So, obviously I'm on a bit of a Bat for Lashes kick.  If you hurry up and snag her new album, you might see why.  

She recently made an appearance on BBC Radio 1 and performed two songs; the first, a great laptop version of her single "Daniel" and a surprise cover of the Kings of Leon hit "Use Somebody".  I haven't blogged about it, but I dig their album, Only by the Night - It's not typically a genre I'd reach for, but there's something about the quality and integrity with which these dudes from the southern US approach their cock-rock that works for me.  It's got swagger, but not the Chad Kroeger kind.  Natasha Khan's version is fairly loyal to the original, though interesting to hear it from a female perspective.  I like that she's sticking her neck out on something so commercial, so American, and so current - A smart marketing move, if nothing else.  Enjoy!

Download: Bat for Lashes, Live Lounge BBC Radio 1

Ray LaMontagne
Saturday Night Live: March 7, 2009

LaMontagne continues the trend of late-blooming musicians to hit it big. With a very anti-Idol lean, he joins the ranks of Kings of Leon, Neko Case and others, gaining mainstream fame after several albums and years of touring small venues and even smaller towns. His folk-blues music is exactly what I've been in the mood for the past several months. Check him out on SNL this weekend and on iTunes. In the meantime, download the title track from his latest, the lovely "Gossip in the Grain".