iron and wine

[Javier]

last sunday while whatching a dvd ( in good company) a couple of tunes catch my ear, so i waited for the credits and this band was responsible for the tunes.
Did some search today and what i found grab me more so i will go and buy two new cd's for my collection.
I really love that kind of music guitar a voice , and bam! starigth into your soul.
Any more recs on this kind.
( i could give you some recs of latin trova but,,,,)

[Davey]

Funny since I've just been listening to The Sea & the Rhythm EP from a coupla years ago. Nice stuff. Quite a few other artists in that crowded quirky alt-folk (or sometimes being called freak folk) field these days. Just listening to the Sunset Tree by the Mountain Goats too and it's not too far off, although the Iron & Wine guy plays it a little closer to his folkie roots. The melancholy acoustic side of Nick Drake that came out in full bloom on Pink Moon is always lurking around the corner for many of these guys. Devendra Banhart has become somewhat of a curator for the movement and shows up all over the place, but his records are first rate and his guitar picking is first rate too, albeit a little more quirky than many others. Holopaw is a favorite of mine, along with the Ugly Casanova album from a couple years ago that combined the talents of the main guys from Modest Mouse, Holopaw, Black Heart Procession and Califone, all big favorites, although not all what one would normally think of as folk. Anyway, plenty more and tentoze and Stoney and Mike and some of the others can guide you to some first rate picks, but here's another thread that asked the same question at Head-Fi awhile back and got some pretty good responses - and I probably said pretty much the same thing there too because if it ain't broke ... ;)

http://www5.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=88199

[Stone]

last sunday while whatching a dvd ( in good company) a couple of tunes catch my ear, so i waited for the credits and this band was responsible for the tunes.
Did some search today and what i found grab me more so i will go and buy two new cd's for my collection.
I really love that kind of music guitar a voice , and bam! starigth into your soul.
Any more recs on this kind.
( i could give you some recs of latin trova but,,,,)

I tried to respond to this once, and got some error, so I lost the post. I think all of Iron & Wine's (aka Sam Beam) releases are really good to excellent, and you can't go wrong with any of them. I prefer The Creek Drank the Cradle but it has the least production of any of his releases (outside of his self-released debut EP). Others in this vein are Sufjan Stevens (his last 3 albums, anyway), the Mountain Goats, Devendra Banhart, Espers, Marah, and as Davey mentioned Nick Drake. If you want something with a bit more pop influence, then try Elliott Smith if you're not already familiar with his work. If you're feeling a bit adventurous, try Joanna Newsom. tentoze really seems to have his fingers on the pulse of this type of music, so hopefully he'll pipe up too.

Hmmm. (1) What is Latin Trova? (2) What's a good artist or album to start with in this genre?

[Javier]

I tried to respond to this once, and got some error, so I lost the post. I think all of Iron & Wine's (aka Sam Beam) releases are really good to excellent, and you can't go wrong with any of them. I prefer The Creek Drank the Cradle but it has the least production of any of his releases (outside of his self-released debut EP). Others in this vein are Sufjan Stevens (his last 3 albums, anyway), the Mountain Goats, Devendra Banhart, Espers, Marah, and as Davey mentioned Nick Drake. If you want something with a bit more pop influence, then try Elliott Smith if you're not already familiar with his work. If you're feeling a bit adventurous, try Joanna Newsom. tentoze really seems to have his fingers on the pulse of this type of music, so hopefully he'll pipe up too.

Hmmm. (1) What is Latin Trova? (2) What's a good artist or album to start with in this genre?
Latin trova ( new trova) is mostly poetical songs ( equivalent probably to your folk songs), played also mostly with guitar that will touch a large variety of themes from love to sorrow to politics.to friendship, or storytellerst.
Some of the artists include Silvio Rodriguez, Amaury Perez, Pablo Milanes( all of them cuban).
Fernando Delagadillo, Alejandro Filio Mexicanto( Mexico).
Ricardo Aute, Joan Manuel Serrat, Joaquin Sabina ( spain).
Alberto Cortez( Argentina).
I could work in a comp and try a rough ( very rough translation of the lyrics) for you or anyone interested so let me know.

[Stone]

Latin trova ( new trova) is mostly poetical songs ( equivalent probably to your folk songs), played also mostly with guitar that will touch a large variety of themes from love to sorrow to politics.to friendship, or storytellers . . .
I could work in a comp and try a rough ( very rough translation of the lyrics) for you or anyone interested so let me know.

