mounds - silver giant

mounds, of ann arbor, michigan, is the side project of prog/psych band USA is a monster front man tom homann. a 'narrative synth prog duo', mounds brings windy, snaking blasts of psyched out synth over frantic drums with chant-like lyrics telling stories of ancient times, or future times, or how all times are the same. if you are a fan of USA is a monster, and let's face it you should be, you will definitely enjoy this as well.

grab this or a number of other tracks right here for a buck each. if you want some on wax, you can cop a record for $13, released by billy of virginia noise pirates buck gooter, here.

salvaticus - a vulture's feather

charlottesville virginia's purveyors of brutality salvaticus are poised to re-release their demo 'hidden manna' (which i covered here before) with a fresh mix, the addition of vocals, and physical goods in the form of CD's and cassettes. by way of a preview they have made available for streaming the epic, nearly ten minute journey that is 'a vulture's feather', which will be the fourth track on the release. starting with an acoustic guitar, the song doesn't take long to blast off to the heights of pummeling swirling darkness.

i'm not quite sure when it's going to be birthed into our mortal sphere, so keep an eye on this spot for that information. this release also features artwork by william jarboe of barbelith and nostalgique, which i covered here recently.

pm buys - funeral psalms EP

on his debut EP, midwestern folk singer pm buys brings troubadour songwriting with witty lyrics and sweetly plucked guitar. production here is stripped down to the folk standard of guitar and harmonica, with occasional addition of some pretty female vocals. pm buys also writes poetry, which you can check out here. the poetic style seems to inform his lyricism.

grab 'funeral psalms' for free right here.

brock and kathryn ginther - the tallest hamburger

another cool and funny musical cartoon by new portland residents and my new friends brock and kathryn ginther. with slightly more hi-fidelity drawings this time around, they explore the ramifications of making a really, really tall hamburger.



this tune is also available on brock's latest album, 'the breakfast cowboy'.

dziecka - wielkopowierzchniowe odgłosy lasów

i posted about polish drone/ambient act dziecka awhile back for the release of their polnocna korea EP. if you liked that, they have released quite a few recordings already for 2014 you ought to check out. featured among them is 'wielkopowierzchniowe odgłosy lasów', an LP which is available in digital and physical form. featuring a blend of repetitive melodies, prepared guitar drones, distorted soundscapes, and samples of 911 calls and other emergency related audio, among other harder to classify experimental touches,'wielkopowierzchniowe odgłosy lasów' creates a bleak and misty sonic atmosphere.

get the limited edition CDR with handmade packaging for $4.50 or the digital album for $1 right here. check out the merch page for a variety of other physical goods.

souix city kid - look out tacoma

souix city kid's latest tune 'look out tacoma' (hey i got drunk in tacoma the other night) possesses the hallmarks of mid to late 70's classic american singin' and songwritin', a quiet intro, whistful hammond organs, and big memorable choruses that rock on into a fade out ending. the band is tight and the recording is crisp. the kid's vocals go down that primrose tom waits path, or like the boss when he is full vein popping 'adam raised a cain' mode. they're gritty.



find out where to get albums or see shows right here.

the moonshine - never know

'never know' is the first track off of 'and now...', a new album of rousing stomp folk from portland, oregon's the moonshine (formerly michael the blind), and it comes with the unusual touch of a prominently featured auto harp along with the instruments standard to the folk pop orchestra sound. the song sounds like one to scoot your boots to in some kind of barn or shed, and it was recorded live to encourage that vibe. everyone joins in on rousing choruses and the band moves with that familiar and soothing string band swing, in this case with just a bit of poppy pep in their step. as a portland resident, it pretty much sounds portland-y.

the album comes out 1/28/14 on alder street records, but for now you can pre-order it, digital or physical, right here. also check out this favorable mention the moonshine recently received in local paper the willamette week.

jim ghedi - grandfather clock and old soul

jim ghedi is an experimental folk songwriter and composer from sheffield, UK. his new album 'satori' is due for release on 2/24/12 on little mester's recording confederacy. in the tradition of his countrymen in the psychedelic 60's, jim ghedi translates world music influences through a british and american folk lens, coming out with a spacey, other worldly acoustic soundscape. ghedi's musical palate is varied, making use of many bowed, plucked and pounded instruments with deftness. the songs on the album range from haunting cello and piano pieces to reverb drenched folk ballads and american primitive meets raga solo guitar meditations.





keep an eye out for this release right here.

tom brosseau - today is a bright new day (video)

'today is a bright new day' is the lead single from north dakota troubador tom brosseau's latest record 'grass punks' out now on tin angel records.  brosseau's personal lyrics convey a deep sense of place in the wide open and sometimes desolate spaces of his homeland in the great northern midwest (he was given the key to the city of grand forks, north dakota in recognition of his album of the same name). musically, his high sometimes fragile voice floats like snow above a rolling prairie of subtly picked guitar and mandolin.



