March 13, 2012 - Direct Current

Vancouver indie alt-popsters Said the Whale keep the witty, warbley jangle-pop razor sharp and full-bodied on their new album Little Mountain (March 13, Hidden Pony), the follow up to their 2008 debut full-length Islands Disappear. Last year's Juno-winning New Group of the Year began as a platform for songwriting dual frontmen Ben Worcester and Tyler Bancroft and then expanded into a dynamic five-piece band drawing on late 70's and 80's jittery post-punk and power pop of the likes of The Knack and Marshall Crenshaw and adding a touch of geeky Ben Folds-ian seat-of-your-pants exuberance in the process. Tight harmonies and off-beat time signatures add to the focused but careening drive on "2010" and "We Are 1980" while the slow-building "Big Wave Goodbye" and "Big Sky, MT" sound like campfire folk melodies twisted and then turned on their heads.

Said the Whale - "We Are 1980" (from the album Little Mountain)

Said the Whale - "Big Sky, MT" (from the album Little Mountain)

Sunday

Mar182012

Susanna Wallumrød - Wild Dog

All you really need to know about Norway's Susanna Wallumrød is revealed when you hear her voice, an instrument of rare ethereal beauty we've described as "impossibly luminous" on her work with Morten Qvenildon in the duo Susanna & The Magical Orchestra. But distinct from her string of radically reworked covers -- listen to her take on Thin Lizzy's "Jailbreak" below -- Wallumrød is also an exceptional songwriter as she proves again on Wild Dog, a new solo project arriving March 16 in Europe. Jeremy Gara from Arcade Fire on drums, multi-instrumentalist Shahzad Ismaily (Jolie Holland) and Emmett Kelly (Bonnie “Prince” Billy) on guitars guest on the new project described as “apocalyptic traditional music from a different universe”, ten songs that move Wallumrød away from her Orchestra's lush electronics and into starker, more organic indie alt-pop territory. As on lead track "Freeze", Wallumrød's vocals retain the silken, understated qualities we've come to expect while she and her studio players create a dark backdrop for the song's lovely melodic lines.

Susanna Wallumrød - "Freeze" (from Wild Dog)

Susanna Wallumrød - "Jailbreak" (Live in the studio version)

Sunday

Mar182012

Emma Louise - Full Hearts & Empty Rooms (EP)

Inspired by fellow Aussie tunesmiths Missy Higgins and Sarah Blaskow, nineteen-year-old Emma Louise has been fashioning her own wise-beyond-her-years songs since her mid-teens, turning critical heads and leading to the 2011 release of "Jungle", a pulsing and dreamy folk/pop award winner and radio hit. Spurred by Down Under success and some European buzz, Emma Louise gets a U.S. launch this month including the release of her debut EP Full Hearts & Empty Rooms on March 13 via French Kiss, a radio feature with tastemaker Nick Harcourt and some high-profile showcases including L.A.'s famed Hotel Cafe and SXSW. The art/popping sway of "Jungle" -- reminiscent of the beat-driven, synth-saturated musings of Bat For Lashes' Natasha Khan -- is the calling card (video below) but we're also taken with the shuffling jangle folk charms of "Bugs" as well as lovely ballad "1000 Sundowns". Producer Mark Myers, who's been tapped to work on the next batch of songs, shows keen restraint with the mix, keeping the songs warm and uncluttered and allowing Emma Louise's low-keyed appeal to take center stage.

Emma Louise - "Jungle" (from Full Hearts & Empty Rooms EP)

Emma Louise - "1000 Sundowns" (from Full Hearts & Empty Rooms EP)

Monday

Feb202012

Ben Howard - Every Kingdom

Ben Howard - Released in the U.K. last fall to critical acclaim and strong sales -- and now pegged for a U.S. release on CD -- the full length successor to the promising Old Pine debut EP delivers mesmerizing finger-picked modern folk from a 23-year-old Brit West Country singer/songwriter (and surfer)...ten track album was produced by Howard's bassist/ drummer Chris Bond in a converted barn studio in Devon // Release: Every Kingdom (March 13 CD, Out Now Digitally ) // Sounds like: Howard utilizes a knuckle-rapping percussive style for his playing, a style that brings an interesting rhythmic tension to his songs... pioneering 70's folkie John Martyn plays a big influence on Howard's stretched and bent vocals and his ability to weave a simple melody into an intricate tapestry of acoustic sound...

