Music For A Spring Night

Picking where the last post left off... Sun is down. Here are 5 more songs for springtime in the winding down hours. I tried to evoke a calmer, more relaxing atmosphere with this one. Not overtly chirpy, but not too depressing either. Hope you all are having a great Sunday evening.




Joanna Newsom - On A Good Day
(Have One On Me, 2010)
I still haven't worked my way through the entire set, but what I can tell you is that the shortest track on the record is beautiful indeed.
Au Revoir Simone - Another Likely Story
(Still Night, Still Light, 2009)
Everything these three ladies makes is just lovely.
Daniel Martin Moore - It's You
(Stray Age, 2008)
Josh Rouse - Quiet Town
(Substitulo, 2006)
Sweet acoustic folk sounds from two "sensitive troubadours".
The Go Find - Everybody Knows It's Gonna Happen Only Not Tonight
(Everybody Knows It's Gonna Happen Only Not Tonight, 2010)
This track is definitely made for driving. Complete with nostalgia-induced lyrics: "Oh, let me take you back to the '90s, when we were teens." Though I wasn't a teen in the '90s, the song made me want to pretend to.

New Pop Act: Eliza Doolittle

Curiously missing from BBC's "Sound 0f 2010" shortlist last year was 22-year-old singer/songwriter Eliza Doolittle. It seemed odd, as she was quite hotly tipped, signed to Parlophone, and being on the list could've been her much-needed platform to launch. Fast forward to April, and there's still little development and news of an album. I suspect the label's not entirely sure what to do with her now. The music's not the problem, that is certain. She makes breezy, feel-good acoustic pop that is great for sunny days. The hooks are catchy and instant. It's just that she came to the scene about 3 years too late. What's she doing is no longer considered fresh as it once was with the likes of Lily Allen, Kate Nash or Corinne Bailey-Rae. It's a pity as she has some really pleasant songs. "Rollerblades" and "Go Home" are among my favorites from her self-titled digital EP. "Skinny Genes", the lead single, sounded slight and thin at first, but has grown on me a lot lately with its whistle-laden chorus. Here's hoping she will find her audience, and get a few tv syncs, at least. A track & a remix by Jamie of The XX after the jump.




Eliza Doolittle - Rollerblades

Eliza Doolittle - Money Box (Jamie XX Remix)

Here's the video for "Skinny Genes", a standard "quirky songstress" affair:

Avax

Ever heard of Avax? If you have not, feel ashamed! This blog has nearly everything! Music, Movies, Games, TV shows, Ebooks etc etc. To help you find your way a bit, let me guide you:

# Avant-Garde - HERE
# Blues - HERE
# Cajun - HERE
# Celtic - HERE
# Classical - HERE
# Comedy - HERE
# Country - HERE
# Disco - HERE
# Easy Listening, Chillout, Lounge - HERE
# Electronica - HERE
# Folk - HERE
# Gospel - HERE
# Instrumental - HERE
# Latin American - HERE
# Jazz - HERE
# Metal - HERE
# New Age - HERE
# Pop - HERE
# R&B - HERE
# Rap - HERE
# Rabiz - HERE
# Reggae - HERE
# Sacred - HERE
# Rock - HERE
# Songwriters - HERE
# Soundtrack (OST) - HERE
# Vocal - HERE
# Various Artists (VA) - HERE
# World | Ethnic - HERE
# Other Styles - HERE

Enjoy? No! ENJOY BIG TIMES!

Nina Nastasia

I've been a quiet follower of Nina Nastasia for a couple years now, and last week, to my surpise, I realized she was never mentioned here. How could it slip my mind?
Nina's music is quite stark, stripped down but poetic. Her short story-songs conveys raw emotions. My entry point was actually her 4th album, 'On Leaving'. One highlight was definitely track 8, 'Treehouse Song'. Growing up, I was fascinated with the idea of a treehouse, though we never had one. There was just something neat about having your own little space, to escape to and be by myself, to gaze upon the surroundings from a different view. So I guess the song just struck all the right chords with me. And everytime the cascading piano keys arrived at the chorus... it was astounding.
Her follow-up a year later is a collaboration with Jim White, a more experimental effort. The artwork was fantastic as usual, and there were good songs, but I felt something missing from this album. Nevertheless, I remain a fan and am really looking forward to some new materials by her. For now, you can try a few samples below.


