We’re loving the space in this new song from Canadian JUNO Award winner Catherine MacLellan. ‘Out Of Time’ matches its title and sentiment with the arrangement and exquisite playing on this slow soulful sway of a country lament. The song comes from her new LP COYOTE set to be released October 11, 2019. Continue reading
SONGS OF TRIBUTE For my Waitin’ Around to Die column in Rhythms I recently took a look at some of the outstanding releases in the field of tribute albums. Specifically those that fall under the umbrella of Americana and alt-country, whether it’s in recognition of an artist’s body of work or a fundraiser to assist them … Continue reading
It starts with a standard form – sleepy drums, blocks of piano chords and trailing notes, but then Eamon McGrath‘s voice rings high and lonesome, like a man with something to say, hollerin’ from the next room. It’s a great production move to offset the intimacy of the music with McGrath’s anguished declarations as he … Continue reading
RYAN BINGHAM AMERICAN LOVE SONG Thirty Tigers/Cooking Vinyl Australia Ryan Bingham cut his teeth as a rodeo rider, he’s an actor, but most importantly he’s an accomplished singer-songwriter. On his sixth album he’s corralled his most wide reaching and rewarding collection of songs to date. Across 15 songs, Bingham paints portraits of the American dream, … Continue reading
A DECADE OF MAKING SWEET SOUNDS After a decade of relentless touring, from street corners to bars and festivals, The California Honeydrops have forged a strong bond with their audiences. Drummer Ben Malament discusses the band’s achievements with Chris Familton, ahead of their return to Bluesfest in 2019. This will be the third year in … Continue reading
When a genuine old soul inhabits a voice it conveys genuine emotion and a lived-in rawness to the sound of a song. That was what struck us when we heard this version of ‘House Of The Rising Sun’ by Swedish gothic folk and blues musician Old Kerry McKee. McKee has a history in punk and … Continue reading
Sean McMahon‘s new album You Will Know When You’re There is out now and it’s a superb record. We’ve had it on high rotation of late – soundtracking road trips, lazy Sunday mornings and dimly-lit late nights. One of the highlights is ‘Outsider Blues’, a track that is built on a beautiful blend of acoustic instruments … Continue reading
I like the plaintive, spacious sound on this new track and clip from old time/bluegrass Same Francisco-based band Late For The Train. They draw this song out into a beautiful meditation on emotion and the colour blue. It’s bound together with the wonderful vocal interplay and fine fiddle playing from Laura Benson, especially at the … 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
Here’s a new video clip for the track ‘Indians Never Die’, from Black Belt Eagle Scout, the name that Katherine Paul records under. She hails from the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community in what is now known as Washington State and this song comes from her debut LP Mother Of My Children which was released in September … Continue reading
Watling & Bates are Kym Watling and Geoffrey Bates, songwriters from Unumgar, on the western edge of the Northern Rivers of NSW. This new song of theirs grabbed our attention with its blend of bush ballad and gothic country – all shimmering notes, a slow noir crawl and story of a mysterious disappearance of a … Continue reading
Soul music is an integral part of what we call Americana music. Just one of the many elements that make up that sound. Boo Ray incorporates it wonderfully on this new single that has one hell of a catchy chorus, complete with horns and soul-dripping harmonies. It’s country music but it rocks and swings like … Continue reading
Think the spirit of Nick Drake and the quiet musical irreverence of Devendra Banhart on this beautiful slice of cosmic folk music from Israeli group Prophecy Playground, led by singer-songwriter and composer Or Izekson. It comes from their forthcoming album Comfort Zone. Continue reading
On a busy morning this song stopped us in our tracks with its beautiful vocal harmonies and the lyrical guitar playing. It comes from Canadian Abigail Lapell, a folk songwriter who released her third LP Getaway at the start of February. Lapell manages to combine a haunting noir aesthetic to her music with a pure … Continue reading
As well as working tirelessly putting together festivals such as The Gum Ball and Dashville Skyline on his family property in the Hunter Valley of NSW, Matt ‘Magpie’ Johnson also finds time to write music with Magpie Diaries. Sanctuary is their debut album and finds them inhabiting a sweet spot right at the nexus of … Continue reading
