Here is our final monthly Best Of mix of songs from 2011 - despite all the Christmas fayre on offer, there were still a whole plethora of cracking new tracks to enjoy, and as always we've gathered the best of our December posts into one lovely mix for you with a couple of new tracks to sample too. Don't forget to check out all our previous monthly mixes in the sidebar on the left. And off we go... Download Horse's Mouth – As I Climb mp3 (from Horse's Mouth) Opens with a [...]
Shortly before Christmas The Lower 48 released their new album Where All Maps End , a beautifully judged album of warm, organic folk that joyfully takes its main influences from the 1960s. Having already given you The End , the band have made a second track, the good-natured acoustic strum of Into The Woods available for download. Buy from cdbaby here . Download The Lower 48 - Into The Woods mp3 (from Where All Maps End) Download The Lower 48 – The End mp3 [...]
From Portland via Minneapolis comes The Lower 48 , a modern, indie-folk act of surprising grit and beauty. These Midwest young'ns (not one of 'em can drink legally) have clearly thrived since heading west, as the tender lyricism and imperfectly perfect harmonies showcased by their newly released single The End suggests. The combo of warm and bouncy acoustic guitars in perfect unison with their chilled-out vocals, cooing sweetly hopeful lyrics, is endlessly appealing. Picture Sesame Street run amok with affable, ennui-filled Gen Y'sters and you begin to get [...]
Ben Braden and Sarah Parson began writing and singing folk music together in the winter of 2009 in Minneapolis, MN. Within a few months they were playing shows in Minneapolis, Chicago and other Midwestern venues, and before summer they had finished recording their first release, the critically praised EP Everywhere To Go. Following the release of Everywhere To Go, Ben and Sarah headed west, relocating The Lower 48 to Portland, OR. Playing regularly on the West Coast, they developed a more mature sound and wrote a host of new songs. In the summer of 2010, [...]
It's hard to believe that 2011 is almost over. It seemed like not really that long ago that we were putting together our Best Songs of 2010 mixtapes (now working on Vol. IV for 2011) - which by the way, are still up and running (a few missing mp3 links, but 90% operational), and well [...] Read more, get songs or stream the entire mix on Indie Rock Cafe
Photography: Olivia Larrain Heiremans The Lower 48 makes charming, low-key indie for those who like it. You can buy their debut here ! The Lower 48 - The End The Lower 48 - Into The Woods
To celebrate today's crop of releases, here are new mp3s from the Lower 48 and Kurt von Stetten. Also, vote for your favorite of today's new releases.
Songwriters and sweet harmonizers Ben Braden and Sarah Parson along with percussionist Nicholas Sadler, all Minneapolis natives who migrated west to Portland, form the budding alt/folk triumverate The Lower 48 . Their new debut album Where All Maps End is delightfully all over the, err, map, as 60's styled twee folk/pop melodies and intertwined vocal interplay bump up against the random odd instrumental detour -- witness the impeccable and totally unpredictable "Into the Woods" or the wonderful "Interlude 1". Not everything works quite at that level, but there's enough promise here -- particularly [...]
Here is another collection of tunes we've gathered from our in-box and the internet - we'd like to have more time to do them justice, but nevertheless a cornucopia of pleasures awaits you we promise! First up is the consistently wonderful Damien Jurado with some authentic, strummed desert blues. Nothing Is The News is the first taste of his forthcoming album Maraqopa . Download Damien Jurado - Nothing Is The News mp3 (from Maraqopa) Indie-folksters The Dodos have made a previously unreleased track, So Cold [...]
Anyone who has ever lived life has dealt with a "BFF" situation that doesn't live up to that final "F", so here's two points for Portland-by way of-Minneapolis indie folk act The Lower 48 for their "The End"'s instant relatable factor...followed by a buttload more for the way they beautifully bring the plot to life. Powered by a gently peppy strum jangle, and the sweet, near-whispered intimacy of the lead boy/ girl harmonies, "The End" is a soothing homespun ear massage from beginning to end that's made only better by the nice bits of lyrical [...]
