Watch: Jo Hamilton - "Liathach"

One particularly smitten critic described the music of Jo Hamilton as “sophisticated, sensuous, complex, layered and utterly beguiling." And we certainly won't argue with that. We'll just wonder why Hamilton's dramatic art/pop hasn't made more of an impression in the U.S. The "Liathach" video shows us why her songs have such an impressive sweep, Hamilton's voice practically a force of nature as she steers the track's hymnlike splendor into otherworldly territory. It was a year ago that we caught up with Hamilton's trajectory as she released an expanded version of her album Gown. Now she's added another wrinkle with a limited edition DVD Gown Illuminated available at her site, featuring a full in-studio concert, her Gown videos (including this one) and "behind the scenes" footage.

Jo Hamilton - "Liathach" (from Gown)

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Rachel Sermanni - Black Currents EP

Rachel Sermanni - Like Laura Marling, nineteen-year-old Scottish neo-folk songwriter Sermanni has won praise for her exceptionally mature and artful music, taking acoustic melodies and expanding them into cinematic pieces of uncommon depth...new four-track EP was produced by Ian Grimble (Travis, Daughter) and is being promoted via the excellent Communion family of artists co-managed by Mumford and Sons Ben Lovett // Release: Black Currents EP (January 31, U.K.) // Sounds like: Sermanni finds that sweet spot between refreshingly unadorned directness and artful ornamentation, quiet laments and soaring orchestration all centered around a darting sand-textured voice that moves from tumbling lyricism to moments of serene, sweeping grandeur...

Rachel Sermanni - "The Fog" (from the Black Current EP)

Rachel Sermanni - "Breathe Easy" (from the Black Current EP)

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RADAR: Teddy Geiger

Like a lot of artists, Teddy Geiger has seen his fair share of major label highs - a "next big thing" Top 10 album Underage Thinking when he was all of 16 -- and lows -- shelved follow ups, getting dropped as quickly as he was signed. And like many, he's now on the D.I.Y. path, reaching out to fans to help fund a new album, his first new music since the 2010 EP Living Alone, and give him control over his music. His dollar goal now achieved, Geiger will release his new album The Last Fears via the fan-supported Pledge Music this spring. It's been six years since his "For You I Will" became a hit single when he was just 16 but it's clear from new songs like "Fall Away" he hasn't lost his ability to pen a memorable folk/pop melody and deliver it with a minimum of fuss and pretense.

Teddy Geiger - "Fall Away" (Acoustic)

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Listen: Megan Reilly - "Sew the Strings Inside Your Heart"

It's been five years since we've heard from Megan Reilly, the Memphis-raised, New Jersey transplant whose two albums -- 2003's Act of Tessa, 2006's Let Your Ghost Go -- had critics and fans raving. A break from music coincided with motherhood and now Reilly returns April 24 with "The Well", a new album produced by and featuring veteran guitarist (and Bongo) James Mastro. We've always been fond of Reilly's intimate, nocturnal balladry and her delicately quivering voice that sounds like it could be wafting from some 1950's Tennessee truckstop jukebox. But her fine new song "Sew The Strings Inside Your Heart" indicates that Reilly is equally at home with a rougher, decidedly more electric edge to her twang. Stick around for Mastro's fine guitar work at the end of the song.

Megan Reilly - "Sew the Strings Inside Your Heart" (from The Well)

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RADAR: Young Hines

After Brendan Benson overheard some demos being played by a painter working at his house, Georgia songwriter Young Hines now finds himself with a debut album Give Me My Change arriving April 10 via Benson's new imprint Readymade Records. Lead track "Rainy Day" has an eerie Beatle-ish ring to it, a vintage acoustic strum-fest feted with some of the most gorgeous harmonies you've heard in a while. The Lennon comparisons help define Hines' particular influences, but we're guessing there's a lot more than Brit Invasion nostalgia to be found on the forthcoming longplayer. We first heard Hines singing backup on Benson's new song "Keep Me" (listen here) a couple of years ago -- and we're looking forward to the brief series of Benson/Hines live dates kicking off at the end of April in Nashville.

