Hailing from West Virginia and southeast California respectively, Xander Hitzig and Nicole Olney wouldn’t be expected to have a similar perspective on life. After meeting on the set of a musical theatre production, though, they realized they shared a lot in common, especially musically. You’ll hear that on their debut record, an EP titled Thirsty. […]
Old Town Crier – I’m Longing For You Honey In Middleboro, Mass
One of the good things that’s come out of the pandemic is that quite a few musicians, normally consumed full-time with being part of a band, have used the time to challenge themselves and make a solo record. Sometimes the musical style veers afield from what their band normally plays. One of the better examples […]
The Shootouts – Bullseye
Not long after Steve Earle and Dwight Yoakum and their ilk starting reclaiming authentic roots music, a band formed out of a chance meeting in a bar took the idea a step further. BR549 was honky-tonk, rockabilly and Texas swing; and an attitude your mom told you to fear. Needless to say they developed a […]
Amy Speace – There Used To Be Horses Here
We should all be thankful musicians find writing songs to be cathartic. Amy Speace has taken inspiration from the first birthday of her son, and the passing of her father, to deliver an emotional, passionate new record. Entitled There Used To Be Horses Here, it’s a natural fit for vinyl with two pretty distinct parts […]
Stephen Flatt – Cumberland Bones
They say alt-country is country music played with a punk aesthetic. Stephen Flatt has a slightly different idea; it’s southern rock with a bluegrass aesthetic. On his latest album, Cumberland Bones, Flatt leads with the Southern rock stories and anthemic, pump-your-fist sound. The bluegrass comes in via him recording this record not with a longstanding […]
Eli West – Tapered Point Of Stone
For much of the country, spring is upon us. Not just because of the date on the calendar, but the warmth of the sun on increasingly longer days, the gentle breeze bearing the scent of blooms (and pollen!), and at least where I grew up the sudden change of Mother Nature’s heart with the arrival […]
Rylan Brooks – If Wishes Were Horses
Most of us have done a cross country road trip at least once, and you don’t forget it. Especially if it included a long stretch between the Rockies and the Mississippi, where time and distance create a kind of elasticity to your plan. Doing those trips over and over and over became the rehearsal space […]
Ervin Stellar – Nothing To Prove
I love it when an artist takes someone else’s well-known song and so transforms the piece that they start to own it more than the original artist or songwriter. Ervin Stellar, the stage name of Andrew Jordan, does that on his new EP with Shanty, the Jonathan Edwards classic. Stellar injects such a nonchalant tempo […]
Vivian Leva & Riley Calcagno
Three years ago in a cramped hotel room during Folk Alliance, at the advice of friends, I first heard a barely-out-of-high-school songstress, Vivian Leva, and her musical partner, Riley Calcagno. Leva had just released her debut album of Appalachian style folk and country songs. Belying her tender age, Leva’s soulful vocal delivery laid bare the […]
Lydia Luce – Dark River
Let me just start by saying that if you’re in the mood for something twangy, the new record from Nashville’s Lydia Luce is not going to scratch that itch. Luce is an in-demand studio musician around Nashville for her ability on a variety of stringed instruments, so she knows twang. But Dark River draws mostly […]