Polly Scattergood

I had May's artist of the month picked out before April's. True story. The artist in question is Polly Scattergood, and what happened was this: I bought her album at the beginning of April and fell head over heels in love with it. But I knew all along I would wait till May to make her artist of the month. I have to become acclimated, you see, and make sure my favourite song doesn't all the sudden become my least favourite or something.

Polly Scattergood a singer/songwriter from my the grand old UK (born in Essex, but is now living in London, I believe). Her first album, Polly Scattergood, was released in 2009, and she is working on her second at the moment. Her music is hard to explain... I'm not sure what genre to assign to it. Wikipedia says "Indie pop",  "Experimental", and "Alternative rock". Sure, why not? Why do we spend so much time obsessed with genre anyway? (In my mind I'm throwing my hands around like a self-righteous philosophy student. Ha.)

A criticism I've heard of her album is she bleeds her heartache all over it. Heck, that's why I love it. I'm not even going to pull the female card when I say that. I love the emotion she portrays with her voice, her lyrics, her instrumentation.

My favourite song of hers is 'Please Don't Touch', which was my introduction to her music. I ran into the music video on youtube and took immediate interest. Very soon afterward I decided that, yes, I was a big fan.

Listen to 'Please Don't Touch':


 (Supplemental links: another favourite is 'Breathe In Breathe Out' which you can listen to here.)


This post is disjointed. Sorry about that. I got overcome by my hovering depression while in the middle of writing it and had to walk away. I'm back now - more stable, but not very focused. But I've introduced you to the wonder that is Polly Scattergood, and that is all that matters!

Marj Snyder

As the song goes, "April, come she will"... and before I'm quite ready for her. As usual, I deliberated over what artist to make artist of the month, before deciding the only artist I felt like raving over was Marj Snyder.

Marj Snyder... I confess, I don't know much about her. She was a little-known singer-songwriter who released several albums in the 70s. Though few knew of her, those who did were blessed by her music.

The bio for her at last.fm states simply: "Hippy lady from California who loves that God." Ha! It's hard to tell whether or not it was a fan who penned that gem; but yes, Marj was from California and she loved "that God". (Read: she was/is a Christian.)
I can't state positively how many records she released, but I know for sure of two: her 1971 album, A Time of Peace, and her 1972 album, My Lifetime Now. (I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure Marj was only 17 when A Time of Peace was released.)

I can't remember exactly how or when I came across the music of Marj Snyder. I think it was last summer, when I somehow stumbled across her song, 'God', which is from the album A Time of Peace. Her gentle style and beautiful, thoughtful lyrics grabbed my attention, and the more I listened to the song, the more I grew to appreciate it.
Sadly, except for the song 'God' and another song called 'I Am the Light', I've not heard any more from A Time of Peace. (Ah, the woes of loving obscure music!)

But semi-recently, I was able to find a download of her 1972 album, My Lifetime Now. While it does contain a regrettable foray into country music ('Knees Knocking') and Southern gospel ('For Those Tears I Died') and the inevitable 'Amazing Grace', My Lifetime Now is a fine album. (For the genre complaints, the songs themselves are alright, I'm just not a fan of those two genres.) My Lifetime Now is certainly a million steps above the cookie cutter "Christian music" of today.

I'm posting two songs today; the first is 'Chicago / Walk By My Window' from My Lifetime Now. (Which technically is two songs, but they segue into each other and they were put on the same track in the version I downloaded.) Unlike the rest of the album, they aren't religious. But they are pieces of her life wrapped in the packaging of lovely folk music, much like the second song, which is the aforementioned 'God' (a song of more religious nature, obviously - but definitely worth a listen, even if you're not interested in the spiritual side of life.)




(Supplemental links: Another favourite from My Lifetime Now is the song 'I'm Dying'. I love the pure anguish of this song, which you can listen to here, if you so desire.
Here is the blog I downloaded the song 'God' from and the blog I downloaded the album 'My Lifetime Now' from. Also, one of Marj Snyder's song is on the compilation Wayfaring Strangers: Ladies from the Canyon, which can be bought on amazon.)

The Asteroids Galaxy Tour

Though I've been telling myself for the past week or so that I'm still trying to choose March's artist of the month, I've known all along it couldn't be anyone but The Asteroids Galaxy Tour.



The Asteroids Galaxy Tour were recommended to me by Artamus, a fellow fan of Laura Nyro that I met through, well, this blog! I am forever indebted to him for revolutionizing my music tastes with this band.

The Asteroids Galaxy Tour are a Danish group and the founding members are Lars Iversen and Mette Lindberg. There are quite a number of other bandmates now, but as their website says: "As their name might imply, THE ASTEROIDS GALAXY TOUR are somehow less of a band than they are a many-legged, ever-evolving, constantly moving party machine."
How could I even try to write a mini-bio about such a band?!?

