporary classical, the music presented here is best left to experience, but I will say, be prepared to fall in love.
Below are three tracks from this release and make sure to be on the lookout for The Bride of Dynamite in early 2007.
.: Everyone Is Someone's
.: Tiger Ear
.: Heaven Is High
[website] [myspace]
posted by Matt Hayhurst @ 10:34 AM
The Shins - Phantom Limb
What kind of fan would I be if I didn't at least mention that Sub Pop has released the first new The Shins single for download. It's a new sound, a good sound, and you can decide for yourself below. More to come when the album is released.
.: Phantom Limb
posted by Matt Hayhurst @ 10:25 AM
Lindsay Vandemark
Every time I try to get out, the lovely voices pull me back in. This latest infatuation lies with Lindsay Vandemark (aka Lindsay Clark). I stumbled upon her through a myspace link and haven't got up since. Background info and such is abound, but I'll let you journey through the links below for that. No, what's on my plate is not her past, but my future and my love for Ms. Clark's voice.
She has said that she doesn't really know how to describe her music, she feels it is pushed and pulled through many genres, but the way I see it, her work best belongs in the singer/songwriter category. She coos sweetly over the piano keys that allow her vocals to dance through a light rain. She makes music that makes me feel good, music that makes you want to know her, music that sits nestled here at the P&S.
Below are two tracks from 2004's Crossing the Water to ? and links for info and more recent work. Enjoy.
.: My Heart
.: Red Dirt
[website] [myspace]
posted by Matt Hayhurst @ 9:48 AM
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Noah Georgeson
photo by Lauren Dukoff
Guitarist, singer, engineer, producer, Noah Georgeson is releasing his debut lp Find Shelter, on November 28th. Better known as a member of The Pleased, or the producer of Devandra Banhart's Cripple Crow (as well as guitar) and Joanna Newsom's Milk Eyed Mender, who knew he was a troubadour at heart. We'll we do now, and his debut lp is unlike what I excpected to be honest. After hearing The Pleased and his producing work, I guess I just assumed alot and we all know what that makes me.
Find Shelter has a beautiful and rich sound that is all it's own. Part of the family he helped create, but more like the long lost cousin of the group. Georgeson recalls a more Jens Lekman sound with his vocals and exquisite instrumentation. It's lush and dream like. It makes me think of a lustrous convention hall, big wigs awaiting this one man show commissioned for the October 1, 1971 opening of Walt Disney's Magic Kingdom, they pull back the velvet curtains and beautiful strings are orchestrated as Georgeson croons the audience, everyone rejoices. The more you hear it, the more you can't live without it.
Truely a pleasent surprise and a must listen! Below is a track from the release.
.: Walking On Someone Elses Name
[myspace] [purchase]
posted by Matt Hayhurst @ 8:00 AM
Sarah White & The Pearls
White Light is the first full length from Sarah White in over five years and this time shes joined by her new backing band, The Pearls. White Light houses a wonderful collection of folky/country / rootsy songs featuring White's "distinctive bourbon and rolling tobacco soaked vocals." I just love that line and had to throw it in. When you get a label describing it's female vocalist as having bourbon soaked vocals, man you know it's good.
The album was recorded in Esmont, Virginia throughout 2005, and is released through Antenna Farm Records. White Light houses 11 amazing songs that are near perfect in every way. The songwriting is on the mark and is surrounded by excellent intrumentation to keep White in the lines. The real stand out here, especially if you've never heard Sarah White, is the beautiful sound this songbird makes. Her vocals are so addictive and crave your attention.
Below are two tracks that you have to hear and White Light easily climbs the ladder to the top of 2006 releases.
.: We Have A Song
.: Sarah Arizona
[website] [myspace] [purchase]
posted by Matt Hayhurst @ 7:57 AM
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
O' Death
A deep woods, old timey Appalachian sound mixed with a manic preacher on mescaline and you have a hint at what O' Death sounds like. Surprisingly based out of New York City, O' Death is a six piece band that has what it takes to get the P&S fired up. Cut from the same cloth, although towards the frays, as Old Time Relijun, O' Death conjures up thoughts of ghost yelps and gospel raves, night stomps and broken down farms, from hillside lullabies to spastic orgies, this is a must listen.
photo: Summit Studios
Below are four of the tracks from their release Head Home and a link to purchase. Highly recommended!
