The Low Anthem

The Low Anthem are a American folk-rock group currently comprised of four members. With a range of interesting musical instruments and vocal harmonies, they create a comforting blanket of sound to easily float away in. The Low Anthem are incredibly talented across the board and are worth a serious listen.

The Low Anthem’s first headlining tour begins February 23rd in Pittsburgh, PA with stops at SXSW Music and Media Conference and Festival and Sasquatch! Music Festival at The Gorge in George, WA. The Low Anthem are set to release a limited-edition 7″ of their single “Charlie Darwin,” on the A-side and previously unreleased tracks on B-side. The 7″ will be available for purchase March 2nd, 2010. Their latest album, Oh My God, Charlie Darwin, released with Nonesuch records in 2009. It is available for purchase on CD as well as 12″ vinyl here: www.lowanthem.com/store

The Low Anthem — “Charlie Darwin” | download
Download audio file (charlie-darwin.mp3)

Tour Dates

• Feb 23 2010 Club Cafe Pittsburgh, PA WYEP Presents with Matthew Brian Ruddy
• Feb 24 2010 Ohio University Memorial Hall Athens, OH with The Avett Brothers
• Feb 26 2010 State Theatre Ithaca, NY with The Avett Brothers
• Feb 27 2010 House of Blues Cleveland Cleveland, OH with The Avett Brothers
• Feb 28 2010 Egyptian Room at the Murat Centre Indianapolis, IN with The Avett Brothers
• Mar 2 2010 Missouri Theatre Columbia, MO with The Avett Brothers
• Mar 3 2010 Rose State Performing Arts Center Midwest City, OK with The Avett Brothers
• Mar 5 2010 First Avenue Minneapolis, MN with The Avett Brothers
• Mar 6 2010 The Riverside Theatre Milwaukee, WI with The Avett Brothers
• Mar 7 2010 House of Blues Chicago Chicago, IL with The Avett Brothers
• Mar 9 2010 Michigan Theatre Ann Arbor, MI with The Avett Brothers
• Mar 11 2010 Kennedy Center Millenium Stage Washington, D.C. FREE SHOW – 5:30PM Doors
• Mar 11 2010 9:30 Club Washington, D.C. Late Show – 10PM with Lissie
• Mar 12 2010 The Sanctuary of the First Unitarian Church Philadelphia, PA with Lissie and Annie and the Beekeepers
• Mar 13 2010 Cat’s Cradle Carborro, NC with Lissie and Annie and the Beekeepers
• Mar 14 2010 Smith’s Olde Bar Atlanta, GA with Lissie and Annie and the Beekeepers
• Mar 15 2010 Belcourt Nashville, TN with Lissie and Annie and the Beekeepers
• Mar 17 2010 Granada Theatre Dallas, Texas
• Mar 18 2010 SXSW Austin, TX 4PM – PASTE DAY PARTY @ Galaxy Room Indoors (former Radio Room) – 507 E. 6th St.//RSVP @ http://www.pastemagazine.com/sxsw10 (not required for admission). Open to public but priority to SXSW laminates if the party is full, so come early!
• Mar 18 2010 SXSW Austin, TX Rolling Stone Official Party – Beauty Bar Ballroom @ the Palm Door (401 Sabine St.)
• Mar 19 2010 SXSW Austin, TX 2:30PM – HearYA Day Party @ Beauty Bar Outside (617 East 7th Street) *rsvp@hearya.com
• Mar 19 2010 SXSW Austin, TX Official SXSW Showcase @ St. David’s Sanctuary (301 E 8th St.)
• Mar 20 2010 SXSW Austin, TX 3PM – SX San Jose – Hotel San Jose (1316 South Congress Avenue)
• Mar 22 2010 Santa Fe Brewing Company Santa Fe, NM with TImber Timbre
• Mar 23 2010 Plush Tuscon, AZ with TImber Timbre
• Mar 24 2010 Largo Los Angeles, CA with TImber Timbre
• Mar 25 2010 The Bootleg Theatre Los Angeles, CA with TImber Timbre
• Mar 26 2010 Great American Music Hall San Francisco, CA with TImber Timbre
• Mar 28 2010 Doug Fir Portland, OR with TImber Timbre
• Mar 30 2010 St. James Cathedral Vancouver with TImber Timbre
• Mar 31 2010 Crocodile Cafe Seattle, Washington with TImber Timbre
• Apr 2 2010 State Room Salt Lake City, UT with The Wheel
• Apr 3 2010 Fox Theatre Boulder, CO with The Wheel
• Apr 5 2010 Daytrotter Presents at Huckleberry’s Rock Island, IL with The Wheel
• Apr 6 2010 Lincoln Hall Chicago, IL with The Wheel
• Apr 7 2010 The Ark Ann Arbor, MI with The Wheel
• Apr 10 2010 Church of the Redeemer Toronto with The Barr Brothers (of The Slip)
• Apr 12 2010 Gesu Montreal with The Barr Brothers (of The Slip)
• Apr 14 2010 Bowery Ballroom New York, NY with TImber Timbre
• Apr 16 2010 Bell House Brooklyn, NY with TImber Timbre
• Apr 17 2010 Iron Horse Music Hall Northampton, MA with TImber Timbre
• Apr 18 2010 Heberton Hall Keene, NH with Timber Timbre
• Apr 20 2010 Paradise Boston, MA with TImber Timbre
• Apr 21 2010 LUPO’S Providence, Rhode Island with Timber Timbre and special guests TBA
• Apr 22 2010 Bethany Church Montpelier, Vermont with Timber Timbre. Tickets available in person only at Riverwalk Records, Montpelier, and Burlington Records, Burlington.
• Apr 23 2010 Space Gallery Porland, Maine with TImber Timbre
• May 31 2010 Sasquatch The Gorge – George, WA
• July 22 2010 Floydfest Floyd, VA
• Aug 12 2010 Haldern Pop Festival Germany
• Sep 12 2010 END OF THE ROAD FESTIVAL Larmer Tree Gardens, UK

