Songs Are Like Tattoos: Female Singer-Songwriter Rolling Thread

Am I allowed to talk about Emmylou Harris in this thread?

Adding a seasonal touch (well, almost) – Sarah McLachlan's album of Christmas songs is quite, quite lovely.

And everything by Marissa Nadler.

― anagram, Tuesday, 24 November 2009 00:28 (9 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Everything else once you've heard and rinsed her first two albums, is what I'd say in fairness - she is great tho

'Me Oh My' by Cate Le Bon is the best thing I've heard in this 'category' in 09, it's got a bit of broadsheet <3 but none on here that I noticed

Got tickets to see Laura Marling in NY in February. Super excited!

tara jane o'neil seems to release albums under the radar. this year's a ways away is kinda a nice summary of her stuff, probably one of my favourites from this year.

jolie holland; the last sharon von etten lp, too.

No-one stanning for Brooke Waggoner? The 'Fresh Pair Of Eyes' EP is completely completely astonishing imo/

Just... stop-what-you're-doing-and-listen-in-amazement stuff?

I really like that Sharon von Etten song that Sean Gramophone made his track of the year, that's great.

I always forget that this is my favourite genre!

The K.D. Lang cover of 'Bird on a Wire'! Lispector's 'Human Problems and How to Solve Them' (still an album of the decade)! Abigail Lapell - Boston Song!

Any idea if the new Waggoner album is good?

Hmmm. Should I get Beth Orton tickets too?

Any idea if the new Waggoner album is good?

I... don't like it that much? I mean the title track is pretty great but I haven't found too much else to get into.

It doesn't do much of the "mm-hmm this is pleasant... o it is a piano... oh wow this is really good" thing that I really like in 'Heal For The Honey'

New Laura Marling is freaking awesome.

The first track "Devil's Spoke" is just tremendous.

I want to read what Luke Valentine thinks about Emmylou Harris. Please.

I did not know her before today, but what I've heard of this new Laura Marling album is really good. Not really my usual thing, but my usual thing seems pretty in flux at the moment anyway.

mentioned elsewhere, but I've been really fascinated by the last Tiny Vipers album.

So I've lately been listening to a lot of 1970s more-obscure (at least to me) female singer-songwriter music. Particularly the Linda Perhacs album, Susan Christie's Paint a Lady, The Pentangle's Sweet Child (not entirely this genre), Fairport Convention (don't love it like the others), Judee Sill (omg), + Janis Ian's Between the Lines (a little later in the decade than these other albums). What's some other stuff that's got a similar feel that I might dig? Especially anything like Perhacs or Christie. I'm checking out Magic Carpet too.

I wonder if Beth Orton's "Shadow of a Doubt" is consciously evoking Annie Briggs' "Go Your Way." They even articulate the relevant lyrics ("You go your way, my love, you go your way") in a similar way it sounds (at least to my ears).

belatedly 2nding Christine Fellows's Paper Anniversary, one of my favorite albums ever, period

also, Sarah Dougher's The Walls Ablaze - it's 99/00 but is all-time imo

Wiki has the answer!

A song on Beth Orton's Comfort of Strangers, 'Shadow of a Doubt' is cited as an ode to the song 'You Go Your Way', the chorus being somewhat directly lifted.

So awesome.

I like chelsea wolfe when she's doing the trad singer-songwriter thing. seems like she'd rather be a spooky goth girl, which doesn't work as well for her as the straight forward stuff.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Skk5b69I6xk

no martha wainwright mention itt? for shame

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzPHHpi1bUA

larkin grimm's parplar never got the props it deserved I thought

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fr_wW9UT1Tw

So, what's the best stuff from 2010? Here's my list:

Anais Mitchell - Hadestown
Cathy Davey - The Nameless
Charming Hostess - The Bowls Project
Clare Burson - Silver and Ash
Joanna Newsom - Have One On Me (Ok, I really only like a couple tracks off this but probably deserves a mention on the thread)
Laura Marling - I Speak Because I Can
Roni Alter - Kis Avir (Amazingly gorgeous Israeli singer-songwriter album)
Taylor Swift - Speak Now (maybe not this genre really)
Tracey Thorn - Love and Its Opposite

What else do I need to check out from this year?

Kristin Hersh - Crooked is fantastic even though the best songs are B-sides now. Susanne Sundfor's The Brothel is also good.

lots of people have been raving about Thea Gilmore's new album but on (admittedly first and cursory) listen it's a bit samey to me. Also Laura Veirs, although I haven't heard it.

Tracey Thorn - Love and Its Opposite

soooo underpublicized

Check out Elizabeth Cook's album

Or the amazing debut by Rumer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERzNIzrEnLg&feature=related

New Nina Nastasia is really great, probably my favourite album in this vein for 2010 (that I've heard).

