Guy/Gal With a Guitar (Or Anything Else): Rolling Folk/Singer-Songwriter/Americana Thread 2015

Might as well have a thread for the stuff that isn't suitable for the post-fahey brigade thread.

The Ryley Walker album Primrose Green is being talked about over there but it's one of those that crossover into this area.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96qBM4LL2ps

The new Jessica Pratt On Your Own Love Again is very nice as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hLJusxYhbY

Been meaning to check out Pratt's music, but haven't yet. Read some nice stuff about her

may i recommend https://circuitdesyeux.bandcamp.com/
very unusual singing voice on the other end of the spectrum from jessica pratt
i like it and the instrumentation is interesting compared to most singer-songwriter stuff imo

Caroline Rose released my (arbitrarily ranked) 10th favorite album last year, I Will Not Be Afraid. She really doesn't fit squarely in the alt-country camp, because she's too kickass for it. She reminds me, at least in spirit, of the early/mid-80s cowpunk scene at times and occasionally sings like a young Maria McKee. Here's the first track on the album.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m72n-OioWRo

http://exclaim.ca/Music/article/tallest_man_on_earth_returns_with_dark_bird_is_home

Soft-singing Swedish folk dude the Tallest Man on Earth (a.k.a. Kristian Matsson) hasn't released any new music since 2012's There's No Leaving Now, but that will finally change with news of a new LP.

Called Dark Bird Is Home, the album marks the fourth full-length from the project. A press release says it sees Matsson "as his most personal and direct, deeper and darker than ever at times," adding that "it's also an album with strokes of whimsy and the scent of new beginnings."

Dark Bird Is Home will arrive on May 12 via Dead Oceans.

Album trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjsu5_fGvo8

i think circuit des yeux might be too freaky for this crowd -- she just got signed to thrill jockey iirc!

That Caroline Rose reminds me of early Throwing Muses, in a good way.

that joan shelley record from last year is great.
also: myriam gendron!

Quite a week coming up at Caffe Lena. From the weekly newsletter:

Greetings - First, don't forget that you can take the dreary right out of this rainy, cold Wednesday with hot coffee, chocolate layer cake, and Session Americana's CD Release show at Lena's tonight at 7. Tickets are $22 at the door.

We are just bursting with music for the next few days. On Friday Canada's esteemed singer-songwriter Garnet Rogers comes to town with his rack of guitars, rowdy stories, and sensitive, serene songs. He's an imposing presence and a masterful entertainer.

On Saturday it's a very special one-time event as two musical pioneers meet on stage: Alice Stuart, who was part of Zappa's original Mothers of Invention and toured nationally with her own rock band, Snake; and Melissa Ferrick, who broke into the rock scene in the mid-90s with songs that were personal and powerful. These passionate, bold women will light up our stage with their stories and music.

On Sunday the Wild Ponies are up from Nashville with a new CD that sounds bouncy and twangy, but is anything but light. Their stories are emotional and important, and their harmonies and playing are first rate. This will be a 3-piece, with husband and wife Doug (guitar) & Telisha (bass) Williams and their drummer, Jake Winebrenner.

Does it stop there? NO! On Monday we have the amazing treat of Portland Cello Project, a west coast gang of "cello wielding maniacs" who arrange unexpected pop and rock songs for six cellos, making music that is elegant, soaring, and heart-breakingly beautiful. Their brand new album pays tribute to the songs of Elliott Smith, who you know if you're under 35, and need to discover if you're over 35.

And, wait! There's more!! Next Wednesday we have father and daughter Martin and Eliza Carthy. They sing the songs that inspired the 60s folk revival, and that contain our most enduring stories. The Carthys are the most honored of English balladeers and it is just amazing to me that they'll be performing on the intimate Caffe Lena stage as part of this very rare North American tour.

See you at the show,
Sarah
Detailed show info: www.caffelena.org

Can't Get
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WATCH ONLINE
Follow Us on ConcertWindow to get notified when we
Broadcast Live!
https://www.concertwindow.com/caffelena

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I'm currently head over heels for Itasca's "Unmoored By The Wind" ... beautiful stuff:

http://marmararecords.bandcamp.com/album/unmoored-by-the-wind

these 2 tracks on bandcamp are very nice, I dig this kind of stuff

https://gallery.mailchimp.com/46238df01d2ba6f28a9a0f68d/images/41cd0de9-fe3e-4830-b554-5ab54e8a9d5f.jpg
Wednesday, April 15 at 7 PM
Martin & Eliza Carthy
England's Foremost Folk Musicians