Young Hines - "Rainy Day" (from Give Me My Change)

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RADAR: Cory Chisel & The Wandering Sons

Around these offices there isn't a more eagerly anticipated 2012 album than the new one from Cory Chisel & The Wandering Sons. The Appleton, WI songwriter's '09 album Death Won't Send A Letter we touted as "perhaps the finest album by a newcomer this year...music that touches the soul and raises a few hairs on the back of the neck at the same time." Chisel has said a new album was completed last fall -- and we know that he's already booked a performance on Letterman for June 4. So, a late May release perhaps? Will touring buddy Brendan Benson -- who recorded his new album at the same studio in Nashville -- make an appearance? Stay tuned. One new song that we know will be on the album will be "Never Meant to Love You (But It's Too Late Now)", a track he played with humorous Dylan-esque style at the 2010 Newport Folk Festival.

Cory Chisel - "Never Meant to Love You" (live at 2010 The Newport Folk Festival)

Cory Chisel - "So Wrong For Me" (live at 2010 The Newport Folk Festival)

Stream the full Newport performance at NPR...

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Watch: Benjamin Francis Leftwich - "Pictures"

When we took a listen to modern Brit folkie Benjamin Francis Leftwich last spring and his debut Last Smoke Before the Snowstorm we decided that "the intimacy of Leftwich's voice, reminiscent of Bon Iver's Justin Vernon and William Fitzsimmons, lends the album a certain mystical tranquility." That's certainly true of Leftwich's new single (and video) "Pictures". We're not quite sure what the surreal, slo-mo images have to do with anything, but they do lend an ethereal atmosphere behind Leftwich's spirtitual lyricism. More DC here.

Benjamin Francis Leftwich - "Pictures" (GZUS Remix)

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Erin Passmore - Downtown

Erin Passmore, the co-founding, song-writing multi-instrumentalist member of fine Canadian indie band Rah Rah takes a solo turn with Downtown, an eight-song EP of adventurous alt-pop arriving April 28 via Hidden Pony. With producer Matt Lederman (Holy Fuck, The Besnard Lakes) at the helm and musicians from the Montreal community, Passmore fleshed out her collection of stripped naked demos, veering from melodic Feist-ian songcraft ("Monster") to pensive acoustic reflections ("Captain") to sharply barbed tracks that bristle with just the right touches of rock-riffed dynamics (the title track, "Fall"). But our favorite is the opener "Into the Woods", an inspired stunner that manages to sound both intimate and epic at the same time, Passmore's upfront and center voice a warm, impassioned complement to the grand instrumentation building, then crashing around her.

Erin Passmore - "Into the Woods" (from Downtown)

Erin Passmore - "Downtown" (from Downtown) Stream the full EP here...

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Listen: Patrick Watson - "Into Giants"

Montreal alt-popster Patrick Watson and band (aka Patrick Watson) return this spring with Adventures In Your Own Backyard (April 30, Secret City), another album of sophisticated and theatrical songs that follows up '09's acclaimed Wooden Arms. Harnessing both whimsical charm and an intricate arrangement, lead track "Into Giants"plays like a cross between Paul Simon's "Rhymin' Simon" period and David Byrne at his most playful (with some Sgt. Pepper-ish brass to boot) -- an achievement even more impressive since the album was recorded in Watson's apartment.

Patrick Watson - "Into Giants" (from Adventures In Your Own Backyard)

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Kami Thompson - Love Lies

Kami Thompson - Long-awaited, oft-delayed full length debut from the London-based singer/songwriter boasts some studio assistance from father Richard Thompson, brother Teddy, half-sisters Martha and Lucy Wainwright and Sean Lennon...culled from half-written songs over the years and then polished before recording in New York with producer/bassist Brad Albetta and Ed Haber, the LP arrives stateside after a U.K. release last fall // Release: Love Lies (January 31 // Sounds like: intelligent alt-pop with a folk heart, Thompson's songs tap into her famous family's love of classic roots-centric songwriting and dramatic edge... traipsing easily from honkytonk to sleek melodic pop to distinctly British acousticism, Thompson's voice has a weary non-commital aura while emitting flashes of sultry heat...a nice antidote to the sing-songy, cutesy, Target-commercial pop fluff that many American female songwriters have been peddling lately...

