I didn’t know anything about Blue & Gold until they emailed me their new single, “Ghost Man.” Since I love the song so much, I’m going to give you the same uninformed, undescribed listening experience for once. I think we’ll be hearing a lot more from this Brooklyn band in the future. Just listen…
King Eider are described as an “Edinburgh-based folk-blues collective.” They had me at folk-blues. I love the bluesy, multi-instrumental style of their debut, self-released single, “Drink Me Dry.” One wonders why they’re self-releasing instead of on Song, By Toad Records. You can stream the song below. The single will be released on June 10th, at which time I assume you’ll be able to purchase it at the usual sites.
Buy @ Amazon
I was only momentarily disappointed to discover that Lexy & The Kill’s “The Ballad of Love & Hate” is not a cover of the song of the same name by The Avett Brothers. The B-side to the London band’s upcoming single “We Can Dance Alone,” “The Ballad of Love & Hate” is a pop-rock ballad about an abusive relationship that showcases the beautiful texture and range of Lexy’s voice. You can stream “The Ballad of Love & Hate” and watch the video for “We Can Dance Alone” below…
Little Red Lung’s self-titled EP churns the haunting folk-pop lilt of Lia Ices with the creepy chamber-goth of Rasputina. Zoe-Ruth Erwin, the lead singer of this fabulous L.A. band, calls their sound “avant-indie.”
The standout is the chilling opener “50 Fingers.” You can download the mp3 below and also watch the video, which was directed by artist Sarah Sitkin.
“Ink Blot,” “Rare Bird” and “Fangs” are also highlights. Oh and I love the unusual finale, “Strangling Tree.” So basically, the entire EP is good.
Really, my only complaint about the EP is it isn’t a proper album. Six songs just isn’t enough. Thankfully, Little Red Lung is currently working on their full-length debut. They were also recently added to the Bonnaroo lineup, so it seems their star is rising.
Little Red Lung – 50 Fingers (mp3)*
Little Red Lung – Fangs (mp3)*
*mp3s hosted by & posted w/ permission of band
By: Brendan
Browsing Bandcamp, the Billie Holiday cover art to l’Orange’s Old Soul caught my attention. The music is not for everybody – some may find it repetitive – but I love it, film clips and all. You will hear Billie Holiday as never before, and another unique voice, that of Kelsey Lu. On “Lost Souls,” you’ll also hear Hassaan Mackey spitting those rhymes. I love the fact that “I’ll Be Seeing You” is sampled on the final track, “The Mourning.” The word transcendent is overused these days, but this one fits the definition: extending beyond the limits of ordinary experience. You can download the entire album for free below…
In addition to premiering their new No Destruction video, Foxygen has also made their 2006 album, Jurrassic Exxplosion, available as a free, legal download. Their most recent release, We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic, is our favorite album of the year so far.
Foxygen – Jurrassic Exxplosion (album download page)*
*uploaded & made publicly available by Foxygen
By: Brendan
All Those Days to Feel Better is the latest release from busy Chicago-based singer-songwriter Derek Clegg. It’s a wonderfully twangy collection of songs. That album as well as several others by Clegg are available for free download at Bandcamp and the Free Music Archive.
Guest Post By: Brendan
The Grammys broadcast this year was perhaps my favorite of the past decade. The crossover of indie-rock artists to mainstream Top 40 radio is a welcome change. Among my favorite moments of the night was seeing pop luminaries enthusiastically joining in with the chorus to “Ho Hey” by The Lumineers. That song is included in this live set from KEXP, recorded in April of last year.
Crooked Still’s Aoife O’Donovan will release her solo debut, Fossils, on June 11th. In the meantime, she’s offering a free, legal Noisetrade sampler featuring live and studio tracks from Fossils. You can download the mp3s by entering your email address below…
Dayna Kurtz’ new album, Secret Canon Vol. 2, is a thing of beauty. The followup to last year’s Secret Canon 1
I was shocked to discover that the opener “I Look Good in Bad” is a Dayna Kurtz original. The song structure, lyrics and instrumentation seem so classic it could easily be a Bessie Smith cover. It’s one of many songs on the album that showcase the rich and robust range of Dayna’s voice. M.C. Records was kind enough to allow me to share the song, which you can stream below.
Dayna also delivers a stunningly beautiful and emotive rendering of the vintage soul ballad “Reconsider Me” — originally recorded by Johnny Adams, but probably best known as a 1970s country hit by Narvel Felt. You can stream that song at MC Records.
Other highlights include “One More Kiss,” “Same Time, Same Place,” “All I Ask is Your Love” and “I’ll Be a Liar.”
I love, love, love this album. Fiercely, immensely, wholeheartedly. It reminds me of the first time I heard Dayna’s magnificent voice at Mountain Stage in 2002 (sadly my Muruch review of that concert was lost in the great archive disaster of 2005). I had never heard of Dayna before that concert, which I attended to see Natalie Merchant. Dayna walked out onto the stage, sat down in a wooden chair, and tuned her guitar for a few minutes without saying a word. Then she opened her mouth to sing “Love Gets in the Way” (from Postcards from Downtown
SoundCloud stream uploaded w/ permission of M.C. Records
