RecommNeds | Arch Garrison, Eric Friedlander & William Tyler

You can stream this week’s RecommNeds and previous featured releases through these handy RDIO and Spotify playlists as part of the JamBase channels for each.

Just beautiful…

Arch Garrison : I Will Be A Pilgrim

Simple, sweet, elegant, Arch Garrison is the music of lying at your back and watching the clouds bounce across the sky in slow motion. This is the solo project of Craig Fortnam, who plays a gorgeous nylon string guitar while singing pastoral folk songs. He just released his second album, I Will Be A Pilgrim, and it’s a beaut, the non-stop guitar picking is a gentle breeze with little waves of organ and harmonies behind Fortnam’s vocals. Together it all just feels right…a real treat to listen to. Enjoy!

Spotify: Arch Garrison – Everything All
Rhapsody: Arch Garrison – Everything All

Erik Friedlander : Nighthawks

I truly hate the word “best,” but I have trouble believing there’s a better cellist out there than Erik Friedlander, for my tastes at least. His output varies from avant-garde jazz to chamber to pop sideman. On Nighthawks, featuring his Bonebridge band, we get a little bit of everything: rock, jazz and plenty of beautiful cello playing. According to Friedlander, the music grew from his experience in the post-Sandy blackouts, five days without power and a surreal downtown cityscape. The band, featuring Doug Wamble on guitar, Trevor Dunn on bass and Michael Sarin on drums, helps bring this nightworld to life.

Spotify: Erik Friedlander – Nighthawks
Rhapsody: Erik Friedlander – Nighthawks

William Tyler : Lost Colony

Over the course of just three tracks on his new EP, Lost Colony, William Tyler creates a new world, completely explores and charts it and then lets us listeners have at it. The Nashville guitarist is in fine form, stepping up from the fantastic solo work of last year’s Impossible Truth, with a full band. The drums, especially, add a nice kick, pushing Tyler’s picking to new places. The EP is made by the opening track, “Whole New Dude,” 13 minutes of instrumental mastery, equal parts urgent and relaxed, maybe the favorite piece of music you didn’t know you were longing for. It’s all pretty damn beautiful.

Spotify: William Tyler – Lost Colony
Rhapsody: William Tyler – Lost Colony

Written By: Aaron Stein