Little Yosemite’s “…Through the Winter” EP is aptly named and great seasonal folk

Who is this unassuming sandal wearing young gentleman?  He is “Little Yosemite” and he brings some of the best down tempo folk laments around.  Yes, it’s true.

Brought to my attention from a “guy you don’t want to mess with”…Drunk Country over at WOXY’s “The Waiting Room” radio show (and part of my twitter posse – follow him at @DrunkCountry) and he has made me a believer again.  Little Yosemite definitely has a laid back approach to creating music, so much so that his “…Through the Winter” EP is possibly the most aptly named release I have heard in a while.  If we all assume winter is a time of hibernation and the slowing down of all things then we are on the right page with this EP.  Despite this being the Winter Olympics and all, essentially the season is a time where one rests and aims to be even be introverted (if ever a season was to have a personality).  The EP follows its seasonal lead and finds itself drifting, floating and even dragging you into the experience of its dark, ebb and flow of acoustic soundscapes.

Definitely not something to put on at a party to “get it started”, but something you put on to sit back and immerse yourself into – it has steady percussion, pin-points of banjo and echoing voice of James McGaha.  Some tracks are more ambient than others (The Falls) and some are true journeys that must be experienced (The Stump, The Branch).  The track featured below is “Dig a Ditch” and is a meandering path with a sparse electric guitar and slight finger picking banjo as your guides.  It is almost a lullaby for his current home in Minnesota.  He better get his fill as he will be moving cross country to Portland (Oregon) this year, which just might show up in his upcoming full length album that will hopefully find its way to us later this year (fall, maybe?).

“Dig a Ditch” – Little Yosemite
from 2009’s “…Through the Winter” EP

Find and purchase Little Yosemite below

~Smansmith