a music blog
Since PJ Harvey decided to go on a humanitarian mission armed with feathers and an autoharp there’s been a gap in indie rock for a more feral style of female voice. Step forward Leslie Feist who on her new album Pleasure evolves her sound to create something almost primal in its simple power.
Juliana Hatfield once portrayed an angel on the best goddamn teen show of all time and sang sweetly about living on purity of soul. But that was over twenty years ago – now she’s down here with the rest of us, experienced in the bitter realities of life. Her blistering new album Pussycat is full of horror about politics, relationships and the cruel world we find ourselves in. Continue reading “Album Review: Juliana Hatfield – Pussycat”
To be in harmony means more than just creating a pleasing sound and on The Wild Reeds’ new album The World We Built three parallel voices combine together to create a distinct instrument all of its own.
Continue reading “Album Review – The Wild Reeds – The World We Built”
The simple black and white photograph of Lillie Mae on cover of this record is striking for all the right reasons. It commands us to notice the distinctive style of this artist and remember her face. Stepping out from the shadows of both her family band and her employer turned producer Jack White might be daunting but her eyes and the songs on Forever and Then Some tell you she’s more than ready.
Continue reading “Album Review: Lillie Mae – Forever and Then Some”
Semper Femina by Laura Marling explores female relationships and turns this theme inwards to contemplate her own identity in this sparse and beautiful collection of songs.
Continue reading “Album Review: Laura Marling – Semper Femina”
Country music is steeped in stories of poverty and heartbreak. These simple, everyday experiences sung to us by Dolly, Johnny, Loretta et al gave the genre its reputation for three chords and the truth. Of course these artists turned dirt into gold, selling millions and buying themselves mansions, ranches, theme parks even. What happens to the rest of the singers who don’t make it? How do you cope with the realisation that no matter how good a musician or singer you are, no matter how much you bleed into the lyrics you are never going to be a mainstream success? This difficult question is addressed head on in Angaleena Presley’s sophomore album, Wrangled.
Continue reading “Album Review: Angaleena Presley – Wrangled”
Across history people have been drawn to the city – for work mainly but also for the possibilities to be found socially and creatively. If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere. But walk down a side street, go off the grid and you will find people who the city has left behind. The darker side of the metropolis is explored by Alynda Segarra in Hurray For The Riff Raff’s stunning concept album The Navigator. Continue reading “Album Review: Hurray for The Riff Raff – The Navigator”
Assigning artists to genres has always been an important music marketing strategy but now it seems even more vital to an artist’s success. Only by targeting your audience can you be heard amongst the constant chatter of the online world. Only by finding your genre will you discover the right people and publications to support you. In some ways this is also the reason why music has become so homogenised. If your sound doesn’t fit into the pop realm then major publications won’t cover you and the average music listener won’t find you. So it is refreshing to hear Valerie June’s The Order of Time, an album which has so many diverse influences and clearly couldn’t care less what genre it doesn’t fit into.
Continue reading “Album Review: Valerie June – The Order of Time”
In the opening song on Sunny Sweeney’s new album Trophy she is sitting on a barstool, probably in some Nashville dive bar somewhere, ordering herself a drink or five and spilling out her heart. Exploring the everyday hurt of life is central to this album, and she is served well by the gorgeous classic country sound evoked throughout.
Highway Queens 