Moudou Ould Mattalla - "Benja - Oh ma mère Leila (Oh My Mother Leila) [Mode Varhou]". A track that sounds more like a beginning than like a middle. I wonder what this Mauritanian group would tell me next: whether Leila is well or sick, whether she is in love or drowned. For now I feel only that I know she exists; Moudou Ould Mattalla and friends stand under a night sky and present her. They show me her face, in curls of guitar. They show me her spirit, in drum and handclap. This is all I know. (The crickets know more.) [buy]

Robin Pecknold - "I'm Losing Myself ft. Ed Droste". Pecknold says he is a slow mover, the gathering fog, best-laid plans. He says he sits with his head in his hands. He sings this gently, over acoustic guitar, and I believe him. But Pecknold is the leader of Fleet Foxes, arguably America's most successful folk act of the past five years. Their debut album has sold more than 350,000 copies. As Pecknold murmurs - with fingerpick, tape-hiss, the gorgeous & understated accompaniment of Grizzly Bear's Ed Droste - this commercial trivia colours my listening. I think, How can a champion feel so forlorn? I think, A thousand musicians would give their loves away, for a success like his. On some level, I know, such triumphs might underline a heartache; they might make a heartache worse. Even winners lose. Yes on some level, I know all this. And so I feel guilty, judging him. I listen to Pecknold's sad song and I feel sorry for my stony heart. [download Pecknold's free EP]

(photograph by montreal's celia perrin-sidarous)