http://www.acousticwood.net The land of wood and sound en-us http://www.acousticwood.net/Archive/000011.html Singer/Guitarist James Levy, Mike Jones(drums), James Broughel(bass), and Matt Siskin(guitar) form the band Levy and make some of the more accessible diverse gems I've heard recently. The songs are delicious from all corners of the room for these NYC undergrounders who formed over a year ago. "This is our art, no one is gonna tell us how to do it." http://www.acousticwood.net/Archive/000010.html Kingsbury Manx are releasing a new album - "The Fast Rise and Fall of the South" - via Yep Roc Records on the 20th of September. Yep Roc has set up a page with some recent news. In the past, you'd be hard pressed to find anything on these guys so it's a welcome addition. They put on one of the more impressive shows http://www.acousticwood.net Neat song by the French Artist Delaney from Pehr Records. http://www.acousticwood.net/reviews Yerbird Records released Sounds Like Falls debut album "The Wolf Is At the Door" on the 4th of July, 2005. I've listened the disk and opened up the reviews section. I couldn't have asked for a better album to start things out with! http://www.acousticwood.net/Archive/000009.html Three artists from all corners of the musical world to bring to your attention today. http://www.acousticwood.net/livedive.html Added a Joanna Newsom show and fixed the M.Ward directory which seemed to have shut people out for a couple months. http://www.acousticwood.net/Archive/000008.html Delve into the sounds of Deloris. Hailing from Melbourne, these guys just released an 8 track acoustic cd and though I've yet to hear any of it, I can assure you that the tracks below will catch your ears just right! Their site contains songs aplenty, along with further information on the band, so see what you think. "The Unbroke Part Of It" is one that should get you going. http://www.acousticwood.net/Archive/000007.html Saw is back. They Opened for M. Ward for some european dates recently and finished up a new album titled "The Yellow Light." It's been placed online for you to give a listen and I suggest taking it for a spin! "It's a creepy sounding listen at times, but well thought out" which fits like a thumbtack in a wall at the Woodlands. http://www.acousticwood.net/Archive/000006.html "Say Hi To Your Mom simultaneously defies and enforces physics. We're the mumbling in your head while you're crunching the numbers. We're the apparitions, ticks, gut wrenching, suspicion and glee too. We're the reason you rolled a nineteen for charisma, the cat's meow, your least favorite aunt. Touch us and we'll touch you. Watch us and we'll watch you..." - Say Hi To Your Mom site then full Bio. http://www.acousticwood.net/Archive/000005.html With the UK currently under the grip of some warm weather for a change what better to soundtrack the days than some lovely alt.country courtesy of The Tailors. Thanks to Chris for bringing the Tailors to my attention, it's always very much appreciated when people do this. http://www.acousticwood.net/Archive/000004.html Although these things change all the time my current favourite label is Organ Grinder Records. They currently have three bands on their roster one of which is Fireworks Night who have just put out a wonderful album with echoes of Tindersticks and Lambchop, beautiful vocals and warm instrumentation. The album It's A Wide Wide Sea is something truly special. Here's a couple of tracks from the album. http://www.acousticwood.net/Archive/000002.html Bullette has appeared pretty much everywhere on the web the past week or two and for good reason. She has drawn comparisions to Nancy Sinatra, Aimee Mann, Lali Puna and if I was one to express my own – Liz Phair(ish) with a dash of Jolie Holland. I received her email, read a few reviews, and knew this was going to be something different. With the assistance of Hangnail Phillips, Bullette's self-released downloadable album “Secrets” throws you a vast array of different sounds, each as adorable and delightful as the previous. The second track “Little Bird” is a favorite of mine. Couple "Little Bird" with the Opener "Show Me", and you've just begun to tap into the diversity that Bullette brings to the table. All in all, this is a well kept secret and one that shouldn’t last for long since music as ingenious as this can only grow. Have a listen to the first three tracks and delve into the rest! http://www.acousticwood.net/Archive/000001.html Tom Thumb is releasing his follow up to "songs from holiday" titled "Kindermusik" shortly. His debut was nothing short of a solid listen packed with an acoustic sound and lyrics that weren't just...there. Tom hangs on the same plane for his sophomore