The folk-genre has seen a strong resurgence in the past several years. The leaders and visionaries of the current movement are Sam Beam [Iron and Wine], Ray LaMontagne, Devendra Banhart, Jose Gonzalez, Bonnie “Prince” Billy and Damien Rice. A second tier of promising artists are Patrick Watson, Bon Iver, Cass McCombs, Fionn Regan, J. Tillman, A.A. Bondy, and Damien Jurado.

Add British singer-songwriter Pete Greenwood to the list of rising stars. His debut album Sirens is stunning, especially for a guy who began writing songs two years ago. He sites his influences as Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Nick Drake and Townes Van Zandt. Tracks “Penny Dreadful” and “Sirens” definitely have a Nick Drake feel to them.

“Bats Over Barstow” is a tribute to Hunter S. Thompson’s novel, Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas. The 1st paragraph of the book reads “We were somewhere around Barstow on the edge of the desert when the drugs began to take hold. I remember saying something like “I feel a bit lightheaded; maybe you should drive. . . .” And suddenly there was a terrible roar all around us and the sky was full of what looked like huge bats, all swooping and screeching and diving around the car, which was going about a hundred miles an hour with the top down to Las Vegas. And a voice was screaming “Holy Jesus! What are these goddamn animals?”

Greenwood’s Sirens is available in the UK & Europe.

Download (Right-Click Save As):
MP3: Pete Greenwood – Bats Over Barstow
MP3: Patrick Watson – Daydreamer
MP3: Cass McCombs – Desert
MP3: A.A. Bondy – Vice Rag
MP3: Damien Jurado – Rider On The Wheel [Nick Drake]
MP3: Bon Iver – Flume

Download:
Pete Greenwood -Sirens (Amazon UK)
Patrick Watson – Close to Paradise (iTunes)
Cass McCombs – Dropping the Writ (iTunes)
A.A. Bondy – American Hearts (iTunes)
Damien Jurado – Caught In the Trees (iTunes)
Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago (iTunes)