Kami Thompson - "Little Boy Blue" (from Love Lies)

Kami Thompson - "Don't Bother Me" (from Love Lies)

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DC January 24 New Release Recap

Lots to consider this week as you contemplate parting with some funds for this week's spate of new releases. From the hi-energy pop/rock of Nada Surf and Hold Steady's Craig Finn to the smart adult pop of Madi Diaz, Ingrid Michaelson or Alexz Johnson to the alt-pop indie finesse of Cheyenne Marie Mize, Laura Gibson and John K. Samson of The Weakerthans, we've got something for you. Try a 70's Laurel Canyon country/folk excursion with Sweden's fantastic First Aid Kit, ogle the 75+ Bob Dylan covers in the charity-supporting Chimes of Freedom box, or dig the beat-friendly vibes of Polica. Find out what the late Heath Ledger found so irresistable about fellow Aussie Grace Woodroofe, imagine what the rockin' flamenco guitars of Rodrigo y Gabriela might sound like with a Cuban big band or get a taste of what's new with Austin songwriter Dana Falconberry. Need more? Really? Check our full list below.

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Listen: Grace Woodroofe - "Battles"

The New York Times music critic John Pareles describes Grace Woodroofe having "a voice made for melancholy and danger". That quality that comes into hazy focus in the cool vibed and slinky "Battles", an imaginative role-playing lament from her new album Always Want. Riding atop a skittering and jazzy drum-n-bass flair, Woodroofe's smoky voice beckons with a distant and detached air as she sings "I never thought I'd be a middle aged waitress" over and over. More on Always Want on DC here...Free "Battles" download here.

Grace Woodroofe - "Battles" (from Always Want)

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Lyle Lovett - Release Me

Lyle Lovett - After 25 years of major label releases, it's only fitting that the legendary Texas songwriter's final project carry the title Release Me. But true to form, Lovett makes what is admittedly a mixed bag -- a couple of holiday favorites and some interesting covers that he's been playing live over the years -- into something worthwhile...k.d. lang duets on the showstopping title track // Release: Release Me (February 28, Lost Highway) // Sounds like: what could have been simply a somewhat disjointed (but 14-track generous) collection of songs nonetheless offers up multiple reasons why Lovett's cross-genre hopping -- country, gospel, folk, pop, jazz, blues, bluegrass -- makes for such an enjoyable and unpredictable listen...

Lyle Lovett - "Isn't That So" (from Release Me)

Lyle Lovett - "Baby It's Cold Outside" (w/ Kat Edmondson) (from Release Me)

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Dana Falconberry - Though I Didn't Call It Came (EP)

Songwriter Dana Falconberry's Though I Didn't Call It Came (January 24, Crossbill) is a digital four-tracker that serves as something of a preview of a full length project due later this year. Like the upcoming album, most of the EP's songs were recorded in a church sanctuary near her home in Austin, TX but unlike her more recent stripped down acoustic and mostly solo affairs, Didn't Call heralds a more orchestrated and dreamy sound for Falconberry. With string arrangements by keyboardist and co-producer Christopher Cox, the revealing centerpiece track "Petoskey Stone" (video below) and lovely folk ballad "Possum Song" are transformed into sophisticated chamber pop vignettes of velvety vocal harmonies, plucked harp lines and intricately layered instrumentation.

Dana Falconberry - "Petosky Stone" (from Though I Didn't Call It Came)

Dana Falconberry - "Possum Song" (from Though I Didn't Call It Came)

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John K. Samson - Provincial

Many albums have a biographical feel, but few are imbued with as vivid a sense of both time and place as Provincial, the debut longplayer from John K. Samson (January 24, ANTI-). Best known as the founder, frontman and songsmith for critically lauded indie band The Weakerthans, Samson drifts from rough hewn folk to loose, rough and tumble alt/rock, transforming and fleshing out songs from a pair of earlier EP's while adding a handful of new tracks. Songs such as the prairie anthem "Highway One West" and punk gloried "When I Write My Masters Thesis" ignite with an R.E.M-meets-Neil Young fervor while "Heart of the Continent" and "Letter In Icelandic from the Ninette San" (named after his Manitoba town) scurry amidst toe-tapped rhythms and layers of acoustic guitars, vivid lyrical portraits and raw landscapes of uplift and despair seen through the eyes of someone who lives there.

