Priding himself on his cross between undulating, indie rock-driven guitars and the straight-ahead roots of Americana, Australian singer-songwriter Josh Rennie-Hynes traveled to Nashville to record his new album, Patterns, after receiving a prestigious grant from the Australian Council for the Arts.
Turning Old Testament tales into contemporary parables is no easy feat, and the duo Joanie & Matt — releasing its sophomore album, Sterling, on July 19 — take the concept in a particularly provocative direction with the title track, whose video premieres exclusively below.
“Sterling” was inspired by the story of Tamar, who was raped by her half-brother Amnon in 2 Samuel. Joanie & Matt’s song, sung from Tamar’s viewpoint rather than the Bible’s third-person, is #MeToo timely, sung from the perspective of both a woman and a victim — a voice that’s not at all found in the Bible and other ancient religious texts.
Not only is Stansell living history, but he is also a triple threat as a powerhouse vocalist, world-class storyteller and a talented dancer whose resume includes Taylor Swift’s Fearless tour. No subject is off limits to him when it comes to writing original material.
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“Soulful” – 11Alive / Atlanta & Company
“Inspired by revered songwriters…impactful.” – Wide Open Country
“Excellent…will slowly wend its way under your skin and reveal the nuanced complexity of their offering.” – Americana UK
“A rich bygone take on the stunning sound of Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris, that lifts with silvery harmonies and a rustic cinematic scope.” – Glide Magazine
“Stirring vintage tunes layered in warm harmonies.” – Immersive Atlanta
“Undeniably alluring…an absolute masterpiece.” – Imperfect Fifth
“Lovely stuff, unassuming and rewarding in its sparse arrangement and gently swinging countrypolitan feel.” – Post to Wire
The debut LP from Atlanta-based father-daughter folk duo The Brookses, Lucky Charm, is the culmination of a decades-in-the-making partnership, harnessing and presenting an energy that could only be borne from family bonds. Between Jim’s experience in the Atlanta music scene–having performed with acts ranging from Kelly Hogan (Neko Case, Drive-by Truckers) to Michelle Malone–and Meg’s narrative-driven songcraft and soulful voice, this album’s blend of timeless folk themes and rich, lively production lends itself to a masterful recording born from the hearts and minds of two seasoned music professionals.
Title track “Lucky Charm” is the lynchpin of the record, representing the lifelong musical bond between Jim & Meg. First penned and ultimately shelved by Jim some 30 years ago (Meg jokes “I’m the same age as that song!”), he refused to include it on the Brookses LP unless Meg sang lead. She obliged, and the soulful guitar-driven ballad was finally able to see the light of day, feeling as fresh and modern as anything else on the album.
Recorded at Standard Electric Recording Company in Decatur, Ga. with producer Damon Moon (Blair Crimmins, Big Brutus, Sydney Eloise & the Palms), the album was tracked live in one room, capturing an old-school vibe while maintaining an undeniably modern sound. An air-tight rhythm section, ethereal keyboard work, and Jim’s well-worn archtop guitar are the core of the record’s sound, laying a foundation for expertly layered vocal harmonies.
These harmonies are a vital element to The Brookses’ sound. “I remember when Meg’s voice changed,” recalls Jim, “I noticed something different when we sang together. The way our voices harmonized–like the Everly Brothers, the Louvin Brothers, the Carter Family–there was something about our voices working together that was completely different from harmonizing with anyone else.” This phenomenon, known in some circles as “blood harmony,” is impossible to replicate; it’s quite literally in the Brookses D.N.A. and is a cornerstone of Lucky Charm.
In time, Meg had learned how to play guitar and try her own hand at songwriting. “The Bridge” was Meg’s first foray into writing on her own, and this folk-tinged tune would become the first song recorded under the Brookses moniker. “Because she’s my daughter, I wanted it to be good,” says Jim. “But as a musician I still had that built-in ‘shit detector.’ You have to be honest with musicians. And I was, honestly, really impressed.” It was this song, and Meg beginning to write on her own, that pushed Jim to follow through with the project that would ultimately become The Brookses. Other standout tracks from Meg include “Black Magic,” a voodoo-tinged blues that stirs up sin and salvation in the same pot, and “Little Miss Raincloud,” a lilting tune in waltz time that kicks off the album, based on a tongue-in-cheek nickname Meg gave herself.
The album takes on a decidedly classic country feel at times, with tracks like “If Tears Were Whiskey” and “Over Again,” both written by Jim, echoing works of Nashville’s bygone Countrypolitan era. “Those could’ve been sung by George Jones and Tammy Wynette,” Jim notes. “They’d be right at home on the radio in the 1950s–but at the same time, they’re contemporary songs.” This is a recurring theme throughout Lucky Charm; tried-and-true songwriting interwoven with modern production flourishes give these songs a warm, lived-in feel that’s as accessible in the present as it would have been in the golden age of radio.
