Fat History Month - "Bad History Month"

New music from Boston based alt-folk duo Fat History Month.

These guys have earned a pretty dedicated group of followers after their first release and with good reason, they make deliciously tense and compelling music. It pines back to, on this track specifically, to old The Lonesome Crowded West-style Modest Mouse. In that they use untuned guitars and lots of noise to create what are some of the most satisfying build ups I can think of. This song feels very dense because of it, and it's really hard to believe just two people are making such switch sweet, moody sounds.

Folo- The Secret Message

Folo is a folk and electronic (folktronic?) group that hails from Israel. Now I wasn't really expecting to hear a blending of genres like these two, but what has been developed is something wonderfully atmospheric and eerie. The way that Folo uses vocal harmonies and electronic sampling creates a tense uneasy mood that I am particularly fond of. Though they are not the first band to have this kind of tone to their music it feels especially original here. It may be a part of living in Israel; having different sounds and feelings to bring into their art. Whatever it may be they pulled it off very well, I can see the influences of more recent Radiohead songs here, but I feel like these guys are much more successful than Radiohead has been of late in capturing this style of sound. You should definitely check this album out if nothing else it is a compelling listen all the way through.

Simon Joyner- "If I Left Tomorrow"

Simon Joyner is a singer songwriter from Omaha who is on the verge of releasing his 13th album. Only this release is in celebration of his 20th anniversary making music since his first album, Umbilical Chords, was released in 1992. He has decided for his album which is entitled, Ghosts, that he will make it a sprawling double album, vinyl exclusive. It is incredibly ambitous to do something like this now, but he has stated that he believes that physical media is an art form itself. He funded this experiment through a kickstarter campaign that earned him more than the $6000 goal, it is pretty awesome that people are into his idea and are willing to support its creation.

Joyner, if you are unaware, has been a very influential musician throughout his career and a huge inspiration for artists like Beck and Bright Eyes. This new song "If I Left Tomorrow" shows his ability to write compelling lyrics filled with interesting wordplay. His raw imperfect singing voice only add to the style, his delivery feels more deliberate than anything. A song like this shows why he has earned his highly regarded status from many fellow artists/musicians.

Check out http://simonjoyner.net/ if you would like to pre-order the album.