Julien Baker

I couldn't agree more with the past few comments about a certain someone needing to be on here. It's an honesty travesty that I've neglected to include her on this blog for so many months now, so I simply can't excuse waiting any longer. Julien Baker is a singer-songwriter from Memphis, Tennessee who self-released her debut album on Bandcamp back in 2014. A year later it was picked up by 6131 Records and officially released as Sprained Ankle, and its caught a wildfire of attention.

These songs are gorgeously crafted, and the whole thing reads like a poet's diary. They are incredibly personal reflections on some heavyweight subject material. What Julien captures are some very tough and emotional topics and convey them in a simple, modest way. Much like her main influences Ben Gibbard and Elliott Smith, and all great writers for that matter, she can say a complex thing in a simple way. She's both very open and very relatable, making for a very personal listening experience, as I'm sure it is for a very personal playing experience. Her songs are accompanied by a very haunting, disparate guitar sound that borders the line between folk and ambient, which is obviously a very unique mesh. I can't say enough good things about her music, so just give it a listen if you haven't already and give her any kind of support where you can. Enjoy.

Sprained Ankle (2015)

1. Blacktop

2. Sprained Ankle

3. Brittle Boned

4. Everybody Does

5. Good News

6. Something

7. Rejoice

8. Vessels

9. Go Home

Audiotree Live (2016)

1. Sprained Ankle

2. Rejoice

3. Something

4. Go Home

Facebook

Bandcamp

Twitter

6131 Records

Koji

Andrew Koji Shiraki (who just goes by Koji) is a singer-songwriter from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He got started upon signing to Run For Cover in 2010. With nothing but his own voice and acoustic guitar, he managed to write some incredibly catchy and compelling songs that caught the attention of anyone who heard them. His voice is fantastic, and there's this energy when he performs that overflowing with passion and sincerity, which is what makes his music so powerful. He's heavily involved in numerous organisations and charities, which just goes to show that his passions are so strong that they go outside of just music. His more recent material, and debut full-length (which is now two years old) incorporate more instrumentation, which just elevate his core songwriting to new levels.

Koji is one person I definitely encourage you to support, not only is his music amazing, but he just flat-out seems like a great guy. Most of his music is available through his music on a Name-Your-Price basis, which is commendable and deserving of anything that can be given. If that's not a possibility, enjoy it here. I should have done a post on him long ago, so here it is, very overdue (as so many posts are, haha). Enjoy.

Spring Song Vol. 1 (2010)

1. Eating Lemons

2. Monsters/Stay

3. Most Of Everything

4. Color Quiet Loud

5. Like We Do

6. To The Dogs

7. Little Bird

8. Minute 7

9. Wagon Wheel

10. Spring Song

Some Small Way (2010)

1. Eating Lemons

2. Waking Up

3. Stay

4. Windows (Live)

5. Color Quiet Loud

IIOI/KOJI (2010)

1. Into It. Over It. - Wicker Park

2. Into It. Over It. - Humboldt

3. Into It. Over It. - Ravenswood

4. Into It. Over It. - Pilsen

5. Into It. Over It. - Logan Square

6. Koji - Most Of Everything

7. Koji - All Below

8. Koji - Matches

9. Koji - Shift

10. Koji - Giants Sleeping

Never Come Undone (2011)

1. La Dispute - Sunday Morning, At A Funeral

2. Koji - Peacemaker

3. La Dispute - Last Blues

4. Koji - Biomusicology

Crooked In My Mind (2013)

1. Chasing A Ghost

2. Near And Far

3. Spinning Silent

4. Distance/Divide

5. Fragile Times

6. Creeping

7. In The Line

8. Pang And Flash

9. What You Leave Behind

Off The Board: A Studio 4 Family Compilation (2013)

8. Breaking And Broken

Note: Full comp here

Matters EP (2013)

1. Hemlock

2. Like We Do

3. Placeholders

4. Matters (Of The Heart And Mind)

Fury (2015)

1. Fury

2. Breaking And Broken

3. Everyday

4. Question

Facebook

Bandcamp

A.W.

First and foremost, thank you so much to Andrew Canfield for sharing all of this with me/you.

