Just Rolled In: D.D Dumbo - "Walrus" and "Satan" [experimental pop / psychedelic / folk]

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Oliver Hugh Perry, the Australian multi-instrumentalist behind D.D Dumbo, and what may be this year's most inventive and infectious music, is nothing short of a musical genius. He made his mark back in 2013 with some standout solo performances and a subsequent 2014 self-recorded eponymous EP, creating his own bizarre sonic world by mixing psychedelia, pop, and folk with the aid of a microphone, 12-string guitar, two drums, and a floor full of effects pedals.

This year he released what immediately became my favorite song of the year, "Satan"—a chaotic groove that chugs along at a menacing pace and, compared to his debut EP, really ups the ante in terms of instrument/effects experimentation and vocal force. And if "Satan" wasn't enough to secure D.D Dumbo's upcoming Utopia Defeated LP as my most anticipated album of the year, Perry releases another catchy single, "Walrus", employing the same dynamic vocal range, frenetic fret work, and innovative approach to percussion and looping as its predecessor. I can't wait to see what other gems the upcoming full-length holds.

D.D Dumbo's Utopia Defeated hits shelves October 7 on 4AD. Grab a copy here. Check out the two singles below, as well as the excellent music video for "Satan".

Exclusive Premiere: Mother Meadow - "Pull Me Through" [indie folk / singer-songwriter]

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I’m excited to introduce everyone to a very talented singer/songwriter, Mother Meadow, who was so kind as to choose holaOLA to exclusively debut her first single, “Pull Me Through”, which you can check out below in the form of a self-produced video, featuring first-hand road trip and hiking footage shot along the beautiful Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina.  The song is the first single off her debut Shorebirds EP, which was recorded last fall at The Glow Recording Studio in Athens, GA and will be available August 26.

The young woman behind Mother Meadow is Bradenton, Florida’s Sadie Frederick, who lists Alela Diane, Feist, Railroad Earth, JJ Grey & Mofro, Donna the Buffalo, and The Lemonheads as main influences. When asked about the meaning behind 'Mother Meadow', Frederick explained that it “came from observations of nature during a cross-country road trip last summer” and that “the beauty of wildflowers in meadows, as well as learning to take care of [herself] and be more ‘motherly’” naturally inspired her to embrace 'Mother Meadow' as her moniker.

That very same love and and appreciation for life and nature shines through on Mother Meadow’s debut single “Pull Me Through” and its accompanying video. Frederick’s saccharine vocals and reflective lyrics paired with the strummy guitars, wistful strings, and sunny keys of “Pull Me Through” help to establish Mother Meadow as a rejuvenating folk artist with the gift of capturing the beauty of life in her songwriting.

After listening to “Pull Me Through” below, do yourself a favor and head on over to Mother Meadow’s SoundCloud page to check out two more great songs off the Shorebirds EP. Make sure to follow her on Facebook too so you can get your hands on a copy of her EP in August and maybe catch a performance near you!

Swell Album: Mothers - When You Walk a Long Distance You Are Tired [indie rock / folk / experimental]

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Mothers is an indie band from Athens, Georgia with one hell of a debut album and an unforgettable live performance to back it up. When You Walk a Long Distance You Are Tired came out a couple weeks ago and is currently my favorite release of 2016. Singer/guitarist Kristine Leschper's gorgeously fragile voice bears a striking resemblance to that of fellow indie folkstress Angel Olsen (whose last album wound up at #2 of our best of 2014 list), but Mothers makes a name for themselves by experimenting with richer instrumentation and more complex compositions.

What begins as a simple folk song with acoustic guitar and piano, the beautiful album opener "Too Small for Eyes" really takes off when it welcomes a sweeping string orchestra into the mix about halfway through. Mothers flips the script on the next couple of songs, "It Hurts Until It Doesn't" and "Copper Mines", introducing the listener to the more rock-driven sound that they do so well, with busy intertwining guitars and powerful percussion. Not unlike other bands drawing from multiple genres, on the rest of When You Walk a Long Distance You Are Tired Mothers balances these two different styles song to song before leading us to the epic 7-minute rollercoaster of a closer, "Hold Your Own Hand", which alternates between uptempo with downtempo, catapulting you into space one moment while channeling veteran post-rockers Explosions in the Sky, then abruptly cutting the power to let you slowly drift away with Leschper's voice as your only beacon. Instead of letting you coast to a smooth stop, Mothers caps their debut with a bang to remember, one final shot for the stars.

Stream When You Walk a Long Distance You Are Tired below and get your hands on a copy of the album here.

Swell Album: Marika Hackman - We Slept At Last [indie folk / singer-songwriter]

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London's 23-year-old singer-songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Marika Hackman has managed to turn lots of heads with her debut album, We Slept At Last, thanks to her gorgeous voice that teeters between wistful and brooding, her thematic exploration of the darker things in life, and her expertly crafted arrangements that serve as the haunting backdrop for it all. That ominous cloud glooms over most of the record, but it's those moments when it breaks apart just long enough to let some sunlight through that Hackman's artistry really shines.

Hackman's songwriting and the contrast throughout the record is what makes it so enjoyable—no one song sounds like the last. You'll hear drums on one track, and in the next, they'll be replaced by a string section, flutes, or just left out altogether. And if that wasn't enough, the introduction of electronic elements into the mix (vocoder-vocals, synths, drones, etc.) certainly makes We Slept At Last its own beast, and it's more proof of how versatile Marika Hackman is.

Stream and purchase Marika Hackman's We Slept At Last below and listen to her previous work here.