effort, but injects the "latter day saints" into the mix who add another dimension to the music. The result is just as intriguing as the first, though the edges have been sanded a bit, rounding out the raw sounds from "songs from holiday" into a complete listen from beginning to end. Though "Kindermusik" floats along more to the electric side of things there isn't much, if any, missteps along the way. "Preach," "Growing Boy," and a fantastic cover of Springsteins "Atlantic City" round out the available sounds for you to delve into. http://www.acousticwood.net/Archive/1051705.html Wallpaper Silhouettes are three (sometimes four) guys from Norway. They write ramshackle, yet charming pop songs and their debut album Echo The World (We Live In) is filled with ten of them. Fans of the Chameleons, the Associates and Orange Juice will love this band. I have to confess to a vested interest as my label Freedom Road Records are putting it out. But i wouldn't recommend or release anything i don't believe in would I? http://www.acousticwood.net/Archive/000505.html If you tend to peek over at pitchfork from time to time, dig, listen, then you're most likely to have stumbled upon The Boy Least Likely To. Lit up with everything except the kitchen sink, the sounds intertwine nearly flawlessly to leave the soda pop influenced sound literally pops you in your eye from the getgo. I picture a Gnome clicking his heels together. Hmm. What? http://www.acousticwood.net/Archive/000428.html Jens Lekman is a mercurial young fella from Gothenburg. Fragile pop songs and a baritone to rival Stephin Merritt's make Jens' debut album When I Said I Wanted To Be Your Dog a beautiful, warped listen. This was a culmination to a series of EPs that were progressively more wonderful. The top notch Swedish label Service releases his stuff in Sweden and Secretly Canadian do the honours worldwide. He's currently on tour around Europe (dates on his website). In the meantime here's the highlights from his EPs so far. http://www.acousticwood.net/Archive/000425.html I really enjoy what Arco are getting at. Arco's Chris Healey, his brother Nick, and Dave Milligan make some impressive and mostly laid back pop. In "Alien", the drums and bass are quietly brought forth about 35 seconds to join C. Healey's gently strummed acoustic. Healey - in a subtle, quiet way - also throws a nice dose of unique lyrics on top of all three components to make "Alien" an intriguing listen. http://www.acousticwood.net/Archive/000422.html For my first contribution to this blog I thought I'd delve into the local music scene here in Oxford, England. I guess everyone knows Oxford for Radiohead and Supergrass but there's a wealth of underground music that's as diverse as you could possibly imagine. There's also a whole host of venues for bands to play, free music magazines and small labels cropping up. Oxford labels include Vacuous Pop, Quickfix, Truck Records and of course my own Freedom Road Records. To give you a taster of what's on offer I've picked some of the bands closer to Acoustic Woodlands sensibilities. Who knows I may get to the drum n bass, metal and unclassifiable stuff later... http://www.acousticwood.net/Archive/000315.html Little bit of a break. Singer songwriter Tom Thumb puts it all out there with the sincerity of his lyrics and genuinely composed music in his debut album "songs from holiday". With the assistance of some cronies, a reel to reel 8 track, and any instrument he could get his hands on, the album was put together in a variety of places in NYC and finished up once he moved to RI. The results will keep you engaged as he's clearly found his niche to settle in and keep ones attention. "Boot(y) Camps" is a classic example of a raw talent that could and should have great things on the horizon. http://www.acousticwood.net/Archive/000301.html I Love Math. I Do. This is an album that I sort of put aside for awhile but finally purchased recently. Their self titled debut clocks in at just under 30 minutes. Led by John Dufilho and Jason Garner - along with other guests - the disk packs a punch and glides along without hesitation. With only three of the eleven tracks timed above 3 minutes, it's really tough to not appreciate what the band brings to the table. If you don't enjoy a song, it's over before it began. The whole Cd is acousticly driven, with the occasional banjo thrown in. You can pick it up at Cd Baby. Pop. http://www.acousticwood.net/Archive/000224.html I mentioned Eric Hurlock a couple of weeks ago so I figured why not do a revisit seeing as my post contained absolutely nothing. He's a singer/songwriter from planet earth with a knack for making some good stuff. It's no secret that the Woodlands