The Lost Cavalry preview newest single "Desert Tracks"

Though British chamber pop group announced the release of their newest single "Desert Tracks" would happen in July (but I think has been pushed back to August 1st), this morning I was pleasantly surprised to find that they had posted the track to their Soundcloud. With "Desert Tracks", Mark West and his cohorts continue their fantastically yet oddly relevant folk tales this time about Namibian diamond mines. It's fun and frolicsome with hints of eerie and intrigue.

Enjoy "Desert Tracks":
Desert Tracks by The Lost Cavalry

Bon Iver releases new video for "Calgary"

With almost a week to go until his album's release, Bon Iver has released an official video for the album's first single "Calgary". The video begins simple, with large blocks of ice and snow floating in a water before the camera pans out to reveal a bed that sort of gives birth to a woman. First she appears as a image on it (Not unlike a Japanese body pillow) before she is pushed out and becomes corporeal. That pretty much sets the stage for the rest of the video which has her traveling through a swampy area before eventually meeting up with other people who no doubt went to the same trials she did.

The video is artsy and imaginative, without being pretentious. Sure, it's cryptic but the plot is actually rather easy to follow despite the elusiveness of it's meaning. It's a pretty cool way to feature the song. Not bad, Justin Vernon, not bad. Watch the new video for "Calgary":

Sondre Lerche releases several solo acoustic videos

In celebration of the release of his latest album, Brooklyn based Norwegian songsmith Sondre Lerche has been uploading several videos of himself performing songs solo in his Williamsburg backyard. With the final video coming out today, I figured it was time to collect them all for your viewing pleasure.

Monday - "Private Caller"

Private Caller (solo) from Sondre Lerche on Vimeo.

Tuesday - "Domino"

Domino (solo) from Sondre Lerche on Vimeo.

Wednesday - "Living Dangerously"

Living Dangerously (solo) from Sondre Lerche on Vimeo.

Thursday - "When the River"

When The River (solo) from Sondre Lerche on Vimeo.

Friday - "Coliseum Town"

Coliseum Town (solo) from Sondre Lerche on Vimeo.

Kishi Bashi - Room For Dream EP (2011)

My introduction to violinist/singer-songwriter K. Ishibashi (or Kishi Bashi as he goes by when he's playing) at Sondre Lerche's Bowery Ballroom was a godsend. It's always refreshing to find someone to take an instrument like the violin and elevate it to a much more accessible and yet awe-inspiring level. I don't know much about Kishi Bashi other that he is also a member of Brooklyn based band Jupiter One with drummer Dave Heilman (Sondre Lerche's backing drummer).

For those introduced to Kishi Bashi's songs through his live shows, you're in for a bit of a surprise on his Room For Dream EP. Filled with sparkling arrangements, it's a bit easier to digest without the added shock and awe of seeing K. sing, play, cue loops, change instruments and other feats of technical precision. "Bright Waves" even with it's random Japanese lyrics has this feeling that maybe you've heard it before without actually sounding tired or done before.

Room For Dream though a short 4 track EP, has all bases covered with the complex folk gem "Manchester", orchestrated ballad "Conversations at the End of the World", vaguely poppy, easily accessible "Bright Waves", and and genre-bending "Evalyn, Summer Has Arrived" that manages to mash up rock with old school counterpoint that also features Of Montreal's Kevin Barnes. It's a strong set of tunes that really only makes you thirst for more. Here's hoping there's a full length from Kishi Bashi coming out soon because until that day, you're sure to have Room For Dream on repeat.

You can listen to Kishi Bashi's EP at his Bandcamp.


Kishi Bashi is currently on tour with Sondre Lerche but if you're in the New York City area, he has a solo show on July 6th at the Rockwood Music Hall.

Bon Iver - Bon Iver, Bon Iver (2011)

Album opener "Perth" with it's martial drums and swooping brass sets the stage for Justin Vernon's latest venture: a much more loud and grandiose effort than debut For Emma, Forever Ago. "Perth" with its complexity, organic growth, and depth wouldn't be out of place on an Explosions in the Sky CD if not for Vernon's vocals. Bon Iver manages to use the skills Vernon gained from his multitude of other projects and display them without actually replicating anything he's done before. Departing from his creaky, Wisconsin cabin where he recorded For Emma, Bon Iver, Bon Iver is brighter and yet sometimes just as wintery. It continues with Bon Iver's heavenly sense of quiet even with its use of flittery string arrangements, bolstering brass, and electronic hisses and hums.

