Gillian Welch Boots No. 2: The Lost Songs, Vol. 2 Acony Records Followers of Gillian Welch are hardy folk, having to endure long periods between albums to satiate their fandom. Sure they get to hear her on David Rawlings excellent albums as well but there’s no substitute for a pure Welch album, as she’s proved … Continue reading
Trees Trees (50th Anniversary Edition) Fire Records The name Trees might not inspire immediate recognition for music fans but the English group’s brief, but bright three year existence from 1969-1972 has played the long game as obsessive psychedelic and folk musicologists discovered them and quietly spread the word. Fifty years later we have this wonderful … Continue reading
Kyle Jenkins, the ever prolific frontman of QLD alt-country group Suicide Swans, has released the first single from his second solo album Love, Lost Love. ‘Rosey Red Day’ sees Kyle reflecting on positivity in the face of the terror and destruction that’s rife in contemporary society. Over a flurry of strummed acoustic guitar strings and … Continue reading
Straight from the opening guitar licks you know this track is going to hit the spot. It kicks along like a hot-wired boot heel on a wooden honky tonk dancefloor. Sass, humour and hooks to burn, ‘Everything Is Trash’ is the debut single from new solo country / Americana act Roberta Faceplant, who is Philadelphia-based … Continue reading
Rose City Band, the project of Ripley Johnson when he’s not immersed in the world of Wooden Shjips or Moon Duo, has announced that album number three will be released on May 21st. Based on ‘Lonely Spaces’ (below) expect more of his amazing blend of dreamy, chooglin’, cosmic country. Press release spiel… Rose City Band … Continue reading
Sam Newton returns with his first single since the release of his 2018 album Stare Into The Dark. Since then he’s built up his own home studio and ‘Ground Me’ is one of the first results of that endeavour. As has become Newton’s signature sound, a widescreen intimacy casts a warm and resonant shadow across … Continue reading
Carver released their new single ‘At The Harbor’ last month and it’s one of those tracks that sits right in the pocket, not trying to carve our a new variant of Americana music, just comfortably hitting its marks in terms of melody and playing. There’s an unassuming quality to the music but by the midpoint … Continue reading
Simplicity done well makes for powerful music and this song from Nashville-based songwriter Henry Conlon grabbed us the second he started singing. One of those voices that sounds both powerful and emotionally wrought at the same time, it reminded me of the dark drama of Townes Van Zandt and more recently, Tyler Childers. ‘I’m Coming … Continue reading
There’s some exceptional playing on this new track from Nashville, TN artist Shane Scarazzini and his band EightFingers. Check out the guitars that spark and fly amid fiddle and pedal steel on ‘West Virginia Girl‘. The fluidity and energy in the playing is what nails this as a superb track but without the strength of … Continue reading
There’s some great playing on this new track from Alison Self. Electric twang and a quick-fire shuffle make for a rippin’ good honky-tonk sound for Self to sing over in her rough and raw voice. Self is based in Portland after time spent in Nashville, Denver and Austin and her new EP is her latest … Continue reading
I think in many ways we’d all like to erase 2020 and start again, but still with the release of the many great albums that came out this year. I’m guessing, like me, most of you found solace, escape, distraction and comfort in listening to music – new and old – to get you through … Continue reading
Lists! We have a couple for you as usual as we wind down at the end of another year. I won’t rabbit on about the trials and tribulations of 2020, the good news was that the music still came down the pipeline with the same amount of quality and reward. We’ll have our overall list … Continue reading
This Frontier Needs Heroes have been releasing music for over a decade and you can hear that lived-in feel in the playing and the maturity of the arrangement and sublime vocal melodies of singer-songwriter Brad Lauretti on this new song ‘South Dakota’. It’s a mix of gorgeous, folk-tinged vocals, the grit and electric twang of the … Continue reading
‘Fortune’ is the closing track on Norwegian singer-songwriter Juni Habel‘s new album All Ears. The folk artist has a beautiful folk tone and temperament which is balanced between the twee and arcane. She shares similarities with the bewitching sounds of early Aldous Harding as well as Big Thief and Tiny Ruins. The interplay between her … Continue reading
Drayton Farley (Woodstock, Alabama) is a new name to us but his voice caught our ear right off the bat. The lyrics fell into place pretty immediately too. Never over-forced, he balances the poetry and direct political commentary with a tasteful touch of melancholic country. The song definitely calls into the same camp as the … Continue reading
