Wingnut Dishwashers Union - Burn The Earth! Leave It Behind!

Late post, but it's a post. Today I'm writing about Wingnut Dishwashers Union, the project Pat the Bunny (from Johnny Hobo and the Freight Trains) started after he decided to stop being a depressed junkie.

It basically consists of him singing and playing guitar, along with his friends (I think) playing other cool intruments.

He has now entered a year long rehab program and is out due December this year. However, it is unclear if he will keep making this kind of music after he gets out.

Now, to the album. First off, it has better production (I think he actually has a little money for stuff besides drugs now). There's even electric guitar in one song, holy shit.

The material is pretty much more of the same (which is in no way bad of course) and the lyrics are similar, except without drugs and less misery.

I mean, it really sounds like an actual band most of the time, you know with drums and everything.

But I still can't decide which of his projects are better.

WDU is more folky most of the time (which I love), but it doesn't have those "anthems" that made Johnny Hobo so great. But whatever. I'll leave that decision to you.

8/10

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Me - Lovebox

What's up people? Been a while since I posted anything; thought it was about time. I'm gonna try to post a little more often.

This album - Lovebox, by Me (not ME literally, the artist is called Me) - I found yesterday at one of my local record store's really cheap. They have this shelf where they put out all kinds of obscure, bad-selling albums really cheap, so you pretty often actually find quite a few gems.

And so yeah, I found this, bought it, got home, ripped it, and listened to it. I do not regret buying (partly because it was incredibly cheap for an entire album, a CD by the way, but mostly because it is GOOD).

Alright, so the album cover and the song titles kinda suggest that it should be a very gloomy, depressive album. But once you get listening to it, it's actually kind of upbeat and cheerful at times. I find that the man has a pretty nice and unique voice and the instrumentation (the actual music) is really nice too; kind of indie pop/folk with subtle influences from german folk music (which is not too surprising, considering he is from Germany).

I have some more stuff that's pretty underground/obscure in store for you - It's perfect for anyone looking to boost up their indie cred and brag about it to your hipster friends.

Oh and quality-wise, it will be some pretty premium shit, since I ripped it with EAC straight from the CD to 320 kbps mp3 (I'd do it in V0, but LAME is fucking with EAC, or vice versa, I don't know).

DAWNLAWD

Isaac And Hilltop - Before The Flowers Bloom

What up people? Got some new musics for you.

Here's the description of today's album:

Okay, so Isaac and Hilltop is incredibly obscure indie folk band (obscure enough to impress most of your hipster friends). But the obscurity is a shame, really. These guys are SO good and they deserve more attention.

The recording is very lo-fi, so it's kind of hard to hear what they're singing, but most of the time it seems that the lyrics are great.

If you wonder what they sound like, it's kind of a cross between Bob Dylan and the Mountain Goats (but not lyrically of course, that would be insanely good beyond belief).

This little album or EP or whatever it is is truly a gem that shouldn't miss out on, so download and listen to it now. You won't regret it.

DOWNLOAD THIS FINE PIECE OF MUSIC

By the way, most of their music is freely available on their bandcamp page, though not this release.

Motohiro Nakashima - We Hum On The Way Home

Hey. I haven't posted in a while, and I think I'm gonna keep it this way from now on; not posting every day, but every once in a while when I have time and feel like it. Hope that's okay with you.

Anyway, this album I accidentally found when I stumbled over this guy's website and I really liked the music in the video on the drip sessions page, which was by Motohiro Nakashima. So I checked him out and downloaded this album. I'm glad I did.

This album is seriously the most beautiful album I've heard. It's like some sort of acoustic ambient or something (post-classical?). Amazing melodies and incredible soundscapes created by tons of instruments, including acoustic guitar, piano, brass instruments, and more surround you at all times.

He succeeds to constantly create the same atmosphere and evoke the same feelings that Boards Of Canada's songs do, but in a more cheerful and happy mood.

He's just one of those artists which you think it is a pity that they're not more famous.

Download this and listen to it. Then buy some of his stuff (if you like it, which you probably will) or support him in some other way.

This dude makes the most awesome music ever.

NOTE: The last song is missing, and I can't find anywhere so you'll have to do without that one I'm afraid.

