Smoke Fairies - She Sells Sanctuary (Co-Op/V2, 2012)

Arresting take on The Cult's classic.

Smoke Fairies' recent album is a delightful thing. Intertwining vocals recalling Fairport Convention and Sandy Denny, angular drums recalling something more Post Rock-y.

This shuffling, sweeping version of The Cult's 'She Sells Sanctuary' is available on a bonus CD (from all good independent stores, etc).

The Memory Band - Why? (Peacefrog, 2006)

Rustic re-setting of Chic's masterful songwriting

Chic's pneumatic Balearic classic songwriting and production for Carly Simon is a gem and deserves to be posted in its own right (maybe tomorrow...).

However, this rustic folk version reveals the genius of the original while creating a mood entirely of its own.

Download The Memory Band 'Why? (Carly Simon/Chic cover)' (Carly Simon, Chic, folk, mp3) (Divshare)

Phelan Shepherd - Weaving Song (Leaf, 2006)

Luminous, angelic folktronic instrumental

Listen closely to this delightfully finger-picked folky tune and, amid the sweeping cello, pootling tones and gorgeous ambience, you can hear the sound of someone tapping away at a keyboard.

Peculiar. A comment on the replacement of weaving with more desk-based workforms? Who knows.

Download Phelan Shepherd 'Weaving Song (Leaf, folk, mp3) (Divshare)

James Yorkston - Woozy With Cider (Domino, 2007)

Minimal, electro-folk, spoken word masterpiece.

Crikey, this is a beautiful record.

Usually rocking it on a folksy tip, 'Woozy With Cider' sees James Yorkston mutter extracts from his diary over a gentle, what you might term 'ambient', backing.

A simple tone-loop is joined by an oboe and very little else, just Yorkston's dulcet, self-deprecating voice. He ponders the lot of the modern acoustic troubadour, pausing to wonder whether anyone will buy his records and whether they might end up soundtracking adverts. For oranges. Or lemons.

An array of remixes were released with this single but, for the most part, they seem redundant. Maybe Four Tet could have done it justice but, really, this track itself is a recontextualising of his usual sound. All the familiar elements have been removed excepting his voice, which makes it all the more intimate. It's just Mr. Yorkston muttering his stream of consciousness, cider-breathed, into your ear, slumped over the bar in an after-hours ambient techno bar. Or something like that.

Download James Yorkston 'Woozy With Cider' (Electro, Folk, Ambient, mp3 download) (Mediafire)

Tunng - Bullets (Max Tundra Remix) (Full Time Hobby, 2007)

Classic from the early days of folktronica.

Have been listening to the Diagrams album a lot recently which is the work of former Tunng man Sam Genders. It has a healthily eclectic approach to augmenting his songs and unique voice.

The way the songs are arranged - krautrocking, electronics and more - is reminiscent of the best of Tunng's work and reminded me of this kitchen-sink remix of 'Bullets'. Max Tundra seems to throw layer upon layer of sounds, arrangement and glitches at the song but it still works and Sam Genders voice still sounds like it's whispering in your ear.


Download Tunng 'Bullets (Max Tundra Remix)' (folktronica mp3) (Divshare)

Kings Of Convenience - I Don't Know What I Can Save You From (Royksopp Remix) (Source, 2001)

Folktronic re-rub. Gorgeous.

The electronic re-setting of this lovely Kings Of Convenience tune works perfectly, adding gentle percussive momentum that gives it a frosty, widescreen feel. Like sitting on a warm train, looking out across the Alps from a window seat.

As the track builds, curlicues of refracted guitar and piano lift it even further in the heavens.

Download Kings Of Convenience 'I Don't Know What I Can Save You From (Royksopp Remix)' (indie, pop, remix, mp3) (Rapidshare)

Palace Songs - Winter Lady (Leonard Cohen Cover) (Mojo, 2012)

Leonard Cohen covered in the unique Palace style.

Mr Bonnie Prince Billy made this Leonard Cohen song his own on a 1994 Palace Songs EP. An almost drunken shuffle backs up his unique singing style sounding like a backroom band playing for the love it.

Download Palace Songs 'Winter Lady' (Mojo Presents Leonard Cohen Covered, mp3) (Rapidshare)

Diagrams - Famous Blue Raincoat (Leonard Cohen Cover) (Mojo, 2012)

The voice of Tunng takes on classic Leonard Cohen cover.

A swirling, dreamy, layered version of the Leonard Cohen classic, creating a Shoegazey fairground feel.

One of the stand-outs from the recent Mojo magazine covermount collection and a good taster for the Diagrams album that sees Tunng's Sam Genders re-emerge with a lovely album.