While Valentine’s Day holds a certain appeal to many in love with love, for others, it serves as a precursor to a nasty hangover. It’s inevitable when you drink that much. Hey, lucky us, Valentine’s Day fell the day before Presidents Day! Working while nursing a pounding headache and a churning stomach doesn’t exactly improve mental productivity.

Spiritualized – “I Think I’m In Love”

I think this song is most potent with lyrics like, “I think I’m in love — probably just hungry.” The song continues in this vein. It’s pessimistic, and when hung over, who isn’t pessimistic?

The Rural Alberta Advantage – “Drain the Blood”

If you’re not so hung over that you can’t bring yourself to listen to some frenetic indie pop, this short, not-too-distressing tale of vague heartbreak isn’t so abrasive as to provide a new approach to your relationships, but it won’t make you vomit (more) from overt enthusiasm.

Photo by Autumn De Wilde

Monsters of Folk, with its obvious tribute to the festival Monsters of Rock, is threatening to create quite a stir in the music world. Having already announced the concept — the band is comprised of Bright Eyes alumni Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis, My Morning Jacket’s Jim James, and songwriter M. Ward — they’ve now confirmed their plans to release a debut album on September 22, 2009. The album will be released in the U.S. on Shangri-La Music and internationally on Rough Trade in the UK, Spunk Records in Australia and New Zealand, and P-Vine Records in Japan.

The album was produced by Mogis and features all four members of the band performing every instrument on the album.

Source: Girlie Action Media and Marketing

Chris Cotton – “Going Home” | download
Download audio file (chris_cotton_-_going_home.mp3)

“Going Home” is shocking in its immediacy: a track from Chris Cotton’s latest, due out September 2nd on Little Fish Large Pond Publishing. This vintage-style piece, recalling some of the earliest recorded American folk music, is a refreshing blast from distorted guitars and whining vocals. There’s something strangely enthralling about anachronistic music, isn’t there?

When I first heard Conor Oberst, I was an impressionable 14 year-old in grade nine. Following the recommendation of Bright Eyes by a friend whose musical interests I trusted (“Download ‘The City Has Sex With Itself,’ by Bright Eyes” he told me,) I engaged in musical exploration, learning of a great many styles, genres, and tepid over-classification, all of it new to me.

It wasn’t more than a year after my discovery that I ran into Conor Oberst’s first album he recorded and released: 1993′s cassette-only Water, an uncertain, less-confident release by the man that became, for all intents and purposes, Bright Eyes. He was a young 13 at the time of the release, and it was the first on Lumberjack, which later became the now-influential Saddle Creek Records.