enjoy all of the above, especially when an acoustic is thrown into the mix. He's a talented guitar player and songwriter. I look forward to hearing some more material of his in the future. Here are few more tracks which I hope you enjoy as much as I do. http://www.acousticwood.net/Archive/000223.html Denouement - formed semi-recently - are from the west coast. I know nothing about them apart from that. I stumbled into them at Talkie Walkie. Anyway, "Clotted Together" was a track that stuck out to me which I thoroughly enjoyed. "Down and Inside Out" was another. http://www.acousticwood.net/Archive/000222.html Go get M. Wards new album, Transistor Radio...Go on then...if you're hesitant to do so, go and have a listen to it. Tiny Mix Tapes and Pitchfork both seemed to enjoy it. Crooked Fingers is KEXP this morning/afternoon at 12. If you're not a crooked fingers fan, say the hell with it and go and have a listen to KEXP anyway, it's a great station. http://www.acousticwood.net/Archive/000217.html "The lucys began in 1996 as the vehicle for Jesse Jameson's beautiful and warbling folk rock songwriting." The songs stand in between folk and...I dunno, pop? Regardless, it's welcome. http://www.acousticwood.net/Archive/000214.html X-Wife - Eno, Lou Barlow - Home, Iron and Wine - Woman King, Rogue Wave - Nourishment Nation, Cricket - A Cricket in Times Square, Loretta Lynn and Jack White - Portland Oregon http://www.acousticwood.net/Archive/000211.html The Furtips are from Amsterdam and make enjoyable pop tunes with catchy sounds, keyboards, and a voice just as unique as the lyrics. They hooked up with Animal World Recordings in 1998. http://www.acousticwood.net/Archive/000210.html One day that spring Cynthia said to Anna, "Let's play some music. You can play the guitar and sing, and I'll play drums. Neither of us knows how. It'll be fun." - Carrot top records http://www.acousticwood.net Steffen Basho Junghans makes some of the more impressive acoustic instrumental music I've heard. "Drawing inspiration from themes such as 'space, structure, and state' in creating wildly strange, organic compositions that merge minimalist technique, American blues, Eastern raga, and the folk guitar tradition." And he's self-taught. http://www.acousticwood.net/Archive/000204.html A lot has been mentioned about these guys Hood recently. Tiny Mix Tapes, Pitchfork. Have a listen, it's an interesting mix of electroid sounds. The first 20 seconds bring a beat that reminds me of Eminem's "my name is" for some reason. Though there's no comparison between the two musically, it's definitely a compelling sound they produce. http://www.acousticwood.net/Archive/000201.html The much anticipated Arcade Fire show on Sunday night was...splendid? Fantastic? Terrific? I'll just say it was as good as every review I'd read previously had made it out to be. Final Fantasy opened up the sounds and did an impressive job for one guy and a violin. His foundation of sound was built by bricklaying pieces of music on top of each other by holding and looping the sounds and repeating the process until it was as if he had a full band behind him. He did a pretty solid job of compiling such a variety of sounds with no obvious faults. 6 songs was perfect - not too much, nor too little. From scaling the up the wall on the side of the stage to each musician - minus the violin - switching instruments on multiple occasions, The Arcade Fire made the performance about as entertaining as is possible. Two new songs were played - to which no name was mentioned - and they sounded great. The single file line through the crowd at the close of the encore, "backseat", was a perfect cap to the night. They're on Conan Obrien tonight because "Maroon 5 cancelled." http://www.acousticwood.net/Archive/000128.html One day one maybe. Seeing as my Fridays Covered section completely flopped recently, along with my job, I figure today to be as good as any to post a couple Royal City tracks, one of which happens to be...insert suspense...a cover. Royal City infuse folk and bluegrass with a bit of a twist, especially with their Is This It Spokes cover. Coming from Three Gut Records, Under A Hollow Tree is another fine example of what these guys are about. Refreshing. http://www.acousticwood.net/Archive/000126.html Thanks to the eclectic Largehearted Boy for the kind words today though I've been a bit of a slacker lately. He linked up a couple of shows from the live section. Thanks. Dealership were thrown together by a couple of UC Berkeley composition students Chris Groves and Wetherell(Chris). Quite an impressive pop sound follows, even more so considering how it became. http://www.acousticwood.net/Archive/000124.html Tiny Mix Tapes