Tyler Butler joins the crew over at our label Yer Bird Records and re-releases ‘Winter King’ on March 20th, 2012!

If you are reading Slowcoustic on a regular basis, you already know of Mr. Butler from Edmonton and we are very excited to bring one of our favourite albums of last year home to us over at Yer Bird Records.  We are re-releasing it with a couple of ‘bonus tracks’ as well!  The bonus tracks are a newly recorded version of “Feral Horse” from his previous EP Feral Horse plus the previously unheard title track ‘Winter King’.  All in all we couldn’t be happier here at Slowcoustic/Yer Bird Records with having Tyler on board as this album is simply amazing.  See a quick teaser trailer below plus the track listing.

Tyler Butler :: Winter King (March 20, 2012) from Yer Bird Records on Vimeo.

1) Barghest*
2) Morana*
3) Child-Ghost*
4) House Painter*
5) Waxwing
6) Kingfisher
7) Plover
8) Sparrow
9) Feral Horse (Winter King Version)
10) Winter King (previously un-released)

(*Re-Mastered for the 2012 release)

You also might want to check out a new video for Plover recorded in conjunction with this re-release over on the new Winter King website.  We will be uploading a video performance of all 8 of the original tracks on this site over the next few weeks!  For now also enjoy the newly remastered ‘Morana’ below.

~Smansmith

Andrew Sisk (Photo by Scott Munn)

Today’s song of the day is from one Andrew Sisk, who was passed on to me from Matt over at Pigeon Row (see them & their full list of clients here) and I am greatfull this brooding singer songwriter’s newest album is now with me.

The album, Treelines, was released on January 31st and is nine thick-with-character songs recorded “…in his apartment in Montreal with his son Elliott sleeping on his lap during vocal takes, and quietly watching him record classical guitar parts“.  The song “I Whispered It” is a stunning example of what what you would think from that last sentence.  It is a layered but still stripped down beauty – vocals just scratchy enough to feel worn in and echoing guitars in the distance causing texture.  The song both floats and digs into you at first listen.  My only ‘complaint’ is that it ends to soon.  So then, stop and listen for at least two minutes and seventeen seconds today.

Find the full album from Andrew Sisk over on his Bandcamp page.

~Smansmith

Today sees the release of the newest opus from Elephant Micah. Being big fans around Slowcoustic HQ, this is an even bigger day as we also have a quick interview with Joe O’Connell along with our post on the album!

The album is “Louder Than Thou” and is released from O’Connell’s own label Product of Palmyra in digital and vinyl formats. It is 6 tracks of what might be called a return to form if you thought that was even needed from this Indiana project. First off, it comes in at 6 songs and some of you might say that it is an EP and not an LP, but songs range from 4 1/2 to 7 1/2 minutes each so we can all agree this album while still being a touch short is definitely in the LP arena.

The songs are described as “Avant Americana” and include instrumentation some may find experimental in nature but still natural with the songs. Louder Than Thou fuses a feel for the music instead of arranging 10 x 3 minute tracks of acoustic guitar. Sure I say that flippantly, but it is actually true – the album isn’t straight forward but still includes the bones of what would be called a folk album. Tracks like (my favourite) ‘Airline Living’ has this floating aura with 70s influenced band elements and this bass line straight out of a Sofia Coppola movie soundtrack. As a stand alone track, this one has been a favourite for weeks now.

The lead off single (if that is what you would call it) is the song ‘If I Were a Surfer’ and it could be the beginning to ‘Airline Living’ and is simply a blanket of pure velvety folk goodness.

You might even get a bit of ‘upbeat’ in the track ‘My Cousin’s King’ and ambient instrumental-ism in ‘Rooster On the Loose’ but you always know you are listening to Louder Than Thou. While there is an ebb and flow to the album’s song crafting, it is still a full album and is one that fits into the incredibly deep back catalog of the band.

I had a chance to have Joe O’Connell talk about a few items on who “Elephant Micah” is and a bit about this new album.

~Interview with Joe O’Connell of Elephant Micah~

• For those in the know, they [for the most part] consider Joe O’Connell to be “Elephant Micah”. Who (or what) is Elephant Micah to Joe O’Connell?

I guess Elephant Micah is the name of a project, and I’m the person responsible for that project. The name is just a placeholder… just a title that ties together some series of performances and recordings over time. It’s supposed to be, ah, adaptable.

On this record, Justin and Nathan Vollmar (of the band Vollmar) helped me arrange and record basic tracks. Kate Long, Kyle Langvardt, and Michael Anderson each did overdubs.

• Your website indicates that Louder Than Thou is the “…clearest statement of the Elephant Micah sound”…what should someone take away from the new album if they hear it for the first time today?

This project has developed pretty slowly over time. I think it has only recently started to hit its stride. I would like this record to come across as the work of people who have been at it a long time, who are making their most compelling music in the present, and who are committed to continuing on that trajectory.

On Louder Than Thou – there is an ebb and flow on the album from the softer singer songwriter to the more experimental song crafting – how do you balance the traditional and non-traditional sounds?

On this record, it was less a matter of balancing two different styles and more a matter of creating the right, ah, stylistic contour (?) over the course of the recording. We just aimed to make decisions (in arranging, performing, mixing, etc.) that would allow the songs to hang together… within the overall scope of a record that is fun to listen to, and changes a lot over its course.

What I mean to say is, I was probably looking for a way to have changes in style without polarizing (?) style in terms of folk vs. rock, quiet vs. loud, experimental vs. “poppy,” or whatever.

How is it to be an artist and your own label? Does your label half push you to release more and then your artist side ask to slow down and enjoy the actual music?

Ooh, well, it is impossible. I just want to get this record out there and I don’t know a better way to do it.

• Would you release any other acts on your label? Any side projects that you feel shouldn’t fall under the moniker of Elephant Micah?

Sure, if I had unlimited resources, I would want to help release other people’s music. I can think of lots of great projects to do along those lines. As it stands, though, it takes all the time and money I can muster to get one Elephant Micah record out.

• As a songwriter – do you collaborate, write from experience, collect stories and combine to create an song/album?

I think the answer to this question might be “no.”

I do fool around with words, tunes, and guitar parts a lot. When I hit upon something that piques my interest, I pursue it and try to expand upon it. Sometimes my sense of an idea is strong enough that it will lead to other ideas. I try to string these ideas together into a set that I can record as an album.

My ideas come from playing with language, themes, genre rules… and maybe sometimes the starting point of an idea is something you could call experiential or real… something sort of observational. But that is mainly just a jumping off point for the rhetoric of the song. If I sing about the village of Rocky Ripple, Indiana, for example, it’s because I find it useful for staging a song with a certain aesthetic about “real places” and “real people.” I do like these genres that are take up real life (country, confessional, etc.), but I think that how they work and whether they work is purely a matter of good style, not a matter of true stories.

• Do you feel successful as an indie artist?

At first I wrote “no.” It’s a struggle to gather up all the resources I need to make a record. That’s why it’s been a while between this one and the last one.

But I’m going to go ahead and venture that I do feel successful. I’m managing to make really strong recordings, and get them out to people that derive some meaning from them. I don’t want to come across as anti-commercial in any simple way, or as being indifferent to whether more people hear my music. And I don’t want to claim some integrity or importance on the basis of being “marginal” to the indie music world. But I think I can say that I’m happy with what I’m doing, and I do see it as successful by my standards.

• Who are a few contemporaries that you would want to work with?

Will Oldham, Dark Dark Dark, the Cairo Gang, Small Sur, Hiss Golden Messenger, Vollmar, Pillars and Tongues, Magnolia Electric Company, Breathe Owl Breathe, Lougow, Bronze Float, Time and Temperature, the 1-2-3’s, the Flying Burrito Others, Scout Niblett, Thousand Arrows, Hurray for the Riff Raff, the Luddites, Bubbly Mommy Gun, the Blue River Music Association, Jon Kay, Grease Gravy, Century of Aeroplanes, Jandek, Califone, Little Wings, Aurora Nealand, Delay, For Barry Ray, Ben and Bruno, the Hollows, Open Sex, Norman Oak, Mary Oakie, Joe Manning, Nathan Salsburg and James Elkington, the Red Queen Hypothesis, Honey Radar, Canadian Rifle, Tammar, Uno Moss, June Panic, Alasdair Roberts, Cathy Irwin, Mark Kozelek, June Panic, and more.

• What was your main “New Year’s Resolution”?

