More Songs Like This Question #567

April 1, 2022 7:59 PM

Would you mind looking at these two songs and suggest others like them? Or, if you like these two songs, what other songs come to mind? Black Leaf Falls by Sea Wolf and Suitcase Full of Sparks by Gregory Alan Isakov.

I believe these were chosen by Pandora based on my primary playlist but I haven't really found any others quite like them. Quiet, spooky, catchy. (Don't suggest The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, that one kills me.)

posted by Glinn to Media & Arts (13 answers total)

I hadn't heard of either of these songs, but I liked them both, so hopefully a few of these are near the mark:
Blitzen Trapper - Black River Killer
Megafaun - Kaufman's Ballad
case/lang/veirs - Georgia Stars
The Middle East - Blood
Shearwater - Rooks
John Vanderslice - Too Much Time
posted by eponym at 8:57 PM on April 1, 2022

Josh Ritter - Torch Committee

He has a lot of stuff that could work but this came to mind first.
posted by notjustthefish at 9:33 PM on April 1, 2022

Midlake - Acts Of Man and Core of Nature from the Courage of Others
posted by a humble nudibranch at 10:08 PM on April 1, 2022

Try Mountaineer's album When The Air is Bright They Shine
posted by aubilenon at 11:32 PM on April 1, 2022

Seconding Josh Ritter, maybe Girl in the War or The Temptation of Adam. A lot of Andrew Bird's songs are also in this genre; check out Measuring Cups and see if it resonates.
posted by merriment at 6:27 AM on April 2, 2022

M Ward - Carolina
Damian Jurado - Medication
Bill Callahan - One Fine Morning and most of his catalog
Bonnie Prince Billy - I Called You Back (and much of his catalog)
Jackson C Frank - Blues Run the Game
Crooked Fingers' Reservoir Songs album of covers
Mark Kozelek's brilliant album of AC/DC covers, What's Next to the Moon
Phosporescent's Song for Zula or his spectacular album of Willie Nelson songs
Mojave 3 Life In Art (and most of their catalog)
Most anything by Mazzy Star
Devandra Banhart - Cripple Crow
posted by dobbs at 7:22 AM on April 2, 2022

Oh, and songs from Grouper's Dragging a Dead Deer Up a Hill and Springsteen's cover of Dream Baby Dream.
posted by dobbs at 7:43 AM on April 2, 2022

Donnie and Joe Emerson's Baby? Nick Cave's Love Letter? Neither may be spooky.
posted by dobbs at 7:52 AM on April 2, 2022

Some of these may be prettier and less spooky than your ideal but they all seem at least roughly similar to what you like.

Iron & Wine - Autumn Town Leaves or Upward Over the Mountain
Tom Waits - A Little Rain or Whistle Down the Wind
Nick Cave - He Wants You
Strand of Oaks - My Wrecking Ball
Imaginary Future and Kina Grannis - The Wind
Sleeping at Last - Looking at the World from the Bottom of a Well
Sam Brookes - 18 & Sleeping
James Yorkston - Summer Song
Glen Hansard - Bird of Sorrow
Isobel Cambell & Mark Lanegan - Cool Water
Daniel Lanois - San Juan
The Monkees - Me & Magdalena (Yeah, it's the Monkees, but it's probably not what you're expecting.)
posted by Redstart at 7:56 AM on April 2, 2022

Andrew Bird - Scythian Empires or Tenuousness
Phoebe Bridgers - Garden Song or Smoke Signals
Calexico + Iron & Wine - In the Reins album
The Civil Wars - 20 Years
Lucy Dacus - Going Going Gone
The Decemberists - Of Angels and Angles or Red Right Ankle
First Aid Kit - Emmylou
Freelance Whales - Broken Horse
Hiss Golden Messenger - John the Gun
Hurray for the Riff Raff - The New SF Bay Blues
Iron & Wine - The Trapeze Swinger or Sodom, South Georgia
Shakey Graves - Tomorrow or Hard Wired
Andy Shauf - Hometown Hero or Wendell Walker
Sufjan Stevens - Carrie & Lowell album
Wilco - Sky Blue Sky
The Wooden Birds - Be No Lie or Warm to the Blade
posted by D.Billy at 10:15 AM on April 2, 2022

I'd never heard of either of these before, but am looking forward to checking out the bands further. (And other people's suggestions.)

A couple random performers that come to mind:
Daniel Lanois
Corpus Collosum
Zaz
posted by eotvos at 10:22 AM on April 2, 2022

Couple more:

Fleet Foxes : Tiger Mountain Peasant Song
Johnny Flynn: Detectorists theme tune (great series btw!)
posted by multivalent at 10:42 AM on April 2, 2022

I really appreciate all the suggestions. Some hit closer than others. I'm still working through them all. I had forgotten about Iron & Wine and Andrew Bird and M Ward. Some will go on other mixes. I'm glad other people are finding cool stuff, too.
posted by Glinn at 4:39 PM on April 2, 2022