DOWNLOAD YOUR NEW FAVORITE ALBUM

Jenny Owen Youngs - Batten The Hatches

Why, hello everyone! Today I've got something completely different from what I posted yesterday, you know how I like to mix it up.
So, Jenny Owen Youngs is this young (unfunny pun intended) singer-songwriter I first heard when she was opening for Regina Spektor a few months back.
She's a lot better live, but her studio recordings are not by any means bad at all.
Later I found out that Jenny and Regina are in fact friends and that shows in her vocal style. At times it's so similar to Regina's that it's almost a bit scary. She's got the same jazzy, quirky kind of voice and a pretty big vocal range.
As for the rest of the music, the instrumentation, it's mostly her acoustic guitar that is the "center" of her music (besides her voice) with some additional instruments that vary from track to track.
Pretty, pretty, pretty good album, check it out.



Trivia: On the track "Voice On Tape", it's Regina Spektor talking on the voicemail message in the beginning.

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Andrew Jackson Jihad - Can't Maintain

Everyone's favorite folk punkers are back again with another great album! Hooray!
Ok, I should start off by saying that I'm a bit disappointed with this album. Mainly because it feels a bit bland and boring and because People Who Can Eat People....etc was a lot better.
Don't get me wrong, this is still great. Just not as catchy and punky as the first one, I guess.
You could say that they've matured their sound (for the worse). But still, you should listen to this; I mean, come on. It' s AJJ.

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Ulver - Kveldssanger

Yeah, bit late with today's update I guess, almost forgot about it. But nevertheless, here it is. Kveldssanger is a neofolk album sung entirely in Norwegian by Ulver, an awesome band from Norway who have played tons of genres, including black metal and folk. The album after this one was raw, aggressive black metal, but on the one after that they started to experiment with electronic music and ambient and whatnot. They basically change musical direction with every album, so it's hard to say what genre they play.
So whatever, Kveldssanger is an incredibly awesome album of dark, melancholic neofolk with influences of traditional Norwegian folk.
The vocals as well are great, flawlessly lead vocals performed frontman Garm and really nicea capella backing vocals accompanied by beautiful acoustic guitar among a few other instruments.
I'd say this is easily one of Ulver's best albums and something any self-respectable (neo)folk fan should listen to.

By the way, since it's almost Christmas now, I'll probably post some sort of "Christmas-ey" album tomorrow or the day before Christmas.

DØWNLØAD

The Avett Brothers - Emotionalism

Why, hello everyone! It's been a while since my last album post (a week to be precise). I promised I would post something today, and as you can see; I held my promise.
Okay, so the Avett Brothers is a folk/bluegrass trio who makes awesome folk/bluegrass with a strong rock-influence. I don't know if you've noticed it, but folk is pretty much one of my favorite genres (as well as folk-related genres, such as bluegrass and alt-country). On Emotionalism they seamlessly mix fantastic singing with nice, catchy guitar, harmonica, bass and banjo. Still they retain a very rocky sound and it really never gets boring. I listened to album just about a week ago for the first time, but it's quickly becoming one of my favorites. folk/bluegrass/country-fan or not, you should check this out, because it is just brilliant. Very "indie" and modern sounding folk with bluegrass and alt-country in the vein of Calexico makes this album a truly amazing experience. Check it out!

DOWNLOAD, FOOL!

Andrew Jackson Jihad - People Who Can Eat People Are The Luckiest People In The World

Besides winning a grammy for the longest album title of 2007 (just kidding, they didn't), Andrew Jackson Jihad are also an awesome folk punk band. And if take a look at the cover, you'll notice that there's a huge bunny (or rabbit, if you will). Why I mention this is because I believe this album is some kind of homage to fellow folk punker Pat the Bunny of Johnny Hobo and the Freight Trains. It becomes even more so apparent if you listen to 'A Song Dedicated to the Memory of Stormy the Rabbit'. This is of course awesome. Now, as far as the actual music goes it's really great and incredibly catchy. But then again I love folk and folk punk so my opinion might be slightly biased (the album has recieved excellent critical appraise however). Altough if you didn't share most of my opinions on music, you wouldn't be reading my blog, now would ya? So yeah, this album is great both musically and lyrically, definitely check this one out if you're interested in folk or punk or both.

