ezra triste - birds, or the place where we all find time to die in the moonlight

the latest release by bedroom/lofi songwriter and producer ezra triste (AKA joplin rice) is a departure from the stripped down, man and guitar aesthetic of his last effort 'boy with antlers'. the featured track on bandcamp blasts forth with a form of fractured late 50's style rock or doo-wop, screaming about dying in the moonlight, and includes a distant sounding organ solo. rice's production choices across the short 5-song album argue for continuing in this fuller sounding direction, its a platter of dark, lofi gems.


name your price for it here.

model of the invisible - the x of y

californian musician models of the invisible creates a spaced out blend of music that is fitting for the MFOA ethos. homemade tunes that incorporate influences from the world over, including  far east, south american and hawaiian/island vibes stirred up like a stiff cocktail with american forms like soul, jazz and psych. i like it a lot and i recommend it.

get some right here.

O.G.P. - look no more

O.G.P is an up-and-coming MC out of virginia. southern-fried vibes and speed-rhyming technical skills, coupled with a strong poetic sensibility.



download the track here. the album is coming soon.

slow dancing society - pull

slow dancing society is the stage name of ambient artist drew sullivan. 'pull' is the lead single from his newest album 'the cogent sea', due for release soon on hidden shoal recordings (they are always dropping something new and strange!). 'pull' has the feel of the classic, early ambient experiments of the 80's. slow and meditative  synth pads with echo-y drums behind, glacial guitars that slide into the track slowly. the melodies at play also seem to have a post-rock influence included with the 'ambience'.



listen to more slow dancing society here.

deena shoshkes - rock river

NY/NJ musician deena shoshkes has a lengthy resume as a songwriter that i'm not going to get into here because i am talking about her latest effort, 'rock river'. the album delivers a blend of indie rock and country-roots vibes backing solid, classic songwriting and deena's friendly, experienced voice. i especially like the steel guitar driven tune 'bring it all'.



what you hear above is just a sample, buy 'rock river' here.

jimmy hickmott - teacher (video)

this homage to 'you can call me al' (video-wise) is the first single from the debut album 'nice try sunshine' by british singer/songwriter jimmy hickmott. bouncy, percussive folk pop with a big chorus and just a hint of world weariness in the lyrics.



pre-order 'nice try sunshine', which comes out in september, right here.

fin folsom - passing notes

'passing notes' is an early single off the upcoming release 'early summer' by new york power pop/rock band fin-folsom. the song is begins with angular guitar, edgy vocals and a frantic beat that set an urgent mood, before blooming into a psyched out, wordless chorus of reverb soaked 'oooh-oohs'. a catchy summer jam, with enough bitterness to make you feel like summer has already begun to wane.



listen to more fin folsom here.

the sweet maries - s/t

chicago's the sweet maries are an accomplished folk band that keep the beguiling harmonies of singers amy shoemaker and susie lofton up in the front, backed string-band production that features some acrobatic mandolin playing. there is a mix of pop drama and polish and old time folk vibes. their self titled album includes an interesting take on the traditional tune 'black is the color of my true love's hair'



listen to more from the sweet maries right here.

marco polio - 2008 to 2013: a retrospective

lofi, frantic, bedroom styled freak folk is the parlance of plattsburg, new york recording artist marco polio (matt hall). the release featured here is a retrospective of the past 5 years of his varied, wild and strange recorded output.



name your price for this and others right here.

tedd hazard - so long and thanks for all the booze

on 'so long and thanks for all the booze', pennsylvanian folk-punker tedd hazard brings some of the angriest, screamiest, drunkest acoustic strum-punk i've ever heard. songs about drinking too much, and being pissed. i acutally feel pretty bad for his 'straight edge girlfriend'.



get it digital right here.

eric funn - no more blue tomorrows

'no more blue tomorrows' is the latest release by dedicated pennsyvania DIY bedroom taper eric funn. eric also runs the digital/tape DIY label funn folk sounds, for which he does 'field recordings' of all the bands that pass through his town on self booked tours. needless to say, he is an MFOA fellow traveler of the first order. 'no more blue tomorrows' sounds as if it was recorded into a boombox, and there is a distinct possibility it was. no frills, man and guitar, sad-guy lofi folk. lonely stories of heartbreak with a lonely sound to match.
 

get it for free right here. check out funn folk sounds as well, for a spectrum of DIY field recordings.

driftwood soldier - amphibious love EP

philadelphia's driftwood soldier takes an interesting approach to populist, rabble rousing 'gutter folk'. the duo's sound centers around a mandolin, an electric bass and the singer's deep baritone voice. it is pretty rare to hear this kind of music in a guitar-less arrangement, but it works. their latest EP is called 'amphibious love'.



it's a steal for free right here.

jay woodward - garden in the sun (video)

here is a joshua tree-heavy music video for the tune 'garden in the sun' from jay woodward's excellent album 'letters we told'.



get 'letters we told' here.

zach mccoy - poor fools

arkansas based bedroom recording artist zach mccoy sent me one of the types of emails i like to receive at MFOA: something to the effect of 'hey, i'm so-and-so, i write and record songs. will you listen to my stuff?' that's exactly what i'm here for. his album 'poor fools' is a lofi indie folk journey down the road of partying a bit too hard, sleeping a bit too little, loving a bit too much and laying it all down on tape. personal, tuneful and rough around the edges. harkens to that late 90's early 2000's tradition of indie rock that includes the likes of the silver jews, modest mouse, elf power and the eels.