.: Down to Rest
.: Busted Old Church
.: Only Daughter
.: Jesus Look Down
[website] [myspace] [purchase]
posted by Matt Hayhurst @ 1:59 PM
Mark Dougherty
I was really excited when a fellow North Carolinian emailed me with music. Normally it’s searching the web, looking all around the US and overseas for music I may like, but it’s nice when someone in your own backyard gets some exposure and even better when they contact me directly.
Mark Dougherty is out of Greensboro, North Carolina and he plays a clever blend of acoustic music. You know that really great soft song on every indie rock album, the one that you wish there was more of, well Dougherty succeeds on creating an album full of them. In the vein of Mark Kozelek and the Red House Painters, the first thing I noticed when listening to Mark's music was his skills as a songwriter. You can tell from the first few lines that he is a poet at heart as he pours his soul for all to hear. The instrumentation on the album is equally impressive as it provides the perfect backdrop for Dougherty's vocals to shine.
While his previous lp, Shadows In The Light, plays more to the acoustic folk side, his most recent release, In Dreams, is a perfect blend of an enriched acoustic sound and the subtle touches of a studio atmosphere. Mark wanted to play off the theme of dreams, what’s experienced when we dream and how they clue us into our inner life. In Dreams is a great listen and below is a track from each of his releases with links to purchase.
.: To Refuse (from In Dreams)
.: Virginia (from Shadows In The Light)
[website] [purchase] [download]
posted by Matt Hayhurst @ 12:07 PM
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Joanna Newsom Live at the Earl 04
Joanna Newsom,
Live at the Earl in 2004. Something I've been listening to for some time and posted about last December. I figured with her new album, Ys, just hitting stores, I thought a live show was in order. Great show! Enjoy.
.: Yarn and Glue
.: Bridges and Balloons
.: The Book of Right On
.: Sprout and the Bean
.: Swansea
.: Three Little Babes
.: En Gallop
.: Sadie
.: Clam, Crab, Cockle, Cowrie
Bonus Track:
.: Emily (live)
[download]
posted by Matt Hayhurst @ 4:37 PM
Arrowwood
Arrowwood is Chelsea Robb and contributing members. She lays a gentle whispery voice over a collection of "various instruments such as voice, bouzouki, acoustic guitar (pythagumus of novemthree), mandolin, acoustic 12 string guitar, glockenspiel, distressed zither, bells, wood and metal chimes, singing bowls, tambourine, gypsy finger cymbals, goat's toenails, djembe (mostly played by pythagumus), some keyboard, ocarina & jaw-harp (lindsey hoffman), harmonium (pythagumus & josh lovejoy), shakers & other noisemakers...."
The music on her recent endeavor, Hemlock and Spindle Flower, is a nice blend of simple, beautiful, experimental folk delights. She creates dreamy atmospheres to float about in and calls to the listener, in a soothing child-like whisper, to come visit her forest floors. Very unique in many ways, but has no problem fitting in with the likes of recent posts. Below are three tracks from this 12 track cd with links to purchase.
.: Blackbird
.: The Mourner's Song
.: In Ruin
[myspace] [purchase]
posted by Matt Hayhurst @ 8:39 AM
Monday, November 13, 2006
Kathleen Baird
More straight forward folk ways than her band Spires That In The Sunset Rise, Kathleen Baird creates beautiful music with her Nicoish / medieval tones. Cat crys, the jingle/jangle, the slashing of strings, organ breaths and bells, an array of miscellaneous beats that when played together borderline nights in a old town tavern.
With her second solo release, Lullaby for Strangers, Baird drops her Traveling Bell moniker and entrances us with her deep commanding voice and has us do her bidding. Not as dark or fractured as STITSR, Baird delves into a more traditional sound than her band, evoking thoughts of late 60’s/early 70’s folk music that you know we love here at the P&S. If you are a fan of Spires That In The Sunset Rise, or just the opposite and believe their a bit to far out, then Kathleen Baird is just the potion you need for the cure.
