Close your eyes and float upstream with the lush and fluid beauty of Mariee Sioux's new ballad "Friendboats." The track's sparse arrangement features only a finger-picked acoustic pattern, mesmerizing in its dreamy spiral, and Sioux's breathy dreamlike words, with her airy harmonies layered for texture. Combining the artful subtlety of Marissa Nadler, the idiosyncratic vocal flourishes of Joanna Newsom and the worldly flair of Devendra Banhart, Sioux is poised to join today's top tier of freak-folk royalty.

But without the overt eccentricities of her contemporaries, Sioux, who has recorded albums with Brightblack Morning Light, is content to practice reverent traditionalism, allowing her music to exists in ageless suspension, both pleasantly tranquil and strangely alluring. "Friendboats," featured on Sioux's upcoming debut LP, Faces in the Rocks, will drift into your consciousness Oct. 9 via the Grass Roots label. 

Now Hear This
Mariee Sioux - "Friendboats" DOWNLOAD MP3

On the Web:
Mariee Sioux at MySpace
Mariee Sioux at Grass Roots

Talk: Does Mariee Sioux's 'boat' stay afloat?

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