As a service term, hospitality represents the welcome, care, and entertainment of guests and strangers. The band, though, gives the term a meaning of its own.

Brooklyn band Hospitality is fronted by Kansas City’s Amber Papini, whose voice dances in the influence of Artists like Regina Spector, Laura Gibson, and Jesy Fortino. She combines the most exciting points of all three and pairs the delivery with a sturdy backing band that features Brian Betancourt on bass/vocals and the electro-guru-turned-drummer, Nathan Michel.

The band has recently put out a self titled album that’s received great reception. The track “All Day Today” is a perfect example of the lovably upbeat feel of the album and the vocal delivery I mentioned before. With tracks like “All Day Today” Hospitality has managed to live up to its name by offering their audience some real, memorable, entertainment that make their new LP definitely worth a listen.

Hospitality – All Day Today
Download audio file (002%20-%20Hospitality%20-%20All%20Day%20Today.mp3)

Wake! Owl is a relatively new folk project lead by vocalist Colyn Cameron. Their debut EP was recorded with Dave Meszaros at Watershed Studios in Vancouver, BC over the course of August and September 2011. The band invited musicians, mostly friends, to come play parts on the songs and help fill them out with true folk glory. After releasing the EP on Bandcamp digitally on November 10th 2011 and the word started to spread. The EP had 500 downloads in the first two months, and the numbers continue to climb.

The single from the EP “Gold” is a good example of the overall sound of the release- embracing the term “folk rock” to its core. The guitars are acoustic and passionate, the percussion is simple but on point, and the vocal parts glue the whole thing together. When the song picks up, it truly is “gold”

Download Zip: Indie Dojo February Round #1 [Mediafire]

Sister Crayon – Ain’t No Sunshine

Download audio file (2rjk.mp3)

JBM – July on the Sound
Download audio file (2r7z.mp3)

Luke De-Sciscio – Happy New Year, I Love You- [Soundcloud] Download audio file (Happy New Year I Love You.mp3)

The Barr Brothers – Beggar In The Morning

Download audio file (2rk5.mp3)

Noah Gundersen – Fire

Download audio file (2rjx.mp3)

Portage – Into The River

Download audio file (2rkc.mp3)

Peasant – The Flask

Download audio file (2r81.mp3)

Galapaghost – Runnin’

Download audio file (2r84.mp3)

Zoo Animal – Worker Bee

Download audio file (2r87.mp3)

Having previously shared album opener ‘Tuck the Darkness In’ back in December, Bowerbirds are now giving us a further peek into what lies ahead on ‘The Clearing’, their forthcoming third album. New track, ‘In The Yard’ is an adventurous yet accessible slice of confessional folk music that once again ups the anticipation for their new LP.

Bowerbirds – In The YardDownload audio file (Bowerbirds – In The Yard.mp3)

‘The Clearing’ drops 6th March via Dead Oceans

Indie/folk band Of Monsters And Men have been making a lot of headway in the past couple of years; winning Iceland’s national battle of bands known as Músíktilraunir (roughly translating to “music experiments”) in 2010 to get the ball rolling. They followed up their triumph by getting international airplay with their single “Little Talks” from their Into The Woods EP (below) and landing a deal with a major label.

To solidify their presence on the world stage, the band has chosen April 3rd 2012 as the American release date for their debut album, My Head is an Animal, which will be released on Universal Republic. In support of their release they will be hitting the road, kicking things off in Austin, TX for SXSW (full schedule below).

U.S Tour Dates:
3/21 Los Angeles, CA @ Troubadour^
3/22 San Francisco, CA @ The Independent^
3/24 Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge^
3/25 Vancouver, Canada @ 881 Granville Street^
3/26 Seattle, WA @ The Neptune Theatre^
3/29 Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line Music Cafe^
3/30 Chicago, IL @ Subterranean^
3/31 Columbus, OH @ The LC Pavilion
4/2 Washington, DC @ The Black Cat^
4/2 Philadelphia, PA @ Theatre of the Living Arts^
4/5 Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg^
4/6 New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom^
4/7 Boston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall^
4/9 Rochester, NY @ Club at Water Street Music Hall^
4/10 Albany, NY @ Jillian’s^
4/11 Montreal, Canada @ La Sala Rossa^
4/12 Toronto, Canada @ Virgin Mobile Mod Club
^ w/ Lay Low

Skeptic Goodbye is the first recording project from Massachusetts band You Won’t.

