On the face of it, Alan Sparhawk and Trampled by Turtles could be the most unlikely combination of all time. Sparhawk’s last couple of albums with Low, especially Hey What, went to musical extremes, while Trampled by Turtles seem to…
Snowpoet is a bit of a misnomer, there is nothing cold about this band. Lauren Kinsella’s voice combined with the keyboards of Chris Hyson reach into the soul of sounds, creating a warmth and magic not often associated with electronic…
Family secrets probably should never see the light of day. Once they are revealed everything, and everyone, changes. Kira Skov’s new album, What Ties Us Together, Will Keep Us Apart is such a story, the soundtrack to a Danish TV…
The description of Pentangle as a British folk band has always been as misleading as it is inaccurate. Spanning musical genres, while Bert Jansch and John Renbourn were steeped in folk, they had roots in skiffle, ragtime, and medieval forms.…
The physical distance from Portland, Oregon to New Orleans, Louisiana is 2,538 miles, but the psychic distance is far longer. That distance explains the story of Kassi Valazza’s new album, From Newman Street. Isolating from the outside world due to…
At times Beirut can seem a little esoteric. Zach Condon dropped out of high school at 17 and worked at a movie theater specialising in international films. There he learned about Fellini arias, Sicilian funeral brass and Balkan music. After…
Rhiannon Giddens has a passion for the banjo. Not so much the banjo heard on bluegrass recordings, but the old-time claw hammer style. Together with Justin Robinson on fiddle, they explored the roots of African American music with the Carolina…
Florist seem determined to go gently into existential chaos on their new album, Jellywish. Attacking personal problems like joy, pain, life, death, reality and relationships, Emily Sprague and her bandmates, Rick Spataro, Jonnie Baker and Felix Walworth, struggle with some…
Jeffrey Lewis is not your average recording artist. Over a span of almost 20 years he’s created a 13-issue comic book series, Fuff; his illustrations have been viewed in The New York Times, Time Out New York and The Guardian.…
Defining Neil Young is a fool’s task. Whatever Young you choose to describe only hints at the mercurial musician who has recorded everything from the gentlest of acoustic music to the almost unlistenable sounds residing on ARC. The 10 recordings…