When the weather shifts towards the fall, we look for things that make us feel warm and comfortable.  Little May can help with the transition.  The Sydney-based trio’s debut single, “Boardwalks,” has every ingredient to put us at ease (angelic harmonies, rich acoustic guitars, back porch sing-a-long melody).  The threesome don’t shy away from being a mirror of their influences, from Fleetwood Mac to First Aid Kit to Fleet Foxes.  And when your influences are this good, there’s no way you can be bad.  Their debut EP is due out by the end of this year so until then, cozy up and enjoy.

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Scoop “Boardwalks” here

Sometimes, it’s just nice to take a break from the synth pop dominated world and remind ourselves that music not born from a computer still exists.  Today, that break comes in the form of “Sons & Daughters” by the London-based artist, Allman Brown.  Brown’s music borders on folk, with rich acoustic tones, somber melodies and personal, honest stories.  “Sons & Daughters” starts like any standard folk song until indie pop artist, Liz Lawrence, joins in, adding an intimate texture that is both warm and exhilarating.  Ok, you can return to your synth pop now.  Enjoy.

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Cherokee Red has convinced me that psychedelia and folk combine to make some of the most haunting, entrancing music. The sextet’s self-titled debut LP, released this past April, is a continuous flow of soft chants, fragile guitar chords, and the soothing incantations of songstress, Christiana Bartolini. The opening track on Cherokee Red, “Vaya Con Dios,” is perhaps the most cheerful and still has a ghostly aura. Like every other song on the album, it is a twisted lullaby, gentle enough to put you to sleep but spooky enough to make you nervous about what’s going to happen when you close your eyes. Enjoy.

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Scoop “Vaya Con Dios” here

It took five years for Sweden’s Junip to release their sophomore album, Fields, and another three for me to post about it.  But the appeal of the trio’s folk album and its ability to meld perfectly with the current state of folk music is a testament to the complexity and layers embedded in the album.  Fields sounds incredibly simple at first listen, but there is a greater sophistication at work. Frontman, Jose Gonzalez, calmly delves into all emotional terrain, and at times, reflects some of the vocal tones of Jim James.  Even at their most subdued, the guitars maintain a quiet strength and the synths are dealt with a gentle hand, never sharp or aggressive.  Junip is expected to release its new album on April 22, 2013, and Fields should acquaint you to this impressive Nordic outfit and make you eager for what is to come.

Best Tracks:

Always

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Without You

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Sweet and Bitter

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When & Where:

This is fire crackling, alone on a cold mountain in a log cabin kind of album.  Just ignore the fact that most horror movies usually begin with that kind of setting.

Check them out here

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Buy Fields here

Night Moves ain’t your dad’s rock band…but they could be.  As is indicative of the music of the 70s, Minneapolis’ Night Moves melds country, folk and blues into flashback inducing rock tracks.  Their October 2012 debut album,  Colored Emotions, is the rock equivalent of an outer space saga with an epic, infinite scope and a sense of intimacy that makes you feel as though you can reach out and capture each song in your hands.  There’s a layered grandeur and a gritty, down home feel to Colored Emotions that encaspulates the maturity of a band whose members are only in their mid-twenties.  Night Moves is clearly on to something since they have been steadily gaining popularity, even getting props from the most random of sources like Teen Vogue (I got this information from the band’s website, I swear!!!).  All this proves that Night Moves have rediscovered a sound that people never stopped pining for.  Give Colored Emotions a listen and you’ll find an album  you didn’t even realize you were waiting for.

Best Tracks:

Headlights

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Colored Emotions

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Country Queen

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When & Where:

Laying on the hood of your Pontiac Firebird in a jean jacket watching the stars and talking about how the 8-track is the height of music technology.

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Buy Colored Emotions here

Listening to The Paper Kites is as comforting as sinking into your favorite couch.  The indie folk Melbourne quintet’s patient melodies accompanied by soft, intimate harmonies have a romanticism that makes you believe each song was written and performed just for you.  Their 2011 debut EP, Woodland, contains six savory, earthy tracks that pour on the emotion and never let up. The acoustic guitars and stripped down production gives The Paper Kites an authentic approachability that makes you feel at home no matter where you are when you listen to them.   Their most energetic track, “Willow Tree March,” never seems out of place since, even with its robust choruses and chords, it contains a down-to-earth sensibility that can’t help but make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

Best Tracks:

Willow Tree March

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Bloom

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When & Where:

For those lazy Sundays when you want to accomplish absolutely nothing except sit on your sofa and watch Shawshank Redemption for the 100th time.

Check them out here

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Buy Woodland here

I admittedly cringed when I first saw the labels ‘folktronica’ and ‘electrofolk,’ which both seem to connotate some hollowed out, emotionless technically diluted version of folk music, especially since folk, in its essence, stands against everything electronica presents.  It only goes to show how rare and utterly talented Hundred Waters is that they can embrace and surpass the labels as they meld cascading harmonies, gentle acoustics and oceans of sentimentality with stuttering electronics and metallic tones.  The self-titled debut album of Hundred Waters doesn’t really sound like much else we’ve heard and with the easily accessible influx of bands through the millions of blogs and streaming music sites, such a uniquity is an accomplishment in and of itself.  The Gainesville, Florida quintet expertly handle delicate melodies by turning them into 1s and 0s without ever losing the emotional complexity that is typically lost when a song is filtered through a computer.

Best Tracks:

Visitor

Thistle

When & Where:

For the next time you find yourself trippin’ in the backwoods of Kentucky or at a rave in Alabama.

Check them out here

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Scoop up the album here

Freelance Whales are that right mix of quirky and charming that make their sophomore album, Diluvia, more and more appealing with every listen.  After forming in Queens, New York in 2008, the quintet released their debut album, Weathervanes, in 2009 and now return with a more sparkling affair.  Freelance Whales interweave indie pop with rich folk aesthetics and harmonies that give the album an enthusiastic yet earthy, grounded sense of self.

Best Tracks:

Aeolus

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Land Features

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Dig Into Waves

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When & Where:

When you are in the mood to do something foolish, maybe a little stupid,  but still makes you feel good (like watching a Nicolas Cage movie).

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Check them out here

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Scoop Diluvia here

Oh Canada.  Thank you for Half Moon Run and their debut album, Dark Eyes.  Hailing from Montreal, this young, dynamic trio is typically described as the child of any combination of great bands over the past several years…and that description is warranted.  But don’t expect Dark Eyes to be a retread of what you’ve heard in the past.  Dark Eyes satisfies every musical palate, exploring indie, pop, rock, folk and even a bit of classical music while never feeling disjointed or as if the band is trying too hard to give each song its own identity.  Give Dark Eyes a taste and you’ll hear fragile yet unyielding guitars, rounded percussions that hug each song, and harmonies so rich they should pay taxes.

Best Tracks:

Full Circle

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Judgement

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Call Me in the Afternoon

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When & Where:

Dark Eyes makes me want to fashion a pipe out of a block of wood, sit on my porch in a rocking chair, and complain about kids and all their damned texting.

Check them out on Facebook

Buy Dark Eyes here

Folk doesn’t always have to be slow, country doesn’t always have to be sad, and neither has to be relegated to the South or Midwest.  Los Angeles-based Miner proves that point with authority as they release the first song, Hey Love, off their upcoming EP of the same name.  Hey Love is revelatory in its southern-filled harmonies and raucous banjos.  The Miner family (lead singer Justin Miner, wife Kate, and brother Jeremy) sounds like they are having more fun than any band should be allowed to and if that energy doesn’t infect you immediately, you may need to check your pulse.  Enjoy.

Check them out and download Hey Love for free here

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