I've moved

Sorry for the chopping and changing but wordpress has a lot more features so I've moved...

http://nishajl.com/feed

Would be great if you'd follow me over there....

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Zero

Heard this last week...can't remember whether it was radio one or xfm...but it's got a retro-but-not-quite, early nineties pop, could possibly be included on the soundtrack to the movie "Grease 2" feel to it.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Zero

The physical CD and 7" vinyl singles are available for one week only from April 13. It's the first track on the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' third album, 'It's Blitz!', which you can stream in full from last.fm now, or buy worldwide from Monday. And here's their MySpace.

Does this (strangely) remind anyone else of 'Cool Rider' at all?

The Flamingos - I Only Have Eyes For You

This track holds a lot of sentimental value for me, for reasons I won't disclose but of which anyone who knew me well around 1998 will at least have an inkling....I unfortunately wasn't able to find a full version of the track on Last.fm but here's a clip and a youtube link:

The Flamingos - I Only Have Eyes For You

I'm also going to point you to a few others:

• The Five Satins - In the Still of the Night
• The Penguins - Earth Angel (youtube)
• Otis Redding - These Arms of Mine (TOBI again)

The last one's probably my favourite of the three...classic soul.

Department of Eagles - No One Does It Like You

Perfect for a sunny summer's afternoon in the park, this track is light and airy but also cheeky and deriding (#..I laughed so hard I fell down...#)

Department of Eagles - No One Does It Like You

Recommended to me by the same person who opened my eyes to the Temper Trap, Band of Horses and Bon Iver. I'm going to stop listing his credits now because they'll get too long and list-y. He shall henceforth be known as TOBI (so you can search him if you like his style) until he permits me to use his real name.

So that was my attempt at an April fool for the keenos who click the links before reading the entire post :)

Here's the real link. There's no audio for this track on their Last.fm (there is for others) but it's up on their MySpace right now.

Had a listen to the album, 'Ear in the Park' (through spotify) and 'Phantom Other' really stood out for me but also like 'Herringbone', 'Waves of Rye' and 'Therapy Car Noise'.

Cheers TOBI.

Recap - March 2009

For anyone who missed them...Mar 09 posts:

01/03/2009: Rosin Murphy
01/03/2009: Blind Pilot - Go On, Say It
02/03/2009: Howling Bells - Nightingale
03/03/2009: Pull In Emergency
04/03/2009: The Temper Trap - Sweet Disposition
05/03/2009: Turin Brakes
06/03/2009: UNKLE - Glow
07/03/2009: Radiohead - Talk Show Host
08/03/2009: Silversun Pickups
09/03/2009: Vampire Weekend - A-Punk
09/03/2009: The Kooks - Always Where I Need To Be
09/03/2009: Keane - Spiralling
10/03/2009: Malone - Perfect Thing
11/03/2009: Pete Murray - Smile
12/03/2009: Mike Dignam - Anything
13/03/2009: La Roux - In For The Kill
14/03/2009: Jose Gonzalez - Hand On Your Heart
15/03/2009: Dishwalla
15/03/2009: Bits & Bobs I
16/03/2009: Band of Horses - The Funeral
16/03/2009: City and Colour - Love Don't Live Here Anymore
18/03/2009: Scott Matthews - Eyes Wider Than Before
18/03/2009: Anathallo
19/03/2009: Hipslinky - Natural
20/03/2009: Cruel Intentions - Soundtrack

20/03/2009: Vast - Don't Take Your Love Away
22/03/2009: John Mayer - Love Soon
23/03/2009: The Postal Service - Such Great Heights
23/03/2009: The Decemberists - The Hazards of Love 1
24/03/2009: Muse - Showbiz
25/03/2009: Lamb - Gorecki
26/03/2009: the Lodge
28/03/2009: Audioslave - Cochise
30/03/2009: Skunk Anansie
31/03/2009: Flashguns

Flashguns

Aiming to try and catch this London&someBrighton-based quartet as part of Camden Crawl 24 April in a 'before they got huge' stroke of luck.

Steve Lamacq's unfortunately spotted them as well and they've got >187k profile views on their MySpace so I'm thinking the odds of £5 gig tickets for much longer are slim to none...

Earnest, edgy, emotive vocals, my favourite tracks are 'Ro Shambo' and 'Good Witch/Bad Witch'.

Skunk Anansie

In honour of their Monto gigs this week (sold out super-fast, didn't get a ticket :( ) I thought I'd post links to a few of my favourites from the powerhouse brit-rockers that are Skunk Anansie ...