Their new album Out of Frequency came out in January, but so far I've only heard a few songs from it. It's their 2009 album, Fruit, that has been my constant companion ever since I downloaded it in January. Some people (not just my brother this time) complain about Mette Lindberg's unconventional vocals, but I like them. The Asteroids Galaxy Tour is fun and funky, and I love listening to them. Especially when I'm home alone and need something good to "blast".

Picking a song to post from Fruit is really hard... It's one of those albums I like to listen to all the way through every time. According to my itunes playcount, I've listened to the songs 'Around the Bend' and 'Bad Fever' a few more times than all the others.

I think I'm going to go with 'Around the Bend' as its one of the first songs I heard by them. (According to wikipedia it's their most well-known song.)

Listen:


On another note, have you ever wondered about my post-writing process for this blog? What's that you say? No? Well, allow me to share a story anyway that will shed some light on it. I was going to write this post yesterday, so I looked up The Asteroids Galaxy Tour on wikipedia (my starting, but not ending place, for almost every post), and as I was reading the entry, I noticed Mette Lindberg had been on an episode of Never Mind the Buzzcocks. Since I have a thing for British telly, I thought: I'll go watch that! Halfway through the episode, I got distracted and started watching the episode of NMTB with Holly Willoughby, because I think she's lovely. I also watched assorted clips with other favoured celebrities, and by the time I finally went back and finished the episode with Mette, my good intentions were shattered and this post never got written. Well, not until today.

And that is how my writing process works: It doesn't.

Mire Kay

"We were all very thankful to tear off JANUARY from our calenders and to look hopefully at FEBRUARY."

-Miss Read, Changes at Fairacre

That quote sums up January for me. But while I was certainly thankful, I was hardly prepared! February has been speeding by, much to my distress. It doesn't help we've had houseguests since Monday. My concentration levels are frighteningly low....


...But not low enough to not want to (at last) bring you February's artist of the month, Mire Kay!

Mire Kay is the duo of Emelie Molin and Victoria Skoglund. They are two lovely, Swedish girls who were originally members of the band Audrey (which is hibernating for the time being).
I swear, there must be something in the Scandinavian water because the acts coming out of there make ridiculously amazing music. Mire Kay is, of course, no exception.
I'm stealing the description of the group from their site because I like it and it's much better than anything I could come up with at the moment:

"When closing your eyes you will never know where you will end up. Maybe somewhere between the roar of a capital city or beneath a bridge where you can hear the water murmur. You will maybe find a link to your home or to the continent, or you might just find the world of Mire Kay. It is a place where things are simple, where fragile sounds whisper in the spruce tops of trees and memories become as real as you remembered them to be. Adorned by luminous and vivid colors, this place is where you will find the presence of our music. Don’t expect to find answers but instead an urge to start asking."

Their debut EP, Fortress, came out last year, and according to their facebook page, they are busy recording their first album. I'm chuffed to bits, as their EP is what I call Good Music. One thing I have to mention that I love about Mire Kay is that their two core instruments are the cello and guitar. (Emelie on the former, Victoria on the latter.) I do adore the cello, and it's not prevalent in many acts.
Anyhow, the song I'm posting today is 'Sea Monster': their first single and the opening track on Fortress. This is also my penultimate "favourite song of 2011". (Yes, that's still going on.)

Listen to 'Sea Monster':



{Supplements: I have some exciting links! You can download their single 'Sea Monster' for free on their bandcamp! And you can watch their beautifully foliaceous music video for their song 'So You Learned' here, and then download the track for free on their soundcloud. Then you can head back over to bandcamp and listen to the whole EP. Okay. C'est tout.}

Matrimony

Well, it's that time of year again! Meaning, time for my 5 favourite songs of 2011!

Alright, one thing I must explain about this (which I haven't in years past) is that quite a few artists I really like released music this year, but since I don't always buy the albums or whatever right away the "favourite songs of 2011" is really a random assortment of songs I loved and bought that happened to be released this year. Oftentimes they are by artists I love, but it's not that I'm surpassing any other artists I really love - I probably just haven't gotten around to listening to their new music yet.

Oh, gosh. That was horribly explained. I have a cold, okay?!? Let's blame it all on that.

And don't forget! It's also time to pick the artist of the month! I am starting off the new year with Matrimony. The band, that is.



What started in 2009 as the husband and wife duo of Ashlee Hardee Brown and Jimmy Brown, has in 2011 grown to include three more members: C J Hardee, Jordan Hardee, and Alex Watson.

