folk tracks
Track: Lanterns on the Lake – Faultlines
I’m sure I’m not alone in feeling that slight twinge of trepidation when one of your favourite bands releases new material – will it meet expectations or be a let down. Happily, I can report that it’s a definite case of the former from Newcastle quintet Lanterns On The Lake. I’ve been a fan since …
Track: Thus Owls – Turn up the Volumes
Secret City Records’ Thus Owls are a Montreal based group, formed by Erika and Simon Angell in 2007. Their new EP Black Matter is out on preorder now. They have a distinct Scandinavian sound; experimental cinematic music with emotive and direct vocals, taken from an ambient melay of noise into an eery and warped almost …
Track: Annabelle’s Curse – Brother in Arms
Brother in Arms, the new single from Virgina five piece Annabelle’s Curse, immediately has this warm fuzzy indie-folk feeling about it. Maybe its the bass, that rumbles along underneath everything, maybe its the lilting nature of it, shuffling from one chord to another during the verse, maybe its the lovely harmonies that sweep over the …
Track: Nations of the Soul – To the Loved Ones
Born in France, but now resident in Norway, brothers Mikael and Lucas Roussel – aka Nations of the Soul, have supported the likes of Hudson Taylor after scoring second place at Eggstock Festival. Their first single, Dancing Spirit, was picked up and cherished by the press and radio stations in their adopted home, and they’ve …
Track: Promised Land Sound – Push and Pull (All the Time)
Ahead of the release of their sophomore album, For Use and Delight, Nashville’s Promised Land Sound give some indication of what we can expect with the rustic psych-rock/folk of Push and Pull (All the Time). It opens with these woozy chords, before it dances along, full of harmonies and the edgy yearn of frontman Joe …
Track: The Hanging Stars – The House on the Hill
Featuring members of The See See and Dan Michelson and the Coastguards, London quintet The Hanging Stars are a collective as much as a band, and have brought their own brand of rootsy, swampy psychedelia to bear on their debut album, tentatively titled Over a Silvery Lake. From it comes a new song, ‘The House …
Track: Bec Sandridge changes direction and releases In The Fog, In The Flame
Bec Sandridge has changed direction and, based on the pace of new single In The Fog, In The Flame, she’s running off there at full pelt. This Sydney-based (originally from Glasgow) singer/songwriter had her feet firmly in the folk camp not so long ago. Now she’s danced over to “spaghetti disco pop” (her words) with …
New Music : Chris Darby’s “Don’t Look Back”
The Chicago-based singer/songwriter Chris Darby first hit my radar back in late 2014. A friend and music aficionado in her own right had invited me to the big city of Fort Wayne to come see Mr. Darby play a small, intimate show. I wasn’t able to attend the show, but said friend and generally pretty …
Track: Bacchus releases new track Hope, from EP The Rich And The War
Quiet is the new loud. You only have to look at the careers of artists such as Lucy Rose and Passenger to see that as a nation we have become lovers of the more sensitive and delicate acoustic tracks. Well here’s a new name that you may not have heard yet. If you want to …
New Music: Dreampop quartet I Know Leopard release new single Close My Eyes
I wrote about I Know Leopard, after the release of their debut single, ‘Picture Perfect’ late last year and saw it as a perfect antidote to the Northern Hemisphere’s winter. Now, six months or so later, at my desk at the Backseat Mafia’s antipodean offices in Sydney, it is the Southern Hemisphere’s turn to be …