• Weak
  
• Brazen (Weep)
• Hedonism
• Twisted
• Lately
• Charlie Big Potato
  

I didn't know Skin's real name was Deborah until I looked at their MySpace just now. There's that gig-envy rearing its ugly head again...

Audioslave - Cochise

Turn the stereo up loud and dust off your air guitar for the most kick-a*** intro ever written:

Audioslave - Cochise

I think this was used on a trailer for 'Iron Man' but haven't been able to find it - one of Chris Cornell's finest post-Soundgarden flashes of genius.

the Lodge

Am experiencing some serious gig-envy for anyone who has seen this band perform live. I came across them in the line of duty (well - as a precursor to it becoming my duty) and was instantly smitten.

Here's their myface and last.fm - some of my favourite tracks are:

Piece of Cake
Noose (youtube link)
My TV (youtube link)
Whatyamakermadeya (on the myspace)

...but actually pretty much all of them. Anyone who reads this...bombard them with messages asking for a take that-style comeback gig.

a "...rather sleazy slice of fuzzy garage rock" - Lonely Wolf Records

Lamb - Gorecki

Part of my induction into the world of trip-hop in the late nineties along with Massive Attack and the Sneakerpimps...the first time I heard this track was on the 'I Still know What You Did Last Summer' movie soundtrack but it was also recently used to advertise Tomb Raider Underworld.

Lamb - Gorecki

The rest of the soundtrack's pretty good too...here are a couple of my favourites:

• CJ Bolland - Sugar is Sweeter
• Imogen Heap - Getting Scared(unfortunately not a full-length version)
  

All a bit eerie and/or frantic, as one would expect from a teenage slasher flick, But they're pretty cool.

Muse - Showbiz

Xfm's Richard Skinner reminded me of this track this morning when he played 'Muscle Museum' (my favourite Muse track) on his show this morning.

'Muscle Museum' was released around the same time as Lit's 'Miserable' and Creed's 'Higher', which all became my anthems of that year (1999), even though the melancholy, fairly dark tones of the first two contrast completely with the happy, hopeful vibe of the latter.

Muse - Showbiz

This one's even darker and featured in the closing scenes of episode two of BBC3 series 'Being Human' - no longer on iPlayer but it is available on DVD from April 20 if you're interested in the blackly comedic 'lives' of a werewolf, vampire and ghost living in a flat in Bristol....

The Decemberists - The Hazards of Love 1

Picked this track up on the Mix Tape's latest podcast - it's not on the band's Last.fm page right now but it is on their MySpace.

The Decemberists - The Hazards of Love 1

or "The Hazards of Love 1 (The Prettiest Whistles Won't Wrestle the Thistles Undone)", to give it its full title. The Decemberists look to be playing with Blind Pilot in Portland, Oregon in July...

To me, this song in particular sounds a Gomez-Pearl Jam hybrid.

The Postal Service - Such Great Heights

I think I first heard this on Grey's Anatomy but a friend of mine reminded me of it about 6 months back when we were hanging out in the park one sunny summer's afternoon...

The Postal Service - Such Great Heights

Upbeat electro pop - here're their MySpace and Last.fm pages.

If you're more into acoustic and mellow, Iron & Wine also did a version which is featured on the 'Garden State' soundtrack and has a completely different vibe.

John Mayer - Love Soon

My favourite John Mayer song, and that's saying something - he's a genius. Here's his Last.fm page where you can check out the rest but just wanted to point you to:

John Mayer - Love Soon

Beautiful lyrics, cheeky beat - if you get a chance to see him in concert, jump on it. I saw him at the Marquee Club in Islington (no longer there) years ago, and it's in my top3 gigs of all time...

Vast - Don't Take Your Love Away

My trusty friend Shazam didn't recognise this one so I had to do a bit of digging, during which I came across this site. If you click on that, you'll discover I heard this song on one of the final scenes of episode 8.10 of Smallville - "Bride" (not linking because I don't want to spoil it for you too much if you haven't seen it - but maybe don't read on after the song description):

Vast - Don't Take Your Love Away

Looks like it's been used quite a lot; I've managed to find references to One Tree Hill, Scrubs and Veronica Mars as well as some manga...? But it's a really emotive, angsty, US-atmospheric-rock-highly-suitable-for-teen-dramas track. And yes, I love it.

There's no audio on the Last.fm page but it's up on their MySpace at the moment.