Matrimony released their first EP in 2010, The Storm & the Eye and it has been favourite listening for months now. Though upbeat folk/indie pop/Americana for 6 of the 8 songs, it ends on a pleasingly intense note with the rough vocals of Jimmy's 'One Last Dance' as the penultimate song followed by the passionate emotion of Ashlee's 'Who Is Your God' as a glorious end. 'Who Is Your God' is about 6 1/2 minutes, but if it went twice that length I don't think I'd complain; I'd say it's my favourite song on the EP.

If what I've read is correct, the band is currently making new music which I am quite chuffed about! So far they've released one single: a song called 'Obey Your Guns' which is what I'm choosing for a favourite song of 2011. They were offering a free download of it for a while, but they aren't anymore, sadly.
You can still listen to it, though! It's a really fun song and has made me impatient to hear more of their new music.


{Supplements - head over to their bandcamp to listen to their EP The Storm & The Eye!}

That's all for now. This post isn't what it should be, but neither am I - so there you go. Happy New Year, everyone! :)

Laura Nyro

For anyone who reads my other blog, the fact that I've picked Laura Nyro for artist of the month should come as no surprise.



As I stated in the post previously linked, her music has been the soundtrack to my November. (Of course, I started loving her music too late in the month to make her the artist for November.) I've been fangirl gushing about her for weeks now, so I'm not even sure what to say or where to start now...

A few weeks ago, I checked out Michele Kort's biography of Laura from the library: Soul Picnic: The Music and Passion of Laura Nyro. It was excellent and I would certainly recommend it to any Laura fans, or even people who like to read well-written biographies. (I know they exist! I'm one of them! :P) I thought I'd include my goodreads "review" of it since it's not really a review and I've been in such a blue funk for the past three weeks that writing this post has been unnecessarily hard.

My review[of sorts]:

Although Laura Nyro has been on my radar for over two years, I only recently downloaded one of her albums.
That album was New York Tendaberry and, let's put it this way: if I had it on vinyl, it would never leave my turntable

My [now] 13 year old brother who hangs around me a lot, detests her; he identifies her as "the woman who wails." And, while it's a bit of an exaggeration, he's right - she's a wailer! But that's what I love about her: how she sings her heart out. I have a great admiration for singers who convey a lot of power and emotion in their singing. As someone who expresses herself through the medium of singing/songwriting, I would love and strive to have that sort of emotional strength in my voice, and even lyrics. I don't, though. Or at least, I feel like I don't. Sure, nice adjectives have been used to describe my voice, but something in me wants to have a rough, emotive voice like, say, Janis Joplin. So I'm going to take up drugs and alcohol and see where that gets me.

Anyway, I tell my entirely too-judgmental brother that Laura is an acquired taste, and I suppose she is. For a while, even I was ambivalent about whether I liked her or not. But I kept an open mind and now I'm basically in love with her. So there you go!

All this to say, this biography was mahvelous; an excellent look on Laura's life and her groundbreaking musical influences. This book has further fueled my passion for all things Laura Nyro; I am resisting the urge to go out and buy her entire discography.


My favourite photograph in the book of the lovely Laura:




[Caption: Nyro taking a dance break during New York Tendaberry recording sessions, 1969. (Photo by Stephen Paley, courtesy of Michael Ochs Archives)]


Since writing that review, I have downloaded her 1968 album, Eli and the Thirteenth Confession, and while it's fast becoming a favourite, I don't love it as wholly as New York Tendaberry.
It really is a shame that, while other artists had hits singing Laura's songs, she never had one singing one of her songs. To me, covers of her songs are unnecessary. No one sings her music the way she does; each song seems to come straight from her soul. Anyway, I shall wrap this up by saying that Laura Nyro is amazing. I've not had an emotional reaction to music like the one I've had to hers in a long time. Many don't like her because of her voice or the "unevenness" of her songs, but that's alright. I love her. The end.


Listen to 'Sweet Lovin' Baby', my favourite song from New York Tendaberry:


{Supplemental link: Watch Laura singing my favourite song off of Eli and the Thirteenth Confession ('Poverty Train') live at the Monterey Pop Festival here.}

Ooh, look at that! This is my 100th post! Hmmm... I'm thinking about doing something a little different for my next post. So, be on the look out for that...

Memoryhouse

As you can see, I have completely re-done my blog. I've been toying with the idea for a while now, and today, for some reason, decided to make it happen. I think I like it... but I'm not sure. I'll get used to it, eventually; I know I will. (Though I still haven't decided whether or not I'm going to make a new header.)

Anyhow, for once I am facing the beginning of the month without feeling the previous one slipped by before we could even get acquainted. October was a satisfactory month; it's not often I feel that way! I'm not sure what the difference was...

