wax&wires

Volcano Choir is a great little side project with Justin Vernon (Bon Iver). You’ll hear his influence clear as day atop the pseudo math-rock, and always eclectic base of his counterparts.

Check out these videos to get a glimpse into the production mind behind indie rock guru Daniel Smith.

Hear The Duo’s New Album, ‘Strict Joy,’ In Its Entirety from NPR.

Here’s an intimate performance put on by The Swell Season (Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova). I hoped the duo would keep this project running after Once died down, and am thrilled to hear some new songs.

So it’s been a while since we’ve heard anything from Sufjan Stevens, especially his absolutely impossible 50 States project. Here’s a glimpse into The BQE, the multimedia project he’s been cooking up for some time now.

If you’re a fan of acts like Sigur Ros, Devotchka, and Sufjan Stevens, be sure to check out Fanfarlo.

I first got into Cary after hearing him on the Garden State soundtrack back in 2004. A few tracks like Honestly and Blue Eyes still find their way onto playlists I create even now. You’ll also hear Matt Hale (Aqualung) and Priscilla Ahn gracing this album.

Justin Vernon, better known as the leader of Bon Iver, joined his former high school jazz band on Sunday night for a special show to raise money for the group’s trip to Essential Ellington — a competition hosted annually by Wynton Marsalis.

Check out Natasha Khan’s critically acclaimed breakthrough album, Fur and Gold, for just a buck!

Justin Vernon did a great job with this short 4-song work, seeping his emotional and intimate vocals atop moody instrumentation.

<A HREF=”http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&#038;MarketPlace=US&#038;ID=V20070822%2FUS%2Fwaxwires-20%2F8014%2Fc80ca1d5-3b1f-4545-816f-f98f9327ffe5&#038;Operation=NoScript” mce_HREF=”http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&amp;MarketPlace=US&amp;ID=V20070822%2FUS%2Fwaxwires-20%2F8014%2Fc80ca1d5-3b1f-4545-816f-f98f9327ffe5&amp;Operation=NoScript”>Amazon.com Widgets</A>
Norway’s own Even Johansen pulls on a lot of electronic stylings to color his folk-driven sound. Nowhere is the balance between the two struck more perfectly than on his 2005 album The Tourniquet. It’s a very lazy album at times, yet remains inspirational throughout. Even’s raspy voice carries listeners through narratives [...]

&amp;amp;lt;A HREF=”http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&amp;amp;amp;MarketPlace=US&amp;amp;amp;ID=V20070822%2FUS%2Fwaxwires-20%2F8014%2F49077a6f-ae41-4396-894f-7628c55a936c&amp;amp;amp;Operation=NoScript” mce_HREF=”http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&amp;amp;amp;amp;MarketPlace=US&amp;amp;amp;amp;ID=V20070822%2FUS%2Fwaxwires-20%2F8014%2F49077a6f-ae41-4396-894f-7628c55a936c&amp;amp;amp;amp;Operation=NoScript”&amp;amp;gt;Amazon.com Widgets&amp;amp;lt;/A&amp;amp;gt;
The whistling wonder known as Andrew Bird has released his new album, Noble Beast, for just $1.99 on Amazon. The album has the nuances of an eclectic Ryan Adams, but don’t write him off as just another copy cat. Andrew Bird brings a lot of unique textures into his folk driven [...]

So video killed the radio star. Internet killed the video star. Regardless of who killed what  star, continuing to crank out super creative content will never do you wrong.
Oren Lavie’s video for Her Morning Elegance is absolutely stunning and beautiful. It’s gone totally viral with over a million views on YouTube alone, and undoubtedly helped [...]

Iron and Wine has posted alternate versions of songs from The Shepherd’s Dog for free download on their website here. Just navigate to their page and check the bottom right corner.
The album is called “Fall 07″, but it’s the same songs as The Shepherd’s Dog. I’m guessing they were just recorded in Fall of 2007 [...]

Fleet Foxes – A Take Away Show from La Blogotheque on Vimeo.
Seattle’s Fleet Foxes will be performing Blue Ridge Mountains and Mykonos on Saturday Night Live this weekend. Their moody self titled album was definitely one of my favorites this past year, enough so that it was our first Wax Pick at $5 a few [...]