Baby Robot Media

The Boot praises Katie Jo’s new single “Pawn Shop Queen,” an anthem for perseverance

Singer-songwriter Katie Jo‘s debut album, Pawn Shop Queen, chronicles some of the most traumatic experiences of her young life. Its title track, however, offers a bit of optimism: a reminder that our worst moments don’t define us, but make us stronger.

Jo describes “Pawn Shop Queen”—which is premiering exclusively on The Boot—as “an anthem for resisting the lies depression tells us about ourselves … for perseverance in spite of one’s self.” She’d had the title in her mind for a song for quite some time, and by the time she sat down to write it, at home in her pajamas, it took less than an hour.

“It’s the sound of someone mustering the energy to regain their self confidence, a statement to myself that trauma and heartbreak alone don’t define who I am,” Jo reflects. “At the time, I was not only processing the fallout of some pretty shocking infidelity in my relationship, but also trauma around my own reproductive health and infertility. I felt betrayed, both by my partner and my own sense of worth.”

by Baby Robot Media

Rootstime Belgium reviews veteran singer-songwriter Stuffy Shmitt’s “Stuff Happens,” his first new album in 8 years

Stuff Happens is the title of a new album by New York City singer-songwriter Stuffy Shmitt. This record comes just over eight years after the release of the two albums he released in 2012, Twelve Songs and Industrial Love. However, Shmitt couldn’t handle the tremendous pressure placed on him afterward, and he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, which drove him pretty crazy with depression and unstoppable mania.

Between 2000 and 2008 he also released several albums that confirmed his great talent as a singer and songwriter. But it was the skyrocketing expectations of the music industry that ultimately drove him into such a fragile state. Shmitt was thoroughly treated, moved to Nashville six years ago and now seems to have resurrected as a musician. On Stuff Happens, the 11 songs he wrote for this album show that he has joy, joie de vivre and optimism again.

We can conclude that from the song “It’s OK,” the opening track and first single of the album. In the beautiful acoustic ballad “Mommy and Daddy,” he cleverly interprets the timeless feeling of aging. The album features a well-thought-out mix of indie folk, blues rock and Americana.

Catchy melodies are the basis of the rocking songs “Jim’s Dad” and “Sweet Krazy,” while blues sounds predominate in songs like “Scratchin ‘At The Cat” and “The Good Land.” Shmitt also shines in beautifully orchestrated Americana ballads such as “She’s Come Unglued,” “Mommy and Daddy,” “Something Big” and piano-accompanied “The Last Song,” in which he reminds us for a moment of David Bowie. And we also have to mention our favorite track from this album, “Sleeping On The Wet Spot”, a classic in the making that ripples onto a lovely melody.

For the recording of this new album, Shmitt’s regular backing band received instrumental assistance from some well-known names in the Nashville music scene. Aaron Lee Tasjan and Brian Wright played lead guitar on “Sweet Krazy” and “Scratchin ‘At The Cat,” Jellyroll Johnson appears on harmonica on “The Good Land” and Anana Kaye and Brett Ryan Stewart handle keyboards. And, finally, in our opinion, album producer Chris Tench also deserves to be honored here for all the excellent work he turned in from his recording studio in Franklin, Tenn.

CATCH THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE (& WATCH STUFFY SHMITT’S VIDEOS FOR “IT’S OK” & “MOMMY AND DADDY” AT ROOTSTIME BELGIUM..

by Baby Robot Media

Americana Highways says Jon LaDeau & Mayteana Morales’ special duo performance video of new single “Time Capsules” will “send chills up and down your spine”

Americana Highways has premiered the new duo performance video of Jon Ladeau & Mayteana Morales’ “Time Capsules,” the title track from LaDeau’s forthcoming EP due out on April 2.

On the EP, “Time Capsules” was engineered by Justin Kimmel and Sam Merrick; mixed by Jesse Lauter and mastered by Alan Silverman. The song features Mayteana Morales on lead vocals (ex-Pimps of Joytime); Jon LaDeau on guitar and backing vocals; Justin Kimmel (Antibalas, Toubab Krewe) on bass; Sam Merrick (Charles Bradley, Sharon Jones) on drums; and Justin LaDeau on piano.

