*UPDATE: I’ve added a track each from the latest Sun Kil Moon album as well as the Bruce Cockburn album I reviewed in this post onto my Muxtape – Listen to it HERE!*

..Since I’ve shared anything about the music I’ve been enjoying.

Lately I have been writing more music and enjoying my own personal creations,.. but this has not dissuaded my pursuit of new and interesting musical artists.

So, here are the albums/artists I’ve been enjoying:

Bon Iver: For Emma, Forever Ago

This is an album that takes repeated listens to fully appreciate,.. and, in the case of a few songs, begin to appreciate. This is an album of subtlety, layers, falsetto and looming disaster. The most accessible song on the album, ‘Skinny Love’ (listen to it here on my Muxtape), has a pretty standard singer-songwriter folk feel to it, but the rest of the record plays like an experiment in going as far away from that construct as possible. Alternately sparse and overflowing, this is a fantastic debut record that only reveals itself if the listener gives it time.

Bruce Cockburn: You Pay Your Money And You Take Your Chance

This is an old live record with 6 fantastic songs from Bruce Cockburn’s zenith as a songwriter. Yesterday’s post was the lyrics for ‘Call It Democracy’, a song on this album. Check it out and appreciate the poetic lyrics of good old Bruce.

Elvis Perkins: Ash Wednesday

Elvis Perkins is the son of a Anthony Perkins,.. famous for his role as Norman Bates in the movie Psycho and since passed away from AIDS. On September 11, 2001, an American Airline plane hit the first World Trade Center with Elvis’ mother on board. Needless to say, this debut album does not lack for emotion, a sense of mortality or catharsis. However, it all happens in a very old-timey folk style helped along with some brilliant hooks. His accompanying band is made up of a stand-up bass, pump organ and brush-led drum set. Elvis’ lyrics are particularly strong and the opening song is a of the ‘can’t-miss’ variety (listen to it here on my Muxtape). It’s hard to triangulate his sound, but I imagine that if you enjoy literate songwriting in the vein of Iron & Wine or Neutral Milk Hotel, this will be appealing on some level.

Robert Plant & Allison Kraus: Raising Sand

A lot of ink has been spilled about this collaboration and there is no question it deserves all the accolades it gets. The successful pairing of Led Zepplin’s front man and the Queen of bluegrass can be attributed to the fanciful instincts of T. Bone Burnett. The further genius of his record was cloaking the songs in a Lanois-style atmosphere (think Dylan’s ‘Time Out Of Mind’ and ‘Oh Mercy’). This record is chock-full of fantastic harmonies, perfect instrumentation and impeccable song selection. The first song, ‘Rich Woman’, is pretty indicative of the entire record and you can listen to it here at my Muxtape. This may be my favorite album of the ones listed here.

Son Lux: At War With Walls And Mazes

Thanks to Andy Whitman for turning me on to this great artist. The only way to describe this record is through extended analogy: Imagine that Thom Yorke left Radiohead and went to study under the Dalai Lama for several years. After returning from his sabbatical, Thom decides to re-record his solo album, ‘The Eraser’, using accompaniment from the New York Philharmonic,.. only he decides to retrain the players on electronica-instruments, keyboards, theremins and other random instruments. If that sounds appealing to you, check it out. Again, a sample is on my Muxtape.

Sun Kil Moon: April

Mark Kozelek has not come out with original material on an album since 2003. That, of course, was the perfectly suited ‘Ghosts Of The Great Highway.’ The long wait is over and man was it worth the time. ‘April’, in my opinion, is Kozelek’s best album ever dating back through his work with Red House Painters. The songs are long, unwieldy, repetitive and incredibly perfect. This album is another one whose virtues are only experienced through patience and intentional listening. It must be allowed to wash over and soak the listener to the core. I don’t have a sample song up because the individual songs are best appreciated within the context of the entire album. If you run out and buy one of these records, this one should probably be it.

Will Johnson: Vultures Await

Another extended analogy is necessary here: Imagine that Ryan Adams gets back on the hard liquor and for about six months the only thing he does is get drunk and listen to early Tom Waits’ records. Feeling inspired, Adams buys an abandoned property in the middle of Denton, Texas and records an entire record of Damien Jurado covers in the middle of a barn. That’s about as close as I can get to the sound and feel of this record. Check out the first track on my Muxtape.

Have fun listening and let me know your thoughts on these and other albums..R