a music blog
A couple of years back Americana duo Neon Moon recorded a song a week for a year, uploading them to YouTube as Our 52 Songs. These videos show husband and wife duo Noelle and Josh Bohannon singing and strumming some great classic country inspired songs, the best of which have now been recorded on this E.P. called 6:53. Continue reading “E.P. Review: Neon Moon – 6:53”
One of my favourite ways to find new music is to see who some of my favourite artists are working or touring with. So when I reviewed Lizzie No’s album earlier this year I also discovered her friend and fellow musician Caroline Reese, who writes the kind of gorgeous indie alt-country songs they call Americana nowadays. Caroline has opened for artists like Brandi Carlile, Chris Stapleton and Ray Wylie Hubbard. Her new E.P. Two Horses consists of four stripped back new songs which tell the story of her recent move to Montana and her life as a struggling musician. Continue reading “E.P. Review: Caroline Reese – Two Horses “
Telisha and Doug Williams of Wild Ponies are now based in Nashville but have a deep connection to Galax in South West Virginia, famous for hosting the Old Fiddlers Bluegrass Festival. The married duo decided to record this album in a shed behind Doug’s grandfather’s farm in Galax, combining talented local musicians with professionals from Music City. One listen to Galax and you are there, talking a walk through those fields, heading towards the sound of some of the sweetest music you’ve ever heard. Continue reading “Album Review: Wild Ponies – Galax”
I’m a huge fan of the TV show Fringe, in which a mad scientist discovers a parallel universe where there’s significant differences in the way the world has unravelled across time. That’s fiction, of course, but when I look at the charts or hear the radio I can’t help but think there’s a real musical parallel universe running in tandem with ours. Two alternate timelines: one where music is a beautiful life-affirming thing in which talent and tradition are valued and respected and the other side is the MANstream hell of popular chart music. The Sweetback Sisters exist on the good side of the musical divide and the album King of Killing Time is a joyous celebration of classic country and vintage va va voom Continue reading “Album Review: The Sweetback Sisters – King of Killing Time”
Karen Pittelman grew up listening to her parents’ country record collection and despite starting out in a punk band she eventually found herself wanting to sing songs about heartbreak. Only by using the pedal steel did she find the musical ‘essence of sorrow’ she was looking for, played here by Elana Redfield (drummer Tammi Johnson completes the trio). The Narrow Place is an album connected to the musical roots of country music but thematically and lyrically unique. Continue reading “Album Review: Karen & the Sorrows – The Narrow Place “
As most people over thirty understand, life never turns out how you thought it would. It can be pretty devastating to see your dreams disappear or have that precious relationship die. On Lilly Hiatt’s new album Trinity Lane she turns her disappointments into beautifully ragged songs of experience. Continue reading “Album Review: Lilly Hiatt – Trinity Lane”
Juanita Stein’s new solo record is called ‘America‘ and the open highway on the cover also signals that this is a new direction for the Howling Bells front woman. This album veers away from the burning indie rock of her past creating something more lush and listenable. Continue reading “Album Review: Juanita Stein – America”
A rose only blooms for a short time, soon they wilt and leave behind nothing but thorns – such is the reality of life sometimes. Sarah Jane Scouten’s new album When The Bloom Falls From the Rose explores the consequences of heartbreak using the sounds of traditional country and folk. Continue reading “Album Review: Sarah Jane Scouten – When the Bloom Falls From the Rose”
Many artists pretend to walk on the wild side and do everything they can to create an outlaw style, as though being bad automatically gains you street credibility. Some even choose to go down that road on purpose, to live out that doomed rock star myth as a way to create authenticity. After Jaime Wyatt’s first record deal collapsed she went off the rails and found herself actually experiencing the hard reality of this kind of life. Felony Blues, a short album released in the UK this week, explores her addictions and convictions in songs with real grit and soul. Continue reading “Album Review: Jaime Wyatt – Felony Blues”
Highway Queens 