Songs of the week: Basalt and Filthybird

I think I'm coming down with something, so I'm going to skip out on seeing the Huguenots tonight at Tir na Nog. Instead I'm going to start what I hope will be a weekly, or at least regular, feature, and upload a couple of .mp3s I've been listening to recently.

First up is "Intimacy" from Basalt's new CD, "Treble." Basalt is mostly a one-woman band with former Mercury Birds/Taija Rae guitarist/singer Nicky Trimiar, though recently she's been working with a couple of drummers. Not sure how I feel about this. I love Nicky's voice, and I love the shoegaze-y guitar work she does. If she's going to add drums, then I think she should add bass as well and really flesh it out. "Intimacy" is my favorite on the CD, and it a little harder rocking. Basalt will be at the Maya Gallery Femme Fest in Greensboro on Nov. 7.

Next up is "Pickmeup," which is on Filthybird's soon-to-be-released sophomore album. Like Basalt, Filthybird specializes in dreamy music, built around Renee Mendoza's gorgeous voice. And, like Basalt, Filthybird was from Greensboro, but the band is in the process of moving to Chatham County, so I hope this means we see them around here more often. Their next performance in the Triangle will be Thursday, Oct. 29 at Nightlight, so check them out.