So, here I am, listening to Mr. Oberst’s newest, a self-titled album, the man himself a decade-and-a-half older. I can still hear the high-pitched, trembling vocals of “You Should Be in Sweden” in his voice – he’s definitely still the same person – but a self-assuredness has replaced quavering vocals, and in place of strummed chords most beginners learn, there’s a skillful precision. Yes, this Conor Oberst is the same person he was 15 years ago, but he is, by no means, the same person. And for all my metaphorical imprecision, Mr. Bright Eyes himself hasn’t lost his.

This self-titled release is more in the vein of recent Bright Eyes, and considering he is the primary songwriter for the group, it isn’t surprising. The difference? Mike Mogis, his esteemed producer and bandmate, was too busy with other duties, so Oberst ventured to the creation of this solo album. So, while it may lack a little of the charm of Bright Eyes, there’s still an honesty to the album. More surprising, perhaps, is the album’s release on Merge Records, rather than Saddle Creek, the label Oberst co-founded. Despite whatever reason there may be for the label switch, Oberst told Filter Magazine in their Summer 2008 issue that there is “no bad blood” with his friends at Saddle Creek.

But none of that really affects the music: Conor Oberst maintains the perceived honesty the songwriter is known for, and, some of the prettier, flashier instrumentation aside – you know, the sort Mogis provided – this is a record that provides what is expected. The increasing maturity of Conor is apparent: He’s gone from the man responsible for the overtly emotional Fevers and Mirrors to somebody that, while not hiding his emotions, has stopped wearing them so blatantly on his sleeve.

Still, even without Mogis, some of the instrumentation is beautiful in its simplicity. Complete with that slight country bent Oberst picked up a few years ago, this self-titled album is typical fare for the musician, and that means it’s listenable – even addictively so – but it doesn’t mean it will hit the right chords with everybody. Oberst has had his share of detractors, and while their claims are not all valid, they certainly do make a point: You’re not going to get the best record ever from the man, nor will you get wild experimentation.

Still, Conor Oberst has grown from an immature kid to a competent singer-songwriter with no lack of vision. His latest self-titled release isn’t the best thing since sliced bread, but it’s a good set of well-thought tracks, and you can’t ask much more from a man who nearly turned the musical world upside-down with blatant honesty.

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The OaKs, previously the subject of a MusicGeek.org spotlight, self-released Songs for Waiting Tuesday. Opening track, “The Two Calls (of Dietrich Bonhoeffer)” — posted below for download and streaming — isn’t rough, and it’s certainly not too soft. The historical narrative, written by one of two founding members, Ryan Costello, is, at the very least, interesting. The arrangements involved in this new release are well planned, providing a listening experience that’s bound to impress.

The OaKs – “The Two Calls (of Dietrich Bonhoeffer)” | download
Download audio file (theoaks-thetwocallsofdietrichbonheoffer.mp3)

The OaKs – “The Heart is a Lonely Hunter” | download
Download audio file (theoaks-theheartisalonelyhunter.mp3)

“Bodyguard,” posted below, is a nice introduction to the style being exercised by Landes; holding up against the influx of female indie artists doesn’t seem something this musician will find much trouble with.

Dawn Landes — “Bodyguard” | download
Download audio file (01_bodyguard.mp3)

Feb 6 -Varsity Theater – Minneapolis, MN
Feb 7 – High Noon Saloon – Madison, WI
Feb 8 – Double Door – Chicago, IL
Feb 9 – Music Mill – Indianapolis, IN
Feb 11 – Southgate House – Cincinnati, OH
Feb 12 – The Basement – Columbus, OH
Feb 14 – Magic Stick – Detroit, MI
Feb 15 – Beachland Ballroom – Cleveland, OH
Feb 16 – Tralf Music Hall – Buffalo, NY
Feb-17 – PA World Café Live – Philadelphia, PA
Feb 19 – Toad’s – New Haven, CT
Feb 20 – Paradise – Boston, MA
Feb 21 – Bowery Ballroom – New York, NY
Feb 22 – 9:30 Club – Washington, DC
Feb 23 – Satellite Ballroom – Charlottesville, VA
Feb 24 – Soapbox – Wilmington, NC
Feb 26 – Headliner’s – Columbia, SC
Feb 27 – GA Theatre – Athens, GA
Feb 28 – Bluecat’s – Knoxville, TN
Feb 29 – Headliner’s – Louisville, KY
Mar 1 – Cannery Ballroom – Nashville, TN

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Kaki King — 2 O’Clock | download
Download audio file (2oclock.mp3)

Purchase Kaki King releases

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