Kelsey Waldon calls it as she sees it on this, her new single from her new album ‘White Noise/White Lines‘, released on John Prines’ Oh Boy Records. That came about after Waldon moved from the wonderfully named Monkey’s Eyebrow, Kentucky to Nashville. And if ‘Monkey’s Eyebrow to Nashville‘ isn’t a song title in the making we don’t know what is (we’ll settle for a free credit on it).
Continue reading “Kelsey Waldon “Sunday’s Children” – Listen”
Born on the largest of the Aran Islands, multilingual Padraig Jack is a singer-songwriter who claims influences including James Taylor, Van Morrison, Paul Brady and The Eagles. ‘Minnie‘ is a love song, of sorts, as the titular protagonist goes from an unhappy marriage to an older man through an affair with the narrator to finding real love when he gets cold feet. Continue reading “Padraig Jack “Minnie” – Listen”
Gravel voiced singer Mark Martyre opens this song from his new album ‘Light Years‘ with the words ‘snow blows sideways, I spend another season alone‘, which might seem unseasonable but with the weather we’ve had so far this summer, well, who knows? Mark Martyre found that ‘Light Years‘ opened and closed with winter-tinged songs, although this was unplanned. The song reflects on places Martre has called home, and on the love that was lost when moving on. Continue reading “Mark Martyre “Wait” – Listen”
We should note at this point that this is actually only the Radio Edit of this song. On the new Garcia Peoples album, from which this is the title track, the jam sprawls out over 32 glorious minutes. You will have to flip the vinyl over before it ends. ‘One Step Behind‘ is a splendid rumbling slice of sunshine infused rock with a let things just go vibe “forget the rules you thought you knew they were never really there.” And if it reminds you a little of mid-period Grateful Dead that may not be a complete coincidence.
Sammy Kay is gearing up to release his fourth album ‘civil/War‘ on October 4th, from which ‘Sweet Cecilia‘ is taken. It’s an almost love song that grapples with addictions and a refusal to face up to the world and resolves into a gruff carpe diem: “Say your prayers and count your scars, in the end the only way to live your life is to really live it”. Continue reading “Sammy Kay “Sweet Cecilia” – Listen”
With musical festivals folding recently under the threat of high winds and heavy rain, Neil Nathan offers a more bucolic experience of the East Anglian coastline. The New York singer-songwriter has a great affection for the Suffolk town, and this song is a veritable recreation of a stroll around its charming streets. Part chorus folk song part Kinks inspired hymn to an unchanging corner of England ‘Home Orford Home‘ will get an airing at tonight’s intimate, solo acoustic gig at Orford pub The Kings Head.
Flora Hibberd resides in Paris, but her roots are in East London. Her music taps into a seam of literate folky singer-songwriters, take your choice – Cohen, Brel – those who will sing of the dark side of human emotions. ‘In Violence‘ is Hibberd’s second single from her upcoming ‘The Absentee EP’, and she says that it “comes from anger, specifically about something that I witnessed happen to a friend, and more generally about all the people that are put in that position every day. It is painful, but I don’t think it is entirely dark. There is power in the anger.”
We were going to try and claim The East Pointers as another NWOABB, but the Juno Award-winning band are a little too Canadian for that. And maybe not that Bluegrass either – there’s a vibrant take on modern folk though from fiddler/singer Tim Chaisson, banjoist Koady Chaisson and guitarist Jake Charon who together make up The East Pointers. Continue reading “The East Pointers announce UK dates, new track “Wintergreen” – Listen”
It has been fully seven years since Rachel Harrington’s last album ‘Celilo Falls‘, and those intervening years have been eventful for her to say the least. After the touring to support ‘Celilo Falls‘ Rachel Harrington was exhausted – and she’d also taken up drinking again after nine dry years. Obamacare helped with medical issues, but it’s been a longer struggle to finally give up alcohol again. In this same period Rachel’s grandmother died, and whilst staying with her there was something of a contemplation of other family deaths – all of which feeds through into the album. Continue reading “Rachel Harrington “Hush The Wild Horses” (Skinny Dennis Records, 2019)”
Nickel & Rose, you’ll recall, are Carl Nichols and Johanna Rose and at their best their songs really punch home with some weight. Their new single ‘Another Man‘ is one such song, dealing as it does with a fatal form of racism in the USA “When my grandpa was young” Carl sings “he had to hold his tongue, ‘cos they’d hang him from a bridge downtown, now they call it Stand Your Ground, another man is dead.” Whilst the music is superb, the point is not to be missed.