“Keep going,” as they say.

~~~

Swing by the Product of Palmyra Bandcamp page HERE to pick up a copy today. Digital is “Pay What You Want” and the vinyl is a limited version of 375 and it will sell out.

~Smansmith

I have been giving this album some serious spinning for the last month or so and it is indeed a seriously great listen.  The album officially saw its release on Jan. 24th (this past Tuesday) over on Crossroads of America.  The album is available on all your favourites; space age digital, retro CD and exclusive vinyl – of which I recommend the latter…but more on that below.

First off, let us get one thing straight, this album is a creeper.  This album, while seemingly an innocent folksy little collection of mellow singer songwriter jams, is just soo much more and you really realize it from repeated listening.  This album grows on you because it is something that you dig into instead of let play in the background…which all too many people do with “folk” music in general.  If this happens to you with albums, please return to “Baptist Girls” as it unfolds soo immensely that I can’t see anyone not enjoying it.  Well, those that come to a blog called Slowcoustic should all know what I mean.

The album has an eerie comfort attached it with what could be described as it’s honest laments and life observations that just so happen to be attached to music.  These songs are performed with sincerity and you know it – especially with lyrics chosen of self deprecating and inner moments that most of us only think to ourselves.  All sung over acoustic guitar and moody synth in the ether that surrounds you as the listener.  Even being an apparent “lo-fi” recording it sounds full but doesn’t lose the intimacy that is apparent in Bro. Stephen’s recordings.

Listen: “Tears on Tape” – Bro. Stephen

Okay, I said “more on that later” in regards to the vinyl.  I recommend the vinyl version of “Baptist Girls” as it is a phenomenal album in general, so there is that.  It also forces you to listen to the album outside what might traditionally be where you hear most albums these days…your computer.  Unless you have a nice set up, you want to hear this album in its fullness on a home stereo and vinyl usually makes this the only option.  Bro. Stephen provides a delicate folk(ish) album that you can play loud and immerse in… yes, honestly it does really work.  As a bonus, it is on lovely green vinyl, aaaaaaand it is where to get two bonus tracks:

Bonus, bonus, bonus tracks: 2 bonus tracks exclusive to the vinyl option!

So there you have it, best new music and a great album that I fully recommend.  So swing by Crossroads of America to pick up your copy by clicking HERE.

Find more on Bro. Stephen:  XRA Records | Facebook | Twitter | Website | Purchase at Bandcamp

~Smansmith

Today’s song of the day is a cover of the classic track ‘Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want’ from The Smiths as performed by Pickering Pick.  Gone is the dramatically mellow angst only to be replaced by sombre aching alongside the ambient acoustics.  While we are not comparing which song is better and both are the same lyrically but give total different listens despite being the ‘same’ song.  Pickering Pick removes himself from the persona of Morissey and The Smiths and simply creates a great version of a classic song.

“Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want (The Smiths Cover)” – Pickering Pick
As part of the Rate Our Music #08 compilation “See You on the Other Side”  (FREE DOWNLOAD)

Visit and listen to more from Pickering Pick on his Bandcamp Page.

~Smansmith

I know I have posted many times on this album and I am releasing it on my label over at Yer Bird Records, so I can’t really get into it anymore without making y’all upset.  So then, here is a track to listen to and let’s pretend that this is the first you have heard of this discovery and are ready to purchase and send me personal thanks for bringing it to your attention.

Find out more from our Label page or Bandcamp page.
Purchase: Label | iTunes | Amazon

~Smansmith

Water Liars (formerly ‘Phantom Limb’) are Andrew Bryant and Justin Kinkel-Schuster and they have an album coming up on Misra Records in March.  Just found out and just started to pine for it.  Just saying.

Both musicians have been featured on Slowcoustic prior (Andrew Bryant | Justin Kinkel-Schuster) and so this has to be a good thing…right?  You might also know of Justin as the singer for the band Theodore, so there is that as well to entice you.  So far I have only heard the below acoustic videos of a couple of tracks and admittedly the word is that the album versions are a bit different, but these sound soo good.  So consider this fair warning.  Water Liars – March 5th, 2012 on Misra Records.

~

~

Remember, don’t get confused with the name change – they are Water Liars and the album is Phantom Limb (it was formerly going to be a self titled album….make sense?).

Find out more on Water Liars: Misra Records | Facebook | Twitter (I assume the name change will happen here at some point)

~Smansmith

Tomorrow sees the CD Release Show for hometown troubadour Reuben Bullock over at the Arrata Opera House here in Calgary.  I believe there is still space but make sure you check into the Facebook event for more info.

The new album “Man Made Lakes” from Bullock sees an album growth from the previous “Pulling Up Arrows” (see our feature here).  The new album is 11 tracks and honestly shows a full range of performances from delicate introspective to punchy indie rock.  Well mostly it is to the softer side but there is always something about Bullock’s performance that lets you know there is something inside almost clawing to get out.  Whether it is the gothic “Burial” to the definitely epic sing a long “Bow and Arrow”.

Where the album soars is in the moody and hallow tracks like “How to Fight” and “Pray For You” and even the stunningly fragile “Once Upon a Time” or “Lullaby”.  I also must list the track “We Belong” as it seems like the epitome of a Reuben Bullock track; focused acoustics along with the back and forth of cadence in the songcrafting.  The type of song you know brings the house down at live shows.  Wait…if there was a live show to see him where would you go?  Tomorrow’s CD Release makes for the perfect moment to see the album, hear the artist and come away with a new favourite album in Man Made Lakes.

Take a listen to a couple of tracks below to get you started along with a recent Streaming Cafe performance of a earlier Slowcoustic favourite “The Rain”.

~

Find out more on Reuben Bullock: Facebook | Bandcamp | Website |

~Smansmith

Kim Janssen (photo snagged from Last.fm)

Today’s song of the day is a beauty from Kim Janssen’s upcoming album “Ancient Crime” due out soon.  Okay, I don’t really know when, but I predict it to be fairly soon!  Some of you might know him from his “day job” in the band The Black Atlantic and some of you may know him from his great 2009 album “The Truth is, I am Always Responsible” (we had a quick mention and track back in early 2010 here).   The new song “Tors” is very reminiscent of his previous album, which is a good thing, and hence I have high hopes for ‘Ancient Crime’.  Just take a listen to the delicate acoustics and tell me you are not as well…

Make sure you keep an eye out for this one (as I am) and I hope to update you with more on the release very soon!

Visit Kim Janssen: Facebook | iTunes

~Smansmith

Message To Bears - Photo by Luke Doyle

I love the original song (it is actually one of my all time favourite tracks) but there is something about a cover track not sounding like a carbon copy, ya know?  For this cover songs, ‘Wolves’ while originally also a beautiful and sparse acoustic number in its own sense, Message To Bears takes the acoustic song forward with layers of his own that almost make the song a different beast all together.  While the cover finds the song becoming less tortured and aching than the original, it is still a great homage to the song in my opinion.

Find Message To Bears: Bandcamp (new album is stunning) | Facebook | Twitter
Find Phosphorescent’s album “Pride”: Dead Oceans Label

Enjoy your Sunday!

~Smansmith

Found this EP just the other day due to an invite to a local house show here in Calgary.  Wow, am I glad that I got that invite.

So the artist is Paul Stewart and to be honest, I have only been listening to this EP for about 4 days now…but it has been a glorious 4 days.  The 5 songs are available as a “name your price” download over on his Bandcamp page and I immediately dropped my $5 for it after about 48 seconds of total preview split between all 5 tracks.  Why do I note this?  I am noting this as I almost can’t put forward one song as the lead track or single from it – they are all frickin’ great.  He describes his sound as “Defeatist Folk” or as many readers of this blog might call it, “Sad Bastard Folk”.  The songs might be a bit down on their luck but at the same time bring such rich beauty and comfort that I almost miss that fact.

I am selecting 2 tracks to embed below and they are the opening and closing tracks: “Glass Skull” opens the EP with gentle sepia toned echoes of lost summers…you almost picture the song playing over silent video footage of a summer camp in the 50s…it sounds like it floats due to what could be a slide guitar/pedal steel in the background, then the piano hits for the last few moments – stunning.

~~

Next is the closing track “Crowd Cocoon” which comes in a bit more ominous but with many of the same elements of piano, acoustics, reverb…but used in a more late night solitary drinking binge sort of way.  As many sad bastards know, this can be some of the most stunning and wrecking moments…the same can be said about the song.  It kills me each time I hear it.

~~

As I mentioned, all tracks are worthy, so if you like the above 2 tracks then there are 3 more just waiting for you and they are just as good.  Highly recommended.

Calgary Concert Alert: Any Calgarians can find Paul Steward at ‘The White House’ next weekend – January 21st with Alex Wesley Cardinal on their Winter Tour.  See the Facebook event for more details.

Find Paul Stewart: Bandcamp | Facebook

~Smansmith

A quick update on our upcoming release over on Yer Bird Records from John Statz: its now streaming in full on our bandcamp page!  The album is due for release in two weeks (January 24th) and will have a limited CD release alongside the super futuristic digital versions that all the kids are talking about.  The album is 10 tracks and includes some of the most honest rural Americana you will find (I am biased though…apparently).  If you don’t believe me, just take a listen to tracks like the banjo laden ’1898′ and the heartfelt laments like ‘Tired of Telephones’ or ‘Baltimore’ and then dig into the beautifully stripped down cover of Frightened Rabbit’s ‘Old Old Fashioned’.  Just a suggestion but you should swing by and give ‘er a spin.