Nina Nastasia - Treehouse Song
Nina Nastasia - Settling Song
(On Leaving, 2006)


Nina Nastasia & Jim White - Our Discussion
(You Follow Me, 2007)

Simone White

Simone White possesses a lilting, mellifluous voice. She crafts songs that sound much better on rainy days. Her bittersweet mellow ditties are unobtrusively pleasant, but alluring enough to draw me in and keep me coming back. Because sometimes, that is all I need, beautiful, acoustic music to make the day seem a little less longer.


Simone White - The Beep Beep Song
(featured in an Audi commercial)

Simone White - Why Is Your Raincoat Always Crying?

Simone White - Sweetest Love Song


Her new album, entitled "Yakiimo", will be released soon in June, which gives you just about enough time to catch up with her solid 2007 album "I Am The Man". Other highlights include 'I Didn't Have Any Summer Romance' & 'We Used To Stand So Tall'.

More Covers Coming Your Way...

collage by Julien Pacaud

Another batch of covers. I'm not really in the mood to write some new artists-centric posts, so this should suffice for now. I was having a dreary day that seemed to drag forever, so here's hoping yours is going more smoothly. Besides, if those stats were to be trusted, you guys do love covers. Scoop 'em up, folks!


Rio En Medio - Let's Groove (Earth Wind & Fire) (Let's Groove/Staying Alive 7", 2008)
A simple, yet addictive groove. Her own music is not too dissimilar to what Bat For Lashes is doing.

Tara Busch - Let's Go To Bed (The Cure) (Various Artists - Perfect as Cats: A Tribute to the Cure, 2008)
One of the better ones from an uneven compilation. I really dig this psych-folk take. It appears that Tara's bed may be way up there, among the clouds.

Tricky - Slow (Kylie) (Knowle West Boy, 2008)
Unexpected. His version verges more on electro-rock. Did you know Emilíana Torrini co-wrote this track, and won a Grammy for it? Didn't see it coming either.

Bryn Christopher - Sour Times (Portishead) (My World, 2008)
Bryn was an unfortunate case of buzz over quality. He can sing, and wears nice trenchcoats, but his debut single was rubbish, and the follow-ups didn't fare so well, either. There was a Portishead cover on his album and it wasn't even mentioned in the press releases.

Ingrid Michaelson - Creep (Radiohead) (Live Sessions EP - iTunes, 2009)
The standard Radiohead cover song. Ingrid has a pretty voice and an uncanny resemblance to Lisa Loeb. Her songs are a bit too coffee-table-friendly for me, but this cover is lovely indeed.

Covered: Girls Aloud

Everybody wants a piece of Girls Aloud nowadays.

First, Scottish musician Malcolm Middleton recently put up his cover for 'Call The Shots' for free on his website. Also included is his take on The Saturdays' hit 'Issues'. Malcolm's tactic is nothing new, which is to strip it down, dissect the melodies, strum the guitar and put on a strong accent. Still, it's interesting to hear such meticulously-produced pop songs in such context. The Saturdays cover might even be better than the original - the lamest single of the pop group so far (their pedestrian charity cover of Depeche Mode's 'Just Can't Get Enough' already counted).

Malcolm Middleton -Call The Shots (Girls Aloud Cover)

Malcolm Middleton - Issues (The Saturdays Cover)


Bloc Party had also covered 'Call The Shots' for Radio 1's Live Lounge. The intention is good, but let's say Kele's voice is not best suited for the song...

