Category: Albums

Album Review: Better Oblivion Community Center

When Conor Oberst and Phoebe Bridgers released their Better Oblivion Community Center project at the start of the year it should have been the perfect album for me as I’m a Bright Eyes fanatic and someone who’d loved both of their recent solo work. Despite everyone on my timeline prompting me to listen, I kept avoiding it. Purposefully so, for a myriad of reasons which I only just recently began to really think about when I finally sat down with the album this past week. Continue reading “Album Review: Better Oblivion Community Center” →

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Album Review: Lisa Hannigan & s t a r g a z e – Live in Dublin

Most of us are stuck in the gutter looking at the stars, others like Lisa Hannigan are shining brightly in the sky like a celestial angel sent to serenade us lowly wretches. With the help of contemporary chamber orchestra s t a r g a z e she has reimagined her songs for the stage, with her hometown Dublin show being recorded for this new release. Continue reading “Album Review: Lisa Hannigan & s t a r g a z e – Live in Dublin” →

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Album Review: Karly Driftwood – Too Mean To Die

I’ve noticed a recent trend in country music for songs about how hard it is to make in Nashville – like ‘This Town is Killing Me’ by Caitlyn Smith, ‘Dreams Don’t Come True’ by Angaleena Presley and ‘Ten Year Town’ by Hailey Whitters. Honest thoughts about the crushing reality of pursuing success are also recurring themes on this new album ‘Too Mean To Die’ by Karly Driftwood. Her dreams haven’t come true, not even close, but maybe that just gives her something to sing about. Continue reading “Album Review: Karly Driftwood – Too Mean To Die” →

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Album Review: Mavis Staples – We Get By

For Mavis Staples’s 80th birthday the great and the good from across the musical spectrum came together in three concerts that celebrated the legacy of an artist who has been bringing light to the world for decades and shows no signs of slowing down any time soon. As a force for harmony and unity there are few who can touch her. She’s skateboarding her way into the twilight of her career with more confidence than ever. Continue reading “Album Review: Mavis Staples – We Get By” →

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Album Review: Jade Bird

When I reviewed Jade Bird’s EP Something American back in 2017 I admired her talent and was intrigued to see what direction her career would take. She was being marketed at the time as ‘country’ – which seemed like a bit of a stretch for a girl from England singing soft rock/pop. However Yola recently proved that it is possible to take such influences and make them sound authentic. Both artists have now been nominated as ‘Emerging Artist of the Year’ at the 2019 Americana awards, the first Brits to gain nominations in that category since Mumford & Sons in 2011. Continue reading “Album Review: Jade Bird” →

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Album Review: Rhiannon Giddens with Francesco Turrisi – there is no Other

Rhiannon Giddens collects songs, instruments and stories from all through history and synthesises them perfectly with her modern musical purpose. She believes in teaching us the failings of the past, to better understand our present. On her new album she has paired up with Italian virtuoso musician Francesco Turrisi, someone who shares her connection with folk music history, with his expertise in Islamic, Mediterranean and eastern styles. By pairing together on this album ‘there is no Other‘ (capitalisation deliberate) they want to show that no matter where we come from we are all one voice, one history, one future.

Continue reading “Album Review: Rhiannon Giddens with Francesco Turrisi – there is no Other” →

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Album Review: Joy Williams – Front Porch

After the dramatic dissolution of her band The Civil Wars, Joy Williams seemed like an artist searching for herself. Before those fractious and fiery albums of absorbing Americana she had been a contemporary gospel singer, offering polite pop prayers. To many fans unfamiliar with her earlier work, her 2015 solo synth pop album ‘Venus’ sounded not just a like an evolution of her sound but an entirely different artist. So this new album ‘Front Porch’ is a welcome reset of her musical style and a quiet return to form. Continue reading “Album Review: Joy Williams – Front Porch” →

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