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Listen to your Father. Fear Fun by Father John Misty released today.

slowcoustic — Tue, 01 May 2012 14:04:30 +0000

Father John Misty releases his “debut” album Fear Fun today and it is your recommended buy ( via Sub Pop in North American and Bella Union in the UK – I think that is the breakdown).

I don’t really have anything to say about the album in a review sense, but I thought I would give you my Coles notes on it so you don’t think this is as lame a blog post as it might actually be.

This album has:

Infectious hooks on various songs.
Out of place songs that make you wonder why they are included.
A sense of a man branching out from what “everyone thought he was as a musician”.
Nancy From Now On.
No matter how you look at it, a vibe of Neil Young.
A straight laced, uptight man trying to break out of a bohemian shaman.
Some good music and some alright music. But mostly pretty good.

There you have it – ‘Fear Fun’ in a nutshell. I have included probably my favourite track on the album below. Sure, when the first track, Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings, came out (accompanied from the much ballyhooed video) it was eye opening and we all thought to ourselves, “God damn, this is new and will it get better?”. Well, Nancy seems to think it does.

(if you click over to the Bella Union Soundcloud page – the song is downloadable for free)

So just go pick up a copy and stop listening to the leak from 2 months ago.

Find Father John Misty: Tumblr | Sub Pop | iTunes (bonus demo of the above track is on iTunes) | Bella Union

You can also try the new merch shop for Joshua Tillman over at LuckyHorse Industries HERE. Purchased from them before, great folks.

~Smansmith

Small Sur records Microshow. Microshow gives it away for free. Slowcoustic hands over first born.

slowcoustic — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 16:18:47 +0000

Small Sur – photo by Henn Pict

Today has been excellent so far. Really excellent.

Small Sur posted on their Facebook wall this morning about a recent live recording that was up for a free download. Apparently the long time in the making session for Mobtown Studios came to fruition and we now have 13 tracks to download from the “Microshow: Live in Baltimore” session! Wrapped up in this set are some new tracks, old tracks (like a personal favourite ‘The Kelp’), mostly new tracks (like the personal favourite ‘The Woods’) and a few covers (like the personal favourite ‘Still Life Blues’ from Elephant Micah). God damn it is an excellent day so far.

Oh, did I mention that Small Sur also said they are also recording a new album today? Told you it was an excellent day.

Small Sur – “Still Life Blues (Elephant Micah Cover)” – Microshow Session
(this is just a taster at 192kbps – visit Mobtown for the full session at 320kbps)

Find out more on Small Sur: Website | Facebook | Bandcamp

~Smansmith

P.S. Does Bob Keal’s vocals on this cover actually sound like Joe O’Connell from Elephant Micah? I thought so too!

Emily Lacy – Country Singer

slowcoustic — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 16:26:52 +0000

An album that has snuck up on me is “Country Singer” from outspoken artist/musician/performer Emily Lacy. I mean it is from 2010 and it might not be everybody’s cup of tea, but there is something that draws me to it. It is dark, gothic, beautiful and oddly easy to listen to if you give it a chance to open up and breathe.

I keep thinking that she reminds me of a female folky version of Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy…on this album. This comparison might not hold up for some, but the way that the music has a bit more gravitas than most, despite what the songs actually sound like. Listen to a song like ‘Darkness’ on this album and you just feel actual darkness oozing from it…maybe I am putting my overall impression I have of Lacy herself and projecting it onto the album…regardless, it is a solid listen and you should search it out.

Listen: ‘Earth’ – Emily Lacy – from 2010′s ‘Country Singer’
Visit | Purchase

~Smansmith

Status Check, Updates and a few concert alerts in the Slowcoustic radius!

slowcoustic — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 15:32:44 +0000

Kinda been a hectic last bit with the various world events, personal events and upcoming events. What is it of which I speak? Well, glad you asked.