The band’s clever songs touch on universal themes like time, movement, and pop culture- making references to Back To The Future, 80′s fashion, and the idea of the “American Dream” to tie their listeners to the songs and give them replay value. More than that, though, the songs are statements about  today’s ideals; set to music through melody, drumline percussion, clapping, and acoustic guitar. “It’s just an illusion babe” sings vocalist Josh Arndouse (who’s voice draws references to both Bob Dylan and The Tallest Man On Earth) on the single “Three Car Garage”. The sentiment sets the mood for the rest of the album, allowing retrospective tracks like “Who Knew” and “Television” to shine in ways they couldn’t achieve on their own.

Musically there isn’t a lot of flashy instrumentation going on. When you do hear synth/guitar leads they’re more to illustrate feeling than show off talent. It’s more likely that the songs exist to compliment the lyrical content rather than dazzle fans- but the ideas are concise and never fall short of real entertainment. Overall the album flows really well, and seems to get better with each listen.

Skeptic Goodbye will be released through Old FLame Records on February 14th 2012.

Stream only: You Won’t- Three Car Garage
Download audio file (01 Three Car Garage.mp3)

Stream only: You Won’t- Who Knew
Download audio file (03 Who Knew.mp3)

Being the human beings that we are, we sometimes think we know it all i.e. hearing the first 2 seconds of a song and immediately turning it off without even giving it a chance. But one thing we all come to realize at one point or another (sometimes days, weeks, and yes, years later) is that we just missed out on something completely bad ass. The first step is admitting we were wrong. Yup, lessons are usually learned the hard way. But enough with the philosophical insight on human behavior. This is a freakin’ music blog. So all we are really saying is give songs a chance. ‘Cause seriously, you don’t know nothing till you try…

Download Zip: Indie Dojo January Part 5 [Mediafire]

Keaton Henson – You Don’t Know How Lucky You Are

Download audio file (2p6u.mp3)

Town Hall – Just Watching My Breath

Download audio file (2p6v.mp3)

The Wooden Sky – Child of the Valley

Download audio file (2p6w.mp3)

Blake Mills – Wintersong

Download audio file (2p6x.mp3)

Dave Dixon – Candles Burning Time

Download audio file (2p6y.mp3)

Bahamas – I Got You Babe

Download audio file (2p6z.mp3)

The Record Company – Don’t Let Me Get Lonely

Download audio file (2p70.mp3)

Lady Danville – Operating

Download audio file (2p71.mp3)

The lyrics are introspective and presented in a voice that’s somewhere between Bahamas and Sleeping At Last. Their debut Moths, Flames, Etc. is a lonesome collection of well written songs, with each instrument focusing on what’s best for the music rather than how they can show off. Vocal parts fall to a hum during intimate guitar melodies, sitting atop pulsing bass hits that beat inside your chest and tug at your heart strings. The careful ones are a force to be reckoned with because they have learned how to capture mood, and feeling, through their music. From their down tempos and repetitive chorus lines to their employ of orchestral strings they just seem like they really get it.

The album is not for car rides or exciting beach vacations though, it’s really relaxed and mellow. It’s a much better soundtrack for a quiet evening than a sword fight.

Watch for the bands new release, due out in Spring of 2012, HERE.

Rhode Island indie-folk songwriter Cyra Morgan has had a lust for performing live ever since she was a kid. Having moved to New York as a teenager, she waited tables and wrote extensively. ‘If We Stay’ is a fantastic example of what Cyra’s all about. Featuring her breathy angelic vocals over delicate instrumentals, this track is a soft slice of mellow pop to drift along to. Watch this space for more from this incredibly talented new artist.

We first heard of French Singer/Songwriter Alice Michel as we combed through the web looking for new songs to add to our Indie Dojo playlist and stumbled upon her cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love”. As we all know, covering the classics is definitely not an easy feat to conquer, so, not gonna lie, but there was a tiiiiiny bit of hesitation to take a moment to listen. So glad we did though, cause Michel threw us as far from disappointment as she possibly could. And although her rendition was beautifully unique, her latest release, “The Weather In Your Head” is something she can call her own. Using the same hauntingly simplistic style, she somehow finds a way to completely fill a song with nothing more than strings, a little piano, some simple harmonies, and the “never gets old” hand-clap. It’s sweet yet captivatingly ominous perfection.

And for our french readers, make sure you guys check out Alice Michel play at Le Sunset, March 13. More info here.