Great lyrics and delivery on these recent new releases from Texan Zach Aaron. There’s some Guthrie and Dylan in the mix, and a countrified blues sound that reminds me of a cross between Townes Van Zandt and a contemporary in Leo Rondeau – with his laidback style. The songs come from Aaron’s third studio album Fill … Continue reading
Johnny Cash meets Orville Peck Deadpan kitsch country noir is the order of the day from Brent Amaker DeathSquad. ‘Hello‘ a slice of self-proclaimed western performance art from Amaker who has previously released music as Brent Amaker and The Rodeo (five albums in six years). ‘Hello’ is the title track from the group’s new album, … Continue reading
Melbourne group Team Love are set to release their debut album in 2020 and ‘Running‘ is the first taste of the new record. The quartet have added a bass guitarist and drummer to their line-up on their most recent recordings and that’s fleshed out their sound and allowed them to draw more country and folk … Continue reading
We’re digging this song by Halifax, Nova Scotia songwriter Norma MacDonald that we came across online. She released her new album Old Future a few weeks ago and ‘Wonder In The Summer’ is just one of its many highlights. MacDonald’s voice is a classic country sound, soaked in that ache and melancholy that we love. … Continue reading
Nothing beats a well-written song, with strong playing and topped off by a voice brimming with soul and character. All the boxes are ticked on this new single (and the accompanying album) from Nathan Kalish. ‘Delta Woman’ comes from Kalish’s tenth album Songs For Nobody. It’s pure country but it also contains a strong streak of … Continue reading
Tommy Alexander has a new album coming out on June 5th and that’s a promising prospect based on the sound of this track – ‘End Of The World’. A mid-tempo piece of alt-country rock, it channels Prine and Kristofferson as he chronicles troubled times. The song has that weary, poetic grain to it that we … Continue reading
Fanny Lumsden Fallow Cooking Vinyl Australia Right from the outset of Fanny Lumsden’s third album you sense that something different is in the air – a new maturity and and depth to the music as the lush opening hymnal refrain of ‘Mountain Song’ echoes and reverberates from the speakers. Musically it’s unexplored territory for the songwriter … Continue reading
The Roseline GOOD/GRIEF The Roseline hail from Lawrence, KS and are the band that singer/songwriter Colin Halliburton gathers around his songs in order to fully realise and bring them to life. He’s done just that on GOOD/GRIEF, an album written in response to the death of his best friend (and keyboardist/musical co-conspirator in The Roseline), as well … Continue reading
Michelle Billingsley has just released two new singles, the first of which is ‘Portia’, a song of which she says “Portia’s an everywoman. Actually, she’s my front. This song is about my most private insecurities, so it felt freer to package them up as someone else.” The song drifts and slow-dances along on a lilting … Continue reading
Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame member Gretchen Peters has announced her new album The Night You Wrote That Song: The Songs of Mickey Newbury, will be released on May 15, 2020 on Scarlet Letter Records. The Night You Wrote That Song: The Songs of Mickey NewburyTracklist:1. The Sailor2. She Even Woke Me Up To Say Goodbye3. Just Dropped … Continue reading
FANNY LUMSDEN WANTED TO CREATE SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL THAT SHE COULD FIND SOLACE IN Fanny Lumsden’s third country-folk album, Fallow, sees her exploring new musical terrain and dealing with the loss of loved ones and the joy of bringing new life into the world. As she explains to Chris Familton, it’s an album that represents possibility … Continue reading
Portland indie Americana group Patina have just released their new (3rd) album Hard Luck Sound and ‘All I Ever Had’ is a great example of the line they walk through folk and country music like a contemporary version of The Band or a less rambunctious Houndmouth. They’ve got a great handle on not overplaying their … Continue reading
Last month, Nashville-based Ron Pope released his new LP Bone Structure, a 15-track set of songs that are presented in both subtle and overt form as a collective letter to his young daughter. Pope seems to have had in interesting and at times challenging life to-date, as an impoverished child of teenaged parents to broken-hearted New … Continue reading
Last year we featured ‘To Dream Again‘, a song from San Francisco-based Eric Long which caught our ear with its stripped back folk sound and his weathered voice. ‘Bluebird’ comes from his new 2020 album Looking Up and shows a warmer, more detailed sound, draped in a melodic vocal and some wonderful pedal steel and fiddle. On first … Continue reading
August Knight gets bare and desolate on this stripped back take on his song ‘Arizona Rain’. Though minimal in its musical dressage, it still sounds lush within its high and lonesome pedal-steel draped sound. Over all of that, Knight hits the sweet spot between heartache and simple lyrical impact. “Arizona rain bring me an angel, … Continue reading
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