Fisticuffs (or Jordan Kurtz) of Saskatoon is new but not ‘new’ to me. You see, I am a fan of fellow prairie folkster Zachary Lucky and these two seem to be thick as thieves. So I keep seeing Lucky’s twitter feed calling out this “@heyfisticuffs” and then after getting back into a favourite Shot At The Dark video session with Calgary artist Benjamin Bullock, who was the very next video? Well, it was Mr. Fisticuffs himself – I watched and listened and then slapped myself full across the face for not listening sooner. That story is completely true…except for the violence.
So this brings me to the Fisticuffs – I picked up his 2010 EP ‘The Wheat Weather’ over the weekend and started listening – right up my alley I have to say. A bit of lo-fi indie dream folk (because I can’t fit anymore genres in one sentence…I’m terrible at that stuff) and essentially a more acoustic release. The EP is 6 tracks total with my current favourite being the ‘recorded in the distance’ track Bellows – solo acoustic, echoing vocals, haunting piano strikes and overall just great stuff. Turns out my boy Zach Lucky even played some guitar and banjo on the release. I guess it makes sense that the two of them are touring together with some dates still coming up (see Lucky’s MySpace page for dates).
So let’s take a look at that video from Shot At The Dark (love those guys) that started it all along with a couple of embeds from the EP, The Wheat Weather:
SHOT AT THE DARK – Fisticuffs from Shot at The Dark on Vimeo.
~
~
There you have it, my new find, is your new find for this Music Monday. Please swing by and visit Fisticuffs on his Facebook Page, Bandcamp Page ( <— purchase and sample 3 free downloads) and even his MySpace Page.
~Smansmith