New Song of the Day.

At the rate I've been updating the "Song of the Day", it's been more like Song of the Month. Anyway, I've finally updated it with a great, great track that may have eluded many of you out there. It's "Bluebirds Fall" by The Autumn Defense.

For the uninitiated, The Autumn Defense is the side project of Wilco bassist John Stirratt, and consists of Stirratt and multi-instrumentalist Pat Sansone (who has subsequently joined Wilco). They're a more straightforward band than Wilco; the sound is more traditional pop. They've put out two proper albums, 2001's The Green Hour and 2003's Circles. The former is quite good, but it's on the latter that they really hit their stride, coming up with a soft-pop 70s California sound with some modern flourishes; Circles is kind of Elliott Smith meets Bread. Here's my favorite track from Circles:

Why I'm Like This

And here's my favorite track from The Green Hour:

Full 5 Paces

Anyway, even some of those who have a passing familiarity with The Autumn Defense may not have realized they released a couple of additional songs on a 2004 split EP with Hem titled Birds, Beasts and Flowers. And one of those songs is "Bluebirds Fall", a brilliant Elliott Smith-like track with a haunting melody hook that will get stuck in your head. It also reminds me quite a bit of Crowded House's "Four Seasons In One Day". So head on over to my myspace profile to have a listen, or check it out at their myspace page with a couple of additional tracks. And good news - there's a new Autumn Defense CD due in October (when else?).