Track of the Day: Nathaniel Rateliff - Still Trying

It is with great pleasure that I can announce that today's TOTD is a brand new single from none other than Nathaniel Rateliff. 'Still Trying' is an early taster of what we can expect to feature on his full length LP Falling Faster Than You Can Run, due for release on November 26th on Mod y Vi Records/Thirty Tigers. It certainly does not disappoint, being built around delicate guitar, passionate, rich vocals and thumping percussion.

This is the first new material which the Denver-native has put out since his incredible 14-track heartbreaker 'In Memory of Loss' was released (to great acclaim) in 2010. Based on this single it looks as though the astonishing quality of his debut is due to be reached once more.

Rateliff has stated that Falling Faster Than You Can Run, 'came about over a couple years of touring. I was coming from a place on intense isolation. Despite the fact that I was always around other people I always felt a true sense of loneliness' - and it is within this sadness and loss that the folk, soul troubadour has always excelled.

Listen to 'Still Trying' below.

Tracklisting:
1. Still Trying
2. I Am
3. Don’t Get Too Close
4. Laborman
5. How To Win
6. Nothing To Show For
7. Right On
8. Three Fingers In
9. Forgetting Is Believing
10. When Do You See
11.Falling Faster Than You Can Run

Track of the Day: Sivu - Over & Over

So far this year Sivu has been responsible for a number of the finest singles to come out of the UK, and he's just done it again with the beautifully, delicate new single 'Over & Over'.

Rising to prominence back in January with his anthemic debut, 'Better Man Than He', he received almost half a million hits, and gained substantial radio support from the likes of Huw Stephens and John Kennedy. His follow up, 'Bodies', was an interesting change of place, illustrating the same quirky indie-pop stylings, along with a developed complexity in rhythms and richer instrumentation.

It seems as thought the 24 year-old Londoner is unable to do anything wrong at the moment, with 'Over & Over' being a truly understated gem. Based around a simple electric guitar part and an echoey bass drum, the young songwriter tackles the complexities of relationships, and how we sometimes staying in them when neither party quite knows why ('we go over and over and over and over, like a old broken computer'). Simply put, it's another beautiful track from one of the most enthralling acts of the year.

You can get a free download of this 'Over & Over' and an additional track called 'Dimmer Down' here

 'we're just waiting for something real, something to help make us feel alive.'

Track of the Day: Wintercoast - The Andes

I first heard of Wintercoast way back in 2011. I was working in Vancouver as a music promoter for a small, indie music label, and through hours of listening to some fairly sub-par local music (though there is an abundance of really great local music there too), I stumbled upon Wintercoast's debut EP Trees, Homes & Better Places. To put it I was frankly, I was blown away. Their indie-folk style was lusciously built around the quirky vocal interplay between Sylvie and Andrei, and for that they built a devoted local fanbase.

Following two years of near musical silence, the band have returned. Though their numbers are depleted (they now operate as a three-piece), their sound has evolved and grown dramatically. Whereas before their was a Slow Club-esque folky, innocence about the band, they appear to have done considerable growing up and growing darker over their hibernation.

With a full album on the way in the coming months, The Andes is a mission statement of the new direction which the band are taking. I, for one, much like two years earlier, am blown away.

Track of the Day: Frightened Rabbit - Default Blues

What a truly incredible year Frightened Rabbit are having... 

The Selkirk quintet released their fourth album 'Pedestrian Verse' earlier this year; justifiably earning universal acclaim and impressively peaking at number nine in the UK charts. Since then they've gone on two release two follow up EPs, completed a sold-out Australian tour, and have even earnt themselves upcoming support slots for indie-rock royalty,The National.

Well to top all this off, Hutchinson & co are giving us more musical delight in the form of 'The Woodpile EP'. Due for release September 2nd it's titled after the lead single from 'Pedestrian Verse', and features this track as well as three brand new tracks (see track listings below). Today's TOTD is 'Default Blues', a driving, confident indie rocker, with the intellegence and wit which we've come to expect.

Speaking about the new release, singer Scott Hutchinson says – “The Woodpile is about that night you felt utterly out of place, alone, awkward and cornered. All any of us want in those instances is for someone we care about to come and take us away from it all. It's escapist, but also claustrophobic in places. I like the idea of contrasting a big, confident piece of music with lyrics that express uncertainty and vulnerability. ”

THE WOODPILE EP TRACKLISTING:

1) The Woodpile

2) Default Blues

3) Radio Silence

4) Candlelit

Track of the Day: The Mountain Goats - The Mess Inside

Today is an important day. Twelve years after the release of The Mountain Goats' seminal album, 'All Hail West Texas', Merge Records have releasing a remastered version; cleaned up (though not too much. I'd hate it to lose the old girl's signature hiss) and version on vinyl.

