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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Dana Falconberry - Though I Didn't Call It Came

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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First Aid Kit - The Lion's Roar

First Aid Kit - Swedish siblings Clara and Johanna Söderberg graduate from dewy, baby-faced teen folk prodigies to breakout indie Americana queens with their much buzzed sophomore album...could it really be five years since the then Söderbergs, then just 14 and 17 years old, recorded their debut EP Drunken Trees? // Release: The Lion's Roar (January 24) // Sounds like: Maybe it's the shared genes (see: The Watson Twins), but rarely do two voices in harmony join with such perfect, effortless and loose-limbed precision...the sisters move confidently from the bedroom acoustic lo-fi gems of their debut The Big Black and the Blue to a richly tailored country/rock sound thanks to a full band (which includes their dad on bass), and the attuned ears of Bright Eyes producer and Monsters of Folk-ie Mike Mogis...

Quote: "I can say that it all sort of started when I heard Bright Eyes when I was 12, and I was like, “Well, OK, what did Conor Oberst listen to when he wrote this music? What has inspired him?” And through that [process] I found Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash and all those amazing musicians." - Klara Söderberg // What we like: title track shows what we're in for: timeless barstool twang and brilliant Indigo-styled vocal harmonies bumping up against alt-folk strains, all tossed into a 70's retro hopper...the marvelous tribute track "Emmylou" is one of Lion's best, a shuffling classic of entwined vocal splendor and Mogis and company's stirring, perfectly modulated instrumental backing: “I’ll be your Emmylou, I’ll be your June, if you’ll be my Gram, and my Johnny, too" -- just perfect.

First Aid Kit - "Emmylou" (from The Lion's Roar)

First Aid Kit - "To A Poet" (from The Lion's Roar)

Stream the full album at NPR

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Chimes of Freedom: The Songs of Bob Dylan

Various Artists - Chimes of Freedom - Massive 75-track box set of Bob Dylan covers is also, appropriately, an equally massive charity album benefiting the human rights activism of Amnesty International, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning organization ...an impressive array of contributors, from My Morning Jacket to Steve Earle to Lucinda Williams, from Sting to Mark Knopfler to Diana Krall, from Elvis Costello to Sugarland to Pete Townshend, all come together for a diverse -- and occasionally head scratching (Miley Cyrus?) -- collection of Dylan compositions // Release: Chimes of Freedom: The Songs of Bob Dylan Honoring 50 Years of Amnesty International (January 24) // Sounds like: a mixed bag certainly -- imagine side-by-side versions of "Don't Think Twice It's Alright" from Ke$ha (!) and The Kronus Quartet -- but that's part of the appeal of this sprawling, anything goes project that encompasses just about every conceivable genre...

Quote: “Bob Dylan’s music endures because he so brilliantly captures our heartbreak, our joy, our frailty, our confusion, our courage and our struggles,” said . “His words convey a depth of meaning that few artists can equal, inspiring us and always moving ahead of our expectations." -- Karen Scott Amnesty International’s Manager of Music Relations // What we like: the best tracks -- and there are plenty -- are the less-imitative ones that reflect the contributing artists' own individual styles: the stark piano rendering of "Simple Twist of Fate" by Diana Krall, the lush Celtic folk interpretation of Mark Knopfler's "Restless Farewell", Bettye LaVette's soul-drenched and bluesy "Most of the Time"...two of the biggest and best surprises: the impassioned and soaring take on "Ring Them Bells" by Natasha Bedingfield and the tightly woven harmonies at the heart of The Belle Brigade's "No Time to Think"...Full tracklisting below.

Diana Krall - "Simple Twist of Fate" (From Chimes of Freedom)

Mark Knopfler - "Restless Farewell" (From Chimes of Freedom)

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Alexz Johnson - Skipping Stone EP

"I feel stronger, wiser", says 25-year-old Vancouver-raised, NYC transplant Alexz Johnson -- positive words indeed from the singer/songwriter (and actress) who has seen her music tied up in major label turmoil not once, but twice in the last five years. Finally following the release of her debut LP Voodoo (and it's 2011 remix Reloaded), Johnson has regrouped creatively for her next project: a 2012 full-length preceded by a five-song preview EP Skipping Stone arriving in January that promises torchy ballads, retro country and seductive alt-pop. The fine title track, mixed by Greg Wells (Adele), leads the way with a free download now and video premiere December 10 (watch the teaser below). This time around, says Johnson, "the vocals are the star." Listening to "Skipping Stone" and backtracking to "Look at Those Eyes" (from Voodoo Reloaded) we couldn't agree more.

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

Alexz Johnson - Skipping Stone EP Sampler

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Cheyenne Marie Mize - We Don't Need

Cheyenne Marie Mize - Louisville singer/songwriter/violinist has been best known for her collaborations with fellow Kentuckian Will "Bonnie 'Prince' Billy" Oldham while own fine 2010 solo album Before Lately was described here as "Americana folk, flickering torch ballads and spacious chamber pop of somber melancholy" // Release: We Don't Need EP (January 24, Yep Roc/Roaring Colonel) // Sounds like:  New project plugs in and turns up the heat dramatically, moving from Lately's somber and spacious folk/pop toward the outskirts of edgy, occasionally frayed, indie pop...