get it digitally right here.

magnus dewi - earth plates

'earth plates' by french guitarist magnus dewi (david durand) is a beautiful meditation in the american primitive tradition. interesting, because when john fahey coined the term american primitive, he was making an oblique reference to the painting movement known as french primitive. at any rate, this is an intricate album of finger picked steel string guitar with occasional flirtations of accompaniment, a little violin, electronics and even banjo here and there. soothing, yet emotional. good stuff.



check out more magnus dewi right here.

crusasis - lilac woman

'lilac woman' by brooklyn, ny bedroom crust blues adventurer crusasis, is a swaggering, lofi stomper. wet guitars, dry vocals and slapping drums propel dark, sometimes noodly blues jams forward. be warned, this guitar playing gets mean and snakey! stripped down, rough and tumble shit right here.



name your price for this album right here. find out more about crusasis here. preview a track from the upcoming new release 'echoes of yugen' below.

charming axe - gathering days

'gathering days' by chicago's charming axe is a quality collection of well curated covers (dolly parton & porter wagoner, james taylor, and winning me over, the always great 'you don't miss your water' by william bell) and thoughtful originals by the band's three core members. The album has full sound, mining the americana tradition. bluegrass-tinted harmonies and banjo, mournful accordions and organs, those classic shuffling brushes all played by what sound like some crack players. decidedly not amateur hour.



buy the album digitally here. get more charming axe right here.

aaron tinjum and the tangents - the wild and beyond

washington DC's aaron tinjum and the tangents are back again with another new tune called 'the wild and beyond'. starting with some intriguing plucked fiddle and breaking out into an indie folk trot characterized by tinjum's high warble, the band really seems to be hitting its stride with this well produced tune.



get more aaron tinjum and the tangents right here.

alma - for a poet

if you are in the mood for some fairly slick contemporary blue eyed soul, chicago's alma has new song just for you. 'for a poet' is a mellow jam colored by touches of alto sax and electric piano. 'for a poet' is currently available as a single, but you can also check out alma's previous EP 'pass it on', which features a range of styles from folk to neo-soul.



name your own price for the single or the EP right here.

stars and streams - s/t

stars and streams is the bedroom recording project of connecticut songwriter c. ward. lofi lonely one-mic folk/psych/rock/pop, with overdubbed, reverbed out harmonies and those tunes that hang just on the edge of catchy. concise at four songs in a long-winded world, this first release could leave you wanting a few more.



name your price for it here. below, observe the video for 'row away'

lauren o'connell - quitters

'quitters' is the latest of many albums by san fransisco based alt-country songstress lauren o'connell. rootsy folk rock and quiet indie-flavored americana ballads, a pleasing range from boot-stomping to beer(or maybe hard cider)tearing. these homespun sounds are accompanied by wry lyrics and knowing voice, at times joined by close harmonies.



get it on cd or digital right here.

junichi arima - 23 summit avenue/in your ear

in keeping with the sort of international theme, i'm excited to feature this one-two punch of an instrumental EP by japanese bassist and electronic musician junichi arima. '23 summit ave/in your ear' is arima's first release, but it sounds like he has been working with sounds for a long time. '23 summit ave' begins incoherently but come together in an satisfying way, like watching something break apart backwards as it settles into a groove that glows with a mellow warmth by the end of the tune. 'in your ear' is slightly more disorienting for its entire brief duration, but amira chooses to let that one break apart at the end, giving the short and sweet set a holistic feel. digging this one.



more on junichi arima can be found here. buy the EP here and here.

Sonia Pisze Piosenki

'the friends to lovers EP' by sonia pisze piosenki is a fragile slab of raw, emotional folk, light in sound and heavy in heart. performing on mostly just voice and guitar, with the odd shaker, glockenspiel or harmony, sonia pisze piosenki wears her heart on her sleeve for this brief set of four tunes. its out now on polish imprint fyh records.



get it here.

alive way - big city (video)

i was interested this week to receive a submission from alive way, a lithuanian pop/rock band fronted by singer justinas stanislovaitis. the sound is huge: well produced, driving and written with a pop sensibility. they are a self-funded band, and justinas emailed me himself, but the production values here are much slicker than your usual MFOA fare. their newest release is called starlight. 'big city' is a standout tune featuring justinas on vocals, but other songs feature women vocalists and power-ballad vibes.



check out more from alive way here.

adeline hotel - leave the lights b/w another way to go

'leave the lights b/w another way to go' is the newest 7" from new york folk/indie rocker daniel mitchell, who goes by the stage name adeline hotel. the disc is available june 24th on pennsylvania's future oak records imprint. 'leave the lights' is an upbeat but melancholy song of departure, a perfect blue tinted folk rock jammer with a catchy chorus featuring mitchell's country meets power-pop vocal stylings and twangy guitar work. 'another way to go' is a sadder, slower song, lamenting over some steel guitar swells and shuffling drums, climaxing/breaking down in a chaotic swirl of distorted guitars.



buy it here. listen to more adeline hotel here.