Troy von Balthazar - How to Live on Nothing

 2010; 14 tracks

Exquisitely sad folk-inspired rock and electronic music by multi-instrumentalist Troy von Balthazar (Chokebore). There are some really powerful songs on here, and some equally enjoyable and beautiful ones, too. It is fine music to listen to in an abandoned train station.

the body is a universe of feeling

Mark Eitzel - Caught In a Trap and I Can't Back Out 'Cause I Love You Too Much, Baby

 1998; 11 tracks  Mark Eitzel has a great voice. This isn't the greatest or most entertaining album of all time, but there is something to be said for it... Perhaps the hazy, faded, windy feel of it, or the collage of soft shapes. Highlights: "Queen of No One" (definitely my favorite) and "Go Away."

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Donovan - Sunshine Superman

1966; 10 tracks

Donovan is a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist whose groundbreaking sounds gained him much popularity in the UK, and eventually the world. Here is his third album. I just love "Celeste" so so much...

"Sunshine Superman blended his original folk style with American folk-rock, jazz and psychedelia, also managing to bring in eastern and medieval flavours into the mix. Whilst his earlier albums had been mostly performed solo, his new material had his voice and guitar augmented by electric guitars, drums, strings, percussion, sitar and more. Donovan was one of the first artists to make extensive use of the sitar, and on Sunshine Superman it is played by Texan singer-songwriter Shawn Phillips, who he had met in '65 and become close friends with.

Sunshine Superman kick-started a new period in Donovan's career, both in terms of chart success and recognition as well as musical exploration. It is widely considered a landmark psychedelia album."

my songs are merely dreams visiting my mind

Jesse Sykes & the Sweet Hereafter - Reckless Burning

2002; 9 tracks

Jesse Sykes & the Sweet Hereafter is Jesse Sykes, a Seattle-based singer-songwriter, and Phil Wandscher on guitar.

Reckless Burning is an exquisite mix of acoustic ballads, and country-like tunes. It is really the most beautiful thing I've heard in so long, her voice... I cannot recommend this album enough, to anyone.

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Lisa Germano - Geek the Girl

1994; 12 tracks

I have yet to come across an album so full of (wonderful) surprises as this one. Lisa Germano is an American singer-songwriter who used to play as a session musician for artists such as Bob Dylan and John Mellencamp. Listening to this, I was struck by the notion that a voice very much like Germano's had once (or still) spoken in and through me about the same issues and decisions a young girl has to face. It feels as though the quirks and complexities of this album are infinitely enlightening, if you listen closely enough.

"Geek the Girl was both a self-portrait and an allegoric concept. It was both an epic diaries of insecurity and a Dantesque journey into the psyche of a girl."

In the words of Lisa Germano:

"hi, this is the story of geek the girl, a girl who is confused about how to be cool and sexual in the world but finds out she isn't as cool and gets taken advantage of sexually alot, gets kind of sick and enjoys giving up but in the end tries to believe in dreams and still hopes of loving a man that he might save her from her shit life... ha ha what a geek!"

sexy little girl princess

Benoît Pioulard - Temper

2008; 16 tracks

Temper is a very mystic album, a glance at the world through the eyes of an outsider.

Benoît Pioulard, an American experimental folk musician/singer-songwriter/writer/photographer, is the pseudonym of Thomas Meluch. This is his 8th release and 2nd full-length album on the Kranky label. Pioulard actually had a new album come out this year, Lasted, which I just ordered!

After two tracks of laid-back folktronica, Temper plunges into an entirely ambient atmosphere saturated with the signs and sounds of new life. Nature-based ambience and soundscapes surround Temper, as the folk/electronic elements weave in and out in a very casual, pleasing way. "Modèle D'éclat" and "Idyll" are my favorite songs atmmmmm. A good descriptive word for this album would be... enchanting.

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Daniel Lanois - Belladonna

2005; 13 tracks

I didn't know what to expect with this when I first found it in a music thread somewhere. I decided it wouldn't hurt to try out a new artist, and it turns out my time wasn't really spent on nothing. Daniel Lanois is a Canadian singer-songwriter who has worked with some "big" names, like U2 and Bob Dylan... Maybe that's what turned me off at first, but whatever.

Belladonna is an instrumental album of 13 vigniettes, differing in mood, color, and sound. It is just ethereal enough for me to enjoy it. Just enough.


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