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
As this song starts you’re drawn in by Appalachian songwriter Pierceton Hobbs‘ interesting drawl that curls around the vowels and twists them into interesting shapes. Then the band kicks in and there’s a wonderfully laidback yet deep feel to the groove. ‘Fawn’, the title track from Hobbs’ debut album makes for a really nice introduction … Continue reading
This is just hands-down superb playing from Chris Larcombe, a young guitarist out of the UK who made the wise decision to head for the sounds of country music when he first heard the telecaster of the late Byrd Clarence White a couple of years ago. ‘Sweet Cheeks’ is a classic country instrumental written by … 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
There’s a Leonard Cohen cadence and observational wit at play, filtered through Cuchulain‘s voice that recalls Evan Dando of The Lemonheads. It’s a clever and lyrically impressive track that rolls along perfectly like a Randy Newman lost gem. ‘Been There’ comes from the San Francisco Bay Area-based songwriter’s forthcoming album Songs For Grownups. “For a … Continue reading
Daniel Young is a songwriter out of Salt Lake City, Utah who has been plying his craft for two decades now. It shows too. ‘Hold You Tighter’ is one of those effortless delights that gently tumbles out the speakers on the back of warm and mellifluous melodies, a voice inhabited by just the right amount … Continue reading
As usual, a great county of new singles hitting the airwaves and digital universe this week. First up is this lovely duet between Kurt Vile and John Prine, recorded late in 2019. “Probably the single most special musical moment in my life,” says Vile. It’s part of a new KV EP called Speed, Sound, Lonely KV, out … Continue reading
This track caught our ear for a few reasons when we first heard it. Obviously the title and subject matter… anyone willing to take a poetic swing at the evil piece of shit that is the US president gets our musical vote. Canadian Zach Kleisinger has a great cadence in the delivery of his lines. … Continue reading
COAL CITY GOLD James Thomson’s third album is his his finest yet, the result of his steady creative evolution. Golden Exile sees the Newcastle songwriter digging deeper and more widely into his influences and writing with a greater sense of musical identity. Back in 2012 he came to the attention of journalist and label owner … Continue reading
Super smooth and soulful jazz and country-blues flavoured sounds on this new single from Micah Edwards. The song has a lightness of touch about it that makes those melodies damn hard to shake. Perfect for this time of year as we head into spring in the Southern Hemisphere. Edwards hails from Houston and other than … Continue reading
Fremantle-based Helen Townsend has released a new single, taken from her forthcoming 2021 EP Love Lies ‘n’ Leaving and it finds her dialling into that Americana folk sound that singer-songwriters such as Gillian Welch do so well. The song, co-written with Belle Harvey and featuring Shannon Smith, is a cry out to that loved one … Continue reading
Juni Habel is a Norwegian songwriter who’s recently released ‘Run Dry’, the second single from her upcoming full-length debut album, All Ears. This single possesses a swirling, otherworldly baroque folk sound , built on her wonderful acoustic guitar playing and high register vocal that recalls singers such as Joni Mitchell, Aldous Harding and others. Continue reading
Gillian Welch is set to release Vol. 2 of her Lost Songs series of unreleased recordings. In the meantime you can hear ‘Beautiful Boy’ and ‘I Just Want You To Know‘ The second instalment of the newly unearthed and celebrated cache of home demos and reel-to-reel recordings from the vault of Gillian Welch and David … Continue reading
The Jayhawks XOXO Thirty Tigers / Cooking Vinyl Australia It’s album number 11 for the Minnesotan band, still led by Gary Louris who has endured line-up changes and a five year hiatus through the band’s 35 year career. XOXO is The Jayhawks’ fourth album since they reunited in 2009 and it finds them still mining … 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
