It happens so frequently now that it doesn't even phase us anymore. The heart and soul of what we think of as "American" music turning up in the most unlikely places, beyond our borders. The latest is the exceedingly wonderful Ladies of the Canyon, a quartet of talented young women from Montreal who, as their name implies, dig deep into the rich trove of 70's-styled countrified folk/pop and the traditions of fellow Canadian Joni Mitchell and her So-Cal Laurel Canyon cohorts: Gram Parson, early Eagles, CSN+Y, Stone Poneys. Like their influences, these Ladies take acoustic, rural-tinged music into new directions, lovingly crafting songs of exquisite four-part harmonies and melodies that seem mined from the deepest regions of classic Americana.

Signed to Warner Brothers (we're assuming for the U.S. as well as Canada), Ladies of the Canyon have just completed their as-yet-untitled debut album with producer Colin Cripps (Kathleen Edwards, Sarah McLachlan), a record they say "totally exceeds our expectations." And after indulging in the band's just-released self-titled four-track digital EP our expectations are pretty damn high. Songs such as the slow and sweet "Haunted Woman" and "Every Minute" bring together, as Pop Montreal describes, "beautiful harmonies, devilish beats and ivories, and a cold set of steel strings to strangle your misfortunes with." Highly recommended...and more details to come on a U.S. full-length release. Thanks for the tip on the Ladies from Alex Wilhelm at crazedhits.com.

Myspace 

Ladies of the Canyon - "Haunted Woman" (from their self-titled EP)

Ladies of the Canyon - "Every Minute" (from their self-titled EP)

If Welsh singer/songwriter Pete Lawrie brings a world of varied influences and musical shades to his music, you can be guaranteed that there will always be something new he'll want to bring into the mix at some point. "Some days I want and try to write songs. Some days, some instrumental noise with computers. I love traditional Malian folk as much as I love dubstep as much as I love opera. It's my parents fault." Just exploring songs that may make the cut for his debut album A Little Brighter, due for release later this year, it's evident that Lawrie's disparate musical persona brings a fresh, adventurous aspect to his own oft-shifting sound. With a voice that recalls Ray Lamontagne's husky rasp, the Penarth-based performer moves easily from frayed folk melodies to Tom Waits-ian black-and-blue, atmospheric shout-out dirges to the occasional finespun piano ballad. And a lot more in between.

"It's taken me a long long time trying to find a sound, a style that suited me. A place I wanted to stop at creatively," he says. "More importantly I hope I never really do. I suppose if I had to give my current sound a name, I would call it Southern blues country rock skiffle hop tronica, whilst cringing at my own pretension." April 6 4-song EP How Could I Complain is an impressive starting point while we wait for the full-length, a stark and provocative glimpse of modern music that straddles the classic past with both graceful ease and significant authority. This is, as they say, the real deal. Stay tuned.

Myspace   Artist Site

Pete Lawrie - "All That We Keep"

Pete Lawrie - "Paperthin" (from the EP How Could I Complain)

If there was a Brill Building in Los Angeles, chances are good that Rich Jacques would be there. Relocating to La-La-Land around the turn of the millennium from his home base of Pittsburch, Jacques has built his life around writing and producing as well as recording songs in his home studio under the name Right The Stars. His self-titled debut album, just released digitally, is a testament to the craft of creating songs that catch the ear and worm their way into your gray matter.  This isn't the kind of chin-stroking seriousness and edgy artistic statement that critics tend to fawn over. It is, however, a noteworthy collection of thoroughly unpretentious and happily mainstream Fleetwood Mac-ish pop with a carefully honed rock edge wielded for some well-placed clout.

On Right The Stars, Jacques tips his strategic hand with the well-chosen inclusion of a faithful, inspired reading of the modern classic "Life In A Northern Town", the 1985 hit for Dream Academy. That song -- all big, memorable melodic hooks -- defines the modus operandi that Jacques brings to his own works. The radiant, uptempo "We Got It All", all snapping rhythms and crackling guitar riffs, seems made for the sunny SoCal environs while the tangled harmonies and soaring chorus of "House By the Ocean" have the dynamic presence that simply makes you want to reach for the volume knob and take it up a few notches. Recommended.

Myspace   Artist Site

Right The Stars - "House By The Ocean" (from the album Right The Stars)

Right The Stars - "Life In A Northern Town" (from the album Right The Stars)

Her nine year marriage to Ben Folds may be over, but the trauma of a relationship gone awry bleeds through the tracks of Australian singer/songwriter Frally Hyne's impeccable, quietly stunning sophomore album. Recently self-released digitally, The Light is an inspired masterwork of sensitive, sensual songcraft as well as an incisive, deeply personal look inside the emotional wreckage of a couple's painful split. "It just kind of cracks you open in a lot of ways," say Frally, "I don't know that I would have made this particular record if that hadn't have happened." Still, she maintains, "I don't think it is a blaming record. It is more about my own reflection." Making The Light was also, she observes, "sort of like therapy" and gave her the chance to "find your own voice."