Bloc Party - Call The Shots


The latest British up-and-coming act, Florence & The Machine (pictured above) had a go at 'Can't Speak French', too. I still remain undecided on her own music, but her folk-infused cover is quite alright. She's clearly a nutter, which is great. I wonder whether Nicola and Florence would meet to share fashion tips?

Florence & The Machine - Can't Speak French (Girls Aloud Cover)


It's funny that only after 6 years in the business that Girls Aloud finally reached their peak, thanks to no small parts from Cheryl Cole's current X-Factor judge stint. My unashamed fascination with the group is also at an all-time high. 'Out Of Control' might not be their best album, but it still is an amazing pop confection. They even came close to dethroning The Cardigans as the most listened to band on my iPod (yikes)! It's great to see them getting the recognition they deserve, and here's hoping for a couple more albums before the eventual split.

Susanna - Sonata Mix Dwarf Cosmos

I once posted about the magnificent Susanna & The Magical Orchestra here. And now, Susanna has left the Melody Mountain (oh I'm funny) to make a solo debut with original songs this time. It's wickedly entitled 'Sonata Mix Dwarf Cosmos', released in August last year. She may be without the Magical Orchestra (Morten Qvenild), but she still makes strictly nocturnal music. The understated production gives the record an old-fashioned, sparse feel, and Susanna's hauntingly beautiful and quietly powerful voice's still capable of giving me the chills. The tone is still quite sombre, so it's best to listen to it at night, in solitary silence, as you're winding down after a stressful day. To be honest, her lyrics follow a certain pattern that gets repetitive after a while, but then for this kind of music, lyrics are allowed to come second to the mood it creates. All in all, for those of you looking for new music to listen to in the late hours, this would make a tasteful choice. You can sample the two cuts below. The album was released by Norwegian label Rune Grammofon.




Susanna - Born In The Desert
Susanna - Better Days
(Sonata Mix Dwarf Cosmos, 2007)



Swing by her MySpace for more song streams.

Lotte Kesner - China Mountain

Lotte Kestner is the current solo project of Anna-Lynne Williams, the singer of one of my favorite bands, Trespassers William. 'China Mountain' was quietly released earlier this year, so quietly that I wasn't aware until I passed by the band's website for some updates on their new album. The project sees Anna heading for a different direction, gone are the shoegaze tendencies, in favor of a more stripped-down, acoustic sound. Very little percussion was used, and Anna's bewitching vocals flow like a stream through the woods in the moonshine. The overall mood is drenched in melancholy, not that I'd expect anything else from her, but there's also a certain meditative quality to it. With 'China Mountain', she has managed to walk the fine line between beautiful lo-fi bedroom pop and Starbucks coffee table music. Although the album could have used a bit more variety, overall it's a respectable effort, the kind that could easily be overlooked but shouldn't be. If you like the two tracks below, then the rest is definitely for you.



Lotte Kesner - Crush The Bird
Lotte Kesner - Compasses



You can find the album on iTunes, order it from the band's website or CDBaby.

The album cover was done by Japanese illustrator Heisuke Kitazawa, who was responsible for the beautiful artwork for Trespassers William's last album 'Having'. You can check out his website for more of his amazing works.

Quickie: New Buffalo - Cheer Me Up Thank You

I'm horribly late to this, I know. New Buffalo's second album "Somewhere, Anywhere" was released in August last year, and I only got around to it this week. This means I'm almost one year behind, and that equals to at least 10 years in blog years! Needs some name-dropping? Okay, New Buffalo, aka Sally Seltmann, shared co-writing credits for Feist's '1234'. There you go. In my opinion, the album fell into that 'quite nice and tasteful, if uneventful' category, however, the first track on it, 'Cheer Me Up Thank You', is so sweet it lead me to checking out the whole album in the first place. The song has summer written all over it. Who said Australia only gives us electro acts? Watch the video for more indie adorableness.

