Back in the summer of 2008 I first shared with you about a friend of mine that had released an short little self-produced EP called Four for the Road. Well 3 years later Cass Harris has not given up on the dream and is currently working towards a big-time record release. He doesn’t want to just settle for another short little EP recorded with his buddies in some home studio in his cousin’s friend’s mom’s basement. He is doing everything he can to do it right, which means not only a legit studio with great equipment but he’ll be recording with a great team of musicians and then heading down to Houston for mixing by Jay Snider. Snider has worked on albums for both Robbie Seay and Brandon Heath, and most notably is a part of the team that has brought us SerialBox Presents, which is almost like a video version of Daytrotter that has featured such great artists as Paper Route, Balmorhea, David Ramirez, and Trent Dabbs. You should definitely check it out. But more importantly you should check out Cass Harris’ Kickstarter page and consider making a pledge to help these songs see the light of day. The guy is a stellar songwriter and this would be well worth it. Plus your donation doesn’t just go to getting the album made, it gives you a copy of the album or more. Again, worth it. If you can afford it, I recommend choosing the option that comes with Cass cooking a meal at your home. Check out this video below.
The follow-up to Leslie Feist’s delightful 2007 album, The Reminder, is almost here. To say this album is highly anticipated would be an understatement. Metals will be the name of the new record, and it is set to release on October 4th via Interscope Records. The past couple weeks she has been teasing us with a series of video vignettes that can be found here. Finally we’ve been given the first single from the album to stream in full. The track is titled “How Come You Never Go There” and is a very intimate and lovely track. Not exactly what I expected. It’s a very chill track and reminds me a lot of her earlier works, but it sounds very fresh at the same time. I won’t be surprised at all if this ends up being high on my year-end list. Take a listen and let us know what you think.
NPR’s First Listen series is currently streaming the new Beirut album, which isn’t due out until the end of the month. After just one listen, I am already a huge fan of The Rip Tide. No surprise here though, I have devoured with great pleasure everything that Zach Condon and company have previously released, and I think this album will be no different. Musically it picks up right where they left off; another gorgeous baroque pop album with some absolutely fantastic arrangements. It’s a short record, clocking in at just over 33 minutes, but it packs quite a punch. I just found it to be breathtakingly beautiful, especially the short and sweet “Goshen.” Anyway, I am a fan of the record, but fortunately you can check it out for yourself before making the purchase. It will be streaming here until its official release date on August 30th. Go here to download the first single, “East Harlem.”
Our favorite folk-rock duo recently paid a visit to the fellas over at Daytrotter and delivered a pretty stellar performance, as has become expected. Over six months after its release, I still can’t get enough of their debut album, Barton Hollow. If you still haven’t listened to this record, you can get it for only $6 on AmazonMP3 right now. The highlight of their Daytrotter session is their incredible, stripped down and intimate version of The Smashing Pumpkin’s rock hit, “Disarm.” You can listen to that song below. Head over to Daytrotter to hear the rest of the session.
right now. The highlight of their Daytrotter session is their incredible, stripped down and intimate version of The Smashing Pumpkin’s rock hit, “Disarm.” You can listen to that song below. Head over to 
