Jenny Owen Youngs - Transmitter Failure

Official album art, courtesy of Wikipedia

If you could know someone through music, then Jenny Owen Youngs would be the coolest person I know. She would be a sister, a lab partner, a best friend, a girlfriend, a lover, and that girl across the street you can't help but have dirty thoughts about late at night, all rolled up into one.

If you have never heard Jenny before, I encourage you to stop reading right now, scroll down, and listen to the music--there is a lot. Seriously, why are you still reading?

If you did not immediately go to Jenny's twitter page and ask her to marry you after hearing her sing, then you must not be into the ladies. If you did, welcome back; I'm sorry that she said no.

He Is We - My Forever

Official album art, courtesy of MySpace

This album comes as the fourth installment of Album of the Day this week, and it is a very impulsive choice. I picked this album about 30 seconds before starting to write, just because this is what I am in the mood for right now.

He Is We is a fairly new indie pop band, and their music is still at its early stages, full of all the cheesiness you might expect. But what you don't expect is the repeatability of the music.

As someone who avidly makes light of pop music, I am surprised to say that this is a band I can listen to over and over again without getting tired of the music. Even though the band employs many of the standard lyrical themes and musicality of indie pop bands, they also manage to keep each song fresh and exciting.

Peter Gabriel - Scratch My Back

Official album art, courtesy of Wikipedia

For the third part of Album of the Day, I decided to mix it up a little bit. This is an album of what I like to call reverse covers.

When I think of a cover, I think of a small indie band or an undiscovered artist on YouTube performing a song by one of the rock legends. However, in this album, a rock legend has chosen to perform a bunch of songs from modern indie bands, like Bon Iver, Arcade Fire, and Regina Spektor, and some not-so-indie artists like Radiohead, Lou Reed, Paul Simon, David Bowie, Neil Young, The Magnetic Fields, and Elbow. Okay, well, comparing the lists, it seems like he is not covering as many indie bands as I would like you to think, but even with the "legends", the songs are not their biggest hits, but rather those hidden treasures that most of us usually overlook.

I feel like this album is a great tribute to some of the great musical influences of the past, and a really cool way to bring together indie bands of the past--now famous names in influence lists of musicians today--with the indie bands of the present, who are silently bringing a musical revolution, and inspiring the young minds of today to create more freely.

April Smith and the Great Picture Show - Songs for a Sinking Ship

Official album art, courtesy of MySpace

For the second installment of the Album of the Day week, I present to you: April Smith. This is yet another album that has been sitting on my computer for a while, lost in a sea of yellow files, until today that is.

I have to say, this album is very fun. It is a retro revival album, with music that sounds like it walked straight off the stage of Grease. It always makes me want to get up and dance.

I could talk and talk for a while about the uniqueness of this album like I always do, but I feel like that is a job for the music itself, not me. I would like to take this unique chance to talk about another aspect of this band, and of modern indie music in general.

Songs for a Sinking Ship is a product of a recent phenomena of fan sponsored music--pretty much the ultimate in supporting the musicians you like; music on credit, if you will. Many small-time musicians often record home-made albums, on retail equipment, in living rooms across America (and the world), and generate a large fan base through the use of the Internet (with sites like YouTube). But recording a "real" album proves very difficult, and many artists find it more rewarding to turn to their fans for funding, in most cases, offering the finished product (and many more cool gifts) in return for their pledges. In respect to the fans, this is putting faith in a band you love that they will make a great album ahead of time, before you can hear samples of that music. To me, this is the best and most honest way of making music. It allows musicians without a multi-million dollar company to make amazing music using their talent, rather than sound editing.

Heartless Bastards - The Mountain

Official album art, courtesy of Wikipedia

First off, I have to apologize for my absence. Sorry guys. I've been deathly busy these past three weeks, that I haven't had an ounce of free time. There is a lot of backed up music sitting on my desktop as I write. So for those of you that haven't completely lost faith in me, I have some good news. Due to this extensive backlog, I will be doing Album of the Day features for this week. Yes, that's right, I will have five albums, starting today.

I don't think that there is much I can say about Heartless Bastards that their music doesn't say for itself. This is exactly the kind of band that the term Rock 'n' Roll was invented for. I can concatenate words like electric-folk-blues-rock, but it wouldn't mean that much when speaking about this band. Even though this band formed in 2003 (formally anyway) as a garage band in Cincinnati, they play the kind of Rock 'n' Roll that we haven't heard since the late 1970's.