SPOILER (a bit): *Not sure how I feel about this episode...it's a decent morality story with some cool superpowers and futuristic themes but brainiac-infested Chloe Sullivan just wasn't as scary as the wicked wicca Willow Rosenburg...*

Cruel Intentions - Soundtrack

One of my favourite movie soundtracks of all time, from 1999 (I'll do a 'Garden State' post some other time although the Shins gave a taster), featuring tracks ranging from eerie to poignant to rawk with a bit of tongue-in-cheek thrown in for good measure. I'll point you to a few gems and try and steer clear of the (minimal) turkeys:

• Day One - Bedroom Dancing: the album version of this track gets a bit cheeky towards the end so don't listen to it too loud in public...really funky beat.
• Placebo - Every You Every Me: no match for 'Nancy Boy' in my mind but still a fun rock track.
• Craig Armstrong - This Love (feat. Elizabeth Fraser): this is the eerie I mentioned, and quite atmospheric.
• Counting Crows - Colourblind: from my favourite scene in the movie, Ryan Phillipe coming up the escalator to meet Reese Witherspoon at the train station. Leads to some 'Ahem' moments.

and finally...

• The Verve - Bittersweet Symphony: anthem.
  

I'm going to leave it there before I end up reeling off the whole track list - left Skunk Anansie out of it because I don't think 'Secretly' is one of their better tracks. Let me know if you disagree.

Happy weekend!

Hipslinky - Natural

Caught these guys at 93 feet east last night with some other great bands:

• the Vibrants - seen them live a couple of times now but keep going back for more...check out 'First Move' and 'I Won't Sleep (Terrify)' from the 'Retaliate EP'
• Scarlet Harlots - came 3rd on Orange Unsigned Act 2009, the tags on Last.fm say dub, soul, indie, hip hop, dance but they came across as odd but interesting drum n bass-style indie rock for me. Awesome and unexpected cover of Montel Jordan's 'This is How We Do It'!
• Anison - new single out this week, this was the launch gig. Really atmospheric, moody, indie rock.
  

But the reason for this post is to bring you:

Hipslinky - Natural

This track really stood out for me in their otherwise also fantastic set; think the OC. Here's their MySpace.

Anathallo

I'm a bit behind the curve on these guys it would seem...Insomnia Radio blogged them at the beginning of March and our mate Thom Lyons also mentioned them to me a couple of weeks back.

There's a lot of audio up on their Last.fm page and their MySpace lists a gig at the Monto on 26 May (but for some reason the venue website says the 25th).

My favourite track, I think, of the ones I've heard so far is 'The River' - piano intro, syncopated rhythm and memories of the Waltons...

Scott Matthews - Eyes Wider Than Before

Best known for 'Elusive', which was the first track released from the album 'Passing Stranger', but this is my favourite track:

Scott Matthews - Eyes Wider Than Before

Ethereal-sounding guitar running through and a beautiful texture to his voice. Here's his MySpace.

He's playing the Bloomsbury Theatre on 3 June.

City and Colour - Love Don't Live Here Anymore

Potentially my favourite cover ever, Dallas Green's version of the Rose Royce classic is heartfelt and broken, if that makes sense.


City and Colour "Love Don't Live Here Anymore"


There's more on the MySpace

Band of Horses - The Funeral

Back to the rock or I won't be able to sleep:

Band of Horses - The Funeral

Starts so peaceful and then just suddenly kicks, this track is incredible. For me, it's about treasuring every moment, but have a listen and reach your own conclusions.

Recommended by the same person who told me about the Temper Trap

Bits & Bobs I

Possibly an indie/rock-type hue to this blog so far...because that's mainly the type of music I listen to. I like to think I have an open mind though and often other bits & bobs catch my attention.

Here are a few recent ones of note (and a couple older):

Fish Go Deep - The Cure & The Cause (Deep House)
DJ NG feat. Katy B & MC Versatile - Tell Me (House - Radio Edit)
The Prodigy - Omen (Electronica)
Hot Chip - Over and Over (Electronica)
FreQ Nasty - Creator ft. Santogold (Breakbeat)
Lily Allen - The Fear (Pop)
Kate Nash - Pumpkin Soup (Pop)
N*E*R*D - Stay Together (Hip-hop)

Likely there will be some more of these hotch-potch posts along the way....

