americana
See: Josh Halper – ‘Honest Feeling’: Dear Life’s alt.country troubadour’s gone fishin’
FOLLOWING last year’s rather lovely album for Dear Life, Alrightnik, Nashville’s guitar essayist Josh Halper has decided to reprise the closing track visually. He’s released a brilliantly conceived and funny short film to accompany that tune, “Honest Feeling” – you can watch it below. By way of introduction and self-summation he says, an eyebrow arched: …
Album review: Field Works – ‘Cedars’: Stuart Hyatt fuses cosmic Americana and Arabic sounds; the results are luscious
Cedars is quite a record – two records really; the first more orange and various other colours of the sun’s framing of the beginning and the ending of the day, alive with a heartfelt yearning and cosmic sonic thrill. The second is far more verdant, deep green, homespun, and focuses in very much in on the wonder of the simple; the moments we all return to, perhaps, at least us rural dwellers. If you’re at all conceptually familiar with the work of William Blake, his Songs Of Innocence And Experience, you’ll see; the twining and correspondences. Climb into Cedars, join the two worlds for yourself; the album is long on thought and also on beauty.
Track: Anne Reburn – ‘Everywhere And Nowhere’: a sweet country-folk sentiment homespun for you
COMIN’ atcha from the state that likes to think of itself as The Native America, Oklahoma, Anne Reburn grew up singing, dancing and playing the piano from a young age. Her music is filled with the verve and excitement that comes from such an early joy, never lost. Her latest single drop, “Everywhere And Nowhere” …
Track: The Northern Belle feat. Siv Jakobsen and Louien – ‘No Rush’: Nordicana loveliness reminds us to take care
THE NORTHERN BELLE, the Norwegian alt.country collective led by Stine Andreassen who cites a love for Phoebe Bridgers, Khruangbin, Gillian Welch and Waxahatchee, amongst others, and who self-style as ‘Nordicana’, are back with a new song which focuses on taking care of each other, such a subject for these times; and Stine has enlisted the …
EP Review: H.B. Nielsen – It’s Today Again
Swedish singer-songwriter, rambler and travelling tattoo artist, H.B. Nielsen, follows up 2020’s debut album “Grand Opening” with his new EP, “It’s Today Again” which is out today. It’s a delicious slice of Scandinavian-infused indie folk Americana and a great addition to the phenomenal ‘Nordicana’ scene that includes the likes of First Aid Kit, The Tallest …
Premiere: Naomi In Blue reveals the beautiful country tinged folk of her debut EP, An Experiment
British-Chilean singer-songwriter Naomi In Blue is gearing up for the release of her debut EP, An Experiment, this coming Sunday (28th February) via Walking Blacksmith Records, and we’re delighted to be able to premiere it right here on Backseat Mafia today. Mixing up the more experimental (but no less melodic) side of Americana, Naomi wrote …
ALBUM REVIEW: Valley Maker – When The Day Leaves
An enjoyable, if a little lame, new album by the South Carolina songwriter
See: Kyle Edward Connolly – ‘Get Me Tomorrow’: springtime country rock from Toronto
TAKING that particularly Canadian spin on the alt.country sound, as espoused by Joni Mitchell and Neil Young, particularly as he moved through the ranks of Buffalo Springfield – that seems to be the mission of Kyle Edward Connolly, who’s previously plied his trade with artists such as WISH, THE SEAMS, and alongside masked country artist …
Track: Bill MacKay and Nathan Bowles – ‘I See God’: that old time religion beautifully recast for guitar and banjo
KEYS, the soon-come long-playing conversation between Chicago’s Bill MacKay on guitar and North Carolina’s Nathan Bowles at the banjo, ranges back and forth across the great bluegrass and guitar soli traditions, both pushing forward with free-flying chemistry and grounding their essaying in the canon of the form; and it’s the latter angle they’re examining on …
TRACK: Catch Prichard – ‘Lipstick And Fur’: 1am chamber pop … with a coronavirus baritone
CATCH PRICHARD are a chamber-pop orchestral project based in the San Francisco Bay city of Oakland, who have a delightfully nuanced, baritone way with their musical stylings, the like of which you may have not heard since Tindersticks were in their early orchestral pomp. They have a new album out on April 23rd entitled I …