New Buffalo
"Cheer Me Up Thank You" (mp3)
from "Somewhere, Anywhere"
(Arts & Crafts)

Buy at eMusic
Buy at Amazon


Vid:

Cover vs. Original: Jens Lekman/Nagisa Ni Te - Me On The Beach

Seriously, just how awesome is Jens Lekman. He made the second best album of 2007. He gives away tons of mp3s from his self-releases on his site. He has a cool, witty blog, which he calls 'Smalltalk' instead. And he covers obscure songs I never heard of. 'Me On The Beach' was on his 2005 US tour EP, and though it's a fairly simple recording, just him and a piano, Jens really made it his own. And he sang in Japanese! Despite not understanding a word, the melodies are just way too beautiful to resist, it even has this almost meditative quality to it. Wouldn't sound of place in a Studio Ghibli movie. The next step is inevitable: me seeking out the original to see if it rivals his version.


In my mind, I imagined the song as this little-known traditional Japanese folk song. It's not. It's a song by his labelmate, a psych-folk duo named Nagisa Ni Te, from their 1995 album On The Love Beach. In stark contrast to his cover, the original is an 8-minute blissed-out track, with a whole 2 minutes of instrumentation. It's experimental, but still, listenable and melancholy. Thanks for this one, Jens. One for the summer, certainly.


Jens Lekman - Me On The Beach

Nagisa Ni Te - Nagisa No Watashi (Me On The Beach)


Which one do you prefer? Leave a comment, then.

Visit Jens' site for more mp3 'presents'.
Visit Nagisa Ni Te's.
Rough English translation of the song.

Cross your fingers and hold your toes...

Nowadays, in the saturated singer/songwriter market, it takes more than a nice voice/a quite good song/a good-looking video to effectively grab attention from me. There are just so many around today that if the first one or two tracks didn't impress me, I'd move on, which is kinda harsh but that's just the way it goes. UK indie-folk darling Laura Marling used to fall into this unfortunate category. I heard a couple of her early singles, found them quite alright but nothing outstanding, and I wasn't patient enough to let them grow, so I passed. Months later, she had a new single out and I again gave it a try out of curiosity. And finally, she has wisely released 'the song'. 'The song' that managed to get me this time. 'The song' I can see myself coming back to regularly. That song is 'Cross Your Fingers'. I know this comparison won't do it justice, but her voice sounds like a cross between Keren Ann's and Regina Spektor's, subdued and silky. And the lyrics are among the most optimistic I ever heard yet.* What makes the video special (beside the stopmotion tricks as usual) is that it incorporates 2 songs (the other one being an interlude) seamlessly, which clearly works, as now I can only the two in pair. It's a great song, though, so if you missed her like me, try this.



Laura Marling - Cross Your Fingers
Laura Marling - Crawled Out Of The Sea (Interlude)


Actually, my interest in her was first regained when she sang on Mystery Jets' single 'Young Love', which came so close to being the 2008 'Young Folks', but fell short because the chorus sounds unfinished and lacking a little bit of something to me. Anyhow, overall it's a lovely song that's also worth corking an ear to.


Mystery Jets - Young Love (feat. Laura Marling)


Her debut 'Alas, I Cannot Swim' is out now. And here's her MySpace. And yes, I'm truly back this time. Well, I hope.



*no it's nothing of the sort. rather the opposite.