Dishwalla

Some good, solid American rock this morning....If you only buy one album of theirs, 'Opaline' would be my pick, being the more mellow album but the others also have some gems on them which I will point you to below:

• So Blind - my personal favourite, it's on 'And You Think You Know What Life's About'
• Healing Star - from the same album, it's an 'I'll make everything ok' tune
• Collide - I think this was the first Dishwalla track I heard, on Smallville. It's on 'Dishwalla'

and from 'Opaline':

Opaline - the title track
Angels or Devils
Every Little Thing

Here's their MySpace - looks like J R Richards is releasing a debut solo album this year...

Jose Gonzalez - Hand On Your Heart

Never expected anyone to come even close to the splendour of the Kylie original of this classic but Jose Gonzalez's cover of 'Hand On Your Heart' is...

...well, find it and take a listen. No clip on Last.fm (although there's lots of other stuff) or on his MySpace but if you search the tube of you, you may get lucky.

La Roux - In For The Kill

Went to see the Temper Trap last night (what an excellent gig) and heard this while I was waiting for them to come out.

La Roux - In For The Kill (Skream Let's Get Ravey Mix)

It's this remix, in particular, that got me, not the original. Has a bit of a sinister vibe but in a chillout-ambient way. No media on the last.fm page right now but it is up on their MySpace.

Shazam for iPhone is my new best friend.

Mike Dignam - Anything

I saw him at the Hope & Anchor last month - this 18 year old singer-songwriter from Preston writes with incredible maturity and soul.

Mike Dignam - Anything

Reminiscent of James Morrison, 'Anything' was the first track of his I heard and prompted me to go along. Whispers that he's generating some label interest, I've got a sneaking suspicion I may have had a 'before they were famous' moment.

Here's his MySpace - I also love 'Someone Better' and 'Alive' (the live performance kicked it).

Pete Murray - Smile

My brother was the one who put me on to Pete a couple of years ago after hearing some of his tracks on 'Neighbours'...this one has become my favourite because of the melancholic bluesy guitar riffs and specifically the lyric:

#...come and touch my skin
you control my shiver...#

Pete Murray - Smile

His third album, 'Summer at Eureka', was released in May of last year, which I don't have yet but you can hear bits of on the last.fm page - I'm just going to point out a few from the other two albums that stand out for me (apologies for the longer-than-usual post. He is worth it)

Feeler

• So Beautiful - I love this track because it totally flips the 'you're so wonderful and I love you so much' cliches you would expect from a song with this title.
• Please - It's a song about always.
• Fall Your Way - Funky guitar - the video here suggests it's about his friend's testicles but I don't see it myself.

See the Sun

• Fly With You - This one's about refusing to give up on destiny.
• Class A - Loving the trumpets.
• Opportunity - The main reason I love this song is because of the Pete Murray & John Mayer duet from the ARIAs in 2006 - incredible.

end essay.

Malone - Perfect Thing

The comedown from yesterday morning's jump-around need not be painful....this is a beautiful track I found about two years ago by an acoustic singer-songwriter who was at that time based in London but has now moved out to Canada - Kelly Malone.

Malone - Perfect Thing

The track is the only one on her MySpace player at the moment but she also has an EP out with some other great songs on it, which you can listen to here. (Check out 'No Lonely Here' especially) EP doesn't look to currently be on sale but if you send her a nice e-mail she might be willing to let you buy one...

Keane - Spiralling

Not exactly the most hopeful, inspirational lyrics but the 'whooh!' makes it a party track.

Keane - Spiralling

(3 of 3) - that's my exercise done for the week day...

The Kooks - Always Where I Need To Be

Upbeat guitars, catchy riffs, chorus that's easy to sing along to....loving it. (2 of 3)

The Kooks - Always Where I Need To Be

Possibly my favourite of their tracks although Naive and She Moves In Her Own Way are also good. Oh, and Ooh La. So pretty much the top 4 tracks on their Last.fm page. :)

Here's their MySpace

Vampire Weekend - A-Punk

Am in a jump-around-my-room mood this morning - it's Monday and it's SUNNY - so a few tracks that will assist in this mission (1 of 3):

Vampire Weekend - A-Punk

This one's been around since January of last year. The version on their MySpace player at the moment is a bit cleaner... 'Eh, eh, eh, eh!'

Silversun Pickups

I think this band are a bit like marmite - I was crazily enthusiastic when I heard them for the first time but my brother's reaction was more like 'hmm. bit weird'.

Brain Aubert's vocals are strangely robotic and perhaps a little Billy Corgan at times (that's meant as a compliment).

There are mainly samples on their MySpace and the only full track on their last.fm page is a weird dance-style remix of Lazy Eye. But www.silversunpickups.com has a full-length of 'Well Thought Out Twinkles' on the mp3 player right now.

