Rick Bayles

Book Review: David Berman “Actual Air” (Drag City, 2019)

May 22, 2019 Rick Bayles 0

It seems poetry books are a bit like buses – you wait ages for one and then two come along at once! Following on from our recent review of Doug Hoekstra’s ‘Unopened’ we now have David […]

Book Review: Doug Hoekstra “Unopened” (Five-Minute Books, 2019)

May 8, 2019 Rick Bayles 0

“In the unfinished basement past stainless steel filing cabinets, humming humidifiers and stacks of yellow magazines I reach two racks of records promised to us both; My heart can only take a few, including “Memories of a Middle-Aged Movies by the […]

Gold Light & Snakemusk “Shadows in the Shallows” (Bailey Park, 2019)

April 24, 2019 Rick Bayles 0

Americana often produces some great voice combinations, especially with male/female duos – think of Gram Parsons & Emmylou Harris, Kris Kristofferson & Rita Coolidge, Johnny & June Cash, The Civil Wars and many more; it’s a […]

Caroline Spence “Mint Condition” (Rounder Records, 2019)

April 8, 2019 Rick Bayles 0

One of the most exciting “new” artists on the Americana scene, Caroline Spence has been making great music for some years now and ‘Mint Condition’ is her third album. It seems hard to believe she’s racking […]

A Picture Made “Heal” (Goodspeeed Records, 2019)

April 3, 2019 Rick Bayles 0

On first hearing “Heal” seems a slight, meandering work that’s difficult to pin down – but this is an album that rewards repeated listening. The band’s music is quite difficult to describe, but it’s more indie […]