No Shortcuts

To say that Her Name is Calla, a Leeds / Leicester / York group is special is a profound understatement, almost as profound as their music and what may stand behind it. Indeed, every artist is, I'd like to hope, is unique in their own way. I believe that aside from the inescapable outside influence, the artist has to have something original, in content, form, point of view or any other mark of distinction, to contribute.

I find that the best of these contributions defy any categorization, that it is simply to be felt and experienced. Her Name is Calla possesses such an emotional core that would offer glimpses into not only the members' hearts but also the listeners'. It gives the impression of loneliness and isolation, living together but apart, a distant promise of something more, of an endless spacious road going on to the horizon. And the band doesn't take any shortcuts. The road has no end.

Go out to the open, away from buses and cities, and listen. Her Name is Calla latest single, "Long Grass", may sweep you off your feet, and once you're on the road, there's no telling where you may end up. The full length album, "The Quiet Lamb", is expected to be released by spring, followed by a tour for those lucky in Europe.

Check out Her Name is Calla on their website, MySpace and last.fm.

Her Name is Calla - Long Grass {MP3} (hosted for a limited time only)
Her Name is Calla - Long Grass (acoustic) {Video}

A Voice in the Wind: Paul Masson

2009 was not a good year for me. Its end in particular more than hints ominously of things to come, foreshadowing grim news and grimmer prospects. I lost several people I love who were my supporting pillars ever since childhood. My current job is in its final days and while the search for a new one continues, nothing tangible has yet been found. Accompanying and clouding all of this is my addiction to my own private world (perhaps in more ways than one), turning whatever reason I have left in my sleepless existence into a murky and blurry mood.

But there is still a little hope left. I may be sitting on a wind beaten precipice overlooking the abyss, but it's also quiet enough here and I can still reflect on the road I've been taking and the people who share it. I can still hear the song in the wind, calling out to me. "Change or Die", it taunts. "Come home", it whispers.

Paul Masson came back home to Baltimore after being away for a few years. Coming back, he crafted a beautiful and honest EP about himself. Reflecting his memories and feelings, doubts and fears, he focused it all into six songs that continue to echo after the music has gone out. Hear his voice carried in the wind.

And as for me? No New Year's resolutions except to keep my ears, eyes and mind open; there are still voices in the wind.

Check Paul Masson on MySpace for more tracks. His EP is available on iTunes.
Paul Masson - My Girl Baltimore {MP3}
Paul Masson - Where Have All the Gentlemen Gone {MP3}

Stricken Peace

An odd sound marks Stricken City, a London, UK based indie pop band. Fast paced, makes-you-want-to-dance moves are mixed with some darker undertones and all somehow, for the lack of a better term, eschewed and different. In a good way.

It's not another britpop band. There's something behind their sound you can't really fathom, something that evades you. It could be the effect of Rebekah Raa's voice as it hovers and haunts the melodies, disturbing the peace. It could be some of the songs' themes and art covers. But it warrants a second listen.

Check out Stricken City on their website and MySpace. Their debut LP, Songs About People I Know, is being released this week (iTunes).

Stricken City - Small Things {MP3} from Songs About People I Know
Additional tracks are streamable on MySpace

Back Rooms and Dreams

It began, they say, in the back room of a bar, a modern equivalent of a speakeasy, in nightly sessions of poker. Hazy cigarettes smoke, a few six packs and half empty bottles of beers lying around, busy shuffling sounds and the beginning of a dream - let's start a band. We've got the means, we've got that rebel spirit, we've got that itch to make it happen.

Most would have stopped at that point, either too drunk or too sober, but not the members of Tony the Bookie. Something was burning inside (and it wasn't just the extra cheese topping). The album The Tony the Bookie Orchestra is a product of that burning, still exploring itself, improving with practice and experience. There may be others, bringing to mind freer, perhaps a little more naive times. The spirit is there.

Do you still have that spirit? Take a ride with Tony the Bookie (website, MySpace, facebook) and try out the album.