Thanks for the info. A comp would be excellent. I'd like to hear it. I could return the favor by making a comp of some stuff from Iron and Wine and other similar artists.

You don't need to spend the time translating it, unless you really want to (or will it really add to the listening experience?), but thanks for the offer.

[tentoze]

Some very fine recs here already, and some of the most prominent and musically rewarding, also.

I haven't heard the new Mountain Goats, but Darnielle's previous work that I have heard is, for me, surprisingly emotionally engaging in spite of (or maybe because of) his acoustic guitar assault style and fairly monotone delivery. (NOT a criticism at all- Tallahassee is still one of my favorite records of the past few years.)

I'd have to agree that anyone who is even marginally interested in this kind of music should listen to some Sufjan Stevens, regardless of the opinion I have about his latest release.

Same goes for Banhart- very difficult to hear either of his full releases and not break out into a grin at some point. He put out a comp last year (I think) called Golden Apples of The Sun of 20 different artists that is very, very good and a fine sampling of the new dirty-hippy-trippy music.

A few others:

Vetiver- Banhart actually has his hand in this band, too, contributing some remarkable guitar playing and couple of shared vocals, but it's decidedly less quirky than his solo projects.

Castanets/ Cathedral- Somewhere around a Holopaw-ish sound.

Unbunny- see above

M Ward/Transistor Radio- some (very) mild twangy underpinnings, but just a fine record.

Josephine Foster/ Little Life- 1/2 of the group Espers, this one is unassuming until it reaches up and grabs you from the dark.

Micah P. Hinson & The Gospel of Progress- some of this may not neatly fit into the strict mold of the genre (not that there really is one much to begin with), but for the most part, it's Micah and a guitar. And it's absolutely killer. I don't care what anyone else sez.

If you want a comp or anything, let me know.

-edit- And as for Iron & Wine, no matter how compelling Sam Beam's songs are, and they are no doubt, I've gotten to the point that I have trouble listening to a whole album without getting very irritated at his vocal delivery- whether intentional or not, the gasping for air at the end of every verse just gets annoying

[Davey]

Thanks for the info. A comp would be excellent. I'd like to hear it.
Yeah, same here. That would be fun.

[Davey]

And just to mention the new one out next week I'm getting kind of jazzed to hear ...

From amazon ...
Album Description
Three years ago, Iron And Wine's Sam Beam entertained the idea of recording with Calexico founding members Joey Burns and John Convertino as the backing band for what would have become his debut record. Due to unavoidable situations, that recording didn't happen. Finally, after much acclaim for both bands, recording for "In The Reins" took place in December of 2004. It's a collaborative affair that features seven Sam originals with the backing of the full Calexico band and vocals by Joey Burns. A truly harmonious affair with equal parts Iron and Wine and Calexico to satisfy fans of either or both. These tracks offer something new and exciting beyond what the listener has come to expect from either act.

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000AMJD8I.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

[Slosh]

And just to mention the new one out next week I'm getting kind of jazzed to hear...
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000AMJD8I.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg
Now where'd I put that wishlist . . . :)

[Walterrrr]

I'd have to agree that anyone who is even marginally interested in this kind of music should listen to some Sufjan Stevens, regardless of the opinion I have about his latest release.

What did you think of Illinois? Edit: Cancel that. It may make for a good article for my site, ripping out the "FIller" and seeing how it does..

A Sun Came - Stevens trying to find his voice

Enjoy Your Rabbit - Focused into converting Chinese Symbols for years into electronica, and succeeding very well. Great melodies in it, if you're not turned off by the format. No outside samples used(adds to the sexiness).

Michigan - At first just a way to drum up publicity by saying he planned to do an album for each state, the attention it shone on this album and, in turn, the acclaim he recieved for it focused Stevens on perhaps actually setting out to make a dent in the Fifty States Project.

Seven Swans - touted by critics as his giving up on the Fifty States Project already, much of these songs existed before he started Michigan. Released through Sounds Familyre, it is Stevens' ode to the Lord.

Illinois - Fanfare and pageantry adorn his second entry into the Fifty States Project. The Jazzy 'Come on! Feel the Illinoise!' sets an energetic tone that you may need to get through so-called "filler" instrumental tracks. Without these tracks, however, the album would be closest to a typical Pop album as Stevens could ever come.

[nobody]

I could work in a comp and try a rough ( very rough translation of the lyrics) for you or anyone interested so let me know.

I'd be really interested in this if you do it. I wouldn't want to make you go through the work of translation, but I'd love to hear the music.