I'll go first:
Shannon Wright 'Dyed in the Wool' (complete album mp3 in *.zip)
From Amazon
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Dyed in the Wool, her third solo album, amalgamates elements of all of Wright's previous musical personalities, and then some. Listeners who have only heard Wright's solo work would be taken aback by twistily brilliant leadoff track "Less Than a Moment" -- electric guitars on a Wright record? Yes, before her solo acoustic guitar/piano/drum glory, Wright was a terrific electric guitarist. (Listen to Crowsdell's addictive guitar-pop anthem "Down" and you'll hear why.) A darkly elegant bassline, pounding drums, ringing electric chords, some haunting vocal chants, and a sardonic lead vocal combine to make the ultimate anti-rock song, one without a big foot-stomping chorus you can latch onto, but with a terrible majesty all its own. It stands entirely outside of anything solo Wright has ever done, and its daring is exhilirating. "The Hem around Us" sounds more familiar, an elegant fingerstyle guitar with a waltz drumbeat tapping insistently, but its vibe is unique, and when those eerie vocalizations come in, it feels like a twisted marriage of nightmare and dream. "Vessel for a Minor Malady"'s blend of piano and strings is absolutely gorgeous, sounding almost Renaissance-like, while "Hinterland"'s chorus sounds like an old English ballad, though added to its aggressive drums and rolling piano pattern, it defies categorization. "Method of Sleeping" sounds like a very moody movie score, with some of Wright's most naked vocal work to date. It reminds me of Caroline Crawley's vocal work on This Mortal Coil's "Last Night". "Surly Demise" begins life as the most conventional folk song Wright has recorded since her early single "A Tin Crown for the Social Bash" (an achingly beautiful song available only as an import vinyl single) but takes a trademark Wright left turn midway through. "Colossal Hours" shows Wright broadening her instrumental compositions as well, much more complex melodically and arrangement-wise than her previous instrumentals, "Holland" and "Regulation Scorrer", sounding regal and indeed colossal in a classical-music way. "The Path of Least Persistence" rocks out in a major way evoking that great Crowsdell rock vibe that I've missed, though with such strange melodies that it's like a Frank Zappa guitar solo with the percussive punch of Vs.-era Pearl Jam. And album closer "Bells" is just pastoral beauty incarnate, sparsely arranged with piano and voice, elusive lyrics attempting to mask emotions which the fragile voice betrays.
All in all, I don't really think there's another artist who embodies pure expression and instinctive musicality as Wright -- except, perhaps, Neil Young. Both are artists working in an innovative language of their own design, and both are never less than interesting. At her blinding peaks, of which there are many, Shannon Wright is breathtaking, the most resourceful American songwriter of today."