Tim Martin

Bluegrass Briefs: Taff Rapids, The Seldom Scene, Merle Travis, The SteelDrivers, Chicken Wire Empire, EZRA

April 30, 2025 Tim Martin 0

Bluegrass is a truly multinational genre these days, as Taff Rapids demonstrate. Bands like The Seldom Scene and Chicken Wire Empire are pushing the boundaries while still respecting the traditions of Bluegrass past. That past is […]

Book/Album Review: Josh Rosenthal (editor) “Treasures Untold: A Modern 78 RPM Reader”

April 17, 2025 Tim Martin 4

We’ve had vinyl, CD, and cassettes all making a “comeback.” So are 78s the next format we’ll all be hankering after. It feels unlikely simply on the grounds of breakability alone. But 78s refuse to go […]

Sue Harding “The World”

April 15, 2025 Tim Martin 0

Reflections on life, change and survival. Modern folk music which doesn’t rest in the past. Since her last album ‘Darkling,’ Harding has entered a new stage of life. ‘The World’ is named for the tarot card. […]

For The Sake Of The Song: Over The Rhine “Latter Days”

April 14, 2025 Tim Martin 2

I’ve talked about Over The Rhine before, often, but they’ve accompanied me on the life journey for over 20 years now. They have written several songs that have resonated for me at different times, but none […]

Paperback Riders: 95 Years of Analog Science Fiction and Fact

April 11, 2025 Tim Martin 1

For nearly a century, ‘Analog Science Fiction and Fact Magazine’ has sat at the frontier of science fiction. While it’s fashionable to lump SF, fantasy and horror into one box called “Speculative fiction” these days, ‘Analog’ […]

Stamping on the passion: Why AI written PR is a bad thing for music

September 21, 2026 2

If a music writer opens ten press releases this month, they’ll spot something odd. They all sound like the same person wrote them. Not because the artists share a publicist, or because there’s a house style […]

Carla Gover and Friends “Williams Branch is Hard to Find”

September 21, 2026 0

A cycle of Appalachian folk songs from writer and activist Si Kahn, subtitled Songs for Strong Kentucky Women The subtitle for this album is “Si Kahn’s Songs for Strong Kentucky Women”. Si Kahn is one of […]

Ad for American Beauty album 5th December 1970

For the Sake of the Song: Grateful Dead “High Time”