Quote: "...the first time I saw percussion on a guitar was a guy called John Smith who was playing the support at a John Martyn concert I went to. I remember seeing that and being a little spellbound..." // What we like: the plucked delicacy and slow-smoked vocal texture of EP track "Three Tree Town"...the swirling jangle of strings and slow build to the galloping finish of "Old Pines"...the jaunty, Mumford-and-Sons-styled pub-rock feel of "The Wolves" and rousing "Keep Your Head Up"...

Ben Howard - "Keep Your Head Up" (from Every Kingdom)

Ben Howard - "The Wolves" (from Every Kingdom)

Monday

Feb202012

Michael Kiwanuka - Home Again

Michael Kiwanuka -- Promising British singer/songwriter's distinctive brand of vintage acoustic soul and loose-fitting Nick Drake-styled folk has led to strong critical buzz in the U.K. and Europe as well as being handpicked for an opening slot on Adele's continental tours...the 24-year-old Kiwanuka, born of Uganda parents and raised in London, was recently named the winner of the BBC Best of 2012 listener's poll and wrapped a new track with The Black Keys' Dan Auerbach...// Release: Home Again (March 13, U.K. Polydor; U.S. TBD) // Sounds like: Kiwanuka has been compared to iconic soulmen Bill Withers, Terry Callier and even mid-period Marvin Gaye with his laidback acoustic R+B and his fluid, rasp-tinged vocals...the warm vibe generated at his captivating live performances has been captured on his studio debut full-length, spiritual folk songs embellished with some ornamental retro-soul sounds (flutes anyone?) that render 70's flashbacks of afros, dashikis and bell-bottoms...

Quote: On discovering classic soul: “I’d never heard music like that. Otis Redding became a big influence, Sam Cooke, old gospel singers. I liked the way they phrase, so I’d learn to sing along to them that way. Not really the notes, more like the feel.” // What we like: the simpler the better in our book...we can understand the desire to place Kiwanuka's music in the glow of neo-soul nostalgia -- and tracks like the bluesy and mournful "Rest" and satiny "Tell Me A Tale" pull it off -- but we think the music is best unadorned and unfettered as on the coffeehouse gems "I'm Getting Ready" and the title track...

Michael Kiwanuka - "I'm Getting Ready" (from Home Again)

Michael Kiwanuka - "Tell Me Tale" (from Home Again)

Monday

Feb202012

Elisa - Steppin' On Water

Italian singer/songwriter Elisa Toffoli has been a multi-platinum staple on the European charts over the past decade but, despite the fact that she records in English, without much of a presence in the U.S. That may change in 2012 with a new album Steppin' On Water arriving January 31 and new single Love Is Requited, the theme song to the indie coming-of-age film Someday This Pain Will Be Useful To You. With the release last year of the more acoustic leaning compilation Ivy and the more direct folk/rock appeal of "Love Is Requited" (video after the jump), we're thinking Elisa could find a more welcoming stateside reception.

Elisa - "Love Is Requited" (from Steppin' On Water)

Elisa - "Some Time Ago" (from Ivy)

tagged

Elisa

Monday

Feb202012

more March 13 New Releases

Anya Marina - Felony Flats
Ben Howard - Every Kingdom (U.S.) DC
Cathy Jordan - All the Way Home (US)
Dave Barnes - Stories to Tell
Delta Spirit - S/T
Drowner - S/T
Elisa - Steppin' On Water DC
Emma Louise - Full Hearts & Empty Rooms DC
Janiva Magness - The Devil Is An Angel, Too
Kate Tucker - Ghost of Something New (EP)
Lucero - Women and Work
Michael Kiwanuka - Home Again (UK) DC
Ruben Stoddard - Letters from Birmingham
Said the Whale - Little Mountain
Shooter Jennings - Famiiy Man
Susanna Wallumrød- Wild Dog (Scandinavia) DC
The Decemberists - We All Raise Our Voices to the Air/Live
The Swell Season - S/T (DVD Documentary)
The Ting Tings - Sounds From Nowheresville
Tribes - Baby (U.S.)
VCMG (Vince Clarke/Martin Gore) - Ssss