Posted in Folk/Acoustic

S. Carey Announces New Solo Effort ‘Hoyas EP’

Bon Iver‘s S. Carey will make his solo return with a brand new four-track EP entitled Hoyas. Set for release on Jagjaguwar (home to Bon Iver), Hoyas was, according to the press release, recorded in an attic studio “using a single laptop and not much else… Some sounds were composed by handcrafted instruments and others by junk. At times, Carey tracked vocals using nothing more than his laptop’s internal microphone, and most of the beats and synthesized sounds were sequenced and arranged using stock-software.” Bon Iver bandmate Justin Vernon then mixed and produced the album, which is currently scheduled for a May 8th release.

In the meantime, you can watch S. Carey and Justin Vernon in their recent Bon Iver live acoustic session here.

Hoyas EP Tracklist:
01. Two Angles
02. Avalanche
03. Inspir
04. Marfa

Video: Bon Iver Live Acoustic Session At AIR Studios

Working with record labels 4AD and Jagjaguwar, Justin Vernon and Sean Carey of Bon Iver sat down at AIR Studio’s Lyndurst Hall to record a breathtaking 25 minute live session, a stylistic contrast from the band’s recent shows with a full eleven-piece band. Instead, Vernon and Carey provide an intimate, sit-down session, performing songs from the Blood Bank EP and the band’s  Grammy Award winning Bon Iver, Bon Iver while also throwing in a cover of Bonnie Raitt‘s “I Can’t Make You Love Me” (which was also included as a bonus track from Bon Iver, Bon Iver).

Be sure to set aside half an hour this weekend and watch the session below, courtesy of 4AD and Jagjaguwar.

01) Hinnom, TX
02) Wash.
03) I Can’t Make You Love Me
04) Babys
05) Beth/Rest

Watch: Bon Iver Live On Saturday Night Live

This past Friday night, Justin Vernon and his fellow Bon Iver bandmates made an appearance on Saturday Night Live to perform two tracks from their fantastic 2011 record Bon Iver, Bon Iver, one of our favorite records of last year. As expected, the band launched directly into the ethereal, Grammy-nominated “Holocene”, but then surprised the audience when they began playing the opening notes to the highly-divisive, cheese-filled “Beth/Rest”. Personally, my favorite version of the song is still the solo piano version Justin did for NPR World Cafe, which you can listen to right here. Be sure to check out the videos from SNL below.

“Holocene”:

“Beth/Rest”:

Listen: Plants and Animals – “Lightshow”

This past week, Plants and Animals released a single for their upcoming album, The End of That, out on February 28th. One thing that makes me become obsessed with this band time and time again is the wide variety of songs they have. Throughout both of their albums La La Land and Parc Avenue, there is just such a variety in content. They can create such intensity through the most delicate melodies like in their song “Game Shows” or they can bring a spirit of rock revival like on “Jeans Jeans Jeans”. They produce such smooth and fluid music.

Their new single “Lightshow” reminded me a bit of Robin Pecknold from Fleet Foxes but with a more electric feel. You can listen or download below.

Listen: Andrew Bird – “Eyeoneye”

“Eyeoneye” is our very first look at the extremely talented whistler/singer-songwriter Andrew Bird‘s upcoming new album, Break It Yourself. Although the album won’t make its official release until March 6, the new song will be available for immediate download with a pre-order of the limited edition box set of the album from his website here. In terms of style, “Eyeoneye” has a sound that reminds me of “Masterfade” or “Fake Palindromes” from The Mysterious Production of Eggs so perhaps Bird is taking a pre-Noble Beast type direction to the album. Either way, I’m incredibly excited.

Break It Yourself Tracklisting:
01. Desperation Breeds…
02. Polynation
03. Danse Caribe
04. Give it Away
05. Eyeoneye
06. Lazy Projector
07. Near Death Experience Experience
08. Behind the Barn
09. Lusitania
10. Orpheo Looks Back
11. Sifters
12. Fatal Shore
13. Hole in the Ocean Floor
14. Belles