This summer The Innocence Mission released their latest full-length, My Room In The Trees. If I had been blogging regularly, I would have certainly followed up, telling you how much I was enjoying the new album. Though I’m getting to this a few months late, I’m still thoroughly enjoying this album.

I was first introduced to The Innocence Mission around 1997. But this point they had already been a band for 12 years, with three full-lengths that had been released on A&M Records. The more I listened to them, the more personal they became to me, echoing deep inside. They became that band that I would listen to when I was in mood for deep introspection. And it was a mix of their songs that I chose to have playing in the hospital room when my first child was born.

I have always felt like I was stepping back in time fifty years when I listened to The Innocence Mission. It wasn’t because their sound was reminiscent of the `40s or `50s. Instead, it was the ethos of the songwriting that made me envision old photographs. It was as if their songs harkened back to a simpler time, as Karen Peris reflected on friendships and conversations.

The Innocence Mission’s music still strikes me that way, thirteen years later. As I’m listening to My Room In The Trees, I’m whisked away to a time of simplicity. Black and white photographs still fill my mind when Karen reflects on a conversation she once had, and her husband, Don Peris, noodles his melodies on guitar.

Still, after forming 25 years ago, The Innocence Mission is writing incredible songs that have a timeless quality. My Room In The Trees carries on their commitment to writing personal and beautiful songs. If you’re new to the band, this is a perfect album to be get to know them.

The Innocence Mission – God Is Love

Blessed Feathers is a new band we’re excited about. They hail from Wisconsin and we’re certain you’ll hear more about this band. This is a brand new video for their song FUDJ (Pawn Show Blues), produced by Wooden Lens.
Blessed Feathers – FUDJ (Pawn Shop Blues)

Led to Sea is the solo project of violinist/violist Alex Guy. She has provided strings for bands such as Xiu Xiu, the Dead Science, The Pharmacy and Parenthetical Girls. You can catch Led to Sea on a short West Coast tour with Laura Veirs this November.
Led to Sea – Is This The Last Time
Led to Sea tour with Laura Veirs:
10.30.10 – Santa Barbera, CA @ Soho
11.01.10 – Los Angeles, CA @ Troubadour
11.02.10 – San Francisco, CA @ the Independent
11.04.10 – Eugene, OR @ Sam Bonds Garage
11.05.10 – Portland, OR @ Doug Fir
11.06.10 – Seattle, WA @ the Crocodile

Kitten is a new band coming from Los Angeles, and released their debut album last week, Sunday School EP. Would you believe it if I told you that the lead vocalist, Chloe Chaidez, is only 15? I’m not sure I do either.
Kitten – Kill The Light

Chayenne Marie Mize recorded this beautiful song with Maiden Radio, Joan Shelley and Julia Purcell. She released it as a single on Bandcamp, and all proceeds from Over The Moon go toward the Norton Music Therapy in Louisville, Kentucky. (It’s only $1.)

Elf Power released their tenth album since forming in 1994, and they’re currently touring the West Coast in support of their self-titled album released this fall.
Elf Power – Stranger in the Window
Elf Power dates:
10/26 – Portland, Ore. @ Someday Lounge
10/27 – Seattle, Wash. @ Vera Project (w/ Women)
10/28 – Garden City, Idaho @ Visual Arts Collective
10/29 – Salt Lake City, Utah @ Urban Lounge
10/30 – Denver, Co. @ Larimer Lounge – new date
11/1 – Norman Okla. @ The Opolis
11/2 – Little Rock, Ark. @ Whitewater Tavern
11/3 – Birmingham, Al. @ The Bottletree – updated date

Efterklang has started a project called Efterkids for the purpose of supporting music education in public schools around the world. Efterklang is a exceptional band from Denmark, who signed to the US label 4AD Records last year. While managing their own label for years, Efterklang released their first US release, Magic Chairs. Their desire for Efterkids is to work with specific schools and helping them with their needs.

“The goal of Efterkids is to both raise awareness for the need for music in public education, but also to help raise money for specific schools that are setting the standards for combining academic and artistic excellence.”