Below are two tracks from her Lullaby for Strangers release out on Secret Eye Records. Enjoy.
.: Breaking the Roofs
.: Morning Song 2
[website] [purchase]
posted by Matt Hayhurst @ 12:59 PM
Alela Diane
I continue this week in my recent obsession and fascination with women of folk. Alela Diane has been on all weekend here, well at least during the free times, and it should be on your list too. Oh! My Mama, one of the tracks from her cd, The Pirate's Gospel, is one of my favorite songs right now and it evokes such a heartbreaking, but beautiful feeling inside.
I don't know if that's the intent, the heartbreak part, but it just sits that way with me. Images of a girl huddled in a sheet like a ghost in the corner of a dusty floor gathering heat from a pot bellied stove. Sparse surroundings, leaning heavily on the warmth of Diane’s voice to thaw her soul. That’s what I feel Diane’s voice is, warmth to the soul. She has an ever-changing pitch that cuts to the bone and provides a comforting sound to cradle into during those times in life when you just need someone.
The two tracks below are from The Pirate's Gospel with links to purchase. Highly recommended!
.: Oh! My Mama
.: The Rifle
[website] [myspace] [purchase]
posted by Matt Hayhurst @ 11:50 AM
Friday, November 10, 2006
ISLAJA: Palaa Aurinkoon
The paradise that Islaja created on Meritie has only magnified on her latest release Palaa Aurinkoon. (Fonal 2005)
"Textures evolve into new ones. Scabby rhythms spin socks on feet, skin burns into ashes in the attacking heat. Senile wine glasses wail of happiness. Fallen off beard hair are woven into a scarf that lets the wind blow fast right through it. If only life would be like this more than just an hour at a time! After everything the sun blesses the way with Islaja's words, it spits out of its system the wet and transformed listener, who longs for the light again.
Islaja's second album was born in two different places that have been sewed up one to another with the binds of words and a rich sound world. Here and there, Islaja's friends have lent their voices for this world. Loose guitar paths, long strokes of wind instruments, glasses and toys that clink, rattle and tinkle, rhythms, keyboards and Islaja's wonderful, many-faceted voice are cooing in a miraculous net. The album is a spontaneous texture of muscle, cartilage and liquid, everything organized in such a surprising way that one can't believe right away that it's a human being, but soon enough it becomes clear that it's a most ingenious creature. It evolves by itself. It tells us how everything metamorphoses, it relies on itself and infuses belief into the listener that one can change the world. The secret place where the creature invites the listener is revealed to be our real world, it lives here with us." -website
Islaja will soon release a live cd "Blaze Mountain Recordings" on Ecstatic Peace and is currently finishing her third album for Fonal Records due for release early 2007. With what we've heard over the past two releases, this third album should be nothing less than spectacular. Below are two tracks from this release and a link to purchase.
.: Rohkaisulaulu
.: Sateen Tullessa
[website] [purchase]
posted by Matt Hayhurst @ 2:00 PM
Timber (the new gentleman's shuffle)
After reviewing David Macleod's Strange Biology, I started looking for more music of his. I then stumbled upon a dream of an album, by Timber (the new gentleman's shuffle). A s/t, 2005 release on Ships at Night records, that brings together the singing and songwriting of David Macleod, with the guitar playing of Warren Spicer and the beautiful bluegrass voice of Katie Moore. Definently worth checking out. Below are two tracks for you to enjoy.
.: Criminal
.: Wayside
[website] [purchase]
posted by Matt Hayhurst @ 1:59 PM
charter oak
I don't remember where I first heard Charter Oak's Your Life That Won't End EP, (now it comes to me, WFMU) but I know I haven't stopped listening to it. Limited to 200 copies, this self released gem should be in your collection before it's gone. Charter Oak is headed up by Brendon Anderegg, better known as co-founder of Apestaartje and part of the electronic group Mountains. Anderegg has ventured into the singer/songwriter category with a solo release in 2005 and now with Charter Oak, and has succeeded on multiple levels with the help of Lucas Jansen, Rob Hatch-Miller, Chris Millstein, and Tianna Kennedy. Below is a track and a link to purchase.
