For your listening pleasure, folk fanatic Anika has put together a YouTube playlist. Click here to listen to the whole thing.
Best Friends Forever — Circus Song: Best Friends Forever are a low-fi pop band from Minnesota. Their 2007 release ‘Romance Conflict Adventure’ is a wonderfully charming, fun pop record with great back and forth vocals from singers Bri and Jes.
Jaymay — Snow White: This is a beautiful video! Listen to that voice! Jaymay is New York singer Jamie Seerman. Here she plays ‘Snow White’, from her EP ‘Sea Green, See Blue’ on a wurlitzer. Lovely indeed. She supposedly has a new EP in the works titled ’10 under 2′, featuring 10 songs all under 2 minutes long.
Bodies of Water — Doves Circled The Sky: One of the most epic bands I have ever had the pleasure of seeing live, here they play ‘Doves Circled The Sky’, one of my favourites from their first record. The band is led by husband and wife David and Meredith Metcalf. If the group vocals don’t give you goosebumps I conclude you have no soul.
Wildbirds & Peacedrums — The Window: Oh, I swoon myself to death every time I watch this. Here the duo play ‘The Window’ in a Take Away Show-esque session in Oslo. Amazing.
Tom Brosseau — Been True: Bandstand Busking session from the North Dakotan charmer. This is one of my favourite songs of the year, and features on his 2009 release ‘Post Humous Success’ out on FatCat Records.
Scary Mansion — You’ll Cry: Here is a video of Leah messing up on the unreleased ‘You’ll Cry’. I love Leah’s voice, and I love the sound of that big uke. The song sounds brilliant and I’m intrigued to hear it in it’s entirety. Perhaps it will feature on the forthcoming Scary Mansion record…
Bishop Allen — Like Castanets: Bishop Allen have a brilliant new record out this year, but this is a song from 2007’s ‘The Broken String’. The arrangement is different from the version on the record and features some sweet fingerpicking and a lovely melodica solo from Darbie.
Au Revoir Simone — Take Me As I Am: Performed on Berlin radio, this song is from the Brooklyn trio’s new LP Still Night, Still Light. It’s my favourite from the new record and will most probably cement itself in your head if you listen to it a few times. That’s not a bad thing…
Anika Mottershaw runs music blog Anika in London