‘Are You Ready For the Country / Because It’s Time to Go?’

William Tyler has been Lambchop’s regular guitar player since their excellent ‘Is a Woman’ album and ‘Impossible Truth’ is his second solo LP, and first for Merge Records. It’s a terrific all-instrumental album. Whether he is alone doing wonders with his acoustic or electric guitars or backed by a discrete yet effective team of players, Tyler’s fingerpicking shines all the way through, drawing incredibly wide landscapes. This is the kind of album that transcends all styles: it’s quite complex and intricate yet it feels natural and accessible. Cherry on the cupcake: the double LP version is absolutely gorgeous. Undoubtedly, one of 2013’s best. 

“Reality Is Killing Me”

Not much to say about Jackson Scott, except that he’s from Asheville, North Carolina. He just self-released his debut LP, Melbourne (available as a Mediafire link on free download, unfortunately removed now). Mix of Mac DeMarco and Conan Mockassin’s madness and pop feelings. You can hear a few songs on his Soundcloud page

“Baby It’s Cold Outside”

It’s currently snowing in Paris and what a perfect weather to listen to Eskimo’s exquisite songs! Eskimo is the - quite mysterious - solo project of Marie, a very discreet artist who sang in various Parisian bands but her songs sound like nobody else’s. Dissonant chords, drown in reverbs, no choruses, and yet it’s a continuous flux of elusive beauty. If Marie lived in Brooklyn, not Paris, she would have a record contract with a label like Captured Tracks or Sacred Bones. But we’re in France and people still prefer to bet on some other overproduced crap. As a result, Eskimo is still recording these small jewels at home on some rudimentary gear. And that’s gold to our ears!

Picture by Kahn Selesnick

“Lousy lovers- pick their prey but they never cry out loud”

Mount Moriah is a Durham, North Carolina based band, fronted by singer/guitarist Heather McEntire and Miracle Temple is their second full-length album. McEntire’s musical background is rooted in post-punk, which explains why Mount Moriah’s take on folk and classic rock never sounds dull or too reverential. The tension in their music is easily palpable, guitars (even at their cleanest) seem to be on the verge of exploding and the rhythm section is steady and thick while McEntire’s heart-wrenching voice stands at the crossroads of heartbreak and rebellion. If there is one indie-folk or alt. country - whatever it means - band to watch for in 2013, it’s undoubtedly Mount Moriah.

Picture by Julie Joblin

“To the centre of the city where all roads meet, waiting for you”

Uncivilized is Frustation’s new album and it’s a blast. Bands which are immersed in the Joy Division sound are quite a few but this Parisian band is able to nail it because it does not sound polished as other so called post-punk outfits are. Full of synthesizers sounds, which are quite reminiscent of bands such as Devo or XTC, their songs are supported by an incredibly threatening and unrelenting rhythm section. The vocals are particularly powerful and emotional. The guitars are quite understated but they’re solid as well. The songs are all focused: no thrills, just pure punk and rock’n’roll. Last but not least, the vinyl is beautiful, the artwork is gorgeous, it reminds me of Lewis Hine’s pictures of New York workers in the early 20th century. In addition, it comes with a bonus 7-inch. For all these reasons, this is a highly recommended purchase. You can stream the album in full on Born Bad Records’ website.

Picture by Lewis Hine.

“I can’t forget the ghost of his smile”

‘Hello Kurt‘ is Xavier Thiry, one third of Parisian outfit La Féline. Xavier, as a professional musician, has crossed the boundaries between pop and electronic music. As a composer for video games, he knows how to draw sonic landscapes that bring to mind beautiful images. His first EP, Spectres, is a full-fledged effort that transcends musical genres, from dreamy electronica to french pop and, most surprisingly, Renaissance counterpoint! It is well worth a few listens and buying it would not hurt either. 

Hello Kurt - Spectres from Perotin on Vimeo.

Picture from Andrei Tarkovsky’s Solaris. 

