Santa Barbaran Becky Stark (Lavender Diamond) and honorary-Santa Barbaran Tom Brosseau (a long-time visitor to town going back to the halcyon days of Buffalo Records in-stores) showed up to their Black Cab Session with some dude named John C. Reilly.  Regardless, watch below as the three wise ones sing another of their standard (thankfully) standard’s, Rosyanne, in honor of the Cabbie’s new-born child.  Subtle beauty is this trio’s calling card.  They play London’s St. Giles Church tonight at 7:30 pm.  Go there.

John Reilly & Friends – Rosyanne from Black Cab Sessions on Vimeo.

While Adele has been off accepting suspect awards for a questionable one-off (Skyfall), Scotland’s Emeli Sandé has taken over the airwaves in her native UK following the release of debut album Our Version of Events.  We confess to being late to her game, but last night Sandé appeared with her band on the Jimmy Kimmel Show and demonstrated why she is dominating.  Could a part of the allure be attributable to the depth and substance in her well-wrought lyrics?  We can only hope.  Watch as they perform her heartwarming ode to her faithful one, Next To Me.

After, watch a superb unplugged version of the same song (while accompanied by Wayne Plummer on acoustic guitar) on Minneapolis’ The Current, followed by an acoustic-reggae rendering of the similarly warming Where I Sleep.  Finally, watch her rapturous performance of her soul-stirring Heaven for QTV.  There’s a new diva in town, and her name is Emeli Sandé.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkULAKSIAwU&feature=em-uploademail

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfg3YZWMSgo&feature=em-uploademail

Last night Jim James appeared on the Jimmy Fallon Show on the eve of his release of his first solo album Regions of Light and Sounds of God.  Check out James, Questlove and The Roots performing A New Life off the new album.

LA’s Local Natives are out in support of their new, highly-acclaimed album Hummingbird.  For the next 24 hours only, you can watch 38 minutes of highlights (in HD) from their Music Hall of Williamsburg show in Brooklyn last Friday (courtesy of Bowery Presents).  Always with the Brooklyn!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bO1ehklQ1Xw

Last week saw Studio Q sharing Palma Violets’ performance of Best of Friends.  Today check out the young Brit band performing Tom The Drum, also off their impending debut album.  Talking ’bout their generation?  Or is it their 20th nervous breakdown?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElbT9lHqFwc&feature=em-uploademail

We confess we were never fans of The Carpenters.  Their ostensibly treacly songs always caused an insulin crash in our souls.  But after Karen Carpenter passed away (30 years ago to the day, from heart failure attributed to her anorexia), we couldn’t help but go back and reassess the saccharine.  And here and there, you could hear the pain in Karen’s voice.  So on this Monday, though it’s not raining outside (in California anyway), check out Karen Carpenter singing one of their mega-hits, Rainy Days and Mondays.  Sometimes it only rains within.

As mentioned yesterday, Frightened Rabbit will soon release its new album Pedestrian Verse that is riddled with eloquent anthems. If you haven’t heard it, you can stream it via the Guardian link embedded in yesterday’s post.  Or you can watch the band below as they performed one of the album’s centerpieces, State Hospital, on KEXP while in Seattle on tour last October.  After, check out Boxing Nights and Scottish Winds (neither of which are on the new album) from last year’s State Hospital EP.   Great stuff from this heady band.

State Hospital:

Boxing Night:

Scottish Winds:

Like many, we glommed onto My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless album back in 1991 and let the melodic-drone wash over us.  Good thing we did since it would be their last album…until 22 years later.  The band is back with a new album ingeniously titled MBV.  You can listen to the lead track She Found Now off the album below.  If you like what you hear (and we do), you can go buy the album HERE. 

We’ve been fans of Scottish band Frightened Rabbit for quite a while, but their new album Pedestrian Verse takes matters to a whole ‘nother level. You can still stream the entire album HERE.  Catch ’em in smaller venues while you can before demand pushes them into stadiums.  In contrast to the spangled anthemic arrangements found on the new album, check out the band below playing one of the album’s great songs, Late March, Death March, unplugged and open-booked.

Unbeknownst to us, in 2010 Kathleen Edwards and a host of Canadian musicians were featured in short film Dead Flowers  (written, produced and directed by Ryan Furlong) in which Edwards “plays an unhappily married woman who finds herself in the presence of two manipulative grifters (Tim Gibbons & Tom Wilson) and becomes overwhelmed by the possibility of something more than the safety of her suburban life with her husband (Mat Willson).”

Check out below a recently released trailer for the film that features the stellar song Break Your Body by Canadian band LeE HARVeY OsMOND (led by Tom Wilson).  The video and song serve as an announcement that the band will soon release their second album of “acid folk,” The Folk Sinner (which you can stream HERE).  The new album was produced by Michael Timmins (Cowboy Junkies) and features guest artists such as Margo Timmins (Cowboy Junkies), Hawksley Workman, Colin Linden, Oh Suzanna, Andy Maize, Paul Reddick, who are portions of Cowboy Junkies, The Sadies, Skydiggers, and Blackie And The Rodeo Kings.

Check out the video and song below in which the band’s Tom Wilson and Hawksley Workman trade singing leads in fine fashion, and sax, horns and vibraphone fill in nicely in the spare arrangement.  The song’s lyrics follow the video.  Oh, and Kathleen Edwards acquits herself quite well (as usual) in the film.  Spooky good.

Break Your Body Down

Now does anybody know, where the pain goes
All my enemies are diggin’ in , and I’ve lost sight
I want to tell you, but I’m keeping it cool
I’ve wasted…all these days

And oh little and wild
You’re my flame and I’m your charity
I need a Christ of change
Won’t you break your body down
Won’t you bring your body down
Won’t you break your body down
For me

We’re all built like bullets we love the speed
No one tells us,  when we’re gone
I’m alone in here, and the streets are dead
I’ve been dragging rusted chains
Hush hush baby , cause I’m keeping it cool
And I’m wasting , all these days
And I’m wasting , all these days

And oh little and wild
You’re my flame and I’m your charity
I need a Christ of change
Won’t you break your body down
Won’t you bring your body down
Won’t you break your body down
For me