Still, I'm not sure I like how fast winter is descending. It seems appropriate, then, that this month's artist is a group originally formed "to escape the paralysis of winter."
That artist is Memoryhouse.


Memoryhouse is Evan Abeele and Denise Nouvion. Last year, they released their first EP The Years on the indie label Arcade Sound. This year, they're back again with The Years round two: "re-recorded, remixed and remastered", not to mention released on the larger label Sub Pop. Evan Abeele describes their original EP as essentially a "demo tape" which is why they made the decision to re-release it. (You can read more about that in this interview.)

It is the re-released EP I have, and from what I've heard of the original, I do like the more polished tone of the new one. Another difference is the tracklist for the two EPs, the original being:
1. Sleep Patterns
2. Lately (Deuxiéme)
3. The Waves
4. To The Lighthouse

And the re-release:
1. Sleep Patterns
2. Lately
3. Modern, Normal
4. To The Lighthouse
5. Quiet America


I also like the second's cover better:

(It reminds me of Edward Hopper's paintings of light falling on the floor and wall in empty rooms.)


Memoryhouse's name is a tribute to the German composer Max Richter, and their EP is a tribute to Virginia Woolf. Its title, and two of the tracks take their names from Woolf novels. I find that wonderfully commendable, since I love Virginia Woolf's books.

Though adjectives such as "glacial" have been used to describe their music, it is not particularly something I class as "winter music" in my mind. It is music for the lonely hours, for filling the silence without killing it. And in my opinion, it's one of those lovely albums that gets better the more you listen to it. It's also an album that works best as a whole.

Excitingly enough, they have an full-length album in the works. It's definitely near the top of my [imaginary] "Can't Wait For!" list.

Listen to 'Sleep Patterns':



I would also recommend their beautiful music video for their song 'Lately' which you can watch here. (It's the version on the original EP, I believe.)
...OR you can stream the whole EP here!

Amy Kuney

I gave myself the option of trying to squeeze another post into September, or doing the artist of the month post in a timely fashion. I chose the latter, because it sounded more attractive to my procrastinating self.
...And at the last minute, I decided to change the artist I'd chosen, even though I'd already started writing the post. What can I say? I've been listening to a bounty of great music lately. Everyone one will get a turn eventually, but I decided I wanted to give October's honour to Amy Kuney.

Amy Kuney is my favourite singer-songwriter at the moment. I've been a fan of hers for a while, but didn't buy her album, Bird's Eye View, until recently. She's released three new singles this year, but it is her aforementioned 2008 debut album, that is currently making me happy.

Traumatic experiences (culture shock of being a missionary's kid, being kidnapped while on a trip to Guatemala, &c...) helped Amy Kuney hone her songwriting skills. On her site's bio she makes the admirable statement, "I also knew that I was being presented with a choice: I could let these memories, and the experiences that they represent, cuff me, paralyze me, and make me bitter... or I could turn them into something beautiful... something that other people could relate to and, hopefully, find comfort in. This is my gift."
Though I believe in that particular quote she was referring to her album, ONYX, which is still in the works, I think it applies to all her music, which is indeed beautiful and a gift I'm delighted to receive.
But also, her music is a lot of fun. She has the fun beats without the typical inane words. Her sense of humour shows through in her smart lyrics and also in the parodies of popular songs she's done videos for. (Though, admittedly, I know none of the originals. :P)

Random note to further prove her amazingness: I just found out today that she made appearances in two episodes of one of my favourite shows, Gilmore Girls; both times she appeared as a singer, guitar in hand. I had to google the scenes to jog my memory, but now that I remember I am totally chuffed!

Anyhow, my favourite song off Bird's Eye View is thought-provoking 'Angel Tangled in the Telephone Lines'. I would say a few words about it, but really, it speaks for itself. (And my brain is starting to feel frazzled as I am currently writing in a noise-littered enviroment. *trying not to explode* o_O)

Listen:

Janis Ian

Well, I'm right on time for the artist of the month post! I seem to consistently do them about a week into the month now. :P Honestly, I'd like to change that. But I when you don't pick an artist til 6 days in, that creates a problem...


And, since you can [presumably] read, you've probably figured out that this month's artist is Janis Ian!

(This is Janis in 2008, I believe. When choosing an artist that's been active so long, it's hard to decide what decade to choose their photograph from. :P)

I cannot say enough what an extremely talented musician Janis Ian is. I've loved her for a couple years now (I posted another song of hers a while ago) but my Janis Ian listening experience was basically scattered songs here and there. Lately, however, I've been enjoying her album Between the Lines which was released in 1975 and became very popular, further kindling her re-emerged musical career which had started in the 60's and quieted somewhat since then.