~

While this isn’t Statz’s first kick at the can at making great Americana albums (proof), we are just proud and excited to be on board with him and his latest album.  Old Fashioned was produced by legendary Bo Ramsey (who also lends some vocals/guitar) with the added bonus of Jeremiah Nelson playing almost everything (and who did the artwork) and the icing on this talented cake would be the lovely Peita Brown!  It is a collaborative effort for sure and the results ends up as quality listening for you laid back country folk types.

Visit John Statz: Website | Old Fashioned on Bandcamp | Yer Bird Records

~Smansmith

P.S. Find a great post by our friends over at Cover Lay Down on the album HERE.

Quick Sunday post for all you looking for some great mellow tunes over coffee.  And it is completely free!

Found via my twitter feed (I love when others do all the ground work – thanks Leentje!) and I have to say, it is incredibly beautiful to listen to and if possible use headphones.  While it is halfway between acoustic folk and shoegaze pop it can find a home with lovers of both.  Tracks like “Winter’s Wall” that opens the album has a pseudo electro start that yields to a piano/acoustic ballad with a bit of electro pop drumming.   More true Slowcousticals will enjoy the tracks “Gold” and “A Heart You Can’t Find” especially – so I will include both below and make sure you head over to their website to download the 7 track FREE album (and in better quality 320 kbps files).

RIYL: Melodramatic Pop Songs – but in a good way.

“Gold”
“A Heart You Can’t Find”

Visit Wise Children: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Tumblr

~Smansmith

May your pace be lessened and your guitar be unplugged.Have a Slowcoustic 2012 everyone!

— Slowcoustic (@Slowcoustic) January 1, 2012

Sean Hayes
“New Years Day” (mp3)
from “Outtakes & Alternatives”
(Sean Hayes)

Buy at Amazon MP3
More On This Album

Quick hitter today from Slowcoustic Favourite Lotte Kestner in the form of a new cover project that includes a beautiful homage to Ghosts I’ve Met!

Anna-Lynne Williams (Lotte Kestner and 1/2 of Trespassers William) emailed me to give me the heads up while I was away on holidays last week and with my sporadic internet it was almost painful to not be able to listen.  Well, I have now been listening to the cover and it was worth the wait.  If you are familiar with Williams, she can add a stillness and beauty to almost any song…even if that song is already a stunner.  The original track from Sam Watts (Ghosts I’ve Met) is the title track from his own debut EP from a few years back and he and Williams have now connected in Seattle and what could be better than one covering the other?  Enjoy.

Find out more from Lotte Kestners new covers EP HERE.  Find the original by Ghosts I’ve Met HERE.

~Smansmith

Robert Deeble has a new single from his upcoming album “Heart Like Feathers” that found its way into my inbox yesterday.  So then, today’s song of the day is actually the “B-side” from that single/title track with the acoustic version of the song!  Surprised that I picked it, right?

The track is a great little finger picked number that really puts the focus on the Seattle singer-songwriters laid back vocals intermingled with the creaks and twangs of the guitar.  Its a beauty!  The new album is due out on February 7th, 2012 from Dead Letter Records.  For a bonus you can check out another track “Undertow” that also includes Slowcoustic favourite Lotte Kestner assisting on vocals here.

Robert Deeble – Heart Like Feathers (Acoustic Demo) by fanaticpro

Find out more on the album and Deeble in general by visiting him on his Website, Facebook, Twitter and Bandcamp!

~Smansmith

Seattle based singer songwriter Sam Watts (Ghosts I’ve Met) has a new EP he has available at his live shows.  The EP “The Light Opera” has just started in rotation over at Local legend/radio station KEXP as well, so keep an ear out there as well.  The collection of tracks can be purchased from Sam directly if you are not able to make a local show (please email us and we can get you in touch if you were looking to pick up a copy) and it is still so new that it has no artwork!

The EP was recorded earlier this year at a Lakehouse in Leavenworth, Washington with Ghosts I’ve Met recording/live performance regulars Bill Patton (yes that Bill Patton) and Faustine Hudson.

We do have a track to share with you courtesy of Mr. Watts and it is true to form with his airy acoustic performance but with one addition…there is some percussion working its way into the mix here…not out of the question for this particular “folk” artist but GIM has traditionally gone light or without the element.  I like the sense of purpose it gives the track, if not a small jolt of gravitas if I had to say!  Enjoy.

“Dark Blue Sound”  – Ghosts I’ve Met, from the EP ‘The Light Opera’

Find more Ghosts I’ve Met on Bandcamp and over on Yer Bird Records.

~Smansmith

The Black Atlantic’s new EP “Darkling, I Listen” is a step beyond their previous album “Reverence for Fallen Trees” as they are not sitting on their laurels and are moving into a larger more full sound.  The crew have been huddled together growing their acoustic roots into a more full band sound and brought ‘Darkling’ to life over a few months in spring/summer 2011.  This is not to say they were never a “full band” prior, it is just the music was more of an intimate folk experience while Darkling, I Listen incorporates splashes and bursts of pure indie pop & sonic soundscapes while remaining essentially folk at its core.  Some might compare to the transition of The Black Atlantic’s sound to something along the lines of Bon Iver’s “For Emma…” album to the new “Bon Iver, Bon Iver” album.  But I am just sayin’…

Overview of “Darkling, I Listen” lyrically:

” Lyrically the songs paint the psychological tensions and inward journey of a protagonist who, after an argument, finds himself going through an intense emotional/existential rollercoaster ride.  Over the course of his sleepless night, his past, his reality, and his future appear in a whole new light of day.”

The way the EP transcends the traditional smaller scale of an “Extended Play” release is almost in the way TBA weaves the many musical elements into the songs almost like chapters of a novel.  It builds upon itself and tell stories as well as entertains with songs.  Unabashed with stating influences such as ‘70’s psychedelic folk–rock, Phil Spector-esque orchestrated chamber pop and 60’s Motown soul‘ the songs really grow in scale.  Those that are long time fans and finding my comparison to the ‘new’ sound may be worried, but do not shy away from it, embrace it…as it will you.  You still have songs like the opening track (see below) and the final track “Quiet, Humble Man” that harken to the sombre beauty of earlier works.

Fans may embrace this new Black Atlantic and some may pine for the former…personally, not unlike the Bon Iver analogy I tend to follow the band and enjoy the musical paths they are taking.  Listen to the opening track “The Aftermath (Of This Unfortunate Event)” below.  Find more, stream more, purchase more on their Bandcamp Page.

01 The Aftermath (Of This Unfortunate Event) by Beep! Beep!

Full Track Listing:

The EP is officially released on January 13th, 2012, but a pre-order now gets you the digital files including artwork.  The artwork is quite extensive and adds to this as a full experience as a release.  A must have.

~Smansmith

Very happy to find in my twitter feed about a new release from Joel P West (frontman of The Tree Ring – see a post on them here) and I want to assure you right now that my excitement for new material was well warranted!

There is something about West’s voice that makes me want to join in (and utterly destroy what he has going on mind you) as his timbre just works for these rich textures of acoustic goodness.  The ‘Shoulder Seasons’ EP is 5 tracks recorded just last month and were officially released on his Bandcamp page on Nov. 24th.  As the EP is an acoustic affair, I don’t want you to think it is “stark” & “lonely”, but actually quite full of rich sounding layers of strings…and again that voice over it all.  West gets a bit of help from an outside string section for the closing track ‘We’ll Learn Them Soon’ that is featured below as a perfect closing song and to match it, the opening track ‘Desperate, Desperate’ is also included.  The EP is a must have for a measly $5.00.

So swing on by his Website for more info on Mr. West & Bandcamp Page HERE to pick up the new EP, check out his film Score for The Room Behind The Fireplace and do not forget his Dust Jacket project from a few years back.

~Smansmith

Today’s song of the day is from Balto and is from the UK version of the October’s Road album with the track ‘Gravestones‘.  Well, I am not sure it is actually part of the album proper but it is included as a demo/bonus track with their recent foray into releasing the album in the UK.

As Balto has shown with numerous examples from the October’s Road album, once again, we get great acoustics, melody and hooks that almost anyone could be proud of!   I recommend looking into song ‘The Railyard‘ via the Bandcamp link below as well (my favourite from the album).  ’Gravestones‘ as a song is essentially Daniel Sheron playing all instruments and it was even produced by Hip Hatchet (yes, that Hip Hatchet) so you know it is going to be Slowcoustic goodness!

Balto – “Gravestones (Demo)”

Find out more on Balto via the band Website, Bandcamp and Facebook!

~Smansmith

Today we have the honour of premiering a track from the soundtrack of the upcoming film “Brunswick” set for limited release next week.  But before we get into the music created by Matthew Carefully for the film, you will need a bit of back story of what Brunswick is.

Synopsis:

Brunswick is a film about landscape change, told through the personal story of a farmer’s lifelong connection to his now-threatened land. The film weaves together the plight of Sanford Bonesteel, an aging farmer in his 90s, with the dynamics of small-town politics as a residential development is planned on Sanford’s former land.

The film takes place in Brunswick, New York, a small country town facing the challenge of balancing economic growth with the preservation of its rural character. It is a story both specific to Brunswick and yet recognizable to rural communities all over the United States.