You may have heard a couple stories about English folksinger Martin Carthy. "There’s the one about teaching Bob Dylan tunes such as ‘Scarborough Fair’ and ‘Lord Franklin’, which were subsequently Dylanised as ‘Girl from the north country’ and ‘Bob Dylan’s dream’. And the Paul Simon story, where Carthy’s arrangement of ‘Scarborough Fair’ was appropriated in a less gentlemanly way. . . These anecdotes are all well and good but tend to obscure Carthy’s huge influence on music and musicians around the Western world, and possibly beyond. So here’s what composer, performer and producer Van Dyke Parks had to say about Martin Carthy: 'my favourite British musician …is Martin Carthy. Nothing more exemplary or beautiful has ever come out of England than the works of Martin Carthy. They protect and define England. So I must admit that is my secret love. It's the street sensibility, the roots, that I love.'
- Nick Morgan

Martin Carthy, MBE, and his daughter Eliza Carthy (two-time winner of the Mercury Prize), come to Caffe Lena this Wednesday evening on a rare North American tour celebrating the release of their album, The Moral of the Elephant. They'll be performing the beautiful, dark, subversive, and sometimes comical old songs that gave birth to the folk revival of the '60s, and that informs all the music that has come since. And that, in a nutshell, is the story of Caffe Lena itself!
Also This Weekend
Friday, 4/17 - 8 PM - JIM KWESKIN & GEOFF MULDAUR
4/18 - 2 PM - BENEFIT FOR MOHAWK COMMUNITY OF KANATSIOHAREKE
With Roy Hurd, Akwesasne Women Singers, Kay Olan, Joe & Jesse Bruchac
Saturday, 4/18 - 8 PM - SLOAN WAINWRIGHT & COSY SHERIDAN
Sunday, 4/19 - 7 PM - WILLY PORTER & CARMEN NICKERSON

Since Circuit des Yeux was mentioned:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2q6m32GAOs

And a new Damien Jurado track (written for a soundtrack)
http://exclaim.ca/Music/article/damien_jurado-on_land_blues

some talk over on her own thread, but meg baird!
also this weather station album is sounding prettay good. kind of a mid 70s joni thing happening? need to dig in a little more: https://soundcloud.com/paradise-of-bachelors/01-way-it-is-way-it-could-be/s-UhDZq?in=paradise-of-bachelors/sets/the-weather-station-loyalty-1/s-QFtki

yeah I'm looking forward to these

not new new, but everyone should have this album.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WYMVjAc3z8

New Dar Williams song!

https://play.spotify.com/album/2EyLc1ci3g7ASIPggj7kXv

Album out May 26.

that Circuit des Jeux is amazing!

I can't decide if I think Houndmouth makes good music or bad music. I'm leaning toward good but I'm not sure why, really. Kinda feels wrong. But I don't want to let my brain talk my ears out of liking something.

Help?

I am really feeling the new Holly Miranda album. It reminds me of Laura Veirs a lot.

xp just watched the video for "Sedona" & my first impression is: they could make better music if they wanted to, but seem happy to sell out & ride the stompcampfirewave at the present time

I admire them for smiling so convincingly in the video & rather than dwelling on the darkness which I assume haunts the song (yes I noticed the Nathaniel West)
because darkness can be kind of a tough sell

if they put out an album in a year or two & then split acrimoniously, I'd probably check it out

Okay, I'm doing a Spotify list here as well. Add em if ya got em.

ILX's Rolling Folk / Singer Songwriter 2015 Thread Spotify Playlist

There's some stuff that is being discussed in its own thread or the Post-Fahey brigade that could end up in that playlist (off the top of my head: Laura Marling, Sun Kil Moon, Sufjan Stevens, Meg Baird...)

(can't add them myself as I don't have spotify)

seeing jessica pratt tonight, excited

Meg Baird record is really good! Also really into that Circuits Des Yeux record, heavy but beautiful record.

don't think the album is from this year but I saw Jennifer Castle last week really enjoyed her, a little twee

Best album of the year IMO is Not So Deep as Well by Myriam Gendron

amazing adaptations of Dorothy Parker poems as singer-songwriter folk....shades of Nina Nastasia (a.k.a. the co-GOAT w/Joni)

http://tunes.mamabirdrecordingco.com/album/not-so-deep-as-a-well

You should check out her albums UMS, specifically Pink City which is brilliant.

