SIX STRINGS: Darren Cross (stream the new single)
Alt-Country / Americana / New Music / Six Strings / Stream

SIX STRINGS: Darren Cross (stream the new single)

Darren Cross has been part of the music industry for the last two decades as a member of a number of bands, most notably 90s indie pop upstarts Gerling. He’s also a soundtrack composer, runs the music and video production company Bernstein Studios, has co-written with Jagwar Ma and is now one half of Jep and Dep … Continue reading

ALBUM REVIEW: Tiny Ruins ~ Brightly Painted One
Album Artwork / Album Reviews / Americana / Folk

ALBUM REVIEW: Tiny Ruins ~ Brightly Painted One

Hollie Fullbrook’s debut album and other releases as Tiny Ruins have been critically lauded, as have her many live shows over the last few years. Brightly Painted One, her long overdue follow-up to Some Were Meant For Sea continues the exceptional journey of this New Zealand singer/songwriter whose reputation is now one that spans continents. … Continue reading

NEW MUSIC: Marlon Williams ~ Strange Things
Alt-Country / Americana / New Music / Stream / Tour

NEW MUSIC: Marlon Williams ~ Strange Things

  If you haven’t heard the other-worldly voice of New Zealander Marlon Williams you need to fix that immediately. Below you can check out his new single ‘Strange Things’, released today and presumably from a forthcoming and much anticipated solo album. It’s a lush and beautifully haunting song with ghostly backing vocals that highlights Williams’ voice and … Continue reading

NEW MUSIC: Wooden Wand ~ Farmer’s Corner
Alt-Country / Americana / Country / Folk / Freak Folk / New Music / Stream

NEW MUSIC: Wooden Wand ~ Farmer’s Corner

James Jackson Toth is a prolific songwriter and musician by anyone’s measure. Recording under a number of names and in collaboration with a range of other musicians such as Michael Gira (Swans), he seems most himself when operating as Wooden Wand. On his new album Farmer’s Corner (his 14th by our count) he brings one … Continue reading

NEW MUSIC: Willie Watson ~ Folk Singer Vol. 1 (new album on Gillian Welch label)
Album Artwork / Americana / Bluegrass / Blues / Folk / New Music / News / Stream / Videos

NEW MUSIC: Willie Watson ~ Folk Singer Vol. 1 (new album on Gillian Welch label)

Gillian Welch’s record label Acony Records is proud to announce Willie Watson’s debut solo album Folk Singer Vol. 1 to be released on May 6, 2014. The album was produced by David Rawlings, longtime friend and producer of Watson’s previous band, Old Crow Medicine Show. “There’s a lot of weight in the way Willie performs,” … Continue reading

Folk / New Music / Stream

NEW MUSIC: Beverley Martyn ~ Reckless Jane (written with Nick Drake)

Beverley Martyn has a new album out on April 22nd. The Phoenix and the Turtle includes the song ‘Reckless Jane’, a co-write with songwriter Nick Drake. Started just months before Drake died, the two wrote the lyrics to the folk song together and first began working on the music during a jam session in Martyn’s home in Hastings. … Continue reading

Bluegrass / Folk / New Music / Stream

NEW MUSIC: Hear three songs from the new Nickel Creek LP

Nickel Creek, featuring Chris Thile (mandolin/vocals), Sara Watkins (fiddle/vocals), and Sean Watkins (guitar/vocals) release their new LP A Dotted Line today (April 1st) via Nonesuch Records. This is their first album since they went on hiatus in 2007 and marks 25 years since they first formed back in 1989. Check out three of the album tracks below.   Continue reading

Album Reviews / Alt-Country / Americana / Folk / Stream

EP REVIEW: Jordie Lane ~ Not Built To Last EP

by Chris Familton Two years on from Jordie Lane’s well received second album Blood Thinner, the Melbournian returns from some overseas jaunts with a new EP of warm, bucolic folk and alt-country songs that further enhance his stock as a quality singer/songwriter. Lane is one of those contemporary singers who sounds very much like the … Continue reading

Album Reviews / Folk / Videos

ALBUM REVIEW: The Darling Downs ~ In The Days When The World Was Wide

by Chris Familton Messrs Peno and Salmon reconvene for their third record under The Darling Downs moniker and as befits their general proclivity for exploring different musical forms they’ve gone and taken another sonic diversion, this time into 60s-tinged folk. Of course them being them they don’t restrict themselves to just folk. There are strains … Continue reading

Album Reviews / Americana / Blues / Soul

ALBUM REVIEW: Lo Carmen & Peter Head ~ The Apple Don’t Fall Far From The Tree

by Chris Familton Surprisingly this is the first collaborative album from Lo Carmen and her pianist father Peter Head and hopefully it won’t be the last, such is its endearing mix of country soul and late night jazz. Primarily the songs are built on Head’s elegant and melodious playing and Carmen’s playful purr of a … Continue reading

Album Reviews / Alt-Country / Americana / Folk / Indie Folk / Stream

ALBUM REVIEW: Basko Believes ~ Melancholic Melodies

by Chris Familton Swedish songwriter Johan Örjansson is the latest in a strong line of Scandinavians who manage to dial into authentic interpretations of folk and Americana. First Aid Kit, The Tallest Man on Earth and Kings of Convenience among others have nailed the melodic richness and vocal sensitivities of folk music and Örjansson is … Continue reading