I recently stumbled upon a young singer/songwriter named Pete Molinari, and was instantly floored. His bio describes him as a young country blues genius, and compares him to the likes of Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, and Patsy Cline. Pretty audacious, but I’ve got to say I agree.

Molinari’s voice takes a little getting used to, just like Dylan’s. But once you get over his nasally falsetto and take in the overall feel of the music, you’ll wonder how a young Maltese/Italian/Egyptian man from the U.K. can sound so much like an American folk singer from the 1960’s. The influences Molinari cites are from another time, ranging from Jack Kerouac to John Coltrane to Johnny Cash. And they all come through in his harmonica-laden acoustic tunes.

His latest album, A Virtual Landslide, was just released a couple weeks ago on Damaged Goods Records and is already one of the standout records of the year. While I wasn’t able to find any free MP3’s, there are plenty of songs to stream on his website or his MySpace page. In the meantime, check out video versions of my two favorite tracks off the new album, “Sweet Louise” and “I Don’t Like the Man I Am.” Both are phenomenal. I suggest you pour yourself a Newcastle and spend some time with Pete Molinari.