So now you see the title of the track ‘Farm Prayer’ really makes sense here – both a beautiful full song in acoustics and meaning.  Before I say I have a strong connection to the American Farmer, you have to know I am Canadian, but from a small town with numerous farms and I see the nature of today’s world reflected in what today’s farmers are experiencing.  Some say that the future can’t be stopped and today’s (re: the future’s) world isn’t meant to be slow & meandering, lazy walks through wheat fields, the life that you live from and of the earth…if I was to say.  Sure there are pockets of the true rural communities around today, but I fear they are becoming a different beast now.  Sometimes progress can be needed and sometimes it is just painful in the transition.  Ahhh me, always one to be living in the city while always having a mind steeped in a rural state of mind.  But enough about it, watch the trailer below:

The Soundtrack

The soundtrack from Matthew Carefully (Bandcamp page) is as you would expect it would be.  Full of acoustic performances – 6 of which are instrumental and 4 that provide lyrics over layers of strings.  All have been written specifically for the project over the last 5 years and aren’t just sounds that looked good and happened to match with visuals.  These songs reflect the heart of a movie like Brunswick – I can only assume that the way you feel listening to the album would be the way you would experience the film.

Carefully provides a truly rural aura that flows throughout the album – it isn’t always a sombre affair with songs that truly make you think of the country lifestyle ‘Homestead Farm Bustle‘ to the heartbreaking instrumental ‘Well-Wished Waltz‘ through the banjo laden duet with Carefully and Katie Hammon on the opening track ‘Walks With Purpose‘.  I don’t know how the movie ends, but with one listen to the last track from the album in the instrumental ‘He Walks Away, Sincere’ it leaves you with a sense of hope and almost peace…probably one of the most beautiful tracks on the whole album.

The song below is my favourite on the soundtrack as I think it sums up the subject matter and the overall feel for the music on this movie.  ‘Farm Prayer’ brings the power of an instrumental but with Carefully’s pining lyrics of remembering what was is no longer.  Listen to just over 2 minutes what rural/country/farm living used to mean.

“Farm Prayer” – from the Soundtrack to Brunswick, by Matthew Carefully

For more information on the Movie from film maker Nate Simms, visit www.BrunswickFilm.com.

For more information on Matthew Carefully (and a full back catalog info) visit him on his Website and read about the experience of making the album from his blog space HERE.

~Smansmith

Today’s song of the day is the stunning ‘To Find This Home’ from the upcoming EP from Paul Otteson called “Fall Where They May”.  Well to be honest, it is available now for digital download, the actual physical EP will see its release in early December, so by saying upcoming, I mean that in the old school music enthusiast way…the CD is upcoming!

To say that Paul brings a calming sombre aura to song-crafting is an understatement.  His songs enjoy banjo laden acoustic gems, sometimes more “indie-pop” like the track ‘The Full Spectrum’, have a bit of edge like in ‘Nothing We Could Do’ and then stop you in your tracks with a stunning piano beauty ‘To Find This Home’ and a lullaby induced opening track like ‘Never Knight’.  This little 4 track EP has it all – for fans of a less ethereal Justin Vernon or even a less eccentric Sufjan Stevens…you can make your own decision.

Find more to listen to and purchase at his Bandcamp page HERE or you can swing by his website HERE.

~Smansmith

Lead off track from the soon to be released John Statz album has its official release today!  The track is ‘Distance’ from the album ‘Old Fashioned’ due for full release on January 24th, 2012.  If you are at all familiar with Statz, you will find the new material possibly a bit more refined and even a bit fuller than previous albums.  The album itself is gorgeous, full of lazy prairie folk with a soft edge of good ol’ Americana.  Dig into the FREE DOWNLOAD ‘Distance’ now via Bandcamp HERE.  If that is too much effort, always feel free to listen to the stream via our Yer Bird Records Soundcloud page below.

John Statz – “Distance” by Yer Bird Records

We seriously can’t wait for you to hear the whole album – expect another track to surface in December with the worldwide album release in January.  Damn that seems far away now doesn’t it?

~Smansmith

I don’t know Bry Webb.  I didn’t listen to his previous band The Constantines.

I now know Bry Webb and wonder what removed him from The Constantines.

aaaannyywayy…

The album ‘Provider’ from Webb comes in almost on a different planet (or different time in his life) than his previous material and to my ears this is a welcome thing.  Provider is hushed, subdued but powerful, heartfelt and just plain good.  As I mentioned my unfamiliarity with his full band effort in The Constantines (I mean I heard OF them of course, just didn’t listen TO them), I can’t help but think this guy was long overdue with this album.  Mostly recorded “off the floor” with just the basics to create immense but “simple” songs by the use of only a guitar, stand up bass, lap and pedal steel the result is something I wholeheartedly recommend.

Listen to “Undertaker” from the new album, get “Rivers of Gold” for free download HERE and when you pick up the album take “Zebra” and “Asa” for a long spin.

Undertaker by Idée Fixe Records
Visit Bry Webb on his website and on Idée Fixe Records (purchase)

~Smansmith

p.s.  I guess I would be remiss in not stating that Colin Stetson plays on Undertaker, so it is almost an indie Canadian must have!

This young respectable folk artist pictured above is Mr. Tyler Butler.  He is playing a show tomorrow night at Wunderbar in Edmonton – or as it is also known, The New Wunderbar Hofbrauhaus.  Other than the obvious reason I am bringing this to your attention in order to go and see him play music, is he is also selling an EP of demos and cover tracks in support of the venue itself.  Tyler is a big proponent of local music and here he is doing his part by providing all proceeds of the sales of this EP to the Wunderbar itself.

So bottom line here, if you are in the Edmonton area, check out Wunderbar tomorrow night for a full line up of great music including Sheree Plett (new album now out), Tyler Butler, Jordan Norman, James Rockliff and an apparent surprise performance from Johnathan Inc.  The whole night was put together from the good folks at Old Ugly Co. and you can check out a bit more on the Facebook event for full address, etc.

For now, let’s listen to one of those covers from Tyler Butler, here is Lionel Ritchie’s “Hello”;

~Smansmith

Sorry couldn’t resist the Patrick Bateman in headphones photo when looking for an “HQ” & “Music/Headphones” image.  If you have read the book American Psycho, you will know that when they get into describing music (regardless of style) you will know what it is like to be a music junkie.  But I digress…

Thought I would simply grab whatever is kinda new and playing around here up for perusal, listening and mocking.  You know, a Saturday playlist!

First off, the band responsible for one of my favourite albums in the last few years has a new song out.  Yes, The Black Atlantic has new material out from Beep! Beep! Back up the Truck over yonder!  While it has a new feel for the band, it is beautiful and brings a new facet of the band in my opinion.  There is a new EP, “Darkling, I Listen” that is practically done, so there is more to come.  Take a listen below to the first track;

The Black Atlantic – The Flooded Road by Beep! Beep!

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I have also been listening to the upcoming album from Rob St. John via Song, by Toad Records over in Scotland.  The album is called Weald and is in a word haunting and in another word intoxicating.  There is just something that hits you square in the face and drags you inside.  I get such a strong Ian Curtis (of Joy Division) vibe from St. John’s vocals on songs like “Domino” & “Sargasso Sea” but it eases up on more traditional singer songwriter cuts like “Acid Test”.  Maybe the Ian Curtis comparison is where I get the haunting impression from…so it may be misplaced, you tell me.

Rob St. John – Sargasso Sea by Song, by Toad
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Lately I have also been listening non-stop to the Chris Bathgate Kickstarter Reward Downloads.  One of the great things about getting all these songs (I think there was almost 40 of them in total!) was rediscovering the album “Silence is for Suckers”.  This album was always either my favourite or hovering in a close race for top spot the whole time, but listening to the Kickstarter remastered version brought it all back.  If you have it in your back catalog, please listen to “Cinder” in headphones right now.  Let’s help you, shall we:

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You might also want to check out Conrad Plymouth covering Strand of Oaks’ track “Two Kids”.  A little retro with the drum machine, but sooo good.  Visit the Conrad Plymouth Tumblr page HERE.

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Just to let you know that I can switch speeds and I am not a one trick pony, if you were looking for a great indie-folk-pop album from Canada (and I know you are) – check out the new album ‘The Hunting Party’ from Corey Isenor (see his bandcamp page here, that also includes his awesome “Frost” album).  There is also a nice infusion of banjo in it, so it has to be good right?  Take a listen to the first track (and one that has some of that nice finger picking banjo) now;

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Now go forth and listen this Saturday!

~Smansmith

Brought to you from the good folks at Crossroads of America – Bro. Stephen is a relatively ‘new’ discovery for me.  Bro. Stephen (Stephen Scott Kirkpatrick) has a brand new 7″ that found its way to me way up in the great white north of Canada, and I am very glad it did.  This limited to 300 vinyl offering brings 3 tracks including the title track “Patrons of the Arts” and two b-sides “The Truth” and “Previous Things”.

If you are reading this about Bro. Stephen and are not here by mistake, you will know that he is bringing his acoustic guitar along for the ride on this release and I have to say it works out for him (and the b-sides are hardly ‘b-sides’ if you know what I mean).  I don’t have any official listening options as currently the release is vinyl only, but I am sure we will see a digital offering soon once all those 7″ copies are snapped up…so get to snapping them up right here.  For now, listen to a YouTube embed for the track below:

