by Jonathan Frahm • • Comments Off on Video Premiere | HuDost – Rise Together (with Jars of Clay)
Unity tends to be the name of the game once the hells are decked with boughs of holly, but that call for togetherness never truly runs stale. There is always a need for friendship and doing a kindness for one’s…
by Jonathan Frahm • • Comments Off on Album | Twisted Oak – Cold Coffee and Half Smoked Cigarettes
Rarely does it seem that even contemporary folk releases on the indie scene wear their hearts on their sleeves as wholly and evidently as Twisted Oak’s Cold Coffee and Half Smoked Cigarettes. Its influences and central themes are presented right on…
by Jonathan Frahm • • Comments Off on Album | Steve Wheeler – Stormseeker
The titular opener of Steve Wheeler’s Stormseeker wouldn’t feel unfit in a cinematic score. As raucous strings soar with abandon, pounding percussion drives the track forward as it continuously builds in tempo. An operatic section liberates itself as bombastic horns sound…
by Jonathan Frahm • • Comments Off on Album | Geoff Gibbons – Shadow of a Stone: Songs of Remembrance
Basking in understated poignancy, Geoff Gibbons’ Shadow of a Stone EP is a potential sleeper hit on the indie folk scene. Inundated by lush production and lyric-focused arrangements, the Vancouver singer-songwriter’s intimate knowledge of what makes contemporary folk shimmer stands to…
by Jonathan Frahm • • Comments Off on Single | Julia King – Cannonball
Unlike many acts who bill themselves as a cross between pop, folk, rock, and soul, Julia King has synthesized these genres into something cohesive and trained. Moreover, it’s undeniably her, representing a ‘Julia’ state of mind more than anything. Each…
by Jonathan Frahm • • Comments Off on Album Premiere | Alex Dunn – Scattered Poems
With his debut album, Scattered Poems, Alex Dunn proudly walks in the footsteps of singer-songwriters who have laid Seattle’s unwittingly roots-laden musical foundation. A gateway of the Gold Rush, Washington has a hefty catalog of warm folk songwriting enveloped in the…
by Jonathan Frahm • • Comments Off on Video Premiere | Joe Goodkin – What Remains is Love
In the end, love is the answer. This philosophy may well be as timeless as love itself as an end-all answer to what has, is happening, and has happened. It’s no wonder that the meditative ponderance is at the center…
by Jonathan Frahm • • Comments Off on Premiere | Jane Frank – Practical Jackets
On her newest single, Jane Frank lays it out, well, frankly. The San Francisco indie artist revels in musical influences ranging in eras as far back as 1950s rock’n’roll to more contemporary alternative facets. That much is evident from the…
by Jonathan Frahm • • Comments Off on Premiere | Christine Fellows – Roses on the Vine
The titular single of Christine Fellows’ forthcoming album, ‘Roses on the Vine’ is every bit as hauntingly poignant and emotive in its sparse, wistful, and warmly-crafted folk as you can imagine. Hot on the heels of a charming craftwork affair…
by Jonathan Frahm • • Comments Off on Interview | FFS 5 Q&A with James Houlahan
Four albums deep, James Houlahan is still reveling in the wonder and imagination of the record-making process. His new LP, The Wheel Still in Spin, drifts through varied states of being, musically and lyrically evoking the stillness against constant motion…