Angel Olsen #2 - Hi-Five

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Another of my recent favourites today, Angel Olsen came fully to my attention at End of the Road festival last summer (as I've previously mentioned) and I'm excited to have both her latest album and London gig (at Dingwalls on March 25th) coming within the first quarter of 2014.

Following from the rollocking and perhaps unexpected rock style of "Forgiven/Forgotten" is "Hi-Five", a track which finds the halfway house between the aforementioned heaviness and the mellower, stirring emotion in which Angel made her name, here her luxurious vocal melts glaciers amongst a fine full band sound as kicking percussion and distorted guitars are later met by driving piano in a melody sure to have you tapping along in agreement, the star of course remains that voice, a voice that deserve the breakthrough I think it will get this year.

Burn Your Fire for No Witness is due February 17th via Jagjaguwar.

Abbey Bowden - New Music "Introducing"

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Easily the place where I'm finding the most new acts these days is through twitter, my latest discovery via the social network is Abbey Bowden whom I found via a re-tweet from an act I've covered here before Oh Sister.

Abbey treads a similar path of finger-plucked acoustic beauty with tender guitar strumming the solitary backing to a devastating voice but Abbey's vocal is quite different, possessing a breathy and organic voice with a soulful range akin to Tracy Chapman or Cold Specks. The track that made me stop in my tracks last week "Still" (available as a free download below) is an absolute beauty, full of raw, poetic strength which stems from Abbey's arresting delivery and lyrics written straight from the heart, the result is quite simply majestic.

Early viewers of this post may notice I pressed publish a little premature as a visit to Abbey's soundcloud page discovers another demo "Changing Boats", a softer, contemplative track which slowly introduces piano twinkles amongst darkly intimate songcraft that breathes full of haunting emotion. Shiver inducing moments await below.

Lyla Foy #5 - Feather Tongue

Facebook / lylafoy.com

I've mentioned Lyla Foy a lot recently, in November with the first track after a Sub Pop signing "Easy" and shortly after as one of my 'Tips for 2014' and as one of my three votes in the 'Blog Sound of 2014. There's a quick return to this blog again after yesterday's announcement of her debut album Mirrors The Sky and the second track to be taken from it "Feather Tongue".

It confirms what I'd adhered to previously, both understated and beautiful, "Feather Tongue" highlights Lyla's perfect way with melody and heart-melting vocals full of intimacy and emotion. Here they lie on top of a bed of gentle percussion and a bubbling synth undercurrent that is never more than a restrained accompaniment to the tracks gorgeous, dreamy atmosphere; it's guaranteed to make your heart skip a beat or two.

Mirrors The Sky is due for release March 17th via Sub Pop and can be pre-ordered now on special edition coloured vinyl with a free tote bag here.

School - New Music "Introducing"

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I discovered this song over Christmas and it definitely deserves its belated exposure here, the debut track by Sweden's (Gothenburg's to be precise) School (with apologies to my introducer, I do like to reference my source but I never had a link saved this time).

"SoLong" (one word) bristles with excitable drums patterns, New Order inspired bass-lines and shimmering guitars textures which is a paragraph likely enough to have interested all by itself but when you factor in lead-vocalist Alice Botéus' sweetly compelling way with words and a brilliantly addictive melody, you'll be even more excited after pressing play.

The track is available via Bandcamp now. My one's to watch list grows a name.

St Vincent #7 - Digital Witness

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Just before Christmas I featured the first track from St Vincent's forthcoming fourth (and self-titled) LP "Birth In Reverse", a release which promises to be one of the musical highlights of February (the album is due for release Feb 24th).

To add to the excitement we've been treated to the album's second track, the wonderful "Digital Witness", an ode/lament to the digital age and it instantly seems that the time spent with David Byrne on the side-project album Love This Giant has washed off on Annie's solo work too for "Digital Witness" is a brass-laden funk stomp with billowing horns creating a deep, infectious rhythm amongst Annie's art-rock guitar and synth patterns.

The result sounds like something Prince would be proud of, as I devote purple follower I can't pay a much bigger complement than that. Listen below and order St Vincent here.

Liza Anne - New Music "Introducing"

Facebook / lizaannemusic.com

I get a lot (and I mean a lot) of group mailers with album links and pr for more acts and artists than I could ever feature here and I'm honest to say at least 90% of them get deleted without me ever listening to them (that's not the same with 'personal' submissions which I'll always try and at least listen to). One such submission perked my curiosity the other day because it mentioned Daughter and First Aid Kit as references and comes from an artist from Nashville, fickle difference can make the difference it seems...

So I headed to 19 year old Liza Anne's soundcloud and soon fell in love with a beautiful track that also happens to be the title track to her debut album The Colder Months (which is due next month). Daughter is actually the perfect starting point, the track is restrained, atmospheric and haunting from the outset, slowly building from a calming opening with the emphasis firmly placed on Liza's ethereal vocal, her soft voice bleeds with devastating emotion as the song swells with increasing percussion and widescreen guitar textures to an intimate, heart-felt climax. "The Colder Months" be-lie's Liza's years, an age-old tale about love and loss that seem to linger longer over winter, however you want to look at it, it also happens to be the best track that 2014 offered us in its first week.

The Colder Months is due February 4th, more details.