First Listen: Bon Iver, Marissa Nadler

Thanks to NPR, we’ve got two great albums this week!  First up is one of the most highly-anticipated releases of the year: Bon Iver’s Bon Iver.  It’s certainly a change in tone from 2008’s For Emma, Forever Ago, featuring a more complicated, textured set of musical arrangements.  I’ve been looking forward to this all year, and I encourage you to join me in visiting NPR to hear Bon Iver.

Also, this week, we get to hear another eponymous album: Marissa Nadler’s kickstarter-funder Marissa Nadler.  Marissa is definitely one of the most exciting artists to come out of Boston in a while – drawing comparisons to Pink Floyd, Leonard Cohen, and Kate Bush (how’s that for a mix?) – I encourage you to have a listen here.

Mailbag: Clara Engel

Clara Engel is an experimental, post-punk artist from Montreal who puts together songs full of textures and atmosphere.  Songs like “Lick My Fins” (below) are challenging, evoking as they do anything from cabaret punk to Siouxsie and the Banshees… even hints of Annie Lennox and Patti Smith.  It’s a challenging, but ultimately rewarding, listen to an artist that is clearly driven by an inner poetry that burns from the inside-out.

The great testament to the highly original nature of Clara’s music is my complete inability to find any sort of description that feels appropriate.  One of her many albums – Secret Beasts – feels at times tortured, and at others calmly spiritual.  It’s a mystery, and, honestly, I feel unfit to reduce it to the constraints of a review.  (And actually, that does feel like a compliment to me.)

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Mailbag: Andy Berkhout – Love Without Fear

Andy Berkhout‘s Love Without Fear is a beautiful, folk-inspired record that unfolds like a lazy afternoon in the country.  An acoustic album, with roots in folk and Americana, Love Without Fear is an intimate, gorgeous listen that is sure to captivate you.  Tracks like “Love’s Deep Embrace” (below) remind me of Elliott Smith, even as they create something that is both personal and original.

I have to agree with Slowcoustic on this one: “So essentially I am saying that you know this album wasn’t just thrown together, it grew out of crafting numerous tracks over time and it shows in the pretty darn solid collection of finger-picking, folk tinged beauties.”  Andy spent a year in which he released a song per week, and that dedication to improving and honing his songwriting craft really shines through here.

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Mix-Tape Monday: Canadian Edition!

Happy Monday, Everyone!  By the time you read this, I will be in lovely Victoria, B.C.  I’m up here for an academic conference/class, and I am doubtlessly unnerved by the clean air and friendliness that pervade these northern climes.  Just the same, I thought it would be nice to put together a musical tribute to Canada (if only to appease her), and so that’s today’s mix.  It’s a mix of classic and indie rock, and I’m sure you’ll get on well.  Enjoy!

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Other Stuff You Might Like: Daytrotter

Chances are, you already know Daytrotter.  But in a series about excellent music websites, it’s almost criminal not to mention Sean Moeller’s extraordinary website.  Since 2007, the site has been serving up excellent, intimate music sessions for the masses.  Their motto: “One band a day, every day, 28 Daytrotter Session songs each week.”  Here’s how it works: Bands take a couple of hours out of their travels to visit The Horseshack in Rock Island, IL., where they then record a variety of tracks.  Daytrotter puts together some art, and an oft-amusing description of the session, and gives the music away on their site.  It’s an amazingly expansive collection, too, and a true marvel that it’s all done in a not-for-profit enterprise.  And while picking out highlights in this collection is like trying to pick out a favorite piece of sand on a pristine beach, I’ll do my best.

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