a music blog
Erin Rae returned to Scotland this week to play a venue she described onstage as one of her favourites, a place that lives up to its sweet name, The Hug and Pint. A cosy crowd of people gathered in their basement room, ready to embrace the understated musical beauty of this special singer songwriter. Continue reading “Live Review: Erin Rae @ The Hug & Pint, Glasgow”
The television series Nashville finished up its six series run earlier this year, and while I think it jumped the shark after they killed off a certain character, I still count myself a fan, in particular of the performances by Clare Bowen as Scarlett. Still I always had my doubts about whether anyone in the show actually wanted to make it in the music industry for real (and indeed whether they could cut it). Thankfully I’m pleased to say with this excellent self titled debut album Clare Bowen proves me dead wrong. This is an elegant collection of dreamy Americana, full of songs with something quietly interesting to say. Continue reading “Album Review: Clare Bowen – Clare Bowen”
In her work ‘Blues Legacies and Black Feminism’ Angela Davis states her aim is to discover what we can learn from three pioneers of blues music: Gertrude ‘Ma’ Rainey, Bessie Smith and Billie Holiday. She wants to look beyond biography to investigate how their work reflected feminist attitudes and helped shaped black consciousness. The work is academic in tone and purpose, a rightfully serious but also personally passionate account of the significance of these often overlooked artists and their legacies. By placing their music in a wider sociocultural context, Davis gives these women the respect and acclaim they so richly deserve. Continue reading “Book Review: ‘Blues Legacies and Black Feminism’ by Angela Davis”
On ‘America’s Child’ Shemekia Copeland infuses blues, classic rock, country and soul music into songs which wrap traditional sounds around words reflecting the concerns of now. The magical voice of Copeland gives us all hope for a better future – we see that optimism reflected on the album cover where a little girl wears the American flag as a comfort blanket, even if her eyes are downcast you sense the potential of a new day in the warm glow of the sun behind her. Continue reading “Album Review: Shemekia Copeland – America’s Child”
In an interview a few years back Mitski responded to Damon Albarn dismissing modern musicians as the ‘selfie generation’ by saying ‘Young artists talking about themselves can be the most political thing done today, and is something a lot of them couldn’t have done before, or at least not to an audience.’ On her new album ‘Be The Cowboy’ Mitski’s songs use the personal try to make sense of the complex world around her; constantly asking questions and contemplating her relationships. In the cover picture (coincidentally reminiscent of Blur’s Leisure album) Mitski is preparing for her performance, a knowing nod to the unreality of our image driven world. She looks at us sideways, unsmiling. We press play and she dives in. Continue reading “Album Review: Mitski – Be The Cowboy”
Early in her career Dolly Parton used her childhood growing up in the mountains as inspiration for songs that dealt honestly with the hardships and struggle faced by poverty stricken families, most famously her song Coat of Many Colors cut to the heart of her sometimes brutal experiences. Dolly also used dark humour to expose the realities of where she came from on songs like ‘In the Good Old Days (When Times Were Bad), concluding that nothing could convince her to ‘go back and live through it again’.
And yet on her 1973 album ‘My Tennessee Mountain Home’ that is exactly what she did. A concept album about her upbringing, with every song written solely by Dolly for the first time, you might expect another harsh slice of reality bites. Instead her glasses are rose-drenched to the point where you barely recognise the place she sang about previously. Continue reading “Dolly Parton’s Discography – My Tennessee Mountain Home”
Bobbie Gentry may have long ago disappeared from public life but thankfully her musical legacy lives on. On September 21st a new box set entitled The Girl From Chickasaw County will be released, much to the delight of her many fans. This eight CD collection will include all of her seven studio albums newly remastered, supplemented by over 75 previously unreleased recordings including her ‘lost’ jazz album, outtakes, demos, rarities and a disc of live performances taken from her celebrated series for the BBC (which was released on vinyl as part of Record Store Day earlier this year). Continue reading “News: New Bobbie Gentry Boxset Announced”
Trees have long spoken to the souls of poets. Walt Whitman called them ‘palpably artistic, heroic’. Herman Hesse believed ‘Nothing is holier, nothing is more exemplary than a beautiful, strong tree.’ Marianne Moore once wrote a poem to save a tree’s life (it worked). Lori McKenna is a modern poet of American life so it is fitting to see her title her new album after those silent friends whose importance and beauty may sometimes go unnoticed. The Tree tell stories of the internal domestic lives and relationships of your average everyday people who have simple, quiet ambitions – the roots of which grow deep underground, much like these songs themselves. Continue reading “Album Review: Lori McKenna – The Tree”
Recently there has been much discussion about the definition of ‘Americana’ music and how the genre needs to be more inclusive of diverse voices beyond white male altcountry singers. Husband and wife duo The War & Treaty are therefore exactly what the Americana genre needs right now – combining gospel, soul, country, folk and blues to create a rootsy sound which references music history but makes it sound fresh again for the modern listener. Debut album Healing Tide is full of astonishing songs that speak to the heart of humanity, suggesting that a better, happier, more loving world is possible. Continue reading “Album Review: The War and Treaty – Healing Tide”
Highway Queens 