Featured Artist(s): Leonard Mynx

Leonard Mynx is a singer-songwriter who's also a story teller of a rare breed. Based in Portland, Oregon, Mynx has a talent to enchant his listeners as he leads them through some dark and half familiar paths.

Though the songs in his debut LP, Vesper, appear to be sombre and somewhat stark, they also portray a sense of quiet truth and dignity emanating. On some songs the resemblance in style to a young Leonard Cohen is discernible; in others, the darkness issuing the narrated story cloaks Mynx in timelessness. Either way, Vesper tells some sad tales about a forgotten America, now enshrouded by Leonard Mynx's mesmerizing sound.

The highly recommended Vesper was produced with the aid of Adam Selzer (Norfolk and Western, M. Ward) and is due to be released in Spring 2009. Check out Leonard Mynx on his website and MySpace, where you can get updates on gigs and buy the LP.

Leonard Mynx - Mary (from Vesper)
Leonard Mynx - Northwest Passage (from Vesper)

Featured Artist(s): Norfolk & Western

This week is not starting out too well for me so far. I've been getting a weird feeling, a mix between "there's something I've forgotten" and "I'm not supposed to be here" which is a bit disturbing.

Fortunately, thanks to the rain enveloped atmosphere and Portland, Oregon's Norfolk & Western, I can afford a little down time. It's all I need right now: mellow lyrics to allow some depression but inspiring and complex enough melodies to keep me from sinking beyond reach. As each song I listen to becomes more complex, more difficult, more layered, so will I, eventually, find my way back. But for now, play on.

Check out Norfolk & Western on MySpace, last.fm and their under construction site for more tracks and updates.

Norfolk & Western - Impossible {MP3} (from Dusk in Cold Parlours)
Norfolk & Western - The Longest Stare {MP3} (from The Unsung Colony)