Frally's redemptive journey can be traced in the words of many of The Light's ten songs, but the hushed tone and stately pace reveal more than just lyrical insight. Tracks the likes of "Remembrance Day," a graceful hymn and duet with Teddy Thompson, the gently uptempo "Not Supposed to Miss You" (with Ben Lee) and beautifully textured "Old/New" (with Jolie Holland) are just a few examples of the subtle but masterful use of melody, Frally's sweet, wistful voice and perfectly nuanced folk/pop instrumentation that make The Light required listening. Highly recommended.

Myspace  Artist Site

Frally - "Remembrance Day" (featuring Teddy Thompson) (From the album The Light)

Frally - "Not Supposed to Miss You" (with Ben Lee) (from the album The Light)

Photo Credit: Dylan Coker

We know a few things about the ever-so-amazing singer/songwriter Krista Detor. That she seems obsessed with oranges...that she writes with wicked aplomb and devastatingly dry wit on her blog...that after traveling the world (Korea to New Orleans) she's now settled in the hills of southern Indiana. And then there's what remains hidden in the shadows: the rather mysterious quality to her songs, a depth of literary and cultural import that manifests comfortably in her lyrical imagery and a pervasive sense of dramatic mysticism in her tales. Rarities all, truth be told, and qualities that underlie her provocative and accomplished new album Chocolate Paper Suites, arriving March 12 in Europe (August for the U.S.) It's not often that an album of this artistic heft felt so remarkably light and accessible; there's simply not a wasted word or misplaced note.

Detor's songs have been described as vignettes before, but her new album takes the concept one step further, creating five seamless three-song suites, each based on or inspired by great minds -- e.g., Dylan Thomas, Charles Darwin, Federico Garcia Lorca -- and imaginatively arranged and produced with her partner/collaborator David Weber utilizing folk, jazz, Americana and alt-pop elements. Guest guitarist Colin Linden adds foreboding shades to the album's opening track "Rich Man's Life", the song's melody winding through a Celtic mountain fiddle jam and back again. "Recklessness and Rust", a sweetly harmonied piano ballad gives Detor's gently sanded, unadorned alto an array of lovely lyrical wordplay. Suites is, suffice to say, not to be missed. Highly recommended.

Krista Detor - "Recklessness and Rust" (from the album Chocolate Paper Suites)

Krista Detor - "Rich Man's Life" (from the album Chocolate Paper Suites)

Just when we're thinking we might have our finger on the musical pulse of Ireland's promising, much buzzed O Emperor, the band finds a way to keep us guessing, happily we might add. With one foot firmly planted in U.K. alternative pop scene and the other wobbling about in an odd American(a) indie hybrid, the Cork/Waterford quintet have created a debut that is concurrently (and oddly) unsettling and satisfying. Childhood friends who've been banging about in various musical incarnations since they were 15, O Emperor will follow up their dazzling fall '09 single "Po" and recently released 3-track EP Persephone with a long-awaited (and twice recorded) debut album Hither, Thither in May.

"Po" is a deft and sublime convergence of guitar jangle, haunting falsetto vocals and a tantalizing harmonic melody, possessing just enough of a foreboding air to keep things dramatically on edge. The mood is defining ingredient here: be it a wandering, slightly tipsy piano line and haunting horn solo ("Heisenberg") or electronic atmospherics and odd time signatures ("Some Small Matter"), the creative bar is raised impressively high. "We love the harmonies and richness of a lot of American music, like the Beach Boys, Grizzly Bear or Beach House," says the band's Paul Savage, "but also like the eerie darker side to some British indie music, like Joy Division or Radiohead." Highly recommended -- and stay tuned for release details.

Myspace

O Emperor - "Po" (from the album Hither, Thither)

O Emperor - "Some Small Matter" (from the album Hither, Thither)

Some voices were just meant to be together. We realized that pretty quickly when listening to Everyone Is Someone, the third album of striking folk/pop from Toronto's Amanda Walther and Sheila Carabine, AKA Dala. It's actually fitting that the their name should come from combining the last syllable of their first names since their sound is so dependent on the intricate juxtaposition of their lovely voices in harmony. Like The Indigo Girls, The Webb Sisters or fellow Canadians Madison Violet, Dala travel musically amidst contemporary folk landscapes that tap into the traditions of the past, in this case an appealing mix of fluid Everly Brother-ish soaring, catchy pop melodies, Brit-folk acoustic jangle and some 70's Laurel Canyon pop a la Joni Mitchell, Crosby Stills and Nash and Fleetwood Mac.