How about those Olympics? Pretty sweet in my opinion, but I tend to quickly jump on board of sports I would shun in any other forum…I dunno, all of a sudden I am a fiend for biathlon for 2 weeks every 4 years! I, like a true and proud Canadian, enjoyed the Gold Medal Hockey game this past Sunday and I am even glad it went to overtime for the win. I hope all you other Canucks had a chance to enjoy a few frosty brews with friends while it happened (I know I did). Enjoy this bit of Canadian Hockey Classic – Stompin Tom (video & lyrics)!

Just received my tickets for me and the wifey to go see The Tallest Man On Earth when he hits Calgary this May, should be a good show as everyone I know who has seen him live says his shows are excellent. With his new album The Wild Hunt out in the next couple of months, it should be right on time! Enjoy “King of Spain” (mp3).

Thinking of hitting the Postdata and Julie Fader show here in Calgary on March 18th. If you are not totally aware Postdata has a new album which you could say is the perfect blend of Clem Snide and Brian Borcherdt. This is a very good thing…enjoy “Tobias Grey” (mp3). Julie Fader is also quite a lovely songstress who’s album “Outside In” was one of the best Canadian Albums last year. Enjoy “Goodbye Before Hello” (mp3). You should check out a show if you can (check Hand-Drawn Dracula for dates).

Next week should see the launch of the new Yer Bird Records website that I gone and stolen from the former owner and good friend Morgan. Make sure you drop by starting Monday, March 8th for a visit to say “hi”. We will have lots of tracks to download and after that, I will be perilously balancing that act of music blog AND music label owner. Trying not to push bands that I may have a financial interest in and also trying not to hound those damn music bloggers about giving away mp3s from my bands!!!! ;-) Enjoy a song from one of our favourite releases “Cancer and Delirium” from J. Tillman, “When I Light Your Darkened Door” (mp3).

Visit Canadian Hockey
Visit The Tallest Man on Earth
Visit Postdata
Visit Julie Fader
Visit Yer Bird Records

That is about it for now, what’s new with you?

~Smansmith

Thinking Warmer Thoughts With “Hot” Playlist: June Snow in Calgary Mix

slowcoustic — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 17:02:57 +0000

I am a little sad as I awoke to snow on the ground this June. Yes, snow in June. I know many of you are thinking…”But Sandy, you live in Calgary….that is in Canada!”. Damn it, it still shouldn’t snow in June. I have already had my sunburn from a couple weeks back fade and now we are back to snow! Texas here I come.

Well enough bitching, it is still the weekend and I can sit around (re: hibernate) watch a few movies, listen to great music, snuggle with the missus. I will also be hoping for warmer weather, and to help that cause let’s start with musical selections that might help (in title at least).

“Fire” / Josh Preston
“Fireplace” / Lost in the Trees
“Fire In My Chest” / Old Lost John
“Fire In The Hole” / Olivia Chrestomanci
“I’m On Fire (Bruce Springsteen Cover)” / A.A. Bondy
“Eyes Like a House on Fire (Vinyl Bonus Track)” / Chad VanGaalen

Let’s hope this helps bring a bit of warmth to Southern Alberta….

~Smansmith

Can’t Write, Just Listen. Taxi Taxi!

slowcoustic — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 03:09:31 +0000

Taxi Taxi!
“More Childish Than In A Long Time” (mp3)
from “Step Out Into The Light EP”
(Rumraket)

Buy at iTunes Music Store
More On This Album

Sweden is soo nice this time of year. Visit Taxi Taxi! on MySpace.

~Smansmith

Lanterns on the Lake & Last.fm – perfect match

slowcoustic — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 02:14:46 +0000

This is why I love music and love Last.fm. Lanterns on the Lake (discovered via Agnes over on It All Started with Carbon Monoxide) is a lush and soothing soundscape via rainy day England. Now with the help of Last.fm, you too can stare longingly at the ground while possibly swaying back and forth getting lost in ethereal/ambient indie pop! While I am not always into dreamy indie pop, I really have taken to LotL since first hearing them a few weeks back and I highly recommend them. Why they are unsigned is still baffling me.

