white hinterland: "dreaming of the plum trees"

Now that winter is officially blanketing most of the country (it's about 25 degrees here in Dallas), it feels like the perfect time to break out this song by White Hinterland, the outstanding new project from 22-year-old Casey Dienel. When Dead Oceans sent over "Dreaming of the Plum Trees," I could've sworn I'd heard it somewhere before; maybe in some lost animated Christmas special I saw as a kid, or buried away on one of my parents' dusty LPs. On "Dreaming" -- and much of the wonderful Phylactery Factory LP, for that matter -- White Hinterland recalls pieces of Guaraldi, Sufjan Stevens, and Joni Mitchell at once, as Ms. Dienel's endearing voice skates over that instantly familiar bassline and playful, jazzy piano shuffle, resulting in one of the best songs of this young year:

mp3:
White Hinterland Dreaming of the Plum Trees

White Hinterland's Phylactery Factory is out on Dead Oceans on March 4. I've got a feeling this one is going to make its way onto quite a few year-end lists.

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unrelated:

Esquire Magazine agrees with what we've been saying for about the last year: the Mohawk is the best bar in America.