Download Diagrams 'Famous Blue Raincoat (Leonard Cohen Cover)' (Mojo Presents Leonard Cohen Covered, Diagrams mp3) (Mediafire)

Noah and the Whale and Laura Marling - Give A Little Love (Session) (2007)

Lovely version of the debut album track - before the break-up.

Rough'n'ready but gorgeous session version of this track from 'Peaceful, The World Lays Me Down'. Just guitar, voices and rudimentary percussion.

It's Noah and the Whale in deeply thoughtful mode, a little bit miserabilist, like Lloyd Cole really, but nicely melodic.

Laura Marling is in good voice, though is playing back-up to Charlie Fink's song. The prism that hindsight gives you to view this through is, of course, interesting.

Download Noah and the Whale and Laura Marling 'Give A Little Love (Session)' (indie, acoustic, folk pop mp3) (Divshare)

#Bestof2011 - Neverest Songs 'Paper Trumpets' (Tea At Yours)

Best newcomer of 2011. Beautiful, orchestrated folk-gazer delight.

A delightful, wistful slice of gently unwinding folk with strings, gorgeous backing vocals and subtle guitar. 'Paper Trumpets' boasts a shoegaze-y sensibility with  circular, ensemble singing in the mode of A Silver Mt. Zion.

A very promising single to file next to the similarly talented Peter Broderick, Sufjan Stevens and the exquisitely arranged prog-pop of Spoonfed Hybrid. He's released a handful of CDs including an accomplished film soundtrack so he's not really new. New to me this year though and great to see him at the Green Man festival.

The seven-inch vinyl release available direct from the artist.


Paper Trumpets by Neverest Songs

Outshine Family 'Get Laid Like An Egg' (Black Maps, 2011)

Beautiful over-looked gem from 2011.

I picked this album early in 2011 on the back of giving it a spin on a listening post in Rough Trade.

It's a gentle, slowly-unfolding piece of laidback folkiness built up on what seems like an orchestra of instrumentation - banjo, strings, pedal steel, choir, guitars, drums, percussion, plus delays and backwards masking...

A distant cousin of the sleepy vibe of The Lilac Time's 'Black Velvet' with added atmospherics a la Neverest Songs 'Paper Trumpets'.

The album is a real treat too. Perfect Sunday fare.

Download Outshine Family 'Get Laid Like An Egg' (folk, indie mp3 download) (Mediafire)

The Lilac Time 'Grey Skies And Work Things' (Creation Records, 1991)

Gorgeously melancholic, wistful tune from a forgotten masterpiece.

By 1991, Stephen Duffy pretty much was The Lilac Time, another major label deal down and with a new home on Creation Records. Adversity suits him though, because Astronauts is a beautiful, brittle, fairly austere record.

'Dreaming' had seen 'In Iverna Gardens' from the album turned into a post-Acid House, indie dance bliss out. Elsewhere on the album lurked more reflective treats like 'Madresfield' which is a beautiful song about a Malvern village in Winter. A metaphor maybe.

And so to 'Grey Skies And Work Things'. It counts down the working hours till you can be with a lover, forming a companion piece with 'Work For The Weekend' from the 'Paradise Circus' album. A slow, acoustic number until some lovely jazzy, tremelo electric guitar, piano, bass and brushed drums come in towards the end.

Beautiful.

Download The Lilac Time 'Grey Skies And Work Things' (indie folk mp3) (Mediafire)

Laura Marling 'I Was An Eagle' (New Song) (Live, 2011)

New song performed live by indie folk songstress Laura Marling in September 2011.

A brand new song from Laura Marling's current live set.

She sounded great at Green Man festival back in August and this is great recording of the same band in a Washington DC synagogue in September.

Download Laura Marling 'I Was An Eagle' (indie folk mp3 download) (Divshare)

Download the whole live set Laura Marling Live in Washington DC, September 2011 (indie folk mp3 download) over on archive:live+rare mp3s

Listening Post - Laura Marling 'A Creature I Don't Know' (Virgin, 2011)

Jazzier textures and more diverse musical backing on prodigious modern folk-singer's third album.

Ms Marling continues to develop at a frenzied pace, building on her poised, fully-developed folk songs, this time adding more varied instrumentation and - whisper it - more full-blown drumming and some raucous electric guitar work.

Tracklist:
The Muse
I Was Just a Card
Don’t Ask Me Why
Salinas
The Beast
Night After Night
My Friends
Rest in the Bed
Sophia
All My Rage

Released on Monday 12th September.

