At SXSW last year, I was hungover as crap as I walked into the Brooklyn Vegan party with the other HearYa fellas. The last thing I needed to hear at noon was loud guitars and pounding drums. Luckily we arrived early and and couldn’t be more pleased to find free Heineken flavored hair of the dog. We were even more pleasantly surprised to find a gentleman named Ferraby Lionheart performing some acoustic numbers in an intimate little room, downstairs at Habana Calle.

That was my first intro to Ferraby, but I’ve been listening ever since. His EP blew me away and his debut release, Catch the Brass Ring, is a nice follow up. Ferraby is a folk singer, multi-instrumentalist and a gifted lyricist. The album features guitars, horns, pianos and other soothing sounds, but the spotlight is always on the message and the voice. You won’t soon forget the voice.

If you just missed him tonight at Schubas, fear not. He was kind enough to stop in for a HearYa Live Session downtown. It’ll be up soon, so stay tuned.

MySpace | Nettwerk Records

Ferraby Lionheart - A Crack in Time (From his EP)

Ferraby Lionheart - Small Planet (From Catch the Brass Ring)

I also really dig this song, “The Ballad of Gus and Sam”

Here’s the other Lionheart, pronounced “LIONHEEEAART!!!”

It seems like every week I have a new favorite band. I’ve been hooked on Port O’Brien for a while now, but Alberta Cross pulled the rug out from under me and has dominated my player for the past 5 days. Their self-produced debut album, The Thief and The Heartbreaker, is phenomenal.

These London rockers look to the past for influence, but their sound is not contrived. The album kicks off with the title track, slowly building from percussion to added bass line to guitar solo, before it all starts melting together into something fantastic. Petter Ericson Stakee’s voice tops it all off to give it an ethereal sound.

While “The Thief and The Heartbreaker” is a fairly intense track summoned by 60’s psychadelia, it is followed by a gem of a tune called “Lucy Rider” and another entitled “Hard Breaks,” both of which have a more laid back, California soul vibe. The next two tracks, “Low Man” and “I’ve Known for Long” will find you knee-deep in emotion and the former will have you thinking of Jim James on early My Morning Jacket albums like At Dawn or The Tennessee Fire.

The Thief and The Heartbreaker has a smooth finish with the upbeat “Old Man Chicago” and the gospel track “The Devil’s All You Ever Had.” It’s a perfect ending to a short, but sensational debut album. Alberta Cross may owe a nod to their influences, but their sound is all their own. I think there’s a word that describes it. Timeless.

There are some mp3’s below but visit Alberta Cross on Myspace to hear more. I’d recommend just buying these 7 songs at iTunes.

Alberta Cross - The Thief and The Heartbreaker (courtesy of Mainstream Isn’t So Bad, Is It?)

Alberta Cross - Lucy Rider (courtesy of Rock Insider)

Alberta Cross - “Lucy Rider” Video

Alberta Cross - “Hard Breaks” Video

I stumbled upon this recent release on emusic in the new releases under Alt-County. The reason I downloaded it was twofold: 1) I remember at some point in my life, probably a college Econ class, learning about The Wheat Pool that was started in Alberta amongst wheat farmers. 2) They had a song named Neil Young. Combining economics and classic rock icons always leads to success, doesn’t it?

I am happy to report that, in this instance, it does indeed. The Wheat Pool are a four-piece out of Edmonton that joined forces “to give voice to their rural obsessions and fierce penchant for dark country rock.” They are led by brothers Mike and Robb Angus who share the vocal duties. Judging by Robb’s Q&A sessions on their website, I am hazarding a guess that he is Alberta’s answer to Dr. Phil.

Having never been to Alberta, you’ll have to take this next statement with a grain of salt, but I would imagine this album to be the perfect soundtrack for a road trip through the cold, winter stretches of Albertan farmland. The Wheat Pool’s lyrics are full of hope, despair, pain, and love. These guys aren’t just throwing some words together with a catchy hook either. They are trying to paint a picture of the rural life up in Alberta.

A couple of my favorite tracks on the disc are the aforementioned “Neil Young,” that fittingly features some harmonica, “Emily Carr” and “Peniel, SK.”

If you dig bands like Lucero, Uncle Tupelo, Whiskeytown, then I would suggest checking these guys out.

MySpace | Website

The Wheat Pool - Emily Carr

The Wheat Pool - Neil Young

I stumbled across the Spider Bags innocently enough. I was checking out ‘The Reader’ one day and I saw The Spider Bags on the front cover of upcoming shows. I thought to myself,”Self, that’s a funny name. Wonder what they sound like?” Got online, downloaded aforementioned album and voila. I was in serious like with another band.

The Spider Bags hail from Chapel Hill, NC. While I can’t vouch for their hoops prowess, I can say that they’ve put out one of hell of an album. This is not your polished alt-country release, but instead a rough around the edges, almost sloppy sound that fits their lyrics like a glove. From the opening tracks of “Bad Complexion” and “Waking Up Drunk,” you are immediately hooked on A Celebration of Hunger and it only gets better from there.

“Waking Up Drunk” in particular will strike a chord with every man who has been hounded by his significant other for his late-night antics. The chorus goes like this: “Waking Up Drunk Makes Me Happy, You Just Bring Me Down.”

The Spider Bags are what country music should be. Granted I am from NY, but when I think of country music, this is the gritty sound that comes to my mind. They sound nothing like Drive-by Truckers, but where they are similar is in creating an atmosphere on their album that takes you to another place. Both bands have that gift and a gritty, addicting sound.

How these guys are this far under the radar is beyond me. This is one of the best debuts of ‘07. Hell it’s one of the best albums of ‘07. I implore you make a visit to their myspace page and then buy this album. You won’t be sorry.

MySpace | Birdman Records

The Spider Bags - The Bottle

The Spider Bags - I Am Sorry I

The Spider Bags - Waking Up Drunk