And as this is “Artist” of the day and not just “Song” of the day, lets keep on with the sampling, shall we?  How about one of the tracks from the Bro. Stephen contribution to Flannelgraph Records “Laminar Excursion Monthly” series that was one of my best buys last year.  Enjoy “Telephone Two” below.

Aaaand to top it off, how about a “bedroom folk” demo?  Okay, I thought so.  The below is “Where The Ohio” that I found via Last.fm.  Very lo-fi, hushed, short and sweet.  Its good stuff.

“Where To Ohio” – Bro. Stephen

Just so you know, there is an expected full length release in 2012 that will include the first track above “Patrons of the Arts”, but my current recommendation is getting that 7″ as it also includes the 2 b-side exclusive tracks!

Find out more on Crossroads of America and his blog.

~Smansmith

Well look at this…we just announced our next release over on Yer Bird Records and it is with all around Slowcoustic friend John Statz!  Having been listening to John’s music for years, when the opportunity presented itself we thought it would be a perfect fit.  The music of Statz comes in as an almost modern day prairie country tinged folk.  I know that encompasses a lot of genres but his music can span them and hold the ear of die hard fans of all of those styles.

For now, you can listen to his back catalog (highly recommended) over on his Bandcamp page HERE and like him on the ol’ Facebook HERE.  Also, stream one of my all time favourite tracks from Statz in his “Budapest Session” version of Everything To Me from his Ghost Towns album from 2010.

~Smansmith

The other day Elephant Micah put out word of the upcoming album Louder Than Thou on his updated website.  Despite there being no formal date (but early 2012), the news included the fact that there will be a limited LP (yes!) and a pay-what-you-want digital offering (I assume through Bandcamp).  This is great news.  Why?  Because after hearing the new song ‘If I Was a Surfer’ I am refueling on Elephant Micah!

The new track below brings more of Joe O’Connell’s signature guitar strumming alongside his warm vocals and, and…a female vocalist!  This isn’t unheard of but a new facet of his sound, she comes in around the 1:50 mark to bring in a stunning chorus and she also helps end off the track with even more goodness.  If you are a regular of Slowcoustic you know all I will say is good things about Elephant Micah, so there isn’t really anything else to say/type at this point.  You can just listen to the new track below.

If I Were a Surfer by Elephant Micah

Keep an eye on his Website and his Bandcamp Page for any new stuff and why not find out/listen to more while you are there?

~Smansmith

There just might be a bit of West Texas in all of us, it is just a lot more front and center with Caleb Coy.

Caleb Coy announced a new Kickstarter campaign to fund his next album just yesterday.  If you are interested in great lo-fi (or maybe not so ‘lo-fi’ for the upcoming album) folk country, then this is your chance to get in on the ground floor.  Its an ambitious endeavor to get recording time, vinyl pressings and essentially a full package album (with PR) made these days and in exchange of being part of the process, you can make it actually happen!  I guess that is the idea behind it, you are donating to get the rewards of great music…its pretty simply really.  Visit the campaign HERE.  Watch the video below.

Take a listen to one of my favourites from his Yer Bird Records released album “Wild Desert Rose”, the track “Rambler’s Lament”.

~Smansmith

Not too much actually connecting the 3 musicians in this post other than I have been listening and wanted to post on them.

First off, Bryan John Appleby stopped by the folks at I Am Fuel, You Are Friends blog to record a Chapel Session and recorded my favourite track of the new album (take a spin through the sessions and lose your shit).  The BJA track is ‘Noah’s Nameless Wife’ and you can watch/stream it below.

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Also, one of my friends passed on some albums from Mark Wynn out of the UK and I have been enjoying the country twinged folk it has been supplying.  Mark Wynn has a couple of new releases including the album ‘Stories, Rags & Stomps’ – so it plays pretty much the full gambit of this Slowcoustic friendly genre.  Take a swing by his Bandcamp Page to a listen or simply play ‘Sad Stoned (fallin in the street) below:

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Now Ryan Adams has a new album and for the most part all I have read is good things about it.  Don’t get me wrong here, I mean I like it because I feel it is a return to roots sound for him.  I think it is a more thought out album compared to some recent material and despite the guy himself (“honest, I’m quitting music”), he can make a good tune when he needs to.
Do I Wait by ryanadams
I Love You But I Don’t Know What To Say by ryanadams
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That is all I got for now, but come on, it’s pretty good, no?

~Smansmith

If there is something I appreciate, it is a great sense of instrumentation, harmonies and use of acoustics in my “folk” music selections.  Small Houses (or Jeremy Quentin as the government knows him) includes all these things in his sound.  Quentin has recently been added to our ‘featured videos’ on the front page for a great session of Country Flowers from the new album and this is the official “you should listen to…” post on it.  So then, you know I am a fan of Small Houses and that I think this is a good record.  You should be counting down the days until October 6th.

The album ‘North’ is almost a combination of Small Houses songs that have been in the works for a while because if you follow this Michigan artist, you will see familiar songs titles…all have been reworked and sing anew.  The songs sound a bit more dense, you can dig into them and hear them all over again.  Songs like “Late July” now include crisp piano and pedal/lap steel that really makes all the difference. You have a couple of instrumental tracks and even an upbeat version of “In the Lawn” – which you know has come to be from the energy of live shows.

There is also a plethora of contributions throughout the record from fellow musicians like Chris Bathgate on mandolin, Samantha Crain joining in on vocals and even Phil D’Agostino (of Hezekiah Jones) on bass among numerous others.

Personal favourites include “Late July”, “The Ground, It’s Glass”, “North” and “Country Flowers”, so look out for them when you pick up the record.  So for now enjoy a full track-isting, video from the Small Houses Bridgehouse Session and the title track to the new album below;

1) The First Year After
2) Instrumental #1
3) Country Flowers
4) I and My Maker
5) Late July
6) In the Lawn
7) Instrumental #2
8) Tired and Twenty Cities
9) The Ground It’s Glass
10) North (mp3)

~

Small Houses Bridgehouse Session Pt. 3 (Late July) from Mostly Midwest on Vimeo.

Find more Small Houses: Website | Facebook | Twitter
Purchase Small Houses: iTunes | Bandcamp

Check the CD release shows for you Michigan folks below

MICHIGAN CD RELEASE SHOWS (w/ Paleo):

Oct. 5 – The Local Music Show (Radio) – Ann Arbor, MI
Oct. 6 – The Strutt – Kalamazoo, MI (w/ Paleo, Fiona D, and Gitis Baggs)
Oct. 7 – Scene Metrospace – Lansing, MI (w/ Paleo and Sacred Strays)
Oct. 8 – House Show – Albion, MI (w/Paleo and Reef Theory)
Oct. 9 – Dreamland Theater – Ypsilanti, MI

~Smansmith

I’ve been keeping my eye on Ryan Tanner ever since he floored me with his great cover of ‘Goodbye’ from Steve Earle – it ended up being song of the week as song of the day just wasn’t doing it justice.  Well I realized that he just released an EP of acoustic tracks just this week!  The EP is very reminiscent of early Ryan Adams or at least of the sound that made Ryan Adams an ‘alt-country’ darling.  These tracks are fully acoustic (aptly named EP then…) and are gorgeous slices of life via Tanner’s penchant for writing great songs.

While I have heard two of the 8 tracks previously, the other 6 solidified that I will be continuing my stalking of his output in the years to come.  The two songs below are great sad bastard songs, ‘Mama, Please Don’t Give Up On Me’ & ‘Salt Lake City Rain’ and speak to the weight of this EP (a pretty lengthy EP at that coming in at almost 32 minutes).  The songs are hushed, the vocals soft and waning at times and combined to the casual acoustic strumming, you are forced to slow down immediately…and in fact feel the urge to stop fully and listen.  You should listen…now.

~

Swing by and visit Ryan and pick up this recommended EP today on his Bandcamp page.  Visit him on his Website and follow on Twitter.

BONUS: ‘Goodbye (Steve Earle Cover)”

~Smansmith

Just pre-ordered my vinyl & T-Shirt combo for the new album via their Bandcamp – go here and get it too!

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This Owen track is EXACTLY how I hear his music.  This is like a greatest hits for Owen turned into a one-track anthem.

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Triggertown’s “TT” album is a FREE download via their Bandcamp page (here) and it includes some great tracks – I specifically love the waning violin matched to the pedal steel  in this track.  Soo good.

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You’re Almost There by Lanterns on the Lake

Lanterns on the Lake are about to release their new album on Sept. 19th and I have always kind of been partial to the spacey mellowed out beauty in their sound.  The new album is no different and provides it in spades.  MP3 download: “You’re Almost There”

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So enjoy your Saturday with a cross section of some music that could quite neatly fit into one corner of the box that is Slowcoustic.

~Smansmith

South of Lincoln was ‘discovered’ via an innocent recommendation in the forums at AltCountryTab.ca and it wasn’t even directed at me.  Yet, it ended up being meant for me…I know it.  South of Lincoln (or Maxwell Holmquist) is, you guessed it, a singer-songwriter who plays slow and acoustic music for the most part.  Yet, he does it so incredibly well by creating moods and moments that you truly fall inside of.  Small slices of life via acoustic vignette.  Some of these moments are of places you don’t wish on anyone, but in turn many of these cathartic stories set to music are needed by everyone.  It may sound overplayed about a guy with a guitar singing of love and loss – but god damn if you can’t appreciate it when it is done this good.

South of Lincoln is coming out of his shell just now and I only hope to be able to help facilitate more fans of this style of music and this artist in particular.  Do yourself a favour, read an interview below and listen along with some music samples.  Best.  New.  Artist.