yeah i just found out about her, just great

castle's on no quarter, right? that label has it down when it comes to this kind of thing -- great records by zachary cale and joan shelley coming out in a couple months.

yeah, also obv solar motel too, good label

last year's castle album was tremendous - my #1 vote

Love love loving the new Sam Lee album
http://www.npr.org/2015/07/27/425256277/hot-pants-glitter-and-alan-lomax-how-a-rising-singer-found-folk-music

This is a quick, third-quarter reminder that all available tracks mentioned on this thread (and a handful of album selections from each listed) are being updated to the thread-specific Spotify playlist as posted. I just did another top-to-bottom sweep prior to posting this message and have revised as of today with everything that's been added since first mentioned. Subscribe if you're into it!

It's 24 tracks, over an hour long.

Rolling Folk/Singer-Songwriter 2015 Thread Spotify Playlist

I feel like today's listening will mostly consist of a surprise (to me anyway) new album by Alela Diane (with Ryan Francesconi, whom I only knew from his nice instrumental album Road to Palios but is/was apparently in Joanna Newsom's live band) and the dark folk of Dorthia Cottrell's self-titled (she's the singer of doom metal band Windhand).

one mention upthread and some discussion in the Fahey thread, but it's worth noting here, too: Joan Shelley's Over And Even is absolutely stunning, and one of the best albums of 2015 in any genre. check it out if you have not.

The new Baby Dee album is really beautiful and characteristically haunted-sounding: https://tinangelrecords.bandcamp.com/album/i-am-a-stick

YES
think it's one of my favorites of the year; saw her do the album premiere party and it was definitely one of the best shows of the year

Joan Shelley's great, thx for the tip

not quite confirmed yet, but joan shelley might be doing a house concert ... at my house!

!!

y'all are invited ...

damn, sounds awesome!

can't remember who exactly are colorado people on this board (i think some exist?) but once details are nailed down, I'll post about it...

you should cross post 2 the fahey crv thread too

the heidi berry fan in me is totally loving this.

https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xlf1/v/t1.0-9/12274474_10154357667247137_1210492800646538947_n.jpg?oh=3804768df3ea71b78c92fdd24881eb40&oe=56E457B5

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIDvKqCPI5w&feature=youtu.be

yeah she's great

thx for the heads up on shelley- gorgeous

I love that Joan Shelley album

she should have her own damn thread!

Joan Shelley

https://40.media.tumblr.com/7fd50f07edb289f65c8cd293e7b8dc4b/tumblr_nyorda4Q2J1qzy30io1_1280.jpg

Still really enjoying the new Josh Ritter album. Lots of tunes, lots of good lines. As a singer he's too sunny to sell the apocalyptic stuff -- he should've sold "Birds of the Meadow" to Nick Cave. But I love the fast ones, and one of the slow ones -- "The Stone" -- is on my shortlist of songs of the year.

As we move into December, I'd like to drop a quick note to encourage any readers / lurkers / ilxors to post their favorite folk-y tracks or albums from this year to the thread so that I can hoover them into the ongoing spotify playlist. Last chance for any accessible stragglers that may not already be in the lexicon.

Enjoying the new Simon Joyner album 'Grass, Branch & Bone'. Makes for a good late night listen.

https://simonjoyner.bandcamp.com/album/grass-branch-bone

Simon is amazing. Love this record.

guess we need a new thread ... but this 2015 Tiny Ruins release sounds great - https://tinyruins.bandcamp.com/album/hurtling-through
has hamish kilgour on it ... think the myriam gendron fans here would dig.

and this one too! seems to be getting a little attention -- a bit angel olsen-y?
https://scissortail.bandcamp.com/album/listen-to-formation-look-for-the-signs

guess we need a new thread ... but this 2015 Tiny Ruins release sounds great - https://tinyruins.bandcamp.com/album/hurtling-through
has hamish kilgour on it ... think the myriam gendron fans here would dig.

oh I had missed that one, thanks for the heads up

really is great -- recommended!!!!

I'm wrapping this playlist for the year. It has been updated with a few new adds (Dorthia Cottrell, Alela Diane, Meg Baird, The Weather Station) and includes every track mentioned on thread that is available via Spotify's US catalogue as of EOY 2015. If I missed something or if a track comes available sometime in the future, bump here to let me know and I'll add.

