Country
Meet: Sid Griffin from The Long Ryders
In the midst of endless mid-80s synth pop the arrival on these shores of The Long Ryders with their swaggering fusion of country rock with punk attitude was a welcome relief from the manufactured pap clogging up the charts. Their first album Native Sons was only held off the top of the UK Indie Charts …
Not Forgotten: Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers – Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers
The first thing that strikes you about Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers ’ debut album is how rough it sounds compared to the slick and streamlined made-for American roadtrips that their reputation has hung upon. With this in mind it’s perhaps not surprising that they were initially mistakenly considered to be part of the punk …
See: Half Japanese release video for Hold On
Damn you, Half Japanese. Despite almost 40 years of off-kilter alt-sort-of-punk, they still manage to catch the imagination and surprise. The band have just released the new visuals for their track ‘Hold On’ taken from their forthcoming album ‘Perfect’ which comes out on 22nd January via Joyful Noise. It’s typically off kilter, passing to the …
See: Dead Horses reveal Video to “Ain’t Got Time”
Is there such thing as a country wig-out? If there is, I would suggest that towards the end of the new single from Milwaukee trio Dead Horses is where to start looking. After repeatedly letting us know, via the catchiest of means, that they ‘ain’t got time’, they shoot that theory into space by making …
Track: Fox Glove release the glittering alt-country of ’Roll On’
West Coast (Canada) trio, Fox Glove, give us a teaser from their upcoming new EP (Oct. 8th). The harmonies between the three singers are magical. This is alt country for non-country fans. Refreshingly modern, but at times it also evokes Lee Hazlewood’s ’60s.
Not Forgotten – Marty Robbins – Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs
Prior to hearing Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs, if you’d told me that I’d get into an album of songs about the American wild west, I’d have said that that was about as likely as me winning a beauty contest. These things have a nasty habit of surprising you though, and so it proved when …
Album Review: Pearl TN – A Dog Called Rat
A ‘Dog called Rat’ is the second album from Pearl TN, self-styled ‘Purveyors of Mountain Pop’ with a pedigree in music spanning several decades and genres. It was recorded at Charlie Harts ‘Equator Studios’ as well as at Jools Hollands ‘Helicon Mountain Studios’. Jools is a staunch supporter of Pearl TN and has given them …
Not Forgotten: The Allman Brothers Band – Brothers and Sisters
Brothers and Sisters was the album where The Allman Brothers Band made a concerted effort to rebuild themselves following the blow of the death of slide guitar maestro Duane Allman in 1971. Guitar player Dickey Betts had assumed leadership of the band, and he takes sole credit for four of the seven tracks that make …
See: Australian quartet Immigrant Union release new video for ‘In Time’
Australian quartet Immigrant Union (featuring Brent DeBoer from the Dandy Warhols) are back with a new single, “In Time”, taken from their sophomore release ‘Anyway’, which drops on May 29th. Describing their sound as being “Spiritualized being baptised in a river of Creedence Clearwater,” By frontman DeBoer, the band recorded the album with producer Gregg …
Live Review: Calexico – Albert Hall, Manchester – 30th April 2015
Calexico made a welcome return to the UK after a couple of years’ absence in support of their brilliant new album – Edge of The Sun – and we were there to see them at Manchester’s Albert Hall. This was only one of three British gigs for Calexico so the venue was packed to the gills with people of …