radioSpin

IRON & WINE
Ghost On Ghost

Iron & Wine makes its Nonesuch Records debut with Ghost On Ghost, the 5th release from singer-songwriter Sam Beam. The album was produced by his longtime associate Brian Deck (Modest Mouse, Califone, Fruit Bats) and follows 2011′s Kiss Each Other Clean. Ghost On Ghost deftly integrates a broad, transparent soundstage and a Swiss watchmaker’s precision with the whispery tenderness at its center. Helping them these songs to life is a studio band composed of topflight session players including the Dylan-certified rhythm section of drummer Brian Blade and bassist Tony Garnier, pedal steel player Paul Niehaus (Calexico), a horn section of downtown New York veterans and five string virtuosos. Ghost On Ghost insinuates itself into the listener’s consciousness like a film, one that demands to be watched over and over.

ARTIST: Iron & Wine
TITLE: Ghost On Ghost
LABEL: Nonesuch
RELEASE DATE: April 16, 2013
TIME: 44:05 min.
WEB: http://www.ironandwine.com/
PURCHASE: price – 9.99$

01. Caught in the Briars [03:12]
02. The Desert Babbler [03:27]
03. Joy [02:31]
04. Low Light Buddy of Mine [03:30]
05. Grace for Saints and Ramblers [03:36]
06. Grass Windows [02:53]
07. Singers and the Endless Song [03:39]
08. Sundown (back in the briars) [02:18]
09. Winter Prayers [03:12]
10. New Mexico’s No Breeze [04:28]
11. Lovers’ Revolution [05:40]
12. Baby Center Stage [05:39]

PREVIEW: Iron & Wine – Joy

get it here.

JOHN GRANT
Pale Green Ghosts

After a breakthrough year following his exceptional solo debut Queen of Denmark, John Grant hasn’t rested on his laurels but created a follow-up that underlines his uncanny and charismatic talents. Recorded in Iceland and featuring Sinead O’Connor on guest vocals, this brilliant Pale Green Ghosts adds sublime notes of dark, gleaming electronica to the anticipated velveteen ballads, calling on all of Grant’s influences and tastes, presenting an artist at the peak of his powers. Exclusively for RS readers, here’s a deluxe edition featuring a bunch of stunning remixes.

ARTIST: John Grant
TITLE: Pale Green Ghosts (deluxe edition)
LABEL: Bella Union / Partisan
RELEASE DATE: May 14, 2013
TIME: 1:40:47 min.
WEB: http://johngrantmusic.com/
PURCHASE: price – 11.90$

01. Pale Green Ghosts [06:04]
02. Black Belt [04:19]
03. GMF [05:14]
04. Vietnam [05:29]
05. It Doesn’t Matter to Him [06:27]
06. Why Don’t You Love Me Anymore? [06:12]
07. You Don’t Have To [05:54]
08. Sensitive New Age Guy [04:42]
09. Ernest Borgnine [04:54]
10. I Hate This Town [04:04]
11. Glacier [07:38]

01. Black Belt (hercules & love affair rmx) [07:48]
02. Black Belt (gluteus maximus vocal rmx) [08:24]
03. Pale Green Ghosts (nivolt rmx) [05:21]
04. Pale Green Ghosts (no ceremony rmx) [04:48]
05. Why Don’t You Love Me Anymore? (nivolt rmx) [05:49]
06. Why Don’t You Love Me Anymore? (bon homme rmx) [07:40]

PREVIEW: John Grant – Black Belt

get it here.

JUNIP
Junip

Junip‘s self-titled second album is a lovely record about old hopes, new beginnings and redemptive moments of clarity. And once again, the music (supplied by the frontman José González with bandmates Elias Araya and Tobias Winterkorn) finds a spot somewhere between krautrock rhythms and African beats to infuse a dash of inherent Swedish serenity. Junip is a work filled with elegant phrasing and playing which doesn’t make for a very aggressive listen. Nothing here assaults or even grabs for the listener’s attention. It’s all in the details, and as long as you’re committed to them, there’s plenty of wonder and beauty to be uncovered.

