I was in Austin this weekend for the South-By-Southwest music festival. More on that later. For now, here are a few songs I heard by The Low Anthem. Awesome!! At the end of “This God Damn House” frontman Ben Knox Miller whistled into two cell phones that he had dialed out on. He asked the audience for help and we dialed the person sitting next to us. A chirping noise from the cell phones filled the room.

I am attaching two songs because the album version of “This God Damn House” does not include the phones. Instead, you can hear them on “The Ballad of the Broken Bones.”

[audio:This God Damn House.mp3]
“This God Damn House” by The Low Anthem

[audio:The Ballad of the Broken Bones.mp3]
“The Ballad of the Broken Bones” by The Low Anthem

Get your free copy of Brandon Clark & The American Standard’s, Honestly EP, courtesy of The Album Project.

[audio:It’s You.mp3]
“It’s You” by Brandon Clark & The American Standard

jónsi wrote numerous songs during his years with the Icelandic band sigur rós. go contains nine of these songs. They are sung in english and icelandic. The album will be released on April 6, 2010 in the US.

I was introduced to Rocky Votolato in 2003 when his album Suicide Medicine was released. Since then he has been added to the great list of artists represented by Barsuk Records. His latest album is called True Devotion and was released on February 23, 2010.

“Red River” by Rocky Votolato

Paolo Nutini released his second studio album, Sunny Side Up, in May of 2009. On March 2, 2010 he released a live four-track EP featureing renditions of songs from Sunny Side Up. They pay homage to New Orleans’ Historic Preservation Hall.

A Limited Edition will be made available for physical release on April 17th in honor of “Record Store Day.”

In the meantime, get your copy from iTunes today:

“Pencil Full of Lead” by Paolo Nutini

When I first informed you of Jakob Dylan’s second solo album I did not have a song to share. Now, thanks to spinner‘s free download, I have the single “Nothing But the Whole Wide World.” Produced by T. Bone Burnett, this album drops April 6, 2010.

“When he first sat down with a guitar and played me ‘Nothing But the Whole Wide World,’ it was clear that he had taken several steps forward in his songwriting — that he was writing folk music, which is another way of looking at popular music. I’m so happy to be collaborating with Jakob at this exciting and vital time in his life as an artist, and I think this new album is an important work from a great musician.” ~ T. Bone Burnett on Spinner

[audio:Nothing But the Whole Wide World.mp3]
“Nothing But the Whole Wide World” by Jakob Dylan

I think it’s a little insensitive. He’s telling us that his best days are ahead of him but, as he mentioned on his American Idol appearance last night, he was the guy with the crises during his Idol run. He was the guy whose wife just passed away. Shouldn’t some of his best days be with her?

I love the song though. It sounds a little Rascal Flatts. I also love the fact that he decided to go country. As he mentioned last night, Randy Travis told him that the country path was the right direction for him after he heard his performance of Carrie Underwood’s “Jesus Take the Wheel” during the Idol competition.

[audio:My Best Days Are Ahead Of Me.mp3]
“My Best Days Are Ahead Of Me” by Danny Gokey

These west coast kids are offering their debut EP for download via their official website.

[audio:Parcel.mp3]
“Parcel” by Red Tide

The latest Lake Fever Session featured Brendan Benson and Ashley Monroe. It was brought to us by American Songwriter magazine.

Brendan Benson with Ashley Monroe “On the Fence” from Lake Fever Sessions on Vimeo.