& THE SEASICK SAILORS

GUSTAV

GUSTAV & THE SEASICK SAILORS

[The correct, full-length MP3 of "Nightlife" has now been inserted in its proper slot below. My apologies to those that previously downloaded the truncated version. Me be dumb.]

I'm staying up past my bedtime this morning because I just received an e-mail from Sweden. Specifically, I received an e-mail from Gustav & the Seasick Sailors, an artist/band that I was already familiar with by way of their super-swell song "Angels Fable."

Seems that Gustav (just 20 years old, apparently) and his friends will be releasing an LP (Vagabond's Polka) in March of '06. I'm liking what I'm hearing thus far - lots of acoustic guitars and piano. Often gentle. Sometimes ever-so-slightly unhinged. Yes, it seems that Sweden has done it again (hell, even Madonna's sampling the Swedes).

Here's hoping that Gustav & his sailors receive many warm welcomes in many foreign ports...

[MP3] [left-click] "Nightlife"

[MP3] [left-click] "Mr. Moment and Miss Clarity"

[MP3] [left-click] "Minnie D"

[MP3] [left-click] "Angels Fable"

THE RIVER IS RUSSIAN; THE BAND IS FROM AUSTIN

OKKERVIL RIVER

Okkervil River is probably a pretty familiar band to those that regularly trawl the blogosphere. I discovered them first with the ragged epic "The War Criminal Rises and Speaks," and I've been with them ever since. There's something unhinged about these guys - the charmingly circuitous lyrics; the lead singer's cracked, semi-hysterical voice; the warm-yet-eccentric instrumentation. Somehow, they strike me as a more lo-fi and eclectic Decemberists.

Hard on the heels of their 2005 LP Black Sheep Boy, Okkervil River will release a bonus EP on November 22. Like everything else they've done, it will surely be worth a listen.

[MP3] [left-click] "No Key, No Plan [from the EP Black Sheep Boy (Appendix), 2005]

[MP3] [left-click] "Black" [from the LP Black Sheep Boy, 2005]

[MP3] [left-click] "The War Criminal Rises and Speaks" [from the LP Down the River of Golden Dreams, 2003]

[MP3] [left-click] "Westfall" [from the LP Don't Fall in Love with Everyone You See, 2002]

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THE MENDOZA LINE

Uh-oh... it's those nefarious boy-girl vocals here to beguile me again.... This time, they come courtesy of the Brooklyn-by-way-of-Athens, GA band the Mendoza Line. Their new LP, Full of Light and Full of Fire, will get its official release on November 22.

"Catch a Collapsing Star" gives us an idea what a duet between Bob Dylan and Neko Case might sound like (pretty damn good, natch).

[MP3] [left-click] "Catch a Collapsing Star" [from the LP Full of Light and Full of Fire, 2005]

[MP3] [left-click] "Golden Boy (Torture in the Shed)" [from the LP Full of Light and Full of Fire, 2005]

[MP3] [left-click] "It's a Long Line (But It Moves Quickly)" [from the LP Fortune, 2004]

[MP3] [left-click] "What Ever Happened to You?" [from the LP Lost in Revelry, 2002]

[MP3] [left-click] "Baby, I Know What You're Thinking" [from the LP We're All in This Alone, 2000]

[For more MP3s by the Mendoza Line, check out An Aquarium Drunkard.]