As Heard on 5 Feet High and Rising

Here is some information of some of the new music heard on 5 Feet High and Rising recently. Come back often as I hope to make posts here more frequent:-)

Strand of Oaks - Leave Ruin



Following on the heels of the success of Justin Veron and his band Bon Iver we have another quirky folk album by another relatively unknown artist called Timothy Showalter. He records under the name Strand of Oaks. Showalter spent some time in the highlands of Northern Pennsylvania recording “Leave Ruin”, his debut album. Showalter wrote the songs for this album after he lost his house in a fire. Using borrowed instruments he wrote the songs in hotel room and on park benches. His style has been compared to Will Oldham and like Oldham you can hear the longing and desperation in his voice. All told a great debut from an artist to watch in 2009.

Doug Paisley - Doug Paisley



Not to be confused with his namesake Brad, Doug Paisley is a Canadian artist with a fondness for his countrymen Neil Young and The Band, Levon Helm in particular (yeah I know Helm was a yank) and enjoys writing and singing low key quieter songs. . Paisley also has a similarity to Bonnie Prince Billy (Will Oldham) whom he toured with recently. Pedal steel and piano fill the tracks as does harmony vocal from Simone Schmidt. It’s all done with just enough of a country feel to keep us interested.

Phosphorescent - To Willie



Matthew Houck, who records under the name Phosphorescent has made an album length tribute to Willie Nelson, simply called “To Willie” – a play on one of Willie’s own albums released in 1975 called To Lefty from Willie, a tribute to Lefty Frisell. Sounding even more laid back than Nelson (if that’s possible) Houck and a revolving cast of collaborators has produced a loving and respectful tribute to one of the greats. Houck has trawled through the extensive Nelson catalogue and has resisted the urge to cover Nelson’s better known tunes. Instead he has chosen some lesser known gems, the results of which are stunning and well worth a listen – or two.