2012 Discoveries

First Aid Kit sounds great. Like what I hear on The Lions Roar.

IMHO, Amelia Curran (who I believe I learned of from Richard) is tickling genius. She has a bit of that Dylanesque, "I don't know what that means but it's moving," goofiness in her lyrics. And a wrenching, "old soul," voice, which is quite lovely (thus ending the comparison to Dylan) I play both "Hunter, Hunter" and "War Brides" to death; they are GwG classics, and can't wait for more.

Another really nice one that was new to me in '11 is Caroline Herring, "Golden Apples of the Sun." I tried a couple of her earlier records, and they're less good, but "Golden Apples" is awfully nice.

John

Just ordered both of the Amelia Curran discs - thanx for the heads up.

MayMay "MayMay EP" [Flau]

This is a very quiet, pretty yet interesting 5 song EP, her only release I believe. Highly recommended. http://www.flau.jp/releases/24_jp.html

It's released on Flau, a small independent label out of Tokyo that puts out some incredibly beautiful music. Artists like Henning Schmiedt, modern classical piano and Part Timer which is very hard to explain.

While on the subject of Part Timer, he's another worth mentioning in this thread. Three releases in particular, Reel to Reel on Lost Tribe Sound, Undead on Hibernate and Scissors and Sellotape (another Part Timer moniker) on Fracture. I can't really explain it, along the lines of The Caretaker/Leyland Kirby, sort of atmospheric folk ambient classical haze but I think many of you would appreciate it. Wonderful records.

It's not from 2012, but I've just started listening to Beirut. If you're a fan of Devotchka, you might like this band. It's a unique fusion of Eastern European and Gypsy influences, through the talents of a 20-something crooner from Santa Fe, NM, Zach Condon. I recently saw a very good documentary film that he'd done the music score for, called Bombay Beach. Also highly recommended if you like documentaries.