A.W. is a singer-songwriter from Los Angeles, California. They've been writing and playing music for the majority of their life, and has finally made a name for themself, through their work with other artists, as well as their affiliation with No Sleep Records. A.W. garnered attention through the internet, by posting videos on YouTube, as well as a Kickstarter account to have their first album recorded. They've been keeping busy since then, knocking out song after song of their unique brand of indie pop, all led by their amazing voice and talented songwriting. They are so cool, they is so punk. Please try and buy their music or go to their shows, they really deserve the support. Enjoy.

An Eight-Song Tribute To Feeling Bad & Feeling Better (2007)

1. Competition

2. I'm Ready

3. Number Six

4. I Don't Want To Be Here

5. Love & War

6. Perfectly Alright

7. Analogy

8. Song Of Hope

The Only Girl At An All-Boys Pool Party (2008)

1. Let's Leave

2. July 25, 2007

3. Yer Goin' Down (Or Terror On The High Seas)

4. Let Me Go (Live At Wonder Root)

5. Stay Right Now

6. Boston (Or The End Part 2)

Live At Sidewalk NYC (2008)

1. I'm Ready

2. Try To Understand

3. July 25, 2007

4. Let's Leave

5. Time

6. Yer Goin' Down

7. I Had To Do It

8. What I Need

9. Umbrella (Rihanna cover)

10. I Don't Want To Be Here

11. The End

12. The End Pt. 2

& The Way She Likes It (2008)

1. I'm Ready

2. I Don't Want To Be Here

3. The End

4. Let Me Go

5. The Disappearing Act

6. Daybreak

Winter Mixtape (2008)

1. What I Need

2. Daybreak

3. Try To Understand (Live)
4. Break My Heart (Live)

5. The Disappearing Act

6. The End

...Was Right All Along (2009)

1. I Was An Island

2. Fingers Crossed

3. From You To Me

4. July 25, 2007

5. You + Me + Alcohol

6. Try To Understand

7. Why Bother

8. Yer Goin Down

9. Ghost Stories

10. Let's Leave

Wait For Me (2010)

1. Wait For Me (Acoustic)

2. Wait For Me (Live in San Diego)

Vs. The Earthquake (2011)

11. Let Me Go (Live)

I Was An Island (2011)

1. I Was An Island (EP Version)

2. Don't Go (EP Version)

3. Why Bother (The Age Of Rockets Remix)

4. I Was An Island

The Teenage Years (2012)

1. When We Get There

2. I Had To Do It

3. Stay Right Now

4. Oh Yeah See

5. I Don't Wanna Be Here

6. Here Comes Morning

7. Boston (ft. Chris Mansfield of Fences)

8. The Disappearing Act

9. Here's The Plan

10. I'm Ready

11. December

12. What I Need

Making It Up (2013)

1. Making It Up

2. Making It Up (Alternate)

Say What You Mean (2013)

1. Making It Up

2. One Way Love

3. Nothing Left

4. I Was An Island

5. How To Be Alone

6. Wait For Me

7. Don't Go

8. Hole In Your Heart

9. Say What You Mean

10. I'll Be Okay

Say What You Mean (Sideways Sessions) (2013)

1. Making It Up (Sideways Sessions Version)

2. One Way Love (Sideways Sessions Version)

3. Nothing Left (Sideways Sessions Version)

4. I Was An Island (Sideways Sessions Version)

5. How To Be Alone (Sideways Sessions Version)

6. Wait For Me (Sideways Sessions Version)

7. Don't Go (Sideways Sessions Version)

8. Hole In Your Heart (Sideways Sessions Version)

9. Say What You Mean (Sideways Sessions Version)

10. I'll Be Okay (Sideways Sessions Version)

Au Revoir (Adios) (The Front Bottoms cover) (2013)

1. Au Revoir (Adios) (The Front Bottoms cover)

Remember When (2014)

1. Remember When

2. Giving Up

3. The Fall

4. Call Your Girlfriend (Robyn cover)

5. Take You Back

New Love (2015)

1. The Sound

2. Who We Are

3. Counting Down

4. Golden Coast

5. Back To Me

6. Good Way

7. Out Of This Alive

8. Over You

9. Motorbike

10. New Love

11. The Same

Facebook

Bandcamp