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TwinSisterMoon - The Hollow Mountain

Hello there. I've got a new album for you with some incredibly original (and awesome) music. I was originally planning on posting this ridiculously amazing screamo album today, but as I realized that it seems as if this blog is gradually becoming more and more emo/screamo oriented, I wanted to keep the variety with some different music. Now, I haven't listened to any of TwinSisterMoon's previous releases (I'm actually not sure if they've released anything before this either). But if this defines their overall sound, the band/artist has a promising future. Also, I don't even know if this is a band or just a single artist (there is basically infomation about TwinSisterMoon to be found, as I see it). But it is incredible. The album was released this year and is so far a strong contender for being one of my favorites this year. It's basically some sort of drony, psychedelic ambient-like french folk and it is just hauntingly beautiful. As I listened to it I was both frightened and amazed by the cover. For some reason it feels like a perfect visual representation of what the album sounds like. It's all very dreamy and the vocals are very vague. I kind drifted off in my own imagination while listening to it so much that I forgot to really listen to it and analyze the music like I usually do. But I'm pretty sure it some accordion in the background, giving it a very "french" sound, so to speak. So yeah, I really, really, really think you should listen to this album. It's very unique, beautiful and simply amazing.

YOU BETTER LISTEN TO THIS (DOWNLOAD).

On a different note, I think I might be posting the awesome screamo album I mentioned earlier on Tuesday. So check my blog in two days if you want some reeeeally awesome skramz.

Monsters Of Folk - Monsters Of Folk

Here's some more awesome music for you, by supergroup Monsters Of Folk. MONSTERS. The (super)group consists of Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis of Bright Eyes-fame, Jim James from My Morning Jacket and last but not least M. Ward. Strangely enough the first song on the album actually isn't a folk song, but more of a folky soul-song. In fact, just about the first half of the album isn't really pure folk at all, it's a lot more eclectic than that, shifting between what resembles folky 50's rock 'n' roll and straight up alt-country. Still, this is a great album especially the three last songs in my opinion. If you're a fan of either of these musicians, then check this out. After all, they are the MONSTERS of folk. Rawr.

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Astronautalis - Pomegranate

Hey, here's the Astronautalis album i mentioned in my last post. So, I saw this guy last night as he was opening for Tegan and Sara, and he was AMAZING. Alright? Just brilliant. This dude knows how to put on a show, to say the least. Now, he may not be as great in the studio as he is live, but this is still fucking awesome. If you're wondering what kind of music this fine gentleman makes, then I will quote Stewart Mason of Allmusic.com: "If Beck were a decade or so younger and had grown up more heavily immersed in hip-hop". Yes, he sounds like Beck + hip-hop. So basically it's hip-hop with indie rock/folk beats. And it's awesome. Oh, and he's actually both a great rapper and singer. So you should definetely download this, and if you like it, consider buying it like I did or going to one of his gigs (he'll be touring with Tegan and Sara for a while).
He's a cool dude and he makes great music, support the artists!
By the way, the cover art is my own photo, so the autograph isn't on the original cover art.

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PJ Harvey - White Chalk

Oh yeah, here's a great album for ya, by Polly Jean Harvey. Not only is this gal incredibly attractive in a strange way, she also makes awesome music. White Chalk is the first time she plays the piano on an album (she normally plays the guitar), which perhaps the reason to why the piano arrangements are quite minimalistic (still incredibly beautiful though). The overall sound on the album is very similar to Regina Spektor's pre-Begin To Hope material, but sadder, darker and sort of depressing. PJ normally sings in a lower registry, but White Chalk seems to be a quite experimental album so she sings very high, even way above her normal registry at some times. But yeah, I don't wanna go into specific songs, so overall this is an incredibly beautiful (and awesome) album. Check it out if you're a fan of Regina Spektor, Tori Amos, Joanna Newsom or other stuff like that. Great stuff!

DOOOWNLOOOOAAAD

Amps For Christ - Circuits

Time some for hipster garbage! No but seriously, this is album is awesome. And very weird. The most fitting description would be experimental folk I guess. They shift genre back and forth the whole album, but it's still folk at it's core. Oh and did I mention it sounds really experimental? Yeah, I guess I did. Not much more to say. Strange, yet awesome and very enjoyable. Check it the fuck out.

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