Category: Singer-Songwriter

New Music: Lizzie Nunnery – Company of Ghosts

In the interest of full disclosure, I should say that I met Lizzie Nunnery while I was a student at Oxford, and I’m still a little bit afraid of her.  Lizzie is one of those quiet, unassuming people who, once you get them going, just explodes with sound and light.  I met her while working on one of her student plays, and I have followed her over the years as she tours the U.K. with her music and her drama.  She is most prolific.  As her biography notes: “…her most recent stage play “Intemperance,” receiving a 5 star review in the Guardian. Her play with songs, “The Singer”, was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 08 and she co-composed the soundtrack to her short film, “Monkey Love”, broadcast on Channel 4 in September 2009.”  Gosh, it’s a long way from sitting around in Oxford and thinking up comedy sketches (which, of course, I will use to blackmail her when she’s rich and famous.  Don’t tell!).

But what’s best about Lizzie is that her art always speaks to something inside you that you weren’t quite aware of.  Her voice carries a sincerity of purpose, and a measure of spirit, that is beyond compelling.  Indeed, I suspect that you will spend most of the time that you listen to her debut album Company of Ghosts (out now on Fellside Recordings, Amazon, and others) looking off into the distance for something that you suddenly sense but can’t quite see.  Lizzie has released two EPs previously – Monkeys & Devils and Hungry – which are, sadly, sold out.  Of course, I won’t leave you hanging, and you can find a taste below.  And really, I think taste is the right word.  No one passively encounters Lizzie… you take her in deep, or you don’t take her in at all.  Follow me, have a listen, and see for yourself.  Then, hop over to her myspace page for more:

And hey, if you ever see her, ask her when “Llama! The Musical” is coming out.  Seriously.

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Message to Bears, “Departures”

Sometimes, we need a break.  As someone who is nearing the end/seventeenth fresh start of his Ph.D. thesis, this statement applies to me most of the time.  In moments like this, I like to turn to bands like The Album Leaf, Sigur Rós, and similar masters of ambiance.  But every now and again, I need something new to help me take the edge off.  Enter: Message to Bears.

Message to Bears is actually Jerome Alexander, a multi-instrumentalist and songwriter from the U.K.  Those instruments, myspace tells us, are “acoustic guitars, pianos, glockenspiels, samples, drums, loop pedal, melodica, toy piano, harmonium, [and] voice.”  The result is a collection of beautiful, gentle acoustic songs that curl around you like a misty, English twilight (as I am currently experiencing one, I stand by this claim as 100% true).  The melodies evoke a sense of wistful nostalgia, and remind me of staring into a deep, night sky.

Taken from the debut album Departures (Out on Dead Pilot Records and iTunes), “At the Top of this Hill” and “Running through Woodland” evoke dramatic, melancholic landscapes.  The former, through children’s voices, recalls long-gone days of youthful innocence, and the latter conjures a forest crowned by grey clouds.  Absolutely lovely, and both very effective in their own way.

I’ve also included “Unfold” from EP 1.  To me, tracks likes this make me feel that I’ve stumbled into someone’s diary.  Even wordless, they are clearly attempts to capture very particular moods and impressions.  Just the sort of thing to help you relax by replacing your troubled thoughts with other, softer ones.  Come on in and have a listen, won’t you?

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Sonya Cotton: Red River

Sonya Cotton is a San-Francisco based singer-songwriter with a beautiful voice, and a singular vision, who describes her work in this way:

Sonya’s compositions are deeply personal, drawing upon her dreams, family, and love; they often come from a place of profound reverence for the natural world and the creatures of the earth.  In singing about wild spaces (rivers, woods, mountains,) and the animals that inhabit them, she hopes to bring herself and others in touch with the sacredness of these spaces, and to contemplate and critique our culture’s compulsion to exploit and destroy these creatures and spaces.

The music is right in my comfort zone – eliciting memories of Joanna Newsom, Laura Gibson, Fleet Foxes, and even Joan Baez.  On Red River, a showcase of San Franciscan talents – “…including Ezra Lipp (drums; Sean Hayes, Thao and the Get Down Stay Down, Stitchcraft) Joey Chang (cello, Cello Joe) and Wayne Van Lieu (french horn, Monterey, Marin, and Napa Valley Symphonies)” – produces deep, languid arrangements of folk and Americana.  Sonya’s tenderness and reverence for the world around her really shine on “Red River,” which has a gentleness that I find mesmerizing.  But perhaps most intriguing of all is the way in which this music feels old.  Old in a sense that it plumbs the deeper corners of the soul, and finds sparkling gems of natural beauty and humanity amidst the dark.

So, if you’re in the mood for a little reflection, or if you need a bit of quiet, go ahead and follow me:

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Ólöf Arnalds: Við Og Við

On my recent trip to France, I decided to pass the time reading the French edition of Rolling Stone.  In its April issue, a review for Ólöf Arnalds‘ Við Og Við grabbed my attention with this description: “Imaginez une soirée au coin du feu, dans un salon cosy, en plein cœur de l’hiver” (Imagine an evening by the fireside, in a cozy lounge, in the heart of Winter…)  Few things have been so evocative to my imagination, as settings like this, and so I pulled out my trusty iPod touch…and I was immediately transported.

I have long enjoyed the dramatic splendor of Icelandic artists like Bjork, Sigur Rós, and Amiina.  Ólöf’ is a touring musician with Icelandic stalwarts Múm, and she also worked on this album (as well as her anticipated second album Ókídóki – out sometime this Spring ) with Kjartann Sveinsson of Sigur Rós. Her music is a perfect complement to these.  Featuring simple arrangements, traditional instruments (with a few unusual additions like the ukulele), and a lilting, sprightly voice (what Rolling Stone called: “…la musique pour les elfes…), her music exudes calmness and gentility.  And yet, in spite of this, it’s not ephemeral.  There’s a love of craft, and a seriousness of purpose, that curls about these sounds.  It is, as Rolling Stone concluded, “bewitching.”

Have a listen to her song Klara, and then check out some wonderful videos after the cut.  You can also hear more of her music at her myspace page.

[audio:https://www.shh-listen.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Olof_Arnalds-Klara.mp3|titles=Klara]  Ólöf Arnalds – Klara

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Elephant Micah: Echoer’s Intent

This one’s literally brand new for me.  I learned about Elephant Micah from the excellent write-up over at You Crazy Dreamers.  Elephant Micah is actually Joseph O’Connell, an Indiana singer/songwriter.  His work reminds me of We/Or/Me (see my post here), Nick Drake, or even Great Lake Swimmers, as it has a depth of feeling that is immediately apparent.  There is an unassuming, natural quality to the vocals on “Loon Call” (from the newly available “Echoer’s Intent“) that speaks to a stillness of soul and purpose.  It’s the sort of music that makes you sit up, take notice, and then take stock.

Have a listen to “Loon Call” here, and then go read that excellent post at You Crazy Dreamers.  And if you get the chance, stop and see him on one of these tour dates.  Enjoy!

[audio:https://www.shh-listen.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Loon-Call.mp3|titles=Loon Call]  Download

And if you want a little more… here’s a post from Slowcoustic with a bunch more tracks to listen to!