.: Waterfall
[myspace] [purchase]
posted by Matt Hayhurst @ 1:58 PM
Thursday, November 09, 2006
ISLAJA: MERITIE
First let me start out by saying this is the first of a two part post covering the past two releases by Finnish musician Islaja.
Islaja is Merja Kokkonen, a musician living and working in Helsinki, Finland. Her music lives in a world of elements, of birds, mountains, the sea, and waves, and she cries out in her native language, some of the most transcendental vocals I’ve heard in a while. Her music creates a cove, a safe haven, in which to watch the storm go by.
Recorded at home with a wide array of instruments, the music of Islaja is stunning to say the least. Her debut album Meritie (Fonal, 2004) has blown me away with it’s heart-rending sounds. The harmony she creates alone is worth the ride, but the instrumentation here is sparse and subtle, but in a way that only enhances the experience.
Below are three amazing tracks from Meritie with links to purchase. She puts her whole being in this work and it shows. Highly recommended!
.: Kämmen, kynsi, kieli
.: Sata naakkaa sitten
.: Aallot ja äänet
[website] [purchase]
posted by Matt Hayhurst @ 12:37 PM
John Coltrane & Johnny Hartman
A sharp turn here with a quick post about one of my favorite records and a landmark album of vocal jazz. This is one of the three ballad albums that Coltrane recorded in 1962/1963 and it features Johnny Hartman and his beautiful baritone voice. Apparently Coltrane's suggestion, Hartman's voice meshes and intertwines with Coltrane's tenor like nothing I've ever heard, to provide some of the most gorgeous love songs ever made. This is a must own and I thought I would mention it here because it's been on the turntable lately. Here is an excerpt on Hartman,
"Hartman was a master of emotional expression, putting everything he had into every word he sang. With any other vocalist, performing a love song with this kind of intensity could easily come across as being over the top or gushing, but Hartman's rich, masculine baritone voice never wavered in its sincerity." - NPR
Below is a track from the album and will be up for a limited time, but I highly recommend you finding this lp on vinyl or cd.
.: They Say It's Wonderful
[purchase cd] [purchase vinyl]
posted by Matt Hayhurst @ 10:40 AM
Kindermusik: Improvised Music by Babies
Now normally I don’t post just clips of songs. There’s something about being able to provide you with a track that seems only fair, but below are three clips from the 2005 release Kindermusik: Improvised Music by Babies out on the Amorfon label. The tracks on the cd are live recordings of babies' performances, with no editing involved. This project was recorded with children all under 18 months old between 2003-05. Each baby played different instruments, objects, and toys and its eerie how good some of this sounds. Gone are the restrictions put on music by our conscious minds as adults, and what you hear is pure music as it flows from a child.
I really liked the idea and wanted to share it here with you guys. So below are three sound clips in mp3 format. They are not the full length tracks, but it allows you to get a good idea of where the cd is going. There is also a link for purchase if you are so inclined.
.: Goh Yokota / Toy - Recorded by Yoshio Machida
.: Alyssa Elliott / Electric Piano - Recorded by Yoshio Machida
.: Myona Sonobe / Steel Pan - Recorded by Yoshio Machida
[purchase]
posted by Matt Hayhurst @ 9:38 AM
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
Larkin Grimm
"Close your eyes and follow me" she asks during the title track, and how could one not with a voice like that. Larkin Grimm just released her new cd, The Last Tree, out on Secret Eye, and she has come a long way since last time I mentioned her. Present still are the old Appalachian sounds of her family commune, but refined and perfected is the way she brings them to our ears.
Her songs are more plush and full, leaving the confines of her bedroom recordings and really exploring space and instrumentation. Like a lot of the recent posts here, Larkin fits into this movement of woman sirens that are flooding my headphones with their “folk” endeavors, but she is not of the tribe of fairies and dew covered fields, no she plans on taking us deep into her woods like the pipers of old. You will be seduced and abducted be her charms only to reckon with the forces of nature she created with this release. Definitely worth the listen and recommended.
