As is tradition for those of us writing at Twangville, we start wondering what the other’s favorite 2019 records are not long after the turkey cools at Thanksgiving. Some of us are more organized than others. Here are my favorites among what I heard this year. 1.Hayes Carll – What It Is. I’ve always liked […]
EP Gems: The Family Band & Kailey Nicole
Before I fall into the end-of-year routine I wanted to highlight a couple of EP’s that struck me particularly well. One’s been out a couple of months and the other releases next month. I’ll start with the one that’s not out just yet, Kailey Nicole’s self-titled release. Raised in southern California, Nicole started her artistic […]
Readers’ Pick: 2019 Nominations
Our Readers’ Pick poll for Best New Album of 2019 is live. This list consists of your Top 25 picks from Winter & Spring, Summer & Fall, and last call for nominations. As always, thanks for your votes. Top picks in this poll will factor into our Authors’ picks at the end of the year. […]
Jimmy “Duck” Holmes – Cypress Grove
Jimmy “Duck” Holmes’ Cypress Grove is a great album that I almost missed. I may have been slow to check this release out, but I’m happy I finally got to it. It encompasses everything the blues is supposed to be. The son of sharecroppers and the owner of a juke joint himself (you can see […]
Peace, Twang, and Turkey Grease: A 2019 Thanksgiving Toast to Jeff McMahon
Here we are again… Thanksgiving 2019, y’all… which means we’re celebrating 14 years of Twangville’s existence. For as long as I can remember, I’ve been writing a Thanksgiving toast each year to thank our contributors, our community, and the artists who give us something to listen to and write about. Without someone to make the […]
Hannah & Falco – Field Notes
I love it when friends turn me on to great new music. Chatting recently with the folks at smallsongs, I got turned on to the German Americana duo, Hannah & Falco. With their latest record, Field Notes, the couple shows you can deliver cutting observations on weighty subjects without the music itself being too heavy. […]
Readers’ Pick: Joe Henry – The Gospel According to Water
You picked Joe Henry – The Gospel According to Water as your favorite new release for the week of November 15, 2019. New Releases Did we miss something? If you feel a new release is missing from our current poll, please let us know in the comments. Readers’ Tops Summer & Fall 2019 EmiSunshine and […]
The House Of Songs
The creative process of writing good music has been compared to catching lightning in a bottle. The implication is that it’s random good luck. Yet time and time again you hear of artists who have a process they follow and a string of great songs that came out of it. Similarly, musicians frequently get together […]
Readers’ Pick: Van Morrison – Three Chords and the Truth
You picked Van Morrison – Three Chords and the Truth as your favorite new release for the week of October 25, 2019. New Releases Did we miss something? If you feel a new release is missing from our current poll, please let us know in the comments. Readers’ Tops Summer & Fall 2019 EmiSunshine and […]
Scott Walker – The Rock House Project
Back in the day I had the (mis)fortune of having to make many long drives across various parts of the south central U.S. This was before satellite radio or iPods and rental cars didn’t have tape decks. So you listened to the radio; mostly country music, and in more than a few of those DJ’s […]