Julien Baker "Something"

Julien Baker's simple sounds of heartbreak are reminiscent of Birdie, but she's definitely got her own thing going on.  The 21-year old from Memphis has got something special.

Astrid S "Paper Thin"

While some of her other songs suffer from "Europop" cliché syndrome, this stripped down song showcases the young Norwegian's gorgeous voice.  She's going places.

Manchester Orchestra "Girl Harbour"

Atlanta-based Alt-rock Manchester Orchestra's last few studio albums have floundered since the perfection of Mean Everything to Nothing, and while their acoustic version of Cope might not be quite "Wolves at Night" and "Colly Strings" but it's got a lot of the same feel and angst of their first work.  "Girl Harbour" is one of the best offerings from this acoustic rock-scape.  Whereas Cope lost Andy Hull's signature vocals under a hum of reverb and poor mixing, Hope brings things together beautifully.

Aradhna "Namaste Saté"

I'm not going to pretend to understand Aradhna completely...but from what I understand, the main guy is a missionary kid who went through an intensive traditional Indian music internship and sings traditional Indian music with a Jesus bent on it.  Since I don't speak Hindi, I'll take their word for it and just enjoy the relaxing east meets west sounds.  :)

Fleet Foxes "Helplessness Blues"

One of the best NW indie acoustic folk songs of all time. 

Татьяна Соловьёва i Александр Блохин "Рэчанька"

Belorusian bard Tatiana Solovyova is hard to track down, but this folk song is a gorgeous acoustic masterpiece and I hope she does another album soon. Free downloads of her 2011 release can be found here at her website. 

Lindforest "Den Dag Du Faller Ner"

Blindside's Christian Lindskog has always had one of the most emotive and beautiful voices in the world.  The combination here of his native Swedish with gorgeous lyrics and a quiet acoustic sound is devastating.  Makes me cry almost every time.  :) 

Sufjan Stevens "Fourth of July"

If you missed Sufjan Steven's haunting comeback album Carrie and Lowell, you missed out.  The haunting personal and ethereal lyrics and music come back together in a powerful way.  "Fourth of July," with its little birds and simple images and synth grabs my heart like nothing else. 

Son Pascal and Anuar Nurpeisov "Englishman in Shymkent"

This went viral in Central Asia a couple years ago, it's a lighthearted expat love song to his new city and language...it's not every day you hear an Englishman singing in Kazakh.  Of course, the real reason this is on the blog is because, if you've listened to the song through, I know you're smiling.  :) 

Marcelina featuring Piotr Rogucki "Karmelove"

I hope Polish artist Marcelina does more music like this sad sensual acoustic love song.  It's simple, poetic, heartfelt, and lovely. 

Adam Sams "Progress"

Adam Sams is a pretty amazing singer-songwriter from Georgia/Califlorida.  His album  Tightwire was one of my top picks for 2014 and this song "Progress" is the most moving track.  Full of emotive lyrics with a unique acoustic folk sound, Adam's got a big future ahead.