I wrote about singer-songwriter Wes Tirey and his excellent EP I Stood Among The Trees few months back. Currently Wes is raising funds for his upcoming tour in Italy and released a new EP False Idols. Digital EP costs $1 (or more if you want to) and all sales will go to help fund his Italian tour. So it’s a good cause (of course funding a Finland tour would be a better cause..) and there’s definitely value for money, because Wes is such a great songwriter. False Idols was recorded to a cassette recorder at his apartment. Therefore this is a bit rough and bare, but the sound actually fits quite well to the mood of these folk songs. This is the opener Master, Master.

Wes Tirey at Bandcamp

Milwaukee-based Buffalo Gospel and their new album We Can Be Horses have been on my playlist for a few weeks. It’s a very strong release that offers a bunch of gorgeous songs at the junction of americana, folk rock & alt-country. The whole thing is really good and some of it is utterly wonderful. Here’s the music video for The Western (Devil Is Me).

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBrlVHXAbDM]

Buffalo Gospel Website

And I’ll end this blog entry with Nathan Edwards who has spent some time in Stephen Foster’s song cabinet. An album called Nathan Edwards presents The Music of Stephen Foster came out back in July. This beautiful version of Hard Times Come Again No More ends that album.

Nathan Edwards at Bandcamp

A quick post about three new songs that I’ve formed a relationship with.

First we have T. Hardy Morris from Athens, GA and his solo debut Audition Tapes. I got to admit that I didn’t know the man before yesterday. Then I heard the title track of the new album and instantly loved it. I have a lot to learn, because I don’t really know his bands Dead Confederate and Diamond Rugs either. I’m gonna start with this solo album that seems to be wonderful and something that I need to add into my collection. Audition Tapes came out on Dangerbird Records july 30th. Here’s a video of T.Hardy Morris playing Audition Tapes.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyyFJnvfLA8]

T. Hardy Morris Website

Moving on to another new song addiction and to Edmonton, Canada. The Provincial Archive is a band that I vaguely knew, but hadn’t really properly paid attention to them. This changed when the excellent Canadian music blog Herohill.com wrote about their new single Common Cards. Such a great song and currently I’m in the process of introducing my heart to their back catalogue that seems to be just as good. Here’s Common Cards.

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The Provincial Archive Website

One Chord to Another favourite, North Carolinian singer-songwriter Jeremy Squires released a new song Open a few days ago. Jeremy added music to Lotte Kestner’s poem and again managed to create a magical piece of music. Jeremy’s new album When Will You Go will be released in October. It’s one of my most anticipated releases this fall. I’ve listened the earlier single Oblivious so many times that I’ve lost count. This is the new one Open.

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Jeremy Squires Website

It’s tough to keep up, because there’s so much good music coming up all the time. Here’s some recent favourites.

I’ve been a fan of American songwriter Laura Veirs for several years. Her new album Warp And Weft was just released last week and I picked it up from the local 8raita store on friday. It might not reach the same level of brilliance as my favourite Laura Veirs albums Carbon Glacier and July Flame, but it’s another strong album for sure. This is the wonderful opener Sun Song.

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Laura Veirs Website

Moving on from Laura’s modern folk sounds into older times. Pokey LaFarge’s new album has been on the playlist for a month or so. It’s a new Third Man Records release and I’m definitely enjoying it a lot. It might not be something that I listen to on a daily basis, but each time I hit play, these old-fashioned sounds make me feel oh so good. So maybe I should start listening to this every day. Country blues, jazz, ragtime and that sort of things. What’s not to love. This is the debut single Central Time.

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Pokey LaFarge Website

Zachary Lucky’s new album The Ballad Of Losing You is due to be released on september 17th by Missed Connection Records. It seems like this Canadian singer-songwriter will be heading closer and closer to traditional country sounds, but that’s hardly a bad thing. I like this just as much as I like his older material. Which is a lot. This next one is Woke Up, the first outtake from the upcoming album.

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Zachary Lucky Website

Let’s stay in Canada and just move from Saskatoon to Toronto. The music is quite different though. Taylor Knox is a guy I’ve been following for some time now. I think he has a good thing going on. Sloan comes to mind often and therefore it probably isn’t a surprise that a guy who writes a blog titled One Chord to Another likes what Taylor does. I think he has even played with Sloan. But the interesting bit about Taylor isn’t the Sloan connection. He is a talented musician / songwriter and I’m pretty keen to hear his debut full-length. It’s not ready yet though. In the meantime I have to settle for this excellent new song My Backyard.

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Taylor Knox Website