Below are three tracks from The Last Tree to explore and links to purchase.
.: The Last Tree
.: Waterfall
.: Little Weeper
[website] [myspace] [purchase]
posted by Matt Hayhurst @ 11:00 AM
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Isobel Campbell: Milk White Sheets
Isobel Campbell’s Milk White Sheets is out today and I'm simply blown away. Breathtaking and more beautiful than I imagined, this solo release from former Belle and Sebastian member is one of the most stunning albums of the year.
Revamping half a dozen English and Scottish traditional folk songs, Campbell has found her true calling as a solo artist. Recorded prior to her more country, Ballad of Broken Seas lp with Mark Lanegan, the songs on Milk White Sheets are more tender, seductive, and captivating. Accompanied by the fluttering of lush, bare-boned acoustic instrumentation, Campbell's delicate voice twinkles in the night sky and calls out for everyone to follow.
I've always found Campbell's vocals to be some of the most intimate and on this release we get the best I've ever heard. A must own!
Below is a track from this gorgeous album. Enjoy.
.: Beggar, Wiseman or Thief
[website] [myspace] [purchase] [download]
posted by Matt Hayhurst @ 12:49 PM
Spires That In The Sunset Rise
Spires That in the Sunset Rise is the musical collaboration of Kathleen Baird, Taralie Peterson, Tracy Peterson, and Georgia Vallas. Based out of Chicago, IL, they perform a type of free form avant-folk that is absolutely mind blowing. They have just released their third full length, This Is Fire, and it's really hard to put into words exactly what this primal experiment sounds like. Words like summons, outsider folk, texture, incarnation, and intense all come to mind when addressing this coven.
A wide array of instrumentation (harps, guitars, cello, drums, harmonium, banjo, mbira, spike fiddle, bells, vocals, yelps, and screams) is used to induce the listener into an almost meditative visionary state that I undoubtedly embraced. Somehow they have the grips to harness these raw organic emotions, thoughts, feelings, and sounds to produce songs that keep me wanting more. Harmonic waves of beauty that are simply brilliant. Spries That in the Sunset Rise is worth the ride and come highly recommended.
Below are three tracks from This Is Fire and two from their prior release, Four Winds the Walker.
.: Spike Fiddle Song
.: Clouds
.: Morning Song
.: The May Ham
.: Little For A Lot
[website] [myspace] [purchase]
posted by Matt Hayhurst @ 9:30 AM
Monday, November 06, 2006
David Macleod
An elegantly picked guitar and a troubadour's voice was all David Macleod needed to have me hooked on his 2006 release, Strange Biology. His reverence to the past is evident, used as a loose skeleton to build upon with his own flesh of folk and beauty. Macleod's unique vocal melodies and lyrical wordplay are the true gems of the release and the more I listen to the tracks, the more I feel connected to his work. Below are two tracks from this release and links to acquire.
.: One by One
.: Books About the Past
[website] [myspace] [download] [purchase]
posted by Matt Hayhurst @ 1:49 PM
Forest City Lovers
I recently came across the beautiful sounds offered by Forest City Lovers, or how I was introduced to them, Kat Burns + The Forest City Lovers. I was immediately drawn to Burns' vocals and if you've liked some of the ladies that have been mentioned here in the past few weeks, this band will not disappoint.
Forest City Lovers is the venture of lead vocalist/guitarist Kat Burns and after playing solo for some years, she decided it was time to collect some friends and fill out her sound. This sound however doesn't take anything away, and adds a rather subtle, but complementary element of perfection to her sound. Images of a Burns skating across a dusty wooden floor in a home with broken windows and wheat blowing in the distance come on Scared this Time and thoughts of an old truck traveling down a sun lit back road parallel the beat on Song for Morrie. Currently the band consists of Kat Burns on guitars and vocals, Mika Posen on violin and vocals, Andrew Kinoshita on bass, guitar and vocals, and Jamie Bunton on drums and trumpet.
Below are three tracks from their debut lp, The Sun and the Wind.