No one's music pulls at my emotions like Janis Ian's does. Especially on this album. Her melodies, oh! Simply gorgeous, and almost always accompanied by beautiful string arrangements. And her voice! There are times it captures loneliness so well, not to mention her lyrics.
Best of all, she sings in a good key for me. (Always a huge bonus!)

Hands down, my all time favourite Janis Ian song is 'In the Winter.' It has been on my itunes' "Top 25 Most Played" for a looong time. It's also holds a pretty high status on my "Songs to Sing While Cleaning" list!
I'm not even going to try to describe why I love this song, just give it a listen.



And for your extended listening pleasure, if you so desire, I've included the song 'Jesse' which was not on Between the Lines but it's another Janis Ian original that just makes my heart weep. (Trivia: this song was also recorded by artists such as Joan Baez and Roberta Flack! Janis does it best, though.)

Noe Venable

Awww, poor little blog. Even though I gave you a prominent place on my to-do list it's still taken me almost a week to get the Artist of the Month post written. Don't feel too bad, though - I've been too busy to do much of anything. {Ha! Haha! The absurdity of that sentence didn't strike me til I read it a second time.}

But, I am here now, no? And with a monthly feature that goes to... Noe Venable!


I've posted a song of her's before {'Midsummer Night's Dream'} but that was before I received her 2007 album Summer Storm Journals for Christmas. After I got it, I listened to it but not as much as I thought I would. I had also been given Rio En Medio's Bride of Dynamite and for some reason, that was the album I kept returning to. I couldn't figure out why, until the weather started getting warmer and all the sudden I kept finding myself wanting to listen to Noe Venable. I then realized, Rio En Medio's music feels more appropriate for winter, while Noe's music (at least on Summer Storm Journals) feels more suited to warmer weather. {And no, I don't think the album name influenced my decision.}

Noe Venable's music is magical, I don't know why. She seems like... like a dryad! I could easily imagine her spending all the time she's not recording, sitting in the woods communing with the tree spirits or dangling her feet in a river, dreaming and singing. I really dig that idea, especially since I am a dryad at heart.
Apparently, I would rather wax eloquent on my image of her than offer substantial facts, so if you'd like some fact to swallow along with the fairy tale, you could try her website or wikipedia!


I had trouble deciding what song from the album to post, which usually signals I made the right choice for artist of the month! I finally chose the song 'Ice Dragons' but the album is chock full of beautiful, fresh melodies. I would definitely push this album on anyone who expressed a wish for a nice, soothing thematic summer album! {A scenario which has never happened. Wonder why...}

Listen to 'Ice Dragons':



Also, I'm considering redoing my layout. Yes, yes. I know. Strange that I, who am so anti-change am wanting to change something. Well, I've found... I can accept change if I'm ready for it and if it's essentially my own decision. In this case, that works out swell! In real life... not so much.

So, if I do change it, it will be very simple. Probably very monochromatic since I find myself very drawn to plain things. :P
But, I have not completely made up my mind yet. Stay tuned...

Agent Ribbons

Ah, finally - an artist of the month whose choosing required no vacillations or hemming and hawing: Agent Ribbons!


I've been listening to them for several months now, but only just recently bought their 2006 album, On Time Travel and Romance. They enchanted me the first time I ever heard them and I've been listening to the album almost nonstop, it's rather addictive!

Agent Ribbons is, for the most part, a duo consisting of Natalie Gordon on lead vocals & guitar and Lauren Hess on drums, but they are sometimes joined by Naomi Cherie who plays the violin.
Everything about this band is superb: their peerless "cabaret garage pop" sound; Natalie Gordon's delectable vocals which sound equally good smooth as they do rough; their lyrics which are each quirky little stories, always clever and often containing a wink of naughtiness. I've been wandering around singing snatches of songs from this album these past few weeks, it's definitely an album that worms its way into your bloodstream. {That's a good thing, by the way.}

My favourite song off On Time Travel and Romance is 'Obituary' which is sung from the perspective of a young bride who dies and searches the obituaries for a man to love in the afterlife. {Which strongly reminds me of the book A Fine and Private Place by Peter S. Beagle.}

Listen:

{Sorry if the file host isn't working properly again. I can't figure out whether it's just my computer or what...?}

Wendy & Bonnie

It's always nice to be driven by inspiration but let's face it, inspiration isn't always around when we need it. That's when the desperation kicks in.

