Here we are in March, and spring has well and truly sprung in this part of the northern hemisphere, after what had felt like endless weeks of grey days and continuous precipitation. So, what better way to celebrate all this sunshine and blue sky than with another bumper crop of all things americana from the UK, Europe and across the other side of the Atlantic. Therefore, without further ado, let’s gorge ourselves on the eclectic mix we have on offer, and discover who is the winner of the ‘EP of the Month’ award.
Oh, and before we get stuck in, just a nod to next month’s article when my esteemed colleague Fred Arnold will be picking up the reins while I take myself off for some overdue maintenance.
So to kick things off this month, we have Frank Viele and his excellent new five-track EP entitled The Silo. Award-winning singer-songwriter Viele has gained his reputation delivering his own brand of New England americana/blues rock that tugs at the heartstrings. Still, with this new EP, there is a fundamental shift, with greater emphasis on his cinematic narratives and a greater level of intimacy. The five songs here are mostly driven by acoustic guitar and soulful vocals, all encased within an intensely atmospheric arrangement. Each song on The Silo is an absolute winner, from the opening bars of the title track to the stripped-down cover of the Bob Seger classic Against The Wind, which adds a certain gravitas to the original while breathing new life into this timeless classic. Personal favourite might just be She Sleeps Better In The Rain, but in truth, I’d happily keep them all, and on this evidence, one could rightfully argue that Viele has delivered the best work of his career so far, and this EP comes highly recommended.
Next, we have a wonderful debut five-track EP from Flavie Mialon, entitled These Other Lands. Born in the French Alps, but having spent many years of travelling, Mialon has now based herself in Berlin, where she shares her music from street corners to intimate venues. Recorded live to tape in a local studio, these five songs perfectly capture the essence of Mialon’s music: its dreamy folk sensibilities, coupled with a raw energy and delicate intimacy, all cocooned within a rich tapestry of instrumentation that includes electric guitar, pedal steel, and violin. Add to that her warm, sultry vocals, and you truly have a winning combination that musically inhabits a similar territory to that of Adrianne Lenker or possibly Mazzy Star. The EP opens with the recent single release, Highland Shores, which perfectly exposes all the vulnerability and intimacy in Mialon’s delivery, while her multilingual skills enable her to blend languages in the same way as she blends musical genres, perfectly demonstrated with the subtle use of trumpet on the delightful New Orleans. Quality abounds throughout, though a personal favourite might just be the third track, Somewhere, which weaves an ethereal spell that transfixes with every passing note. An EP to be listened to at the end of the day, with the blinds closed, and the lights dimmed down low, allowing its musical ambience to bathe you in a warm glow, These Other Lands also comes highly recommended.
Signs In The Rush Of Light is the much-anticipated new EP from the Liverpool-based trio Motel Sundown, though at a lengthy seven tracks, it could just as easily be described as a mini-album. Consisting of Naomi Campbell and Karen Hurley, both originally from County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, and Londoner Robert Johnson, the trio have in recent years built a healthy reputation with their lush three-part harmonies, strong melodies and memorable compositions. Opening with Colours In The Rain that exudes a 1970s West Coast vibe that draws favourable comparison to Eagles or, possibly more accurately, Poco, full of exquisite harmonies with just the right amount of electric guitar dressing. The following two tracks, Echoes and Rosie, slow down the pace, mining a more atmospheric ambience before The Waiting Game delivers greater urgency and a stronger melody. There’s a change of pace again with Watch Which Way The Wind Blows, where a fiddle and pedal steel pull the song in a bluegrass direction with excellent results. The three-part harmonies of What Do I Know, tips its hat to Crosby, Stills & Nash, while the closing number Why could have come straight from the pen of Lindsey Buckingham during his time with Fleetwood Mac. Motel Sundown isn’t attempting to re-invent the wheel here, and one can’t help but feel that if they could borrow a Tardis and travel back to the mid-1970s, they could well be household names as their music comfortably holds its own with many of the major protagonists of the period. However, even without the help of time travel, Signs In The Rush Of Light helps cement their position as one of the leading West Coast-influenced acts in the UK today, and with any luck, will see them spread their wings to greater heights.