.: Song for Morrie
.: Scared This Time
.: Oh Humility [website] [myspace] [download] [purchase]
posted by Matt Hayhurst @ 9:58 AM
Saturday, November 04, 2006
COLLECTIVE PODCAST 10
.: COLLECTIVE PODCAST 10
The Choir of All Saints, Honiara - God Yu Tekkem Laef Blong Mi
Danielson - Five Stars And Two Thumbs Up
Dr. Octagon - Earth People
Millie Jackson - (If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want To Be Right
Beck - Black Tambourine
Anna Oxygen - Fake Pajamas
Swan Lake - All Fires
Joanna Newsom - Cosmia
TRT: 29:27
posted by Matt Hayhurst @ 8:50 AM
Broken Deer
I have to give cokemachineglow all the credit for this one. They recently reviewed the fabulous sound experiments of Broken Deer and the album Displaced Field Recordings. While this lp is not going to suit everyone's taste, I had to post about it here. I can't stop listening to these tracks and I've been inserting them into mixtapes as break points ever since.
CMG wrote, "It sounds like it came from another world, a transmission from another time floating around the nether regions of radio waves... one of the most striking and riveting records I've heard this year." and I couldn't agree more.
From the myspace we get, "Broken Deer began as Lindsay Dobbin's sound documentation project. It has now turned into something with varying forms, including live performances with fellow musical hunter/gatherers Christine Comeau and Ashleigh Gaul." and "Displaced Field Recordings is a repository of decaying folk" Decaying Folk...what a perfect discription!
This would be an excellent performance, especially if their were visuals on screen. Whoa! Below are two tracks and a link to purchase.
.: Faces on the River Side
.: It Creeps
[myspace] [purchase]
posted by Matt Hayhurst @ 8:48 AM
Friday, November 03, 2006
White Magic: Dat Rosa Mel Apibus
White Magic is just that. Brooklyn's dark indie-folk trio White Magic features singer/guitarist/pianist Mira Billotte, drummer/bassist Miggy Littleton, and guitarist/drummer Andy Macleod. Imagine that scene in Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow when Icabod's mother is rising from the forest's floor spinning in all it's beauty and rejoicing in her purity. That scene is a very small look into my feelings and thoughts when the songs on Dat Rosa Mel Apibus are being played. We are whisped away through the trees on an enchanting journey guided and protected from the darkness by Billotte's beautiful voice.
The album is being released 11/14 on Drag City, just in time for the winter, and this to me is the perfect winter album and a must own. While most of the songs on Dat Rosa Mel Apibus are heavy with Billotte's gorgeous piano, Katie Cruel is finger-picked with misty guitars and the songs of a siren, and is below for you to sample. Enjoy.
.: Katie Cruel
[myspace] [purchase]
posted by Matt Hayhurst @ 10:37 AM
Proof of Ghosts
Proof of Ghosts is a project by Steve Shoe, formerly of the Suck My Disc Collective, filled with guitars, banjos, and passion. With noticable influences from Neil Young to Sonic Youth riddled with an updated old tent revival feel, Proof of Ghosts rips at your soul and your heart and doesn't let go. Shoe's unique voice and instrumentation, along with his talent as a songwriter, make Proof of Ghosts a moving and lasting experience, and a live show would be a must I think. Below are three tracks from his latest release, Many Things Are Destroying Me.
.: I'm Coming Home
.: Time Takes Its Time
.: Oshawa On Pt. 2
[myspace] [download]
posted by Matt Hayhurst @ 10:36 AM
Thursday, November 02, 2006
Darling Arms
Former leader of the Montreal band One Candle Power, Christina Frances has re-emerged under the moniker Darling Arms with a 5 track ep, All the Ghosts. Released through Blue Skys Turn Black in May of this year, the beautiful voice of Ms. Frances has just recently hit my ears.
Near the end, former OCP member, Andre Guerette, told her "...he always felt like he was getting in my way of making more beautiful, quiet music." So from a four piece indie rock outfit, to time in seclusion, and then a re-birth into a solo acoustic experience, Darling Arms has emerged from the wreckage with an ep that has it's moments of greatness. A passionate and beautiful voice backed by sparse acoustic guitar just the way we like it.
