I immediately fell in love with Abigail Washburn’s song “It Ain’t Easy” after one of my friends shared it with me last year. I’m not all that familiar with her music, but I continually find myself going back to this song’s gorgeous vocals and instrumentals.

Washburn has a pretty interesting background. She had no intentions of focusing her career on music, and as a hobby, experimented with a lot of different genres including R&B, gospel, and reggae. It wasn’t until a trip to China, where she immersed herself in the Chinese bluegrass culture, that this became her style. Her diverse background is apparent on her most recent release, Afterquake, which is an electronic/folk  benefit EP she made with Shanghai Restoration Project’s David Liang (it released on the one year anniversy of the 2008 Sichuan Earthquake).

Abigail Washburn & the Sparrow Quartet:

(mp3) Abigail Washburn – It Ain’t Easy

Afterquake benefit EP:

(mp3) Abigail Washburn & the Shanghai Restoration Project – Sala

About “Sala”: The Qiang ethnic minority (the group most impacted by the 2008 Sichuan earthquakes) traditionally dances around the fire while singing this song. The words contain no meaning and are simply meant to inspire dancing.

itunes | myspace |afterquake site

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First feature by Alie, our new IndieMuse contributor.

I have an unabashedly soft side for The Hits of Today: the Cyruses nodding their respective heads like yeah and all those single ladies (wuh uh oh). But after an extended session of top forties, I realize that the radio has really just been rhyming at me in glorified baby talk laid over sick beatz. And I’ve been singing right along with every ga-ga-ooh-la-la, because that is exactly what I’m supposed to do.

But what about words? What about Scrabble-acceptable words used in beautiful, surprising ways? For these and other, non-linguistic reasons, I turn to musicians like Leif Vollebekk. It’s obvious that the guy has some sort of timeless troubadour quality, but what really warms me is his style of songwriting that is more hint than statement. Inland unfolds like a subtle run-on sentence, both musically and with inexplicably satisfying lyrics (The coming and going spirit’s in the door hinges / And I’m sitting peeling Suzanne’s oranges) that explode from nowhere, only to settle in quick and get comfy.

So Leif Vollebekk, if you’re reading this, you’re triple-word score all the way.

Inland (2010):

(mp3) Leif Vollebekk – You Couldn’t Lie to Me in Paris

(mp3) Leif Vollebekk – Northernmost Eva Maria

Site | iTunes | MySpace

You know those people who are somehow good at everything they do? Yeah, those ASSHOLES. Well, Spencer Berger is one of them. He’s the screenwriter and lead actor in the award winning film Skills Like This, and now he’s taking a stab at music under the pseudonym Field. He’s an extremely talented musician, and even worse, a really nice guy.

Field’s debut, Be Brave, is still in the process of being mastered, and will be released this year. The unmastered version is a sign of good things to come. Field’s music is among the most creative being produced today–a truly engaging sound that can’t be categorized in a genre other than saying it lies somewhere between Bowie and Flight of the Conchords.

I’ll definitely keep you posed on the release date. In the meantime, check out the below tracks and music video, which will undoubtedly brighten your day.

Be Brave (2010):

(mp3) Field – Sunday

(mp3) Field – I’m the Enforcer

myspace | skills like this

“I’m the Enforcer” music video. One of the best videos I’ve seen in a while.

Over the years, I’ve written quite a bit about Ben Cooper’s projects Electric President (w/Alex Kane), Radical Face, and Patients. He’s one of the most genuine musicians making music today, representing a DIY culture where, you know, artists actually connect with their fans.

Last year his Patients project consisted of him personally producing 100 CDs and decorating it and its package with spray paint and markers. To receive one of the CDs, you had to trade something, anything, with Cooper, as long as it wasn’t money. Now he is talking about touring the U.S., playing house shows, barns, anywhere that isn’t a typical club. And he wants to start another project where people submit stories and he writes songs based on them. He seems to get in over his head at times with all these projects, but this is one musician who really understands what music is all about.

The Violent Blue is Electric Presidents new album releasing February 23, 2010 on Fake Four records.  I’ve had a chance to listen to the album and am really digging it–especially the first half. “Safe and Sound” is likely going to be one of favorite tracks of the year.

Pre-order hasn’t started yet, but I will update here when you can purchase. There are going to be some extra goodies that come with Pre-orders personalized by Cooper himself. Don’t miss out! (UPDATE: As of 2/1 you can pre-order. Only $20 for  a package including vinyl, cd, t-shirt, and stickers. Limited to 300 orders.)

