The label’s blurb contains a few words by Harris on her inspiration for the album and indicates where she got the title from:

When I was a teenager the wreckage of a sailboat washed up on the shore of Agate Beach. The remains of the vessel weren’t removed for several days. I walked down with my father to peer inside the boat cabin. Maps, coffee cups and clothing were strewn around inside.

I remember looking only briefly, wilted by the feeling that I was violating some remnant of this man’s presence by witnessing the evidence of its failure. Later I read a story about him in the paper. It was impossible to know what had happened. The boat had never crashed or capsized. He had simply slipped off somehow, and the boat, like a riderless horse, eventually came back home.

You can pre-order both albums now from Kranky (look for Grouper on the catalogue page and then click on the little flags to order via paypal).

P.S. If you are unfamiliar with Grouper’s work then I highly suggest checking it out. You can hear Dragging A Dead Deer Up A Hill on Soundcloud and can purchase her releases from most good music shops.

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“I think no matter how stable I am I will always be searching, I guess that’s what this album is about. The endless searching, the fruitless waiting, the idea of a home that is inside yourself”.

She contemplates love and life and death and does so in a way that feels both fundamental in some timeless sense, and also novel and fresh and raw. It is an album with melancholy that cuts straight to the bone but it also feels oddly comforting. I found myself becoming increasingly attached to the album with repeated listens. It wasn’t so much a “grower” as a “grabber”, it reels you in and won’t let go, and if you’re anything like me then you won’t want to be let go.

You can get the album from Bathetic Records, although the initial pressing of the record has sold out. A second pressing is well underway and the label says all orders with be fulfilled as soon as possible. You can also get the album as a digital download from most of the big music sites, and can also listen to it in full via Spotify.

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Their debut album, Fifteen, is out now on Aarght! Records and is available on Spotify for your listening pleasure.

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However Showalter was keen to avoid this story defining him and set out to write more music and hopefully avoid being tagged as the guy who’s house burnt down. The result, Pope Killdragon, is much more varied than his first effort but no less affecting. The sound is more complete and there are forays into genres other than the lonely acoustic songwriter. I hear similarities to Damien Jurado in some parts, Wintersleep in others. Some of the album, such as the song ‘Sterling’ remind me of Rob Kozelek’s Sun Kil Moon in the way that the song seems to keep going and going, a stretch of sounds that feel like they began before you were listening and continue when you stop. You get the feeling that you have caught only a brief section of a grand story that is always unfolding.

Pope Killdragon is available to buy from Ten Atoms, Bandcamp and is on Spotify.

P.S. Download the cover of ‘Wolves’ by Phosphorescent free here.

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Their album can found on Spotify and can be bought here.

Deer Park are going to tour the UK with Singing Adams in April*:

Sat 9th Apr – The Haymakers, Cambridge

Sun 10th – 10 Feet Tall, Cardiff

Mon 11th Apr – The Louisiana, Bristol

Tue 12th Apr – The Musician, Leicester

Sat 16th Apr – Brudenell Social Club, Leeds

Sun 17th Apr – The Deaf Institute, Manchester

Tue 19th Apr – The Lexington, London.

*Judging by the patchy schedule, I’d say it’s likely more dates will be added.

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’The Rural Alberta Advantage play indie-rock folk songs about hometowns and heartbreak, born out of images from growing up in Central and Northern Alberta. They sing about summers in the Rockies and winters on the farm, ice breakups in the spring time and the oil boom’s charm, the mine workers on compressed, the equally depressed, the city’s slow growth and the country’s wild rose, but mostly the songs just try to embrace the advantage of growing up in Alberta.’

I first listened to them back in 2008 when they released their debut album Hometowns (on Spotify here). They have since signed to Saddle Creek Records (alongside bands like Bright Eyes and Cursive) and are releasing a new LP, Departing, on March 1st (pre-order here).

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Their first album, The United Colors of Trouble Books, has been a favourite of mine for some time and they released another LP last year, Gathered Tones, which is also highly recommended.

You can buy some of their releases from Bark & Hiss.

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Meursault aren’t exactly new, they released their debut album, Pissing on Bonfires/Kissing With Tongues, in 2008 (with local label Song, By Toad) and released another, All Creatures Will Make Merry, to critical acclaim in 2010. Neil Pennycook’s grand-sounding voice is equally suited to the acoustic folky songs, the quicker electronic numbers and the fuzzy lo-fi efforts. Neil and Co. have what it takes to become huge, at least to the audience that listens to honest, well-crafted music.

“Bury me face down. Bury me so I might see the ground.”

*Video by Song, By Toad. Read Matthew’s blog for some hidden gems and brutally honest reviews.

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I must admit I was pretty late to this bandwagon for this one. I first heard of Wye Oak from an interview with Titus Andronicus, who were singing their praises of during SXSW in 2010. They described how the drummer (Stack) also played keyboard – one with each hand! Remarkable.

To prove that this band are far more than a gimmick, the title track from the new LP can be downloaded here. I’d highly recommend it.

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