ARTIST: Junip
TITLE: Junip
LABEL: Mute
RELEASE DATE: April 23, 2013
TIME: 42:46 min.
WEB: http://www.junip.net/
PURCHASE: price – 9.99$

01. Line of Fire [05:39]
02. Suddenly [03:27]
03. So Clear [04:45]
04. Your Life Your Call [04:07]
05. Villain [01:59]
06. Walking Lightly [05:44]
07. Head First [02:38]
08. Baton [03:45]
09. Beginnings [05:01]
10. After All Is Said and Done [05:41]

PREVIEW: Junip – Line of Fire

get it here.

COCOROSIE
Tales of a Grass Widow

Everybody’s favourite wyrd sisters CocoRosie are set to return to earthly shores this year with Tales of a Grass Widow. The record is the 5th studio album from Bianca (Coco) and Sierra (Rosie) Casady, and the American duo this time around choses ad the leading theme the transformative ecstasy in the face of harmful neglect told through their trade-mark avant-folkish language. Right. Makes sense. Maybe.

ARTIST: CocoRosie
TITLE: Tales of a Grass Widow
LABEL: City Slang
RELEASE DATE: May 28, 2013
TIME: 60:03 min.
WEB: http://www.myspace.com/cocorosie
PURCHASE: price – 13.88$

01. After the Afterlife [03:04]
02. Tears For Animals [05:19]
03. Child Bride [04:19]
04. Broken Chariot [02:15]
05. End of Time [03:20]
06. Harmelss Monster [03:08]
07. Gravediggers [05:26]
08. Far Away [04:37]
09. Roots of My Hair [05:58]
10. Villain [04:19]
11. Poison [18:18]

PREVIEW: CocoRosie – Child Bride

get it here.

PASCAL PINON
Twosomeness

Still a four-piece when they recorded their self-titled debut album (although the band name always indicated that these two twins from Reykjavík were in fact the heads of the operation – Pasqual Pinon was a two-headed Mexican, a sideshow attraction in the early 1900s), Pascal Pinon is now, with this Twosomeness, essentially comprised of Jófrídur and Ásthildur, with occasional help by Kristín (and then there’s also casual member Sylvía). Together they have created a many-layered soundtrack to growing up on a volcanic island in the Atlantic: a small world of its own, with all its marvels an all its Good and Bad Things.
A DIY Icelandic tiny dream.

ARTIST: Pascal Pinon
TITLE: Twosomeness
LABEL: Morr Music
RELEASE DATE: February 5, 2013
TIME: 37:13 min.
WEB: http://pascalpinon.com/
PURCHASE: special offer – ONLY 8.99$

01. Ekki Vanmeta [03:17]
02. Þerney (one thing) [03:37]
03. Somewhere [03:10]
04. Evgeny Kissin [03:15]
05. When I Can’t Sleep [03:42]
06. Annar Logi [00:47]
07. Kertið [02:51]
08. Sumarmál [03:44]
09. Bloom [03:55]
10. Fernando [03:17]
11. Good and Bad Things [02:29]
12. Rifrildi [03:09]

PREVIEW: Pascal Pinon – Þerney (one thing)

get it here.

TORRES
Torres

Torres, the debut album from 22-year-old Nashville native Mackenzie Scott, has a deceptively charming backstory. Scott’s family pooled their money together to buy the Gibson guitar that is heard on the album. It was recorded live to tape over the course of five days in the home of a Louisiana songwriter. Scott herself is a bright-eyed, beautiful young woman that simply looks happy to have the opportunity to share her music. Given such a pleasant, unassuming foundation, it is a welcome surprise that the album itself is a raw and gripping exploration of our most basic human emotions. Over simple and often sparse arrangem- ents, Scott unleashes her remarkably multi-faceted voice and lets the listener into the intimate moments of her life. She stands confused outside of a strangers house. A man ashes in his coffee. She looks down the face of a waterfall, wondering whether or not to jump. Torres is a deeply personal record. However, through her stories of fear, heartbreak, inadequacy, and self-acceptance, Torres ultimately speaks to something universal.

ARTIST: Torres
TITLE: Torres
LABEL: Torres
RELEASE DATE: January 24, 2013
TIME: 52:54 min.
WEB: http://torrestorrestorres.com/
PURCHASE: price – 8.99$

01. Mother Earth, Father God [04:31]
02. Honey [05:41]
03. Jealousy and I [04:33]
04. November Baby [07:04]
05. When Winter’s Over [03:30]
06. Chains [05:49]
07. Moon & Back [04:18]
08. Don’t Run Away, Emile [04:51]
09. Come to Terms [05:20]
10. Waterfall [06:07]

Torres – Mother Earth, Father God

get it here.

