a music blog
They say you’ve truly made it when your audience starts dressing like you. On a sunny Friday night in Glasgow, there was a sea of cowboy boots, stetsons, denim, fringe and, of course, flares as far as the eye could see. Hillbilly hippies were everywhere, such is the influence of Lainey Wilson, country music’s rising superstar.
Continue reading “Live Review: Lainey Wilson @ Glasgow O2 Academy 19/04/24”
As individual musicians Kelly Willis, Brennen Leigh and Melissa Carper mastered the art of classic country songwriting; their vintage charms often felt transported from another era, one where talent and musicianship were celebrated. Now together they have formed a super group, called Wonder Women of Country, where their shared music sensibility and throwback style is a terrific treble threat.
Continue reading “E.P. Review: Wonder Women of Country”
Alynda Segarra’s last two albums looked outwards: The Navigator towards their Puerto Rico heritage, telling the story of immigrants living in a city, trying to find a place in a new world, while follow up Life on Earth sang of places and people under siege in a hostile world. Musically these albums ranged from innovative Latino inspired folk, to indie rock, to lo-fi electronica and spoken word. Here was an artist asking questions, searching, making exciting and original music that grew with every listen (like those rhododendron they sang about).
New album The Past is Still Alive is less conceptual, more inward looking, a narrative where the personal becomes political. Musically this harks back towards the simpler acoustic beginnings of this artist’s career.
Continue reading “Album Review: Hurray for the Riff Raff – The Past is Still Alive”
Lola Kirke lives in Nashville and has flirted with country music on her first two albums, offering some indie Americana on her debut Heart Head West and a more light 80s pop country on ‘Lady for Sale’. On her new E.P., produced by Elle King, she finally admits to being ‘Country Curious’, fully exploring the genre with her heart wide open. The results are a delight – four songs that just remind you how much fun this genre can be.
Continue reading “E.P. Review: Lola Kirke – Country Curious”
Being chosen to support a pop star like Harry Styles on a massive stadium tour looks from the outside like a dream. Here’s a guaranteed payday and an opportunity to play in front of thousands of fans who probably wouldn’t normally hear your music. By choosing women from mainly the indie/alternative sphere Harry was continuing on his quest to appear both cool and inclusive, distancing himself from his reality TV, manufactured boy band past. All credit to him (or more likely his savvy management team) for giving out these opportunities.
However a little digging into the online fan culture would suggest these slots are not always groundbreaking for careers as they may seem.
Jenny Lewis faced online abuse from his fans that basically amounted to them deciding she was too old and her music too weird to support him. Despite Harry’s wish for indie credibility it was clear most of his fans were stuck in their pop lane. Typical of Jenny she didn’t give a fuck and enjoyed herself massively, making the absolute best of the opportunity despite the general apathy. Wet Leg and Wolf Alice reportedly got similarly muted responses.
Kacey Musgraves fared better since she is younger and poppier, even duetting with Harry at one point. She managed to win fans online and carry some of these over to her own shows, which began to skew younger around the time she opened for him.
So now you may be wondering what happened with Madi Diaz? She was chosen to support Harry as a solo acoustic performer, in massive stadiums when most people were probably not even in their seats yet. At least Harry was a definite fan of her music – watching her from the side of the stage, wearing her ‘Crying in Public’ T-shirt and then asking her to join his own touring band, elevating her to the main event.
Since releasing this new album Weird Faith last Friday, Madi has appeared on her first Late Night talk show, played Rough Trade and had a week that has left her ‘humbled and bewildered’. How much of this success is down to her being connected to Harry is hard to measure, but the increase in name recognition alone has been a driver in getting her music in front of a wider range of fans, myself included.
Continue reading “Album Review: Madi Diaz – Weird Faith”
The new album ‘Deeper Well’ by Kacey Musgraves was announced on Instagram with a photograph of her naked in a field in Iceland. A little cheeky nod to naturism and her love of grass for sure, but equally it read like a metaphor for new beginnings and rebirth.
Continue reading “On ‘Deeper Well’ Kacey Musgraves Finds Her Own Light”
On Lizzie No’s debut album, Hard Won, she showcased her talents as a harp playing folk singer with something to say and she then built on that foundation with her second record Vanity, creating a more ambitious, rockier sound. Her new record Halfsies is released in conjunction with Americana label Thirty Tigers, which is fitting since Lizzie has been a vocal advocate for more black women in country and folk music. Halfsies is a fantastic record which blends those genres along with some intriguing indie rock influences.
Continue reading “Album Review: Lizzie No – Halfsies”
2024 is only a few days old and already there is a plethora of new releases scheduled for your imminent listening pleasure. What’s also fun to do at this time of year is speculate and dream about potential new projects from our old favourites that we might be lucky enough to hear if the stars align.
Continue reading “Music to Look Forward to in 2024”
As 2023 draws to a close it is the traditional time for music fans to look back with love and appreciation for the music that has seen them through the year.
Before I began blogging I would scour the end of year lists in the hope of finding a gem I had missed, and more broadly as an easy way to keep up with the cultural conversation around popular music. Sometimes that has led me to getting depressed at the state of the industry but the best lists can unite fans in wonder and joy.
As a blogger generally I have listed my favourite albums of those I have reviewed, however this year I have not reviewed as many albums as usual. In fact for various reasons I haven’t written about some of my favourite and most listened to albums, including Allison Russell, Brandy Clark and Jenny Lewis.
In 2023 I returned to my old ways of taking things slower, listening at different times than the release schedule, not writing about everything I was listening to. The albums that I did write about I felt I had something to say and the time to say it.
Looking back on this I actually don’t think it was necessarily the best choice to write less, as writing helps my mood and my life, but I liked feeling less pressure to participate in the online culture. To write a blog is to take your time, to listen well and really think, which is why it is such an enriching activity.
So that’s a long winded way of getting round to my list of ten albums of the year. As per other years I keep the number one spot for a solo artist who has written the majority of their record without songwriting collaboration, as this best encapsulates the independent free spirit of what this blog is about.
I have included the link to my original review, if one exists. Please comment below with your choices and anything you’ve loved this year which you think has been overlooked!
Continue reading “Favourite Albums of the Year 2023”
Highway Queens 