In other words, I've been trying to write my artist of the month post for days. Since I don't have a new artist to wax eloquent about at the moment, I decided to pick an old favourite. Well, the artist I picked {who will remain anonymous :P} just wasn't doing anything for me, though I love them. Then yesterday, out of the blue, I started writing a post about the album Genesis by Wendy & Bonnie. For some reason that is what my muse wanted me to write about. So, thanks to my perverse muse, I bring you June's artist of the month: Wendy & Bonnie!

This is an old favourite, like from when I first started listening to obscure music. It's one of those delicious albums that was "lost" soon after its release but later resurfaced and, thanks to the internet and a re-issue, has gained more popularity. Wendy and Bonnie Flower, two sisters from California, recorded this album in 1969 when Wendy was 17 and Bonnie was 13. But fate was seemingly against these two as their label went bankrupt shortly after the release of Genesis and the man who wanted to see them about further recording was murdered {!?!}. They never recorded together again but pursued separate careers in music.
Incredibly, Wendy and Bonnie composed all the songs on Genesis themselves. They might have played an instrument or two as well, but mainly they were backed by an awesome group of musicians.

Their album represents the best of the 60's, the innocent desire for personal and universal love, unclouded by drugs. But their songs still have a pleasing sense of light psychedelia and are brimming with the sister's harmonies. The first half of the album {sans any bonus tracks} is the best, both lyrically and in musical composition, but begins to falter a bit after that. Overall, though, it's a darn fine album and a merit to the creative era it came from.

It's so hard to pick a favourite off this album; I've been vacillating for a while now. I think I'm going to go with the lovely and sad 'By the Sea' but 'I Realized You' and 'You Keep Hanging Up On My Mind' are two other absolute favourites.

Listen:


{My divshare players have been acting up. If you press play you can hear the music but can't see the time nor pause it. Sorry about that. If this persists I may have to find another file host.}



This post has opened a floodgate I've been obsessively listening to lesser-known 60's music since yesterday evening. *happy sigh* I've missed it so.

Sleeping At Last

I solemnly swear I will post at least three times in May! April went by freakishly fast. For most of the time, I was legitimately busy... {Imagine that!} Thankfully, this month's artist of the month was a no-brainer for me: Sleeping At Last.



I only discovered their music recently, as in a few weeks ago. I found them by happenstance during one of my rare youtube browsings and by happy coincidence they were offering their 2009 album Storyboards for free on NoiseTrade! {I would just like to say, I was perfectly willing to pay for it on emusic but my account was on hold last month and I got impatient, wanting to listen to them when offline.}

Sleeping at Last is composed of Ryan O'Neal {lead vocals, guitar & piano} and Dan Perdue {bass & keys}. Their music touched me like no band's has in a while. Their lyrics are definitely a highlight; they are poetical often with an underlying spirituality. And on the album Storyboards, at least, many of the songs have beautiful orchestral arrangements. Since stringed instruments speak to my soul, this makes me quite happy.
On another note, this year Sleeping At Last is doing a project entitled "Yearbook" and are releasing a three-song EP for every month of the year which is a pretty spiffy idea, I think!

I haven't yet become as intimately acquainted with the album Storyboards as I would've liked, since I know some favourites don't always become evident til after numerous listens. But this song, 'Slow & Steady' has been a stand-out track for me so far.

Listen:




{Again, I repeat my promise: I will post at least three times in May; I will no longer be such a slacker! ...Not on this blog, at any rate. :P}

Tennis

I have been inexcusably neglectful as of late! Life has not been busy, necessarily... but it's been rather strange. I've been feeling rather strange, at least. I have felt very apathetic about many things, mainly my schoolwork... and writing coherent blog posts. April rolled around too fast and I was caught unprepared with no artist of the month and instead of buckling down to pick one, it became the elephant in the room {AKA my brain}.
The choice was obvious, really. But as I said I've been feeling apathetic blahblahblah. But, better late than never, right? So, finally, I bring the you April's artist of the month, Tennis!



Tennis is married couple, Alaina Moore and Patrick Riley. This year they released their debut album, Cape Dory, which has a pretty awesome backstory. After saving money for four years, they bought a sailboat and basically ran away from home for eight months. They sailed around the Atlantic coastline, adventuring and also writing the songs which were later to make up their album. Consequently, they have created the most sun-drenched, ocean-soaked record I've ever had the pleasure of listening to. Their music is perfect for summer or listening to when one has spring fever {which I've been diagnosed with :P}. What's also cool is they recorded it the "old school way" so it sounds like it stepped out of a 1950's or 60's jukebox. Read this interview with Alaina Moore on emusic to learn more about the recording of the album and also why their cover art looks the way it does. ;)

The title track, 'Cape Dory', is probably my favourite song off the album. I've found I'm a sucker for a good "sha-la-la"!