Following on, we stay in the UK for the debut five-track self-titled EP from the duo, who go by the name of Green Tree. After years of performing and touring with the popular UK bluegrass band Old Baby Mackerel, alongside many other projects, crossing varying genres, Abbey Thomas and Rory Francis, two of the UK’s finest bluegrass musicians, have joined forces for an EP that features five original songs and instrumentals that move between newgrass, traditional bluegrass and British folk. The musicianship throughout the five songs is of the highest order, with Francis excelling on both flat-picked and finger-picked guitar, a level that Thomas equally matches on mandolin, with both artists supplying lead and harmony vocals. Of the songs, White As Snow, a song inspired by a landscape ravaged by wildfires, and the gospel-inspired Take Me To The Sea are both excellent examples of the duo’s songwriting prowess, though it is probably the instrumentals that deliver the best evidence of what marks Thomas and Francis as something rather special, with Where The Gnomes Live providing over four minutes of pure musical heaven. If this debut EP is anything to go by, then Green Tree are heading straight to the top of the UK bluegrass music scene.
Next, we head across to the west coast of Sweden for the debut five-track EP entitled The Rising Tide from Tobias Kjeliberg, released under the name Fathering Starlings. Self-produced in his living room, these five stripped-back songs lean towards an acoustic, analogue aesthetic, inspired by the singer-songwriter movement from the 1960s to the present day. The production, unsurprisingly, is very lo-fi, making full use of texture and space, allowing each song the room to breathe, with lyrical themes revolving around solitude, longing and loss. Throughout the five tracks, the vocals remain pivotal in creating the emotive ambience, with a haunting fragility that vaguely conjures up comparison to Anohni and The Johnsons in their gentler moments. Opening track ‘I’ll Be Gone starts with a whistled intro that quickly exudes a spiritual quality, vocal and strummed acoustic guitar set against a bed of layered harmonies. Elsewhere, Your Heart In The Fire is delivered with greater urgency and energy, displaying more pop sensibilities without ever sounding overly commercial. The brooding atmosphere of the title track mines a darker vein, with some delightful, picked acoustic guitar, while the desperate hope and longing depicted in Tomorrow, Be The Day operate within a similar musical landscape to the Fleet Foxes. Closing track Above The Canopy, with its hymnal resonance, perfectly rounds off the excellent debut offering from Fathering Starlings and is another EP that comes highly recommended.
Paper Verses are a folk duo from Kent, UK, comprising Simone Lincoln and Matt Evans, who have just released their debut four-track EP entitled Life Lines. Lincoln, though born in England, was raised in Germany and is a classically trained singer who studied and sang opera for many years. With an extensive background as a music therapist and physiotherapist, she has a voice that embodies both strength and fragility, combining power and grace. Evans has spent his life playing in bands and writing songs, utilising various tunings and a distinctive flat-picking guitar style. The four tracks here offer up an intimate collection of original acoustic songs, covering themes of connection, love, and prescription medicine, with intricate melodies and delightful two-part harmonies. Opening with the debut single A Song For Life, inspired by the strange period during COVID, when the whole world found itself on the same page, it immediately positions Evans unique guitar style alongside Lincoln’s powerful vocals, which, at a loss for a better touchstone, are slightly reminiscent of Jacqui McShee or possibly Shirley Collins both quintessential of the late 1960s folk movement. Elsewhere, the reflective All The Time That Sails By ruminates on learning from past mistakes, while the haunting Have A Heart is another highlight, with a narrative that resonates deep beneath the surface, along with some delightful violin accompaniment. The EP closes with Citalapram Morning, which tackles the unsettling subject of prescription anxiety medication with a delicacy and honesty that subtly draws you in and holds you to the final notes. Life Lines may be Paper Verses first recorded offering, but on this evidence, they are destined to become one of the new stars on the UK folk circuit.
From there, we head back to mainland Europe for Barcelona-based singer-songwriter Michael Luchtan and his new five-track EP, Lost To AI. These songs are the first collection of original material from Luchtan in over a decade, following earlier releases under the names of Racecar and Luke Tan, which found an international audience. Now, returning to his own name, this EP finds Luchtan focusing on the emotional immediacy and the human voice with songs rooted within the storytelling traditions associated with Americana and acoustic songwriting. Recorded with a deliberate emphasis on simplicity, which allows the human voice and an acoustic guitar to become pivotal in creating the emotional connection between the melody and the lyrical intimacy. The songs here cover themes that move between private interior landscapes and shared cultural realities, reflecting on memory loss and human connection in a mediated world. Opening with the title track, one immediately gets a sense of Luchtan’s songwriting style, which is not so distant from that of the much-missed Todd Snider, slightly left-field, constantly laced with a self-deprecating deadpan humour. Particular highlights are the achingly emotive That Feeling That You Get When All You’ve Got Is Gone, along with the closing number, One Last Dance On A Wounded Knee, that takes the traditional talking blues song structure and adds a modern-day twist through the rather quirky narrative. Ten years may have passed since Luchtan last released any new material, but with Lost To AI, he has proved that there is still plenty of fuel in the tank.