~~~Interview with Maxwell Holmquist~~~

With your recording moniker ‘South of Lincoln’ and involvement with Hear Nebraska – how is the area connected to you and your music?

I’ve always been sort of obsessed with place. The name of my first album is “Homes” and I actually spent time deciding between “Home” and “Homes”. I’m interested in the concept of home and where that place is and what it means.

Everything about where I grew up has influenced my writing. I think my nostalgic obsession with the folksy, early-1900’s aesthetic comes from growing up in a tiny, dying Midwestern town (Douglas, Nebraska: Population 250). Time has sort of stopped there and the buildings are snapshots of different periods of the last 100 years. Everything just moves slower there and it’s become a peaceful refuge for me.

I have a tattoo of the outline of Nebraska on the inside of my upper arm. I love this place. It’s full of inspiration in the way of beautiful scenery, rich culture and history and honest, heart-wrenching stories.

Hear Nebraska is working to show everyone that fact: that Nebraska is full of rich culture and that art is being created by multitudes of people across the state in various forms. It’s provided a community and an environment that is ideal for creating.

It hasn’t always been that way, but in the last year I’ve thought a lot about the value of a recording. Should a recording be a representation of what a musician is doing constantly on stages across the country, or should performances be built to represent something that was built in the studio, layer upon layer? The conclusion I came to, for myself at least and for the type of stripped down music I’m playing, was that the value of what I’m doing is in the performance itself. If I can move someone to come to some sort of emotional peak with a performance and the atmosphere of that evening and everything that’s going on at that place and time, both within the listener’s mind and externally, then I’ve accomplished what I hoped to accomplish. I want my recordings to capture that atmosphere and the surroundings. Half of the tracks on my most recent album were recorded to tape in the bathroom of a recording studio, the other half were recorded in the middle of a forest in a park outside of town. I’ll always remember that experience. You can hear the birds in the background of the recording and the setting almost becomes a part of the song.

LoveDrunk Studio, the group that shoots the one-take live videos that are hosted on Hear Nebraska, got me really thinking about the single-take philosophy. I think this combination of audio, video and live performance is something that will be seen more and more.

My earlier songs were all sappy love/heartbreak songs drawn from personal experiences. I needed to get those out of my system. In the last year, I’ve made a shift to writing songs that tell fictional stories or stories that draw loosely from the experiences of people I know or stories I’ve been told by people. I much prefer telling these types of stories.

It’s a strange experience, especially when people you don’t know start recognizing you and opening up to you, telling you that they connected with something you wrote. It’s a really strange feeling when somebody asks you to sign something. I feel like saying, “I would love to sign this when more than 40 people know who I am.” It’s easy to see how musicians at higher levels gain reputations as assholes. I don’t want people to think that I think I’m above signing something. It’s the exact opposite. It feels so odd having strangers talk to you and know who you are and people wanting you to sign something, it doesn’t feel like it should be happening. I don’t feel like I deserve that kind of flattery. Then I realize that it’s not about me and if somebody wants that then I should just do it and thank them for their support.

Nothing in-particular comes to mind. I try to write stories that come to my mind or are dropped in my lap so I think my natural filter would leave out anything that I may think is off-limits for me. I try to avoid being political in my music. There are only a few musicians who I think do it well. David Bazan is one of those. It’s all semi-veiled in his music and it’s done with tact and skill. I don’t know that I can do that so I typically avoid politics and religion in my music unless I can do it without being too obvious.

With record labels going where they are and the business model shifting towards DIY I think ‘singer-songwriters’ are in a good place. Recording costs are low and it’s relatively easy and cheap to put out a fairly high-quality album, especially when it’s just one person with a guitar and a voice. It’s easier to front the money yourself and the benefits of this are that more money goes back into the pocket of the musician when albums are sold. If a solo-musician can manage it, it’s the best way to do it. It takes a lot of work off state, outside of writing and performing music, but I think there hasn’t been a better time to be performing as a solo musician.

I also think the singer-songwriter/solo musician situation lends itself well to folk music. With the folk/alt. folk movement that has been building over the past decade or so it’s the perfect climate for someone to perform as a singer-songwriter.

It definitely takes a lot of work and can seem a bit lonely, but it’s a lot easier to manage one person and make decisions when you’re making those decisions for yourself.

In high school I sang in what I would call a butt-rock band. I wasn’t always into fantastic music and definitely have some albums that are probably hiding in a box somewhere at my parents’ house. I listened to a lot of my brother’s albums growing up: R.E.M.’s “Monster”, Soundgarden’s “Superunknown”, Sublime, etc. When I was about 16 I got the Garden State soundtrack and got really into Iron & Wine. That was the beginning of my love for alt. folk. Over the next few years I was introduced to David Bazan, Damien Jurado, Will Johnson, Two Gallants, Neko Case, Andrew Bird, Mason Jennings and the sort. They became the soundtrack to every long drive through the country to the house where I grew up. Folk music became synonymous with the nostalgia that I feel for all of the great experiences I had growing up in a small, not-quite-ghost-town.

I’ve been performing in bars since I was 16 so it’s hard to imagine anything else. I have a degree in English and really enjoy writing. If I had to set down the guitar I would be content writing copy in pretty much any capacity, but I also can’t imagine having to stop playing music. I suppose my real passion is my family and my friends, but they’re already my passion side-by-side with my music.

This is really all I want to do. I don’t want to get rich. I just want to pay my college loans and feed myself. I want people to hear my music and enjoy it. I want the experience of traveling far from home and being able to sing to a crowd of strangers who appreciate what I’m doing. I want to connect with all of these people.

As far as folk/folkish music goes: Manny Coon, Smith’s Cloud, It’s True/Adam Hawkins, Betsy Wells, Daniel Dorner, Orion Walsh, Kill County, The Amalgamators, The Mezcal Brothers, Bonehart Flannigan, The Betties and probably a bunch more I’m missing.

For non-folk, other amazing bands: Conduits, Masses, Dim Light, Nick Westra, The Machete Archive, and again, probably a bunch more that I’m missing.

Lincoln and Omaha have both provided and continue to provide so many amazing musicians.

Man, Pt. I by South of Lincoln

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Find more on South of Lincoln: Facebook | Bandcamp | MySpace | Hear Nebraska | Twitter
Purchase South of Lincoln: iTunes | Bandcamp (all releases are ‘pay what you want’!!)

~Smansmith

Yesterday I was tweeting with Greg over at Captains Dead (yes, grown ass men tweet like they are 14 year old girls on an unlimited texting plan….no offense to 14 year old girls intended) and realized that this Mount Moriah band are pretty much kick ass.  But I digress…

Mount Moriah’s latest full length album is a 8 track self titled affair that was released earlier this year in April.  While it took me a couple months to really catch on to it, it has in turn really caught hold of me.  Now, with the August 30th release of a collection of live tracks, this band is creeping up my favourite new bands of 2011 list as well.  I did post earlier on the pretty damn awesome video for “Old Gowns” here, but with that song easily being a Slowcoustic favourite it doesn’t speak to the full sound of Mount Moriah.  This new live 6 track recording from last December is what I feel Mount Moriah ‘really sound like’.  They are a bit rock, a bit shoe-gazey and as you would expect on this blog, they have a touch of folk…if not only in the selection of some instruments as opposed to overall sound.  Its quite refreshing for me to listen to more of a full band album once and a while and this year’s releases from Mount Moriah are two of my favourites.

Listen to a couple of tracks;

And a bonus, here is a video I found late last night from an on air performance from Minnesota Public Radio’s 89.3 The Current.

The new “Live at Local 506″ is available for $4.00 at their Bandcamp page HERE – please swing by and pick up a copy.

Visit Mount Moriah: Website | Facebook | Bandcamp |

~Smansmith

Let’s not beat around the proverbial bush here, we love Lotte Kestner (Anna-Lynne Williams) around here.  A lot.

Yesterday, Lotte Kestner released a selection of stripped down ‘solo’ Trespassers William songs on her Bandcamp page.  There are 10 tracks that span more than a few years/albums and each one is focused directly at the stunningly ethereal vocals of this west coast siren.  But instead of the mythological siren, she will not devour you whole but instead provide you a rare opportunity to listen to her songs laid bare in their stark beauty.  This is truly a ‘quiet moment’ album consisting almost exclusively of her vocals over acoustic guitar…with a few overlays of vocals & background sounds mixed in for good measure.