VILLAGERS
Awayland

From the very first seconds of Awayland, it takes you. A faint drone of organ, joined by eerie strings and a cascade of piano that collectively casts a Hitchcock movie shadow before a hushed voice asks, and then the music obliges by with a similar spectral sweep. Over the course of 11 varied, subtle, complex and plain gorgeous songs Villagers manage to defy any easy categorization of their influences or peers. You can hear fragments of David Axelrod, Jens Lekman, Robert Wyatt and Rufus Wainwright but you could equally add Paddy McAloon, Paul Simon and Randy Newman to the possible roots of this record. And its creator, Conor O’Brien, who played all the instruments on the album (except strings and french horn), is just as captivating in person. You can be sure that Villagers will be around for the long term.

ARTIST: Villagers
TITLE: Awayland
LABEL: Domino
RELEASE DATE: January 14, 2013
TIME: 63:40 min.
WEB: price – 25.87$

01. My Lighthouse [03:00]
02. Earthly Pleasure [04:10]
03. The Waves [05:01]
04. Judgement Call [03:23]
05. Nothing Arrived [03:46]
06. The Bell [05:09]
07. {Awayland} [02:35]
08. Passing A Message [03:00]
09. Grateful Song [04:25]
10. In A Newfound Land You Are Free [03:31]
11. Rhythm Composer [05:07]

12. Nothing Arrived (live at Attica) [03:34]
13. The Bell (live at Attica) [05:04]
14. My Lighthouse (live at Attica) [02:49]
15. Earthly Pleasure (live at Attica) [04:04]
16. The Waves (live at Attica)[05:02]

Villagers – The Waves

get it here.

LISA GERMANO
No Elephants

Lisa Germano‘s communication with herself, the earth, and its beings is getting weirder every day. Her music, which has always been a beautiful pool to drown in, leagues deep with epistolary lament and existential fear, as well as a beacon of ragged hope. With No Elephants, at first you’ll be attracted by the gauzy mellifluity of her dreamy atmospherics, but you’ll soon find your wretched brain synapses firing, comprehension dawning, your complicity in Germano’s dystopias perceived, and, you know, what a ruckus that would provoke.

ARTIST: Lisa Germano
TITLE: No Elephant
LABEL: Badman / E1
RELEASE DATE: February 12, 2013
TIME: 35:13 min.
WEB: http://www.lisagermano.com/
PURCHASE: price – 13.02$

01. Ruminants [03:20]
02. No Elephants [04:25]
03. Apathy and the Devil [02:38]
04. Back to Earth [01:39]
05. Haunted [02:51]
06. A Feast [03:24]
07. Up in the Air [02:44]
08. Dance of the Bees [02:05]
09. Diamonds [03:38]
10. … and So On [02:30]
11. Last Straws for Sale [03:21]
12. Strange Bird [02:38]

Lisa Germano – No Elephant

get it here.

AA.VV.
RS Top50 2012

So here we are again: just like every late December, it’s summing-up-time! It has been a really really hard work (but someone’s gotta do it, you know) to select the best albums of 2012. As usual, no claim to be exahustive round here: it’s a matter of musical taste, and surely we’ve missed some fantastic release (we pre-apologize for that), but we’ve tried, and here are the RS-TOP20 album between the ones featured on radioSpin.
Let us know what you think about it.

01. BAND OF SKULLS – Sweet Sour
02. ALT-J – An Awesome Wave
03. PINBACK – Information Retrieved
04. ARCHIVE – With Us Until You’re Dead
05. HUMAN DON’T BE ANGRY – Human don’t Be Angry
06. CHROMATICS – Kill For Love
07. DIVINE FITS – A Thing Called Divine Fits
08. REDRUM ALONE – De Redrum Natura
09. GRIZZLY BEARS – Shields
10. GIARDINI DI MIRÒ – Good Luck
11. Fairmont – Automaton
12. ORBITAL – Wonky
13. JASON LYTLE – Dept. of Disappearance
14. TWIN SHADOW – Confess
15. SCHOOL OF SEVEN BELLS – Ghostory
16. TINDERSTICKS – The Something Rain
17. SOULSAVERS – The Light the Dead See
18. BRETON – Other’s People Problems
19. CALEXICO – Algiers
20. SOUNDGARDEN – King Animal

Here below (and, of course, inside the concerning section) a slighlty mixed exclusive podcast (downloadable at the end of the post) with the previous tracks.
And then, in the end, like last year, the rest of the chart, from position 21 to 50.

