gareth dickson - collected recordings (2009)

'collected recordings' consists of songs from two of his prior albums (solina sea, spruce goose) and previously unreleased tracks. when i was first getting familiar with this album, i would hear certain songs playing on shuffle and mistake them for nick drake songs that i had either forgotten about or had yet to become familiar with. a perfect contrast between gentle finger-picked guitar, dreamy folk vocals, and ambient a-la brian eno or labradford. probably my favorite album of 2009. like a dream you never want to leave.

laura gibson - beasts of seasons (2009)

"gibson wrote these songs in a room overlooking one of the oldest graveyards in portland, and to say these oppressive surroundings colour the subsequent recording is something of an understatement. although it’s probably not the first disc you’d reach for to get the party started, its languid tone rarely becomes overbearing." (drownedinsound)

apologies for the lack of updates and original reviews but i wanted to get this one out there and i'm currently short on time. more soon!