Elliott Smith - Elliott Smith

Label: Kill Rock Stars
Genre: Indie Folk
Year: 1995
Recommended by: Pat S.

This is a good album for a rainy day. Well a rainy day that you would like to mope around the house and cuddle into some blankets.

I first listened to this in High School when everything is heartbreaking, and nothing is surmontable(sic).  His limited production makes the album feel more intimate while his song writing escape the feeling of a cheap and whiny teenage angst.

If you are interested in mysteries, you should read up on his death, as this record label proves ominous. 

Margot and the Nuclear So and So's - The Dust of Retreat

Label: Artemis Records/ Standard
Year: 2006
Genre: Indie Folk
Recommending Person: Leslie Kramer's cool Niece Mollie

This is another band where when people would bring them up I would just nod my head and agree they were good. I had only heard a handful of their songs previously, but not enough to form a real opinion outside the generic cool people crowd.

All the songs are enjoyable on their own. For me it is missing on big song to really bring the album together as a whole. It has a bit of a malaise going through the album all at once. It's a 2006 album, which means it was during a time people were still pretending having a cogent album was important. Another time in my life I'm sure I would have loved a record like this, but it's just a bit to lower energy without raw emotion that I would need as a replacement. 

The worst part, is that I think the music itself does have a tempo to keep the energy up, probably leading to a better live show experience than one on headphones, but the voice of Richard Edwards is a bit lower key and can get lost in the song. "Talking in Code", "Quiet As A Mouse", and "Skeleton Key" are definitely songs I would come back for a listen.