There are certain musical styles and sounds that evoke thoughts of a particular part of the country. The brassy jazz of New Orleans, the polka-laced country of the Texas Hill Country, the thoughtful folk-rock of Southern California. The latter was invoked by a duo based across the country, Massachusetts’ Opal Canyon. Their latest record, Tomorrow […]
VanWyck Video Premiere – Maybe, Maybe Not
Singer-songwriter VanWyck started taking notice of all the people adrift, washing up on the steps and benches of her native Amsterdam. Realizing the gap between their demons and the ones we all fight is narrow, she started writing a story, a landscape, an alternate reality where everyone has a safe space, a place to recover […]
Good Morning Bedlam – Lulu
Rochester, Minnesota-based Good Morning Bedlam says, “we want to surprise our audience.” Ostensibly a folk music trio, they accomplish that feat admirably on their latest album, Lulu. The record careens between indie folk and speed-grass, with side trips to Balkan jazz, klezmer, and Roaring 20’s pop music. One thing that does remain constant is the […]
Mayer’s Picks – Best Songs of 2021, Part 2
I posted my list of favorite from the first half of 2021 back in July (here). Rather than replicate that list for my full year review, consider this a continuation — the best songs from the second half of the year. What’s The Matter/Ft. Walton Wake-Up Call, James McMurtry (from the New West Records release […]
Cashavelly Morrison – Metamorphosis
Someone once said, maybe it was Ray Wylie Hubbard, that, “good poets didn’t have good childhoods.” I don’t know about her childhood, but Cashavelly Morrison has had her share of traumatic experiences and the emotional journey of acceptance is reflected in her new album, Metamorphosis. Morrison started her professional career as a dancer, but after […]
Korby Lenker – Man In the Maroon
Many, many years ago I was gifted a high-end chocolate sampler that ranged from toothachingly sweet, milk chocolate to a bitter, floral 90% sample. It opened my eyes to how wide an experience chocolate could deliver. I had that same observation with Korby Lenker’s new album, Man In the Maroon. Yes, it’s all roots, folkie […]
Shay Martin Lovette – Scatter & Gather
For song writers that lean to the introspective, the pandemic’s forced isolation gave them some quality composing time. That seems to be the case with North Carolina’s Shay Martin Lovette. Holed up in a remote cabin he crafted some fine indie folk material. Mipso’s Joseph Terrell took over production duties, added some pop structure to […]
Desert Hollow – Thirsty
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. […]
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 […]
Old Californio – Songs From the Sea Of Cortez
There’s a very California sound you get by taking the twangy guitar and rock solid rhythm line associated with Bakersfield and overlaying it with the acoustic guitar and multi-part harmonies that sprang from the hills and canyons northwest of LA in the 60’s. You could probably argue Graham Parsons first touched that nerve with Sweetheart […]