A Flame That Moves

High time we aired some new sounds here again. All tracks below were either recently released or will be very soon. Featuring some new kids on the block, some relatively old hands and even one living legend-ah. Here goes.

If you like moving around in Will Oldham and Joanna Newsom territory, better check out Uncles. This fresh duo from Queens, New York will release their Replacing Words With Other Words sometime next month, and taster Settler´s Song really soars. Promising is definitely the word here.

Uncles - Settler´s Song MP3

Update alert: you can now download the whole Uncles album for free here.

And speaking of Joanna Newsom, you probably know by now that the harp-playing nymph recently released a new triple album. Kudos to her wonderful label Drag City, if only for simply daring to do such a thing. Three discs is a little too much for a fairly recent convert like me, but highlighs like Jackrabbits are not to be missed. "And Matthew spoke to me, said there's a flame that moves like a low-down pest, that says: you will be free..."

Joanna Newsom - Jackrabbits MP3

More Drag City up now, as Smog foreman Bill Callahan´s got a new live album in the works. Rough Travel For A Rare Thing just might be a stunner, if the moving Bowery is anything to go by. "I´m new here and I got a pit in my gut..." Is Bill Callahan the new Lou Reed?

Bill Callahan - Bowery MP3

Wonderful to see that the legendary Mark E. Smith is still at it-ah. The Fall has been musically subversive for more than thirty years now - see a recent post of mine on their two glorious ´79 albums here - but refuses to knuckle under. Your Future Our Clutter will be on the market in late April. Here´s a tasty amuse.

The Fall - Y.F.O.C. / Slippy Floor MP3

Time for some Americana now, with The Fox Hunt and their new longplayer Long Way To Go. These West Virginians have a fine singer in John R. Miller and use mandolin, banjo and fiddle to pepper their rootsy rock sound. If these guys aren´t real hot live I´ll eat Bono´s stupid hat.

The Fox Hunt - Screw Me Up MP3

Apart from playing in Chicago band Dolly Varden, Steve Dawson teaches songwriting at the Old Town School Of Folk Music in the Windy City. His second solo effort I Will Miss The Trumpets And The Drums shows he knows his trade well. Got a fine voice, too. Soulful rock with crossover potential.

Steve Dawson - Today She Found The Way To Break My Heart MP3

Leatherbag hails from Austin and will release their latest offering Hey Day in mid April. Frontman Randy Reynolds has a serious Reed/Dylan/Feelies fixation, and that´s a big plus in my book of course. Definitely one more band to watch.

Leatherbag - Start All Over Again MP3

Stop press: talking about living legends... I just got the sad news that Memphis maestro Alex Chilton has died. The singer and guitarist of the Box Tops and Big Star, invisible man who could sing in a visible voice, was one of the true greats.

Alex Chilton - Every Time I Close My Eyes MP3