The Bourgeois Gypsies: Faulty Fairytales

The Bourgeois Gypsies: Faulty Fairytales (Kaiam Records)

Folk rock, alt country; The Duhks

This is the second album by this 5-piece based in California. The band is fronted by composer, vocalist and guitar player Kaisa MacDonald, who can sing with a sweet or sour voice. Vocals by also guitar player Arnold Mitchem add variety to the songs. There’s nice guitar and violin play in these sometimes bluesy ("Bright", #11), sometimes rocky tunes ("Dry Land", #8) that also include fine ballads, like track 3 "Bluebirds." Track 7, "Train Song," is a cleverly funny one.

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Museé Mécanique: Hold this Ghost

Museé Mécanique: Hold this Ghost (Frog Stand Records)

Indie, folk rock, Andrew Bird, Sufjan Stevens

This five-piece is not from France but from Portland, OR, and this is their debut album. Accordion, keyboards, strings and bells plus melancholic voices create mesmerizing tunes that will take you to graveyards, empty streets, and other places populated with old polaroids and ghosts (like the Wright brothers’ in track 3, “The Propellors”). Perfect album title and perfect band name: Museé Mécanique is a museum in San Francisco of old music boxes. And this band sounds like a giant symphonic music box.

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Museé Mécanique

MICHAEL BARRY-REC: Streams in the Desert

Michael Barry-Rec: Streams in the Desert

Folk, Acoustic; Ry Cooder, David Gilmour

He comes from the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia and plays acoustic guitars and lap steel. Nice organ and bongos lay the background for spacey (all instrumental) songs. Just close your eyes and imagine water flowing through the desert. Barry-Rec is also a master mason and does amazing stone work.

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ANDREW BIRD: Noble Beast

ANDREW BIRD. Noble Beast (Fat Possum)

Folk rock

Singer song writer and violin/guitar player, Andrew is a true bird; he also whistles, claps and adds vocals accompanied by a full band. Nice, folksy, subtly complicated songs that will transport you to ancient roots sometimes with the help of old instruments. Bird was a frequent collaborator of the Squirrel Nut Zippers.

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This is the cover of the limited edition

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