Like the aunt that you only see at Christmas, some people put out a vibe that’s fun to be around. Â Same thing with some records. Â My case in point is the second release from Nashville-based singer-songwriter Kelsey Waldon, Anybody’s Darlin’. Â I’ve listened to this record half a dozen times now and I can’t really put […]
Readers’ Pick: Gillian Welch, “The Harrow & The Harvestâ€
READERS PICK: JUNE 2011 Twangville readers picked Gillian Welch‘s The Harrow & The Harvest as their favorite album of June 2011. A harrow is a heavy, machine-size rake that drags over plowed land to remove weeds and break up lumps of earth and clay. There’s no doubt careful thought was put into the title of […]
Monday Morning Video: Ellis Paul
I had the opportunity to see Ellis Paul play the legendary Club Passim a few weeks back. The show was billed as his “20th Anniversary Career Retrospective in Song” and featured a set list comprised of fan requested favorites. Alas, Paul didn’t play this track, which was featured in my “Kiss Off” playlist from a […]
Gillian Welch – The Harrow & the Harvest
As practically everyone who reads this blog is aware, it’s been 8 years since one of Americana’s most acclaimed artists, Gillian Welch, has released an album. Â With all the anticipation, Team Twangville decided to do the more-is-better approach and give you a variety of thoughts on the record. Â I’ll start with my reaction… Miles […]
Sarah Jarosz – Follow Me Down
Covering the likes of Radiohead and Edgar Allen Poe in addition to her own superb songwriting, the single word to describe the latest effort from Sarah Jarosz would have to be “diversity”. Â With a supporting cast of Americana and pop stars seemingly unavailable to any other musician under 70 years of age (Sarah was 19 […]
Listen Up: The Wretches and Jabberers Soundtrack
I’m bouncing around the system as it’s trying to figure me out. I just want someone to risk it and hear what I have to say. I am not a victim just got a real story to tell. I can’t speak but I need you to listen. I’m more like you than not like you. […]
Israel Nash Gripka – Barn Doors & Concrete Floors
OK, look. It’s not that I’m unaccustomed to gushing over a record I really love here on Twangville, it’s just that I try and at least tell you why it is that I feel a record is so gush-worthy, when called for. In the case of Israel Nash Gripka’s latest, Barn Doors & Concrete Floors, […]
MilkDrive – Road From Home
Being able to pigeonhole a band’s sound is useful to a music reviewer. Â It lets you describe them quickly before a blog reader clic…. Â But for those of you still with me, MilkDrive, and their latest album, Road From Home, spans not just 3-4 genres of music, but 3-4 eras of music. The first cut, […]
Tara Nevins – Wood and Stone
When we last saw Tara Nevins, do her own thing, outside of the Donna the Buffalo “herd”, it was an award winning Bluegrass album, but it has been over 10 years since Mule to Ride. On her new release, Wood and Stone, she showcases a broader stroke of the Americana landscape. On the surface it invokes a similar territory travelled by Donna, […]
Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues
Let’s get this much out of the way: Everyone’s right about the new Fleet Foxes album, Helplessness Blues (Sub Pop). It’s astonishing. Sorry. It’s a safe bet that many out there were hoping the gentle, bearded, harmonizing folkies form the Northwest would fall flat on their nature loving faces. But, alas, they stand triumphantly, even […]