I am becoming more and more confident in talking on the radio. I am slowly developing my voice - my on-air personality. There is still room for improvement; namely in the transition from Stuarto's show to mine, but I'll get there eventually. Last Friday's show was centered around indie-folk again, with plenty of psychedelic folk, orchestral folk, and folk-pop as well. As started last week, two songs will be featured at bottom. "Notorious Lightning" by Destroyer off Your Blues "Shanty for the Arethusa" [...]
The Lower 48 son un trio de Portland cuyos miembros aún no han cumplido aún los 20 años, lo cual no resulta un impedimento a la hora de facturar excelentes temas en la mejor tradición del folk-rock americano. Algo que podemos comprobar en "The End" una de las canciones incluidas en su disco de debut, "Where All Maps End" , disponible el 13 de Diciembre. The End.mp3
forcierter gitarrenritt, harmoniegesang. macht noch keinen grower. aber diese beiden stimmen haben etwas bemerkens- und erinnerungswertes. schlagwerkeinfall, groove und fußbeschleuniger. sie singt mit leicht kehligem angang, er zögerlicher und heller als gewöhnlich. ein sehniges streichen über die wenigen saiten einer violine. die akustische blendet sich darüber. "the end" geht so fluffig ins ohr, dass man seiner erst wirklich gewahr wird, wenn die letzte runde gedreht wurde. süchtig sucht man nach der wiederholungstaste. ben braden und sarah parson begannen im winter des jahres 2009 mit dem schreiben und singen von folkmusik. heimatlich gebunden waren sie in minneapolis. einige monate später spielten [...]
Company – Waiting For Saints To Arrive [mp3] (from Holy City , out now) Company – Heaven Is Gone [mp3] (from Holy City , out now) Company – The Departed [mp3] (from Holy City , out now) Charleston, SC's Company offers three tracks from the recently released Holy [...]
I have never been to Portland, Oregon. But I imagine that there's music spilling from every shop and tavern, and that talented, endearing bands like The Lower 48 stand on street corners or walk through neighborhoods playing delightful songs like "The End," the first single from Where All Maps End, the trio's first-ever full-length. Is [...]
ARTIST: The SWAG Report 80 with freebie mp3 downloads for songs by Amanda Palmer, CFCF, Cloud Nothing, Great Aunt Ida, Harrison Hudson, Kim Boekbinder, Lionize, Old Wives Tale, Parenthetical Girls and more! So much more! DATE: 11-02-11 WRITER: Don Loder Merry Christmas Junkie! Oh wait - i'ssnot Christmas yet, izzit? Naw, it jus' feels'at way cuz, now dat Halloween's ova, dat's where da music bizness is lookin' next. An' I already got a coupla Christmas songs'at I found'is [view [...]
While the rest of the country is sweltering under record heat, we in Portland have been subjected to relentless gloom and heavy clouds that have overstayed their welcome. It is on one such dreary evening that a trio of bands assembled to play folk songs at the Woods . Prairie Empire , the first band of the evening, begins with quiet grace. Vocalist Brittain Ashford clutches her autoharp tightly to her chest, strumming strong notes out of the instrument as she sings. Before I continue, it must be noted that Brittain and I are friends, and I've met [...]
Between 2/26 and March 7, two Narcs were out vacationing working on a piece on Portland's and San Francisco's music scene. This first of three parts finds our young adventurers wandering the bearded streets of Portland in search of a venue with spellbinding sound. There are many thing that a Philadelphian will find familiar about Portland. The beer scene. The unpretentious vibe. The bikes. The universal signposts of hipster culture, the universal denial of said hipster culture. That choosing a spot for jazz [...]
Kids these days–doing drugs, having promiscuous sex and, apparently, crafting beautifully delicate folk melodies. The Lower 48, an underage quartet from Minneapolis, has accumulated more buzz before the band members' 20th birthdays than most rockers do in a lifetime. And their debut EP, Everywhere To Go (Grape Juice), only dropped November 3. Download "Transmissions, Pt. [...]
You've probably heard of Austin, Texas' Spoon . If not, you should go out and buy one of their albums today. Any one of 'em because they are all great. Heck, buy them all. Read one of our previous Spoon posts . Also, if you are following Musical Pairings on Twitter you are probably also aware that they have finished a new album titled Transference with a January release date. Below is the MP3 that made the rounds yesterday of the album's third [...]
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