Tony the Bookie - True Love {MP3} (from The Tony the Bookie Orchestra)

Relationships' Strange Power

Relationships... where do I start? The complexity of interacting with other people over time and context seems to rise in rate equaling that of entropy filling the universe. The results of both processes, gaping holes of pain, may be similar as well on some cases. In other cases, the serene stars littered skies, each in its own place, seem to present a working unified system. But humans defy the cosmos and its mathematical laws; friend is sometimes foe, kin betrays kin, love is found in the most unlikely places.

But I should let indie singer-songwriter Eric Sarmiento (mentioned here before) present this post's track, part of a duo of new released songs, with his own words:
"they both deal with relationships and how they tend to be interwoven with the spaces of our lives, changing those spaces and being shaped by them. As the name suggests, 'strange power' is about the odd and often surprising ways in which we connect with people, and how those connections can seem to change even the most familiar places into something exotic and new. The coda section of the song delves a bit more into the ways that these connections, however powerful they might be, require work and practice to come to fruition... perhaps to really allow them to bloom to their fullest extent requires quite a bit of courage and ambition, I think."

The song itself hit me as inspired by new wave meets early-mid 2000s styles, but I'm no music expert. I just love the stuff. And it comes in a time relationships complexities come from all sides.

Keep tabs on Eric Sarmiento on MySpace and his label, Alchemist Records, as he releases his latest series of new songs, available soon on iTunes, emusic and more.

Eric Sarmiento - Strange Power {MP3}

The Implications of Having an Imaginary Band

"The band, not being a real band, consequently never formed. And so, there is little to tell about its history."

With this brilliant short intro on his last.fm page (and a lucky email nudge) I was introduced to the beautifully warm and reassuring music of Ben Romvari. A talented Canadian web designer-turned recording engineer and even more so indie singer-songwriter, he has released two records thus far: Nocturnal Fables and Illusions and the Trust EP.

What can you expect from an imaginary band? Is it like an imaginary friend, only with a larger echoing chorus? Should we expect a fallout between the non existent bassist and the almost-there-but-not-quite drummer? Perhaps, one can simply give Ben a listen and fill in the supporting characters themselves. The potential for a "real" band, and more, is there.

Check out Ben's Imaginary Band to become a true fan on his website, MySpace and last.fm. His recordings are available for stream and download.

Ben's Imaginary Band - A Reason Why {MP3} (from Nocturnal Fables and Illusions)
Ben's Imaginary Band - The magical Floating Bed {MP3} (from Trust EP)

It's Melting!

The only real fault I can find in Florida's Greenland is Melting is how much their moniker is actually based in fact. Greenland is indeed melting, though it may be the result of more than just the usual human pollution. The warmth and vibrant energies projected by this three-some should be enough to melt any ice cap.

A folk/bluegrass trio with obvious punk roots, sometimes reminiscent of the Avett Brothers, GIM has just released its new album, Our Hearts Are Gold, Our Grass Is Blue. So watch out for those extra rising sea levels.

Check out Greenland is Melting on MySpace and Bandcamp for tracks and info (and other than GIM help stop global warming).

Greenland is Melting - From City to Town {MP3} (from Our Hearts Are Gold, Our Grass Is Blue)
Greenland is Melting - No More Sorry Songs {MP3} (from Our Hearts Are Gold, Our Grass Is Blue)

Finding Shelter in Leaves, or Waking Up to Winter

I don't know why it has taken me so long to emerge from this long, mind numbed slumber. I'm not sure I have in fact fully emerged, to be honest.

But even if this is just taking a small peek at the world to be followed by a return to hibernation, I feel I got an odd mixture of icy-warm wake up shower that can only do good.

Winter is still a little while longer, but some of its essence, the chilly white snow, misty morning breath and a blazing fireplace, is present here already. Made manifest by White Pines, the moniker of Joseph Scott, upon listening to the music I could have sworn I saw a couple of grey-white wolves peeking curiously at me through a screen door. Sniffing around and disappearing, they leave me with a feeling of wonder, hope and rejuvenation that transcends any particular season, much like the music itself.

The ever busy White Pines has a full schedule working the west coast of the US these days, performing with some might call his summer parallel, Cotton Jones.

Check out White Pines on MySpace and on his label, where you'll be able to stream (and stream again) his new EP, A Face Made of Wood and follow him on his tour.