“I’ve walked on cobble stones And I have walked across fields”

Sometimes, you just have to shut the fuck up and get down on your knees before the undeniable beauty of the world. I was not very impressed by Phantom Buffalo’s previous effort, even though I was aware of this band’s knack for beautiful tunes. Their new album, Tadaloora, is just a stunning record, filled with gorgeous melodies, power pop hooks and hearty vocals. This is indie pop/rock at its very best. Unfortunately, while other less talented artists have powerful PR people to help them get airplay at the speed of sound, Phantom Buffalo is still a self-produced affair that needs your participation in order to be able to make good music like this. Help spread the word!

“Ah, but I was so much older then / I’m younger than that now”

They come from the deep south … of France but they have a knack for crafting beautiful melodies with a sweet and sour energy, reminiscent of my favorite American power pop bands - such as Big Star, the Posies or Fountains of Wayne. Appletop’s new song, “Twenty Five”, is available on a 7” transparent vinyl, released by A Quick One Records and that’s a terrific tune! 

Picture by William Eggleston.

“Great Clouds Are Coming / And It’s Alright With Me”

Meursault is a Scottish band from Edinburgh, signed on Song, By Toad records and leaded by Neil Pennycook. They released in 2012 their 3rd album, Something For The Weakened.

Meursault is in Paris for a few days, playing a houseshow for La Blogothèque tonight (Oct. 16th) and a live in-studio performance for our pals at Planet Claire. Tune in tomorrow on Aligre FM at 7:30 pm (CET), 93.1 in Paris or http://aligrefm.org/direct worldwide !

Here is a track of the new LP :

An old one, more folktronica

And some live & acoustic performances. On a beach :

or in Parisian Suburbs :

“I’m okay with my decay”

“It’s better to burn out than to fade away”. Ex-Grandaddy frontman Jason Lytle seems to suggest the opposite on his new song “Dept. of Disappearance”. Maybe it’s better to fade away after all. Reflecting on his friends’ death - it’s impossible not to think about Vic Chesnutt and Mark Linkous - on “Young Saints”, Lytle offers here his most beautiful melodies since Grandaddy’s Sumday, their best album to date - whether The Sophtware Slump defenders like it or not! And with “Get Up and Go”, he explores his long forgotten power pop side. Dept. of Disappearance is not going to be a big surprise for Grandaddy’s fans but it’s a new proof that Lytle’s songwriting is still as vital as ever. 

The full album can be streamed on NPR’s website. 

“Il y a toujours plus grand / C’est ce qu’ignore le petit”

Those who are lucky enough to be aware of H-Burns’ music may have mistaken him for a purely acoustic folk singer so far. But what does “folk” mean? As Thelonious Monk once put it, there’s no music played by dogs anyway so any music is folks’ music, right? - of course, it’s fortunate that Monk did not have to know Keyboard Cat. Like Dylan driving the Highway 61, H-Burns is now performing some rough electric folk, backed with the energy of his full touring band. The emotional power of his songs is magnified by this setting, properly produced recorded, mixed and mastered by Steve Albini. The Six Years EP is just a nice appetizer for what’s next, a full album, Off The Map, due early next year. 

(Picture from The Pier/La Jetée by Chris Marker)

“I Wonder, Can I Hear The Heart Beat / Tell Me If The Heart Beat”

Multi-instrumentist, Chris Cohen also played & toured with a lot of other bands/musicians like Deerhoof, Cass McCombs, Maher Shalal Hash Baz, Ariel Pink or Danielson, since 1998. Captured Tracks is now releasing his own LP, Overgrown Path.

My favorite track is a melodic, moving ballad :

But that album includes more “indie-pop with a taste of 60’s style” tracks like :

And you can stream the whole LP on Captured Tracks’ soundcloud page :

And here’s a live performance at Glasslands

“You Can Break My Heart / Just, Please, Don’t Break The Rest Of Me”

King Dude is T.J. Cowgill’s dark-folk project. Dais Records & Ván Records are releasing King Dude’s 3rd LP in 2 years. Burning Daylight contains 11 spare, anxious, claustrophobic, scary but radiant songs.

Here are two of theses :

And, as a bonus, a frightening video for an old song, Big Blue Eyes