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FEATURED: Nat Baldwin at Pitchfork

New Hamshire-based multi-instrumentalist Nat Baldwin just got his great new album Most Valuable Player positively reviewed on Pitchfork, which we can all admire as not being an easy task. Nat plays the upright bass and makes massively layered experimental folk songs that sound like Owen Pallett of Final Fantasy covering a less out-there version of Dirty Projectors. We released a few tracks off of Most Valuable Player not too long ago, so here are some downloads to celebrate the record’s release. Enjoy:

Nat Baldwin at Pitchfork

Download: Nat Baldwin - Lake Eerie

Download: Nat Baldwin - One Two Three

Stream: Nat Baldwin - Mask I Wear

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DOWNLOAD: Peter von Poehl - Going to Where the Tea Trees Are

We typically have something of a love/hate relationship with saxophones—i.e. we love the Specials and hate Sade. So when the sax solo hits about three-quarters through “Going to Where the Tea Trees Are” by Swedish singer songwriter Peter von Poehl, we had an initial split-second of “Oh God why”, until we totally got into it, because the song is an amazing pop ballad that takes its brass very, very seriously. The SEEN RCRD LBL blog has an MP3 of “Going to Where…” as well as some video and other useful links from Peter.

Sounds like: Jeff Buckley, Elliot Smith, Jose Gonzalez

Download: Peter von Poehl - Going to Where the Tea Trees Are

Peter von Poehl at the SEEN RCRD LBL blog

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DOWNLOAD: DeVotchKa - Transliterator

DeVotchKa are a gangly crew of classically-trained musicians with heritage from all over the world—Mexico, America, Italy, Eastern Europe, and many, many more exotic locales. Onstage they possess a unique aura, if only because of the sheer amount of instruments they play (everything from an upright bass to a tuba adorned with Christmas lights are crammed onstage during a DeVotchKa show), and the skill with which they play them. It’s like a chill, understated version of Gogol Bordello, or the Arcade Fire with more European flair and less of a death wish. Most of the world was introduced to DeVotchKa when they serendipitously scored the soundtrack for 2006’s sleeper hit Little Miss Sunshine after the filmmakers heard one of their songs on the radio, but their new album A Mad & Faithful Telling might be their greatest piece of work yet. Frontman Nick Urata is in perfect control of his pleading vocals, and musically the band soars to heights previously only hinted at. Their track “Transliterator” has been on repeat in the office all morning, so we had to share it with you guys.

Sounds like: M. Ward, Luke Temple, The Long Winters

Download: DeVotchKa - Transliterator

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VIDEO THRWBCK: The Mamas and The Papas - California Dreamin' (1965)

So remember when we posted that Pavement video yesterday and said that everything was going to be OK, that summer was here and all we were going to do for the next 2 months was to go to BBQs with our friends? Yeah, we were wrong. Turns out today is going to be rainy and 58 degrees. Thanks, Mother Nature!

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DOWNLOAD: El Perro Del Mar - How Did We Forget

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EXCLUSIVE DOWNLOAD: The Grizzly Owls - Whiskey and Clyde

The Grizzly Owls are Jenny (vocals, harmonica, and percussion) and Joseph Andreotti (guitar, bass, percussion, piano, and keys), a married couple who look towards the Dust Bowl migrations of the early 1930s for musical inspiration. So as you can guess, their particular style of bluesy folk is sparse, fragile, and sounds as if it were blown across a barren prairie land for months before it landed in your eardrums and lulled you into a rather disquieting slumber. As Jenny’s voice pleads: “This is my last night with Clyde” you have some serious doubts that everything’s going to be OK. Maybe the Depression hit them hard, or Clyde never came back from the War or something. The ‘30s were no joke, man. Seriously.

Sounds like: Marco Solo, Cat Power, Monkey Swallows the Universe

Download: The Grizzly Owls - Whiskey and Clyde

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VIDEO: Marco Solo - Your Ghost

Our springtime love affair with Canadian singer-songwriter Marco Solo continues, so we thought we'd present to you the brand new video for his single "Your Ghost". Thought the MP3 we gave you guys a while back was spooky? What about watching a cute 'lil animated dude get sucked backwards into a tree with a gaping face and deadened eyes? Fun times, right? The video fits the song perfectly, and we're looking forward to discovering more Marco Solo tracks in the (near) future.

Download: Marco Solo - Your Ghost

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EXCLUSIVE DOWNLOAD: One eskimO - Giving Up

If the name Kristian Leontiou rings any distant bells, it might be because at the age of 20, Kristian was groomed to be something of a popstar in the UK, and had a Top 10 hit from his one and only solo album. However, like many would-be popstars, he quickly found that cranking out chart-toppers just wasn’t for him, and got out of the game while he could. Now he’s the singer-songwriter behind One eskimO, a very visual project where each song's video follows the adventures of Kristian and his band—a cartoon giraffe, penguin and monkey. Like the Gorillaz gone folk, Kristian uses these characters and soft, finger-picked guitar melodies to create a fantastical musical world. The SEEN RCRD LBL blog have an exclusive One eskimO download, and a brand new video.

Sounds like: Badly Drawn Boy, José González, Nick Drake

Download: One eskimO - Giving Up

One EskimO at the SEEN RCRD LBL blog

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RCRD LBL Artists x Coachella

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VIDEO: Port O'Brien - I Woke Up Today (Live from Chinatown, NYC)

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