Angel Olsen is my favorite right now:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hcQP40lNkw

i don't know if it was just the video, but that sounds really creepy! reminded me of http://static.letsbuyit.com/filer/images/uk/products/original/209/86/ghosts-of-futures-past-spiritualism-and-the-cultural-politics-of-nineteenthcentury-america-spiritua-20986788.jpeg

New Alela Diane (Alela Diane & Wind Divine) that's really beautiful. As good (maybe even better) than To Be Still.

http://cdn.pitchfork.com/media/aleladiane.jpg

I still think she's a million times better than Joanna Newsom (doing similar things).

i hope he doesn't mind, but reposted from Laura Marling thread:

A top 10 would be impossible to do - there's so much to choose from. But, some recommendations off the top of my head, not necessarily from the 70s:

Wendy & Bonnie, that beautiful Chimera album from 1969, Margo Guryan, Sibylle Baier, Veronique Chalot, that nice new Carol Kleyn reissue, Bridget St. John, Connie Converse, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Judee Sill, Suzy Mangion, those early Elżbieta Adamiak recordings, etc.

(With also this side order (admittedly perhaps projected) tinge of a sneer of why bother listening to female singer songwriters at all, they're just this faceless mass of banality? It really smacks of "there can be only one"-ism.)
Yes, you're clearly projecting, as 'female singer-songwriters' constitute a large percentage of what I listen to on a daily basis.

― The Not Liking Radiohead Awards (Turangalila), Wednesday, July 27, 2011 11:43 AM (17 minutes ago)

bc this can't be posted enough on ilm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uKl3xeBVY4&feature=player_embedded

OTM

The you/too/blue/true/flue/moo/grue grates but otherwise it's absolutely gorgeous

Although of course I would've totally fallen for a "You just might be eaten by a grue"

"they said that the world is built for two / it's dark, you will likely be eaten by a grue"
haunting imo

Backwards compatible with PS2

omg that song

That Lana Del Ray song is just... wow. The first thing I've heard in ages that gave me the shivers.

oh wow I love this

yep yep

obsessed

http://www.avclub.com/articles/exclusive-stream-jennifer-oconnor-steps-out-on-her,64888/

Gorgeous

New Frida Hyvönen:

http://svtplay.se/v/2711638

I thought her first two albums were completely brilliant, perfectly delivered heartbroken piano-pop, but this is a slight turn of direction that really works.

One of the happiest things for me is when this thread is updated :P

I've got a ton of stuff to post here soon... I'll check out Hyvonen tho right away.

Ok, so stuff from this year that seems relevant to this thread. All of it is available on Spotify:

http://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/host.madison.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/0/47/047d9454-4090-11e1-8432-0019bb2963f4/4f14a23543b1c.image.jpg

Kathleen Edwards - Voyageur (my fave album of the year so far, despite only 5 really strong songs - but they're really really good!)
Spotify: http://open.spotify.com/album/2CjPZev1d4F9fVnRV4TcQh

http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lr6tu6AGx41qzszr3.jpg

First Aid Kit - The Lion's Roar (some good stuff, despite Conor Oberst showing up on a few tracks)
Spotify: http://open.spotify.com/album/3zmPFx2ilVB0nx2XKVH5Qc

http://www.the-tune.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/ae8ac1cabf7feac7505d66d8e1a74125.jpg

Ani DiFranco - Which Side Are You On? (not a huge fan of hers, or this album)
http://open.spotify.com/album/5aIEUKZZzFuFOY1yciFh6U

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6eWUNusUJQA/Twrd-wQ1CsI/AAAAAAAACSg/3YXKeSQATq0/s640/LG_LaGrande_Small.jpeg

Laura Gibson - La Grande (kinda laura viers / alela diane / acidey folk vibe from Portland)
Spotify: http://open.spotify.com/album/4ixzvUAUHm17jojcasFupf

http://media.prefixmag.com/site_media/uploads/images/post/h/hospitality/hospitality_jpg_630x640_q85.jpg

Hospitality - Hospitality (debut - i think - album from Brooklyn based Amber Papini fronted band, single 'Friends of Friends' kinda reminds me of Michelle Shocked style urban folk / Regina Spektor anti-folk)
Spotify: http://open.spotify.com/album/0CcRg0EwFcCKw99gLIcOCQ

http://survivingthegoldenage.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Grace-Woodroofe-Always-Want.jpg

Grace Woodroofe - Always Want (i think this one is actually from 2011, but i didn't hear it until recently: bluesy and she's got really fabulous vox)
Spotify: http://open.spotify.com/album/7KEFYylXXJkokbWC90Frz8

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/417gqe8p6-L._SL500_AA300_.jpg

