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.