The first Efterkids project is for New York’s Special Music School. Efterklang communicated with six talented kids from New Yorks’ Special Music School via Skype. As Efterklang performed, they were projected on a large screen behind them, and the kids performed the songs with them. They recorded and filmed the performances, then footage from the kids were pieced together with Efterklang’s performances, creating a cohesive video. The money they raise will help purchase a computer and software for the school.

Efterklang is also working on projects in Germany, Pland, San Francisco, and Boston. The video footage and composition for two songs, Full Moon and Natural Tune, are available for download. Efterklang’s hope is that other schools will join in on the project and help raise awareness for music in public schools.

“Besides the two videos and the donation part www.efterkids.com also holds course material (scores, mp3s with string and without strings) for Natural Tune and Full Moon. And we are hereby inviting string playing kids and their teachers around the world to join Efterkids. Since our collaboration with the kids from The Special Music School we have collaborated with 6 kids from the Duisburg area for this years Traumzeit Festival. We also have an upcoming Efterkids event in Poland and are talking to several others at this time. We would love to have more kids involved. You can play with us in your classrooms or at a special Efterkids event. Everything goes. Its all for fun, free and a good cause.”

When Great Lakes were formed in 1996, the original lineup included Jamey Huggins (Of Montreal). Ben Crum is now the primary songwriter, and their latest album, Ways of Escape, involved musicians from Mice Parade, Beiruit, Ladybug Transistor, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, and Ryan Adams. Summer Fruit is the leading single off Ways of Escape, which can be streamed in entirety on SoundCloud.
Great Lakes – Summer Fruit

Ravens & Chimes released their debut album in 2007, and have been working on their follow-up for the past two years. We’re told that it’s now finished, and here’s the first single, Division St.
Ravens and Chimes – Division Street

Australia’s Prudence Rees-Lee has spent most of her life formally studying the cello, but in the last few years she also began to delve into synth-pop under the moniker of Hammocks and Honey. We asked her about making the transition from cello to synth. Prudence responded, “At first I was really skeptical, because I’d just spent however many years studying to play things perfectly on cello, and then with synths you just had to turn a knob to change the sound, but then I realized that it’s a totally different beast.”
Hammocks and Honey – Simple Things

Song By Toad Records is releasing Yusuf Azak’s new record, called Turn On The Long Wire, on November 15th. UK’s Song By Toad, a blog+label, noted: “Turn on the Long Wire was recorded largely to tape, before being digitised, with Yusuf looping and layering his own vocals, strings and guitar parts to produce a sound which is kind of folky, but still rather eerie and idiosyncratic.”
Yusuf Azak – Eastern Sun

K Records artist, Young Hunting, has released a 7″ that is full of dreamy shoe-gaze wonder. The digital version of the 7″ is available at Bandcamp for $1. I’d say it’s worth it!

Glasgow, Scotland’s Belle & Sebastian have their first release in four years, called Write About Love. Check out their short film of the band performing several of their songs from their great (as always) album, a question and answering session, and short videos. Stuart Murdoch responds to the Do-It-Yourself approach to music: “This is the second big punk movement… is the whole Internet thing. It’s just kicking in now.”

Stuart also has a discussion with numerous artists from successful bands, conversing about how bands should embrace the DIY method and forget about getting signed or making a lot of money. They all agree that we’re witnessing a positive change in the music industry, where artists are making music because they are passionate about their music, and marketing themselves on the Internet.

If you’re in an independent band, I think you’ll be encouraged by this 29 minute video. It seems Belle and Sebastian’s message throughout is that you don’t necessarily need a big record label to get your music out. It points out that if the Internet hadn’t spawned a DIY attitude about music, “everyone would sounds the same.”

“If anyone believes there’s a long-term future making music along traditional lines, then bluntly, there isn’t. That went out with 1999.”

They also give a glimpse of their recording studio, and explain how they approach their records. First thing they do is rehearse their new songs and record demos. Then they compose the orchestra pieces while listening to the demos in Pro Tools. They try out sampled orchestra sounds on keyboards and record the parts via Midi. This gives them a basis to compose the music for a live orchestra to record.

Mp3: Belle and Sebastian – I Didn’t See It Coming