MUSIC

Fifteen years and nine albums into his career, Denison Witmer, is an indie singer/songwriter from Lancaster, Pennslyvania with a style described as "neo-folk." He has been compared to 1970s-era singer/songwriters, including Cat Stevens and Nick Drake. His lyrics are poetic and thoughtful. His guitar work, while simple sounding, relies on complex fingerpicking. Witmer’s latest album, The Ones Who Wait, was released on Asthmatic Kitty Records in February 2012. The Ones Who Wait was his first release for Asthmatic Kitty Records, whose employees and much of its roster have been long-time fans and collaborators with him. Asthmatic Kitty also released a “part two” of the record in the summer of 2012. The album marks a big change for Denison: a life without his dad, a new label, and a new worldview as a parent. As Witmer looks forward to the next phase of “the cyclical life” of writing-recording-touring, he is philosophical, as always, but confident about releasing an album in an overcrowded marketplace.

In an era of social media and perceived self-importance, Noah Gundersen is in many ways the antithesis of his time. Gundersen’s latest EP, Family, pays homage to the people who have shaped his life, rather than self-aggrandizing, which is so common to the often homogeneous world of singer/songwriters. “Family comes in many forms,” says Noah. “It lives with us, for better and for worse. It shapes us. That’s what this album is about.” Fittingly, a member of Noah's family, his sister Abby Gundersen, plays violin and sings vocal harmonies on the EP. Her soft voice and lush string accompaniments beautifully compliment a magnetic and emotionally charged group of songs. The two have been playing music together since Noah was 15 and Abby was 12 years old, growing up in the Seattle area.