Sybille Baier - Colour Green: A Lost Gem

Sometimes, the right cover can embody the music within without ever speaking a word. Such is the case of the cover above. A sepia-toned old photograph of a young woman standing in the middle of a static field with both eyes closed. The first time I saw that image, I felt so strongly inclined to find out more about the music, even though I knew nothing about the artist in the first place. Turns out there's a very interesting story behind the release of this album, 'Colour Green' by Sybille Baier.
In the early '70s, Sybille Baier was working as an actress in Germany. After an inspiring road trip experience, she came back rejuvenated and started recording her songs on a home recording device. They never saw the light of day as Sybille decided to give up her career for domestic bliss, and later moved to the US with her family. More than 30 years later, her son, Robby, now a musician, compiled a CD worth of her early works to give out to friends & families as a gift. The Orange Twin label got a hold of a copy and in 2006, 'Colour Green' was officially released. I am not too familiar with these circles of music, but I have to say I'm glad I gave it a listen. Sibylle's voice is mesmerizing and alluring in its own way. Most of them time, it's only her and an acoustic guitar, and that stripped-down setting allowed her voice to be the main instrument, carrying the simple melodies and little stories from another time. It's a kind of record you would prefer to appreciate in solitude, you know, like sitting still in your room and wallowing for hours. It's more about the mood, the mood that evokes nostalgia and quiet, undescribable feelings. A lost gem, I'd say. In some ways, the story of an unreleased record made by your mom many years ago managing to find its way to a certain audience 3 decades later, it's quite moving, isn't it?
The good part is that inspired by all the positive feedback, Sibylle is now writing songs again with her son, and an all-new record is to be expected this fall. I know this is not the kind of music I would usually cover, but give it a try, and who knows, maybe it will inspire you to grab a flashlight and go up to your attic in hope of finding a record of your mom hidden somewhere. I asked her, she said 'No. Never happened', so no cashing-in for me :-(.




Sibylle Baier - Tonight
Sibylle Baier - I Lost Something In The Hills
Sibylle Baier - Softly

(Colour Green, 2006)







Visit her official site or herSpace, made by her son.

Oh, and Happy Mother's Day.

Something Kind Of French

I've just kicked off my music-related arthouse flick marathon with this bizarrely enchanting & entertaining animated movie, The Triples of Belleville, (also known as Belleville Rendez-vous, or in its sexy native tongue, Les Triplettes de Belleville). Currently on my list, I have La Vie En rose, those two Daft Punk feature films, Heima and then possibly Once. No, wait, come back! Don't worry, I'm not always this artsy-fartsy, offbeat 'indie' type! Just occasionally...Anyway, the movie brought me back to an old idea for a mix of mine, which is a collection of songs from various French chanteuse. Now when it comes to contemporary French music I'm just at the beginner level, but hopefully you find something nice to enjoy out of this mostly mellow mix.

(note: my monthly bandwidth limit is about to be crossed, so if the the first link doesn't work, try the alternate one)

Benoit Charest - Belleville Rendez-Vous (French Version) [alt. link]
Authentic retro.
Carla Bruni - Those Dancing Days Are Gone [alt. link]
Back then when I was listening to her album, never would I have imagined that the former supermodel could now become the present First Lady of France. C'est la vie.
Mareva Galanter - Bang Bang (Avec Jacno) [alt. link]
Also an ex-model. I like this version, particularly because of the music box.
Emilie Simon - Flowers (Acoustic) [alt. link]
I ought to give an extensive post for her someday. In the meantime, here's a rarity, which can only be found on the bonus cd of her debut album.
Air ft. Francoise Hardy - Jeanne [alt. link]
Francoise sings, so it counts.
Olivia Ruiz - La Femme Chocolat [alt. link]
This remains the only I've known of her, but it's really nice, and a bit quirky. And there's a ukelele.
April March - Laisse Tomber Les Filles [alt. link]
Known as 'Chick Habit' in English, featured in Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof. Great cover.
Charlotte Gainsbourg - The Songs That We Sing [alt. link]
Adore her. This mix can't be complete without her.
Nouvelle Vague - In A Manner Of Speaking [alt. link]
Ditto.


BONUSES: (because I'm kind like that)
Nouvelle Vague - Dance With Me (iTunes Live Session) [alt. link]
Nouvelle Vague's set to return this year with a new 80s-movie-themed album. Apparently, Skye Edwards of Morcheeba fame recorded vocals for 2 songs, titles of which I can't recall now, but it's bound to be great.