Madison Violet - The Good in Goodbye (another 2011 - i think - release that i only recently got to hear - Canadian folk, maybe i'm more impressed by the cover than the music which largely recalls Dixie Chicks tbh, 'Goin Away' for some reason evoking Meg + Dia for me)
Spotify: http://open.spotify.com/album/5Br5a4ZmMboIw1Qzo0L02h

http://www.behindthehype.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/the-civil-wars-barton-hollow.jpg

The Civil Wars - Barton Hollow (really beautiful - i didn't know about this album until they won the Grammy for best folk. it's got that Americana folk/blues sound aka Alison Krauss-esque that the voters love so much. Joy Williams shares vocal duties with John Paul White)
Spotify: http://open.spotify.com/album/7wmwaIt99NVwdOc7Z8jXYK

Also special mention to Lacuna Coil - Dark Adrenaline which doesn't really fit this thread but I don't think we have a female fronted metal thread yet (altho if j3ff is reading this: we should have one!)

Anything else so far this year I'm missing that is good? I haven't heard the Grimes album yet -- would that fit here?

i really like this song by claire cronin (LA-based musician/artist/poet), she has a kind of oldham-ish vocal warble:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69Qw4h7Expw

New Dar Williams album IN THE TIME OF GODS, is my fave thing she's done in a decade. "I Am The One Who Will Remember Everything" is a highlight:

http://youtu.be/4NjB6gUbAMk

Gah!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NjB6gUbAMk

is the rolling female singer-songwriter thread sexist?

definitely

no mention of Mariee Sioux on this incredibly sexist thread? she's Alela Diane's soul sister, apparently.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmF6DmQoqEE

not just sexist but incomplete!

Sera Cahoone:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5I1NfjXCcAc

Thumbs up on the Serafina Steer album, nice record!

http://blog.newsok.com/bamsblog/files/2013/01/samantha-crain-kidface-cover.jpg

so this samantha crain album is pretty great

Only one listen in, but this new Waxahatchee sounds exactly like Kathleen Edwards recording an early Liz Phair record, to me, so I think I'm gonna like it.

Someone over on the Electric Mole Forums (a Shiina Ringo board) has good things to say about Torres, who sounds okay to me (the whole singer-writer deal isn't really my thing most of the time):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkSLJOZX62w

Cibelle put out a new song yesterday and... wow?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jc-BL1fav5U

That Torres album is briliant.

the new kt tunstall record is incredible

just these gorgeous and spare arrangements; the way the elements build softly out of the track on stuff like "crescent moon" and "chimes" is breathtaking. the songs are simple, sharp, super pretty

Nadine Shaw doesn't seem to have been mentioned on ilx. Gloomy. Album on Spotify now. I like it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkg-BZI-WRA

Sorry, Nadine Shah.

http://d3c1jucybpy4ua.cloudfront.net/data/18204/main_article/Laura-Veirs-album-cover-Warp-Weft.jpg?1375166305

Laura Veirs - Warp + Weft

the new kt tunstall record is incredible

huh. I don't like it nearly as well as the last two. not much to hold onto. also FUUUUUUCK that A. Bird whistling solo in the 2nd tune, what the hell guys

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JxwSMUd6E8

^ Laura Groves who previously went under the name Blue Roses. It's *very* Bat For Lashes/Kate Bush but I like it anyhow.

have i mentioned how much i love the new laura veirs?

Yeah, it's pretty great.

http://www.npr.org/2014/06/01/317090235/first-listen-first-aid-kit-stay-gold?ft=1&f=1039

http://www.npr.org/2014/09/07/345594161/first-listen-lia-ices-ices

thank god 4 npr first listen amirite?

http://s11.postimg.org/vrdvszy83/Beccy_Owen_Imago_album_cover.png

Beccy Owen – Imago

My favourite album in years, and maybe the most universal one she'll ever make. The story is fairly self-explanatory. Quite simple arrangements, mostly just voice and piano, and it's not a long album at all. Just right. Great songwriting, especially on the second half (the sad bit).

Listen at https://open.spotify.com/album/6fysZ4KUlXw6bWqOwYwea2
(Bandcamp is less listening, more buying)

Beccy Owen's other work has covered things like musical theatre, lullabies, an upcoming charity album mourning the British socio-political situation, and other such commercial shoo-ins.

so far this year:

Jesca Hoop - Memories Are Now
Aimee Mann - Mental Illness
Laura Marling - Semper Femina
Miranda Lee Richards - Existential Beast
Nicole Atkins - Goodnight Rhonda Lee

The Aimee and Laura records have multiple highlights, definitely.

the new waxahatchee album also tremendous but u already know that

Sunny Sweeney - Trophy

i was listening to that a lot last night. pretty uneven imo. some great tracks but stuff like "nothing wrong with texas," or "i feel like hank williams tonight" just feel terribly trite

https://johannawarren.bandcamp.com/album/chaotic-good