Author: Eric Thom

The Burnt Pines – Don’t Look Down (Adraela Records) The pressure to deliver a second release as impactful as the first surely looms large for any artist. Not only did The Burnt Pines’ self-titled debut land them critical success, it also became a textbook case of beating the odds in the face of adversity, given the severe […]

Denis Parker — Double Album: The Dance Card / Solo Kite (Independent) You might first be taken aback by anyone releasing a double album in these fractured times. However, after sitting down to listen to one of the best folk-blues releases in a long time, one can only conclude that each record’s approach belongs under […]

Jimmy Goodrich — The Last Bastard (self-released) If you knew nothing at all about Jimmy Goodrich, you’d learn as much as you’d need to with a simple spin of his new release, The Last Bastard. You wouldn’t necessarily know that, after 20 years of applying himself to the craft of song-writing and mastering most of the instruments […]

Derrick Procell — Hello Mojo! (Catfood Records) It’s not often that a vocalist stands out – instantly– in the blues category, but this one does – all the more because you’ve likely not heard of him. With his first release, Why I Choose To Sing The Blues (’16), Procell proves he’s got the right kind of friends, […]

Norman Blake — Day By Day (Smithsonian Folkways) During an interview to promote his 32nd release from 2015, Wood, Wire & Words, Norman Blake admitted that he was done, having suffered a TIA back in 2012. While this medical setback had impacted his singing and playing skills significantly, Blake – a lifelong musician – fought to […]

Mac McAnally — Once In A Lifetime (Mailboat Records) Lyman Corbitt McAnally Jr. is also known as Mac McAnally – not that you’ve likely heard of either one of them. Such is the fate of so many of the most important people in the music business: the songwriter. Without quality songs, there really wouldn’t be much to […]

The Steel Woods– All Of Your StonesThirty Tigers/The Orchard As theory has it, music critics focus on reviewing the music they love – or that does something special for them – enlisting a committment to help spread the news. Not always, however. The first time I heard The Steel Woods their groundbreaking 2017 debut, Straw In […]

Dulcie Taylor — Rediscovered (EP)(Mesa/Bluemoon) You’ve heard, “If you’re going to do something, do it right the first time,” yet this old adage seldom applies to music. Rediscovered is an EP release which has afforded this artist an opportunity to look back on both fan and personal favorites – and re-work them differently. Dulcie Taylor was […]