John K. Samson - "Letter In Icelandic from the Ninette San" (from Provincial)

John K. Samson - "The Last And" (from Provincial)

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Listen: Alexz Johnson - "Skipping Stone"

We've been pretty much hitting replay with regularity on "Skipping Stone", the sumptuous, soulful slow-dance from Vancouver-raised, NYC transplant Alexz Johnson. Mixed by Greg Wells (Adele), "Skipping Stone" is equally tender and defiant, nuanced and incendiary, Johnson's pleading vocals a remarkable revelation to first-time listeners. Self-released five track Skipping Stone EP, streeting tomorrow, offers a promising glimpse of what's in store-- listen to the EP sampler and watch the "Skipping Stone" video below.

Alexz Johnson - "Skipping Stone" (from the Skipping Stone EP)

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RADAR: Philco Fiction

Dark, chilly electro/pop dappled with sunny rays is the forecast for Philco Fiction, a Norwegian indie trio led by frontwoman Turid Solberg. Lush, plugged-in soundscapes, off-kilter rhythms and oddly engaging melodies set the broad stage for Solberg's airy vocals on tracks that are as unpredictably diverse as they are inviting. If Bjork had set up shop with Prince in Minneapolis we might get sounds like this: simmering beats, rich keyboard funk/pop and decidedly arty, usually twisty melodies that dart and flit in and out of moods and atmospheres with graceful ease. At turns fanciful and intently, artily intimate, the trio's impressive late-2011 album Take It Personally is a gloriously messy mish-mash of ideas and attitudes, from the echoing piano lines and ticking beats of "Finally" to the stuttering, lushly outfitted pop/funk (Janet Jackson meets Lykke Li?) of "Help!" to the 7-minute ambient prog/pop centerpiece "Portrait of Silence" . No U.S. release set -- stay tuned.

Philco Fiction - "Finally" (from Take It Personally)

Philco Fiction - "Portrait of Silence" (from Take It Personally)

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Fanfarlo - Rooms Filled With Light

Fanfarlo - Esoteric London-based indie outfit fronted by founder Simon Balthazar revels in adventurous and intricately textured alt/pop quirks -- imagine if David Byrne had graduated recently from some British art school...sleek and sophisticated -- let's call it "twee free" -- sophomore album follows up the '09 Reservoir, an album we described as "appealingly ramshackle with a buoyant, kitchen-sink charm...(translating) 80's influenced 'new wave' pop with a decidedly progressive, smartsy, artsy bent" // Release: Rooms Filled With Light (February 28, Atlantic/Canvasback) // Sounds like: over-caffeinated poly-rhythms are deeply embedded in the Fanfarlo DNA, percolating beats and Philip Glass-ian minimalism merging into jumpy, edgy chamber pop ripe for future improvisation...fortunately, the melodies are equally deft and nimble, breathless choruses and hook-laden lines sinking happily beneath the glittering instrumental surface...

Fanfarlo - "Replicate" (from Rooms Filled With Light)

Fanfarlo - "Deconstruction" (from Rooms Filled With Light)

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Watch: Two Loons For Tea - Strongest Man In the World

Lots to like here in this new video, from the song -- "Strongest Man In the World" from Two Loons For Tea, aka Sarah Scott and Jonathan Kochmer -- to the lovely animation by Seattle artist Benjamin Rowe. New music from the talented Loons is on the horizon according to their Facebook updates -- it's been almost five years since their last album Nine Lucid Dreams, the project from which "Strongest Man" was taken. Patience, we are reminded, is a virtue. Yes?

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RADAR: Air Review

Air Review's grand scale music seems at odds with their "indie folk/rock" tag, as if the Dallas alt/pop quintet were ready to burst a few buttons of a constricting jacket. Reminiscent at times of fellow Lone Star faves Alpha Rev, this is clearly a band with big ideas and an equally big stage in their future, mega-watt amps pumping jangling guitars and arena monitors blasting the harmonious sing-a-long choruses to the minions. Last November's four track EP America's Son followed up a couple years of regional gigs, a promising '09 debut album, fan-spread word of mouth and some promising youtube videos -- most notably "My Automatic" (watch below) -- feeding the critical buzz. "Dulcet, tender, hypnotic," opined Huff Post's 'Dog Eared Music' critic. Stay tuned.

Air Review - "America's Son" (from the America's Son EP)

Air Review - "Low Wishes" (from the America's Son EP)

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