Over the Rhine - Ohio

Official album art, courtesy of Google Image search

Back when lights didn't make the music, it all sounded like this. Today, this particular breed of folk lounge music is nearly extinct.

Even though this band has been around since before I was born, and this album was released when I still in junior high, the music is priceless. The music features that familiar relatability that comes from writing about life and universal experiences that are sure to bring you back to a more familiar, comfortable part of your life, whether you are 16, 25, or 60. The voice of lead singer Karin Bergquist captures your ears right from the first note, and leaves you waiting patiently for more during the instrumental parts, featuring a factor of repeatability that I would comfortably accept as the endless backtrack of my life.

Birdmonster - From the Mountain to the Sea

Official album art, courtesy of Bandcamp

It's probably not a surprise to those that regularly read this blog that I am in love with folk music. If you were ever wondering why that is, Birdmonster is that reason.

In no other area of music can you find so many unique and multifaceted band as folk music. For me, folk music brings out the roots of sound, and captures a feeling that transcends the boundaries of music and lyrics, to carry an emotion from one heart to another. As cheesy as this may sound, Birdmonster does just that.

Sitting in a dimly lit room, this album brings me back to a time when music was performed round a fire in a back yard, or on the front porch on a humid afternoon, rather than on a portable metal stage put up in some arena or ballroom, backed by guitar amplifiers and sound mixers. Don't get me wrong, music should definitely be a shared experience, but this band reminds us all why we need house shows, unfinished basements, and acoustic guitars.

The Low Anthem - Oh My God, Charlie Darwin

Official album art

First off, I have to apologize for my absence this week. For the past two weeks, I have been either under a pile of work, or passed out from extreme sleep deprivation. This entry, in a way, comes directly out of that experience.

The desktop of my computer is covered with albums that I need to listen to, and I never seem to have time. This is one that has been on my desktop for a long time now. For past posts, it has been overlooked when time came to decide on an album. However, this week, the unique qualities of the music really stuck out in my lifestyle.

Under extreme sleep deprivation, sleep gets really hard for me, and even though I am tired, my mind won't let me fall asleep. This is when I turn to music, and find an amazing band such as The Low Anthem. This album always puts me in a trance state, in which my body feels asleep, but my mind stays lucid, and lost in the music. Even though I looked passed out, my mind heard every beautiful note of every song.

Artist Feature: Jen Miller

Photo courtesy of MySpace

Hey guys. I have to apologize again for completely running out of time this week. I am supposed to be doing homework, even as I type this, but I needed a quick fix of this girl, so I figured I might as well introduce her to all of you.

Jen is from my home town, and yet I am sad to say that I have never met her (Jen, if you read this--play shows!!!!). I have been following her on YouTube pretty much since she started her channel. Why you may ask: well, it's the voice. Even on Jen's old webcam videos, her voice sounds like pure jazz--sometimes I dream of her singing old Billie Holiday songs.

Another reason to love this music is that Jen writes songs about life. She writes down those small little feelings that others take for granted, and sings them to notes often picked out on the ukulele. All those little emotions show also show up in the corners of her mouth when she sings, and crack through her voice--all the more enhancing the experience of her beautiful music.

Roma di Luna - Casting the Bones

Official album art, courtesy of Google Image Search

I fall more and more in love with this band, the more I listen to them. Usually, I don't want to go too much into band history in these album reviews, but I think it's story time.

Roma di Luna was founded by a husband and wife duo, Alexei Casselle, a local Minneapolis rapper, and Channy Moon Casselle, a classically trained violinist. They started this band as a wedding gift to each other, and it quickly developed into a deep study of traditional folk music. They started out making money by busking on street corners, learning and playing dustbowl folk and gypsy songs.

Somewhere along the way, the magic started to happen. They started writing songs--mostly to each other. Their roots began to show through, with songs featuring both the traditional duende of gypsy folk music--the strong emotion portrayed by the singer, which makes gypsy music so strong and charismatic--as well as thematic elements noticeable in the music of Crescent Moon, Alexei's rapper moniker. They managed to fuse all of these elements into a unique style, with haunting vocals by Channey Moon, classical violin and folk guitar melodies, and sweet and subtle baselines to bring all of the music together.

