Odd bedfellows perhaps, but each is adept at creating claustrophobic spaces of melancholy.

It begins with one, solitary mp3. ‘Wintered Debts’ arrived in our Inboxes, RSS Feeds and news streams last year, an eight minute – eight minute – long cross section of the new of Montreal album. Far from blog ready fodder, ‘Wintered Debts’ was at once immediate and confounding, with Kevin Barnes veering away from the plastic funk of ‘False Priest’ and towards something less accessible. Now lingering on the ClashMusic stereo, parent album ‘Paralytic Stalks’ is a work of tremendous contradictions – more complex but less abstract, less melodic but increasingly contagious, the album is an imposing, fascinating beast. “With ‘Paralytic Stalks’ I ...

Some artists create their most intense work when they hit rock bottom See Vincent van Gogh Billie Holiday Nick Drake and Jim Morrison whose final album with the Doors is a Southern California death trip that matches anythingin their catalog for beautifully spooked rock & roll urge-purging Made amid professional...

by Ben Donnelly Prinzhorn Dance School's debut was so unique, it risked making follow-ups superfluous. More than minimal, the average Nick Drake acolyte kicks up more dust than Tobin Prinz and Suzi Horn. Awkward silences made the duo's debut nearly like a Harold Pinter drama set to bass guitar. It could be as... Read More

I started collecting vinyl in January of 2008.  Here is what I have amassed. (updated January 2012) AC/DC Back in Black American Football American Football Andrew Bird Armchair Apocrypha Band of Horses Everything All the Time Infinite Arms Battles Gloss Drop Mirrored The Beach Boys Endless Summer The Beatles 1962-1966 1967-1970 Abbey Road Hey Jude Let it Be Magical Mystery Tour Rubber Soul Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band Beck Modern Guilt Odelay The Bee Gees Best of Bee Gees Vol. 1 [pre-disco] Saturday Night Fever Ben Folds Five Ben Folds Five Blackalicious A2G [EP] Blazing Arrow The ...

From KCRW DJ Eric J Lawrence: Learning of the demise of the innovative experimental indie rock duo The Books today was disappointing.  Their 2010 album, “The Way Out”, was one of my favorite releases of that year and it is marked by such a distinctive style that I doubt if it will ever sound dated. Combining sound collage assemblages with delicate songwriting touches gave The Books an ability to go just about anywhere with their music, from using snippets of children’s stories, to covering Nick Drake’s “Cello Song” (for the Red Hot ...

From The Cedar Box Janurary 2012 Allysen Callery - Winter Island Written by Marissa Nadler In the spirit of winter, I’d like to write about one of most unique songwriters that I know, and her new album Winter Island . It’s a coincidence that both musicians showcased thus far in From The Cedar Box have been from Rhode Island. Next month, we will be leaving the Ocean State, but Winter Island is a record that must be heard before the crocuses poke their heads up for the springtime.  Winter Island is a record that could proudly sit tall next to ...

Mike Wexler sounds like if Nick Drake were in The Grateful Dead and hung out with Jandek or something. But not really. Wexler’s ageless voice and timeless instrumentals are achingly familiar yet blatantly new. On “Pariah,” the leadoff track of Dispossession , Wexler wheezes out gloomy psychedelia while retro organs gently drag the tired groove into a rather epic start to a rather fantastic new release. Dispossession will be released by Mexican Summer on March 6. But it looks like you can order the LP from the site right now right now . Mike Wexler - Pariah by Mexican Summer • Mike Wexler ...

Although January may nearly be over and spring is (kinda) on the horizon, there’s plenty of the year left to discover some great Welsh talent. Here are my 10 of the best Welsh artists for you to be keeping your beady little eyes and ears on over the next 11 months. Ifan Dafydd - Putting on an Ifan Dafydd track without any prior information, you would be forgiven for thinking it was a new James Blake number. With plenty of layers, heavily processed vocals and fading organ sounds, there is no denying that there are similarities. However, when have similarities ...

Here’s a mid week catch up on our current Top 20 acts in the Fast track to Hop Farm competition, click on the links below to give em a listen and maybe even your support— Remember, this can all still change!! So – in no particular order  – Holy Moses and the Crackers They say it best – A four piece rompy-stompy cajun circus troupe!   Brendan McGlynn Yearning John Martyn vibes from this Dublin based troubadour   The Emerald Armada A raucous bunch throwing out layered vocal harmonies and some high octane hillbilly licks   Kal Lavelle Already grabbing tour supports with Ed Sheeran ...

Παραδοσιακά, ο χρόνος στο some beans κυλάει πιο αργά. Όχι τίποτα άλλο, αλλά θα νομίζετε ότι είμαστε παλαιοημερολογίτες που τώρα γιορτάζουν την έλευση του 2012 και ήδη έχουν περάσει τις θηλιές στο λαιμό τους εν όψει της επικείμενης καταστροφής του κόσμου. Βέβαια, από ότι είδα σε μια αφίσα, αυτές τις μέρες πετάνε το σταυρό στη θάλασσα οπότε ακόμα κι έτσι αργήσαμε. Είπαμε όμως, στα αποστκτήρια του some beans ξέρουμε ότι η καλή η λίτα θέλει το χρόνο της. Ιδού λοιπόν το 2ο μέρεος με τα 70 δικά μου αγαπημένα τραγούδια του 2011. 70. Boxer Rebellion - " Caught By The Light " από ...

During his lifetime, Nick Drake only sold a few thousand albums. Since his accidental overdose on antidepressants in 1974, his influence as a musician and songwriter has been incalculable. His stripped-down, emotionally raw music still sounds fresh and new today. Pink Moon , the last album ...

For those for whom wounded folk feels like balm upon a wound, you’ll find fine medicine in Keaton Henson. The London songwriter’s music is almost violently spare, offering just enough melody and feeling to carve his way into your heart. Like Nick Drake before him, he’s intensely shy and has decided to avoid traditional forms [...]

Der deutsche Singer/Songwriter Honig hat sein neues Album "Empty Orchestra" fertiggestellt, welches im März erscheinen soll. Vorab haben alle Interessierten die Möglichkeit, sich mit "The Morning Chorus" ein erstes Stück aus dem neuen Langspieler kostenlos herunterzuladen. Im neuen Song präsentiert sich der Musiker aus Düsseldorf wieder einmal von seiner gefühlvollen und melancholischen Seite – das Stück beginnt relativ verhalten, gewinnt aber dann dank verzerrter Gitarren und brüchiger Stimme an emotionalem Gewicht. Akustisch konnte Honig vor kurzem auch im Rahmen der motor.de-Reihe Urban Unplugged überzeugen. Mit einem Klick auf das Artwork gelangt ihr auf seine Seite, wo ihr euch den ...

There's some inherent complicity in this record that triggers a violent uneasiness. It's like it's 1972 and I'm one of those kids who are sick of the soft-pop chart hits of Fleetwood Mac, America, fluffy brown hair & equally revolting album covers (however radical these folkies were in their own right). Halfway through listening to The Amazing's "Gentle stream", the overall one-beat homogeny gives birth to a nihilistic urge to shake things up. Now, if I could goddamned be like everybody else, especially the hip Scandy radio-pop listening public, this cauldron would probably just spill off the decks like almond milk; the super gooey melodies and the Air-like retro sexing mood perfected by obviously professional musicians doing it up professionally -- probably wouldn't hurt so bad. Already celebrated Dungen members serve up what can be viewed as a Seventies itch they needed to scratch, or a chance to break the market with another kind of popular. Title track, "Gentle stream ...