WFUV's Take Five

It's hard to pin M. Ward down because the man is in demand. As a songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and ace collaborator in She & Him and Monster of Folk, he could call it a day and we'd already be impressed. But he doesn't, and the seventh studio album under his own name sounds mighty impressive too. It's called 'A Wasteland Companion,' and FUV's Alisa Ali was treated to some great live music and conversation, when M. Ward visited Studio A.

The Alternate Side's Alisa Ali talks with the Minneapolis-based band, Poliça, about their use of auto-tune as a signature sound on their debut album, 'Give You The Ghost.' The band also performs live versions of 'Lay Your Cards Out' and 'Fist, Teeth, Money" in WFUV's Studio A.

Although Emeli Sande turned down a record deal to go to medical school (at 16), music eventually won out for the Scottish songwriter, and now she's released her debut album, 'Our Version of Events,' and hit the road with Coldplay. Sande delivers her songs with a soulful, powerful voice, and she recently performed live in Studio A and spoke with host Rita Houston during her first-ever U.S. radio interview.

The four members of Zeus are mainstays in the Toronto music scene and frequently collaborate with other artists, but they step out once again as their own band on the new album, 'Busting Visions' — mixing prog, pop, retro rock, and plenty of riffs. Recently the guys made the trip to FUV and performed a few of the new songs during a studio session with host Alisa Ali.

FUV brings you Sigur Ros, live from Celebrate Brooklyn tonight, but a few years ago (when the Icelandic band was on hiatus), lead singer Jonsi stopped by our Studio A to talk with host Kara Manning about his solo album, 'Go.'

As one of the greatest jazz vocalists around, Cassandra Wilson has long followed her own path through the wilds of jazz, blues, soul, country and folk. She continues to carve out her own musical space on 'Another Country' — her new album, co-produced with guitarist Fabrizio Sotti and recorded in New York, New Orleans and Florence. Her tremendous voice traces that journey to perfection, and you can hear her bring it to life in her recent visit with FUV's Rita Houston.

The Alternate Side's Alisa Ali talks with the now LA-based musician, Josh Tillman, about his new album 'Fear Fun' — which he's released under the moniker, 'Father John Misty.'  Josh also performed some acoustic versions of the new material live in WFUV's Studio A.

New Multitudes combines the musical talents of Jay Farrar (Son Volt), Will Johnson (Centro-matic), Anders Parker (Varnaline), and Yim Yames (My Morning Jacket) and the words of Woody Guthrie - in an impressive addition to this years Woody Guthrie Centennial. Learn more from these 2012 Newport Folk Festival artists, as the foursome joins FUV's Rita Houston in Studio A.

2012 Newport Folk Festival artists, Alabama Shakes, hail from a small town and grew up soaked in the sounds of Muscle Shoals. Anchored by mesmerizing frontwoman Brittany Howard, they've recently taken the music world by storm with their soul-drenched grooves and gritty appeal. To celebrate their full-length debut, 'Boys & Girls,' they played a smokin' show at The Bowery Ballroom this Spring, where FUV's Alisa Ali caught up with the band backstage.

Newport Folk Festival performers, Punch Brothers, are back with a new batch of their boundary-breaking bluegrass on the album, 'Who's Feeling Young Now?,' and Chris Thile and company performed a few of the tunes live in Studio A, during a conversation with FUV's Claudia Marshall.

From host Russ Borris: 'The Tallest Man On Earth returned to Studio A upon the release of 'There's No Leaving Now.' There's a warmth and sweetness in the production that brings a new feel to his music. TTMOE has made a pretty special new record and hearing these songs live was pretty exciting. We talked about the making of the album, how his approach has changed and his guitar style. Make sure you pay extra attention to 'To Just Grow Away.' Beautiful stuff.'

The Alternate Side's Kara Manning talks to the Brooklyn-based band, Spanish Prisoners, about the making of its sophomore album, 'Gold Fools,' and the challenges of touring as a young band that is low on funds. The band also performed some songs live in WFUV's Studio A.

Since coming together in 2004, the Baltimore dream pop duo Beach House has been weaving its swirling existential spell across a handful of critically acclaimed releases. Now Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally have delivered a gorgeous suite of songs that form their brand new album, 'Bloom,' and they shared a few of them live, in a Studio A session with FUV's Rita Houston.

As the daughter of 'The King of Rock' and the ex-wife of 'The King of Pop,' Lisa Marie Presley knows that when your normal is not so normal, it can make for some interesting results later on. She's taken the last seven years to discover her own realm of style and expression as a songwriter, and it's evident on her new album, 'Storm & Grace,' which was produced by T Bone Burnett. Lisa Marie recently brought her band by FUV to share some of the new tunes, and she spoke with host Rita Houston about her path to the new album.

The multi-talented Clarence Greenwood has spent the last 20 years perfecting his poetic and soulful approach to rock, and as Citizen Cope he's gained one of the most dedicated audiences around. Citizen Cope's fifth album, 'One Lovely Day,' is just out, and to celebrate, Clarence and a string quartet recently performed a fantastic FUV Live set at Electric Lady Studios, hosted by Rita Houston.