In honor of such a momentous occasion my track of the day is it's standout track 'The Mess Inside'. This beautiful anti-love song details a couple who are trying to fix a relationship which is beyond repair. Despite it's archaic recording style and simple instrumentation it is one of the most heart breaking songs in modern music, with each of it's four verses delivering another cruel blow to the future of its characters.

''But you cannot run, and you cannot hide, from the wreck we've made of our house,and from the mess inside.



Lyrics:
'We took a weekend, drove to Provo.
the snow was white and fluffy.
but a weekend in Utah won't fix what's wrong with us.
the gray sky was vast and real cryptic above me.
i wanted you to love me like you used to do.

We took two weeks in the Bahamas.
went out dancing every night.
tried to fight the creeping sense of dread with temporal things.
most of the time i guess i felt alright.
but i wanted you to love me like you used to do.

But you cannot run
and you cannot hide,
from the wreck we've made of our house,
and from the mess inside.

We went down to New Orleans
one weekend in the Spring.
looked hard for what we'd lost.
it was painful to admit it, but we couldn't find a thing.
i wanted you to love me like you used to do.

We went to New York city in September.
took the train out of Manhattan to the grand army stop.
found that bench we'd sat together on a thousand years ago
when i felt such love for you i thought my heart was gonna pop.
i wanted you to love me like you used to do.

But i cannot run.
and i can't hide.
from the wreck we've made of our house.from the mess inside.'

Track of the Day: Matthew and the Atlas - Everything That Dies

Today's TOTD comes courtesy of Aldershot-based folkster Matthew Hegarty, aka Matthew and the Atlas. Featuring his signature gorgeous, smokey vocals, the track has an ambient-pop feel to it's back beat, with a resonating base-line and crawling percussion; alongside this sit the more traditional harmonies which he's made a staple over his career.

Following numerous EP's to date, Matthew recently posted on his Facebook that he'd 'Finished recording the album and now busy mixing it', so fans will be happy that the long wait for a debut album look to be drawing to a close. If the rest of it's as good as this then it looks to have been worth it....

My 2013 in Music..... Thus Far (Part One)

When the 11th hour of 2013 approaches, I know where I'll be; sat, happy in the wake of the festive period, but preparing to draft up the annual, self-absorbed 'end of year list'. With the previous January feeling like several lifetimes ago, I normally struggle with the same question - 'What have I been listening to this year?'. As a help to my future self, and in an attempy to pass on a few of the tracks which have been soundtracking my year, this is My 2013 in Music..... Thus Far:

1. Phoria - Red
With the release of 'Red' in March the blogosphere exploded. Hitting number 2 on the Hype Machine, and receiving rave reviews from Noisey, DIY, Clash and everything in between, the track gained both national airplay and over 100,000 Soundcloud plays in just four weeks. Their EP 'Bloodworks' was released the following month, to rave reviews; and although it was a really great collection of ambient-electronica, this track still stands out as one of the finest of the year.



2. Volcano Choir - Byegone
Justin Vernon is a truly special man. His work as Bon Iver will always hold a special place in the deepest pits of my heart - and regardless of the clichés which go with it 'For Emma..' holds its place in my top 10 all time albums. When I watched his new/old project Volcano Choir's new album release video and heard this track soundtracking it I was blown away. Rousing, intricate musicianship and his usual beautiful but ambiguous lyrics. Roll on the new album on September 3rd.



3. Okkervil River - It Was Our Season
Yet another excellent band gracing us with an album in September 2013, ensuring that the latter half of the year does not dissapoint. I absolutely adore Okkervil River, and the fact that they're not better known by music lovers or lavished with the wealth of both accolaides and money which they deserve, is one of music's many injustices. Here we see Will Sheff return to the piano and craft a song about the all-encompasing, emothional rollercoaster that is childhood love. It's incredibly witty and emotive in all the right places, showing great promise for the upcoming 'The Silver Gymnasium' LP.

 

4. Night Beds - Tenn
Nashville-based Night Beds, led by the vocal and songwriting talents of Winston Yellen, released 'Country Sleep', and album detailing the lows and even-deeper lows of their frontman's struggles with love and addiction. To put it in simple terms, it is absolutely incredible. With airs of Ryan Adams' 'Heartbreaker', the country-dowsed closer 'Tenn' is luciously downbeat with Yellen dropping lyrics like 'sorrow stole my youth/ what's left I'll give to you' with effortless skill.



5. Seasfire - Falling
I first heard this track on John Kennedy's XFM Xposure show, and was absolutely blown away by their luciously laidback, dreamy sound. The four-piece are based in Bristol and their spacious, lo-fi sound is definitely reminicent of city-mates, Massive Attack. With their EP 'We Will Wake' released to widespread acclaim, they are band of huge promise, who's debut album I'll be awaiting with baited breath.