Winterpills - All My Lovely Goners

Winterpills - After 2010's "bedroom affair" EP Tuxedo Ashes, New England's fine, woefully unheralded indie pop band returns with a more fully produced full length of finely crafted, lushly harmonied songs embellished with ambient seques and moods both deep and dark..."we were all pushing ourselves here to make something exciting, emotional, fresh and rocking,” says guitarist Dennis Crommet // Release: All My Lovely Goners (February 14, Signature Sounds) // Sounds like: the trademark chamber pop melodies and resplendent,entwined vocals that have been Winterpills' hallmark since ' 2005 debut remain happily intact even as they deliver what is easily their most diverse and ambitious collection of tracks yet...

Quote: There was a certain wordless pledge by the band to not be weighted down by the past," says songwriter Philip Price, "That feeling played a vital role on our first album and resurfaced on All My Lovely Goners as the freedom to take bigger chances, to do something un-self-consciously different.” // What we like: the instant classic "Amazing Sky" is worth the price of admission alone, a song that brings to mind the Winterpills observation by the Village Voice: "Lovely melodies sung by people who can really sing." Indeed...album open "We Turned Away" is an impossibly lovely amalgam of celestial vocal harmonies and symphonic pop grandeur, a folk hymn that soars to the heavens...the moodily psychedelic "January Rain" moves in fits and starts, a pulsing rhythm and jagged guitar lines building to a quietly mindblowing climax...

Winterpills - "Amazing Sky" (from All My Lovely Goners)

Winterpills - All My Lovely Goners Sampler (We Turned Away, Rogue Highway, January Rain, Dying Star)

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Punch Brothers - Who's Feeling Young Now?

Applying labels is an easy and sometimes necessary thing -- we all do it. But to simply pigeonhole Punch Brothers as a bluegrass band -- even with the indie-friendly "progressive" attached -- is to miss the larger more interesting picture. We thnk we already know what "bluegrass" is...or do we? Assembled originally to support Nickel Creek frontman Chris Thile for a 2006 solo project, the collection of virtuoso acoustic players doesn't dwell in anything remotely "old timey" -- this is a completely modern, collaborative effort that often sounds more like swirling, densely layered classical minimalism and genre-blurring songcraft than simply some rural hootenanny. New album Who's Feeling Young Now (February 14, Nonesuch), the Brothers' third album and followup to 2010's Jon Brion-produced Antifogmatic, continues the stringed adventure with noted producer Jacquire King (Tom Waits, Kings of Leon) manning the studio board.

Lead track "Movement and Location" sets the exhilarating pace with flurry of notes that sounds like a string-band studying the hypnotic trance-like compositions of neo-classicist Steve Reich. There are retro-jazz elements, somber ballads and songs that play out like delicate indie rock tapestries. "We’ve gotten a lot more comfortable in our skin," observes Thile, an outlook confirmed by the album's array of disparate influences and daring moves. But "comfortable" is the key here. It's one thing to take chances -- it's another to pull them off with such remarkable ease. "Clara" is glorious anthem of chiming chords and Thile's soaring vocals (and a song that could be easily reworked as a modern rock classic) while "Soon Or Nevers"' sweetly tempered harmonies and stately pace offers a mellow respite.

 

Punch Brothers - "Movement and Location" (from Who's Feeling Young Now?)

Punch Brothers - Who's Feeling Young Now? Sampler (Clara, No Concern of Yours, Patchwork Girlfriend, Soon or Never)

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Rosie Thomas - With Love

Rosie Thomas - We can't think of a nicer possible valentine than new music from the brilliant, witty and completely wonderful singer/songwriter Rosie Thomas... her first new album of original music in four years is all about the transformative and healing power of love -- something the Seattle/New York songwriter knows all about following a two year bout with a thyroid disorder and subsequent severe anxiety... // Release: With Love (February 14, Sing-A-Long Records) // Sounds like: No one can turn a sweet and tender melody into a beatific moment of such achingly sublime intimacy quite like Thomas...the warmly lo-fi production and instrumentation from David Bazan and Blake Wescott along with backing by members of Sufjan Stevens’ band, Sam Beam (Iron & Wine) and Jen Wood (The Postal Service) set the stage for Thomas' more confident, deliciously sugar-and-spice vocals...