21. CLARK – Iradelphic
22. THE SHINS – Port of Morrow
23. dEUS – Following Sea
24. YEASAYER – Fragrant World
25. TWILIGHT SAD – No One Can Ever Know
26. DRINK TO ME – S
27. DINOSAUR JR. – Silent Running
28. CAT POWER – Sun
29. SOFA SURFERS – Superluminal
30. SWANS – The Seer
31. METZ – Metz
32. LOTUS PLAZA – Spooky Action at a Distance
33. TY SEGALL – Twins
34. PAUL KALKBRENNER – Guten Tag
35. MARK LANEGAN – Blues Funeral
36. THE EYES IN THE HEAT – Program Me
37. PURITY RING – Shrines
38. SIMIAN MOBILE DISCO – UnPatterns
39. MIAOUX MIAOUX – Light of the North
40. ERRORS – New Relics
41. THE XX – Coexist
42. BETH ORTON – Sugaring Season
43. BAT FOR LASHES – The Haunted Man
44. LANA DEL REY – Born to Die
45. BLOC PARTY – Four
46. APOLLO 440 – The Future’s What It Used to Be
47. DEFTONES – Koi No Yokan
48. CRYSTAL CASTLES – III
49. SCUBA – Personality
50. SQUAREPUSHER – Ufabulum

AA.VV. selected by radioSpin – RS TOP20 2012

get it here.

ADMIRAL FALLOW
Tree Bursts in Snow

Glasgow-based ensemble have earned comparisons to the likes of The Delgados and Midlake and attracted plaudits from such high-profile individuals as Elbow‘s Guy Garvey, King Creosote and Guillemots‘ Fyfe Dangerfield. Now, with the release of Tree Bursts in Snow the five-piece (regularly swelled to a larger collective live) is ready to take the next step: from the recommended column of several critics’ reviews and into the hearts of the wider public.
It might seem natural to place Admiral Fallow beside certain purveyors of what’s become bracketed as nu-folk, but the outfit is as much a new chapter in the continuing history of remarkable independent voices from north of the border as it is aligning itself with topical trends.

ARTIST: Admiral Fallow
TITLE: Tree Bursts in Snow
LABEL: Nettwerk
RELEASE DATE: May 22, 2012
TIME: 45:36 min.
WEB: http://admiralfallow.com/
PURCHASE: price – 12.99$

01. Tree Bursts [06:00]
02. The Paper Trench [03:31]
03. Guest of the Government [03:35]
04. Beetle in the Box [03:35]
05. Old Fools [05:58]
06. Isn’t This World Enough? [04:33]
07. Brother [03:15]
08. The Way You Were Raised [04:54]
09. Burn [06:19]
10. Oh, Oscar [03:56]

Admiral Fallow – Guest of the Government

get it here.

VIDEO OF THE WEEK – #133
as seen on radioSpin

ARTIST: Grizzly Bear
TITLE: Yet Again
ALBUM: Shields
WEB: YouTube

directed by Emily Kai Bock

MOSES LUSTER
Stands Alone

Moses Luster has returned, bringing with him a heavy-duty new album. Stands Alone opens with some vintage analog synths, pigpen drums and wayward banjo set the agenda clear: the stranger is back, and he has more tales of the weary to tell. Moses cut his teeth playing the casinos of Vegas and Reno. After years of mixing with the gamblers and lowlifes for whom the glitz of the strip was a distant memory, he finally came to Hollywood and started writing songs about his past. Like Charles Bukowski or Tom Waits, he paints vivid pictures of the underbelly of society, but the sound is more actual: an electronic noir from a modern day crooner, a cursed poet standing alone between Nick Cave and Johnny Cash.