If you are here today for slow and acoustic music (and I hope you are), well then you have come on the prefect day with this album being featured.  I especially enjoy one of my favourite covers that she graciously included in this collection – ‘To Be the One’ originally from the band Idaho.  The song is featured on the Trespassers William EP “Noble House” (iTunes) and it is a must.  Molasses slow with only the strum of a guitar breaking up lyrics in perfect cadence.  Listen below:

So everyone, just slip on over to the Lotte Kestner Bandcamp page (HERE) and plunk down your $8.00 (or more) for this wonderful collection of songs.

Find & Follow Lotte Kestner: Facebook | Twitter | Website
Find Trespassers William: Website

~Smansmith

Thanks to my co-horts over at Knox Road, I have had the pleasure of listening to the new 3 track EP “The Bastards: Volume One” from Radical Face! (see their post here)

The new (Free) digital EP is almost a teaser to the full length being released on October 4th and if this is an actual hint at what is upcoming, this should be a fantastic album.  Radical Face has been around for a while consistently putting out music, but keeping a bit of a low profile…or maybe people don’t appreciate a good thing…either/or.   Anyway, the three tracker is a very easy listen which might be half the battle to get Radical Face (or Ben Cooper as he might be known to family and friends) in the ears of more listeners.  I seem like I am harping on this, but someone like RF deserves a larger audience and I think these new tracks are going to work in his favour.  The songs are moody, piano laden and instantly catchy…in a good way.  A perfect example of this is the use of hand-claps that tend to follow many Radical Face albums…it can be something I absolutely hate when bands inject this clapping to music in order to try to show energy in songs.  But when Cooper does it in ‘We’re on Our Way’, it fits and works and you feel like joining in (which is the point I presume).   This EP is reminiscent of his ‘Ghost’ album from a few years back – an example is a song like one of my favourites “Winter is Coming” (a must listen for those of you who have read this far) – so if this EP gives you the yearning for more, definitely check out the album.

Overall, ‘The Bastards: Volume One’ does the two things it is supposed to:

1) provide good music
2) leave you wanting Volume Two.

Find out more on Radical Face: Website | Facebook | Soundcloud

~Smansmith

*photo by Chris Robleski

New release over on Conrad Plymouth’s Bandcamp page provides some solo Christopher Porterfield tracks.  Almost a stop-gap EP on the road to the upcoming full length album from the full band.  The 7 songs are new, old and even finish out with a Mickey Newbury cover!  The album also has one of best album covers this year (art by CJ Foeckler) and is appropriately titled “Comrade Plymouth” – well played.

Hearing these tracks makes me feel the Will Oldham vibe more and more (albeit a more energized Oldham at times) – I find this especially in the opening track “I Am Not Waiting Anymore” and even “Evergreen”.  I always felt it was in there, but it comes through in these solo recordings.  I had previously heard the tracks “Incommunicado” and “Keep Everything Quiet and Clean” so these recordings come in as a bonus version of each.

Where this EP (I’m calling it an EP) excels is with my current favourite song “Circle Drive” – just a great sparse track that I feel embodies the sound of Porterfield – I love the way he spells out the obvious, mundane, personal & honest truths so easily.  The track comes off as a blue collar lament from the old friend, the former lover and grieving husband.  Truly one of the best songs I have heard this year.

So swing by the Bandcamp page HERE and pick up a copy.  Don’t forget about the frickin’ great 4 track clear 10″ vinyl release over on Ten Atoms HERE.

Friend, Follow & Visit Conrad Plymouth: Facebook | Twitter | Website

~Smansmith

*picture of artwork from here.

This Sunday I thought we should have some ‘beauties’ in the form of 3 ladies who emanate music soo soothing, stunning and Sunday morning French press worthy that is almost ridiculous.

As far as I know they are not connected in any way, Tiny Ruins and Haruko have been on Slowcoustic previously but I think this is Honey Watts first appearance.  Haruko starts your journey at your grass roots traditional folk vibe and then you move to Tiny Ruins’ more modern singer songwriter aspects and she is, in turn, your gateway artist to the ethereal Honey Watts.  Some might think that journey can be taken forwards or backwards…but as long as you take it, it will be worth the trip.

So let’s listen to some of the best female voices in folk this year:

The Haruko track above was originally on her “Wild Geese” album and the Tiny Ruins song is actually called ‘Old as the Hills’.  All albums came out this year and they are something I gotta give more attention to…

Visit their Bandcamp Pages:  Haruko | Tiny Ruins | Honey Watts

~Smansmith

I thought today I would do a bit of a blogger round up of for ‘items of note’ that I have noticed, and you should as well.  Well, enough about me…let’s send you other places than Slowcoustic!

• Did y’all see the Wilderness of Manitoba did a HearYa Session?  Well they did, and its available for your waiting ears right here.  Sample:
  
  The Wilderness of Manitoba – Hermit from HearYa.com on Vimeo.
• My good friends over at Mostly Midwest did me another solid and put up even more videos of Chris Bathgate.  Damn, there are lots of vids to choose from from MM, so dig into the most recent pair of acoustic performances from Bathgate right here.  Sample # 1:
  
  Chris Bathgate : Farm Block Session Pt. 2 from Mostly Midwest on Vimeo.
• Martin (or Geordie as he blogs as) at You Crazy Dreamers put up a nice post on Red Heart the Ticker’s new album along with a mp3 from it!  Check out the post on some great old school folk right here.
• The East representing the West over on Herohill as they cover Calgary sweetheart and soon to be music staple Samantha Savage Smith’s new album.  Swing by and check out a track and their take on ‘what’s next’ in Canadian music right here.  Sample a track below:
  Samantha Savage Smith – “You Always Come to Mind” (mp3)

Enjoy your Friday with good music and the great bloggers above!

~Smansmith

This November 7th sees the full length album “Repentance” from British Columbian (and for a short while, Calgarian) Jordan Klassen. One of my favourite artists from the 2010 Calgary Folk Fest is bringing his infectious indie folk to life once again.

Klassen’s music can be akin to a Canadian Sufjan Stevens (without all the crazy art folk mixed in) and possibly more accurately to someone along the lines of Dan Mangan. After sitting down with Jordan during the 2010 Calgary Folk Fest, I know Mangan is considered a personal favourite for him, so I think that is for an obvious reason. The two can make tracks that instantly cause toe tapping and humming along – melodies that can sound almost familiar at first hearing them. They both also mix in a great selection of upbeat indie pop with some slowed down folk ballads with great ease. Definitely a pretty polished sound for this up and coming Canadian talent.

So let’s listen to “Go To Me”, which is the first (and currently free) single from his Bandcamp Page (here).

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Klassen released his debut album in 2009 and followed it up with the St. Brigid EP late last year, both are streaming as well as available for purchase at his Bandcamp page. Since hearing of the new album, I have been revisiting his debut, Tempest and Winter, and have really enjoyed getting back into it. If you like the above track, definitely check out the songs ‘Anatomical Literacy’, ‘Song of Deborah’ and especially ‘Sing Your Song to Ares’ from his first full length.

Find out more and keep in touch with Jordan Klassen via: Bandcamp, Facebook, Twitter & his Website.

~Smansmith

Chris Kiehne has just released his newest album ‘A Widower’s Kind’ via his Bandcamp page and as eluded to in the title of this post he is using material from the great Hank Williams.  By his own admission he describes the project below:

“A Widower’s Kind” is a collection of significantly-to-slightly modified Hank Williams songs. Some of my favorite Hank songs, and some of his most morbid. Mark de Wilde (http://markdewilde.tumblr.com/) created the beautiful cover art. Hank supplied everything else. God rest his soul.

If you are familiar with the originals you do know that these are more of a modern day stark singer songwriter version of the country tunes, but they do work for the most part.  I have selected a couple of tracks that stuck out as some good listenin’.

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Enjoy your Friday.  Oh, did I mention this album is available for free?  You can download it via his Bandcamp Page HERE and find a link to a Mediafire upload link to grab a copy or simply chip in $1.00 or more for the Bandcamp copy (more format options than the mediafire copy).

You can also check out a previous post with Chris Kiehne here and also find him with his fantastic previous band The National Lights on iTunes here.

~Smansmith

A little self promotion is never bad.  Right?  RIGHT?

So my little label over at Yer Bird Records is starting a trend in having at least one long weekend 2 for 1 special each year on all our wares and it is happening right now.  Purchase the new Hezekiah Jones LP?  Why not have the new Ghosts I’ve Met LP thrown in for good measure?  Yeah, its great stuff.  LPs, CDs and digital downloads – its the wild west over there this weekend.  See our home page on the label site HERE for more information!

How about a new video performance of a track from the new Pickering Pick album to sway you?  Pickering Pick’s new album “Tiger Balm” is one of the most gorgeous albums you will hear and he is very quickly becoming the master of the lamented ballad.  Something I don’t take lightly.  Sam Pickering Pick was just abroad visiting family and his uber talented sister thought to video a performance of “I Didn’t Know Your Rivers Flowed”.   We will soon be having an extremely limited promotional CD give away for the Tiger Balm album – so if you like what you see/hear below, you will want to swing back very soon.  See the new video below:

I Didn’t Know Your Rivers Flowed from Sera Pickering Pick on Vimeo.

