By the sound of their name, Oscar Anthony and the Westfolk Band would be your typical, Nashville country infused folk band, but one listen to their music would tell you quite differently. Folk mixed with a bit of electric experimentalism makes for a fantastically interesting sound...that I for one just love.
Check out this track, "Fare is Fair."
I'm a big fan of this Ambulance for Angeles track, "Claire and the Spies." It's sort of a soul-wrenching track, though I'm not sure if it's the music or the lyrics that really get me. Not to mention that this band's story is sort of a tearful one in and of itself, albeit a unique one.
Check it out:
Well it's Monday once again, but for me it's a different kind of Monday as it's my first waking up in my new city. I just made the move from Phoenix to Chicago which I'm thrilled about for dozens of reasons, but of course the most relevant of those is the overabundance of fantastic musicians here in Chicago. So to celebrate, I thought I'd bring you one of my favorite indie guys out of this city: Lee Dewyze. I've written about him before, but summer in Chicago always prompts me to play this kind of jam.
Check out, "All Right:"
There are literally dozens of well known covers to Bill Wither's "Ain't no Sunshine." Everyone from Sting to the Ramones-even Kris Allen from this year's season of American Idol-have taken a stab at this classic, but Natives of the New Dawn might be one of my all time favorite versions.
"When She Goes Away" is a funky, soulful, rock and roll version of the song...that's seriously dynamic. Gotta love a great voice on top of a fantastic beat. Check it out:
I promised that I'd switch it up this Monday, so here it is. I love The Beautiful Girls, and "Dela"-a track from their Controlled Substance release Ziggurats-is just what I needed this morning. I hope you guys enjoy it too.
I've written about Wallis Bird before, but well, I love her, so I'm bringing you another one of hers from the They Shoot Music series, "Blossoms in the Street."
She seriously rocks. Happy Monday.
Well by now you all know that I love folk music. (I promise that next week I'll switch it up.) In the meantime, I wanted to share with you a track from Randall Kimball. Raised in Washington, Randall attended Berkley, and spent a lot of time at the Keystone Tavern listening to greats like John Lee Hooker, Jerry Garcia, and the Greg Kihn Band.
He's definitely taken on some of these influences while also bringing in some of his Indian vibes. (He's got Alaskan roots.)
All in all, I think Randall's sound is a great collaboration between genres. Check out "Like the Sun in the Morning:"
Here we meet again on this lovely Monday afternoon.
I'm a big fan of acoustic folk bands from the UK....there's something about an unplugged guitar, a cello, and a British accent that really gets me. It won't surprise you then to find that The Sleeping Years, a folk group of out the UK, is one of my favorites.
Check out this rendition of "Setting Fires to Sleepy Towns," shot in a quaint little coffee shop. It will most certainly get you through your Monday, or at least give you five minutes of calm.
The Melbourne band Winterpark is a new favorite of mine. Check out this video for "Never Alone," produced by Genevieve Bailey:
Two Gallants, one of my favorite duos out of San Francisco, is featured on the They Shoot Music Series with a great rendition of "Despite What You've Been Told." It is, in my opinion, a great Monday morning tune...which makes it perfect of course for Music Mondays. Enjoy: