9MARY | Fear No More EP

David D. Robbins Jr. | Their Bated Breath
9Mary “Fear No More” EP

So far we’ve mostly come to know 9Mary’s Flo Morrissey for the range of stunning covers she’s posted online, from her subtle versions of Tuxedomoon’s “In a Manner of Speaking” and Morrissey’s “Irish Blood, English Heart”, to her invigorating re-working of Sean Lennon’s “Dead Meat”. Now she has a debut six-song EP, “Fear No More”, a record that takes all her previous folk beauty and expands it into soft and lush rhythms, stirring musical honesty, and deliciously understated melodies. “Fear No More” is the blossoming of an artist, whose elegance seems bred in the bone. You can hear it in her high-pitched annunciations, the blood-red sincerity of her lyricism, and the earnestness of her approach. This is an album that respects music to the core, doing what all good music does: dig deep into the self and give substance to feeling.

Perhaps the most surprising thing about this short but sweet record is just how soulful it is in the old-world sense. The first track, “Show Me”, is earth rich and darkly romantic. It feels like a feminine version of a song Nick Drake might have written, glistening with a nostalgic reverence, diving into elemental themes like nature, time, love and innocence: “Show me the river where we swam / Show me the miles that we ran — from ourselves …” There’s a subtlety to the musical movement of “Show Me”, which begins with quiet but quickly paced acoustic-guitar chords, like a traditional folk song. But the introduction of percussion and ambient electric guitar, working like rivulets, transforms the song into a slightly different rhythm. Soon the track quiets again, finally ending with Flo’s voice unraveling like ribbon into the beautifully insouciant verse, “Don’t show me / I don’t want to know / I need, I need to learn to let go.”

Her song, “Blow Out”, is a dark and somber ghost’s whisper — both tranquil and tragic. But one of 9Mary’s gifts is her ability to turn airy distance into something intimate. The guitar work is exquisite throughout. “Possession” is beguilingly pretty in its careful mix of discordant guitar and lilting vocals. “Addiction” seems like a relationship song, charming with graceful acoustic and electric guitar. Besides “Show Me”, perhaps “Captivate” is the gem of the record, especially the lithely sensual sound of the chorus, “Why can’t you, captivate me like it’s true / You know I do it for you … “ It’s mesmerizing, and will leave a lump in the throat. 9Marys “Fear No More” is an impassioned fire of a debut. It’s full of dreams, fears, heartbreak, and the fragile feel of something so honest and delicate as to be soluble to the touch. Follow 9Mary on facebook, tumblr and at twitter. Note: All lyrics are unofficial. Read archived Their Bated Breath posts about 9Mary here. 

ROMAN RUINS | Mighty Love (Video)

A new video from Roman Ruins for the track, “Mighty Love”, from off a forthcoming full-length LP, “Homebuilding”, out February 28th on Gold Robot Records. Roman Ruins is 31-year-old Oakland-based songwriter and producer Graham Hil. The song is muted with dreamy ambient architecture. Tribal backing vocal loops mix with light percussion and drawn out lead vocals to create a hazy, downtempo style like a kind of psychedelic Yellow Ostrich. Watch the video below or listen to the song at bandcamp. — David D. Robbins Jr.

FRANCIS | Traktor (Simian Ghost remix)

I don’t post a whole lot of remixes at Their Bated Breath, unless they’re just that good — and this one is. Simian Ghost remixed a single, “Traktor”, originally created by the Swedish group Francis. The song is off Francis’ forthcoming February 27th release, “This Must Be Blood” EP, out via Strangers Candy/Playground. The Strangers Candy label website says a video for “Traktor” should be coming out shortly too. Listen to the remix below, courtesy of Simian Ghost’s soundcloud page. You can follow Simian Ghost and Francis at facebook. — David D. Robbins Jr.

BAZAN/DEERHOOF | No One Asked Bazan to Dance

This is the latest in a series of collaborative 7-inch records with a pretty cool premise: guest vocalists sing their own lyrics and vocal melodies over a Deerhoof instrumental. The a-side is David Bazan’s collaboration with Deerhoof on their song “No One Asked To Dance” that has been cheekily renamed “No One Asked Bazan To Dance.” (Listen below.) The b-side is a live recording of Bazan’s re-working of a Headphones song “Gas and Matches”. This 7-inch effort from team DeerBazan (I prefer Bazanhoof) is available on translucent blue vinyl from Polyvinyl Records (all orders come with MP3 downloads). – David D. Robbins Jr.

CHEYENNE MARIE MIZE | It Lingers (Video)

Cheyenne Marie Mize’s latest EP “We Don’t Need” is a different sound for her — which is to say she’s shed her solitary singing, lonely piano, banjo, and lush vocal harmonies, and in turn she’s picked up a couple of bandmates and a decidedly rougher edge. It’s always good to hear musicians take chances and expand their range, not that she needed it. Anyone who’s heard her older tracks, “Over the Moon” (2010), and the stunningly beautiful narcotic slumber of “Lull” (one of the most subtle and breathtaking songs I’ve heard since beginning this blog) know that she’s fine singing any style she wishes. I wrote up a quick review of her record months ago, after being given an early listen to it courtesy of her PR group. But the record is being re-released now that she’s a part of the Yep Roc label. It’s worth purchasing. And before you do, be sure to listen to her new sound, in the video for “It Lingers” below — posted by LaundroMatinee, those curators of very nice live video recordings of songs. The song is country-blues slow-smoked. It rattles like bones, and drifts prettily through electric guitar, and the haunting recollection of love: “It lingers above my bed / And it falls at my feet on the floor / It replaces the things I feel / With those things I felt before.” It contains one of my favorite Cheyenne lines, “Your face is all places I go … / Oh, let it go …” As far as the video goes, I love that blue tone LaundroMatinee get. It’s fitting. The website also posted a second video, for the song “Wishing Well”. Follow Cheyenne at facebook, tumblr, and twitter. Read more Their Bated Breath archived posts about the artist here. Note: All lyrics are unofficial. – David D. Robbins Jr.

PATRICK WATSON | Into Giants

And this week just keeps getting better. Canadian singer-songwriter Patrick Watson, one of the best singers around, has a new single out, called “Into Giants”. It’s off his upcoming Domino/Secret City release, “Adventures in Your Own Backyard”, which in fact Watson says was recorded at home. It’s a pretty, ornate track that seamlessly blends piano ballad, folk and baroque into a light reflection: “Time was running fast / While we were walkin’ so slow …” The record is set to come out April 16th in Europe, April 17th in Canada, April 30th for the U.K. and the rest of the world, and May 1st in the U.S. Visit Watson’s official website and you can grab a free copy of “Into Giants” courtesy of the artist. Look out too for Watson to be paired up with Andrew Bird on tour for what will surely be one of the best tickets of 2012. The dates with Bird are as follows: May 3rd in Philadelphia at Union Transfer; May 4th in New York at Beacon Theatre, May 6th in Boston at House of Blues, May 8th in Washington D.C. at The 930 Club, and May 9th in Baltimore at RamsHead Live. — David D. Robbins Jr.

Patrick Watson “Into Giants”

SASKATCHEWAN | The Morning (The Weeknd)

Florida’s Saskatchewan has a new cover out, a hazy version of The Weeknd’s “The Morning”. The band posted this note on its website, with the song: “A little more than a week ago a friend of mine suggested that we do a cover of The Weeknd. The idea was definitely a stretch for me but I figured it would be an interesting challenge. The end result of our version of The Weeknd’s ‘The Morning’ is like a forensics TV show soundtrack meets sleezy lounge jazz meets saskatchewan. I hope you enjoy.” You can grab the track for free via the link to the song provided below. It downloads from the band’s soundcloud page link. Follow Saskatchewan at facebook and twitter. — David D. Robbins Jr.

