melancholic

The Amber Sleep is the songwriting outlet of Graham Jones (also of The Exploits of Elaine and the good anna), and a band formed in 2008 and currently consisting of 9 other musicians: Natalie Guest, Tom Denning, Lauren Smith, Stuart Robinson, Nicolar Bell, Alex Nicklin, Michael Waters, Tom Bush and Julian Cole. The group makes melancholic folk pop with dense orchestration, featuring a quintet of strings and woodwind amongst the more familiar guitar band setup, and sounding comparable to artists such as Efterklang, Sufjan Stevens, Antony and the Johnsons and Sigur Ros.

Jakob is a New Zealand post-rock band, based in Napier, Hawke's Bay, New Zealand. The band consists of guitarist Jeff Boyle; bassist Maurice Beckett; and drummer Jason Johnston. They have been compared to such bands as Mogwai, Sonic Youth, and High Dependency Unit, though they largely eschew any vocals or samples in their songs. The band formed in July 1998, and began by opening for New Zealand bands Salmonella Dub and Pitch Black at the local pub O'Flaherty's.

new album 'the failing of the strains'out now!
"a kinda musical prequel to the wicker man – it's acid folk at it's finest and destined to become a cult masterpiece!" http://www.myspace.com/thelowcountries 'indie folk at it's best with a home grown realism, I love it' folk radio uk 'warm acoustic-based americana-infused blend of classic songwriting. Melodies, harmonies, middle-eights and banjo combine to soothe your weary heads'
Opposite of Robot Promotions

"They will cradle you in their arms and spin webs of thought that lift the swaddled listener out of the fray to be soothed awhile in the thoughts of another. They will remind you that the walls in your head don't belong to you, and excite your spirit in awkward moments of unabashed honesty, that warn you that you must walk into the woods to come out the other side. However, winter's almost gone, and there is room for things to germinate.