There's nothing too mysterious or edgy lurking amidst the mostly luminous, hummable tracks that make up Everyone Is Someone. In fact, part of Dala's appeal is the way songs such as "Lonely Girl" or "Levi Blues" simply lay themselves out without a hint of pretense or dark irony, just sweetly nuanced melodies delivered with an unequivocal joy of two young women who simply love singing together. Live, as they proved at this year's Newport Folk Festival, Dala can make the most of just one guitar and two voices (listen here). For Everyone the production is fleshed out with some tasteful instrumental touches and orchestration but there's never any doubt that the vocals should be smartly front and center. Check out the video for "Horses" after the jump...

Myspace  Artist Site

Dala - "Horses" (from the album Everyone Is Someone)

Dala - "Lonely Girl" (from the album Everyone Is Someone)

Six years ago Emily Maguire left her London home, guitar in hand and headed for the outback of Australia, looking for a change in her life at a time of an emotional struggle. She had already discovered Buddhism as a centering influence in her life and, with some encouragement of new friends and peers, began the process of recording a few of the dozens of songs that she'd written. The result was Stranger Place, a surprisingly mature album of lyrical folk/rock. Word of mouth and gigs in her new homeland and back in London helped spread the word of a promising new singer and songwriter. By the time her second album Keep Walking was released in 2008, Maguire was receiving solid critical notice and a growing cult fan base.

New album Believer, out in the U.K. and Australia November 16 (no U.S. deal yet) isn't as much a revelatory listen as it is an affirming one. There's nothing remotely edgy or hipster-ironic going on here, just finely crafted songs that have that certain So-Cal Eagles/Fleetwood Mac aura to them -- midtempo, pop/rockers and bittersweet ballads all delivered with Maguire's warm, gently sanded vocals and spiritual lyrical themes. "I'd Rather Be" typifies the Believer style: chunky guitar riffs, mid-tempo rhythm kick, simple but memorable melodic structure and breezy, sing-along chorus. This is the basics done exceedingly well and a welcome reminder that sometimes playing it straight -- and straight down the middle -- has its own unpretentious rewards.

Myspace  Artist Site

Emily Maguire - "I'd Rather Be" (from the album Believer)

Is there life after Idol rejection? For quirky, quixotic 19-year-old Australian singer/songwriter Lisa Mitchell the answer is an emphatic yes. Four years after getting the boot from the finals of the Down Under version of the popular cringefest, Mitchell delivered one of the most remarkable pop albums of the past year, an unusual, dreamy and surprisingly mature collection of addictive hooks, sunny, unpretentious goofiness and her own left-of-center musical vision. Not many debut albums can sound this fresh, this fun, this child-like and this mature at the same time but the recently released Wonder (outside the U.S. only so far) manages to do all of that and then some. Mitchell was nominated for three Arias (Aussie Grammys) including Best Female Artist and Best Breakthrough Artist - Album. Latest single "Oh Hark!" (video after the jump) is another odds-on, oddball fave.

A sweet tart of a candied treat for the ears, the album's thirteen songs also have the distinctive personal stamp of the artist -- something rare in an era when young artists are usually "managed" into bland replications of the current hip-pop flavor of the month. Take the single (and oddball video) "Coin Laundry", a sing-songy, maddeningly addictive jolt of caffeinated and sugary fluff that also mixes in some twinkling production touches to the "guilty pleasure" quotient (see the video after the jump). You can try to resist, but it's best to just simply surrender. “Songwriting for me is usually trying to create something that will give me proof of hope," says Mitchell, "like a packed lunch for the future or something." For us, the playful, irresistible Wonder gives us that "proof".

Myspace  Artist Site

Lisa Mitchell - "Clean White Love" (from the album Wonder)

Lisa Mitchell - "Love Letter" (from the album Wonder)

Brenley MacEachern and Lisa MacIsaac grew up in rural Canada listening their parents' collection of Neil Young, Dolly Parton and Simon and Garfunkel albums alongside the traditional Scottish folk of their heritage. Together for almost a decade, the duo now known as Madison Violet have drawn on those early reference points in the release of three albums of arresting acoustic folk with a solid streak of bluegrass and Americana. Arriving as an import November 10, their new No Fool For Trying - their first album in three years - is a stellar collection of rich roots-pop songs that bring to mind a melding of fellow Canadians The Wailing Jennys, Gillian Welch and The Indigo Girls.

With vocals intertwined in hauntingly beautiful harmonies, songs such as the swaying, luminous "The Ransom" and mandolin-laced title track have an appeal that goes beyond restrictive genre borders, much like the O Brother Where Are Thou soundtrack or the recent Raising Sand project from Alison Krauss and Robert Plant. There's something so achingly lovely at the core of No Fool For Trying, so basic yet refined. While many of the songs deal with themes of heartache and loss (including a devastating track about the tragic death of MacEachern's brother), the result is an affecting and ultimately uplifting album that should, with the right introduction stateside, find a welcoming audience. Recommended.

Myspace  Artist Site

Madison Violet - "The Ransom" (from the album No Fool For Trying)

Madison Violet - "The Small of My Heart" (from the album No Fool for Trying)