Quote: “I woke up one morning, and the sun shined in the window, and I didn’t mind,” Rosie says of her recovery; “the birds chirped and I thought they were singing for me. The world felt like it was back on my side again or vice versa, and I finally fit in again.” // What we like: Thomas refers to the studio sessions as encouraging her "more playful" side but we also hear a more serious overall approach in giving her songs greater depth in sound and scope..."Where Was I" delivers more pleasure per note than 99% of Thomas' contemporaries, a gloriously off-beat and jazzy time signature giving her and the band the chance to stretch out luxuriously...

Rosie Thomas - "Where Was I" (from With Love)

Rosie Thomas - "Remember When It Snowed"

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The Dunwells - Blind Sighted Faith

Singer, songwriter and guitarist Joseph Dunwell and his brother David are the namesakes of this Leeds, England band charging headlong down the "Mumford" path of spirited British pub-folk. You can also add in a couple of cousins to The Dunwells' roster for a band that calls themselves "5 best mates" and who have been touring non-stop over the past couple of years, slowing building up a sizable fan base. Debut album Blind Sighted Faith, helmed by veteran producer John Porter (Elvis Costello, Ryan Adams) and due February 14 in the U.S., is led by new single "I Could Be A King." The sound is tight, brisk and drenched in vocal harmonies and layers of chiming, busker-ish guitars but, unlike the more updated traditional folk slant of Mumford and Sons, The Dunwells deliver straight melodic folk/rock that could easily be wafting out of clubs on this side of the pond.

The Dunwells - "I Could Be A King" (from Blind Sighted Faith)

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Sugar and the Hi-Lows - S/T

Nashvillian songwriters Trent Dabbs and Amy Stroup set the way-back machine to the late 50's, early 60' days of classic pop for their new, pitch-perfect throwback and shiny satin side project Sugar and the Hi-Lows. The vibe is both tongue-in-cheek impish and respectful of their pioneering elders as the duo and their band, as sharp as the pleat in Dabb's trousers or the heels of Stroup's shiny pumps, carouse their way through a retro melange of self-penned soulful, doo-wop slow dances and hip-shakin', sock-hoppin' rave-ups. As they say on their site, only two rules applied to the album: "(it) had to be effortless and it had to be FUN." Following the classic rule of "it's not good if you can't dance to it", Dabbs and Stroup decided it was time for something "lighthearted". Sugar and the Hi-Lows -- which sounds like a medical pamphlet on diabetes -- drops February 14 led by new single "See It For Your Self" out today digitally.

Sugar and the Hi-Lows - "I've Got You Covered"

Sugar and the Hi-Lows - "Two-Day High"

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Poliça - Give You the Ghost

Vocalist Channy Leaneagh and producer/electronica wiz Ryan Olson (GAYNGS) have merged their particular talents for dreamy alt-pop with a subtle, beat-friendly R+B tip with the formation of Poliça and a mesmerizing new album Give You The Ghost arriving January 24. We knew they must be doing something right when we heard Leaneagh's subtley auto-tuned vocals and didn't have our usual reaction (disgust, dismay, disinterest) -- maybe it's the killer, hooky melodies, maybe it just fits with the whole updated lush trip-hop feel, but for some reason it just works. Bon Iver's Mike Noyce guests on the swirlingly percussive and atmospheric "Lay Your Cards Out" while "Dark Star" percolates with a driving back beat, chunky keyboards and a bass line guaranteed to tickle your subwoofer. Watch the "live in the studio" peformance of "Wandering Star" below...

Poliça - "Lay Your Cards Out" (feat. Mike Noyce) (from Give You The Ghost)

Poliça - "Dark Star" (from Give You The Ghost)

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Hey Rosetta! - Seeds

If you took the concept of "chamber pop" and adapted it in epic fashion for the big stage, you might end up with the music of Newfoundland's Hey Rosetta!. Originally conceived by songwriter/frontman Tim Baker as a way to put substantial meat on the bones of his solo songs, Hey Rosetta! has become one of the finest practitioners of intelligent, vigorous and sonically progressive "big picture" art/rock. With their 2008 album Into Your Lungs, Baker and band crafted a melodic masterwork of substantial heft and full-bodied dramatic power while providing a balance of intimate, intricate arrangements. Latest project Seeds arrives this February via ATO, a year after its Canadian release (and sales of 20,000 albums). "There isn't a more thrilling band working in this country right now," lauds The Toronto Star...

