Eric Pulido plays with the earthy and ethereal folk pop group, Midlake, who formed in Texas back in 1999. Their crowning glory to date has been the 2006 release, The Trials of Van Occupanther, a richly textured, slow moving masterpiece which captures the five-piece in rarer form.
Liam Finn / Second Chance I was pleased to find that Liam’s pop sensibility didn’t fall far from the tree (son of Crowded House’s Neil Finn). But after listening to the album more and seeing him live, I’ve realized that he has a voice of his own and it is amazing.
Our favourite retro-hipsters — and the only band to make Hawaiian shirts look at least kinda fashionable — The B52s have been doing it for more than thirty years, and they’re still writing great pop music. Their latest album, Funplex, is just that: fun plex twenty. Sorry, plus twenty. We like it. And we’re not surprised given the rather old-school Secret Playlist that Kate Pierson [first six songs] and Keith Strickland have assembled.
Jane Siberry / Bound By the Beauty Jane Siberry changed her name to Issa, sold her home and most of her possessions (although she owns a pair of fabulous boots), and sells her music — digitally only, to cut down on plastic waste — by a self-determined pricing policy. She’s an incredible, profound songwriter and singer, and is doing it her way, for sure.
Ed Harcourt writes lush, melodic songs that skirt the parameters of a variety of genres, but never really settle on any. Half his luck. His soulful bluster is wonderful: an uplifting tuneful journey through the annuls of classic songwriting. So fittingly he leads off with a Doobie Brothers classic.
The Doobie Brothers / What A Fool Believes There’s something about Michael MacDonald’s white beard that’s so warm, so inviting, you feel he has the authority to teach you so much. This song is his calling card. It’s almost like every section is a chorus. I cherish it’.
My Secret Playlist is a music discovery website and weekly email publication. We invite our favourite bands and musicians to give us the rundown on their eight favourite songs right now. These are their words on the music that inspires them.