spat out some great news last week regarding Portishead and The Robot Ate Me. Portishead are preparing to release their first album in 7+ years while The Robot Ate Me are re-releasing On Vacation with splendidly special new artwork with a jewel case containing beads and berries, not the hand carved booklet. They then follow that up with a new album in April titled Kill Rock Stars. I believe On Vacation to be one of the top 5 albums of 2004 in terms of experimentation, lyricism, and overall play calling.. http://www.acousticwood.net/Archive/000118.html I was able to check out The Avett Brothers on Friday at IOTA with some cronies and was pleasantly surprised. I didn't own an album before the trip, but stumbled out with two in hand. I'd heard a few tracks they'd posted on their site and another one that made it's way around the net recently, but other than that wasn't really sure what to expect. The energy these guys brought to the stage was inspiring. An acoustic, banjo, stand up bass, good lyrics and two great voices all seemed to fill the right spots at the right time. The Mammals were supposedly headlining the show but things would have clearly been better off reversed. The Mammals were more of your traditional bluegrass sound, but seemed a bit out of place after such a performance by the Avett Brothers. I'm not sure what else to say....it was great. http://www.acousticwood.net/Archive/000113.html Okkervil River is a real river outside St. Petersburg which the band learned about in a story by Tatyana Tolstaya , the talented great-grandniece of Leo Tolstoy. And for those of you located in the DC area, IOTA serves up a nice show on Friday evening featuring The Avett Brothers and The Mammals. It should be fingerpickin good! http://www.acousticwood.net/Archive/000106.html Friends Of The Library really produce an interesting sound. Stairs without a case. Something spacey about it. Click the band name if you'd like to hear more.Red Horse, Snow And Sand, Scientist Weighs The Stars Will Simmons makes music for the label Bees Make Honey, an online open project/label or something like that. A few tracks are available at the site but it looks as though it's been inactive since 2002. They were/are/ain't located in PA... http://www.acousticwood.net/Archive/000105.html Huon is a certain variety of Tasmanian pine tree and the name which these aussies go by. Lo-Fi pop vaguely categorizes them as things tend to bend from here to there in a psychedelic way, song to song. Hailing from Melbourne, these four seem to finagle a sound into your head. "Uplifting" was the track that did it for me. http://www.acousticwood.net/Archive/000104.html I forgot to post the last update of the year before I went 5,000 feet above the level of sea to celebrate the end of 2004. Oh well. My quest - 31 days with 31 bands - ended up an update or four short, but nevermind, I think accomplished half of my goals by posting 31 bands. Part of todays update is from then, but that was last year....so....happy new year. "Go to *sixeyes and scroll for the telepathic butterflies. It's some super stuff." Here's a direct link to the Telepathic Butterflies site where you can find some songs and a quick link. Get over to sixeyes for some more goodies from them and many others. http://www.acousticwood.net/Archive/001230.html The Dying Californian are a four piece that began playing under the name Nuzzle in 1994. Their style was hardcore at one point, a point which has since changed. As the days and years passed, so did their style, which ended up being a 184.5 degree turn and prompted them to change the band name to....The Dying Californian. It's some neat stuff. http://www.acousticwood.net/Archive/001229.html Thanksgiving is a time when family and friends fill their bellies, laugh, and drink wine. Full bellies, laughing, wine. This track "before you died" is an excellent song. Simple, yet the emotion in his voice seems to ride the tone in his basic but catchy chords. Thanksgiving is the moniker for which the young, apparently well known, Adrian Orange records under. He's a Portland based musician and in his late teens early twenties. I'm ashamed I haven't already heard about this guy, he's already dropped 5 disks. Go check them out here. http://www.acousticwood.net/Archive/001228.html Apart from having a sweet name, The Wee Turtles produce a compelling rock sound with some neat hooks and lyrics dipped in sarcasm. A four piece from Geowgia, these tracks are from their debut full length This Land Is Your Land. Pitch A Tent Records. http://www.acousticwood.net/Archive/001227.html John Bramwell returned to England in 2000 after a plethora of pit stops and assembled I am Kloot, a sound with some pop, an acoustic