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Folktronica January 11, 2008

Posted by admin in : Songs , trackback

I bet the title of this post makes you think “Mmmmm, not for me….”

But if you’ve read this far, you’re close to listening to one of my best discoveries in a long, long time. Over the coming weeks, I’ll be spending more time than I have been working through my collection, browsing the sites in my blogroll, and habitating as many online communities as I can, as I’ve found in the last few weeks, there’s so much reward to be had from some additional effort – I’ve come across more artists in the last few weeks than ever before; a number of whom are fast becoming personal favourites.

One of these is William Fitzsimmons. You can already get the vibe of what he sounds like from his admitted influences: Nick Drake, Iron & Wine, Aimee Mann, Elliott Smith, Death Cab for Cutie, Ben Gibbard, Cat Stevens. Now, take three songs that sound so gentle you’re afraid to listen too hard in case you break them, and for the song “Please Don’t Go”, lay down a repeating, hiccuping electronic beat underneath, and include lyrics such as “I saw you on my phone, on a contact list that isn’t up to date. Would have changed it with more time, that i require to rid my mind of all the freckles on your face” (“It’s Not True”) and “Is it misguided that I can recall the day you left my bed, and asked your mom and dad if maybe you could stay with them instead?” (“Hold On With My Open Hands”).

I think it says a lot for William that I spent nearly an hour trying to decide what songs to include here from his 2007 album “Goodnight”. I uploaded, deleted, and reuploaded a number of songs, eventually settling on the three here – but there are another ten that could easily have found their way here.

Enjoy.

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William Fitzsimmons – Hold On With My Open Hands

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William Fitzsimmons – It’s Not True

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William Fitzsimmons – Please Don’t Go

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Comments»

1. smansmith - January 22, 2008

Nice post on “the Bearded One”. Thanks for the reminder on the Goodnight album, I also recommend his earlier LP – Until When We Are Ghosts, a bit more straight forward singer/song/folk release.

Nice site by the way!

S.

2. admin - January 23, 2008

Thanks for the recommendation & the compliment!

3. troy tyler - February 4, 2009

Amazing songwriter,my favourite,absolutely..and the sparrow and the crow is incredible..
please don’t leave me,afterall


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