americana
See: Kyle Edward Connolly – ‘Get Me Tomorrow’: springtime country rock from Toronto
TAKING that particularly Canadian spin on the alt.country sound, as espoused by Joni Mitchell and Neil Young, particularly as he moved through the ranks of Buffalo Springfield – that seems to be the mission of Kyle Edward Connolly, who’s previously plied his trade with artists such as WISH, THE SEAMS, and alongside masked country artist …
Track: Bill MacKay and Nathan Bowles – ‘I See God’: that old time religion beautifully recast for guitar and banjo
KEYS, the soon-come long-playing conversation between Chicago’s Bill MacKay on guitar and North Carolina’s Nathan Bowles at the banjo, ranges back and forth across the great bluegrass and guitar soli traditions, both pushing forward with free-flying chemistry and grounding their essaying in the canon of the form; and it’s the latter angle they’re examining on …
TRACK: Catch Prichard – ‘Lipstick And Fur’: 1am chamber pop … with a coronavirus baritone
CATCH PRICHARD are a chamber-pop orchestral project based in the San Francisco Bay city of Oakland, who have a delightfully nuanced, baritone way with their musical stylings, the like of which you may have not heard since Tindersticks were in their early orchestral pomp. They have a new album out on April 23rd entitled I …
TRACK: Renée Reed – ‘Où est la fée’: a mystical tale from the Louisiana backwoods
HAILING from Lafayette, Louisiana, Renée Reed has followed up her excellent first single, “Fast One”, with a French language track, “Où est la fée” today. It’s the first song she’s released in French, reflecting her roots in the culture of her home state; and we’re told it’s one of two such on her self-titled debut album, out next month …
NEWS: Fruit Bats announce lush new album for Merge; see the video for The Balcony
CHICAGO’S pristine and lovely Fruit Bats, who’ve been providing us with excellent folk-rock that completely illustrates the wondrous magic of music when they’re flying high (and they mostly are, let’s be fair), have a new album, The Pet Parade, out through Merge come March 5th; by way of introducing you to the delights of which …
ALBUM REVIEW: The Weather Station – Ignorance
Building up on the career of an accomplished artist, Ignorance is no doubt one of the first “headline” albums of 2021. Full of lush and classy orchestrations, the album exudes music craftsmanship throughout its canonical ten tracks, evoking smoky, nocturnal, slightly alcoholic, Closing Time soulscapes. Following 4 years after the last installment in Tamara Lindelof’s …
SEE: Juanita Stein – ‘Lucky’: a timeless, folksy number tells of her time in grief
NUDE’S lovely singer-songwriter Juanita Stein has released a video for her new single, “Lucky”, which visuals which we gladly present for you here today. It’s taken from her latest album, last October’s Snapshot, and it’s a timeless, folksy strum, propelling along on a canter of acoustic chords, Juanita simmering with a feeling of perhaps not quite being so …
SEE: Raine Hamilton – ‘Brave Land’: gorgeous chamber bluegrass tune launches new album; live-streamed show tonight
RAINE HAMILTON, the chamber-folk artist from Winnipeg, Manitoba, grew up in musical family and learned her chops early; in fact, her parents met in a rock band in the 1970s – music runs that deep for her. Her particular brand of folk pushes the boundaries of the trad form, borrowing from the counterpoint principles of …
NEWS: Chad Vangaalen announces a March album for Sub Pop; see the properly brilliant animation for ‘Samurai Sword’
HE’S SO much fun, right? Sub Pop’s favourite Albertan singer-songwriter, Chad VanGaalen – he’s made his whimsical home at the Seattle imprint since 2006’s Skelliconnection – has revealed that actually, horticulturally speaking, he’s the World’s Most Stressed Out Gardener; well, actually that would be musically too, since that’s also how his new album will be …
Album Review: Modern Hinterland – Diving Bell
‘Americana’ is one of those genre descriptions that is narrow enough to be definable but wide enough to be inclusive. Americana music is built on the shared and varied musical traditions of the United States, specifically those sounds that are merged from folk, country, blues, rock and roll, and gospel. Americana music is ‘of’ those styles, but …