Listen:

Foreign Slippers

So... um, sorry for only posting twice in February. I was going to post again but I had forgotten how short February is and I ran out of days. I figured I would just forget about posting again and instead actually post my "Artist of the Month" on time for once! Quelle idée! ;)

Apparently I've been listening to a lot of great EPs lately. If you'll notice, the last three artists of the month have all had EPs that I've loved. Hmm...
Though I did not do this on purpose, you'll be happy to know I'm am keeping that trend alive with Foreign Slippers as the artist of this month!

{No, I have no idea what she has on her head. I think it looks pretty awesome, regardless.
Also, picture was found here. Since I actually found it on someone's photostream and not just randomly on google, I though I'd give credit.}

Foreign Slippers is Gabrielle Fröden (with Phil Wilkinson on drums). She was born in Sweden but is based in London. So far she has released two EPs: Oh Death and It All Starts Now. I was not aware of the latter's existence till yesterday. You can download it for free here. Actually, I am listening to it for the first time as I type this. Incredible, right? So far it sounds great!

I suppose it goes without saying that it is her Oh Death EP I am familiar with. I first came across her music a few months ago. Her song 'Packed the Car' was the first I heard and let's just say, I was instantly hooked. Soon afterward I downloaded the full EP. Her music is full of nostalgia, quiet longing and absolute beauty. Oh Death is perfect for listening to while sitting by the fireside and dreaming of past, warmer days.

Listen to 'Packed the Car':

Peter and the Wolf

Ah, yes. Tis that time of month again, wot? And the artist of the month for this fine February is Peter and the Wolf.

{Gear picture, no?}

It is a little bit confusing trying to find information on Peter and the Wolf. There is a band called Peter and the Wolf from Texas and another from Liverpool. Not to mention the original, musical composition, Peter and the Wolf. {Which brings back such memories since I used to watch the Disney version when I was a child. I could probably still hum each character's theme!}

Anyhow, the Peter and the Wolf that I am talking about is the one from Liverpool. They are fronted by Marc Sunderland who sings lead, plays quite a few of the instruments and writes many {or possibly all} of the songs. But he gets "a little help from his friends", Hugo Harrison {who plays the double bass} and Donna Dosanjh {who plays the drum and sings back-up}.

I really don't know how to define their music. Folk Rock would probably be the closest I could come. Of course, their debut album, Golden Stars, {released last month} sounds more rock than folk while their 2006 EP Storyteller sounds more folk than rock.
I have only listened a little to their new album but Storyteller I am quite familiar with. In fact, I love it!
Storyteller is an apt name for the EP for each song is, indeed, a story. The lyrics give life to characters and short vignettes that are backed by catchy melodies and an uncluttered production sound. My only complaint is that it is so brief, having only 5 songs and being only about 16 minutes long.


Listen to 'Tommy' {from Storyteller}:

Brave Enough

I don't have an official favourite album of 2010. If I did have one, though, it would probably be Secret Transit by KaiserCartel.



Perhaps I just take a personal interest in it, since I helped make it possible. {It sounds very important when I say it that way, doesn't it? :P In all reality I merely pledged as many fans did. Which turned out to be an excellent decision since their Philanthropy EP, which was exclusive to pledgers, contains some of the best songs they have ever done, in my opinion. I have figured out how to play my favourite song off it, 'Lying Cats' on the piano. An accomplishment of which I am quite proud! *ahem* Pardon. I digress.}

Of course, I just love KaiserCartel. Period. They were my artist of the month in January of last year. Even my family knows they are one of my favourites and they gave up trying to keep track of my favourite artists a long time ago. {Which brings up something that has confused me for quite some time: is it KaiserCartel with no space? Or Kaiser Cartel with a space? Because, to semi-quote Shawn Spencer, "I've seen it both ways." :P}

So, since I've posted about them before, surely I need to give them no further introduction? Honestly, it can be horribly trying to sit here and try to come up with something to say that isn't pretentious or an echo of what has already been said. I'm much better in the rambling department, in case you hadn't noticed. ;)

As usual, I vacillated when trying to pick which song off Secret Transit to post. There are so many good songs to choose from! I would pick one and then second guess my choice. Finalement I chose 'Brave Enough' as the song to post. I'm a sucker for the cello... and Courtney Kaiser's vocals are just lovely in it {not that they ever aren't}.

Listen to 'Brave Enough':

And yes, I had to change my background. *sigh* This one I have right now was just supposed to be temporary but I've finally gotten to the point where I no longer cringe when I see it... so I think I might keep it.

