Brian Fallon - Painkillers (2016)

Genre: Folk / Punk / Alternative Rock
Website: Bandcamp
For Fans Of: The Gaslight Anthem, Tom Gabel, Chuck Ragan
Track List:
- A Wonderful Life
- Painkillers
- Among Other Foolish Things
- Smoke
- Steve McQueen
- Nobody Wins
- Rosemary
- Red Lights
- Long Drives
- Honey Magnolia
- Mojo Hand
- Open All Night

Description:
I'm just going to get this out there right now, I'm not a fan of the Gaslight Anthem.  I mean, yeah, I have The '59 Sound, but I think everyone does.  I'm not saying they are bad by any means, they are very good, it's just not my cup of tea.  Matter of fact, I'm not even a tea kind of guy, I prefer coffee.  Brian Fallon's solo album, Painkillers, is that coffee.  I don't know why I enjoy this so much more than anything Gaslight has released, but for me it has more substance and it could have easily been a Gaslight album.  I get a lot of blues and country vibes from this as well, nothing overbearing but enough to notice.  This was a request and a lot of times the requests don't get filled because I don't personally enjoy the bands requested, and I was expecting the same thing with this.  I was wrong, this is a really well done album and I'm glad that it was mentioned in the chat box.

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Run River North - Drinking From a Salt Pond (2016)

Genre: Folk / Indie / Alternative Rock
Website: Homepage
For Fans Of: The Killers, Franz Ferdinand, Arctic Monkeys
Track List:
- Intro (Funeral) Parade
- 29
- Run or Hide
- Can't Come Down
- Elam
- Ghost
- Pretender
- Anthony
- David Robinson
- Winter Wind

Description:
Run River North, formerly known as Monsters Calling Home, is an indie folk / alternative rock band from California.  This is the first release by these guys that I have listened to and it is one of the catchiest alternative rock albums I have listened to in a long time.  I mean literally every track is catchy as fuck and it's just a super fun album that really reminds me of old The Killers.  Or maybe new The Killers, I don't know I haven't listened to them in awhile.  Anyway, this is slightly different than what I usually post but I promise at least some of you will enjoy this like I am.

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Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited (1965)

Genre: Folk / Blues / Rock & Roll
Website: Homepage
For Fans Of: Neil Young, Van Morrison, Leonard Cohen
Track List:
- Like A Rolling Stone
- Tombstone Blues
- It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry
- From A Buick 6
- Ballad Of A Thin Man
- Queen Jane Approximately
- Highway 61 Revisited
- Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues
- Desolation Row

Description:
I'm just going to leave this here for all of you.

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Julien Baker - Sprained Ankle (2015)

Genre: Indie / Folk / Acoustic
Website: Bandcamp
For Fans Of: Japanese Breakfast, Bon Iver, Daughter
Track List:
- Blacktop
- Sprained Ankle
- Brittle Boned
- Everybody Does
- Good News
- Something
- Rejoice
- Vessels
- Go Home

Description:
I actually got really uncomfortable with not writing something about this album after looking at it for the past hour or so.  I'm going to post a video of a live version of Rejoice which is my favorite song from the album.  Julien Baker is the epitome of writing sad songs about sad shit and being sad, and also death.  She really enjoys writing about death.  Or maybe she doesn't enjoy writing about death and it's the only thing she is familiar with.  I'm not too sure about that, but what I am sure about is that I missed out on getting one of the 100 pressed white vinyl records, I missed out on her album in it's entirety up until this point and I am vowing right now that I will never miss anything that this woman does ever again.  She's just amazing.  Watch the video, and the download link will be right below it!

Download link removed per request of label

Sledding With Tigers - Come On and Slam (2015)

Genre: Folk / Punk
Website: Bandcamp
For Fans Of: Ghost Mice, Ramshackle Glory, This Bike Is a Pipe Bomb
Track List:
- Retirement
- Aliens Exist 2 (Swackhammer's Lament)
- Take It From Me, Michael Jordan
- Short People by Newman From Seinfeld
- The Ballad of Charles Barkley
- Mon-tage
- The Big Game (Movements 1 & 2)

Description:
I really don't even know what to say about this.  I mean, it's a folk punk album about Space Jam.  Seriously, that's what it's about in it's entirety.  I just, I don't even know man...just download this and see for yourself.  It's hilariously awesome in every way possible, I feel like this is what I have been waiting for my entire life and I didn't even know it.  This is like if Pendleton Ward was in a folk punk band.  Yep, you know what? That's exactly what Sledding With Tigers is.

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Neutral Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane Over the Sea (1998)

Genre: Indie / Folk
Website: Facebook
For Fans Of: Jeff Mangum
Track List:
- King of Carrot Flowers Part 1
- King of Carrot Flowers Part 2 & 3
- In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
- Two-Headed Boy
- The Fool
- Holland, 1945
- Communist Daughter
- Oh Comely
- Ghost
- Untitled
- Two-Headed Boy Part 2

Description:
I'm not even going to describe this band.  You should be ashamed if you don't have this.  I will say this though, I listen to In the Aeroplane Over the Sea and Oh Comely at least 3-5 times a day.

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Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning (2005)

Genre: Indie / Folk / Emo
Website: Homepage
For Fans Of: Any Conor Oberst Project, Cursive, Elliott Smith
Track List:
- At The Bottom Of Everything
- We Are Nowhere And It's Now
- Old Soul Song (For the New World Order)
- Lua
- Train Under Water
- First Day Of My Life
- Another Travelin' Song
- Landlocked Blues
- Poison Oak
- Road To Joy

Description:
If you have to have one album by Bright Eyes, it should be "I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning" for multiple reasons.  The trembling despair you can hear in his voice, the beautiful instrumentals that coerce you deeper and deeper into one of the greatest things you will ever hear in your life.  Conor Oberst is a genius, and I don't think anyone can debate otherwise.  I get rid of music and bring new music onto my laptop all the time, but "I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning" and "Lifted or The Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground " will always have a place in my music folder.  Seriously, this is a must have album even if you don't "get" Bright Eyes.

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Alcoa - Parlour Tricks (2015)

Genre: Acoustic / Folk / Indie
Website: Bandcamp
For Fans Of: Chuck Ragan, Owen, Rocky Votolato
Track List:
- Old Habits
- All Dolled Up
- Codebreaker
- It Won't Get Better
- Always Chasing Me
- Come & Go
- Poison Acquaintance
- 13 Years Bad Luck
- For Holden
- Rations
- Famous Last Words

Description:
Singer / Songwriter Derek Archambault, who you may know from Defeater, has potentially the greatest acoustic album I've heard in the last 10 years in 2015's "Parlour Tricks".  You may remember listening to a song called "I Don't Mind" on Defeater's album "Empty Days & Sleepless Nights" and thinking 'Wow, what a change of pace for this band, but I fucking love it'.  Well, if you're like me when you found out the guy who sang it decided to create an acoustic group you were ecstatic.  (He even did an acoustic version of "I Don't Mind" on the previous EP).  Anyway, I think most people are quite familiar with Alcoa by now, but if you haven't heard "Parlour Tricks" yet, I would highly recommend that you give it a listen.

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