Natalie Prass – Bird of Prey

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Former member of Jenny Lewis‘ backing band, Natalie Prass is a Nashville-based singer-songwriter set to release her first full-length record this week. She recorded the album in the attic studio belonging to her label, Spacebomb Records, where she collaborated with former high school bandmate (and Spacebomb founder) Matthew E. White. Supported by the label’s house band, Prass’ melodious vocals are supplemented by lush strings, piano, horns and woodwind — a polished collection “nourished by reverence for past eras of big band and jazz and infused with the crisp detail of late ’70s and early ’80s R&B,” as described in a press release.

The lead single on what is unmistakably a breakup album, “Bird of Prey” proffers a good introduction to the warm, retro and sentimental style that Prass so effortlessly inhabits. Plaintive lyrics like ‘You don’t leave me no choice but to run away / You are a bird of prey / With a heart like the night’ as she croons on the chorus are sure to resonate with many.

Prass’ self-titled debut is out tomorrow. Listen to “Bird of Prey” and “Why Don’t You Believe In Me” below. And if that’s not enough, you can stream the album in full over on Pitchfork.

DC residents can catch the songbird live February 4 at DC9.

Vance Joy – Mess Is Mine

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Australian singer-songwriter Vance Joy rocketed to international success this past year with the help of breakout single, “Riptide,” which rose to the top of the HypeM charts within hours of release and the Billboard Alternative Songs chart soon after. The indie folk artist (born James Keogh) abandoned a career in law to pursue a more creative path, playing open mic venues in Melbourne until eventually scoring a deal with Atlantic Records.

His debut album, Dream Your Life Away released this September is pure raw folky goodness with infectious hooks and pop influences. Listen to his single “Mess Is Mine” along with “Riptide” below, and pick up the album on iTunes.

Vance will be playing to a sold-out audience at DC’s 930 Club this Saturday, October 25.

Lauryn Hill – Black Rage

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In the wake of unrest in Ferguson, MO, Lauryn Hill has shared an old demo and unsettling tribute to these tragic events entitled “Black Rage.” Rendering the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic, “My Favorite Things,” into a raw, emotionally-charged piece on racial injustice, never has Hill’s musical prowess been so on point.

Although she’s been performing the song live since 2012, MLH tweeted the track earlier this week, calling on peace for the people of Missouri. Stream the simultaneously macabre and magnificent cover below.

“An old sketch of Black Rage, done in my living room. Strange, the course of things. Peace for MO.” – MLH

Shannon Saunders – Sheets

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Listening to the debut track, “Sheets” from Shannon Saunders, you would never guess that the rising young artist from Oxford got her start from YouTube. She joins the likes of other British stars such as Ed Sheeran, who climbed the ranks using the social wizardry of the internet.

With “Sheets,” Saunders achieves an accessible and yet sophisticated torch-esque pop track, backed by a house production. The song also hit number 1 on the HypeM charts this week, so it’s probably safe to say she won’t be relying on self-promo much longer. Stream below.

Ed Sheeran – Bloodstream

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Although Ed Sheeran‘s hit track “The A Team” from his debut album, +, may have elevated his career to A-list status, the fact that he’s enjoying mainstream success doesn’t make the English singer-songwriter any less talented. And while I do not subscribe to all of Sheeran’s music, his track “Bloodstream” off recently released second studio album, x, (read “multiply”) is worth checking out. Sounding remarkably similar to Ben Howard, “Bloodstream,” which was written in part by Rudimental has a darker edge to it than the rest of the album — all the while maintaining an undercurrent of that signature folk-pop sound that he does so effortlessly. Listen below.

DC folk can catch Ed playing Merriweather Post Pavilion September 6.

 

Paolo Nutini – Better Man

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The Scottish award-winning singer-songwriter Paolo Nutini released his third studio album via Atlantic this April. Critics have hailed his new effort, Caustic Love as a more sophisticated and substantive follow-up to its predecessors. In the interest of total transparency however, I will confess that the following video of Nutini singing new single “Better Man” backstage at Café de la Danse in Paris served as my introduction to the swoon-inducing Scot. Thus — all earlier efforts and preconceived notions aside — the raw, Jeff Buckley-worthy crooning and guitar-strumming stylings as showcased on the acoustic rendition below has rendered me a hopeless Paolo proselyte.

Artist Spotlight: Yuna

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If you’ve not yet heard of Malaysian singer-songwriter Yuna, I implore you to spend some time getting acquainted with this rising star. Breaking onto the North American stage in 2012 with her self-titled debut, the already internationally-acclaimed artist released her follow up album Nocturnal this past fall.

