Cowboys & Indians premieres The Deep Hollow’s new LP “Weary Traveler”
Harmony-driven folk trio the Deep Hollow are set to release their sophomore album, Weary Traveler, on November 9. In the meantime, we’ve got an exclusive first listen.
Based out of Springfield, Illinois, and composed of Micah Walk, Elizabeth Eckert, and Dave Littrell, the Deep Hollow blend classic Midwestern Americana vibes with traditional folk energy. Think stripped-down guitar-playing, three-part harmonies, and award-winning songwriting.
“Weary Traveler is only the second record for the Deep Hollow, but the three of us have been making music as solo acts or in other projects for many years,” Walk says. “Liz has been singing since she was very young and grew up doing community theater. She’s recorded some solo material and made it to Hollywood on American Idol some years back. Dave has had a few projects over the years but mainly a progressive rock band called the Station that has toured pretty extensively. I have a band that plays my songs and often perform as a solo act. With the Deep Hollow only being a few years old, it is by far the youngest project for any of us. But it had such immediate magic — we all knew right away that it was something special.”
Coming from slightly different musical backgrounds, the bandmates all bring a little something different to the Deep Hollow.
“You might not think that a prog-rocker, a folky songwriter, and a show singer would make a good trio, but it really works,” Walk says. “Dave’s slide and electric guitar work really add to the Americana vibe, and Liz has such a great voice — she’s really the one that makes the three-part harmony sound so nice.”…..READ MORE
For Folk’s Sake chats with James Houlahan
Four albums deep, James Houlahan is still reveling in the wonder and imagination of the record-making process. His new LP, The Wheel Still in Spin, drifts through varied states of being, musically and lyrically evoking the stillness against constant motion of that strange optical phenomenon the wagon-wheel effect, where a spoked wheel’s spin appears to cut opposite its actual rotation. It’s an apt analogy with Houlahan. In addition to the new album’s title, he alludes to the Tarot’s Wheel of Fortune on the record, and often makes explicit reference to wheels and circles as a means of processing his own journey. Influenced by icons such as Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits, and Joni Mitchell, Houlahan’s songcraft lends itself to a particular alchemy of Americana. It’s easy to understand how and why Houlahan has become such a staple of the Los Angeles music scene….READ MORE
Folk Radio UK pens a great review of The Deep Hollow’s new LP “Weary Traveler”
Weary Traveler is a view of life taken at an age where a certain amount of knowledge and experience has already been earned. We have a package of love, love lost, untimely death and personal reflection, all good Americana themes and all available here.
This is The Deep Hollow’s sophomore album as they say (though I probably wouldn’t) and a movement on from the earlier more acoustic sounding album. The harmonies are good, and the bigger production does not swamp the words, ever important with these songs.
The Weary Traveler of the album title reflects the feeling that everywhere you go there are things that have to be dealt with, relationships come and go, places come and go, but this is Real Life, and the aspirations of youth are viewed with a certain amount of disdain: “What are you waiting for – real life to begin?” This is it. This is what it is.
Perhaps nowhere is Real Life more clearly seen than on the streets. On Freedom Street, where the prostitutes, the drug pushers, the users and the drunks mix with the homeless and they are all called to be saved by the Bible carriers. However, the response can usually only be “If you’re saving souls, don’t worry about mine – its always going to be for sale anyway. What I need ain’t no lesson.”
Relationships feature in this collection. Well, I say relationships, but the story is in the breakdown, or, as in the case of Now I See, the possible unravelling of one. It starts out as if it is new love but becomes quite clear that it is a longer relationship and one that might be about to enter that angry and anguished final stage….READ MORE
PopMatters premieres Mad Crush’s new song “Stay in Bed”
While Mad Crush are set to release their self-titled debut LP, Joanna Sattin and John Elderkin have been collaborating for years. That goes to explain the artists’ inimitable, undeniable qualities as a duo, playing off of one another with an instantly infectious melding of charisma, heart, and sass. Though Mad Crush is a serious endeavor for the North Carolina front-people and their band—drummer Chuck Garrison and violinist Laura Thomas—it’s their knack for often imbuing humor in their work alongside the heartache that elevates them onto a plane relative to other great duos in roots music, like Johnny Cash and June Carter. They take influence from these very names, and it shows in their delightful, banter-full work.
“Stay in Bed” captivates with its heartful charms straightaway, with a lilting arrangement that accentuates the back-and-forth between Sattin and Elderkin. The acoustic number comes further alive with its subtle, swirling incorporation of Thomas’ fiddle, flourishing in vibrant colors across the song’s bridge.
On the song, Elderkin tells PopMatters, “I’d been listening to Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton duets after a heavy dose of June Carter and Johnny Cash. The sassy back-and-forth songs. But this one popped out as its own thing, thankfully. I like that it uses mundane chores as a way into daydreaming about love. Take a good listen to Laura Thomas’ violin solo here. It’s fabulous, and it helped define the Mad Crush sound. She creates a space that’s a little bit country but also formal in a slightly classical way, too. We all followed her lead from here.”….READ MORE
Dominique Pruitt shares playlist with B-Sides & Badlands
Any frequent karaoke-goer worth their salt has a well-rehearsed repertoire they can whip out a moment’s notice. From tender tear-jerking torch ballads to the rollicking soft-rock scorchers, you’ve gotta have all your bases covered just in case. And you can count soul-country starlet Dominique Pruitt among those who certainly know their stuff, as she’s equipped with a wide-range of musical styles and a certain panache for the glittery and the bold. In any case, she’s mastered the dive-bar art-form, drawing upon her own craftsmanship at the microphone and a dazzling throwback style.
Exclusive to B-Sides & Badlands, she’s curated some of her top karaoke picks in a handy-dandy playlist, from Concrete Blonde and Alannah Myles to Shania Twain, Skeeter Davis and Sheryl Crow. However, she makes a pointed warning. “Whatever you do, do notsing ‘My Way’ by Frank Sinatra. People get literally murdered for that often in the Philippines. Just don’t do it.”
Below, Pruitt walks us through each of her karaoke essentials, which includes her brand new comeback single “High in the Valley,” a soon-to-be gold standard in the vein of Nancy Sinatra and Patsy Cline…..READ MORE