White Pines - Wolves Will Shiver {MP3} (from A Face Made of Wood)

Thanks for the wake up call, Ken.

... But Summer Is Here

Perhaps the summer isn't such a bad thing after all. Yesterday I wrote a guest post at Music is Art that expressed my longing for winter and summer's end. I complained about the heat and incessant bugs flying around when all I wanted was a breath of fresh, cool air.

Well, I got it in the form of Kym Campbell, a US expatriate who now lives in Australia. Kym writes and performs warm surf/folk songs that may be reminiscent of Jack Johnson or Xavier Rudd with her own personal touch and flavor. The result, other than a little more relaxed smiles around the office, is that suddenly I feel summer may not be all bad, especially when you enjoy the breeze down the beach with good music filling the air.

Treat yourselves to Kym Campbell on her website and MySpace.

Kym Campbell - Rolls That Way {MP3} (from So Alive)
Kym Campbell - Free Flowing {MP3} (from So Alive)

Have You Ever Been Julia?

I've had a small revelation today which soothed me and quailed my growing impatience quite rapidly. I'm sure most people have had it and even I had some prior notions of it, but I, as my usual way about things, forgot. It's very simple, really: I'm not perfect and am not likely to meet or encounter anyone or anything that is. Some say that god is perfect, but even if such a "thing" exists, I doubt our poor and limited human comprehension could ever truly fathom "it".

This brought about a small degree of peace, not because now I don't need to bother working to do the best I can (because perfection is unattainable), but because I could accept that the driving feelings and anxieties about not reaching some (fantastic) goals come from within, and it is, first and foremost, my own perception of myself I have to contend with. As I said, not the most original observation, but one that may make life a little more bearable in this prison of flesh.

What has all this to do with this post's music? Not a great deal. But this net mystery, recording under the moniker of Never Been Julia, has caught my attention and imagination with stormy seas ("Along the Sea") and broken memories ("When I Breath"). Also, as far as I can tell, I've never been Julia either. It's not a bad place to start (even if your name is Julia).

Check out Never Been Julia on last.fm for more tracks. If you've never been Julia too, tell me about it.

Never Been Julia - Along the Sea {MP3}
Never Been Julia - Love Will Come {MP3}
Never Been Julia - When I Breath {MP3}

A Man, Alive

I've somehow managed to survive nature's latest assassination attempt (using microorganisms in the food to try and poison me was clever, better luck next time). As I slowly recover my strength and will to live, I realize how quiet it has been around me. This is not just due to the recently canceled TV cables, but mainly because I didn't really feel the drive to listen and write about anything. Obviously, that has changed.

And with good timing too. By a lucky happenstance Brighton's indie singer-songwriter Julius has released his LP Shepherdess only a few days earlier and I've ran across it. Julius claims the LP, recorded in the mountains of France, pretty much sums up his life in the past 2 years. Well, it's a beautiful life. Calming and inspiring with remnants of happy traveling days memories and friends intertwined, the sound is clear and fresh in my ears.

Check out Julius on MySpace and last.fm for awesome tracks and downloadable EPs and LP. Shepherdess is available on MySpace.

Julius - A Man Alive {MP3} (from Shepherdess)
Julius - Dark Days {MP3} (from Shepherdess)
Julius - My Lovely Boy {MP3} (from Shepherdess)
Julius - Separate {MP3} (from Shepherdess)

Just a Man, Am I?

Cherbourg, one of my currently most listened to bands, has unveiled its official clip for the first single out of their new EP, Into the Dark. Well produced and laden with symbolism of all sorts, it is up for the viewers to get whatever meaning they can out of it. That is, except for the obvious risk in being in a rock band...

Listen to Cherbourg on their official site, MySpace, Facebook and last.fm for more tracks and gig updates. Follow them on twitter here. Buy the EPs on iTunes, Rawrip, or Rough Trade.

Cherbourg - Man {Video, HQ recommended} (from Into the Dark)

A Long Boring Love Song (Not)

Sometimes there's no need for lengthy introductions or colorful metaphors. Sometimes, you just need to listen, to delve the silence into which the sound is poured only gently, because too harsh a stare would dissipate it.

