Oliver Ray has a brand new album out now called Out Passed Nowhere. It’s his debut record and features Howe Gelb, musicians from Sugar Candy Mountain, The Myrrors, Xixa, and China, as well as a very special appearance by the poet laureate of punk, Patti Smith, who Ray has worked with as her longtime guitarist. ‘Ol’ … Continue reading
The sound of The Doors, psychedelic blues, gothic country, Lee Hazlewood and even Julian Cope collide on this new song from Australian Jordan Merrick. Also a member of Brisbane band Fugitive & The Vagabond, Merrick has dialled into a swirling, pulsing, dark folk-rock vibe on ‘Low Country’, which bodes well for his forthcoming debut album. … Continue reading
Themes of loss of identity and belonging in the modern hi-tech society rise out of a gothic swamp on this track by Simon Paul Roy aka A Few Bad Men. He was a founding member and songwriter of the Australian psychedelic power pop group Bell Jar, working with Marty Wilson-Piper (The Church) and Ed Kuepper, (The … Continue reading
Here’s the recently released single from Demi Mitchell, the first since she released her fine album The Overflow last year. This track hangs wonderfully in the air, built on tension and a noir aesthetic courtesy of ringing guitar chords and a shroud of reverb. It’s a kind of smokey gothic Americana, one of those songs … Continue reading
Steve Gunn The Unseen In Between Matador Steadily, across a career now spanning a dozen years, Steve Gunn has progressively moved from the abstract, experimental and collaborative to a singular artistic with his own distinct sound. From American Primitive guitar beginnings where he was enthralled by the likes of John Fahey and Sandy Bull to … Continue reading
Wyndham Garnett is a multi-instrumentalist, singer songwriter, producer currently living in Los Angeles. He is a founding member of the group Elvis Perkins in Dearland and a former touring member of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and ‘Spark’ is the quite wonderful first taste of his new seven track album/EP Fistful Of Stars which is set … Continue reading
Something a bit different today, this track ‘Drugstore Cowboy’ from Swiss duo John Dear and drummer Alma June. It’s a howling stomper, a mix of the urban angst and hollering backwoods blues. There are shades of The Black Keys in their sound which isn’t afraid to get noisey and raucous with heavily reverted guitars and … Continue reading
TALES FROM TWO CITIES Jo Meares reveals the complicated process of recording his new album and how he learnt to embrace his own voice. By Chris Familton Over a series of albums, Jo Meares has slowly whittled away at his craft of songwriting and the delicate placement of those songs on atmospheric musical canvases. Dark … Continue reading
This track caught our ear with its noir verses and power pop on codeine chorus. It’s lush and swooning in the way it glides and soars at different times. Rich Webb hails from Melbourne and Stoner’ comes from his album Le Rayon Vert which you can check out on Spotify and purchase via his website. … Continue reading
Here comes the break-up album. It’s a tried and true fallback for a million songwriters out there but only a small percentage really nail the heartache, despair, fallout and renewal that comes from a fractured relationship. Marlon Williams has taken an approach that doesn’t shy away from the bruises and open wounds, instead he presents … Continue reading
Kramies recorded the EP Of All The Places Been & Everything The End in an old castle with the help of Jason Lytle (Grandaddy), Todd Tobias (Guided By Voices) and Jerry Becker (Train). It’s a swirling, hypnotic dreamscape of a song that recalls Mercury Rev and a floating-in-space Perry Farrell-fronted Porno For Pyros. At its heart … Continue reading
Matthew Baird’s 2014 album, Fall, caught these ears as a great example of how to absorb influence from varying genres and scenes with subtlety. Now, on the followup Time, Baird has again subverted the obvious and recorded a set of songs that dig into a number of musical corners with darkly rewarding results. Many of … Continue reading
Small Feet is the moniker of Simon Stålhamre, a Stockholm based artist, producer and songwriter and Ice Storm is a recently released single that finds a wonderful place between the lonesome sound of Neil Young and the avant folk of Chad Van Gaalen and Sparklehorse. Expect a new full length in 2019. I started crying … Continue reading
Josh Geffin is a songwriter who hails from London, where he’s been part of the folk scene there for the last decade. He’s been involved with experimental guitar music as well as folk music and this new album, Hum & Glow finds him exploring instrumental atmospheric country music in the vein of William Tyler and … Continue reading
This sounds like a pretty special musical project. Mercury Rev have announced the release of Bobbie Gentry’s The Delta Sweete Revisited, on February 8 via Bella Union. The record is a “reimagining” of Bobbie Gentry’s 1968 album The Delta Sweete and features an impressive cast of guest vocalists: 1. Okolona River Bottom Band ft. Norah Jones 2. … Continue reading