In the video, you’ll hear Mayteana Morales on vocals and Jon LaDeau on guitar and vocals. This pretty song of struggle and regrets will send chills up and down your spine.

by Baby Robot Media

Americana UK shares Katie Jo’s train-travel-inspired music video for her train-beat-driven new single “How Soon”

The new single from Katie Jo is a sonic throwback: classic country with a classic country vocal. Sounding both new and familiar at once, “How Soon” is immediately absorbing. The strong and restless rhythm mirrors the song’s theme of fickle love, fading feelings and moving on. Though it’s upbeat, the focus on the sort of love that is bound to fail has that stark bitterness found in much of the best country and Americana.

Here, the twist is that it’s written from the point of view of the woman left behind rather than the rambling man. The inversion of this country cliché gives the song a freshness. The accompanying video, featuring footage taken by Jo while travelling by rail across the American west, works well with that railroad train beat. The Los Angeles-via-Wichita singer-songwriter delivers this timeless song with such confidence that comparisons with Luther Perkins and early Cash are justified.

by Baby Robot Media

Under the Radar debuts the new video from James Houlahan, ft. legendary Bob Dylan violinist Scarlet Rivera

Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter James Houlahan’s atmospheric mix of Americana and indie folk has been the backbone of five albums, the latest of which, Ordinary Eye, was released in late 2020. Houlahan describes his latest work as a document of the current moment, borne out of Houlahan’s years on the road watching national rifts grow wider. Even more poignantly, the record was recorded only months before the pandemic, putting the themes into even starker focus. Houlahan has now returned with a new video for his track, “What Is Our Love,” premiering with Under the Radar.

“What Is Our Love” is the sort of thoughtful Americana Houlahan delivers best, wrapping heartfelt melodies and autobiographical confessions in understated, unadorned instrumentation. Houlahan meanders through insular meditations on love and connection, all backed by drummer Danny Frankel (Lou Reed, Fiona Apple) and violinist Scarlet Rivera (Bob Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Revue). Aside from Houlouhan himself, Rivera’s violin is the clear focal point, offering an expressive melodic counterpoint to Houlahan’s gentle falsetto.

by Baby Robot Media

Roots Time Belgium reviews James Houlahan’s Ordinary Eye, calling it “one of the best albums of the year”

Mainly dark folk songs and Americana songs—that’s what you can expect on the latest record from singer-songwriter James Houlahan, a guitar-playing musician from Los Angeles, and one-time co-founder of the bands Dogs On Television and The Jody Grind, two groups with their roots in Boston, where Houlahan was born and grew up. Some of his earlier songs have also been featured in commercials, movies and television series.

Because of the somewhat gloomy lyrics, his songs can sound rather heavy and desolate, but they’re not all autobiographical, and oftentimes just sprout from his rich imagination with the aim of creating a certain atmosphere for the listener. Houlahan already has five albums in his discography, and we’d like to explain the latest, Ordinary Eye, a bit more for you here.

A total of 12 songs take you on a trip through the life of this singer-songwriter for 50 minutes. Most of the songs were written during his extensive promotional tour of America following the release of his previous 2018 album The Wheel Still in Spin. His observations of the world around him formed the basis of Ordinary Eye, but without wanting to pass judgment. The climate crisis, political divisions, the social climate of his home country and its citizens over the past two years—and how the common man is trying to cope with these troubled times—are all themes covered in this new record.

The album was recorded in Los Angeles in the weeks leading up to the first corona crisis in the United States. The musicians who worked in the studio on this recording were producer Fernando Perdomo who plays bass, keyboards and acoustic guitar, violinist Scarlet Rivera and drummer Danny Frankel, while Esther Clark provides the female backing vocals. Houlahan also plays acoustic and electric guitars to accompany his songs.

All these musicians provided a very specific and special cachet to the tracks from Ordinary Eye, starting with beautiful opening track “As It Is” (which you can listen to in the video at the link below) and which was selected as the first single from the album. The violin sounds of Scarlet Rivera color the folk songs “Tomorrow’s Had Enough Of Me,” “What Is Our Love”—with the striking phrase, “it’s more efficient to be without pain”—and the beautiful “Walking Through The Fire.” In addition, Houlahan’s electric guitar playing forms the basis of songs like “The Jailer,” “Writ In Water” and the very beautiful blues ballad “All These Blues.”

Our favorite songs on this album, however, are the catchy riff-floating “Tehachapi Dust,” on which Clark provides a soft but beautiful second voice, and the modest but atmospheric “You Are Not Alone,” with which he gives the average American a heart in these difficult times. Just take it from us—James Houlahan’s Ordinary Eye will be one of the best albums this year. Listen for yourself and be convinced.

Read more and watch the “As It Is” video here.