Lauren O'Connell - The Shakes

Official album art, courtesy of Google Image Search

After the last post, I wanted to go back to something that is a little closer to my roots. Even though I have had this album for a while now, I want to take the time and review it for all of you, because this girl could use all of the exposure she can get.

Lauren O'Connell became one of my favorite artists almost instantaneously. As soon as I found a link to her YouTube channel, I knew I would fall in love with her music. From then on, I have been listening to her music as much as I possibly can, both as the acoustic, single guitar YouTube versions and the full band album versions. Really, you can't go wrong with anything this girl records.

Though she may not be the seasoned musician and songwriter that everyone may crave, Lauren O'Connell manages to her own life and her own feelings as well as any of the giants in folk music. Lauren is also nothing if not creative with her music, focusing not on always having the most expensive and fanciest instruments, but rather on having the most appropriate sound to accompany her haunting and methodical lyrics, often employing familiar instruments in uncommon ways--such as playing a banjo with a bow, or drumming on a tennis racket topped with pennies with a spoon. Even though I listen to Lauren O'Connell all day long, she is one of the few artists that I feel comfortable falling asleep to, and having her melodies swim around my head as I dream.

Sufjan Stevens - The Age of Adz

Official album art, courtesy of Bandcamp

This album actually comes out on Tuesday, but I was sent an advance copy, so I figured I should get this up for all of you to enjoy a little early. I know, I am a little late to the game, since it has been available as a download to those who pre-ordered it for quite some time now, but those of you waiting for the album will probably be interested in this.

I have to start off by saying that there was a time in my life during which I lived and breathed Sufjan Stevens. His music was very close to my heart, and to this day, I cannot listen to those same albums without reliving that part of my life.

With that said, Sufjan Stevens has more or less been gone since 2005, with the release of Illinois, and its subsequent tour. It should be duly noted in this argument there was an official Illinois Outtakes album, titled Avalanche, released, as well as the Christmas pack and the BQE; however, none of those were full-fledged project like we are all used to, and they do not provide the Sufjan fix that true fans need.

The Tallest Man On Earth - Sometimes the Blues Is Just a Passing Bird EP

Official album art, courtesy of Google Image Search

I know that this is only an EP, but there is a reason I am featuring it this week. These five songs are pure poetry in sound waves. As I listen to them, I am reminded, with every syllable, why I am so in love with folk music.

The Tallest Man on Earth, the musical moniker of Kristian Matsson, pulls upon the very roots of folk music, drawing all the way back to the creator of the style. He pays attention to all of those little things that started a social movement through music all those years ago, and better yet, he makes it all seems so natural, like these songs washed up from the ocean, made from pure air and sea foam, drifting into his feet only to be projected by his vocal chords. And oh what vocal chords they are. Matsson has an unrefined, unsophisticated, unedited voice, that only carries through the experience of being alive. Accompanying all of this audible goodness are true poetic lyrics. Though they may not always fit the meter of the song, and at times, rhyming is a far-fetched concept, what really shines through is the beauty of the words.

As expected of folk music, most of Matsson's songs are accompanied by a simple acoustic guitar. However, in a rare occurrence, he has recorded The Dreamer accompanied by a heavily distorted electric, creating a rather nostalgic feel for the song. But don't just read about it, take a listen.

Girls - Album

Official album art, courtesy of Wikipedia

If the Beach Boys were forming a band today, I feel like this is the music that they would play. Girls captured the timeless California sound that we have all grown to love, but they put a unique twist to it, creating something that not too many bands have done, or even tried.

The obvious creativity of the band's name and the album's title sets up what is to be expected from its sound. Now, don't take this sarcasm as a bad thing--in reality, this is the essence of music. Album is, under any consideration, a catalog of a life in love; it says all the things we want to say, feels all the things we want to feel, and wades through the same problems we all face every day.

Every time I hear something new, I try to come up with a short, yet descriptive way to tell people what I am listening too. This is often not too easy, because everyone's perception of music is different. Regardless of all of that, Album features what I like to call "love-gone-wrong" songs. Everyone can name an endless list of love songs, break-up songs, or any such list involving strong emotions, but what is often overlooked is that strange feeling of no longer having something great--that disillusioned feeling you get when something has come to its end, and you have to move on, into a new area of your life which is not necessarily where you want to be. Well, this is exactly the feeling that Girls manages to capture so well.

