Weekly RecommNeds | Jesca Hoop & Dawn Landes

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

It’s a pity how pretty I feel…

Jesca Hoop : Undress

There is a beautiful sparseness to

Jesca Hoop

’s new album,

Undress

, the kind of elegant brevity that you might find from a singer whose very name is a minimalist rendering and an album whose title evokes a stripped-down sound. And once stripped bare, it is the small details that come into fine focus and the album is full of them. Beautiful folk songs are shaded perfectly with little guitar curlicues. Even better are the two part harmonies with a variety of guests. The fact that two of these duets are with Erika Wennerstrom (Heartless Bastards) and Sam Beam (Iron & Wine) – two of my very favorite vocalists – doesn’t hurt.

Spotify:

Jesca Hoop: Undress

Rhapsody:

Jesca Hoop: Undress

Dawn Landes : Bluebird

Sometimes all it takes is one great song to turn your day/week/year/life around. The title track on

Dawn Landes

‘s newest,

Bluebird

, fits the bill perfectly. The melody, Landes’ first-sign-of-morning-sunlight voice, the graceful acoustic guitar and the lyrics combine to create a song for the ages. Luckily, it’s the first (and best) of an album full of folk-alt-country-pop gems, exuding warmth and simplicity. It’s possible you won’t like this album. It’s also possible you have no soul.

Spotify:

Dawn Landes: Bluebirds

Rhapsody:

Dawn Landes: Bluebird