Listening Assignments 7.23.07

1. Iron and Wine - Carried Home - Virtually everything Sam Beam writes ends up as beautifully distinct and moving as this newly released b-side. It would be right at home among its brothers and sisters on the upcoming album, but it's a little more of the slow-roasting Our Endless Numbered Days-era i&w than the experimental Shepherd's Dog. The bearded one can do no wrong. [from Boy with a Coin Single|Buy]

2. Jeremy Enigk - Oh John - Barely a year removed from his previous solo effort (which was 10 years removed from his first), one of the living gods of indie rock will release another record when The Missing Link drops in August. This is the only song available at present, a dreamlike ballad that calls to mind acoustic renditions of Sunny Day Real Estate classics "Explain" and "How It Feels to be Something On" with slightly less edge. Jeremy resists, in this song at least, the urge to break his voice over his knee in a fit of emotion, resulting in this little fantasy-inspiring preview. [from The Missing Link (out 8.21)|pre-order and get an autographed booklet]

3. Sparta - Atlas - I had big expectations for this record when Engine Down's leader Keeley Davis joined up on guitar and backup vocals. It's finally growing on me, thanks to some of the mid-tempo offerings like this one that tie things together on the album. This comes right after [current single] "Erase it Again", a potent 1-2 punch indeed. [from Threes|buy]

4. Rocky Votolato - Postcard from Kentucky - This alt-country crooner has been spinning yarns such as this for years now. It sounds like Jack Daniels himself, or what I imagine he'd sound like, if he were a heartthrob acoustic indierocker singing a pretty song like this. Probably on an old porch in a dusty backyard somewhere in middle America. [from The Brag & Cuss|buy]