Month: May 2017
-
NEW RELEASES 5/26: JUSTIN TOWNES EARLE talks about Kids In The Street, DANZIG wears the Black Laden Crown, and THE BEATLES honor Sgt. Pepper on his 50th anniversary!
Forming a trilogy with 2014’s Single Mothers and 2015’s Absent Fathers, J.T. Earle’s latest teams him with Omaha indie-rock don Mike Mogis (Bright Eyes) for his rangiest set yet. “What’s She Crying For” is a moaning honky-tonk weeper with pedal steel and roadhouse piano, “What’s Goin’ Wrong” is clarinet-spiked Texas swing impressionism, “15-25” is vintage…
-
PAUL WELLER’s new album KIND REVOLUTION is yet another effortless collection of Brit-rock from The Modfather.
On studio album number twelve (there have also been five official live sets), Weller slings out another ten examples of what he once coined “heavy soul.” His booming, instantly recognizable voice drives songs that run the gamut from the sweeping, Beach Boys inflected widescreen pop of “The Impossible Idea” to the retro folk/pop with somewhat…
-
NEW RELEASES, 5/19: ENDLESS BOOGIE is a total Vibe Killer, MOUNTAIN GOATS salute the Goths, THE MASTERSONS sing a Transient Lullaby, and lots more!
The New Yorker once called the Mountain Goats’ frontman John Darnielle “America’s best non-hip-hop lyricist”. Here, the 50-year-old sometime novelist is in masterly form, reappraising his teenage goth years. The hints of Nick Cave’s Bad Seeds in opener Rain in Soho aside, piano, woozy sax and sumptuous Prefab Sprout AOR combine with lyrics about Portuguese…
-
The unpredictable and enlightening Carolina troubadour-rocker DAVID CHILDERS returns with an incredible album, Run Skeleton Run, out now on RAMSEUR RECORDS!
Singer-songwriter David Childers is the proverbial study in contradictions. A resident of Mount Holly, North Carolina, he’s a former high-school football player with the aw-shucks demeanor of a good ol’ Southern boy. But he’s also a well-read poet and painter who cites Chaucer and Kerouac as influences, fell in love with folk as a teen,…
-
NEW RELEASES, 5/12: YO-YO MA PLAYS BACH, JIM AVETT brings the family, and PAUL WELLER ushers in A KIND REVOLUTION!
Jim Avett is a natural-born storyteller. You shouldn’t expect to have a seat at the dining room table with the man and have a conversation relegated to small talk and light commenting on current events. It’s more probable (by a long shot) that between loading forkfuls of green beans, you’ll seamlessly find yourself learning about…
-
THE MASTERSONS new album TRANSIENT LULLABY takes the blur of the road and creates a “late-night music” follow-up to their acclaimed debut
Don’t bother asking The Mastersons where they’re from. Brooklyn, Austin, Los Angeles, Terlingua; they’ve called each home in just the last few years alone. If you really want to get to know this husband-and-wife duo, the better question to ask is where they’re going. Perhaps more than any other band playing today, The Mastersons live…
-
JOAN SHELLEY’s new self-titled album is eleven songs of sorely needed soothing wisdom in a chaotic world.
In December 2016, after more than a year of touring, songwriter Joan Shelley, together with guitarist Nathan Salsburg, headed to Chicago, where they joined Jeff Tweedy for five days in Wilco’s studio. Spencer Tweedy, home from college, joined on drums, while James Elkington shifted between piano and resonator guitar. Jeff added electric accents and some…
-
RODNEY CROWELL’s new album “Close Ties” is in-stock now on NEW WEST RECORDS on CD & LP. It’s a stunning look back at the regrets and joys of a life lived hard.
The rise of Americana music has struck a nerve with Crowell. “I have declared my loyalty to Americana. It’s a hard category for people to get their heads around, or at least the terminology is. But all the people who represent it—Townes van Zandt, Guy Clark, Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle and more recent stars like…
-
NEW RELEASES 5/5: AFGHAN WHIGS, BONNIE PRINCE BILLY, MAC DEMARCO, FLAMING LIPS, DIANA KRALL, TAJ MAHAL/KEB MO, JOHN MORELAND, JOAN SHELLEY, CHRIS STAPLETON & more!
He may appear to be a thick-bearded Seventies outlaw-country throwback, but make no mistake: Chris Stapleton is a soul singer, with a preternaturally creaky voice that can turn wizened or brawny, full of pained howls and distended vowels. His 2015 solo debut, Traveller, transformed him from an eclectically accomplished Nashville songwriter (for acts from Alison…
-
Our favorite cosmic cowboy JIM LAUDERDALE is back to play a show at THE SPINNING JENNY TONIGHT!. His new album, London Southern, is in-stock now!
One of Americana’s nobility wanders back through Greenville. Do we have to remind ourselves that Jim Lauderdale has toured, recorded or done projects with Emmylou Harris, Lucinda Williams, Ralph Stanley and Robert Hunter? His skills on guitar, vocal harmonies and magical songwriting are why those folks love him, and so do we. Check out Southern…