a music blog
When faced with the over produced world of modern music, sometimes you crave songs that breathe, float and don’t batter the listener into submission. Recorded in Nashville and produced by Johnny Duke, April Fool by Sara Rachele is a suitably sparse and fragile collection, full of echoing empty spaces which emphasise the emotional depth of the vocals. Continue reading “Album Review: Sara Rachele – April Fool”
On the cover of A Pocket of Wind Resistance Karine Polwart’s profile merges with images of the natural world: birds, trees, leaves seem to be a part of her just like brain, blood and bone. Together with Pippa Murphy’s spellbinding soundscapes she has produced a hymn to motherhood, nature, life and death. A companion piece to her one woman theatre show Wind Resistance, to call this work an ‘album’ barely scratches the surface of the ambition of its songs, stories, poetry and politics. This is a piece of compelling conceptual art. Continue reading “Album Review : Karine Polwart with Pippa Murphy – A Pocket Of Wind Resistance”
It’s shite being Scottish, especially in winter when it’s dark by four o’clock, the streets freeze over and everyone is in a worse mood than usual. Thankfully we have the new album from The Just Joans, the self proclaimed ‘laziest band in Scotland’, to brighten up the dreich days and nichts. Modern life might be rubbish but You Might Be Smiling Now… finds glitter in the gutters of Glasgow. Continue reading “Album Review: The Just Joans – You Might Be Smiling Now…”
‘Book Week Scotland’ might not mean a lot to many people beyond bonnie Caledonia but this campaign to promote reading gives me a nice excuse to write about the myriad connections between my two favourite things: books and music. My first post was about songs inspired by female writers and today I’m going to recommend some of my favourite books about music written by women. Continue reading “Books About Music Written By Women”
The Scottish Book Trust recently published a list of songs which have been inspired by literature, as part of their Book Week celebrations. This list includes many brilliant songs and artists including the obvious ‘Wuthering Heights‘ by Kate Bush to more obscure songs like ‘Bell Jar‘ by The Bangles. Continue reading “Songs Inspired By Female Writers “
In October I committed myself to supporting the work of female artists and expanding my vinyl collection by actually buying some new (and old) music every month. Since I started running this blog I have realised how easy it is to just use streaming services and forget that investing in music is required to keep many artists creating and surviving. Continue reading “November Music Haul”
Steph Cameron hails from Saskatoon, the same Canadian town as Joni Mitchell, she’s been a busker living on the streets and her debut album was called ‘Sad-Eyed Lonesome Lady.’ So far, so perfect. ‘Daybreak Over Jackson Street’ lives up to expectations, proving that honest hearted folk songs can be a powerful force for good in the world. Continue reading “Album Review: Steph Cameron – Daybreak Over Jackson Street”
Earlier this year I bought a book in a charity shop for 25p called ‘The Happiness Project’, which is kind of a self help manual for privileged people with too much time on their hands. Despite the simple writing style I freely admit that THIS BOOK CHANGED MY LIFE. The writer Gretchen Rubin encourages people to start their own blogs, explaining how blogging gave her ‘a new identity, new skills, a new set of colleagues and a new way to connect with people.’ After reading this I felt inspired and started Highway Queens the next week. I had a simple purpose: write about the music I love. Gretchen’s book proves that not every piece of writing has to be high art in order to have value. Continue reading “In Defence of Music Blogging”
Australian singer Lo Carmen recorded her sixth album Lovers Dreamers Fighters in the Butcher Shoppe studio in Nashville, working with David ‘Ferg’ Ferguson (who has also recently engineered Sturgill Simpson’s album). Together with a host of fantastic musicians including Dave Roe, Matt Combs, Russ Pahl plus guests Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy and Emma Swift she has created one of the most distinctive Americana albums of the year. Continue reading “Album Review: Lo Carmen – Lovers Dreamers Fighters”
Highway Queens 