get 'grass punks' from tin angel records here. check out a few more videos here.

zachary lucky - the ballad of losing you

from the great white north comes troubadour zachary lucky with his latest album, the woodsy, sad and subtle 'the ballad of losing you'. recorded in analog fashion with quiet classy touches of country/folksy production, this record of down tempo ballads of, you guessed it, loss, is quite a tear jerker. boasting a warm sound and canadian cowboy poet lyrics, delivered in a bittersweet murmur of heartbreak, this would make for good late night drinking alone music. bourbon? i think yukon jack might be work better.

you can get this album right here in one of three ways, digital album, CD, or LP. check out a brief video that delves into the intimate process behind the making of this record below.

sting nie zagra w kazachstanie (sting won't play in kazakhstan) - s/t

sting nie zagra w kazachstanie bring us another blast of eastern european punk noise from across the frozen atlantic in the form of their self titled debut on polish DIY imprint fyh! records. ice cold industrial drums paired with simple drum machines, droning guitars, repetitive folk melodies, distortion waves and chilly droplets of synth accompanied by what i think are vocal samples from old rap songs. some woodwinds? experimental punk at its best.

name your own price for these two tracks right here. the whole album comes out 2/16/14.

amina shareef ali - i want to kiss death and reno

amina shareef ali is a singer/songwriter in the classic sense of the term. her tunes are confessional and evocative, produced in a refreshing, rustic manner. on songs varying from beer soaked rockers to sad eyed ballads, amina's band backs her up with a road weary and bar/small venue tested comfort. harmonica and harmonies hang loosely around 'reno', a sparse pedal steel arrangement sails behind 'i want to kiss death'. the following two tunes appear on her next album, 'a place to remember the dead', which is due for release on 2/19/14.





listen to some of her older material right here. if you want to pick up a copy the night it comes out, amina is playing a release show on 2/19/14 at bottom of the hill in san fransisco.

wisdom is lost - s/t

i was hipped to wisdom is lost, a bedroom lofi (you know, my favorite kind of 'fi') act out of dover, CT, by ryan davis of sophomore lounge records. classic homespun grooves, plenty of psychedelia and experimentalism, slightly on the pastoral/acoustic side. sometimes noisy, sometimes pretty, always weird. some more of the modern folk music of america.

go here to download it and some older stuff for free.

born standing up - no. 9

born standing up of oxford mississippi sounds like a mellow good time folk string band that has let the molasses like sunshine and atmosphere of their native land soak into their laid back picking and boy-girl harmonies. brushed snares shuffle along, accompanied by banjo, fiddle, and touch of electric guitar on 'no.9', the single from their debut LP (recorded in bedrooms, churches and liquor stores, apparently), which is slated for release in february.

for now you can name your own price for the digital single right here. check out the video 'no. 9' below.


No 9. - Born Standing Up from Born Standing Up on Vimeo.

USSA pleasuredome - dead medium

USSA pleasuredome began as the bedroom recording project of greg scelsi, known for his work with hardcore band compression, in baltimore, MD. over the years it has gone through many incarnations. the latest EP, dead medium, features a three member line up. this slow burning EP is a post-rock journey of guitar tones, delay, loops, pounding, plodding drums and occasional early pink floyd moments of psychedelic lyricism.

name your own price for it and older stuff right here.

jaye jayle - ...it's jayle time

with '...it's jayle time', jaye jayle (AKA evan patterson) brings a sort-of concept album of sun damaged south western desert psych-folk. production is stripped down, reminding me just a little bit of the dusty clatter and stomp you hear in link wray's 'three track shack' era records, with the addition of some droning psychedelic flourishes. the aura of early beck/calvin johnson collaborations hangs around as well. the sound of the record and the narratives contained within the story-like songs are refreshing to hear and unlike many current releases, harkening back to a kind of sepia toned psylocybin outlaw time that never was.

this album has release scheme as unique as its sound. for now you can grab a digital version right here, but there will also be a series of three 45 rpm 7" singles released, each with two different selections from the album and each on a different label. the first is 'pull me back to hell' b/w 'evil windows', available on 1/21/14 on louisville, KY based sophomore lounge records.

the street muse project - field recordings from kenya

awhile ago i did something i never do here which is post about a kickstarter...but this one was for the very cool street muse project, which endeavored to take the wild and amazing richmond, VA based one-man-band gull (nathan rappole) to africa on a cross-cultural musical mission to get together with african performers. well, the kickstarter was funded and now some of the results are in in the form of these field recordings available now on bandcamp (all props to excellent site ongakubaka who had this up first). i honestly downloaded this as soon as i saw it.

get it here for $7. all proceeds go to completion of the documentary film. check out the trailer below.