Next, we cross the Atlantic with Seattle-based group The Jaws of Brooklyn and their new seven-track EP, Unstoppable. Blurring the lines between genre and generation, this new EP finds The Jaws of Brooklyn looking to expand on their signature melting pot sound of 60s/70s influences and thickly stacked vocal harmonies, blending Motown melody with Muscle Shoals soul and west coast rock ‘n’ roll, adding an equal measure of girl group glitter and garage grit. The EP is produced by none other than Alabama Shakes keyboardist Ben Tanner and follows on from the group’s latest album, Crush on You, which saw the light of day last year. Front and centre of this five-piece outfit is the powerhouse presence of Gretchen Lemon, whose soulful vocals provide so much of the energy within each of these vignettes, each barely three minutes long. Opening song, and new single, Where Are You is pure disco; although things do improve on the following number, Lie To Me, with its infectious soulful groove. The same can be said for the title track, which is a standout, as is Done With Me, which delivers just a hint of the promised garage grit. However, both Up All Nite and Summer We Forgot reinstate the group’s pop sensibilities, and though this will undoubtedly appeal to a large audience and possibly render them much commercial success, one feels that Unstoppable is an EP that will struggle to capture the imagination of many regular readers or fans of americana music.
From the west coast of the USA to the east, and the new three-track EP entitled Gay All This Time from EmmyJean Jenkins, the new country persona of Annika Socolofsky. As a successful professor of music and classical composer at CU Boulder, Socolofsky found that the cost for excellence within this thriving musical academia was losing the ability to let go and have fun with music-making. Hence, this EP, with its subtle nod towards 70s-era country pop, helps create a lighthearted soundtrack and emphasises the themes of queer liberalism, while the use of an alter ego gives licence not to take herself too seriously. The EP finds Socolofsky working with the Friction Quartet, who primarily reside within the classical and new music landscape, but were more than happy to branch out genre-wise. Opening song, See It To Believe It, was written during the early stages of the adoption process and immediately introduces the listener to Socolosky’s rich and soulful vocals, while the arrangement blends full-blown orchestration with jagged accompaniment from electric guitars, all of which helps to make a lasting statement. The following number, Home To Me, continues with the broad musical arrangement, though the melody leans a little too close to Ben E King’s classic Stand By Me for these ears. By far the most successful number here is the title track that closes the EP. The melody is infectious, the narrative almost anthemic, which makes you want to stand up and punch the air, regardless of whether you are queer or straight. Rarely does one come across a song this powerful, sung with such pride, and though one may argue that, musically, it exists on the boundaries of the Americana music genre at best, its message and the quality of the delivery deserve the widest audience.
And finally, the winner of March’s EP of the month award goes to Truman Sinclair and his latest six-track offering entitled Rivers of Sugar and Blood. Fast becoming a favourite here at AUK, especially with our Editor, who last year voted Joel Roberts his number one song of the year, Sinclair released his debut solo album, American Recordings, early in 2025, to much critical praise. However, he’s far from a new kid on the block, having been playing in bands back in his native Chicago since he was eight, falling in love with folk music after moving to LA shortly before his fifteenth birthday, forming the band Frat Mouse in 2019, and releasing four albums. This new EP builds on last year’s album release, with each song revealing a songwriter completely at one with his craft. from the opening number River of Blood, where a heavily sustained guitar wrestles with the urgency in Sinclair’s vocal delivery, to the strummed acoustic accompaniment of Chemical Smile, and its infectious melody, the hook lines are continuous, embedding themselves under your skin and lodging in your brain for weeks. Dust To Dust might just be the pick of the bunch, though it seems rather churlish to even choose, as both Dustland, a song about coming of age, and the achingly beautiful Sugar are just as legitimate contenders, while closing number Sam & Marylou with some delightful Neil Young-esque harmonica, just makes you want to play the whole EP over and over again. It may only be March, but with Rivers of Sugar and Blood, Sinclair has delivered an EP that will be a serious contender for end-of-the-year awards come December.