Green Man 2011: Iron & Wine 'Such Great Heights' (Sub Pop, 2003)

Rustic, Americana version of the Indie/Electro pop classic.

Iron & Wine headline this year's Green Man Festival and have a rich back catalogue to draw from.

This re-setting of The Postal Service's insistent, yearning indie pop is a simply delightful means of conveying the song. The dry, dusty guitar and vocals render the song's inner beauty, erm, beautifully.

Originally released as an extra track on a Postal Service EP, Sub Pop went on to release it as an Iron & Wine single in its own right. It's that good.

Download Iron & Wine 'Such Great Heights (Postal Service Cover)' (folk, electronica mp3) (Mediafire)

Green Man 2011: The Leisure Society 'Cars (Gary Numan Cover)' (Wilkommen, 2009)

Who knew!? Clipped, chamber pop take on Gary Numan's finest moment works a treat.

The Leisure Society aren't headlining Saturday at The Green Man but I've posted plenty of Fleet Foxes already this year.

So Saturday at The Green Man is represented by this quirky and gorgeous cover of Gary Numan's 'Cars' from The Leisure Society.

I doubt they'll play this tonight - they haven't the last couple of times I've seen them - but I'm looking forward to hearing most of the new album 'Into The Murky Water' which is one of the albums I've listened to most this year so far. They sounded great live at Hop Farm back in July too.

Download The Leisure Society 'Cars (Gary Numan Cover)' (Folk pop mp3) (Mediafire)

Green Man 2011: Noah & The Whale 'Instrumental III' (Mercury, 2009)

Lush, summery instrumental business.

An outtake from the sessions for 'The First Days Of Spring', 'Instrumental III' is a Bert Jansch-y, sprightly thing that doesn't fit with the generally heavy mood of that break-up album.

Looking forward to see them at the Green Man Festival this weekend. I presume they aren't on the same day as Laura Marling...

Indeed, seeing them at Green Man in 2009, just as the album was being released, was a fairly harrowing experience. It was certainly a shock for any festival-goers expecting the breezy folk-pop of 'Five Years Time'. Instead, they dropped a dirgey, drang and mope over the Brecon countryside, sounding more akin to The Wedding Present's masterful 'Seamonsters' album.

I think singer Charlie Fink is over it now so it should be the light and bracing Tom Petty/John Cougar Mellencamp-isms of the new album on Saturday.

Download Noah and the Whale 'Instrumental III' (folk mp3 download) (Mediafire)

Green Man 2011: Laura Marling 'The Needle And The Damage Done' (Virgin, 2008)

Sweet and tender version of Neil Young's junkies' lament.

Originally the b-side to the 'Ghosts' seven-inch, Laura Marling brings, perhaps unsurprisingly, less world-weariness and resignation to the song than Neil Young. However, though still only 21, she's something of a music industry veteran - about to release her third album - and she must have witnessed over-indulgence going on around her. Marcus Mumford having four spoons of sugar in his "builders" tea, perhaps.

Her version of 'The Needle and the Damage Done' is a short, sweet and simple take, sounding like it was recorded in the kitchen as the mood took her.

Looking forward to seeing Ms. Marling at The Green Man this weekend.

Download Laura Marling 'The Needle And The Damage Done' (acoustic, folk, Neil Young cover, mp3) (Mediafire)

Green Man 2011: Hannah Peel 'Electricity (OMD Cover)' (Static Caravan, 2010)

Catchy music-box take on OMD's early masterpiece in anticipation of Green Man 2011.

I'm posting a few rarities from people playing the Green Man Festival this weekend - to get me in the mood.

This OMD cover is from Hannah Peel's excellent 'Rebox' EP of New Wave covers that Static Caravan released as a seven-inch last year. The music box treatment works really well for the selection of songs that used relatively primitive synths as their foundation. 'Blue Monday' and 'Tainted Love' work nicely.

The cover of Cocteau Twins' 'Sugar Hiccup' is great too though that, of course, isn't a synthpop track.

The EP is available as a download bundle at Boomkat.

Download Hannah Peel 'Electricity (OMD Cover)' (folk mp3) (Mediafire)

New Music - Big Deal 'Chair' (Mute, 2011)

More electric folk from Big Deal.

Very impressed with Big Deal's two 7" releases so far - 'Homework' and 'Talk' - and have managed to catch them live too.

They make a fairly simple boy-girl vocals plus electric-acoustic guitar set-up work really well, mixing sweet harmonies with an edge of distortion. A little bit Sebadoh, a little bit early PJ Harvey, but very much their own thing.

'Chair' is followed swiftly by their debut album which is released on August 29th.

Big Deal - Chair by Big Deal