Indie Acoustic Project Announces “Best CDs of 2009″ Finalists

The Indie Acoustic Project is proud to announce the finalists for the IAP’s “Best CDs of 2009″ Awards.  The 3 finalists in each of 12 categories were selected from the multitudes of CDs that were considered for the awards.  The quality of the CDs submitted was terrific, and this has lead to the only major problem we faced: because there were far more than 36 excellent CDs (and only 36 finalist slots), many deserving recordings could not be included.

It is our hope that these awards will help all indie artists by generating increased awareness of independently produced music from around the world.

FINALISTS: The artist’s name is first (listed alphabetically within each category), followed by the CD title in italics, followed by the name of the record label.

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Vienna Teng to Release Inland Territory April 7

photo by Andrew Paynter

Burlington, MA – On April 7, Zoë/Rounder Records will release Inland Territory, the new album by songwriter, singer and pianist Vienna Teng. Inland Territory is a tour de force musically and lyrically, a complex and deeply thoughtful work from an artist cut loose from limitations.  Recorded over five months and in four cities, with instrumentation ranging from foot stomps to vintage keyboards to full string orchestra, it’s without question her most ambitious work yet.

With producer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and friend Alex Wong sharing the helm, a fresh, adventurous sound emerged from the studio. Inland Territory opens with “The Last Snowfall,” interlocking choral lines soaring over Wurlitzer piano and vinyl-record crackles. Her classical piano training still shines on several tracks, especially the Debussy-like cascades in “Antebellum” and the giddy fluttering of “Stray Italian Greyhound,” this time playing counterpoint to Wong’s intricate string arrangements. Even in pared-down numbers, like the plaintive ballad “Kansas,” subtle touches­ a distant wash of cymbals, elegiac horns­ render the emotions in Teng’s vocals more vivid than ever. Teng also explores some unsettling themes, letting her imagination run dark and detailed. “No Gringo” uses horns, lap steel and sandpaper to paint the picture of an illegal border-crossing attempt and “Radio” illustrates a sheltered, San Francisco-dwelling narrator imagining her local bus being shattered by a suicide bomber and the city shut down by civil war.

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