needless to say, this undertaking is right up the MFOA alley.

satellite high - the muscular sorrow of the sad brained beardman

i'm not sure what to say about this album's title but the music is solid throughout. on his latest release, bay area MC/producer satellite high throws out his darkest, most cohesive, concise and musically interesting album to date. the production on this album references all classic eras of hip hop (and many other genres) yet remains current and very true to SH's intense DIY ethic. the musical palette in play here is much more diverse than the average bedroom rapper's midi controller and 808 emulator, with many of the sounds, notably the percussion, coming from acoustic instruments. lyrically it is very introspective album, although it still carries some of the antagonism that gives the best rap it's edge.

get it here for five bucks.

the turlocks- black poppy tea and carol ann

the turlocks are a band containing some of my best friends and they just recorded a batch of new tunes. i've heard all six but they've only released two here and it's good stuff. whiskey rock a bit like if the replacements were less wasted and more southern, with big vocal choruses and a stonesy two guitar attack with tones for miles on these carefully self produced numbers. listen closely and you'll hear a glimmer of something stax-ish in there.

name your own price for these and some older tunes right here. look for more coming soon.

candidate demo - the curtain

candidate demo out of harrisonburg, va brings harsh, sometimes droney, sometimes spacey guitar riffage, yelling and weirdness over repetitive, mechanical industrial drum machines. of course one half of candidate demo is billy brett of the infamous noise/blues duo buck gooter so that makes sense. simple brutal music. call it industrial shoegaze punk.

name your price for it here.

paul bergmann - 'only in the dream' video and solo EP

the end of 2013 saw two releases by echo park's champion of dark retro folk, paul bergmann. he released a david lynch looking video for his excellent tune 'only in the dream' (which sounds reminiscent of lynch movies as well), performed with his band the fair moans, a succinct roy orbison on just a little bit of acid gem...



in addtion to that he released a solo EP, a short collection of lonesome lofi, drenched in layers of tape fuzz and reverb, sounding like a fractured relic while also sounding modern.

get it here for 5 bucks.

freezy - reminisce and never knew

connecticut MC freezy brings a stylish flow over minimalist beats. the lyricism of freezy and the other MC's (ray trilla and pro) that join him on the following couple tunes is nimble, containing a modern hip-hop edge while still paying homage to styles of the past. the productions stays out of the way of these skilled MC's, using strings and vocal hooks to create an atmosphere in which they can do what they do.





listen to more tunes right here.

gar clemens - onion eyes

singer/songwriter gar clemens' new album 'onion eyes' has an appropriate title, as this collection of lonesome stories have the potential to bring on some serious melancholy. the production style reminds me of 'nebraska'...sparse, intimate, with back ground vocals, a little percussion or piano here and there. a good framework for these heart-sleeve-heart-land narratives.

name your price for it and check out some older releases right here.

nostalgique - awaken the light in the night of all creatures

nostalgique is a bedroom ambient/balck metal project from baltimore. moody, droning keys-driven dirges with plenty of haunting, distorted elements swirling in the background. thoughtfully made and thoughtfully paced, this is perfect music for the dead of winter.

name your own price for it right here. if you are in the mood for some very solid more traditionally defined black metal, check out barbelith, the full band project by members of nostalgique...harsh, cold, unrelenting and lofi, with a good blend of riffs and dire atmosphere.

jay woodward - winter song

jay woodward, who made his musical debut late in 2013 with the excellent and understated 'letters we told', added this extra ode to winter as the year was breathing its final gasps. appropriate now, as half the country is blanketed by snow and record cold temperatures.

get it for a buck and check out 'letters we told' right here.

D.I.V. - game point

new york rapper D.I.V.'s new track is a fast paced meditation on the MC game. a good showcase for D.I.V's considerable skills in that arena with solid production by joey c.



if you like it you're in luck, this song looks to be a preview for an upcoming full length.

tail light rebellion - six strings and gasoline

jonny swagger, formerly of pogues-esque dover, new hampshire folk-punks the swaggerin' growlers, goes solo with his new project tail light rebellion...road wearied north eastern folk punk, tightly produced with just a cajon, a guitar and some harmonica. it was just two songs before i heard the phrase 'dirty old town'. no lack of PBR can swingin' sing along choruses, tales of mis-spent youth and the  DIY road.

name your own price for it here. if you are in the charlotte, NC area, catch him at the legendary milestone club on 1/9 (i've played there it's a really cool place!).

clint kaufmann - the purple light and jerry joseph

clint kaufmann is a louisiana based folksy singer/songwriter. he mines the fine traditions of american folk music and classic songwriting for his original tunes, creating unpretentious, down home ballads and story songs. if your in the new orleans area, you can catch him playing weekly.





check out his website to purchase albums, find out where he plays, see live videos and more.