Clair’s new 4 song EP The First Year is out and available for FREE now!  The free download is only available for a limited period of two weeks, ending with the big official (and also free) release party on March 5th at NYC’s Rockwood Music Hall.

The First Year features the songs “Close to Home,” “My Heart is a Wandering Ghost,” “Sailor Song,” and a fantastically haunting version of Bikini Kill’s “Outta Me” that breathes a new life into an old favorite – all of which were recorded during the Long Road Home sessions at The Fort with Jim Bentley.

Click here to Download!

Or, if you’d like to support the artists who make this music possible, download from any of your favorite online music stores…  Here are a few options – all for less than $4.

iTunes  |  eMusic  |  Amazon

Join us in welcoming the newest band to the Cougar family, Ann Courtney & The Late Bloomers.

We’re very excited about this band and can’t wait to get their debut album, Crocodile, out and into your hands this April.  Equally influenced by Nice Cave, Chrissie Hynde and PJ Harvey, this is a band to take on all other bands, dark dark pop tunes with brutally sarcastic and entrancing lyrics.  Gotta love it.  Check the shows page for when you can catch the band before the album hits the streets.  More on ACLB very soon!

Following closely on the heels of their debut album last year, Clair is releasing a new 4 song EP called The First Year this Tuesday, Feb 24th. To make things extra special, we’ll be GIVING IT AWAY FOR FREE for the first two weeks of it’s release, leading up to the big release party at Rockwood Music Hall on March 5th at 10pm. Go HERE to sign up for a reminder email. The First Year features the songs “Close to Home,” “My Heart is a Wandering Ghost,” “Sailor Song,” and a fantastically haunting version of Bikini Kill’s “Outta Me” – all of which were recorded with Long Road Home at The Fort with Jim Bentley.

At Home Anywhere is back for Round 3 with ultra prolific singer-songwriter, Paleo (David Strackany). The tracks were recorded back in October 2008 (I know, I know, we’re very behind) while Paleo was in town for a short stint during his ever constant tour schedule. The four tracks are each beautifully captured bare moments in time.  The performances showcase a complete openness that allows the music (and the artist) to be exposed in a most unsettling way. Extremely moving and wonderful tracks.

At Home Anywhere is a podcast series where we will be bringing bands traveling through NYC into The Fort, a 1200 sq. ft. recording studio in Bushwick, Brooklyn to record a few tracks that we will then give to you for FREE. The songs were lovingly & fantastically mastered by Dave Roman at 4130 Mastering.

The tracks are:
01. Forest for the Past, Future for the Trees
02. The Letter X
03. Mama Go Easy
04. Time Won’t Forget

You have a few options for getting / hearing the podcast:

1. Subscribe in iTunes! Make sure that you stay up to date and automatically receive future episodes.-or-
2. Subscribe to the RSS feed (copy this URL to the podcast ‘Subscribe’ box in your favorite audio player)-or-
3. Download the Individual MP3 files.

Stay tuned for Episode 4 with our favorite band from Boston, Bon Savants. More photos of Paleo after the jump.
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Our boy Doug Keith got some sweet sweet love from the folks over at NPR’s Second Stage yesterday.  He’s the featured artist for his song “Now I’ve Got It Made” off the album Here’s To Outliving Me.  

January 28, 2009 - Doug Keith’s debut LP, Here’s To Outliving Me, is familiar but fresh. The New York native’s songs are rooted comfortably in traditional folk and Americana, without being mawkish or treading into tired territory. This is largely because Keith’s voice is so richly textured, backed by sweet harmonies and beautifully layered instrumentation… Read more & check out the podcast here >>>

Word on the street is that Doug’s heading into the studio to start working on the follow up record next week.  Exciting stuff!

Doug Keiths’s new album Here’s To Outliving Me is out TODAY! Get your copy here.  The record has been getting a great stream of press… here are a select few quotes:

“Eleven endearing indie pop songs… Ear pleasing melodies, warm acoustics and occasional moments of shoegazing simplicity.” – Hear/Say magazine

 “A fantastic solo debut from this New York singer-songwriter who conjures the spirit of Dylan, Young, and Waits–the former, for example, at the height of his sneering Hawks-backed era on “Salty Woman.” “Take the Hammer Down, Dear” shares the earthiness of Richard Buckner’s finest work. The songs are almost uniformly beautiful and heartrending, with backing tracks whose crisp acoustics, tinkling pianos, piercing organ, and percussive heartbeat channel the finest work of the icons Keith convincingly recalls.” – PURGe

 “…from the first notes of “The Companion of an Angel” from his upcoming release “Here’s To Outliving Me” I was hooked. As a nice bonus Jennifer O’Connor is featured on a number of tracks including “Companion…” Its theme of an undying love for an angel-like woman is one I can relate to.” – songs: Illinois

 “Doug Keith’s lyrics create imagery like the classic country/folk storytellers and there’s a lot of delicate interplay between Doug’s vocals, his guitar work and the work of his band mates.” - Brooklyn Rocks