Dallas Green is not an easy man to pin. Originally known as the melodic-vocals frontman in Canadian screamo outfit Alexisonfire, he forsook the band (who have since broken up as a result) and hardcore metal altogether to pursue his acoustic solo side project City and Colour full-time.

From City and Colour’s upcoming fourth album, Northern Wind, “Of Space and Time” is a perfect example that Green may be on to something. Open, spacious and breathable, the waltzing track rolls effortlessly on hushed brush drums, easy-strummed acoustics, atmospheric lap steel, cello and Green’s accessible buttery baritone. It’s a mark of a maturing artist who traded heavy distortion and top-of-your-lungs aggression for space and time, and the 180-degree metamorphosis feels completely natural. Stream it below.

Northern Wind is slated to drop Summer 2013 via Cooking Vinyl in the UK/Europe and Dine Alone Records elsewhere.

STREAM: City And Colour – “Of Space And Time”

The hardest working band in the business is back. After an uncharacteristic year without releasing any new studio material, Portugal. the Man are returning in 2013 with a new album, Evil Friends. The Alaska natives aren’t messing around on LP #7, especially with Danger Mouse on board. You can feel the producer’s presence on the album’s title track and lead single. Or at least you can just over a minute into the song when the guitars kick in. Watch the official video above.

Portugal. the Man’s Evil Friends is scheduled for release on June 4th via Atlantic.

STREAM: Portugal. The Man – “Evil Friends”

I was ready to hate Iron and Wine‘s “Grace For Saints And Ramblers”; I wasn’t a big fan of Sam Beam’s 2007 LP, Shepherd’s Dog, and from then on I lost a little bit of faith in the guy. It didn’t take too long — twenty seconds to be exact — for this song to reel me right back in as one of the faithful. Classic pop sensibilities reminiscent of Simon and Garfunkel shine through alongside a never-ending toe-tappingly catchy rhythm. It’s a throwback tune that manages to still sound fresh, and it’s loaded with a beat that’s tailor made for dancing around in socks on an uncarpeted living room floor. Stream it below.

Iron and Wine’s Ghost On Ghost drops April 16th via Nonesuch Records.

STREAM: Iron And Wine – “Grace For Saints And Ramblers”

Kurt Vile today announced the upcoming release of his fifth studio album, Wakin On A Pretty Daze. It will be Vile’s first double album and clock in at about 70 minutes long. The former War on Drugs member also shared a new track from the release: the almost identically-titled “Wakin On A Pretty Day.”

Kurt Vile, as with his 2011 breakthrough album, Smoke Ring for My Halo, gives us a taste here of his incredibly smooth guitar work and relaxing lyrics. The nearly ten-minute-long song breezes by effortlessly, making it prime for repeat listening. The video that accompanies the track features Philadelphia street artist Steve Powers as he paints an abandoned building with Kurt’s name and the album title shot as a time lapse.

Kurt Vile’s Wakin On A Pretty Daze comes out April 9th via Matador.

MP3: Kurt Vile – “Wakin On A Pretty Day”

2000 PVC plates never looked so elegant. A bit late on this one, but only because I’ve spent the last 10 days watching this video on repeat unable to focus on anything else. I’m a sucker for stop-motion music videos in general, but Shugo Tokumaru‘s new video for “Katachi” (Japanese for “shape”) turns the style on its head. The whole point of stop-motion is to trick the viewer into seeing fluid movement where there isn’t any, but director/animator team Kijek / Adamski keep shapes from each shot throughout the whole production as a visual reminder that nothing here is actually changing, just growing. Nothing I can say will do it justice — just check it out above.

Stream: Shugo Tokumaru – “Katachi”

BBC Sound of 2013 nominees Kodaline make their first mark of the year with a new track, “High Hopes.” The Irish four-piece’s inspiring, piano-led number comes with a video — streamable in the UK only for now — starring Game of Thrones actor Liam Cunningham, which you can watch here.

Kodaline’s The High Hopes EP comes out March 18th, followed by their debut full-length In A Perfect World on March 25th via RCA/B-Unique.

STREAM: Kodaline – “High Hopes”

There’s some music best listened to while curled up under the covers. Then there’s music like Eliza And The Bear that fills you up with such a sense of manifest destiny, it’s almost a shame the West was won. While their upcoming single release, Upon The North/The Southern Wild, is best listened to while crossing a snow-capped mountain range alongside Lewis and Clark, the London outfit’s inspiring, anthemic folk rock is fit for play anywhere in need of melting away the winter blues. Stream both tracks below and catch the brand new video for the release’s A-Side above.

Eliza And The Bear’s Upon The North/The Southern Wild is set for a February 25th release.

STREAM: Eliza And The Bear – “Upon The North”

STREAM: Eliza And The Bear – “The Southern Wild”

Longtime ATG heartthrob José González and his trio of Swedish indie-folk crooners Junip are set to release their follow-up to 2010′s criminally under-appreciated Fields in May of this year, and today the band shared the first track off the self-titled sophomore effort. “Line Of Fire” finds the band hitting their stride, complete with González’s unmistakable voice, expertly layered acoustic guitars, and a slow-building crescendo with each verse that reaches DEFCON 1 (or as high-emotion as an indie-folk track can get), resulting in one hell of a first single. Gonzalez and co. seemed to have figured out what real music should sound like, and have done just that. Grab “Line Of Fire” below, and get ready for the album, due out in May on Mute.

MP3: Junip – “Line Of Fire”

From the moment Zooey Deschanel paired up with smokey-voiced Matt Ward to form She and Him it was inevitable that we’d hear her come back to “Baby It’s Cold Outside”, the track she first adorably tackled in the 2003 movie Elf. Deschanel and Ward have flipped the script for their rendition of this Christmastime classic with Him playing the role of the coy flirt feebly trying to leave, and She becoming the amorous, insistent, slightly creepy, possibly nefarious host trying to get him to stay. The quirkily animated video makes light of the modern, darker interpretation of the song by showing Deschanel’s animated sprite go through a series of increasingly Misery-like exercises to keep Ward from leaving. Like much of the pair’s work, the track is a fun and lighthearted interpretation of an old classic.

“Baby It’s Cold Outside” appears on A Very She and Him Christmas with a portion of proceeds going to 826 National.

STREAM: She and Him – Baby It’s Cold Outside

Say hello to Heavy Roc‘s latest signing, Die Mason Die. A Londoner by way of Australia and Wales, the artist born Samuel Mason is making some mighty powerful music at only 19 years young. A self-described “ghost folk” artist, Die Mason Die falls somewhere near the darker end of Mumford and Sons’ catalog. He’s already got one EP under his belt — Tongues In The Clamp, released earlier this month — and is slowly making his way onto the UK live circuit. Check out the above video for standout track “Lost.”

Die Mason Die’s Tongues In The Clamp is out now via Heavy Roc.

Die Mason Die – “Lost”