Maria Taylor with Andy LeMaster - Savannah Drive (2008)

This record is wonderful for a myriad of reasons. First, it's a collection of good songs, which is essential for any good record. Second, it's a sampler of sorts of Maria Taylor's solo catalog thus far. Six of these seven songs are acoustic renditions of songs selected from all three of her releases. Third, it includes Andy LeMaster of Now It's Overhead, and for those of you who have never heard a Now It's Overhead record, you're missing out. Fourth and certainly not last, despite the fact that it is made up of material previously found on other albums, it is something new entirely. The first, second and fifth tracks ("Song Beneath the Song", "Birmingham 1982" and "Leap Year," respectively) were taken from 11:11, Maria's first solo record. Track 4 ("A Good Start") was taken from her sophomore release, Lynn Teeter Flower, and tracks 3 and 6 ("LadyLuck" and "Time Lapse Lifeline") were taken from my personal favorite album of hers, 2009's LadyLuck. The final track is brand spanking new, a lovely little number called "Tell Me." Enjoy, friends!

For fans of: Azure Ray, Orenda Fink, Jenny Owen Youngs, Damon and Naomi

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Sibylle Baier - Colour Green (2006)

This record is a perfect example of the fact that ninety-nine percent of the world's best music never makes it to the radio. Recorded by German actress and singer/songwriter Sibylle Baier at home on reel-to-reel between 1970 and 1973, Colour Green was almost never publicly released. It wasn't until around three decades later when her son compiled the songs on compact disc and distributed them to family members as well as J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr., who then showed the album to legendary indie label Orange Twin, who released it in 2006. Baier's whispering melodies carry deeply personal lyrics like, "I grew up in declivities, others grew up in cities where first love and soul take rise. There were times in my life when I felt mad and deprived, and only the slopes gave me hope," over fluttering finger-picked guitar. I can't believe this was kept away from the world for so long, but now that it's been released, I'm unceasingly grateful for its presence.

For fans of: Nick Drake, Vashti Bunyan, Karen Dalton

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Chris Zabriskie - O Great Queen Electric, What Do You Have Waiting for Me? (2008)

Described by the man himself as "an album about failed love, lost religion and horror movies," O Great Queen Electric, What Do You Have Waiting for Me? is the sophomore solo release by composer and musician Chris Zabriskie. The record opens with "Time Life," a humorous recording of a voicemail (left by lo-fi legend Marc With a C) that brings the listener's guard down right before they get hit in the face with the awesomeness that is the second track, "I Can Be Your Love," a song filled with the fuzzy goodness that Neutral Milk Hotel and Sleep Station fans have come to love so much over space age synths that sound like they came straight out of the record store scene in A Clockwork Orange. The album is also home to a track called "I'm On a Talk Show" which sounds like it could've been taken from one of Ben Gibbard's solo tours. Intellectual listeners should be sure to check out the album's closer, "Joss Whedon." Long story short, this is nine tracks of sheer brilliance.


P.S.: All of Chris Zabriskie's records are available for free download on his website.

For fans of: Now It's Overhead, Ben Gibbard, Sleep Station

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