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Shae – William Elliott Whitmore and Jenny Hoyston, Hallways of Always EP (2012)
Boot-stomping and banjo-picking William Elliott Whitmore and improvising noise punk Jenny Hoyston (of Erase Errata and Paradise Island) sound like a strange pairing, doesn't it? And maybe it is strange, but it works on their album, Hallways of Always. Here, Hoyston shows off her folky side with a clear voice reminiscent of Maria Taylor or Judee Sill. Whitmore replaces his usually dusty bellowing with a softer croon and his banjo is more melancholy and tempered by a humming organ. Together, their voices blend into something angelic. The album's one drawback, if I can even call it that, is the track, "Black Iowa Dirt" which sounds as though it were an outtake from one of Whitmore's solo records, completely devoid of Hoyston.

Leilani – Thao & The Get Down Stay Down, We the Common (2013)
I fell in love, hard, and her name is Thao Nguyen. This is her project with multi-instrumentalist Adam Thompson; she, too, plays multiple instruments and sings like a sweet piping bird against richly-hued roots-folk songs with drunken melodies and eclectic sonic embellishments. Listen to a duet with Joanna Newsom, "Kindness Be Conceived," after the jump; review forthcoming.

This article appears in Jan 31 – Feb 6, 2013.

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