Cool Hunting

Entries with keyword "folk" 13 result(s) displayed (1 - 13 of 13)
All My Pretty Ones
(24 April 2008) - All My Pretty Ones are a six-member group from the San Francisco Bay Area. Led by songwriter Derek Schmidt, the band plays richly-orchestrated, folk-influenced music. Songs rely heavily on acoustic guitar and piano, with occasional flourishes from a wide array of instruments like oboe, upright bass, mandolin and glockenspiel. Their debut EP, "Handsbreadth," was released last year and includes five songs combining lighthearted melodies...
William Fitzsimmons
(03 March 2008) - His name echoes those of colonels and soldiers who fought in the American civil war. But far from that, William Fitzsimmons is actually an obscure songwriter from Jackson, Illinois, building a fan base through Myspace and, would you believe it, the TV show "Grey's Anatomy." When I hear his song, "It's Not True," I think of bleached wood, smoky red wine, and the great...
Holiday Playlist 2007
(13 December 2007) - Le Loup: The Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations Millennium General Assembly A weird mixture of banjos, percussion and computer sounds Le Loup creates an experimental sound that's still fun listening. Based on Sam Simkoff's original cheap recordings of a hodge-podge of inexpensive instruments, such as toy glockenspiels and an old banjo, and recorded using the microphone and recording software included with...
The Silver Seas: High Society
(07 December 2007) - They're called The Silver Seas and they used to go by the name The Bees, though not the U.K. version of the band. Confused? Don't be. The Silver Seas have released what will probably end up being on my top five album list for 2007. The album is called High Society and on it the Nashville, Tennessee band have combined the willfulness of the...
The Finches Giveaway
(26 February 2007) - Embodying the perfect marriage of subtle skill and charming sincerity, The Finches thankfully deliver on the promise of their 6-song debut EP, maintaining that release's spare instrumentation and generally subdued tone on their latest, titled Human Like a House. The duo of Carolyn Pennypacker Riggs and Aaron Morgan thankfully resist the temptation to weigh down their songs with excessive overdubs and overblown production, relying...
Michael Talbott and the Wolfkings
(25 April 2006) - San Francisco-based Michael Talbott and the Wolfkings's exceptional debut, "Freeze-Die-Come To Life," adeptly moves from pastoral melodies and harmonies to more intricate chamber-style orchestrations—all in the course of an album recorded by Wolfking members and friends of Talbott's, Scott Hirsch and MC Taylor of the Court and Spark. The result of a year in the studio, the finely-wrought instrumentation has a late-Beatles feel, incorporating...
Hobart Smith: In Sacred Trust
(31 March 2006) - On this album of never-before-released work, mountain music virtuoso Hobart Smith, plays banjo, fiddle, guitar, and piano as well as singing, clog-dancing and reminiscing. All of the songs were taped shortly before Smith died in 1965 and they take you on a personal journey back to the lost era of old time Appalachian music. The album includes well known pieces like "Black Annie" and...
Simon Joyner: Beautiful Losers
(21 March 2006) - You know that weird musician friend of yours that would be huge if he wasn’t such an asshole and didn’t smoke so much pot? Simon Joyner strikes me as that kind of guy, only he got a few breaks along the way and achieved a small celebrity among a group of artists who shun the limelight (a patch that includes Mountain Goats and Will...
Zero 7: Futures
(14 March 2006) - If, like me, you're in the Northern hemisphere and are about ready for the sunshine of summer, then the release of Zero 7's new single Futures couldn't be better timed. Available on the iTunes U.K. store this week, it's a collaboration with Swedish troubador of the moment, José González (whose song Heartbeats accompanies the celebrated Sony Bravia ad with the bouncing balls in the...
Sibylle Baier: Colour Green
(09 March 2006) - Sometimes it takes 35 years and a few detours to finally get to where you were going. Recorded in 1970, the songs that make up Colour Green, Sibylle Baier’s intimate underground folk album, have been released for the first time on the Orange Twin label. As experimental folk they find relevance with today’s audience, a new generation seeking to unearth these artist’s inspirations, discovering...
Be Here to Love Me
(07 December 2005) - Like many obsessions, Margaret Brown's fascination with Townes Van Zandt began with one song. After a friend played her the folk singer's "Waiting Round to Die," she bought all the records she could get her hands on. The resulting documentary, Be Here to Love Me is the kind of work that can only come from an artist's devotion, much in the way that Townes...
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