bite and clever lyrics. The final product is an edible puffed out mass of delightful music. ?? http://www.acousticwood.net/Archive/001226.html Merry (late) Christmas everybody. I received an email from the Nixon yesterday, a band from Holland. They do some pretty neat stuff. Here's a couple songs tracks from their older work. http://www.acousticwood.net/Archive/001223.html Barzin have a sincere air lingering about in the lyrics and compositions that caught my ear off the bat. In their own description - "Slow and melancholic, introspective and confessional: These words in some ways describe the sound of Barzin." From Toronto, this three piece began work sometime back in 95'. Impressive. http://www.acousticwood.net/Archive/001222.html "The Best of..." is a common theme found across most online music reads this time of year. And after reading a few of the larger ones, I much prefer Tiny Mix Tapes Top 25 List compared to some of the crap pitchfork has been dishing out. Sorry if you're a fan, but I'm not used to seeing Brittany Spears in the top 5, among other questionables, regardless of the category. PF still does some neat stuff, but I just found a few things discouraging as the year progressed. TMT also threw an additional http://www.acousticwood.net/Archive/001221.html Sam Jayne took his solo act on the road awhile back with James Mercer, Rosie Thomas, and Sam Beam. Not a bad crowd. His full time gig is with Love as Laughter. Anyway, here's a couple solo tracks from Sam. http://www.acousticwood.net/Archive/001219.html Great song here from Camera Obscura, a Merge Records group. Tracyanne Campbell has a super voice. http://www.acousticwood.net/Archive/001218.html Will Johnson. "Johnson's solo songs are simply stunning. Like Murder of Tides, Vultures Await carries the darkness absent in Johnson's other projects, but it is not just somber - an underlying hopefulness flows through these songs. Stark vocal melodies cut a swath to Appalachia, ghosts of roadhouse barmen http://www.acousticwood.net/Archive/001216.html Settled into the corner of an abandoned townhouse within the inner city of Baltimore about two years ago, I was introduced to a slew of bands that were opening for Cass McCombs. Aboretum and The Oxes are the only names I recall at this time, but one of the more fascinating instruments I watched that night was the musical saw. Equipped with a bow and - tada, a saw - I watched some dude go to town with one of these things. Anyway, the only reason I brought this up is because the a saw and bow are both inexpensive, and this online lesson seems like a quick way to get started. Oh, and today's band is Saw. http://www.acousticwood.net/Archive/001215.html The Skyflakes hail from N. California. The gentle vocals of Tricia Saria Ramos combined with a steady stream of catchy riffs, beats, and beams set to pace makes this enjoyable listen. At first I thought Deerhoof, then jumped across to Liz Phair with the guitar on "Bad Thoughts," then came full circle and I settled on Skyflakes. That was the beauty of it though, it had pulled every which way. Maybe not, I'd just caught a smoke. Eh? Check out a video or two here. http://www.acousticwood.net/Archive/001214.html The Wedding Presents album Saturnalia is a one of those disks I see myself breaking out from time to time for that different pace. Sort of like a fine wine, it's gotten better with age. The albums opener, "Venus," is an excellent way to get things started. "Big Boots" is one way to give you an idea of which way the album heads, which is towards the sensitive side as though he's been involved in some type of squabble at some point or another in his life. It's still a solid album, and I'm happy with it. Thanks Last sound of summer. http://www.acousticwood.net/Archive/001213.html The Danielson Famile are an odd bunch. Very.....different. I think the track "A no no" has some very ingenious qualities about it though. You may come up on the other side impressed or annoyed. Have a listen. http://www.acousticwood.net/Archive/001212.html A little variety pack from Iron and Wine which includes the track "Jezebel" which is going to be included on the Ep to be released in February. I believe this take to be part of the demos submitted to Subpop, but who knows. "Red Dust" and "Lions Mane" were recorded at Bottom O the Hill and "Rattling Bone" is another demo tape tune. http://www.acousticwood.net/Archive/001211.html Paul Duncan. I know that's rather bare, but hey, less talk more music, right? "Blue Tusks" and "So Sick of The Sun" is some new material I stumbled across on the Hometapes website. His first effort, To An Ambient Hollywood, is a nice listen and where the track "Letdownville" came from. Great song.