Below are two tracks from All the Ghosts.
.: Beluga
.: The Hero
[myspace] [purchase]
posted by Matt Hayhurst @ 10:54 AM
Swan Lake
Could this be any more perfect!
Swan Lake is the collaborative efforts of Daniel Bejar (Destroyer, New Pornographers), Spencer Krug (Wolf Parade, Sunset Rubdown) and Carey Mercer (Frog Eyes) and they are releasing their debut LP, Beast Moans on 11/21/06. Krug and Mercer are two of my favorite singer/songwriters and then throw in Bejar on top of that, man, I can only imagine that if the whole cd sounds at all like the two tracks that are below, we are in for an immediate top 5 of 2006, hands down. It's like taking three great elements, mix them together in a summer cottage town in Canada, burn it down, and what rises from the ashes is one super beast, where, dare I say, the sum of the whole may out ways it's parts.
Enjoy the two tracks and prepare yourself...it's coming.
.: All Fires
.: The Freedom
posted by Matt Hayhurst @ 9:15 AM
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
Roman Candle Ticket Giveaway
Do you live in the Triangle/NC area? Do you want to see the up and coming Roman Candle? Well your in luck. We're giving away FREE passes (winner +1) to see Roman Candle, La Rocca, and The Changes performming live at the Cat's Cradle, Wednesday November 8th.
All you need to do to win these passes is send me an email or post a comment, with your email address, letting me know why you want to go to the show and I'll pick a winner by Sunday evening. That gives you 5 days, and I'll email the winner with all the necessary info.
Recently signed to V2 and getting glowing reviews for their debut release, The Wee Hours Revue, this NC band is making good. A Pitchfork rating of 7.6, an Indy review stating, " Roman Candle is one of the best, most complete American rock bands to surface in a decade" and The Boston Globe stating, "Like the Jayhawks' Smile or Summerteeth - era Wilco, Roman Candle's arresting debut is a smart-bomb stunner..."
You can hear snippets from The Wee Hours Revue on their website, but why not sample a full track below.
.: Something Left To Say
[website] [myspace] [purchase]
posted by Matt Hayhurst @ 11:09 AM
The Skygreen Leopards
A true family record is The Skygreen Leopards Disciples of California. It's been on constant rotation since I got it. When I first heard the lp I knew there was something new, something special. Gone is the pure homebrewed sound of past lps, and in it's place a more fleshed out, almost polished and perfected sound. I believe it's their finest record to date and all you have to do is listen to the tracks below to hear it.
"For the first time on record you'll hear the Skygreen Leopards "Skyband Sound". A pleasure formerly reserved for denizens of San Francisco's haunted honky tonks where the Leopards developed much of Disciples songs. The swing and sway of this album is something totally unique to the SGL's discipline and owes a great deal to the work of Vaslav Treacy (Lindner School of Ballet), who instructed the band in modern dance for three months in order to perfect the pulse of the songs on the record. Grace & Beauty tumbling down Mt. Zion became the band's solemn motto." Jagjaguwar
"Join California's Family Band as we sing of love & life in a new meadow from Jerusalem to the Mission of Shawnapee we welcome you into our secret wine cellar!" - site
.: Disciples of California
.: Broken Sparrow
[website] [myspace] [download] [purchase]
posted by Matt Hayhurst @ 9:34 AM
COLLECTIVE PODCAST 9.1
I'm picking this podcast/mixtape gig up again. Proir podcasts can be downloaded by subsrcibing to the links below. Enjoy.
.: COLLECTIVE PODCAST 9.1
Beck and Willie Nelson - Drivin' Nails In My Coffin
Old Time Relijun - Wolves and Wolverines
MC5 - Kick Out the Jams
Johnny Cash and the Original Tennessee Two - Rock Island Line
Midtown Dickens - AM Dial
Cat Power - Werewolf (live @ Nacht-Mix Lounge)
Midlake - The Jungler (alt. version)
+/- - Leap Year
TRT: 28:18
posted by Matt Hayhurst @ 8:13 AM
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