CATEGORY: Editor's Pick - MP3

Sibling labels Jagjaguwar, Dead Oceans, and Secretly Canadian have always attracted solid talent to their roster and Wisconsin’s Bon Iver is no exception. Meaning “good winter”, Bon Iver is the stage name for solo artist Justin Vernon and his sparse, personal folk music which has collected much praise since his debut record For Emma, Forever Ago was released in February. The album was recorded in a remote cabin in Wisconsin during Vernon’s self-imposed hibernation from the outside world. The plan, according to Vernon, wasn’t to write a record during this time but it happened and no one can complain with the end result. On ‘Skinny Love’ the grizzled, flannel-loving Vernon shouts, whispers, and sings in his ear-grabbing falsetto, finding any way he can to get the lonely feeling of the track across. The acoustic music and sparse tone may be familiar ground for these kinds of projects but the raw delivery is something worth hiding out from the world for.

Bon Iver - Skinny Love

Purchase Bon Iver’s For Emma, Forever Ago on Amazon.com

CATEGORY: MP3

[mp3] Magnolia Electric Co. - Lonesome Valley (from the record Fading Trails out now on Secretly Canadian Records)

Jason Molina and crew are forever waltzing along that dry desert highway, spreading their Neil Young-inspired country rock one lonely story at a time. Their second full length Fading Trails may not have been as strong as their debut What Comes After the Blues, but it features a few strong tracks such as the attached ‘Lonesome Valley’.

[mp3] Stephen Merritt - The Meaning of Lice (from the compilation Plague Songs out now on 4AD records)

Biblical disaster serves as the inspiration behind 4AD’s recent compilation Plague Songs. Featuring exclusive tracks from artists such as Imogen Heap, Brian Eno, Rufus Wainwright, and the attached Stephen Merritt (The Magnetic Fields), Plague Songs takes a hauntingly beautiful look at each of the ten plagues as interpreted by eahc artist. The attached track, ‘The Meaning of Lice’, is an upbeat pop song dedicated to the little known lice plague.