I’m digging this reverbed, rollicking sound from R McClure & Tall Shadows. The British Columbian has a great take on country music, adding a really cool, dreamy psych sheen. Lovely stuff. ‘Big Night’ rides a great shuffling drumbeat like the rush of a successful night mission. ‘Me And My Hangover’ slows things down but finds … Continue reading
It’s great to see Robert Connely Farr has a new album comin’ round the bend next week. We were really taken by his LP of 2019, Dirty South Blues, and everything we’ve heard so far from the new one, Country Supper, has sounded mighty good! Farr is a Bolton, Mississippi bluesman who has a knack … Continue reading
In the great tradition of spaghetti western meets surf guitar music, here’s the German group Beyond The Breath Of Grace and their fine instrumental track ‘Atacama’. Named after the desert in Chile, it charges along at a fair clip of its hooves, conjuring up evocative western images of desert dust rising against sunburnt hills. The … Continue reading
Skyway Man is singer, songwriter and producer James Wallace. He’s got a brand new album called The World Only Ends When You Die set for release on October 23rd. The album was recorded at Spacebomb Studios in Richmond VA and it’s being released by the excellent Mama Bird Recording Co label. ‘Old Swingin’ Bell’ is … Continue reading
Gothic, psych country. Forthcoming album mixed by Mitch Easter E.Z. Shakes aren’t afraid to inject some darkness and rabble-rousing noise into their gothic country sound. On ‘Making Mistakes’ there’s a generous use of reverb to give the song a brooding, ghostly feel that works beautifully. The Columbia, South Carolina group, who are getting ready to … Continue reading
Melbourne songwriter Sunset Stranger (Stephen E. Stanisic) has a brand new single, the final one ahead of the digital, CD and limited vinyl release of his new sophomore album Your Home Town on Friday September 4th. Previously recording under the name Eddie Nuardo, Stanisic has proven he’s a consummate songwriter and player, bringing an authentic … Continue reading
There’s a woodsy, hypnotic quality to this new track from New York songwriter Rachel Angel. ‘Strapped’ quickly finds its pulse and the equivalent of circular breathing in the cyclical guitar. It’s wonderfully mesmerising as her ethereal voice intones and drifts across the speakers. It’s a bucolic Mazzy Star folk vibe that sparkles and floats along, … Continue reading
D.C Cross Terabithian No Drums Records Bridge To Terabithia is a 1977 novel (and 2007 film) about two kids who discover an abandoned treehouse and create their own fantasy world to escape the trauma of their daily lives. Darren Cross has dialled into his own sonic Terabithia, in this unprecedented time of upheaval, and created … Continue reading
Man, what a song. Ridiculously catchy and most effectively it’s all delivered with an effortless and breezy, light-headed and heavy-hearted, sway and swagger. Like The Lemonheads and The Jayhawks – that nexus of sweet Americana and power-pop. Just a perfect country-rock, guitar pop nugget. Russel Taine Jr. is a band from Austin, TX comprised of … Continue reading
Here’s our mid year list for 2020. In alphabetical order, the albums (and one EP) that have hit our musical sweet-spot over the last six months. Big hitters and newcomers cosied up together in a smorgasbord of country, folk and Americana goodness. Dig in and have a listen… Andrew Tuttle Alexandra Andy Golledge Namoi EP … Continue reading
We’re digging the sound of this track from Molly Maher, a song that blends western and Mexicali styles in a way that tumbles and clatters around with a loose and graceful quality. It’s like Tom Waits, light-headed on tequila, jamming with Calexico in a dusty backstreet on a sunny afternoon. Lovely stuff and there’s more … Continue reading
The delightfully named Scurvylicious concoct a wonderfully vibrant sound on this new song ‘Wiser‘. The Melbourne band open the track with a slow, swaying jangly guitar sound – like an afterthought at the start of the song. Near the minute mark it kicks into first gear with prominent bass driving things along and the mantra … Continue reading
We’ve always got a soft-spot for that point where country and folk meet slowcore. There are elements of that in ‘Love On Repeat’, the latest single from UK group Shattercones. The song comes from their EP Oppenheimer, which is out now. You can here the sound of acts like Tindersticks, albeit with a heavier gothic … Continue reading
Following on from Wagons‘ fine Songs From The Aftermath album, the band have been hard at work recording a new EP, of which the dark and spooky ‘Need A Ride?’ is the title track. There’s a cosmic malevolence at hand on the single, with psychobilly influences, some Suicide and a demonic ‘Nebraska’ Springsteen – all … Continue reading
We love the nexus between alt-country, dark folk, post-rock and slowcore music. That rarefied air that people like Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Jason Molina, Bon Iver and others have all breathed and created in. When we heard ‘Mountain Kin / Anodyne‘, by group State Park Ranger, we knew they were kindred spirits of those musicians and … Continue reading
