Hem have released a holiday track from their upcoming album Departure and Farewell called "Identical Snowflakes". I'm not really a holiday music person, but I am very much a Hem person - the New York based indie rockers rank high on my list of most-favorite-bands-ever. "Identical Snowflakes" is what you'd expect a holiday track to be; sweet and lovely, but with the added bonus of Sally Green's gorgeous vocals and the band's signature harmonies. You'd have to be completely heartless not to love it. Hem - Identical Snowflakes [via [...]
Long time favorites of FGTW, New York indie rockers, Hem, have released a new song "Identical Snowflakes" to iTunes for your holiday-listening enjoyment! The song comes from their upcoming album "Departure and Farewell" Hem - Identical Snowflakes
Glad tidings on two fronts: we learn that longtime DC favorites Hem have completed work on their forthcoming album Departure and Farewell (release date "early 2012") -- an album described as "our most wide-ranging and ambitious work to date." AND they've generously decided to share a new song from the long-delayed project (it was originally due in early 2010), the lovely and seasonal "Identical Snowflakes." As the band notes, "the line 'this cumulus has no room for us,' in particular, never gets old" and Sally Ellison's lilting vocals [...]
Listen to husband-wife duo Little Silver (featuring Steve Curtis of Hem) cover Chris Whitley's 'Dirt Floor.'
Brooklyn-based duo Erika Simonian and Steve Curtis -- aka Little Silver -- headed back into the studio last month to begin work on a few projects -- a soundtrack, some acoustic things and, most importantly, a new full-band full-length due next year. (An earlier project -- the birth of new baby Hazel Simone Curtis -- was completed in July!) Simonian, a fine songwriter who's been kicking around NYC for a few years now and Curtis, founding member and songwriter with the wondrous Americana/folk outfit Hem, released their debut mini-LP The Stolen Souvenir [...]
There's a certain genre of music that I would have discarded long ago, but as I have matured (barely) my tastes have as well. Slow songs with woodsy folk influences are now jewels, so when I got this new track from Little Silver I had to share it with you. They've just put out The Stolen Souvenir EP , and this little number is absolutely superb. The attention to detail, the inherent melody and vocal harmonies make for an incredible listen. You're gong to fall head over heels when [...]
Click image to download track Sounds like: Sin Fang, Azure Ray, Joanna Newsom, Cat Power "Sóley - I'll Drown" What's so good? It was exactly 10 seconds into the track "I'll Drown" that I decided I loved Sóley. I didn't even need to hear the rest of the song (although of course I listened to it all the way through... again, and again) - I [...]
Yep, I am off down to London to schmooze like a lickspittle get plastered and see some excellent bands. And to catch up with one of my best and oldest friends. Good times. And to watch the Champions League final. Possibly slightly less good times. I am running the gauntlet of the British Rail ticketing system as well. For those who aren't familiar with this particular challenge, in the UK they try and make it as difficult as possible for you to buy a/ the cheap tickets which they advertise so aggressively (£35 London-Edinburgh return, aye right!) or [...]
A collection of Alt Country stalwarts come together for a laid-back tribute to the Rolling Stones with 'Paint It Black.'
One of the biggest challenges of coming of age in the late eighties is that some of the best pop performers of the post-punk/new wave era were already past their musical prime when I discovered them, invariably through radio hits that echoed their earlier work while somehow managing to sound derivative and old-school amidst the rising tide of majestic yet ultimately ephemeral heartland rock, bouncy pop, early grunge and smooth R&B which characterized the era. Case in point: I went through a brief Elvis Costello phase when I was in high school, [...]
It's shaping up to be Tributes and Cover Compilations week here at Cover Lay Down, thanks to a wave of strong cover albums coming over the dam in the next few weeks. Today, we kick off our take on this delightful collection of new and impending coverage early with a look at the newest in Rolling Stones tributes - including two exclusive tracks never before heard outside the studio. Tribute producer Jim Sampas, whose stellar indie covers collection Subterranean Homesick [...]
The other day I was listening to Damien Jurado's "Ohio" and I realized that I miss my home state. What better way to remember my home than compile a list of my favorite songs about Ohio? The list also had contributions from Matt, Sean and Shiloh. Hope you enjoy, and learn something about Ohio as [...]
Click image to download full album Sounds like: Cowboy Junkies, Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter, Azure Ray, Mazzy Star "Hem - Half Acre" What's so good? Hearing the song "Half Acre" by Hem (from their 2002 debut album R abbit Songs ) makes me want to spend December somewhere cold. Somewhere you can feel warm and cozy inside, while everything outside is frigid and uninviting. At least, that's how a kid from California would [...]
by teepoo JC Penny Christian TV Band- 1 2 3 Turnaround Verizon Wireless Lorne Balfe- Perfect Ten Tiffany and Co Hem- Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
Cover Me takes a different look at Veterans Day, honoring the small-town cobbler who started it.
On the canvas of my mind, I paint the summerself as a towheaded Tom Sawyer, barefoot and fancy free. And though I cannot see into the infinite minds that share my world, it's healthy, I think, to imagine that we all recreate our childhoods as such. But there was little point in going unshod in my suburban childhood. A walk meant pavement, not sidewalks, and on the street, the threat of broken glass or ancient gravel shards was everpresent. Even our own backyard was sparse and prickly, [...]
It's been a scorching week here in Southern California. The temperatures have been consistently in the 90s, so you can bet your butt that the A/C has been running. I asked my buddy Barak Obamovich to see if PG&E had anything to do with this… he checked it out and told me that there just might be a connection… and a lawsuit would be the next step. So he teamed up with Ed and... Download: Traveler's Song Download: Glitter Download: You Run [...]
A little over a year ago my oldest brother Ty started sending me music. Most of these gifts were no doubt the result of his frequent trips to the nearby thrift store. I imagine that he has duplicates of what he sends me and that perhaps since we're brothers we share the trait of not being able to see a favorite album languishing in a used bin. The albums Ty sent me were rarely anything too modern, most are between 5, 10, 15, and even 30 years old, but each was something special. Most have been absolute eye-openers to me. [...]
The Ruckus
From Go to Whoa
Direct Current
Cover Me
The FADER
Austin Town Hall
indie shuffle
Song, by Toad
Cover Lay Down
The Wounded Jukebox
Ride The Tempo
TheFrontloader.com
Whale in a Cubicle
James Blake – Live Album
Gang Colours – Fancy Restaurant
Trippple Nippples
