-The song I have really been digging most over the past few days is called "Dodecahedron" by Beth Jeans Houghton. She will have an album out in the fall, and this track definitely has made me excited to hear more. This isn't a tune about geometry. Rather, the image of a twelve-sided polygon with each face a pentagon (yes, I had to look it up) was part of a dream that inspired the song. It starts out with a pleasant upbeat verse and Beth's magnetic voice. Then everything opens up to a beautiful wordless chorus of chants that would make Jim James proud and makes me imagine an ice castle – the plinking xylophone really brings a wintery image to my mind's eye. Anyways, regardless of what it makes me think, it's a wonderful song you should all listen to from a promising young artist. Here's her Facebook page and her myspace if you want to know more.
Beth Jeans Houghton – Dodecahedron by Mute UK
-Amanda Zelina makes music as the Coppertone, which is perhaps a reference to her striking red hair. She performed the old blues tune "As I Lay My Burden" down with Dallas Green of City & Colour in honor of musician and producer Dan Achen, who worked with both before passing away. Unfortunately, I'm not very familiar with Dan Achen. Nevertheless, this comes across as a gripping and moving tribute. It may be just a man and woman with guitars, but I found the performance riveting. I love the slide guitar. Amanda's voice sounds awesome for a song like this. She has an album called Hidden Dreams that I plan to check out after watching the video below. You can visit her website here.
The Coppertone & City and Colour- When I Lay My Burden Down from Adrian Vieni (Wood & Wires) on Vimeo.