Kyst – Waterworks [2011]

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tags: Experimental / Folk / Improvisation / Sopot /Norway / Poland

Kyst is a band of Norwegian origin, currently residing in Sopot, Poland. It’s music varies from folk and post-rock to experimental and improvised music, often influenced by the New Weird America movement. However, the musicians prefer not to limit themselves to any specific genre, considering freedom and emotional devotion being the most important musical values. Kyst played several gigs in the biggest cities in Poland and abroad (Berlin, Prague, Hamburg, Rostock, Brussels and more) and played with such artists as: Au (USA), Silje Nes (Norway), Oldseed (Canada), Mono (Japan) and the legend of Berlin experimental music – F. S. Blumm. The self-released debut LP “Cotton Touch” gathered enthusiastic reviews in Europe. The band has been compared to Animal Collective, early Akron/Family, Arcade Fire, Tortoise and Liars (amongst others). Their second album “Waterworks” has been released on 28th March 2011 on a Polish label Antena Krzyku.

16 Lovers Lane – Don’t Try To Push Me [ep] [2011]

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tags: Melodic / Dream Pop / Debut / Verona, Italy

“Don’t try to push me” is a 4 songs EP: Lay down has always been fun to play, and its recording has a very good melancholic feel to it, a “Take me out tonight” languor. Inside outside has a middle-eight part that made us realize how beautiful we could get working on harmony and colors. David is one of the first songs we have written and one of the hardest to work out: we wanted a perfect sound for a song that matters a lot to us (it is, in fact, our humble homage to David Foster Wallace’s work). Death by love is a lullaby for another day, and our very first song too.

16 Lovers Lane are a band from Verona, Italy. The members are: Michele Segàla (guitar, vocals), Giulia-Giorgia Quaggiotto (electric piano, keyboards, programming, vocals), Federico Di Fonte (bass). “Don’t try to push me” is their first release.

Ezza Rose and Basia Bulat – Jacob [2011]

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tags: Bluegrass / Chamber folk / Pop / Indie /Portland / USA

Ezza Rose is a eclectic sound encompassing a wide verity of music genres, Rose and band move in and out of folk, bluegrass, pop, and alternative music while introducing a very new and original sound to these old sounds.

Sister Crayon – Bellow [2011]

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tags: Soul / Triphop / Sacramento, USA

Terra Lopez formed Sister Crayon in Sacramento, California in 2007 as a solo act, utilizing just a classical guitar and a loop pedal to weave atmospheric melodies into her dreamlike, fleeting lyrics that float through walls like lingering apparitions. Despite her music’s dark (sometimes aggressively sad) nature, there’s a sweetness and wisdom about Lopez that immediately strikes a chord with audiences.

With the addition of Dani Fernandez (who crafts beats on the MPC 1000), the band took on a rich texture that lent a hip-hop grittiness to its ethereal ambience. When Jeffrey LaTour (Keys + Guitar) and Nicholas Suhr (Drums) joined Sister Crayon, the band, as a four-piece, became whole. They recorded their first EP, Enter Into Holy (or)ders, a mesmeric and enchanted collection of songs that tweak conventional structures, using experimental production and employ a collective eye for the avant-garde.

Ben Howard – Old Pine [ep] [2011]

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tags: Acoustic / Folk / Indie / Devon, UK

Handsome And Gretyl – Hold On Tight Love [ep] [2011]

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tags: Akoestisch / Folk / Pop / NASHVILLE, Tennessee, USA

He came from Toronto; she, from Seattle. His parents started a radio station; hers were music teachers. Both had music in their blood, instruments in their hands, and a mind to create. The mountains led him to the west; a star led her to the north. In Vancouver they met and schooled—studying music and life. They found promise. They found love. In less than a year they put school on hold, got married, and lived. With music and purpose guiding them, school called again and to Nashville they went. He became an audio engineer; she became a songwriter; music stayed central and they continued to create. Entering the Nashville music scene in 2009, Handsome and Gretyl released their debut EP, Hold On Tight Love, February 2011. Handsome and Gretyl have created an earthy folk feel crossed with an imaginative jaunt of pop, a sweet and tangy piece of wild berry pie. This duo draws from real life, delivering optimistic though realistic lyrics, seasoned with the chill of snow, the sea breeze, and the hope of tomorrow’s sunrise.

Vespers – Tell Your Mama [2010]

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tags: Acoustic Folk / Alternative / Newgrass / Southern Folk / Siblings / Nashville / USA

The Vespers finished recording their debut record Tell Your Mama and have sent out the CDs for pressing. Along with this they aired the first three singles which you can find in this very post. I was really, really curious and eager to finally hear and spread the news about it, because the early recordings, just featuring the female side of the band, were just great and I said beforehand, that the debut record will have good changes to be one of the best folk records of 2010 – I know, maybe it was a bit early to say so judging from only a hand full demos, but I think I had a very good feeling with this guess.

Lina Button – Homesick [2011]

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Tags: Pop-Folk / Folk / Soul / Zurich / Suisse

Lucy Wainwright-Roche – Lucy [2010]

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Tags: Indie / Singersongwriter / Member of The Wainwright Family / Brooklyn / New York / USA

August 10, 2010, New York, NY: Music family royalty, Lucy Wainwright Roche is releasing her first full-length album simply entitled, LUCY. This breath of fresh air will be released October 26th as well as a National Tour in the Fall. LUCY is well worth the wait. Special guest singers include pals Girlyman and the Indigo Girls as well as The Roches and Loudon Wainwright and Kelly Hogan. Backed by great musicians including: Steuart Smith (The Eagles) and David Mansfield, and produced by LWR and Stewart Lerman, the album features ten new original songs and a cover of a classic Paul Simon song, plus a surprising bonus track which features This American Life’s Ira Glass. Her tales of life as seen from the road are masterfully told, she moves in and out of stories and song, creates a unique tapestry, weaving the ordinary into the magical, and she brings us all along with her. You won’t hear a false note from this shining star, she’s heartbreaking in a good way — and funny –Lucy’s a masterful performer.

Natalia Zukerman – Gas Station Roses [2011]

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Tags:  Acoustic / Blues / Folk Rock / Brooklyn / New York / US

Natalia Zukerman has already established her bona fides as a dynamite roots musician (if it’s got six strings, she can play it, and dazzlingly so) and as a songwriter with a keen eye for character and detail on previous albums. All the more reason to celebrate Gas Station Roses, on which the multitalented Zukerman flowers as a fully mature artist fronting a roots-rock ensemble including producer-guitarist Willy Porter, bassist Todd Sickafoose, drummer Dave Schoepke, and Patty Larkin, Garrison Starr, and Adrianne Gonzalez on background vocals. Combining the incisive songcraft of Shawn Colvin, the bluesy confidence of Bonnie Raitt, the Americana grit of Lucinda Williams, and the independent streak of Ani DiFranco, Zukerman commands—no, demands—attention on hard-rocking songs like the sultry, sexy title track, and the fetching, funky folk of “Brooklyn.” She does so, for the most part, via compelling, all-knowing vocals, boasting intimate, jazzy phrasing and a wide spectrum of tone and color, ranging from a Billie Holiday-like purr to an Aretha Franklin-like roar.