This song is so beautiful…and I expected nothing less from M. Ward. His new solo album, A Wasteland Companion, will be out on April 10th and it’s one of a handful of albums I’m REALLY looking forward to this year. While Matt Ward has done great work with both Monsters Of Folk and She & Him the past few years, I’m a big fan of his solo stuff. His last album of solo material, Hold Time, was one of my favorite albums of 2007.

M. Ward

While I haven’t been listening to it as intensely as I did a few months ago, the latest Feist album is still in my rotation and whenever I do listen, I hear even more. When the album was really starting to resonate with me, I decided it would be incredible to see these songs done live, so I’m going to try my best to get tickets for her show this spring. I woke up to the news that she’ll play House Of Blues on May 7th! Pre-sale starts tomorrow.

Feist

This whole song has pretty twisted and awesome lyrics. But one line in particular stood out to me the other day…

“She’s filing her nails while they’re dragging the lake”

Here’s a gem of a live performance of the tune:

Elvis Costello

If someone asked me, I wouldn’t list this band as one of my favorites. But there IS something about their music that I really enjoy. I’ve found the more I hear a single from their latest album Mylo Xyloto, the more I enjoy it. And hearing live renditions (like this one) also give me a new appreciation of the tune. As a fan of musical theater, I was really intrigued when I heard Chris Martin and his band were aiming for a theatrical feel for this concept album. While I think Viva La Vida was a stronger album as a whole, I’m still diggin’ the feel of this loose, orchestral pop sound.

Coldplay

I haven’t gotten into the Amnesty International FOUR disc release of Dylan covers yet, but I have heard two or three of the cuts and this one struck me the most. Adele really can deliver an amazing cover. Chimes Of Freedom features what seems like an endless list of artists covering Dylan tunes…there are about 75 in all.

Adele
Chimes Of Freedom

I definitely have mixed feelings about the latest Wilco album, The Whole Love. There are a few tracks on there that I really don’t like…but others, like this one, that are great. Ultimately I do love Wilco, and videos like this make me smile! Watch and suddenly you’re in Popeye’s world…it’s really clever and well done:

Wilco

I’ve blogged about this duo before…for fans of Kings Of Convenience, Fleet Foxes, Bon Iver, or even Simon & Garfunkel. They open up for Ryan Montbleau tonight at Club Passim. Here’s one of my favorite tunes they do:

Tall Heights

LOVE this tune from Erik White. Almost 2 years ago now, I saw Erik perform at an open mic competition and was totally drawn in. More recently, Ryan Montbleau saw him live and felt the same way… Erik opens for Ryan tonight at Club Passim in Cambridge.

Erik White

I cannot get enough of this tune. The Brew are a jam band (of sorts) from the Boston area and they’ve been out there working hard for years. I’ve seen them live a few times and have always been impressed, but I didn’t envision that their music would become “mainstream”. Then a few months ago I heard “When Darkness Comes”. It’s by no means pop, but it’s got everything a radio single should have. It sounds so damn good on mvy. Turns out these guys just put out THREE albums…if the single is any indication of their other new material, The Brew are definitely on the brink of getting a bigger and broader audience.  A tune like this cannot be ignored.

The Brew

This tune is off of the Note Of Hope album, which is a celebration of Woody Guthrie. I had listened to the song so many times before I actually heard this lyric, but when I did, I certainly was struck by it. No surprise, these are Woody Guthrie’s lyrics…he’s got such an amazing way with words.

“I just felt like you feel
when you feel like
the angels are curling your hair
and you feel like
the devil is scratching your heel”

Note Of Hope