Category: Reviews

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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Album Review: Katie Ellen – Cowgirl Blues

Even cowgirls get the blues, so the story goes. Sometimes you have to pack up your life, hitchhike across America and move to a ranch to find yourself. Okay so that’s just the novel but the idea is clear – starting over can be liberating. After her band Chumped went on indefinite hiatus Anika Pyle had to begin again. She wrote some new songs, teamed back up with drummer Dan Frelly and together they took the name of her great grandmother Katie Ellen to release this excellent new record Cowgirl Blues. Continue reading “Album Review: Katie Ellen – Cowgirl Blues” →

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Album Review: Lucy Rose – Something’s Changing

For any artist there’s probably a moment of doubt when they begin to wonder: what is the point, does anyone care if I make this or not? Lucy Rose, a talented singer songwriter found herself in that place after her second album failed to make the impact she wanted. She didn’t know how to bring the fire back. So she decided to go off grid and toured South America, staying with fans and playing small gigs. This adventure helped to refocus her music and Something’s Changing is the result. Continue reading “Album Review: Lucy Rose – Something’s Changing” →

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Album Review: Raye Zaragoza – Fight For You

Despite what you might think by looking at the charts or listening to the radio there are young musicians out there who are politically engaged and writing protest songs. The ability of young people to use social media to mobilise politically has been so important in the last few years of dramatic worldwide upheaval. In music, these mediums allow independent voices to be heard and shared across the world. Raye Zaragoza is one such musician, and she has recently released her album Fight For You, which is partly a response to the North Dakota pipeline protests. Continue reading “Album Review: Raye Zaragoza – Fight For You” →

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Album Review: Bedouine – Bedouine

Spacebomb is one of the most interesting record labels in American music today, with their in house band, symphonic arrangements and attention to detail. They have already produced brilliant albums by label founder Matthew E. White and Natalie Prass so I, for one, am automatically sold on any artist they are associated with. When Azniv Korkejian approached White with her songs, Spacebomb couldn’t resist working with the talented singer/songwriter. She took on the name Bedouine, meaning wanderer, and the resultant record has a sound and texture that is both unique and yet warmly familiar. Continue reading “Album Review: Bedouine – Bedouine” →

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