Rolling Folk 2015 Thread Spotify Playlist

Julien Baker's Newport Folk set now live streaming on NPR:
http://www.npr.org/sections/allsongs/2016/07/22/486910594/were-off-to-newport-folk-festival
Might be posted later; some from earlier this weekend are starting to show up. Unpretentious, fervent sonic-spiritual testimonial speculations, or quest if you like. She knows what she thinks and feels, but gets why they call it "faith."
John Moreland's Saturday set was very good too. ("Hang me in the Tulsa stars.")

joanne robertson is inexplicably underrated, appeared on a few dean blunt things and she suits that hazy intimacy v well. I guess it's on her to record all the new cat power albums now, including this year's wildflower released a month before the avalanches' one. really like her spare guitar playing and the whole thing has an effortless strength to it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3aiuan3Pk0

dori freedman made one of this year's best albums

would love for this thread (or a new 2017 thread) to be more active in the coming year!

me too!

it doesn't help that some of this stuff is already covered in the post-fahey brigade thread

some of the things I enjoyed this year, some with vocals, some without:

Sarah Louise - VDSQ Solo Acoustic Vol. 12
Marisa Anderson - Into the Light
Glenn Jones - Fleeting
Luke Roberts - Sunlit Cross
Marissa Nadler - Strangers
Jackie Lynn (aka Circuit des Yeux) - s/t
Mike Wexler - Syntropy
Gareth Dickson - Orwell Court
Brigid Mae Power - s/t
Matt Elliott - The Calm Before

Hope everybody heard these in 2016:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7b3Mrtzm-0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUeU3FgFCOs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHyMtYdAX2E

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHLIKOoX_n8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r08sY9lzFpQ

https://fredericksquire.bandcamp.com/album/spooky-action-at-a-distance

https://newdog.bandcamp.com/album/lost-weekend

yes, see, thank you for these ^^

i don't know if i am mellowing in my old age or what but i think i'm more into "Folk/Singer-Songwriter/Americana" than ever before.

2016 faves include Lori McKenna, Andy Shauf, Laura Gibson, Lydia Loveless, case/lang/veirs and Eric Bachmann, plus the great Stephen Steinbrink, though he's probably more "indie" than belongs in this thread.

The new Duke Garwood album 'Garden of Ashes' is a bit of a Lanegan-esque dark blues affair and it's better than anything Lanegan has done in years. Here's the 1st track:

https://youtu.be/9Ok3ztBXQIU

Full disclosure, I've done some writing for the roll-out of this album, but it's just wonderful, wonderful:

https://soundcloud.com/secretcityrecords/03-leif-vollebekk-elegy

Really love that Duke Garwood album.

woah I had totally forgotten about Leif Vollebekk, love this guy's previous album, that's great news

new julie byrne record is extremely nice
https://badabingrecords.bandcamp.com/album/not-even-happiness

yeah the julie byrne is nice

here's something else in that vein, from Hand Habits aka Meg Duffy

https://handhabits.bandcamp.com/album/wildly-idle-humble-before-the-void-2

I'm very much into this French guy right now:

https://talitres.bandcamp.com/album/the-silver-veil

I saw that on the overlooked albums thread, that is a great release. Raoul Vignal's soft whisper and his fluid restrained guitar play remind me a little of Nick Drake. Vignal is more serene than melancholic though. So tender and smooth, perfect lullabye music.

Bands I really should explore more of part #123: Elephant Micah.

This version of Still Life Blues is so fucking good.

https://youtu.be/_1eqA681el4

this guy from Portland should be much better known, his 2017 album is excellent:

https://jeffreymartinportland.bandcamp.com/album/one-go-around

This new Lotte Kestner record is right up my alley. You know the deal by now: melancholic tunes ala Marissa Nadler, Alela Diane etc.

It's quietly been quite a good year for Americana/Roots records. Amanda Shires released a fantastic album. But the one I want to tell you all about is Life Ain't That Long by Rich Krueger. It's his debut album, he's a 58 year old neonatal doctor from Chicago who happens to be a fantastic songwriter.

If you like this genre, you will love this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_gKj7hS6OQ

Nice tune, but just once I'd like to hear one of these guys play a chord that can't be found within the first three pages of the Mel Bay Beginner Guitar Method Vol. 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjB3Qwjcimw

she knows a lot of chords

You are right about the chords but it'd be better if she would not sing.

I made it about twenty seconds into that one

she's great but she already has two threads of her own! (for Big Thief and solo work)

I have never heard of this person but that's some of the most insufferable singing I have heard in a long time. Sorry.

tbf that's by some distance as out-there/incantative as her vocals get, stuff like "cradle" and "womb" are more representative