Yelle - A Cause Des Garcons [alt. link]
Not sure where to put this in the mix, so here it is. Catchy, fun French electropop. With an equally fun video (look it up). Fin.




What, what did you say? I forgot something? Silly, of course not. Nice day.

Oh, and if you haven't bookmared Filles Sourires, do so. It's my ultimate source for the latest happening in female French music.

From France With Love: Marc Collin presents Two For The Road

'Two For The Road' is a new project from Marc Collin, producer of Nouvelle Vague, who's responsible for all those delicious bossa nova covers of '80s new wave hits. It's a conceptual album, with the story of two characters Ann and Cooper being unveiled through lyrics and spoken words - like a soundtrack for a non-existent French arthouse romance flick. Danish singer Katrine Ottosen is Ann, and Italian-born Valente is Cooper. Musically, I guess you can call it 'electroacoustic', like their MySpace suggested. Calm, enchanting and slightly solemn, it has a certain Parisian air, and will for sure appeal to Nouvelle Vague fans, or those who'd simply like a little something fresh and nice to listen to while sipping a cup of hot coffee on winter nights. The title track's a great album opener, and also the best cut, while track 2 'Downtown' was an ideal morning tune for when you're on you way to work.
A lovely overlooked release.

Marc Collin - Two For The Road
Marc Collin - Downtown


MySpace
Buy

And I'll follow you tonight…

The woman in that awesome cover sleeve above is Anna Ternheim. Her music had been under the radar for me, until last week, when I stumbled upon this one particular song named 'I'll Follow You Tonight'. There was something so utterly, hauntingly beautiful about it that just kept me coming back for more. Subtle, and helplessly sad. Ghostly harmonies and the intricate sounds of acoustic guitar. And the voice, so slight and evocative. A song that only should be heard after the night falls down. Based on this song only, she's like the female equivalent of Jose Gonzalez, a compliment that is. Gorgeous stalker song.

Anna Ternheim - I'll Follow You Tonight


Apparently, Anna Ternheim is already quite an established act in her native country, Sweden, as she already won three Swedish Grammy awards and owns quite a prolific catalogue. And yet she remained completely obscure to me - how was that supposed to happen? 'I'll Follow You Tonight' was on her 2004 debut, and now included on her US debut self-titled EP, a collection of her best songs, out this week thanks to Decca Records. I will definitely have to seek out for more of her stuff, but only after I've grown bored of this track. Maybe some readers here who happen to be fans of her can recommend me some key tracks?


Her Myspace
Buy the EP

2007 Halloween Mix - Part 1

this image of Heidi Klum and Seal from last year still gives me the creeps

Apparently, this year I'm strangely not so enthused with the idea of Halloween. Maybe the forthcoming midterm exams due next week are to blame? I have the whole day unplanned, so probably by tomorrow night I'll just end up sitting by the couch watching a 'Treehouse of Horror' marathon, again.
With that in mind, I made this mix, not so much in a 'let's wear ironic costumes, go out and trash some parties' manner, but more like 'let's just sit here by the window with a bowl of candies, all worn out and bored'.
The tracks I chose are not as spooky as their titles might imply, but unintentionally they all tend to have an indie folk/rock vibe. My fave out of the bunch is probably The Rosebuds' track, a cinematic 6-minute haunting nightdriving jam. Both Akron and Band Of Horses are bands whose new tracks I dig, but haven't actually heard the albums yet. And Lost In The Trees should have deserved more blog hype.
Have fun, folks. Maybe come back later and tell me about your Halloween experience - like the silly costumes you saw or something. Not that I will get any kind of weird, creepy thrills from reading your comments, though. :-)


Nouvelle Vague - Bela Lugosi's Dead
The Rosebuds - Night Of The Three Furies
Akron - Don't Be Afraid, You're Already Dead
Band Of Horses - Is There A Ghost
Lost In The Trees - If You're Afraid Of The Dark
The Postmarks - Every Day Is A Halloween



Part 2 now available at The Bamboo Orchestra.

