There's plenty of intent behind the mellow casings of LD Brown's songs. Philadelphia-born, Brooklyn-based Brown's voice will already be familiar to Cinematic Orchestra and Bonobo fans and to those who found their way to his debut album, Of the Days, last year. As with that album, it's the powerful, beguiling, honest rattle of his songs here that will draw a crowd. Brown has a way with the blues that makes relatively simple, understated songs soar high. The opening, Everlasting, is a case in point, a song that casts a deep shadow, a tale done up in the simplest and most unadorned of musical dressings. Like the acts who have obviously inspired him such as Elliot Smith, Will Oldham and John Martyn, Brown makes the songs swing by keeping things subtle and allowing the emotional heat and heart at their core to do the spadework. greyreverend.com

Download: Everlasting, Little Jose