Sigur Ros “Heima”

Sigur Ros is one of my favorite bands, period. Hopefully you have heard of them. If not, I hope you will give them a chance. Their music is mellow, but equally gorgeous.

They are from Iceland and I first heard them through their album Agaetis Byrjun which was released in 1999. Their two albums after that, ( ) and Takk, really blew me away. I mostly listen to their music with headphones late at night when writing, when laying in bed or when I simply need to decompress from life.

What I love most about their Sigur Ros is even though they are a four-piece, there is such an orchestral quality to their music. I also love the fact that their singer Jon Birgisson sings in Icelandic and Hopelandic (an invented language with no vocabulary or grammar). What I love about this is that I have never tried to search out any translation to his lyrics. Every song of their’s means something unique to me as I am interpreting his lyrics according to my mood at the time of listening. It is truly a moment where music transcends language. Music, the ultimate communicator…

To the point, they just released a documentary film entitled, Heima, and it is a wonderful piece of film making. They filmed it in 2006 in their native Iceland, playing in small villages, in houses for friends and family and at big open air concerts in the vast countryside. Beautiful film…

Here are three video clips from the documentary. If you are interested in checking out their albums, I’d recommend you start with ( ) – their untitled album released in 2002. If you are a fan, this documentary is a absolute must!

Sigur Ros – From “Heima”

“Heima”

“Vaka”

“Agaetis Byrjun”

Iron & Wine, “The Shepard’s Dog”

Alright, so I overdid it this past weekend with baseball games, dance party and more baseball games. I feel like crap right now with sore throat, but new music has made me feel better. That new music is The Shepard Dog, the new album from Iron & Wine. I couldn’t sleep last night and at about 12:30 am I grabbed the headphones, put the album on, grabbed a book and 30 seconds into the first song put the book down. I listened to the entire album from start to finish and I have to say it is a gorgeous piece of work!

For those you don’t know Iron & Wine, it is a guy named Sam Beam. Iron & Wine is his stage name. Here is a picture of Mr. Beam:

Yes dreamy, I know…anyways, the guy has released two, primarily acoustic, albums and a few EPs. If you seriously have not heard him check out Our Endless Numbered Days. That album lit a light in my body when I first heard it a few years ago. He is also the guy who sang the Postal Service song, “Such Great Heights,” on the Garden State Soundtrack. So, his new album is a leap forward in such a positive direction for both him and folk music in general. The album has many other musicians all over it and it works so well! He has typically been an acoustic guitar, voice man, but on this album, grooves are set to his typical acoustic songs with drums and bass with all sorts of other instruments weaving in and out of the music at the perfect times. It is pure delight for the ears. The guest musicians on the album include Joey Burns and Paul Niehaus of Calexico, as well as jazz musicians Matt Lux and Rob Burger.

Iron & Wine has made a huge change in his sound, going into a new direction, and it absolutely works. I am writing this blog because he is an artist that I feel deserves to be liked, or at least given the chance to be liked. You are not going to hear him on the radio or see him on the television, however, this new album might change that.

The entire new album is up for listen on his MySpace page. Check it out. Play “Lovesong of a Buzzard.” That song makes me want to drive into the night. Great “headphones” album.

Iron & Wine’s MySpace Page

No videos for the new album yet but here is one of my older favorites:

Rocky Votolato

I am fully aware that Rocky Votolato has been around for some time, but I wish the general public liked him as much as I do. Votolato has released eight albums and EPs over the past 8 years and is still flying under the mainstream folk media bar of popularity. He was born in Texas but grew up the Pacific Northwest and now calls Seattle home. His last two albums, Makers and his latest release, The Brag and Cuss, were released on Barsuk Records, home to Death Cab For Cutie, Harvey Danger, They Might Be Giants and Jesse Sykes. He is not getting much radio play, but he does deserve some attention.

My favorite Votolato song:

Click For His Website:
http://www.rockyvotolato.com

Click For His MySpace Page:
http://www.myspace.com/rockyvotolato

Monte Montgomery

 

Monte Montgomery is a relatively unknown gem in a quary of guitar players. Outside of Austin, Texas and guitar hero worshiper circles he has skated under the rader since his first album was released in 1993.  I didn’t even know who he was until I did a youtube search for “Little Wing” and stumbled across his version of the song, recorded in wooden dive bar with white christmas lights hanging from the ceiling.  Let’s just say I was absolutely floored and ended up watching the video at least five times over the next two days. 

Montgomery grew up in Alabama and moved to Austin, Texas at age 12.  He still calls Austin home and has won “Best Acoustic Guitar Player” at the Austin Music Awards seven years in a row.  He has released eight albums over the last 14 years and is still plays a grueling tour schedule.  Clearly a virtuoso at the guitar, he deserves some more recognition. 

Here is that “Little Wing” video I mentioned:

Here is his website: http://montemontgomery.com/

Here are more of his videos:

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_type=search_videos&search_query=Monte%20Montgomery&search_sort=video_avg_rating&search_category=0&search=Search&v=

Fionn Regan

This guy is from Bray, Ireland, but is now based out of England. He has had some success in Europe, releasing three EPs, and is about to try his hand in America, having just signed to Lost Highway (Ryan Adams, Lucinda Williams, Willie Nelson, Bernard Fanning). Later this summer he will be embarking on his first U.S. tour and will unfortunately not be coming to Colorado. Well…long story short, I like this guy very much and his only album, “The End Of History,” is definitely worth checking out for anyone that enjoys singer songwriters. Fionn has a very interesting singing style, particularly with his phrasing and I have really enjoyed his lyrical ability. Not to mention his debut video is a piece of pure glorious art. All sections of the video were recorded live in the settings they were filmed in. Here it is:

Also, feel free to check out his website:

Fionn’s Website

Check out more tunes on his MySpace page:

Fionn’s MySpace Page