We first caught the jubilant Mumford and Sons live as opening support (and backing band) for divine neo-folkie Laura Marling. Full of blustery, buskery energy, raspy-voiced Marcus Mumford and his remarkable players stomped, and occasionally waltzed, their way into our hearts with a passionate, all-too-short set filled with harmonied, countrified British pub-folk crossed with a sweaty rock n' roll drive. With twanging banjo, slide guitar, sprightly piano runs and an irresistible, infectious joy, Mumford and Sons left us exhausted and exhilarated. So it is with not a small of pleasure that we welcome (finally) their very special, unassumingly epic debut album Sigh No More to these shores February 16 (Glassnote).

The powerful "Dust Bowl Dance" probably epitomizes the Mumford aesthetic best: building slowly from a piano and banjo folk ballad, with Marcus' gin-soaked voice in full lament, into a rampaging storm of boot heels slammed into woodboard, a flurry of acoustic instruments meeting an electric jolt of fuzzed, wall-of-sound mayhem. It is just one brilliant, spine-tingling moment from an album that is blessed with many. "What we write about is real," says Son Country Winston, "and we sing and play our instruments more passionately 'cos we feel like we need to. We love honest music." Clearly. Highly recommended. Catch them on Letterman February 10.

Myspace  Artist Site

Mumford and Sons - "Dustbowl Dance" (from the album Sigh No More)

Mumford and Sons - "The Cave" (from the album Sigh No More)

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"I just wanted to do something simple," says indie veteran Juliana Hatfield of her stripped and intimate album Peace and Love. Unlike her last album, the fine, fully-produced How To Walk Away (2008), Hatfield decided to take things into her own hands -- literally -- with a DIY, self-produced collection of starkly rendered songs where she played every instrument and decided every aspect of the recording process.  "I was able to follow every instinct, " she observes, "without worrying that anyone was going to think it was a kooky idea."

The "up close and personal" nature of Peace and Love goes to the heart and soul of Hatfield's songs as well, many of which find the singer/songwriter ruminating on relationships broken and, in their painful wake, taking the pulse of her own life. "Evan" finds Hatfield looking at a lengthy but frayed and neglected friendship and the powerful bonds that still remain. "Let's Go Home" finds her coming to the realization that superficial disagreements often mask deeper problems. The appeal of the album's self therapy is simple and direct, an engaging, thoughtful collection of songs that have a maturity and strength reflective of Hatfield's own life. From an artist, you can't ask for more than that.

Myspace  Artist Site

Juliana Hatfield - "Let's Go Home" (from the album Peace and Love)

Juliana Hatfield - "Evan" (from the album Peace and Love)

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For over a decade, Solas has not only redefined the concept of "Celtic folk", they've risen to the ranks of the finest purveyors of the genre -- a feat even more remarkable considering that the band hails from the U.S. A large part of the group's enormous appeal -- aside from their jawdropping technical prowess -- is their ability to meld traditional instruments and styles to songs outside of the usual Irish music standards. New album The Turning Tide, arriving February 16 via Compass, expands upon what the L.A.Times calls "a compellingly original, strikingly contemporary view of traditional Celtic sounds" with a collection of songs rich in both musicality and acute social commentary.

Songs such as the swirling "Hugo's Big Reel" spotlight the intricate instrumental play at the heart of the band's Celtic sound but it is Solas' inspired renditions of Bruce Springsteen's "Ghost of Tom Joad", Richard Thompson's "Poor Ditching Boy" and Josh Ritter's "Girl The War" that make The Turning Tide a truly special album and dramatically engage listeners beyond the "Irish music" core. Fronted by extraordinary vocalist Máiréad Phelan, Solas takes these songs to an exquisite new place, reinterpreting them with a fresh and provocative perspective. Highly recommended.

Myspace  Artist Site

Solas - "Poor Ditching Boy" (from the album The Turning Tide)

Solas - "Girl The War" (from the album The Turning Tide)

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Over the past year, more than 20 artists including Tom Wait, Brandi Carlile, Jim James of My Morning Jacket, former Drive-By Trucker Jason Isbell, Paolo Nutini, Andrew Bird and Buddy Miller have headed down to The Big Easy to participate in a special tribute to the famed Preservation Hall, its acclaimed house Jazz Band and the distinctive sound of real New Orleans music.  In honoring this unique form of American art these musicians are also helping to benefit Preservation Hall and its Music Outreach Program, and we can't think of a more worthy project than this special collaborative collection of iconic music arriving from MRI and RED Distribution February 16, a date many will recognize as "Fat Tuesday".

For Brandi Carlile, it was a version of the classic gospel track "Old Rugged Cross." For Jim James (or Yim Yames), the song was "Louisiana Fairy Tale". Tom Waits chose the Mardi Gras favorite "Tootie Ma Is A Big Fine Thing". Ani DiFranco went with spirited version of "Freight Train." But throughout all of the various repertoire is the unifying thread of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, a veteran ensemble of gifted jazz players. On first listen, the style may sound historically quaint -- this is after all "the real thing." But the music quickly establishes itself as simply a rousing and joyous celebration that simply transcends time. Recommended. Video and full track listing after the jump...