Quote: "the songs...are meant to be digested individually more than as continuous parts of a complete whole. Each has its own character and will likely be enjoyed in different mental states. As a whole, We Don't Need is surely eclectic, but each part gives a little taste of the things to come..." - Cheyenne Marie Mize // What we like: Foot stompin', hand clappin', gospel-hued blues/folk with a surprisingly potent soulful edge, "Wishing Well" is two minutes of head-turning, poly-rhythmic bliss...rollicking piano stomper "Going Under" and the Pretender-ish "Keep It" emit some electrical charges while the closer "Back Around" delivers a moody tangled jangle of guitars in a flickering shadows...

Cheyenne Marie Mize - "Wishing Well" (from the EP We Don't Need)

Cheyenne Marie Mize - We Don't Need EP Sampler

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Grace Woodroofe - Always Want

Five years ago, a handful of song demos from then-16-year-old singer/songwriter Grace Woodroofe found its way into the hand of fellow Aussie Heath Ledger via the actor's sister and the rest, as they say, is history. Brought by Ledger to L.A., Woodroofe also met folk/rocker Ben Harper who agreed to produce her 2010 debut album Always Want utilizing his backing band Relentless 7 in the studio. "Astonishing", is how Harper describes Woodroofe, a word he says he uses "maybe once a decade," and we think he's on to something here. An indescribably expressive voice and some moody, quietly powerful songs -- tinged with blues and jazz overtones -- make Always Want, finally arriving stateside on January 24 (Modular), a particularly compelling listen. "The way I write is sort of confessional and honest," says Woodroofe, "the same way that blues could be described." Check out the video for "I've Handled Myself Wrong" after the jump and listen to "H.", a songs she wrote in memory of the late great Ledger. And catch Woodroofe on tour with Ben Harper this fall.

Grace Woodroofe - "I've Handled Myself Wrong" (from Always Want)

Grace Woodroofe - "H." (from Always Want)

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Madi Diaz - Plastic Moon

Nashville-based singer/songwriter Madi Diaz turned not only to her writing and performing partner (and Berklee School of Music classmate) Kyle Ryan for her new album, she also decided to bring in noted producer John Alagia (Dave Matthews, John Mayer) to help shape and expand the sound of the new songs. The result is the mostly sunny, fan-funded album Plastic Moon arriving January 24 via TinyOgre, a eleven-track collection that leans a little more heavily on melodic pop/folk fare while retaining at times the more acoustic/Americana elements of her fine 2007 debut Skin and Bone. A few of the songs are reworkings of tracks from the duo's '08 EP Ten Gun Salute including the bright pop spangler "Nothing At All" and latest single "Let's Go", adorned with an Ingrid Michaelson-flavored "oh-oh-oh" chorus.

Diaz and Ryan, who met at the Berklee School of Music in Boston, moved to Nashville in 2008 and quickly became staples of clubs like The Basement and Mercy Lounge, gigging with other songwriters and defining their style. Together they insure that there's much to like on Plastic Moon, where Diaz' smoke-meets-honey vocals easily downshift from the bracing, make-you-smile pop of "Johnny" to the warm, pulsing DC favorites "Love You Now" and "Heavy Heart", a track we've described as "a slow-building gem".

Madi Diaz - "Let's Go" (from Plastic Moon)

Madi Diaz - "Heavy Heart" (from Plastic Moon)

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more January 24 New Releases

Alexz Johnson - Skipping Stone (EP) DC
Big Deal - Lights Out
Bhi Bhiman - Bhiman
Cardinal - Hymns
Chairlift - Something
Cheyenne Marie Mize - We Don't Need (EP) DC
Craig Finn (Hold Steady) - Clear Heart Full Eyes 
Dana Falconberry - Though I Didn't Call It Came DC
Dion - Tank Full of Blues  
First Aid Kit - The Lion's Roar DC
Grace Woodroofe - Always Want DC  
Idiot Glee - Paddywhack
Ingrid Michaelson - Human Again
Joe Cocker - Hard Knocks
John K. Samson (Weakerthans) - Provincial DC
Kellie Pickler - 100 Proof 
Laura Gibson - La Grande
Liam Bailey - Out of the Shadows (UK)
Madi Diaz - Plastic Moon DC
Martin Sexton - Fall Like Rain EP
Matt Pryor - May Day
moe. - Whatever Happened to the La La's
Nada Surf - The Stars Are Indifferent to Astronomy
Rodrigo y Gabriela - Area 52
Sean O'Connell - Free at First Light
The Darcys - Aja
U2 - From the Sky Down (DVD Documentary)
Various - Chimes of Freedom (Bob Dylan Tribute) DC