Emiliana Torrini’s “Me and Armini” has all the swagger of Lily Allen’s “Smile” without the annoying superfluousness and tabloid attachment.  Also unlike the previously aforementioned track, the steady backing rhythym and Torrini’s confident, calm singing let the rest of “Armini”’s layers reveal themself over multiple satisfying listens rather than blowing its musical wad on the first go round.  Employing a cool, soothing vocal style, the Icelandic singer uses her new album to flip between ambient, acoustic folk songs and more upbeat, almost-radio ready pop songs, similar to Feist’s last record.   The album, also titled Me and Armini, ships out September 9th on Rough Trade Records.

Emiliana Torrini - Me and Armini

Pre-order Emiliana Torrini’s new full length “Me And Armini” on Amazon.com

Formerly of the great No Knife, Ryan Ferguson is now working on some solo work.  It’s great news because No Knife was awesome and hearing his voice on top of some nice acoustic song is great.  It’s a nice change of pace for him, too.  His first release was back in 2005 with a EP that gave him immediate recognition and included a song as a lead track for EA Sport’s The Sims 2. For Ryan, it’s almost a flawless transition going from aggressive, fast-paced music to acoustic, feel-good pop music.  Take a listen.

Ryan Ferguson - Kill My Confidence

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