Brooklyn foursome Whale Belly kicked off 2013 right, with the release of their second album, “I Was Once a Bird,” on January 7. Singer Todd Bogin’s vocals that are reminiscent of a younger, rawer Van Morrison, but his band tends to experiment with more intricate arrangements, and an ubiquitous violin that brings to mind the sound of Camper Van Beethoven. Whale Belly’s songs have a definite sense of humor, but the lightheartedness of songs like “Selling Sh*t On Craiglist Just to Pay the Rent” or "Everything Causes Cancer" (streaming) still evokes genuine charm. Devon Antonetti
This song was added to our SoundCloud playlist of the best emerging NYC folk artists – listen to it here.