In waiting awhile to return to Bon Iver, Vernon has essentially ensured that the music remains fresh, sincere, and largely different than his first outing. Sure, the songs still pack their emotional punches but remains staunchly diverse. Bon Iver, Bon Iver is an album that manages to transcend the boundaries of track names and title, with each track cascading into the next with very little warning. It's incredibly easy to put the album on and forget about everything else til it's all over and the dust settles. And that's a skill Vernon has mastered with surprising efficiently. Each track differs from the other and yet remains part of the same grand tapestry that Vernon has woven, held together by an dizzying amount of sonic experimentation and Vernon's always soul-rousing tenor.

Bon Iver is now streaming at both NPR and the NY Times until it's release on 6/21.

Anna Calvi - Anna Calvi (2011)

Who the hell is Anna Calvi? That's question I asked myself over and over when I visited the UK earlier this year and saw poster after poster promoting her self-titled debut. Honestly, I was far more excited about the new Noah and the Whale (whose posters were never quite far away from hers) to pay her the necessary time of day. It's only after I read a rave review of her recent Bowery Ballroom show that I realized how much of a mistake that was.

The instrumental "Richer to the Sea" is your intro to Anna Calvi's Spanish night club/flamenco-inspired style. Featuring an ominous solo guitar to set the mood, it crackles with drama and intensity before giving way to "No More Words", Calvi's actual introduction as she seductively croons in a cabaret style "Oh my love" each with enough emotional punch and artful inflection to insure the phrase never grows old. Anthemic "Desire" signals another change in Calvi's style, plugging up and flushing out her heretofore solo endeavor, amping up her triumphant declarations of love and lust. "The Devil" features Calvi going back to her sparse arrangements while also featuring her using siren-like calls and fuzzy guitars to evoke a supernatural atmosphere.

When Anna Calvi's voice first entered on "No More Words", I had a hard time grasping what all the fuss was about. It's not until you witness all the other way she utilizes her utterly jawdropping voice that I realized how much effort the track's breathy vocals take. Some of the truly great things about Calvi's debut are essentially the easiest to miss: Like the recurring flamenco-esque theme introduced in "Richer to the Sea" or her coquette-ish vocal stylings. Her songwriting manages to use a wide variety of elements at her disposal while also distilling it into something simple and utterly visceral. Her lyrics serving to augment her already rather evocative compositional style and yet, still being of actual substance.

Get a taste of Anna Calvi with her video for "Blackout":

Lower Dens - Twin-Hand Movement (2010)

For all my fancy discovery stories, I really can't remember when and how I stumbled upon Lower Dens. Might've been LastFM, some random music magazine, or most likely NPR. What I do know is that whatever way it happened, I'm exceedingly glad it did. I've been sitting on the debut from the Baltimore band for awhile now but in honor of their upcoming gig as part of the Seaport Music Festival in New York City, I decided it was time to give the album my full attention.

Like Avi Buffalo, it's easy to see some of the song's titles and dismiss the band and it's music as childish and immature. Don't. If ever there was a time to give a band the benefit of the doubt; it's now, with Lower Dens. Their music is characterized by mostly instrumental rock grooves ("Holy Water") but also by hazy vocals that blend almost seamlessly into the instrumental framework.

Lower Dens have this affinity for spacious, vacuous tracks that somehow manage to bristle with rock-n-roll grit. It's this contradiction that makes Twin-Hand Movement such a pleasure to listen to. The songs are sparse and yet full of prickly guitar licks, dark and lonely yet surging with urgency and strong desire. It's fuzzy beach rock jangle obscured by rather dark everything else. The vocals are quiet and subdued but it's from them that the majority of the songs get their power. Lower Dens are masters of the art of understatement, entrancing you with their dynamic sense of quiet.