And sometimes, it's the simple and charming songs that will win you over. Even if you thought you heard it before, think again. A topic covered as much as love could never really be boring anyway. Not if there's even a fraction of a memory left in your mind.

Check out Zach Bronow on MySpace and last.fm for additional tracks and info.

Zach Bronow - Long Boring Love Song {MP3}
Zach Bronow - Green Tourmaline {MP3}

A Fire in Nebraska, Open Hearth at the Faire

Night falls and you're still at the Faire, marveling at the wonders and sounds around you. A soft laughter echoes in the distance as you notice a quiet spot around the burning open hearth. Around it a people sitting, listening, there and far away, distant in thought and memory. They travel by the sound of the singer accompanied by his lone guitar.

That singer could be the enigmatic man who works under the moniker of Like a Fire in Nebraska. You've never been to Nebraska yourself, but somehow you get it, or think you do. Originally from Berlin and now based in Wellington, New Zealand, Like a Fire has a way of producing a warm sense of solace, much needed at day's end. And perhaps, for you, it also sounds like home.

Check out Like a Fire in Nebraska in MySpace and last.fm for a downloadable EP and a few more streamable tracks.

Like a Fire in Nebraska - Sounds Like Home {MP3}
Like a Fire in Nebraska - Recall the Songs {MP3}
Like a Fire in Nebraska - In Memory of {MP3}

Drifting Beyond the Idle Sand

I'm officially dedicating this week to the unofficial Faire week. The overall theme of wonder and strange coupled with the underlying passion of wanderlust of these artists leave me little other choice (other than to pack my bag and join the road).

The road is long and arduous, fraught with many dangers and delights, good company, some drinking, an accident here and there and a few broken hearts. It is the tale of the wanderer fewer people nowadays want to listen to or remember, instead preferring to fantasize about lying idly in the sand while eagerly checking the cell phone for news and gossip. Not here.

A genuine article personified in the sometimes NYC based singer-songwriter James Apollo will make you pick up that 40's styled hat, hop on a freight train or just drive away. A drifter himself since 16, he's toured extensively officially and unofficially for years across the US and Europe, and somehow it all gets reflected in that weary, knowing voice. I'm glad to have found him. Just let me grab my hat and a bottle and I'll be on my way. Where to? Beyond the idle sand.

Track Jame Apollo on his website, MySpace and last.fm for tour updates and music. His latest EP, Angels We Have Grown Apart, is available on Amazon and iTunes.

James Apollo - Morphine & Wine {MP3} (from Angels We Have Grown Apart)
James Apollo - I've Got It Easy {MP3}
James Apollo - Beauty Bird {MP3}

Electric Black Faire

The traveling Darkmoon Faire, starting today, provides an arena for the worlds' strange and wonderful. That is, if it actually existed (it's virtual). If it did exist though, I'm sure NYC's Electric Black, covered here before, would have its own specially adorned and red smoke shrouded performance stage.

With their self titled debut LP fast approaching its release date (June 16th), the band has its own traveling to do, along dividing lines of the weird and the profane, the chasms of the soul and the fiery mountain ranges of the broken hearts. Where the journey will take them I cannot say, but I'm sure it will be wonderful.

Check out Electric Black on MySpace and their site for streamable tracks and updates. A second pair of singles is being released before the expected LP release of June 16th.

Electric Black - Reign The Night {MP3} (from Electric Black)

My Gold Mask, Unblemished

You'll never know what treasures will find their way into your mailbox. Granted, my junk mail folder is overwhelmed by all sorts of people soliciting for cheap drugs, heirlooms of devout Christians in faraway countries just waiting to be picked up and inquiries into my anatomy and if I'm pleased with it. Thankfully, my inbox is spared of all this and I can find myself lucky enough to be introduced into some really unique works of art.

With my newly acquired (virtual) horse (still looking for a name, I'd appreciate some suggestions), I can finally dedicate the time needed to go through it all. And I mean all - sampling songs is just not enough sometimes. This was the case with My Gold Mask, an indie-alternative-art band from Chicago. Their debut self titled work is available for free streaming on Bandcamp, with a few songs available for download.