Filled with velvety vocals and melodic instrumentation, highlights of the album include the sultry song “Falling,” produced by Danish instrumentalist Robin Hannibal of the musical duo Rhye. Watch the video for this enticing, disco-infused number below. Also a standout from the LP is the infectious single “I Wanna Go,” produced by Mike Einziger of Incubus. Check out a refreshing remix of the track by Parisian producer Belarbi below.

Another outstanding interpretation comes by way of Canadian duo Adventure Club with their insanely seductive rendition of Yuna’s earlier single “Lullabies.” Demonstrative, bass heavy and drop-laden, the mix only serves to amplify Yuna’s already emotionally-charged, signature soul-pop sound. Download both of these mixes (for free!) on Soundcloud today, and pick up Yuna’s new album on iTunes here.

Sharon Van Etten – Taking Chances

Posted on by santiago

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Sharing the first single from her upcoming album, Sharon Van Etten reveals the plaintive, downtempo track “Taking Chances.” In a departure from her traditional folk sound, the Brooklyn singer-songwriter employs an exquisite blend of electronic drums and layered vocals on the track. Her LP Are We There will be released May 26 via the label Jagjaguwar (Angel Olsen, Bon Iver, Unknown Mortal Orchestra).

 

Sharon has quite the busy agenda this summer:

5/08 Northampton, MA – Iron Horse Music Hall
5/09 Hudson, NY – Helsinki Hudson
5/10 Providence, RI – Columbus Theatre
5/11 Hamden, CT – Ballroom at the Outer Space
5/25 Brussels, Belgium – Le Botanique
5/28 Paris, France – Café de la Danse
5/30 Barcelona, Spain – Primavera Sound Festival
6/01 Cologne, Germany – Studio 672
6/02 Berlin, Germany – Privatclub
6/03 Amsterdam, Netherlands – Bitterzoet
6/05 London, England – KOKO
6/11 Boston, MA – Sinclair
6/12 Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg (Northside Festival)
6/13-14 New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom
6/17 Washington, DC – 9:30 Club
6/18 Philadelphia, PA – Union Transfer
6/19 Millvale, PA – Mr. Small’s
6/20 Cleveland, OH – Beachland Ballroom
6/21 Nashville, TN – Exit In
6/24 Denver, CO – Bluebird Theater
6/25 Salt Lake City, UT – Urban Lounge
6/28 Los Angeles, CA – El Rey Theatre
6/29-30 San Francisco, CA – The Independent
7/02-03 Portland, OR – Doug Fir
7/05 George, WA – Sasquatch Festival
7/06 Vancouver, British Columbia – Rickshaw Theatre
7/08 Calgary, Alberta – Republik
7/09 Edmonton, Alberta – Starlite Room
7/14 Fargo, ND – Aquarium
7/16 Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue
7/17 Madison, WI – University of Wisconsin
7/18 Chicago, IL – Pitchfork Music Festival
8/14-17 Wales, England – Green Man Festival

Destroyer – El Rito

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Five Spanish Songs is the name of the latest EP produced by Destroyer, consisting of five tracks originally recorded by the Seville songwriter Antonio Luque’s band, Sr. Chinarro. Following his own Spanish background, the Canadian-bred musician Dan Bejar surprises us with an acoustic format, absent of delayed horns and saxophones that gave identity to his phenomenal album Kapput in 2011. Stream “El Rito” below.

Andrew Bird – Pulaski at Night

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This Thanksgiving, I’m thankful for the brilliant artistry and musical genius of Andrew Bird. On November 12th he released new EP I Want to See Pulaski at Night, which is primarily instrumental save for the title track. Pitchfork describes “Pulaski at Night” as Bird at his best: “tightly crafted, lyrically witty, understated yet sophisticated” – and “stalwartly Romantic.” True, true.

A. Bird has a handful of tour dates coming up in December listed below, including a stop in Brooklyn. And how they’re not already sold out, I don’t know.

Half empty, half full
Cup runneth over
Horns of plenty, coffers full
We’re starting over

Upcoming Tour Dates:
12/6 Brooklyn, NY – Rough Trade NYC
12/9 Chicago, IL – Fourth Presbyterian Church
12/10 Chicago, IL – Fourth Presbyterian Church
12/11 Chicago, IL – Fourth Presbyterian Church
12/12 Chicago, IL – Fourth Presbyterian Church
12/16 San Francisco, CA – Congregation Sherith Israel
12/17 San Francisco, CA – Congregation Sherith Israel
12/19 Los Angeles, CA – Immanuel Presbyterian
12/20 Los Angeles, CA – Immanuel Presbyterian