In 1904, Elizabeth Cotten wrote her popular folk song, ‘Freight Train’, at just 11-years-old. Throughout her 90 years on Earth, she helped to mould contemporary American roots music and, thusly, is a pioneering face of modern folk and blues. With…
For his second solo album since time was called on Sheffield’s Slow Club, Charles Watson seems in a bucolic mood. Gone are the woozy layers of 2018’s Now That I’m A River, replaced by a bright straight-forwardness. Yes is a perfect…
Since the release of Yesterday Is Gone in 2020, Dana Gavanski has been through the wringer, making When It Comes virtually a new beginning, albeit one that almost didn’t happen. During the pandemic Gavanski lost her voice. With no tours, writing a new album…
There’s not a straightforward narrative to Abigail Lapell’s new album Stolen Time. It courses a path that wanders a bit, not because straight lines don’t make sense, it’s just that quite often our paths seem to avoid the straight and narrow.…
Celebrated for her ride between the line of alt-folk and bluegrass, Ana Silvera’s ‘Early Frost’ is another feather in the cap for this progressive songwriter. The tune sets a stunning vocal performance from Silvera front-and-centre, dueting with Alan Hampton, whose…
A low-key, effortless musicality permeates Calexico’s 10th studio album. There is a confidence in being able to create something so musically complex and endearingly simple. Differing from song to song and mingling together in each track – voices, themes and…
Christine Sweeney’s Heart in a Hurry is a culmination of parts. Musical that would normally be perceived to clash despite their shared roots—R&B and folk—feel right at home on the album. It’s the New York singer-songwriter’s first LP since 2014.…
Listening to Father John Misty it’s easy to get confused, Chloé and the Next 20th Century goes in two different directions at the same time. Musically, the initial moments of Chloé sound like something out of the 30s, bouncy muted horns and piano lead…
Drew Cooper is instantly identified for numerous qualities—his gritty voice, driven roots-rock, and a bighearted persona that has won him audiences through the southwest. “Coop” finds his home somewhere between southern Arizona and Texas; a Tucson boy laid his hat…
Valorie Miller’s first album in five years is prepped to grace our ears on 6 May. Only the Killer Would Know (Blackbird / Indie AM Gold) is rooted in as harrowing a story as its name might imply, though it’s…