The Clientele - My Own Face Inside the Trees

The Clientele play songs to hug yourself to, the kind of songs I used to phantasize of dancing to with Kelly O'Reilly at the school dance (we don't have Kelly O'Reillys or school dances here). Their music sounds frozen in time like a teenage crush, gloriously fresh and stomach-wrenching decades after.

the_clientele_-_my_own_face_inside_the_tree.mp3

1969-2003

Here are two unreleased songs by Elliott Smith, part of the 22 tracks that surfaced last week (and which can be found easily if you look hard enough), to remember him by.

elliott_smith_-_abused.mp3

elliott_smith_-_high_times.mp3

Sun Kil Moon - Exit Does Not Exist

Mark Kozelek goes berserk and releases a record filled with Modest Mouse covers, and unsurprisingly enough, it's awesome. "Exit Does Not Exist" is the best short song I've heard in a long time, and a great opener to Sun Kil Moon's Tiny Cities.

sun_kil_moon_-_exit_does_not_exist.mp3

The Walkmen - There Goes My Baby

The Walkmen are awesome. For those who need further proof, here's a 50s-heavy cover of the Drifters' "There Goes My Baby" that's part of a videogames' soundtrack -i was told it's an old-fashioned zombie thing, and i was also assured that videogames do get soundtracks nowadays.

the_walkmen_-_there_goes_my_baby.mp3

Laura Veirs - Black Gold Blues

On her last record, Year of Meteors, Laura Veirs succeeds in combining the best of the late 20th century's female singer songwriters, from Suzanne Vega to Cat Power and PJ Harvey, never forgetting to add pieces of her own flesh to the stew. "Black Gold Blues" is the most impressive piece on the record, a song you may want to listen twice, for no particular reason.

laura_veirs_-_black_gold_blues.mp3

Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan - Ramblin' Man

In this piece, Mark Lanegan as the Tom Waits-mouthed wolf stares conspicuously at Isobel Campbell as the red riding hood. It's a Hank Williams tune, and also one of the highlights of the impromptu duo's record, Ballad of the Broken Seas.

isobel_campbell_and_mark_lanegan_-_ramblin_man.mp3 (final version)

Arizona Amp and Alternator - Blue Blue Marble Girl

Howe Gelb doesn't sleep. During daytime he records songs with people, and at night he plays the best show you have seen in years. Arizona Amp and Alternator is a new project, featuring people from Denmark as well as Grandaddy guys and Scoutt Niblett (among others), and just like most of Howe Gelb's records, it's split between great charming songs -such as this one- and songs that would be bad if they were not charming. Still, still.

arizona_amp_and_alternator_-_blue_blue_marble_girl.mp3

Casiotone for the Painfully Alone - Roberta C (version)

Part of Tomlab's Alphabet 7" series, this new version of Twinkle Echo's "Roberta C" is slightly, and most effectively different. It has better beats, better vocals -almost tom waits-like-, actual strings that turn the whole song into a charming piece, strongly underlining Owen Ashworth's punchline : "true love is hard to find". If this song (along with its casio-free b-side) hints towards the sound of the next Casiotone for the Painfully Alone record, it should be a huge step forwards for the guy, and something worth waiting for.

casiotone_for_the_painfully_alone_-_roberta_c_(version).mp3