Two folky indie cutlets, of the usual high calibre:
Adem - "Ringing In My Ear". It's no surprise that Adem's debut was released on Domino: if there's another artist that their sound recalls, it's Domino's James Yorkston and the Athletes. Rhythmic acoustic guitar playing and a yearning vocal melody coaxed out from the repetition. Adem Ilhan is one third of the IDM outfit called Fridge (another third, Kieran Hebden, records as Four Tet). Here, however, clipping organic samples have been replaced with the natural tap and squeak of a folkie, and the po face of Fridge's electronica has been overtaken by an everyman's smile. The strength of this song is that Adem's not trying too hard - he's not pushing or whining or demanding attention. It's by no means Julie Doiron, though: he's still singing loud, and glad, but there's the feeling that sunlight would be a fine audience on its own, that these are meditations in a bright kitchen as vegetables are chopped up.
Clem Snide - "I'll Be Your Mirror". A soft, downplayed take on "I'll Be Your Mirror," from Clem Snide's Beautiful EP. Throughout the song, it is kept wonderfully quiet: even when the cello joins the voice and guitar, there's still a sense of inertia. Eef's refusing to give the tune flash or overblown emotion; it makes everything thoughtful, delicate, but most of all, honest. You can see the creases under the eyes, hear the awkward pauses between verses. "I'll be your mirror / reflect what you are." As the other vocals chime in, totally unassumingly, the song steps up from pretty and into the beautiful.
RIP parka 3.