Lyal Strickland – Shooter of Truth This is Lyal Strickland’s first full album in 10 years & within that time he documented a fully lived life in song. It’s a personal set that led to a new kind of clarity. Nothing is embellished, decorated, since all the trials & tribulations are on the table. Face-up. […]
Charlie Parr – Rooming House This is Mr. Parr’s 20th album & it comes as a conceptual narrative. A folk opera though it only features 7 descriptive tracks. The story is rather intense since it explores the hardships of ordinary people with economic insecurity, finding strength in harsh conditions. Parr’s haunting Delta-blues guitar & gritty […]
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Derrick Procell – My Incredible Heart This bluesy-soulful set comes off the presses with a full sounding showcase suffused with clever, whimsical wordplay lyrics, the aggressive authoritative baritone vocals of Derrick Procell who has the voodoo distinguished style of Dr. John mixed with the bite-sized fragments of a soulful Solomon Burke tint (not to be […]
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Bruce Cockburn – The Blood of Others This is a beautiful album. Especially from a singer whose been around for years & is known for his own songwriting. Here, Bruce Cockburn honors the tunes that shaped the road toward his own success. 5-decades into that career he is Canada’s other epic singer-songwriter/guitarist (the other 3 […]
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Amanda Cook – Love Through Time This critically acclaimed bluegrass unit led by award-nominated songwriter & vocalist Amanda Cook has been plucking the strings & singing the high lonesome since 2013. Ms. Cook’s band does maintain a traditional bluegrass tempo but adds insightfully a contemporary sound. Ms. Cook’s prior album “Restless Soul” reached #2 on […]
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Heavy Diamond Ring – Let Love Be Enough – 5 Song EP This is a Denver-based light touch band that has melody to spare with angelic voices with just enough salt & pepper (“piss on the flowers, it’ll help them grow”) in their sweet tunes to make them an interesting showcase. Their 5-song EP Let […]
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Laura Cortese – Lucky Water This is Boston, MA artist Laura Cortese’s first album in 6 years, & she continues to have an engaging voice & her music is played meticulously. Her songs explore shifts in marriage, motherhood & dual citizenship (she resides in Belgium now). Musically Laura (5-string violin/fiddle) shifts between folk, roots rock […]
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Libby Koch & Michael O’Connor – Gulf Coast Duets This duet-oriented LP is folky but since it originates from the Gulf Coast of Texas, it’s a debut set that’s interesting, if not different. Oh, it’s still folk music, but it isn’t urban folk music. There’s no Phil Ochs, Joan Baez, or Tom Paxton, radical regularities. […]
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Becky Shaw – Cast Off the Lines This album is recorded pristinely with a nod to vintage female pop-country singers, more Brenda Lee, Robin Ward, Merilee Rush & folk singer Ferron than Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn or Tammy Wynette. From the first cut “Makin’ Me Smile,” to “Simon’s Thunder Shirt,” Georgia’s Ms. Shaw has bright […]
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Domenic Cicala – Duet Again From the starting gate this effort hits with authority & Muscle Shoals/Stax horn funk muscle. Good charts on some old jewels & originals with Dominic’s duet partner Charlie Faye & the Fayettes pouring on the groove with expertise & plenty of soul. “You Mean So Much To Me Baby” would’ve […]
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