The Violent Blue (2010):

(mp3) Electric President – Safe and Sound

(mp3) Electric President – Circles

Radical Face (Cooper’s main solo project):

Radical Face- Welcome Home, Son

site | iTunes | Myspace

The Eels just released their eighth studio album, End Times,  and it is a lot better than Pitchfork’s arbitrary 3.9 rating (seriously Pitchfork you really couldn’t just round up to 4.0?).

The album was written about Eels frontman Mark  Everett’s divorce. It’s definitely not my favorite Eels album, but it’s one of  his most genuine to date. His lo-fi recordings keeps things simple and to the point. It may be a depressing point, but it does a good job of capturing the feelings of a broken heart.

It’s tempting to dismiss this as a self-pity album, but I think that there’s more to it than that. Everett knows that love is in many ways an irrational feeling that makes people do a lot of stupid things that they don’t want to do (maybe even write an album about it). But love is so powerful that most people have no immunity, regardless of past experiences and knowing that things will get better. It’s tragic, yet humbling at the same time.

End Times (2010):

(mp3) Eels – Mansions of Los Feliz

(mp3) Eels – Little Bird

Site | iTunes | Amazon | Myspace (stream full album)

All of us at IndieMuse highly encourage you to donate to the Haiti relief effort if you haven’t done so already.  Even $10 makes a huge difference. Our preferred organization is Doctors Without Borders, however Red Cross is great, as well. You can easily donate $10 to The Red Cross by texting “HAITI” to 90999.

Also, Paste magazine has put together music from over 200 artists that is available for free to those who have donated to Haiti relief efforts. If you haven’t donated yet, and would like to,  just donate through their link at songsforhaiti.org or directly to one of the above organizations. 100% of the money from Songs for Haiti  is split up between Doctors Without Borders, The Red Cross, and Wyclef Jean’s Yele Haiti Earthquake Fund.

Learn more at Songs for Haiti here.

One of many available tracks:

She & Him – Lotta Love (Why Do You Let Me Stay Here 7″ single)

So, here is IndieMuse’s “Top Albums of 2009″ list. I know what you’re thinking… there’s only a few hours left in 2009 and we must have rushed to get this up last minute. The truth is, we wanted to make sure that we listened to every single album released in 2009 before publishing an official list. What if Wilco or another band released an amazing, secret album on December 31st? We couldn’t leave it up to chance.

10. Fanfarlo – Reservoir atlantic


I first came across Fanfarlo a few years back before they played SXSW, and was really impressed by their song “Fire Escape.” Their debut album is fantastic. Reminds me a lot of Clap Your Hands, but I like their arrangements more.

(mp3) Farfarlo – Harold T. Wilkins Or How To Wait For A Very Long TIme

(mp3) Fanfarlo – Finish Line

official site

9. Le Loup – Family hardly art


Le Loup brings to mind Animal Collective and Born Ruffians. They have a really cool worldly sound.

(mp3) Le Loup – Forgive me

official site

8. Grand Hallway – Promenade self-release


Grand Hallway in an eight piece orchestral pop band from Seattle, Washington. I came across their music through one of the musicians in the band, Shenandoah Davis, whose solo music I really like. This album hasn’t received much exposure, but definitely deserves to be on more lists.

(mp3) Grand Hallway – Raindrops (Matsuri)

(mp3) Grand Hallway – Blessed Be, Honey Bee

official site

7. Passion Pit – Manners frenchkiss

I don’t usually listen to electronica, but I’ve always been a fan of Passion Pit. I wasn’t sure if the band would be able to live up to all the hype they were receiving from “Sleepyhead,” given they didn’t even have a debut out… but sure enough, they released a really solid album.
I know that some people think the band is over-hyped or even “untalented.” But you may be surprised to know that some members of the band, such as Ian Hultquist, have professional training from places like the Berklee College of Music. In other words, their success isn’t a fluke…

(mp3) Passion Pit – Sleepyhead

(mp3) Passion Pit – Little Secrets

official site

6. Fruit Bats – The Ruminant Band sub pop

The Fruit Bats have been one of my favorite bands for a long time, and I can’t believe that they’re still such a big secret. Let’s just say that they are so catchy that The Shins stole frontman Eric Johnson away for a few years to play in their band. We loyal Fruit Bat fans had to wait four years for this release!  I also highly recommend their 2003 album, Mouthfuls.

(mp3) Fruit Bats -The Ruminant Band

(mp3) Fruit Bats – Being on Our Own

official site

5. Bombadil – Tarpits and Canyonlands ramseur records

This album is great. Again, it’s an example of a band that just lacks exposure. They should be on more lists.