Favourite tracks on Carnavas (if you can find them):

Well Thought Out Twinkles
Lazy Eye
Future Foe Scenarios
Common Reactor

And it would seem they're releasing a new album, 'Swoon' on 14 April on Dangerbird Records....looks like 'Panic Switch' (on the MySpace) is a taster...?

Radiohead - Talk Show Host

Quite an old song (1996?), I recently re-discovered the 'Romeo + Juliet' soundtrack and this is my favourite track on it (although Des'ree - Kissing You comes close)

Radiohead - Talk Show Host

It has quite an eerie, menacing feel to it and the riff running through the track is so simple but somehow manages to give me chills every time I hear it.

UNKLE - Glow

Sitting through the most recent "misunderstood teenagers with super powers save the world from the baddies trying to take over the world" movie 'Push' (think 'Jumper' but a heck of a lot more confusing) was possibly worth the 111mins of my life I'll never recover because it brought me this track.

UNKLE - Glow

Ambient electronica - there's more on their MySpace.

Turin Brakes

People tend to remember this band for 'Pain Killer' - a hit in 2003 it reached number 5 in the UK Singles chart (the only one of theirs to make it to the top 10) - but there's so much more to them than the upbeat pop appeal of this one track.

Take a listen to:

Long Distance
Rain City
Dark on Fire

- much more emotive and self-deriding/wistful/passionate, respectively. The last track reminds me of Radiohead a little.

Here's their MySpace.

The Temper Trap - Sweet Disposition

The urgency of this track is compelling.

The Temper Trap - Sweet Disposition

It used to be up on the band's MySpace but appears to have been replaced with 'Science of Fear' which is also quite cool. Another Aussie band from me (Howling Bells, Kid Confucius and there's some Pete Murray to come in a while...).

Dreams of sunshine and waves.....

(They're playing at the Lexington on Thu 12 March)

p.s. thanks for the recommendation - you know who you are

Pull In Emergency

Hmm....east london concrete-sounding indie?
(they're actually from north London)

I've been wanting to see this band live for about a year now but not gotten around to it - and now I can't see any gigs other than the Underage Festival for which I am about a decade too old (strictly 14-18 year olds only).

Pointing you in the direction of 'Follow', in particular, but only on their MySpace player as there's no sample on Last.fm at the moment.

'In Silence' and 'Planes' were released as a double A side on the Mute Irregulars label towards the back end of 2008.

Howling Bells - Nightingale

The poster for their new album, 'Radio Wars' caught my eye as I rushed past it this morning so I thought I'd check it out...

Howling Bells - Nightingale

Bit electro, possibly indie ambient - I really like this track in particular, especially Juanita Stein's vocals and the synth behind the verses. 'Cities Burning Down' has also just been released as a single on Independiente Records.

There's no media on the Last.fm page at the moment but hoping it'll come. For now, it's up on their MySpace player.

Blind Pilot - Go On, Say It

Re-blogging a track I heard on Insomnia Radio UK's Daily Dose MP3 Blog. I could easily spend all day on their website. Every day :).

There's some fantastic music up there and they transmit a fair few podcasts, but the track I wanted to post is today's free mp3:

Blind Pilot - Go On, Say It

and this is their MySpace. Kind of Shins-esque but not as quirky.

Rosin Murphy

Some full tracks available on her Last.fm listing so I'm just going to point you towards a couple of my favourites of hers.

Ruby Blue - First heard it on the Grey's Anatomy soundtrack. The electro riff on this track is side-to-side-head-bob inducing so listen on the tube at your own peril (I learnt the hard way)

Ramalama (Bang Bang) - Preview clip only. Another memorable TV moment - this song was used in Season 2 of 'So You Think You Can Dance' as the backing track to a zombie-style dance performed by the dancers remaining at that stage. And also in Grey's Anatomy.

Recap - February 2009

Feb 09 posts:

20/02/09: Cherry Brakewells
21/02/09: Oren Lavie - Her Morning Elegance
22/02/09: Ray LaMontagne - Winter Birds
22/02/09: Bon Iver - The Wolves (Act I and II)
22/02/09: Tilly & the Wall - Pot Kettle Black
22/02/09: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
23/02/09: The Knack - My Sharona
24/02/09: Bombay Bicycle Club - Always Like This
25/02/09: Kid Confucius
26/02/09: MGMT - Electric Feel
27/02/09: Israel Kamakawiwo'ole - Somewhere Over the Rainbow
28/02/09: The Shins - Caring Is Creepy

The Shins - Caring Is Creepy

This is a song from the soundtrack of 'Garden State'. Excellent film and I'm tempted to rave about it here - but this post is about:

The Shins - Caring is Creepy

'New Slang' is the better known of the two Shins tracks on the soundtrack, I think because of the scene in the movie it relates to (Natalie Portman passing her headphones over to Zach Braff in a 'you gotta hear this one song, it'll change your life, I swear' moment) but I prefer this one because it's a bit quirky.