ARTIST: Moses Luster & the Hollywood Lights
TITLE: Stands Alone
LABEL: self-released
RELEASE DATE: November 19, 2012
TIME: 40:22 min.
WEB: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Moses-Luster-and-the-Hollywood-Lights/
PURCHASE: special offer – NAME YOUR PRICE!

01. Hollywood’s Black Heart [04:01]
02. God Is Watching [02:45]
03. The Past Is No Place For A Man [03:11]
04. Free At Last [04:17]
05. Mary Winkler [04:10]
06. Stands Alone [03:40]
07. Rumors [04:05]
08. Capsize [04:27]
09. The God Machine [04:13]
10. There’s A Cross for Everyone [03:58]
11. Theme from Stands Alone [01:35]

Moses Luster – Rumors

get it here.

BETH ORTON
Sugaring Season

Beth Orton‘s ANTI debut captures the classic hypnotic sound that won her prominence, at the same time as it shows a singer at the full maturity of her instrument, with a new soulfulness that can recall Roberta Flack or Nina Simone one moment, June Christy at the next. Sugaring Season is in many ways a culmination of Orton’s art of contradictions, a full circle from that first John Martyn cover she recorded with William Orbit back in the day soulful and ambient, lush and bittersweet, starkly still and fiercely rhythmic.

ARTIST: Beth Orton
TITLE: Sugarin Season
LABEL: ANTI
RELEASE DATE: October 2, 2012
TIME: 37:24 min.
WEB: http://beth-orton.net/
PURCHASE: http://www.amazon.com/

01. Magpie [04:32]
02. Dawn Chorus [03:24]
03. Candles [03:45]
04. something More Beautiful [03:28]
05. Call Me the Breeze [03:52]
06. Poison Tree [04:06]
07. See Through Blue [01:54]
08. Last Leaves of Autumn [04:01]
09. State of Grace [04:15]
10. Mystery [04:08]

Beth Orton – Magpie

get it here.

VIDEO OF THE WEEK – #129
as seen on radioSpin

ARTIST: Kat Parsons
TITLE: Love Changes Everything
ALBUM: Oh! EP
WEB: YouTube

directed by Aaron Marquette

KAT PARSONS
Oh!

Kat Parsons is a fearless performer who walks the line between innocence and exuberance. Born in Vienna to opera singer Darrell Parsons and recording artist Julie Parsons, she grew up immersed in music, studying piano and later majoring in theatre. Oh! is her third EP, and once again it pivots her great songwriting and vocal ability and further establishes her as the talented artist that she is. Her voice is light and agile, her phrasing like exquisite and delicate fur, and her folksy songs move with a soft power, sailing on guitars, keys and happy drums. Something tiny, but still recklessly curious, like the kittens she put on the cover.
Here, for RS readers, an exclusive free download of the main single featured on this release, Love Changes Everything.

ARTIST: Kat Parsons
TITLE: Oh! EP
LABEL: self-released
RELEASE DATE: September 10, 2012
TIME: 15:35 min.
WEB: http://katparsons.com/
PURCHASE: http://www.amazon.com/

01. Love Changes Everything [03:20]
02. Oh! [03:38]
03. What’s Wrong? [03:06]
04. Let’s Not Be Scared [02:11]
05. Happy [03:20]

Kat Parsons – Love Changes Everything

get it here.

ANDREW BIRD
Hands of Glory

Coming on the heels of Andrew Bird‘s critically acclaimed full-length Break It Yourself, Hands of Glory features a brand new original track, a pair of re-worked tracks from the above-mentioned latest album and covers of songs by The Carter Family, The Handsome Family, Alpha Consumer and others. Hands of Glory was inspired by the great fan reaction to Bird’s “old-time” sets on tour in which his full band plays to a single microphone with an entirely acoustic setup.

ARTIST: Andrew Bird
TITLE: Hands of Glory
LABEL: Mom & Pop
RELEASE DATE: October 30, 2012
TIME: 35:09 min.
WEB: http://www.andrewbird.net/
PURCHASE: http://www.amazon.com/

01. Three White Horses [03:14]
02. When That Helicopter Comes [02:54]
03. Spirograph [04:07]
04. Railroad Bill [03:27]
05. Something Biblical [04:34]
06. If I Needed You [03:09]
07. Orpheo [04:29]
08. Beyond the Valley of the Three White Horses [09:15]

Andrew Bird – Three White Horses

get it here.