Most of us can mark moments or periods of time in our lives by music. A few years back (or a dozen, to be more accurate), I saw a young Americana-ish band, the everybodyfields, fronted by Jill Andrews and Sam Quinn, opening for Tift Merritt at the Birchmere in Alexandria, Virginia. Later on, I looked […]
Sometimes band members go their separate ways so they can explore other avenues of creativity. Even if you’re favorite band does this (much to your chagrin), you can benefit from it. The Gaslight Anthem is on an indefinite hiatus, which is probably a disappointment for their fans. However, Brian Fallon has made some really good […]
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Considering his bloodline, it’s not surprising that Lukas Nelson is a prolific songwriter. Just last year, the band released Turn off the News (Build a Garden), which seemed like just the thing we needed to hear when bad news abounds. Now the band is releasing a companion album called Naked Garden. It includes songs that […]
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Saints Eleven is a band described by vocalist Jeff Grossman as “just four rock and roll guys out of the Dallas-Ft. Worth Metroplex playing country music.” The new EP This Town shows that not only to be a succinct summary, but also an accurate one with guitars and rhythms like The Backsliders and healthy doses of pedal […]
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Saint Cloud out on March 27th via Merge Records finds Waxahatchee, the recording plume de nom for Katie Crutchfield, building on past efforts while simultaneously diving deep into unflinching self-examination in the wake of new found sobriety. Big guitars, controlled noise, and borderline disorienting soundscapes are replaced with more traditionally Americana sound centered on Crutchfield’s […]
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By Jeff Burger Classical Treatment for Rod Stewart’s Classics Rod Stewart now has something in common with Roy Orbison, Buddy Holly, the Carpenters, Elvis Presley, and the Beach Boys: like those other artists, he has had the vocals from his early hits wedded to new symphonic arrangements by London’s Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. The 15-song You’re in […]
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Sass Jordan is an artist who has had quite a bit of success in her native Canada. She has won a Juno award and been nominated three other times. Even after all her time as an artist, she is branching out into new territory by exploring some classic blues tunes. Rebel Moon Blues is a collection […]
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One of the most reliable musical traditions is the work of the singer-songwriter. They weave stories through their music & distinctive lyrics. David Wilcox, Chris Robison, Marc Cohen, John Wesley Harding, Joe Henry – just to name a few of the lesser-known remarkable names. Now, Nashville-based Chris Moyes fits comfortably with these articulate writers. His […]
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I looked forward to this LP when I saw it came from Landslide Records. Back in the 80s, they released many fine LPs — one of my favorites was a rare 1983 solo LP (Middle of the Night) by one of their producers Bruce Baxter that was excellent. While some of the guitar tunings sound […]
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For all the songwriters in Nashville, few have a story like Gabe Lee, a country singer-songwriter who is the son of Taiwanese immigrants and one of the few Asian-American songwriters in the Nashville Americana scene. On his previous release farmland, Lee showed his prowess for evocative melodies and lyrics. He continues to show that strength […]
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