Artist Feature: Hannah Hickok & Maggie Kraus

So, this is the second Artist Feature. I don't know much about these ladies, except for the fact that I really enjoy their music. Their music is very mellow and has a simple sound.

I find that I listen to a lot of music in a sleep deprived state, usually early morning, after staying up all night, when I have to do something--I usually experience a fake sensation of being energized, yet everything I do seems to be affected. I don't know if this makes sense to any of you, but this is a very particular mood that I am often in--if you have felt it, you know what I am talking about. Anyway, this mood calls for a very specific sound, which these girls deliver on.

Benjamin Jameson Morey - "Chest Songs" (or) "The Giraffe in the Fishbowl"

Official album art, courtesy of Bandcamp

This album is the second installment of Benjamin Jameson Morey's Wallpaper Series, and my first official venture into his music. So far, I am sweetly impressed.

Benjamin's entire operation is all about a guy with a guitar, somewhere in a living room or a basement in upstate New York, scribbling away songs on piece of paper, and this is reflected in his music. The melodies are simple, sweet, and catch your ear--they remain ringing long after the song has finished--and the songs feature lyrics to match. Benjamin writes from the heart, and this album is a testament to that.

Artist Feature: Orla Gartland

Hi guys and gals. I've been super busy this week with work, and have been exhausted most days, so I didn't have time to prepare anything. I'm sorry about that.

But, as it turns out, I also like listening to artists that don't exactly put out albums. However, these are some of the people I love the most, and I feel that they need to be a part of my blog. Luckily, as you may have guesses, this is my blog, so I get to do whatever I want; and so comes the first Artist Feature.

Hopefully, in the future, I will include these in addition to the weekly albums, but for this week, I hope this will make due.

So without any further pointless talk, this is Orla Gartland.

Allison Weiss ...Was Right All Along

Official album art, courtesy of Bandcamp

If anyone were able to bottle angst, it would be Allison Weiss.

I discovered this fine artist on Twitter of all places. Who would have thought? A person that I follow asked her to hang out in New York, and that message alone exerted a supra-natural power over my fingers, causing them to type her name into YouTube. The rest is self-explanatory.

I've only had this album for a few days, and yet have listened to it over ten or fifteen times. I can't quite put my finger on how I feel about it, because every time I listen to it, I catch yet another detail, completely changing the feeling that I get when listening to the music.

Though the songs are not all that multi-layered, and caution mostly on the stripped-down side, the feelings evoked by those songs are nothing if not complex.

Allison Weiss writes songs about everyday life--those little events that happen to everyone every day. Even though she is "just a girl with a guitar," her songs will resonate with just about anyone who is lucky enough to hear them. Often times, her songs even take on a personality of their own. They hold strong feeling--usually sadness or anger--and yet put on a happy front for the passers-by.

The Ribbons - Surprise Attacks

Official album art, courtesy of Google Image Search

I first discovered this band on Daytrotter, a site that has done both good and bad for me. At first, I was not very impressed, as only one of the songs on Daytrotter really caught my ears. However, after listening to that one song over and over and over, I decided to give the album a try. They have two albums out at the moment, and since I could not find absolutely anything about the band online, I decided to buy Surprise Attacks at random. I think I made the right choice.

When I heard the CD, I found that their sound is completely different from the acoustic tracks available on Daytrotter. And all I have to say is "Holy crap!"

This band, and this album in particular, has a very unique sound that I have come to describe as muffled rock nostalgia, with a particular jazzy twist to some of the songs. It is truly something unique, yet so familiar and dear.

As I pressed "play" sitting in a dimly lit room with a giant pair of headphones on, grainy black and white images of a girl gently spinning in a snow-covered city park, her frizzy hair twirling in the breeze she creates, immediately started going through my head. I was immediately thrust back into my childhood, walking around town, mittens on, snapping pictures of everything on my five-pound Russian SLR. The smells of the photo chemicals came back, as I had hand developed terrible quality images in the attic while listening to badly-recorded garage music.

Rarely does music create such a psychedelically nostalgic feeling for me, and I have yet to discover where The Ribbons get the magic to do so. I can officially say that this album has become my new Christmas soundtrack, replacing the overplayed Jingle Bells and O Holy Night. For me, this gives me that true warm holiday feeling.

Official Site: ribbonsnyc.com