Category: Albums

Album Review: Wild Ponies – Galax

Telisha and Doug Williams of Wild Ponies are now based in Nashville but have a deep connection to Galax in South West Virginia, famous for hosting the Old Fiddlers Bluegrass Festival. The married duo decided to record this album in a shed behind Doug’s grandfather’s farm in Galax, combining talented local musicians with professionals from Music City. One listen to Galax and you are there, talking a walk through those fields, heading towards the sound of some of the sweetest music you’ve ever heard.  Continue reading “Album Review: Wild Ponies – Galax” →

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Album Review: The Sweetback Sisters – King of Killing Time

I’m a huge fan of the TV show Fringe, in which a mad scientist discovers a parallel universe where there’s significant differences in the way the world has unravelled across time. That’s fiction, of course,  but when I look at the charts or hear the radio I can’t help but think there’s a real musical parallel universe running in tandem with ours. Two alternate timelines: one where music is a beautiful life-affirming thing in which talent and tradition are valued and respected and the other side is the MANstream hell of popular chart music. The Sweetback Sisters exist on the good side of the musical divide and the album King of Killing Time is a joyous celebration of classic country and vintage va va voom Continue reading “Album Review: The Sweetback Sisters – King of Killing Time” →

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Album Review: Karen & the Sorrows – The Narrow Place 

Karen Pittelman grew up listening to her parents’ country record collection and despite starting out in a punk band she eventually found herself wanting to sing songs about heartbreak. Only by using the pedal steel did she find the musical ‘essence of sorrow’ she was looking for, played here by Elana Redfield (drummer Tammi Johnson completes the trio). The Narrow Place is an album connected to the musical roots of country music but thematically and lyrically unique.  Continue reading “Album Review: Karen & the Sorrows – The Narrow Place “ →

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Album Review: Siobhan Wilson – There Are No Saints

Siobhan Wilson couldn’t sound any less like she was from the far reaches of northern Scotland, such is the dazzling mix of influences and inspirations on her debut album ‘There Are No Saints‘. Experimenting with sounds as varied as vintage French pop, classical music, folk and grunge has resulted in one of the most original and engaging albums from a young Scottish singer in a long time.

Continue reading “Album Review: Siobhan Wilson – There Are No Saints” →

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An Open Apology Letter to Kesha

Dear Kesha,

I need to apologise to you. Firstly I was never a fan of your old music. To be honest I hated it, I despised the whole thing you had going on from the dollar sign to the obnoxious party tunes. Everything about your image and music seemed utterly hellish to me. Of course it was hellish to you too but I didn’t know that then. How could anyone? We see pop stars and we think we know them. We are cowards writing nasty things from behind screens and thinking it means nothing. What fools we are.  Continue reading “An Open Apology Letter to Kesha” →

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Album Review: Waxahatchee – Out in the Storm

When I read a few years back that Katie Crutchfield, the singer/songwriter of Waxahatchee, had a tattoo of one of my favourite bands, Rilo Kiley, I was immediately intrigued to listen to the band. The problem of course is then your expectations are so high you start thinking that they will fill the void of said dearly departed group and well, that is an impossible task. Therefore I’ve always found listening to this band a slight disappointment, interesting work but not exceptional. This new album Out in the Storm is a welcome step up from the previous bedroom albums, recorded with a producer in a studio and featuring their best songs to date.  Continue reading “Album Review: Waxahatchee – Out in the Storm” →

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