Karen Dahlstrom Love These Days Some albums immediately reveal the hand of a mature songwriter—someone who has lived, reflected, and distilled experience into craft. Love These Days, the new release from Karen Dahlstrom, is unmistakably one of those records. Its ten songs draw on traditional Americana and folk sensibilities, arranged with understated drums and bass, […]
Rick Shea Smoke Tree Road Rick Shea’s recently released album Smoke Tree Road is a warm, unhurried, and deeply human collection that showcases his strengths as a songwriter, guitarist, and storyteller. Released on Tres Pescadores Records, the album moves with a gentle confidence across twelve tracks that blend Americana, folk, and Mexican‑influenced styles. Shea’s vocals […]
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The Montvales Path of Totality Produced by Eli LoPinto (Chris Stapleton, Emily Nenni) and released on Free Dirt Records, Path of Totality finds Cincinnati‑based duo The Montvales — Sally Buice and Molly Rochelson — in superb form. Recorded with engineer/mixer Jesse Noah Wilson and mastered by Kevin Butler, the album benefits from sensitive, spacious production […]
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Steve Poltz “JoyRide” Approaching a new album without prior context can be refreshing, and that’s how I chose to meet JoyRide. I pressed play without researching Steve Poltz’s long career, letting the music introduce itself on its own terms. What becomes immediately clear is the calibre of the musicianship. There’s a confidence running through the […]
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Julian Taylor – Anthology Vol. 2 Canada has long been a wellspring of exceptional songwriting talent. From the poetic introspection of Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen to the narrative mastery of Gordon Lightfoot and Neil Young, the country’s musical lineage is rich and enduring. More contemporary voices such as Ron Sexsmith and Sarah McLachlan have […]
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Courtney Marie Andrews – Valentine I’ll be blunt: I’m a fan of Courtney Marie Andrews. I was there when she collected the UK Americana International Artist of the Year Award in 2018 and saw her live in Birkenhead a couple of years later, so I listened to Valentine with a mixture of hope and trepidation […]
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Shawn Camp The Ghost of Sis Draper The Ghost of Sis Draper is not merely a great album—it’s something rarer, richer, and far more enduring. For anyone weary of overproduced gloss, digital perfection, or the creeping sterility of AI‑smoothed recordings, this record feels like a return to the campfire: banjos and fiddles ringing in the […]
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The Delines – Mr. Luck & Ms. Doom: A Masterclass in Soulful Americana Storytelling Reviewing a new Delines record is one of those rare pleasures that carries its own quiet pressure. Their albums are so rich, so cinematic, so emotionally precise that capturing their essence in words feels like trying to summarise a great American […]
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Ringo Starr – Look Up (2025) As a Liverpool native and lifelong Beatles devotee, I approach any solo project from the Fab Four with both affection and caution. As a country songwriter myself, I approached this album anticipating that I might find flaws—perhaps even thinking, “he could have chosen one of my songs instead of […]
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Wielded with Tender Precision: Two EPs by Sean Keel Sean Keel is a singular presence in contemporary Americana — a late-blooming songwriter whose gravel-edged voice and poetic sensibility evoke startling intimacy. Based in Austin, Texas, and known in academic circles as a research mathematician, Keel brings both a storyteller’s heart and a philosopher’s eye to […]
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