Country, Americana, Folk, Power Pop, Indie Pop
Canadian Daniel Romano released a wonderful vintage country album Sleep Beneath The Willow last year. It took the spot #14 on onechord.net’s album of the year list. The opener Time Forgot (To Change My Heart) has now a music video. Such a great song.. and there’s actually 3-4 better ones on the album. That’s how strong the album is.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=no3tNgZXIvE]
I’ve been meaning to write about this amazing pop album for a month, because it deserves some.. well actually a lot of.. love. There’s also another good reason to write about it, because it was just released on vinyl in february 2012 (came out in october 2011 on CD).
Michigan-based songwriter/producer Andy Reed is the man behind An American Underdog and he has created an impressive pop record. Always on the Run is a melodic heaven that reminds me of all kind of great things from Jellyfish to The Beach Boys. These delightful pop songs are full of insightful arrangements. I’ll Miss You Girl should be a hit in the same vein Cherry Twister songs should have been hits in the year 2000. Always on The Run is a classic pop album and it’s not a surprise that it was widely praised on several power pop blogs last year. This is the opener Your Reign Is Over. You’ll find plenty of more sample songs from his soundcloud page.
[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/22340222″ iframe=”true” /]
An American Underdog Website
An American Underdog at Facebook
Yer Bird Records will be re-releasing Tyler Butler’s Winter King on 20th of march. To celebrate the upcoming release, Tyler and Yer Bird have set up a video series and they will post a new live video every tuesday until the release. Winter King took some high positions on the year-end lists of my favourite folk-minded blogs (Slowcoustic, Common Folk Music) and it’s definitely time to introduce my heart to Tyler Butler’s music when Winter King comes out. I think we might hit it off rather well, if this video of Plover is a sign of things to come. Finnish folks are certainly quite used to the same kind of chilling conditions as this Canadian folk musician. Check out more videos at winterking.ca where you will find a new video each tuesday.
Tyler Butler :: Plover from Yer Bird Records on Vimeo.
Nopat – Kadun tuolla puolella (Kleppari, 2012)
I’ve been looking forward to this album for a year or two, because Nopat is a big favourite at this household and I loved those little discs they released back in 2010. Therefore it was quite clear that Nopat has to take the album of the month spot, if the album will be as good as I hoped it would. And it definitely turned out to be just as good as I had hoped. Cosy sunday afternoon is actually a perfect time to write a few words about the new Nopat album Kadun tuolla puolella, because this is a great sunday album. Even some minor stomach bug can’t stop me from enjoying the subtle beauty of the everyday that Nopat injects to my heart. Kadun tuolla puolella is a comfortable place to be and these fairly simple but thoughtfully crafted easy-flowing folk pop songs are able to turn a vulnerable moments into something manageable. Something very Finnish is gently colliding with delicate 90s american indie (perfect soundtrack for painting a house red in the early hours). Gentle, warm and captivating. Well done.
[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/34167893″ iframe=”true” /]
Nopat Website