Devendra Banhart and Andy Cabic’s Gnomonsong label has not gone unheralded, since the group have built a promising reputation through their guest appearances on Banhart’s Cripple Crow and opening for such acts as Sufjan Stevens, Dinosaur Jr., and Smog. Home recorded and originally self-released on vinyl, the music on Feathers exists largely in the bucolic countryside previously occupied by the Incredible String Band, Comus and their progressive brethren. This might lead skeptics to dismiss this spirited collective as just another escapist hippie revival, yet throughout the album the casual sophistication of Feathers’ arrangements—as well as their firm grasp of dissolute, post-Siltbreeze dynamics—helps these performances achieve a distinct emotive depth and a gauzy, out-of-time luster.
White Magic
Comprised of Mira Billotte on vocals and piano, drummer/bassist Miggy Littleton, and guitarist/drummer Andy Mcleod, White Magic at first spent a couple of years playing in New York City before being sign by Drag City in 2003, and in 2004, they released the first EP, Through The Sun Door, to general critical praise. They toured the U.S. opening fo
r like-minded folk musicians Will Oldham and Brightblack Morning Light in 2004 (when the latter band was still known as Brightblack). Throughout 2005, Billotte performed as White Magic accompanied by guitarist Sleepy Doug Shaw. White Magic's current lineup's core consists of these two musicians, aided by an array of friends/musicians of similar musical aesthetics. On November 14, 2006, debut album Dat Rosa Mel Apibus was released on Drag City Records. Billotte's alto has since earned her comparisons to Grace Slick, Karen Dalton, Beth Orton, Dawn McCarthy (of Faun Fables), and Nico. She's eerie and she's haunting, literally placing you in a psychedelic painting of Dali sorts. White Magic's most recently released their '07 EP, Dark Stars, in October and my excitement for their different, yet comfortingly similar sound is overbearing.
[Dark Stars EP (07).zip]
...don't want the whole shebang? check these singles out:
Dark Stars EP
Very Late.mp3
Shine On Heaven.mp3
Previous Tracks
boomp3.com
boomp3.com
Man Man
Based out of Philadelphia, PA, Man Man is an experimental indie band that incorporates Eastern European and circus-esque styles in their music, creating a very unique sound. The band consists of Honus Honus (lead vocals, piano, organ, persussion), Pow Pow (drums and other various percussions), Cougar (trumpet, guitar, percussion), Sergei Sogay (bass, synths, percussion), and Chang Wang(sax, percussion).
Their style has been compared to a mixture of Tom Waits, Frank Zappa, and Captain Beefheart.
Their second album Six Demon Bag is uploaded below. It was released in 2006 following their debut album, The Man in a Blue Turban With A Face.
