We like the dark side of folk music, the weird and wonderful sounds that conjure up spirits from the shadows of the heart and mind. Underworld Orchard are a group featuring Hannah Olivegren (Zomes), Steven Strohmeier (Arbouretum, Beach House) and Baltimore experimental music fixture Liz Downing. Together they weave a magical, hypnotic sound, a serenade … Continue reading
Carver Baronda is a New Orleans-based songwriter who has featured on a couple of compilations and released a cassette of her home recordings. ‘Devotion’ comes from her first studio release – a four song EP called Spooky Love. The ramshackle, organic vibe of the song is what pulled us in. It wanders along, taking in … Continue reading
A new weird and wonderful track from Frog, out of Queens, NYC. They’re loose and ramblin’, gloriously ramshackle in the vein of Meat Puppets, Sparklehorse, Silver Jews, Modest Mouse and more. This song sounds like a lost Neil Young outtake from the 70s where the off-kilter vocals draw you into a parallel universe where … Continue reading
Frog are a band out of Queens, NYC and they mix up a cool blend of wonky, askew Americana. Firmly operating on the cosmic side of the tracks, without sacrificing song-craft and hooks, the duo released their new LP Whatever We Probably Already Had It a couple of weeks ago. You can hear bits of The … Continue reading
Micah P. Hinson has a new album on the way, due out on October 26th. When I Shoot At You With Arrows, I Will Shoot To Destroy You includes this fine song, ‘The Sleep Of The Damned’, a ramshackle slice of loose limbed rock ‘n’ roll with a backwoods vibe and reference points in the region of Smog … Continue reading
Aldous Harding blew many people’s minds with her debut, self-titled LP three years ago. Since then she’s been keeping busy with plenty of live shows and more recently, completing the recording of its follow-up, Party. It was recorded by PJ Harvey’s right-hand man John Parish and the first single is the dramatic Horizon. It’s a … Continue reading
Across eight albums, Devendra Banhart has explored all corners of folk and esoteric pop music with both authenticity and free-form eccentricity. He’s played it straight and pure, joyous and playful; all the while pushing the boundaries, from instrumental ragas to songs with artfully obtuse titles such as ‘Tit Smoking In The Temple Of Artesan Mimicry’. … Continue reading
A decade ago, Devendra Banhart was the poster child for the American acid-folk movement that rose out of a close-knit community. As with all scenes, the different members went on to pursue their muses into contrasting and varied territory with Banhart continuing to explore eccentric song form. At first he took it into a more … Continue reading
Darren Cross made his name as a founding member of collage pop provocateurs Gerling but these days he’s one half of folk noir duo Jep and Dep and a solo artist trading in dark avant-folk. Surprisingly, this is Cross’ debut solo album and in many ways it embraces his past and present musical explorations with … Continue reading
Elvis Perkins has been floating around the music business periphery since his very good debut solo LP Ash Wednesday came out in 2007. His latest which was released in February is I Aubade which is a much denser, layered and raw collection of folk ruminations that veer towards the eclecticism of a band like Califone … Continue reading
2014, what another great year for Americana music, especially here in Australia where the scene seems to be growing in leaps and bounds. An example of that was Love Police launching the inaugural Out On The Weekend festival in Melbourne with a smaller version in Brisbane and a ton of sideshows in Sydney. All reports … Continue reading
Will Oldham has released the second single from his 2014 album Singers Grave a Sea of Tongues and it finds the ever mercurial songwriter and sometimes actor shimmying and preening with an impressive beard extension. Of his new album we said: It sits comfortably between his folk and country domains and is laden with austere … Continue reading
Aldous Harding has seen her musical reputation grown in leaps and bounds this year on the back of her superb self-titled album. It’s a bewitching and enchanting collection of songs of which we said: The first striking characteristic is Harding’s voice, perhaps one that might deter some listeners, but for those with any affection for … Continue reading
Will Oldham has, by his own prolific standards, been a tad quiet on the album front since his Everly Brothers-inspired album from 2013. That all changed when today he announced a new Bonnie “Prince” Billy record called Singer’s Grave ・ a Sea of Tongues will be released on September 23rd via Drag City and Spunk here … Continue reading
Folk music comes in many styles and levels of intensity from brisk strumming and foot stomping to plaintiff torch song but it’s alway at its best when stripped back to its essence – words and accompanying raw instrumentation. On her debut album Lyttleton’s Aldous Harding (Hannah Harding) has a direct line to the heart and … Continue reading