Couldn't find a full length of the track and it's not on their MySpace but the preview clip should give you an idea.

Israel Kamakawiwo'ole - Somewhere Over the Rainbow

Not exactly new but I wanted to post this because it's my favourite version of a classic song that's been covered by many and mullered by some. :)

I remember this from the closing credits of '50 First Dates' but I hear it's also on the 'Meet Joe Black' soundtrack.

Israel Kamakawiwo'ole - Somewhere Over the Rainbow

MGMT - Electric Feel

'Time to Pretend' just won the award for Best Track at the 2009 Shockwaves NME Awards (full winners list here). Great track- but also check out:

MGMT - Electric Feel

from the same album, 'Oracular Spectacular'. Spaced out and mellow...

Kid Confucius

Their MySpace categorizes them as Hardcore/Screamo/Children (??!) but I'm guessing that would a be a joke?....they've released a new album called 'The Let Go' which I have yet to pick up but I wanted to link to my favourite track on 'Stripes':

Kid Confucius - Moment

I appear to be a top listener of theirs on Last.fm. Hmm....

Bombay Bicycle Club - Always Like This

Just heard this on Xfm - no clip on Last.fm but it's currently on the Bombay Bicycle Club MySpace. I know this band has been around for a while now but oddly, 'Always Like This' is the first track of theirs I've heard that I can recall. To be released 13 April on Island Records.

Loving the nonchalant vibe.

The Knack - My Sharona

An oldie but goodie...remember Winona Ryder, Janeane Garofalo and Steve Zahn dancing in the petrol station while a too-cool-for-school Ethan Hawke looked on with disdain?

The Knack - My Sharona

'Reality Bites' - bursting with fruit flavour.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Screen adaptation of the memoirs of Jean-Dominique Bauby.

http://www.thedivingbellmovie.co.uk/

No words I string together could possibly do it justice so all I'm going to do is put up a link to the official site. Please read the book and see the film - in that order.

Tilly & the Wall - Pot Kettle Black

I shazam'd this from a tv listings advert montage on itv2 and it's fantastic. So retro, so funky. I was looking for them on MySpace a few minutes ago and couldn't believe it when they weren't there.

In fact, they are there - I was just looking for Tilly & the Wail, instead of Tilly & the Wall. Again, no clips on Last.fm, unfortunately, but it's on their MySpace at the moment.

Bon Iver - The Wolves (Act I and II)

A friend of mine recommended this one to me a couple of months ago but I didn't truly appreciate it (I blame the rattling laptop speakers) until I bought the album last week. I have since had it on repeat.

To me, the track feels like an unanswered question....

The last.fm page is here but there are no clips or videos linked to it. You can, however, take a listen on their MySpace page at the moment.

I've tagged this as folk because I can't think of any other genre that fits.

Ray LaMontagne - Winter Birds

I was lucky enough to hear this live at his gig at the Barbican last Sunday. It's my favourite track on 'Gossip in the Grain' - there's something so beautiful about the way he sings the line:

#the days grow short, as the nights grow long....#

Unfortunately wasn't able to find a (legal) full version of the track online, but here's a clip from Last.fm.

Oren Lavie - Her Morning Elegance

I came across this track when I followed a link posted by Thom Lyons (check out his band also if you get a sec) on his facebook status and it's become one of my favourite tracks of recent times.

Oren Lavie - Her Morning Elegance

The video tells a story in an original and quirky way and the keyboard melody in the background reminds me a little of 'Golden Brown' by the Stranglers.

I'm in a music frenzy tonight so a couple more on the way...

Cherry Brakewells

http://www.myspace.com/cherrybrakewells

I can't get over this group - late 60s/early 70s-style guitar rock but in no way dated.

My favourite track on their myspace site is "Hey Fiddely Dee" - could completely see it as the backing track on a Levis or Diesel ad.

Rocking.

Why I'm here

Taking some advice (you know who you are) and embracing the world of blogging. As with many things right now...just taking a punt and hoping it will evolve into something passable.