Cougar Microbes

A few years back I was blown away by Elvis Perkins on one of his first ever shows in England with the band that later became known as Dearland. The individual performances and overall song structures blew me away and inspired one of the first posts on this blog.

Diamond Doves for to all intents and purpose is Elvis Perkins in Dearland minus Mr Perkins himself. I already had a lot of respect for these guys following that live appearance and the superb ‘Ash Wednesday’ album. Furthermore, they began popping up on all sorts of releases by the likes of My Morning Jacket, Bon Iver, Dr. Dog, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, and Okkervil River .

This respect was cemented when I recieved their debut recordings as Diamond Doves. The tracks possess an endearing warmth on that invites you in, makes you a nice cup of tea, places you under the duvet and fluffs up your pillows.

This initial offering shows a lot of promise and I eagerly await new songs. Meanwhile they are on tour with The Felice Brothers this spring, and play a residency in Brooklyn throughout March. Definately ones to keep an eye on.

TRACKS:

A collaboration between Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis (Bright Eyes), Jim James (My Morning Jacket) and M. Ward (erm, M.Ward and She & Him) was, at the very least, going to be interesting. Their reputations alone pretty much justify the moniker Monster Of Folk. Add the fact that they are already being reffered to as a “Supergroup” and expectations are naturally very high.

On the basis of new single ‘Say Please‘ there is a lot to look forward to when they release their self titled full length in September. Download it for free from their website (providing you are very polite)

TRACKS:

Say Please by Monsters Of Folk