Standout tracks: 'Drown', 'Ophelia', 'Skin', and 'Animal Fear'

Swell Album: The Migrant - Flood [indie rock / folk rock / psychedelic / blues] (FULL ALBUM STREAM)

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The Migrant is the moniker of Danish musician Bjarke Bendtsen, which, intrinsically, is what he is—a migrant. Although Bendtsen is from Copenhagen, he is also a sporadic resident of Austin, Texas, a place he says "has everything a Dane needs" and where he even has a second backing band (for US tours), the first being in his natal city. He has been performing as The Migrant for five years now and has four albums to show for it, the latest being Flood, which was released this past January.

Flood is essentially a guitar record, something that is, unfortunately, becoming more and more archaic in the constantly changing world of indie rock. Throughout the album, Bendtsen skillfully draws from his colorful palette of influences—rock, folk, blues, psychedelia—to produce captivating songs that range from soothing ("Flood", "Silence", and "Row Row") to rocking ("Belly of a Man", "Water", and "Tiger"), and ones that find a happy balance between the two ("The Climber" and "Give Up").

While listening to Flood, a couple of my favorite bands/musicians come to mind. Bendtsen's nimble fingerpicking and tender vocals alongside the driving percussion on "The Fixer" wouldn't sound out of place on a Dodos record, while his occasional quivering voice and falsetto tend to give off Thom Yorke vibes, which would make sense seeing as Radiohead is one of his main influences.

Similarities and influences aside, Flood is an excellent indie rock album from start to finish with equal doses of folk and psychedelia injected into it. The fact that The Migrant isn't already flooding the blogosphere with his new album is beyond me, but he's got the perfect chance to change that this upcoming weekend in Austin, where Bendtsen will not only be playing with his local backing band at SXSW, but he will have a handful of songs featured in an independent film called Limbo that will be showing tomorrow (March 18) at the festival.

Check out the tour dates on his website or Facebook page and stream the entire album for free below. To listen to his first three albums in full, head on over to The Migrant's BandCamp page.

Artist Making Waves: Pat Hull [folk / soul / singer-songwriter]

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Originally from Connecticut, singer-songwriter Pat Hull is the son of two classically trained musicians and vocal/piano teachers who fortunately managed to pass on their singing skills and love for music to him. Growing up, Pat picked up multiple instruments like piano, saxophone, and cello, but fell in love with the guitar and starting playing with bands in his college years in New York. After graduating in 2009, Hull moved out to Chico, California for graduate school where he sharpened his skills, recording three albums with the help of other musicians. In 2010, he moved back to Brooklyn where he met and collaborated with Jason Beck and Michael Chinworth on his next two albums, 2011's Light and last year's Shed Skin. Now, Pat Hull resides in Santa Cruz, CA and recently put out his newest record, In The Yellow Room, which is a collection of intimate songs recorded live between 2011 and 2014 with bandmates Mark Robertson and Bob Reynolds at Yellow Room Recording in Portland, Oregon.

As is evident on In The Yellow Room, Pat Hull is one of the few great modern folk musicians with a soulful voice that enraptures you the moment it meets the microphone. My family and I had the pleasure of seeing him perform live on his solo tour this summer in Newburyport, MA, where he played for a small crowd of unsuspecting microbrew aficionados in a local brewery. He played for a few hours, churning out original songs along with a number of classic rock and folk covers that would have slipped by me had my mother not recognized the lyrics and started mumbling along. Everything sounded uniquely his own thanks to the marriage between his alluring singing style and complementary guitar playing. One thing is certain as you listen to Pat Hull play: His impassioned, soothing signature is left on everything he touches.

Jump on over to Pat Hull's BandCamp page to stream all six of his beautiful albums, or you can start below with his two latest records, In The Yellow Room and Shed Skin. Be sure to follow him on Facebook to hear about upcoming shows and releases.

Swell Album: Jordan Ruiz - The Mountain [indie folk / singer-songwriter]

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Screenshot from Jordan Ruiz's live video for "The Mountain" on YouTube

I get music entries from time to time here at holaOLA, but the music usually doesn't fit into what I like to write about on the blog or I don't really dig it in the first place. That's why Los Angeles singer-songwriter Jordan Ruiz has caught me completely off guard. He sends me a link to his new album The Mountain and after clicking 'play', as I would do with any entry, I am actually impressed by the opening bars; in this case, it's the artful acoustic guitar picking of the opening title track. Shortly after, his soothing voice floats in, taking on a loose resemblance to Iron & Wine, but before long, the song picks up into something genuinely beautiful, something that makes me think of Bon Iver. Horns come flying in with a pitter-patter drumbeat that escalates into an explosive chorus of uplifting heys, aahs and oohs (yes, in that order) to leave me truly inspired (...to hike up a mountain, maybe?). The only problem is that the song hardly makes it past two and a half minutes. Luckily for me, the remaining 35 minutes of the record help me maintain my newfound state of elation with nine more beautifully crafted ambient folk tunes that have so much heart that they also deserve comparisons to singer-songwriters James Vincent McMorrow and Ben Howard.

After listening, I'm left with the baffling question: With a voice this outstanding and an expertly-produced record, how hasn't Jordan Ruiz blown up yet? Well, I guess that's the nature of self-released albums on the Internet; we just have to give it time. In the meantime, take a listen to Jordan Ruiz's The Mountain below, share it with your friends, and buy a copy!

NoiseTrade is offering The Mountain and its five-song predecessor Sundial Heart, which is also great by the way, on a tip-what-you-think-it-deserves basis, or you can get the former on Jordan Ruiz's BandCamp page.