Tag: americana

Album Review: Patty Griffin – Crown of Roses

A few years back the Spotify executive Daniel Ek stated, “You can’t record music once every three to four years and think that’s going to be enough. The artists today that are making it realise that it’s about creating a continuous engagement with their fans.” While that might be true for newer pop artists, classic singer songwriters like Patty Griffin aren’t afraid of defying the attention economy. The six year gap between her last release and this new one ‘Crown of Roses’ just shows us this is a quietly thoughtful and considerate artist who comes from another, better, era of music listening. 

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Album Review: Cash & Skye – Just a Stranger

Recently I stumbled across this album ‘Just a Stranger’ released earlier this year by Henri Cash from Starcrawler and Sophia Skye de Reeder, daughter of Pierre from Rilo Kiley (who also co-produced the record with Henri). The picture on the cover makes them look like the children of Jack White and Jenny Lewis and their sound isn’t far from that ideal mix either. The duo are fresh from supporting Rilo Kiley on some of their comeback shows.

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Album Review: Lola Kirke – Trailblazer

After releasing a fantastic EP called ‘Country Curious’ last year, Lola Kirke followed that up with a book of personal essays called ‘Wild West Village’ which explored her upbringing and life in a bohemian family. By moving to Nashville and leaning towards country music she’s been walking a different path than might be expected from your typical artsy New Yorker.

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Live Review: Madison Cunningham @ Celtic Connections 17/01/25 

This week Karine Polwart shared a cover version of Madison Cunningham’s ‘Life According to Raechel’ and encouraged her followers to go see the young musician live at this Celtic Connections show.

Before the gig itself began, I spotted no less than three well-known Scottish musicians taking their seats in the stalls.

Later the excellent support act Louis Abbott would ask if there were any musicians in the audience and it seemed like more than half the crowd raised their hand (incidentally Louis confessed he had already bought a ticket for the gig before he was added as support). 

So it seems then that Madison Cunningham is your favourite musician’s favourite musician. 

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Album Review: Mindy Smith – Quiet Town

Susan Cain, in her brilliant book ‘Quiet’, celebrated introverts and argued ‘culture is biased against quiet and reserved people, but introverts are responsible for some of humanity’s greatest achievements.’ 

The problem with being ‘quiet’ unfortunately is that sometimes you don’t get noticed for what you’ve achieved. Those who can shout and dance and sell themselves, or who can pay others who can do this for them, grab most of the attention. 

Twenty years have passed since Mindy Smith won the ‘Emerging Artist of the Year’ trophy at the Americana Awards, and twelve years since her last album. She’s been busy in that time, writing for others, working on songs, searching for herself in other ways by reconnecting with her birth family. This new album ‘Quiet Town’ is a welcome return and a chance to celebrate her quietly powerful artistic achievements.

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Live Review: Waxahatchee & Anna St. Louis @QMU Glasgow 30/07/24

After releasing ‘Saint Cloud’ during the pandemic, Katie Crutchfield’s life changed. She found a new audience within the Americana scene, while also maintaining her core fans from her earlier indie rock records. Success in the genre led to the Plains collaboration with Jess Williamson and even working with Wynnona Judd, further underscoring her dedication to explore her Southern roots and influences.

Katie and her brilliant band (who included Spencer Tweedy on drums) came to Glasgow for the first time in many years, fresh from releasing the new album Tiger’s Blood. She performed that album in full, relishing in the opportunity to play these songs to a sold out audience.

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