Back story: I have decided to put a post together as while scrobbling (yes it is a real word) some Lanterns songs over on Last.fm, I realized that you can pick up a entire album of 2007 demos on their Last.fm profile page. You can easily look below for a taste of these tracks, but you can visit their Last.fm page here as well. The included songs on this post below are mostly from a “Recordings 2007″ album that is completely free for download! I must say that this is a great way for bands to get out there and Last.fm is really the place to do this, with it’s many music “taste makers” being longtime members of the community. So I say kudos to the Lanterns for putting the music up.

As mentioned above, the selection of songs are what could be a collection of demos with the stand out tracks being “I Will Lay You Down”, “Caught on the Way” and the demo for the title track to their new EP “In Starlight”. So enjoy some Lanterns on the Lake and visit their MySpace page to say hi and pick up a copy of the “the Starlight EP” for like 3.5 pounds (which is like $43.00 Canadian, but whatever).

~Smansmith

p.s. I am not sure, but did I actually include the word “taste makers” on this post??

The Incredible Black Cab Sessions

slowcoustic — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 12:53:16 +0000

I have nothing else besides that. Incredible. The Black Cab Sessions has some of the best impromptu one take performances for some of today’s (and yesterday’s) best indie artists. Each time I am blown away by both the quality of the artist and then performance and recording. Take a run through some of the live performances as well as the provided originals below.

Example one of this perfection is Bill Callahan’s and his signature voice on “River Guard”. This track is from Smog’s album “Knock, Knock” from 1999.

Another favourite is “Nevada” from Scout Niblett’s 2007 album “This Fool Can Die Now”. She just is crazy good, emphasis on the crazy. This is one intense track – watch her grit her teeth while singing!

While both these two artists are considered favourites of mine, it is the performances here that make these songs elevate. I encourage you to visit Black Cab Sessions for more spectacular performances from artists such as – Fleet Foxes, My Morning Jacket, Johnny Flynn, Calexico and even Death Cab for Cutie!

If I can recommend one other website (besides Slowcoustic…) it would be Black Cab Sessions most definitely. Bookmark the site this very Monday on your way to work, after work or while combing the classifieds in order to get work (yes, if you can guess, I am at work today!).

~Smansmith

Del Barber – “Where the City Ends”

slowcoustic — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 16:16:32 +0000

Okay I am not going to lie to you here…I am partial to Del Barber. I have never met Del, or even spoken to him face to face, but alas I got this guys back. Why you ask? He is a good old ‘pegger!

For those of you who are unaware of the term “pegger”, it is because you have not enjoyed a bone chilling winter and humid heat filled summer in Winnipeg. Yes, Del is currently in Winnipeg living the life of a prairie town talent. Winnipeg is quite well known for its arts scene despite (or due to) it’s location and Del, who’s music I am recently acquainted with, is one of those true talents. In correspondence with Del, he is a real guy just playing his folk tunes in great Canadiana style (yes, Canadiana, not Americana – although they just might be the same).

“Where the City Ends” is receiving finishing touches and awaiting an early snowfall release (hopefully this November/December). From what I have heard, it is classic countrified folk tunes written from a small town boy at heart – stories of his city, prairie homes, conversations and finding one’s place in the world. In looking over the lyrics for “Harvest”, you may think of a farm boy looking for his way in the world or a greater truth in it all – it’s not just love and loss here. While songwriting is a huge aspect of Barber, I think it can be lost without the music to back it up and his style of acoustic country is perfect, it almost begs to have you sit back on the porch and listen.

While I can lean towards sparse and at time lo-fi folk recordings, Barber brings well crafted songs that are skillfully written and built like a story that you want to read. One other item is his voice, it just fits…it is the voice of a performer, not hidden behind lush soundscapes or coming in beneath the surface of a song. His voice can actually carry a song, which can be refreshing in this new world swimming with singer-songwriters.

I hope you feel the same way, but after a few listens of “Harvest” and “Where the City Ends” I believe you will be sold as well. I wish I could give you a link to buy some of Del Barber’s work, but you will have to visit his MySpace page for now and travel to Winnipeg, Manitoba this winter for a CD Release!

Wait alongside me for that early snowfall and the sounds of a prairie winter, won’t you?

~Smansmith