Canada has always had a strong country scene which is too often overshadowed by their southern neighbours. In recent time Lindi Ortega and Corb Lund have released great records and now Del Barber, a new name to us, has just released his 4th album. Barber’s sound is a comfortable one that shape-shifts between folk, honky … Continue reading
On her long-awaited debut album Caitlin Harnett finds a lush and harmonious middle ground between folk and country music. There’s a lightness to her music and voice in the vein of the carefree sound that came out of Laurel Canyon in the 1970s, with Joni Mitchell an obvious touchstone. Strings, harmonica, organ and horns enhance … Continue reading
Bernie Griffen won plenty of hearts and minds with the dark and emotive alt-country of his last album Everything So Far (2012), accompanied by his band The Grifters. Now he has replaced nearly all of them with a new line-up called The Thin Men and jumped tracks to a rockier (in its many different forms) … Continue reading
Green Mohair Suits, who always put on a great live show – from lounges to festival stages – can now add a strong debut album to their CV. Their strength lies in their uber-tight harmonies that blend in virtuosic layers, equal parts Fleet Foxes and CSN. Like local alumni Little Bastard they’ve captured the vibe … Continue reading
Willy Vlautin is best known as frontman for alt-country band Richmond Fontaine and as an increasingly renowned fiction author. Now he’s added The Delines to his CV, a band where he takes a background role as songwriter and player with the immediate spotlight falling on singer Amy Boone (Damnations) who possesses a devastating ache and … Continue reading
Nikki Lane hits all the right marks on her excellent new album of rollicking Americana and sultry rock ’n’ roll. Her savvy writing style blends those genres with a pop sensibility that provides hook-laden and ridiculously catchy songs for the first two thirds of All Or Nothin’. Whether it is the big-beat honky tonk of … Continue reading
The mercurial Ryan Adams is always chasing his muse in whatever direction it takes him and this time it is back to the electric guitar with strong rock trappings contrasting the acoustic Americana of Ashes & Fire. Heavily reverbed chords ring out (courtesy of his favourite Princeton amps) somewhere between Johnny Marr and Tom Petty … Continue reading
Shovels & Rope burst through the wall of anonymity with their debut album and now they’ve backed it up with another rollicking, rough and ready clutch of thirteen songs. Their live show gets rave reviews for its rawness and passionate delivery and they’ve bottled some of that here with throat-shredding enthusiasm sidling up next to … Continue reading
Married couple Chris Masterson and Eleanor Whitmore return with their second album and they stick close to the game-plan on this one with its upbeat rock-lite country pop, near-perfect harmonies and clinical yet accomplished guitar and fiddle playing. The problem is that it’s all too polished and nice. When they tackle melancholic subject matter it … Continue reading
Kasey Chambers sits in that rare artistic position having sold 1.2 million albums as a hugely successful commercial songwriter/performer, while still retaining integrity and respect from the country and alt-country communities where she first established her talent. Bittersweet is Chambers’ first album since she split from husband Shane Nicholson after they released their 2011 collaborative … Continue reading
Emma Swift’s voyage as a songwriter has seen her progressively sink deeper and deeper into the soulful well of country music. As a broadcaster she has long championed Americana music in its many forms, soaking up its heart and nuances, traditions and spirit and as one half of duo 49 Goodbyes she showed her ambition … Continue reading
The story behind Corb Lund’s eight album involves a trip with his band the Hurtin’ Albertans down from Canada to Memphis’ legendary Sun Studio for a completely live recording session over two nights. That approach has certainly reaped rewards with the album sounding raw and alive. There is a real sense of the players bouncing … Continue reading
Mood and atmosphere are key factors in the creation of immersive and transportive music and Jo Meares’ new album is richly imbued with them. Eerie forlorn harmonica, delicate and heart-wrenching piano notes, slow shuffling drums and exquisite guitar courtesy of Jeff Lang are the backdrop to Meares’ tales of love, pain and emotional turbulence, rendered … Continue reading
Until recently there’s been something of a divide between pop-country and alt-country but now they seem to be finding common ground more often. Jenny Queen’s new album achieves that and now Tracy McNeil finds similar gold by mining the tried and true washes of guitar distortion, twang and tremolo that characterise melancholic americana with added … Continue reading
There was a whiff of novelty act when these Swedish sisters singing country-tinged folk music with a You Tube hits-heavy cover of a Fleet Foxes song first appeared in 2008 but any cynicism quickly evaporated when people heard their songs and fell in love with those voices and harmonies. Three albums down the track they … Continue reading
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