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How about a Yer Bird Records Soundcloud set for you to sway you into releasing all your funds to my pocket…and I guess the artists too…. ;-)

Pickering Pick – “Like A River” by Yer Bird Records
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Ghosts I’ve Met – “Blackwoods” by Yer Bird Records
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Hezekiah Jones – “The Last Parade on Ann St. (Chris Bathgate Cover)” by Yer Bird Records
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Greater Pacific – “Distance” by Yer Bird Records
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White Pines: “Woods” by Yer Bird Records
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The Black Atlantic: “Ella (Live)” by Yer Bird Records
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Sharon Van Etten: “Say So What” by Yer Bird Records
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~Smansmith

Bryan John Appleby’s new album “Fire on the Vine” was released today via his Bandcamp page and I have just started listening and it is fantastic.  While I just heard this song performed live from over on the Sound on the Sound blog – the studio/album version of “Noah’s Nameless Wife” is just stunning.  It is your song of the day.

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The song is a classic pining singer songwriter lament with acoustic guitar over waning strings and Appleby’s steadfast vocals.  This is some great Slowcoustic-ness here folks.  Take a listen and swing by his Bandcamp page HERE to pick up a copy of ‘Fire on the Vine’.

Those of you in or around the Seattle area can head out tomorrow for the album release show at Columbia City Theater – info: Facebook | Tickets

~Smansmith

New albums are on their way from a couple of bands that might do something for you Slowcoustic readers.  The albums are from the Canadian sister duo Tasseomancy (nee Ghost Bees) and the Rhode Island duo Brown Bird: while they are both albums to look forward to, they just might be nothing alike!

First off, Tasseomancy are moving in the direction of atmospheric folk and ambient indie – a bit different from the more traditional folkier moments of their former persona ‘Ghost Bees’.  This obviously was a changing in Romi and Sari Lightman’s musical being and hence changed their sound (or refined, maybe?), took on some influences from the boys of Timber Timbre and presto – new album on its way for August 30th.  The album is called ‘Ulalume’ and is definitely on my radar.  Listen to two tracks from a previous 7″ single they put out:
Tasseomancy – The Darkest Of Things by killbeat music
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Tasseomancy – Healthy Hands by killbeat music
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Next we have a Slowcoustic staple in Brown Bird – no stranger to the pages of this website and I was more than pleasantly surprised to hear of a new album from David Lamb and Morganeve Swain!  The new album is called ‘Salt for Salt’ and the lead off track is a great sampler of what is to come…at least I can hope it is because it is sounding great.  A more acoustic banjo laden track as compared to Tasseomancy above, but that is also a very good thing.  The artwork for the album (see below) is a piece of art from Will Schaff (of Okkervil River fame – as you can tell with its similarity to the OR cover art for ‘Black Sheep Boy’).  Listen to the track ‘Fingers to the Bone’ below.

‘Fingers to the Bone’ – Brown Bird, from 2011′s ‘Salt for Salt’ due Oct. 18th, 2011.

~Smansmith

• Today is the release of William Elliott Whitmore’s “Field Songs” over on Anti Records.  If you enjoy your music on the rootsy side, banjo side and the folk country side – then this album is a no brainer.  The songs of Whitmore can be at times a tad too ‘raucous crooner’ but it is almost like he is taking a moment to breathe and the music is both powerful, a bit gritty and a worthy listen.  The vocals of Whitmore are perfect for this mid tempo folk country and they just hit the spot soo much on this album – his patented twang and warble just damn work on Field Songs!!
  William Elliott Whitmore – Everything Gets Gone by antirecords
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• Brett Detar recently released a video of himself attempting a cover song.  And by ‘attempting’, he did a fantastic job.  Watch him covering a classic in the form of Townes Van Zandt’s ‘Waiting Around to Die’ below:
  
  
• And for one of the best deals in town right now, you gotta swing by Ondarock to pick up the latest compilation, One Way Ticket to Nowhere.  This one is based on their ‘Outlaw’ series where artists cover an outlaw country/folk artist.  It is 2CDs worth of tracks from folks like Great Lake Swimmers, Chris Kasper, Caleb Coy and The Sumner Brothers (among many, many others).  Oh, did I mention it was completely FREE?  Yeah, so what are you waiting for?
• Keep your eye on that Adult Swim “2011 Singles Club” thingy as I believe that track from The Tallest Man on Earth is being released as a free download today sometime as well.  The page for the current and upcoming tracks is right here.  For now, stream ‘Weather of a Killing Kind’ below:
  

That is all I have for now, hope you enjoy it all!

~Smansmith

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NEW stuff from The Deep Dark Woods’ upcoming album The Place I Left Behind:
(album due August 2nd on Six Shooter Records)

“Westside Street”
(see more info on the new album and tour dates via Exclaim.ca)

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Herohill vs. Gordon Lightfoot: Turning Back The Pages Of My Sweet Shattered Dreams

In an homage to the great Canadian Singer Songwriters Herohill is feeling like Gordon Lightfoot can be taken, well, lightly.  Not true says the crew on the hill (among almost all of Canada) and they show you 36 reasons why Mr. Lightfoot is a legend in the great white north.  Visit the epic post on Herohill HERE.  Also, we have a song from this massive compilation (that is a fully free download folks) that hits home with local Cam Penner!

“Alberta Bound (Gordon Lightfoot Cover)” – Cam Penner (with Jon Wood)

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Also, as I really had nothing to do with or coverage of NXNE this year, I really needed to show some love to one of Canada’s largest musical events.  Yesterday I noticed one of my Saskatchewan favs Zachary Lucky linked to an ‘in the park’ performance he had while in T.O. for the event.  The video is below along with new favourite Bellewoods that I found from the same afternoon performance (see them all at The Humble Empire YouTube Channel)!

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There you have some Canucks for your Canada Day. Please enjoy!

~Smansmith

Huge fan of the Baltimore based band Small Sur at Slowcoustic HQ, and hearing a couple of months back about the new album, Tones, I was very excited.  After listening for a little bit now and it finding a release on this very Tuesday, I have to say that this is one of the best albums of the year my friends.

Tones, a title taken from the song from the previous full length album We Live In Houses Made of Wood, is a perfect title for a Small Sur album and this one in particular.  The music created by Bob Keal with the help of Austin Stahl and Andy Abelow is layered, melodic and constantly unfolding.  You will hear new sounds melding into each other almost each time you hear it – headphones really bring this album alive.   While the album is definitely a slower affair, it is almost thick…what I mean is you simply dip a toe in and it encompasses any part of you and you want to just be inside it.  Outside of bizarre images you may be dreaming up in your head, know that the album is one that you truly fall into – it might be the incredible amount of instrumentation used on Tones that really kicks it up a notch.  The album is at its heart an acoustic project, but it is also soo much more – there are layers of strings, wind instruments and Keal’s ever present warming vocals to hold it all together.

Songs like ‘The Woods’ are absolutely stunning – backing “woos” and the molasses slow tempo almost makes you start swaying immediately.  Whether you think the woods are actual woods or your one true love – the song fits the sentiment and starts to fuse with you from the first lamented lyric.  Truly one of the better stand alone songs of 2011 in my opinion.

Another song I wanted to feature is the track written for Bob Keal’s home state of South Dakota – an homage to the rural life and the past that is in all of us.  What I think is an Oboe fits the bill so perfectly – not an instrument that one automatically thinks of, but the waning, aching tones creates the longing we might feel for ‘home’.

I can’t recommend this album enough.  Hell, I can’t recommend the previous EP “Bare Black” and the amazing “We Live In Houses Made of Wood” which holds one of my all time favourite songs, The Kelp.   Whether you are feeling blue and needed an album to be there with you or whether you simply feel like listening to an album that you can really connect to, this one is it.  Please swing by the Small Sur Bandcamp page HERE to pick up a copy of the album today!

You can follow Small Sur on Facebook and Twitter if you wish as well.  When you get a chance, visit their Tumblr page for all things Small Sur like videos, info and updates.

Also, don’t miss the upcoming shows as the crew are currently on tour in the NE of the US!  Dates are all HERE.  Shows include Slowcoustic friends, Conrad Plymouth, The Singleman Affair, Annie Palmer and Micah Blue Smaldone.  Damn, these guys know who to play with – always a great collection of folks at the shows.

There you have it, best new music – Small Sur, “Tones“.

~Smansmith

New track from Newcastle dream-pop band Lanterns On The Lake found its way to my inbox this morning, so I thought I would pass it on!  This is a great slowed down and haunting track, kinda what they are known for – it is actually quite beautiful.  Strings, piano and their patented ‘cinematic scope’ of music – it always feels so full and encompassing.
What am I talking about?  Just listen below and you will understand.

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The new album (their debut full length) will be released on Bella Union in the UK and will see that on September 19th, 2011.

For more info on LOTL – visit them on their Facebook page and website.  You can also purchase their previous self released material on their Bandcamp page here.

~Smansmith

p.s.  Bonus track: “Forever Young (Bob Dylan Cover)” – Lanterns on the Lake