Bill Baird

Outside of his recent work with Austin indie rock band Heavy Meddo, Bill Baird also releases solo music on the regular.  His new solo effort "Life Creates Itself" is due in September.  Pre-order the LP here from Royal Oakie Records LLC and listen to mellow, sunshiny "Yanaguana" below.

Runo Plum

Here's some wistful, lonesome indie folk from Minneapolis artist Runo Plum.  Check out "Butterflies" below and pre-order the upcoming "Bloom Again" EP here from Winspear.

Daily Jam - Coldest Night of the Year

English folk singer/songwriter Vashti Bunyan released a couple of singles in the '60s and then a full-length LP in 1970, and then left the music business for over 30 years before returning with new music in the mid '00s.  Around that same time, a collection of her singles and demos from the '60s was compiled, and it's one of my favorite things.  Check out a track from said collection, "Coldest Night of the Year," below, our Daily Jam.

Daily Jam - Music and Dreams

Here's a little psych-tinged soft rock that veers really close into yacht rock territory from singer/songwriter Robert Lester Folsom's 1976 album "Music and Dreams."  Listen to the title track below, our Daily Jam.

Whitney K

Canadian troubadour Whitney K dropped a new track today.  Hooray!  Listen to "Rosy" below and download it here from Fire Records.

Gus Englehorn

One more SXSW post (i think).  On the last day of the festival i caught the quirky alt-pop stylings of singer/songwriter Gus Englehorn.  Lo-fi whimsy straight outta the garage.  Dig on "The Itch" below and grab one of the last few cassettes of new album "The Hornbook" here from Secret City Records.

Rowena Wise & Didirri

I've been trying to put together a list of artists to check out during this year's SXSW, but it's slow going this time around.  Day parties and free showcases are trickling out at a middling pace this year, and for the first time, i find myself not knowing who the majority of acts are.  Whether or not that's a holdover effect of the festival's bullshit invitation to the US military last year that caused maybe hundreds of artists to boycott their official showcases, i don't know.  But in some ways, as big as this event has gotten over the last decade, in some ways it feels like it's dying.  And that makes me sad.  That's not to say that my investigations into the incoming onslaught of artists has been fruitless.  Case in point is the folk rock stylings of Australian artist Rowen Wise.  Here she is with fellow Australian singer/songwriter Didirri with new track "No Cure for Love."  It's pretty.  Check it out below, download it here from Beloved Records and look for her in Austin in a couple of weeks.

Tess Parks

London-based singer/songwriter Tess Parks is set to release new album "Pomegranate" in October.  Listen to the airy, daydreamy "Koalas" below and pre-order the LP here from Fuzz Club and Hand Drawn Dracula.

Daily Jam - The Kiss

Judee Sill was a fold singer/songwriter in the '70s.  She recorded and released two albums before her death by overdose in 1979.  Her most notable song is probably "The Kiss" from 1973's "Heart Food" LP.  Let's listen to it.  Check it out below, our Daily Jam.

Razor Braids

The excellently named Brooklyn band Razor Braids are playing around Austin this week for SXSW.  If you're out there, check out their brand of cool and breezy singer-songwriter indie pop.  In the meantime, listen to "Nashville, Again" below and download it and a cover of Weezer's "Buddy Holly" here.

Daily Jam - Jerome

Jim Sullivan was a singer/songwriter from southern California who made psych-tinged, folky, Americana in the '60s and '70s.  He disappeared without a trace in New Mexico in 1975.  Here's a track from his 1969 debut.  Listen to "Jerome" below, our Daily Jam.

Whitney K.

Canadian singer/songwriter Whitney K released one of my favorite albums from last year and he's back in May with a new EP of folk on "Hard to Be a God."  Check out "While Digging through the Snow," a delicate piece accompanied by strings that for some reason is absolutely devastating to me.  Wow.  Listen below and pre-order the record here from Maple Death Records.

Maria Elena Silva

I missed Kansas artist Maria Elena Silva's "Eros" LP when it dropped back in October, but i'm remedying that now.  It's something else, an entrancing mix of folk, jazz, and otherness that features LA jazz musician Jeff Parker among the backing band.  Silva's sometimes whispered vocals, sung in both English and Spanish, hang like specks of dust in the air, moving this way and that to the band's improvisations.  Check out the album opening "December" below and get the record here.

Eve Adams

LA singer/songwriter Eve Adams just released her new album "Metal Bird" over the weekend, and it's a striking folk record with flourishes of jazz and cinematic orchestration.  The artist describes the sound and vibe of the record as folk-noir, and that term probably captures the tone perfectly.  Check out "Butterflies" below and order the album here.

Jess Cornelius

There seems to be an almost inordinate amount of artists and bands from New Zealand and Australia working their way into my repertoire, and the latest is the now LA-residing singer/songwriter Jess Cornelius.  Check out her latest single, the folky, alt-rock leaning "No Difference," and get it from the artist here.

Aldous Harding

New Zealand folk singer/songwriter Aldous Harding has one of those strange and almost mystical voices that makes her sound both otherworldly and entrancing.  It's a haunting but soothing coo that feels of the earth and far away.  New album "Designer" is out in April on 4AD.  Pre-order it here and watch the video for "The Barrel" below.

Alice Phoebe Lou

Here's some lovely new pop music from singer/songwriter Alice Phoebe Lou that meshes elements of soul, psych pop, and more into a beautiful little nugget of sound.  Watch the video for "Something Holy" below, look for her upcoming album "Paper Castles" in March, and catch her at SXSW.

Jessica Pratt

It feels like it's been a while since we last heard from Jessica Pratt.  Maybe?  Maybe not?  Anyway, her latest, "Quiet Signs," is out today, a collection of nine sparse and minimalist folk songs with an eerie, otherworldly feel to them.  Her voice sounds like it's being broadcast from another dimension.  Check out "This Time Around" below and get the record here from Mexican Summer.

Steve Gunn

Singer songwriter Steve Gunn has a new album headed our way in January via Matador.  Check out the video for the folky, psych pop-tinged "New Moon" below and pre-order the album here.

Father John Misty

Father John Misty continues to make fantastic singer/songwriter pop music, simultaneously calling back to decades of material that came before while pushing ever forward.  The upcoming "God's Favorite Customer" LP, due in June on Sub Pop, feels a little scaled back from last year's epic, and arguably overstuffed, "Pure Comedy," but just as vital.  Listen to "Just Dumb Enough to Try" below and pre-order here.