So I took my time listening, starting with one of the downladable tracks and then just kept going. Gretta Rochelle and Jack Armondo, the band's members, started out with home recording of what they call "extrinsic pop songs" but I think they're much more than that. It was actually one of the streamable tracks, "Like Eli", that jerked my ears into action (as it were). A dark, haunting and wondrous sound, building itself from calm to wild shamanic ecstasy of some ancient cave dwellers. Hey, that's the image I got from it. Try it out for yourselves.

Explore My Gold Mask on their website, MySpace and Bandcamp. Their self titled LP is available on the band's website.

My Gold Mask - Bitches {MP3} (from My Gold Mask)

Canada's Talking Cetaceans

I'm seriously considering turning this week to an all Canadian experience. The sheer wealth and variety of artists and styles of music I encounter coming from that country would seem to demand it. I don't want to compare it to its neighbor from the south, but there's definitely something special and very much alive going on there.

Take Vancouver's indie folk-pop Said the Whale for example. Exuberance may be a hard word to define precisely, but putting a clip of the band in the dictionary might provide a good start. Just as important, the group appears to enjoy the whole experience and gives off a certain impression of genuineness.

If you're lucky and in Canada, you can check them out for yourselves in their grand summer tour:
June 11th - Penticton, BC - Barking Parrot @ Lakeside Resort
June 12th - Lethbridge, AB - The Slice
June 13th - Calgary, AB - The #1 Legion
June 18th - London, ON - Call The Office
June 20th - Toronto, ON - Reverb (NXNE)
June 23th - Windsor, ON - Phog Lounge
June 24th - Peterborough, ON - Red Dog
June 25th - Hamilton, ON- The Casbah
June 26th - Sarnia, ON - Patty Flaherty's
June 28th - St Catherines, ON - SCENE FEST
July 8th - Winnipeg, MB - Lo Pub
July 9th - Saskatoon, SK - Amigo's
July 10th - Edmonton, AB - The Pawn Shop
July 11th - Kelowna, BC - The Habitat

You can also find Said the Whale on their website and MySpace for more updates and tracks. Their LP, Islands Disappear, is expected to be released this October.

Said the Whale - This Winter I Expire {MP3}

Said the Whale - The Light is You {Video}

Dark, Mean and Canadian

I've been overly neglecting my writing and, even worse, my music listening these past few days. The reason for that is that I'm working hard on saving money to buy a horse of all things (a virtual one, but I'm already looking for names). So, for those who've sent their lovely music over, please forgive me, I'll get there.

One of those I was happy to find is Hamilton*, Ontario's indie folk-rock band Dark Mean. I can feel the dark strand in their music, like a small shade haunting and providing added depth to their work. The mean part eludes me, unless you mean their lean-mean feet-moving rock.

Originally set up to provide a score for a play, the group has found that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts and its initial Raison d'être and has recently released its first EP. Two more are planned and these will form the first LP and the next nexus from which to grow.

Check out Dark Mean on MySpace and last.fm. Their debut EP, frankencottage, is available for free download on their website.

Dark Mean - China {MP3} (from frankencottage)

* the more I listen, read and talk to Canadian artists, the more I see Canada as a treasure trove hidden in plain sight, filled with endless riches of culture and great spirit.

Bloody Young Dudes

The mail in my inbox said that Blood Guts Bruises Cuts may not be for the faint of hearts. And it's quite correct, too. But as a title for the Alberta, Canada indie rock band The Dudes' new LP, especially when it is joined with the rather creepy promo video on the band's MySpace, it serves well enough.

That's not to say that gore and violence is what this LP is about; the general feel of it is energetic fun rock, fun to create, perform and dance to. Simple, direct and good.

So, is violence so intertwined with our lives that we can't do without it? A spotlight here and there, offered by the Dudes, may have some interesting revelations and insights.

Check The Dudes on their website, MySpace, Facebook, last.fm and Virb. Their new LP, Blood Guts Bruises Cuts, is out tomorrow, June 2nd.

The Dudes - Dropkick Queen of the Weekend {Video}