Described by Baker as "a little more refined and mature," Seeds was produced by Tony Doogan (Belle and Sebastian, Wintersleep). Lead track "Welcome" has a nice mix of dense sonic rock bluster and big melodic hooks, shifting atmospheres of intensity and slower, drifting passages finally culminating in an Arcade Fire-y blast of strings and austere guitar riffs. Thoughtful without becoming ponderous, songs like "Young Glass" and the dynamic title track incorporate Hey Rosetta!'s string section to fine orchestral effect but still retaining a propulsive, focused energy. "I think it sounds a bit bigger in places, a bit full-fledged rock'n'roll at times," says Baker. "But it still has plenty of soft moments and acoustic instruments."

Hey Rosetta! - "Seeds" (from the album Seeds)

Hey Rosetta! - "Welcome" (from the album Seeds)

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Audra Mae & The Almighty Sound - S/T

Oklahoma-born songwriter and roadhouse belter Audra Mae has dramatically sharpened her tone and expanded her sound with the introduction of her band The Almighty Sound on her new self-titled new album arriving February 14 (Side One Dummy). Her 2010 solo debut full-length The Happiest Lamb set the bar high with its jazzy retro feel and dark and moody corners, but this new project practically bursts at the seams with slow-roasted roots/rock power, soulful punch and Audra Mae's husky, ear-grabbing vocals. The soaring, stomping "Ne'er Do Wells" churns with a raw directness, reminiscent of less polished Grace Potter, with a killer back beat and potent right hook while "The Real Thing" simply grabs the boogied melody by the neck and runs with it, The Almighty Sound blasting away in glorious, loosely gripped mayhem.

Audra Mae & The Almighty Sound - "The Real Thing" (from the self-titled album)

Audra Mae & The Almighty Sound - "Ne'er Do Wells" (from the self-titled album)

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Andra Suchy - Little Heart

You don't have to grow up on a farm in some place like North Dakota to have an innate feel and love for authentic folk and Americana, but it certainly doesn't hurt. To wit: Minnesota- based singer/songwriter Andra Suchy who has named her new album Little Heart, arriving on Valentines Day via Red House, after a creek near her family's spread in Mandan, ND. Elements of country, folk/blues and modern bluegrass permeate Suchy's music which, thanks to Suchy's lilting vocals, has been a consistent presence on the popular weekly radio show A Prairie Home Companion. Check out "Stay", from her 2006 debut album Patchwork Story, along with a live PHC-version of Little Heart's title track.

Andra Suchy - "Stay" (from Patchwork Story)

Andra Suchy - "Little Heart" (Live on APHC)

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more February 14 New Releases

Amos Lee - As the Crow Flies (EP)
Andra Suchy - Little Heart DC
Anuhea - For Love
Audra Mae & The Almighty Sound - S/T DC
Drew Holcomb/The Neighbors - Chasing Someday (Deluxe)
Drew Nelson - Tilt-A-Whirl DC
Eisley - Deep Space EP
Emeli Sande - Our Version of Events (UK)
Heartless Bastards - Arrow
Hey Rosetta! - Seeds (US - Dig) DC
Holly Cole - Steal the Night/Live
Howlin Rain - The Russian Wilds
Isidore (Jeffrey Cain/Steve Kilbey) - Life Somewhere Else
Islands - A Sleep and A Forgetting
Keith Moody - Dreaming Out Loud
Kevin Gordon - Gloryland
Lianne La Havas - Forget EP (UK)
Mary Black - Stories from the Steeples (US)
Midnight Lion - Sleeping In the Woods (EP UK)
Phantom Limb - The Pines (UK)
Poliça - Give You the Ghost DC
Punch Brothers - Who's Feeling Young Now? DC
Rob Morsberger - Ghosts Before Breakfast
Rosie Thomas - With Love DC
Shearwater - Animal Joy
Sick Friend - The Draft Dodger
Isidore (Steve Kilbey/Jeffrey Cain) - Life Somewhere Else
Sugar & The Hi-Lows (Trent Dabbs, Amy Stroup) - S/T DC
Tennis - Young and Old
The Dunwells - Blind Sighted Faith DC
The Explorers Club - Grand Hotel
The Soft Hills - The Bird Is Coming Down To Earth
Winterpills - All My Lovely Goners DC