Jaymay

If you were reading my blog last year, you may remember I did "My favourite songs of 2009" which was just me posting 5 songs I had loved from the past year. I am going to do that again this year since I enjoyed doing it last year. Also, it is the beginning of a new month {not to mention year} so you all know what that means?!?
If you answered artist of the month then you are correct!
Aaaand... *drumroll* January's artist of the month is Jaymay.

Jaymay's real name is Jamie Seerman. She makes awesome folk music. Ever since discovering her first album Autumn Fallin' which was released in 2007, I have been anticipating new releases from her. Last August she released a three track EP whose duration was around 3 minutes long. That did nothing but sharpen my longing for more Jaymay! But thankfully a month later she released a 5 track EP Long Walk to Never with songs whose lengths exceeded a 1 minute average. :P
One of the highlight's of Jaymay's music are her lyrics. They are honest songs of love and longing and very often personally conversational as if she were singing it to one person, the person she wrote it for.

My favourite song off Long Walk to Never is 'One May Die So Lonely'.

Listen:



Well, that's all for now. See you later this week with more of my favourite songs from 2010! *plays ending theme music*

Chère Françoise

I cannot comprehend how it is December already! Not only did November speed by... the whole year did! And guess what? I have now been selecting artists of the month for a year!
{If you'll see, I have taken the past artists off my sidebar and have given them their own little page! The reason they are arranged in such a *coughcough* "artistic, varied manner" is because the page editor is really difficult to work with. Or maybe I'm just stupid. Either way, I'm just not going to mess with it too much cause I finally got them in the right, chronological order!}

And speaking of artists of the month, this December's "chosen one" is Chère Françoise!

Chère Françoise is Franziska Beeler {as well as Shawn Jurek and Graydon James}. Originally from Switzerland, she sings in English, French, and German!
So far, she only has an EP entitled Departures. In my experience, I've found that EPs tend to have one amazing song and the rest are good but seem to weaken in light of the best song. Well, that is not the case with Departures. Each song is excellent! Indeed, I have trouble picking a favourite.
It is a pretty straightforward folk/french pop album, mostly it's just guitar with Franziska's charming vocals. {Though, if her new songs on myspace are any indication, she is leaning towards a more Electronica sound.} Half the songs on the EP are in French and the other half are in English.
As I mentioned before, I have trouble picking a favourite. Which turned out to be a problem when trying to decide what song to post. I got it narrowed down to three songs: 'Milupa, the Cat' {a song about her cat who was "named after an infant nutrition brand"}, 'Les Démons' {I'm not sure what this song is about since I can only catch every third sentence or so, but it is just lovely}, and 'I am Chère Françoise' which is the song I ended up picking. But I would definitely recommend checking out the rest of the EP!

Listen to 'I am Chère Françoise':




{You may have noticed the time durations skipping around on some songs. Files off emusic do that for some reason... I used to fix them in this long, tedious way but it was too time-consuming and messed with the quality of the song. Overall, the numbers changing around shouldn't affect the song. But let me know if it does.}

Zoey Van Goey

As the days of October dwindled away and the month of November approached, I realized I had no one in mind to make the artist of the month. Usually, I have a fair idea at least a week or so before. These past few times, I have even had it picked out a month ahead!
I was pondering eligible artists when a little voice in the back of my head said: "Why not choose Zoey Van Goey for the artist of the month?"
"Zoey Van Goey? Hm, I don't know..." I replied, somewhat lukewarm to the idea. But my ambivalence soon faded. The more I thought about it the more I liked the idea. I had been listening to their album with unremitting fervor the past few weeks. Really, they were the obvious choice.

So, props to the little voice in the back of my mind for having such a fab idea. ;)

That picture is the first one I ever saw of them. Seriously, you have to love a band with a picture like that.
I bookmarked Zoey Van Goey in my "bands to listen to someday" folder but didn't get around to them until... uh... *checks date* a little over... a year later. My, my. That's rather sad. And there are still hundreds more still waiting for my attention. {Sorry, I'm apparently having major focusing issues today. I shall try to keep to the subject at hand!}

Zoey Van Goey is, by my standards, indie pop/folk at its finest. Accessible melodies, often humorous lyrics, great girl/guy vocals, a quirky band name, and elements of surprise... it doesn't get much better than that!
They have only one full length album so far, "The Cage Was Unlocked All Along" which, as I mentioned before, I have been listening to it almost incessantly as of late. Pardon, but I have to make another soundtrack comparison. "The Cage Was Unlocked All Along" sounds as if it could be the soundtrack of a musical. The plot being: a boy and a girl who are romantically involved try to escape an island before it is blown-up into apocalyptic nothingness. The lyrics really seem to follow a interconnecting vein. Though this idea was probably first engendered by the album cover:


Anyhow, here's one of my favourite songs off the album, 'Sweethearts in Disguise':