DOWNLOAD: New Beard - Doom
(Photo: Joel Barhamand)
New York’s New Beard will release its debut album, New Beard City, on June 26 via Shoulder Tap Records. And while you may not recognize the band yet, you will likely know its recent collaborator, Dungen’s Gustav Ejstes, who co-produced the effort with frontman Ben Wigler. Ejstes also appears on here on “Doom” – the album’s flagship single. It's an eclectic, folksy indie rock number that marries vintage instrumentation with a modern melodic swing.
DOWNLOAD: Foxygen - Make It Known
Brand spankin' new Jagjaguwar signees Foxygen make a startling statement with this tune. It's a meandering epic – at once folksy and psychedelic and total throwback rock & roll. The Washington State-New York duo harnesses the confidence of Jagger upon a lyrical interruption of "talk, talk, talk," and the swagger will be on full display July 24 when the group's debut, Take the Kids Off Broadway, is released.
STREAM: The Walkmen - We Can't Be Beat
"We Can't Be Beat" is the back-to-the-land first song on The Walkmen's upcoming album Heaven. The LP is one of my favorites of the year thus far and this one forms the perfect introduction with its yearning vocals, acoustic guitars and wordless blues. When the beat (or stomp, really) finally kicks-in and all those harmonies explode, it's one of those beautiful emotive things that only this band can do. Hear more May 29.
ALBUM STREAM: Lee Ranaldo - Between The Times And The Tides
I've said it before and I'll say it again: Lee Ranaldo is the George Harrison of Sonic Youth. In a band with an iconic history of great albums and songs, he always comes correct when he gets his 1-2 tracks in the spotlight. Noise projects aside, though, Ranaldo has never really attempted a solo album of song-songs. That changes with Between The Times And The Tides. Songs like the opener "Waiting On A Dream" will provide pure comfort to SY fans, while "Off The Wall" takes a more jangly-folk route. Enjoy the whole thing March 20 on Matador.
Album Stream: Lee Ranaldo - Between The Times And The Tides [Rolling Stone]
DOWNLOAD: A.A. Bondy - Surfer King
For a song with the title "Surfer King," A.A. Bondy's new single seems more suited to the mountains or an isolated cabin. Opening with Christmas eve bells and quickly taking a smoky, assured roots rock atmosphere with warm trails of organ, full-bodied guitars and beautiful slide leads, Bondy shows he's still an important voice in the national twang-folk conversation. With lyrics namechecking American skin, roses and midnight haze, it's like he was hugging a campfire while writing this one. Find this and more on Believers, which is out now on Fat Possum.
DOWNLOAD: Mia Riddle - City Song
(Photo: Eric Luc)
The Brooklyn-based songstress Mia Riddle crafts songs that are "equal parts desert expanse and outer-borough street lamp spirit." In other words, her easy folky cadence is inspired from her childhood in the sunny, salty West Coast and its natural habitats as well as from NYC's creative niches and weathered lonesome. The City Song rests heartily her sweet-voiced lyrics over cymbal-heavy percussion and alt-country guitar strums.
Sounds Like: Shilpa Ray and her Happy Hookers, Jolie Holland, Joan Baez, Jaymay
STREAM: The Acorn - Antenna
If you haven't tried it already, we grandly prescribe to you The Acorn's brand of gritty indie rock; soaked in cedar, swaddled in leaves, it's rustic americana, like you wish momma woulda made it. Their newest CD Glory Hope Mountain ranges from whispered lullabies to finger-plucking blues and delectable lyrics ('the precious noise of wounded boys in heat'). Relish the three tracks below.
For those of you in NY, The Acorn are playing tonight with other buddies of ours, The War On Drugs, at Pianos..and then tomorrow at Merc Lounge.
Sounds Like: Blitzen Trapper, Band of Horses.
DOWNLOAD: These United States- First Sight
These United States are trying to 'reinvent folk' (*according to NPR*) and perhaps highlight DC really is south of the mason dixon line.... But while the other tracks stick reveal more southern-tinged folk rock, the track 'First Sight' weighs heavy in on the pop scale. Begining with the same sort of ambient synth progression ala Postal Service, it then launches into a catchy reverie about love. Lead singer, Jesse Elliot reminiscences about being "deafened by trust" and "the logistics of lust."
Check em out yourself if you're in NY, tonight at the Cake Shop and tomorrow at Brooklyn's Union Hall w/ David Dondero