Saskatchewan “The Morning” (The Weeknd cover)

YOUNG MAGIC | Night In the Ocean (Video)

A new video for Young Magic’s molasses-dripping track, “Night In the Ocean”, a single off the band’s upcoming LP, “Melt”, released February 14 via Car Park Records. You can also pre-order the album at Insound. The video was directed by Andrew de Freitas. The video follows behind a video for “Sparkly” and a teaser for “Drawing Down the Moon”. The album track list is as follows: 1. Sparkly, 2. Slip Time, 3. You With Air, 4. Yalam, 5. Jam Karet, 6. Night In the Ocean, 7. Watch For Our Lights, 8. Dancer, 9. Cavalry, 10. Sanctuary, 11. Drawing Down the Moon. You can follow Young Magic at facebook.   – David D. Robbins Jr.

PHÈDRE | In Decay (Video)

Here’s a new video for Phèdre’s “In Decay”, a single off the band’s upcoming self-titled Daps Records release. The song is a fun and clever bit of bait-and-switch, with a jangly happy-go-lucky dance rhythm playing underneath a crazy narrative of lovers getting capped, dances in decay, a T&T explosion over tea, and a slew of lovers laying waste. It’s really quite playful and inventive. It feels like an ocean-side 80s track: “Wasted bodies, lying oh so still / So many lovers, in need of organs / He couldn’t help himself, / The lonely neighbor, invited him for pies / Three words, between her thighs / Well in search of him, his lover barged right in / A colt 45, cold done them right in / Lovers in the dust / Dancing in decay …” Note: Lyrics are unofficial. The band is the trio of Daniel Lee, April Aliermo, and Airick Woodhead. – David D. Robbins Jr.

PORCELAIN RAFT | Unless You Speak … (Video)

Porcelain Raft’s video for “Unless You Speak From Your Heart” was accidentally posted live last week on vimeo, and like a handful of other music sites I put it up here at Their Bated Breath. But it was really meant for today. Anyway, Porcelain Raft’s PR folks were wonderful about it. Seriously. E-mailed everyone who posted it, asking nicely to take it down until it was officially ready. So here it is. (My apologies to those of you who saw the post and linked to it, only to see me take it down.) This is Porcelain Raft’s second video for a single off his upcoming release, “Strange Weekend”. Porcelain Raft’s debut album is out as of January 23 in the UK and just yesterday in the U.S. via Secretly Canadian. Read archived Their Bated Breath posts about Porcelain Raft here. Note: Photo is a video screen capture. – David D. Robbins Jr.

SAINT ETIENNE | Tonight

It’s been awhile since I last saw Saint Etienne perform at a downtown Chicago club. Maybe about as long as the last time the band released a new single or album. Yeah, it’s been seven years since “Tales From Turnpike House”. One of the verses on Saint Etienne’s new single, “Tonight”, says: “It’s been too long …” Fans would agree. Welcome back guys. Currently, you can download the new track for free for the cost of an e-mail address. You can follow the band at facebook and twitter. – David D. Robbins Jr.

ANDREW BIRD | Eyeoneye

Andrew Bird released the first single, “Eyeoneye”, from off his upcoming release “Break It Yourself” which is out on March 6th through the Mom + Pop label. Can’t say it’s one of my favorite Bird tracks. Those would be the haunting quasi-political crooner “Sic of Elephants”, the sprawling “Skin Is, My”, and the languid beauty “Simple X”. But I can’t wait to hear the rest of the record. It’s one of Their Bated Breath’s “Most Wanted 2012 Records”. You can follow Andrew Bird at facebook here, and at twitter. – David D. Robbins Jr.

JOSEPH ARTHUR | Travel As Equals (Video)

Joseph Arthur’s music has never been more relevant than it is now. You might say the single, “Travel As Equals”, off the resplendent 24-song double-disc “Redemption City”, is the clarion call for the new record. It would be presumptuous of me to try to completely nail down this song’s meaning or message, stripping it of its wingéd beauty, because music is often such a solitary, personal thing. But one thing is certain, you may listen to this song in the cloistered confines of your bedroom, but it’s meant to unify people.