a music blog
Elizabeth Powell, the main singer songwriter of Land of Talk, spent the last few years away from the music scene, a break that was partly forced by unfortunate personal circumstances. The title Life After Youth suggests a lost innocence but on this album the music has a power which proves these life experiences have given her creativity renewed purpose. Continue reading “Album Review: Land of Talk – Life After Youth”
There’s something refreshingly different about Jade Jackson’s version of country music. Her debut album Gilded mixes a little punk rock and motorcycle roars alongside the slide guitar and violins. Somehow it seems to work perfectly – after all some hell’s angels wore cowboy boots, didn’t they? Continue reading “Album Review: Jade Jackson – Gilded”
On the cover of her new album Double Roses, Karen Elson is in the sea, her face only partly visible above the water. Yet her straight eye stare suggests she’s comfortable there, submerged slightly but ready to emerge as a musician once again. She’s waving, not drowning. Continue reading “Album Review: Karen Elson – Double Roses”
Lizzie No grew up singing in her church choir before discovering Dylan and learning to play his songs on the harp. Her debut album Hard Won takes these musical influences and combines them with a poetic lyricism that impresses throughout. Continue reading “Album Review: Lizzie No – Hard Won”
Girlpool have always sung each song together, generating strength through their combined voices. Powerplant adds drums and grungier guitars to their lo-fi songs, successfully growing their sound and vision. Continue reading “Album Review: Girlpool – Powerplant”
To be quiet in this world of endless noise is sometimes a deliberate choice. Shyness isn’t always about hiding away or being afraid of life, it’s just a different way to survive. Joan Shelley has always been interested in understatement and on this eponymous record she shows there is power in musical introspection. Continue reading “Album Review: Joan Shelley”
Liz Rose, a successful Nashville-based songwriter, only started writing in her late thirties and never planned on becoming a singer. Her debut album, Swimming Alone, is a collection of endearing songs which proves that it’s never too late to find your own voice. Continue reading “Album Review: Liz Rose – Swimming Alone”
Canadian singer Tanika Charles might have started out wanting to be an actress/comedian but thankfully she ended up finding her voice by singing back up vocals and has now evolved into an artist in her own right. Her music is sometimes billed as ‘classic soul’ but she admits some of the songs on her debut Soul Run started with hip hop style beats before being recreated with more traditional instrumentation. This blend of modern and vintage styles really makes this colourful album fly. Continue reading “Album Review: Tanika Charles – Soul Run”
Five minutes spent watching any TV ‘talent’ show should be enough to convince you that singing other people’s songs well is a unique art. To truly cover a song you need to own it completely for yourself. You need to sing this is my song and actually mean it. So Brandi Carlile was brave to ask fourteen artists to cover songs from her album The Story. Thankfully the rich and diverse interpretations of her work on this charity album Cover Stories are more than worthy of comparison with the originals. Continue reading “Album Review: Cover Stories”
Highway Queens 