bon iver: calgary

The first single from Bon Iver's eponymous second album, and it seems rather promising. Of course, as a Bon Iver lover I would be a little bias, so I'll trust you to make up your own minds. However, for now you can get Calgary for free on 4AD's website right here, along with dates of their UK/EU tour (oh so tempting!).

P.S. (Is it me, or is Bon Iver's website not running?)

alex winston: choice notes

Even if the egg-shaker guy steals the show, 

Alex Winston's Choice Notes is definitely an infectious-smile kinda song.

Sister Wife, her "debut mini-album", may be a bit too sugary-sweet for my liking, with the title track's lyric "you don't know the way to his hear-ar-ar-ar-at" very reminiscent of (dare I say it), Disney's Enchanted, but it's a happy little six track EP that'll keep you dancing (around the T K Maxx dressing room, if nothing else...)

Oh, I apologise for my flippancy. Perhaps it is branching off my usual tastes, but having first discovered her through live sessions online a few months ago (both Watch Listen Tell and La Blogotheque have snapped her up) she is talented, even if I do prefer the stripped down versions. However, if you like the recorded music more and want a free snippet of her album, visit her website here and donate your e-mail address to download "Don't Care About Anything". In fact, it's debatably the closest to stripped down on the album. You decide.

dark dark dark: daydreaming

Nothing like a bit of haunting piano music.

...Although, the rest of the album is also worth a listen, with the accordion and violin giving it a nice up-beat twist in places. Visit Dark Dark Dark's website and sign up to their mailing list for a free download of this song.

dry the river: bible belt

Memory is a funny little thing. I thought I'd posted about these guys months and months ago, but it appears I didn't. There's no proof of my stumbling upon them, except signing up to their mailing list many moons ago. Of course, it's another gorgeous balmy summer video from Watch Listen Tell, and with the acoustic guitar and violin (plus broken arm), it's now the first thing I think of when coming across the band's name (which keeps cropping up recently - perhaps it's a sign?)

Have a listen. Visit their myspace. Watch as they grow even more. And for those explorers out there, perhaps find the little secret attached to this five-minute acoustic session...

efterklang + vincent moon: an island

Now give yourself fifty minutes.

If I'm honest, I've worked backwards from stumbling across the film (initially, Vincent Moon was the clincher) on 4AD's website, to finding Efterklang's website and then a few of their videos on YouTube. The ghostly music draws only a slight Sigur Ros comparison from my (perhaps limited) music library, but it does lend itself well to a film soundtrack. And with Moon behind the camera, I'm pretty sure it's an intriguingly beautiful film at that. 

You can buy An Island here (don't skip the uplifting little intro), with donations going directly to the band and cameraman.