A Female Folk Mix

As you know, I listen to music quite more than humanly possible, and it's hard to find something different and interesting to say about each track I like. So posts like these, at times, come in handy. The following five ladies obviously are talented, and they do have great songs up their sleeves, but I wasn't quite sure of how to put it down to words, so instead of conjuring up 5 separate posts, I'm just gonna merge them all into one neat entry. If you're into indie ladies with sweet voices, accompanied by a guitar/piano, singing lo-fi acoustic folk pop, then these tracks are just what you need to get through another manic Monday. Like one? Then pick up the rest. They're all equally great. For more info about the artist, click on their names to be directed to their Myspace. Enjoy.


Laura Veirs - Galaxies
(Year Of Meteors, 2005)
Julie Doiron - You Look So Alive
(I Woke Myself Up, 2007)
Lily Frost - Enchantment
(Cine-Manique, 2006)
Meg Baird - Do What You Gotta Do
(Dear Companion, 2007)
Eleni Mandell - Moonglow, Lamp Low
(Miracle Of Five, 2007)

Kim Richey

So this is one of those "ooh this artist/band used to have this great song featured on Buffy/Angel I wonder what they're up to now" post.
In a key episode of Angel season 5, the one where Fred was dead and Illyria took over her body, there was a pretty song playing as the screen fades to black. That one song is 'A Place Called Home', by Kim Richey. It remained the only song of hers I ever heard, that is until I'm aware that she's back with a new studio album after 5 years on hiatus, entitled 'Chinese Boxes'.

And I'm glad that she returned. For me, 'Chinese Boxes' is a strong effort, 10 tracks and there's no single dud. She's got a great voice and a knack for writing simple, and sweet tunes about love & relationship. It's the kind of record that needs a booklet with lyrics inside, so that on a nice, cloudy day, you can put it on, sit down, have a cup of coffee and listen to every word she says. If you're into folk-pop singer/songwriter stuff, then this is well worth a listen. For a start, check out the opening track, "Jack And Jill", a song about two lovebirds' ideal day, with this opening line: 'She wore that dress like it was a Saturday, pretty as the summer rose, picked in the morning..."


Kim Richey - Jack And Jill
Kim Richey - Follow Me


Visit her MySpace
Buy the album

Say hello to Rosie Thomas...

Rosie Thomas' fourth album 'These Friends Of Mine' came out late last year, but I didn't exactly pay attention to it, that is until I heard a little song called 'Say Hello'.
Lasting only more than 2 minutes, but the song packs this utter wide-eyed adorableness. Rosie's soft, hushed vocals on top of little more than some acoustic guitar plucks. Then Sufjan Stevens sang back to her, before the two harmonized in the key line : 'Say hello oh oh oh oh'. It's pretty coffee-house ear candy, nothing earth-shattering, and is enjoyable for what it is.
Another song of her, 'It Don't Matter To The Sun', from the previous 2005 album, was actually one of the few songs I heard on that one and only time I tried to tune in to Grey's Anatomy. I kept telling myself 'There will be good songs! And that chick from Roswell!' but I changed the channel after about 20 minutes. Medical drama is just never my thing. But I did indeed find out who sang what later on.
I figured her music would make a lot of sense especially when you're on a night bus back home and it just stops raining outside. You plug your earbuds in, play one of her songs, and just smile to yourself, as you look out the window. It's just a good setting you might find yourself encountering.
Now I haven't had the chance to listen to the whole album, but I'm quite sure if you like this couple of songs, chances are you gonna love the rest. And it won't be too much sugar to handle as it's only 33 minutes long.

Rosie Thomas feat. Sufjan Stevens - Say Hello (from These Friends Of Mine, 2006)
Rosie Thomas - It Don't Matter To The Sun (from If Songs Could Be Held, 2005)



Buy These Friends Of Mine
Visit her MySpace