Preservation Hall site

Jason Isbell - "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out" (from the album Preservation)

Yim Yames - "Louisiana Fairy Tale" (from the album Preservation)

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Guitarist Jim Campilongo has been called a "national treasure" by Billboard, an extraordinarily intuitive and gifted player who is not only renowned as an in-demand session player (for the likes of Norah Jones and Martha Wainwright) but as a musical visionary who has staked out his own creative outlook over the course of eight solo albums. With a ringing, sinewy style that sometimes sounds like it's literally being squeezed from his trusty '59 Telecaster, Campilongo finds that rarified space on a song that is distinctive without being overly showy, filling the spaces with a restraint that still manages to let his virtuosity shine through.

New album Orange is yet another collection of remarkable fret work from Campilongo, an astonishingly diverse assortment of instrumentals that should appeal to fans of Jeff Beck, Roy Buchanan and anyone who has secretly strutted a few air guitar riffs now and then. Produced by Anton Fier and backed by drummer Tony Mason and bassist Stephen Crump, Orange also boasts two outstanding covers -- The Stones' "No Expectations" and The Stooges' "No Fun" -- featuring vocalist Leah Siegel. Slowed and stripped to the core, these songs simply put Campilongo's inspired playing directly up against Siegel's impassioned voice in a one-on-one match that will raise goosebumps. The aptly titled,scorching instrumental workout "Backburner" kicks off Orange with an incendiary, muscular kick, setting and then blowing out the stage for the glorious works to come. Highly recommended.

Jim Campilongo - "No Expectations" (featuring Leah Siegel) (From the album Orange)

Jim Campilongo - "Backburner" (from the album Orange)

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* = DC recommends a listen (or two)

Adam Green - Minor Love (Rock/Pop)

Alt-Ctrl-Sleep - Earth Lens (Pop/Alt/Electronica/Ambient)

Anané - Ananesworld (Pop/Jazz/Afro-beat/Latin)

Backyard Tire Fire - Good To Be (Indie/Pop/Rock/Roots)

Ben Sollee and Daniel Martin Moore - Dear Companion (Folk/Acoustic/Pop)*

Brendan O'Regan - A Wind of Change (Rock/Guitar/Instrumental/Celtic)

Caitlin Rose - Dead Flowers (EP Import) (Country/Pop/Alt)

Cee Cee James - Low Down Where the Snakes Crawl (Blues/Rock)*

Dan Reeder - This New Century (Folk/Americana/Pop)

Everybody Was in the French Resistance Now - Fixin' the Charts 1 (Pop/Alt)

Field Music - Field Music (Measure) (Rock/Art-Pop)*

Friday Mile - Good Luck Studio (Pop/Alt/Folk)

Gentle Friendly - Ride Slow (Alt/Pop/Electronica)

Giant Drag - Swan Song (EP) (Alt/Pop/Rock)

Gungor - Beautiful Things (Pop/Rock)

Jason Falkner - I'm OK, You're OK (Power Pop/Rock)*

Jedi Mind Tricks - Army of the Pharoahs: Unholy Terror (Hip Hop)

Jenny Whitely - Forgive Or Forget (Folk/Alt/Pop)

Jessica Harp - A Woman Needs (Country/Pop/Acoustic)* (now May 11)

Joe Pug - Messenger (Rock/Folk)

Jim Campilongo - Orange (Rock/Guitar/Instrumental/Jazz)*

Juliana Hatfield - Peace and Love (Folk/Pop/Alt)*

Kasey Anderson - Nowhere Nights (Folk/Alt)

Kelley Ryan - Twist (Pop/Folk)*

Ken Will Morton - True Grit (Rock/Folk/Americana)

Kenny White - Comfort In the Static (Folk/Rock/Pop)*

Liam Sillery - Phenomenology (Jazz)

Lightspeed Champion - Life Is Sweet! Nice to Meet You (Pop/Rock/Indie)

Local Natives - Gorilla Manor (Rock/Pop/Indie)*

Maria Neckam - Deeper (Jazz/Vocals/Pop)

Matthew Ryan - Dear Lover (Folk/Rock/Alt)*

Miracle Condition - Miracle Condition (Rock/Pop/Alt/Post-Rock)*

Mumford and Sons - Sigh No More (Folk/Pop/Alt)*

Overnight Lows - City of Rotten Eyes (Rock/Alt/Pop)

Post Harbor - The Can't Hurt You If You Don't Believe In Them (Rock/Progressive/Post-Rock)

Robert Pollard - We All Got Out of the Army (Alt/Pop/Rock)

Santana - Supernatural (Expanded Legacy 2-CD Edition) (Rock/Pop)

Scanners - Submarine (Rock/Alt/Pop)

Scott Lucas and the Married Men - George Lassos the Moon (Indie/Pop/Rock)*

Solas - Turning Tide (Celtic/Pop/Folk)*

The Unwinding Hours - Unwinding Hours (Pop/Rock/Folk)*

Tindersticks - Falling Down A Mountain (Pop/Rock/Alt)*

Tony Sly - 12 Song Program (Pop/Folk/Alt)

Various - Preservation: An Album to Benefit Preservation Hall (Jazz/New Orleans/Pop)*