(mp3) Bombadil – Honeymoon

(mp3) Bombadil – So Many Ways To Die

official site

4. Various Artists – Dark Was The Night 4ad


This album is on my list for several reasons. First, the music is all great. Second, it’s one of the first compilations out there that doesn’t blow. Every now and then you’ll see a compilation or tribute album that has some big names on it, but after a quick listen, it feels more like a marketing stunt than passion project. That is not the case with Dark Was The Night. The National’s Dessner brothers put a ton of time into making this compilation and got musicians such as Andrew Bird, Bon Iver, Beirut, Sufjan Stevens, and pretty much every other established indie artist to produce exclusive, top quality content. And lastly, all the proceeds from the album go to the Red Hot Organization, an international charity dedicated to raising funds and awareness for HIV and AIDS.

(mp3) Arcade Fire – Lenin

(mp3) Beirut – Mimizan

official site

3. Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavillion domino

…
(mp3) Animal Collective – My Girls

(mp3) Animal Collective – Summertime Clothes

official site

2. The Avett Brothers – I And Love And You atlantic


Some fans of the Avett Brothers think this album was overproduced. I think it’s really good.

(mp3) The Avett Brothers –  I and Love And You

(mp3) The Avett Brothers -  Laundry Room

official site

1. Andrew Bird – Noble Beast fat possum

Noble Beast was pretty much all I wanted to listen to for the first few months after its release. Mysterious Production of Eggs is still my favorite album of Bird’s (what’s up with the blue album art in Google?), but Noble Beast doesn’t fall too far behind. This album would probably be higher up on a lot of “Best of the Year” lists had it been released later in the year. People tend to have stronger feelings for more recent things.

(mp3) Andrew Bird – Masterswarm

(mp3) Andrew Bird – Effigy
official site

I’m still tossing and turning at night over my “best of 2009″ list, but one album that I am quite certain will be on there is Bombadil’s Tarpits and Canyonlands. It’s also going to make it onto my “Most underappreciated albums of 2009″ list, “Most underappreciated albums of the decade” list and “Most underappreciated albums of the century (so far)” list. And David over at Largehearted Boy will have to recognize them all!!! (seriously, how does he do that?! He’s like a magical blogging wizard.)

Anyway, the main point of this post is to bring to your attention a hilarious music video Bombadil made for their song “So Many Ways To Die.” The video is comprised entirely of stock footage from the 30s, and was put together by Bombadil frontman Bryan Rahija. After watching the video a few times through I asked Rahija how he thinks he’s going to die, given all the possibilities. He said he figures he will clobbered by a bus scooting down G St in Washington DC. Similarly, I know for a fact that my untimely death at 93 is going to involve (but not be limited to): Montana, a treadmill, mountain goats, and 7-Eleven coke slushies.

There are so many ways to die. How is it going down for you?

Tarpits and Canyonlands (2009):

(MP3) Bombadil – Honeymoon

(MP3) Bombadil – So Many Ways To Die

Site | Store | iTunes | Myspace

Sondre Lerche’s Two Way Monologue (2004) used to be one of my favorite albums, but I have to admit that I haven’t connected with his several releases since then nearly as much. I respect him a lot for experimenting, and trying out different sounds from jazz to indie rock, but none of it has really done much for me.

He just sent out an acoustic cover he made of Animal Collective’s ”Bluish” off their highly acclaimed album, Merriweather Post Pavillion. It brought to mind Lerche’s older work (meaning it’s really good!), and I thought I’d share.

Sondre Lerche – Bluish (Animal Collective cover)

Animal Collective – Bluish

Two Way Monologue (2004)

Sondre Lerche – Two Way Monologue

Sondre Lerche – Track You Down

Official site

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of seeing one of Baltimore’s best unsigned bands, Eureka Birds, play at Iota. They played at one of the Federal Reserves gatherings (a collective started by dc folks like These United States and Vandaveer), and performed a really impressive set.

Eureka Birds released a self-titled debut album last year that blends together folk, rock, pop, and even a bit of punk. It creates for  a unique sound and the creative composition leaves the instruments telling an eerie story of their own. It may take a little time for the album to grow on you, but each listen is that much more rewarding.

Front man, Justin Levy,  plays keyboard and is backed by five bandmates: Dave Rogoza (guitar), Dami Soh (cello), Jason Hoffheins (drums), Mike Passariello (bass), and Nathan Royer (euphonium, trumpet). The band is nice enough to give away their album for free in mp3 form, but if you like their music, you should really consider buying the CD. Levy, who is also scientist!, told me that he really wants to rent a van and go on tour, but the band needs some financial support. They barely had enough to put out their debut and had to turn to alternative means, as you can see in this below photo of  Eureka Birds’ own Justin Levy. Shame Shame.

Eureka Birds – S/T (2008):

Eureka Birds – Oh! My Dear

Eureka Birds – Goodbye Space And Time

Eureka Birds – Dinosaurs

Site | CDBaby | MF (a new project i’m working on where artists earn all the money from sales)