In the summer, I play a lot of guitar, not only do I have a heck of a lot more time, but I love playing guitar by the fire. Damien Rice is a great artist I've become pretty comfortable with playing, his accompaniment is simple but always sounds very delicate and beautiful. His voice is powerful and has so much emotion in it that it brings his lyrics to life. He writes all his own stuff and kind of reminds me of an acoustic version of coldplay. Rice has released 2 albums, one titled 0 released in 2002 and another titled 9 in 2007. Although most of his songs are done by him accompanying himself on guitar, he can also play the cello, violin, piano and drums. His songs are mostly slow, and i wouldn't exactly call them up beat but the lyrics aren't quite as sad as most slow songs tend to be, in fact sweet avenue is a great love song that could make anyone smile. That reminds me, smile, also known as Aimee, is another hit of Rice's, and it's powerful chorus will blow you away. I encourage you to take a look at all of Damien Rice's discography because each song really is different, but his unique sounds pulls them all together delightfully. Here's one of his really slow tunes, The Blower's Daughter, from the film closer.