My biggest music addiction this weekend has been the songwriting of Ian Noe. Even though I like to find new music by reading recommendations from like-minded people, I have to thank the Spotify algorithm for this one. I have that 2018 playlist for onechord.net over there and under it the app gives recommendations based on the list and last night there was a song by Ian Noe. I didn’t know him beforehand, so I put it on and it hit me pretty hard within seconds and within minutes I had bought the download of Off This Mountaintop EP that came out in December 2017. His songwriting is just damn impressive and he delivers dark stories in a convincing manner. Bob Dylan, John Prine and well bunch of especially 70s folk singer-songwriters comes to mind and on this Dead on the River video I also get some early Songs:Ohia vibes. But no, this is guy is definitely not a second rate copy of anyone else. He is a brilliant songwriter who has his own voice. He is currently touring in Europe with another awesome troudadour Colter Wall and I’m a little bit of jealous of all the lovely people who have a chance to see them share the stage. I have tickets to see Colter Wall at STHLM Americana fest next June and sure would be great if Ian would be on that tour as well. Every song on the EP is rather magnificent and it’s too early to pick a definite favorite. Let’s go with the title track this time around. The whole EP is on Spotify and other digital outlets. Limited Edition CD available on his website, if you prefer physical copies.

Ian Noe Website

Matt Dorrien is a songwriter from Portland, Oregon who has previously released music under the name Snowblind Traveler. It took me a long while to find his music and it was maybe about a year ago when I stumbled upon Snowblind Traveler on some web article that introduced Portland-based artists. After that I bought a download of the second album Confederate Burial and found it rather remarkable. I highly recommend the Snowblind Traveler material, if you were as clueless or badly informed as I was when they came out some years ago.

The current and at the moment far more relevant information is that Matt Dorrien has abondened the Snowblind Traveler moniker at least for the time being and is getting ready to release an achingly beautiful album under his own name. In The Key Of Grey is due out on 13th of April on Mama Bird Recording Co. I’ve spent hours of listening to it today. First at work while packing potatoes, then on the drive home and now I’ve been lying on this bed for hours with these songs as my company. Some might say that’s a waste of an evening, but I can’t agree with that assessment. I’ve loved every second I’ve spent with this charming piano-driven album. Sure it’s kinda sad and melancholic, but so am I more often than that I would like to admit. So we’ll get by just fine by leaning on each other. This is timeless music that echoes the work of maestros like Harry Nilsson and Randy Newman and carries on even further into the rich history of american songwriting tradition. However, I think I’m jumping the gun a bit now. The plan was just to share the first outtake from the forthcoming album and leave the far bigger praising and the announcing of my engagement with the song I Can’t Remember to the release week. Sorry for getting a little carried away. This is Baby I’m So Lost from the forthcoming Matt Dorrien album In The Key of Grey.

Matt Dorrien Website

Two of my songwriting heroes, Will Johnson and Justin Peter Kinkel-Schuster, have a new album out under the moniker Marie/Lepanto. Probably one should avoid combining the words super and group when talking about these type of projects, but hey there’s no way of denying it either. It’s rather superb indeed to see a couple of music wizards joining forces to create a stunning new album together. I’m not entirely sure is this just a less significant side project for them, but even if it is, it certainly doesn’t feel like that for the listener, because the songwriting is powerful and sublime throughout the record. The album is not that close to Water Liars or Centro-Matic and instead more like a gentle collision of their latest solo albums where Will’s passionate delivery adds some spark and edge to Justin Peter’s indie folk beauty. Their different voices work beautifully together and the album turns out to be a small treasure. Tenkiller came out on 26th of January on Big Legal Mess.

Marie/Lepanto Website