laurence made me cry - all that patience brings

this retro sounding folk pop confection by laurence made me cry AKA jo whitby of cardiff, wales, was brought to my attention due to the contributions of guitar and backing vocals to the track by freddie nunez, who's album "runaway" i featured here before. this lilting song reminds me in some of ways belle and sebastian and also of early nico, but with a more immediately appealing voice.


check out the rest of this album (called 'the diary of me') as well as several more at her bandcamp page, and learn more about shows, releases and other promotions here at her website.

nathan granofsky - yes soliciting

this home-made album of killer bedroom pop from harrisonburg, va's nathan granofsky was introduced to me by brent finnegan on a recent visit of his to portland, and it is great. very personal songs in an intricate pop format veer between the territories of the walkmen, radiohead, and even david bowie at times. i would venture to say certain moments even remind me of "a wizard/a true star" type todd rundgren. a surprising and vital effort.


buy it from the bandcamp so nathan can keep doing what he calls his "nathing". from what i understand he plays shows from time to time in harrisonburg.

the hollows - youngblood and august (video)

here are a couple of videos, one live, one a proper music video, from earnest brooklyn roots rockers the hollows (i wonder if they go so far as to pronounce that "the hollers"...i kind of hope not). These songs are filled with driving folk rock beats and exciting harmonies. the large membership of the band and horn arrangements on the live video bring that grandiose vision of americana reminiscent of bruce springsteen's pete seeger covers album.





i enjoy the visual conceit of the august video, where an old timey rube opens a jar which transports him to a frightening and magical world of folk-pop. learn more about the hollows' shows and releases, and stream more tracks and watch more videos, here at their website.

riah divis - lemon

this is a nice, homespun folk-pop name-your-own-price release from riah divis of spokane, washington. short-and-sweet pretty little tunes with well observed lyrics. "no more cowboys in elk" is a favorite for me.


here is a video of riah playing "apple jingle", the opening track of her album.



find out more about riah's tunes here.

bognor - when it's raining

a synthpop journey from portland, oregon's bognor, AKA @selfishsteam. i think this song is about the classic sci-fi novel dune, so strap on your stillsuit before listening.


check out other bognor tunes here, and check out his comics and zines here.

sean namei/country creautres - don't ask about my valentine

this is a demo of a new crapnap song.

Don't Ask Me about My Valentine by Countrycreatures on Mixcloud

hope fully there will be a full crap of it at some point.

michael benedetto - burnt hill road (video)

an 18 minute trip via sounds and video recorded by michael benedetto in a cabin in the catskill mountains over a two week period, burnt hill road shows the interaction between a musician and his surroundings and the inspiration that can be derived therefrom.



the video covers the whole length and varying moods of the ep. find out more about micheal benedetto here. don't confuse him with the member of the new york state assembly.