A veteran of the Atlanta music scene, Jim Brooks has been a working musician his entire life, either as a guitarist/side-man or a songwriter on his own. He has been a fixture in Atlanta music and performing arts since the 1980s, working in a host of bands in the Little Five Points club scene back in the day as well as appearing in theatrical performances at Seven Stages, Theatrical Outfit, and Onstage Atlanta. In recent years, his focus has shifted to playing blues and jazz, and he was the founder of the popular Atlanta swing band the Savoy Kings.
Meg recalls tagging along on her father’s endeavors from an early age, recounting with a smirk the numerous occasions she found herself standing on tables at Atlanta’s renowned Euclid Avenue Yacht Club–well under the legal age of entry at the time. “She was probably younger than most of the furniture in there,” Jim notes with a chuckle.
The pair were always involved together musically, from Meg’s early years goofing around with Jim’s tape recorders to more recent times with Meg sitting in as a vocalist for the Savoy Kings. A regular gig at neighborhood listening room Red Light Cafe gave the duo a platform to hone their chops as The Brookses, and also allowed them to build a faithful local following.
Not one to dwell on the deeper meaning of their songs, Jim is adamant in the importance of art as something of a partnership between the creator and the consumer. The songwriter is only doing half of the work–he’s not here to tell you what his songs are about, because that would defeat the purpose. Lucky Charm is a collection of songs from two distinctive songwriters weaving their unique perspectives into a single family harmony, drawing deeply on the roots of country, folk and the blues. The music is there for you to connect with on your own terms, and that’s the way it should be, according to the Brookses.
Lucky Charm is out April 26.
“A rich bygone take on the stunning sound of Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris, that lifts with silvery harmonies and a rustic cinematic scope.” – Glide Magazine
“Timeless folk themes.” – Americana UK
“Inspired by revered songwriters…impactful.” – Wide Open Country
“Undeniably alluring…an absolute masterpiece.” – Imperfect Fifth
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A reformed wild child, in recent years Kate Vargas has traded the party for meditation, yoga, clean eating and a renewed focus on what she values most—her music. The half-Mexican, New Mexico-raised, NYC-based artist is building ever more mindfully on her sound, and the music press is taking notice. Vargas has received accolades from a variety of respected outlets including NPR, Billboard, No Depression, and the Huffington Post, the latter assessing, “There is an unlimited amount of potential in this superstar on the rise.”
Vargas has packed houses from Ireland’s Westport Folk and Bluegrass Festival to The Troubadour in London, The Mansion on O Street in Washington D.C. to New York’s Bowery Electric. She spent last year touring Germany with her trio, Kate Vargas & The Reckless Daughters.
Her upcoming single, “Nothing Turns My Lock” (out May 17th), is a new direction in regards to her Americana roots and her more folk-rock turn with last year’s For The Wolfish & Wandering. That acclaimed release featured Vargas’ moody and deeply personal songs that wove stories from her life with tales she soaked up from literature and also the rich oral folklore tradition with which she grew up.
“Nothing Turns My Lock” was born from a week-long February 2018 stay at the Holiday Music Motel in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. Led by prolific songwriter Pat Macdonald, it’s the world’s only fully operational motel featuring live music, collaborative songwriting retreats and a radio station that exclusively broadcasts the music created within its own walls. While at the hotel during a songwriting week branded as “Love on Holiday,” Vargas co-wrote the jazzy treatise on being open to love in all forms with Andrea Wittgens and Jerod Kaszynski who she was paired with by the spin of a bottle, based on a piece of art that was also chosen by the bottle’s spin.
“We were inspired by the art piece, “Relations” by Chelsea Littman. It’s an installation with a bunch of frames and in each frame, there are different configurations of locks and keys – some are two locks and a key and then one lock and two keys, or five keys and a lock. I wrote it with Andrea, who also happens to be my neighbor and good friend and Jerod, who’s a killer sax player. We got to talking about jazzy stuff and decided to take it that direction. We wanted to play around with this really classic sound but make it a bit more current. Those old standards tend to be pretty hetero and monogamous and we wanted to expand that”
Not a big believer in monogamy / I go out with whoever I please / And if I?m drawn to his geometry / And his angles are right well that?s proof enough for me / That we could have a little
fun together / 20 minutes tops I ain?t talking bout forever / Just know, even if it takes many men to satisfy my needs / Nothing turns my lock like your key / I don?t discriminate between Johnny and Sue / He she they and you can come too
Vargas’ childhood in Corrales, New Mexico had a profound impact on the woman and artist she would become. This artist and farming village just outside Albuquerque was populated with Mexican-Catholic families like hers, as well as creatives and a variety of seekers. It was a community rich in oral tradition and folklore, steeped in tales of good and evil, ghosts and witches, sin, The Devil—even extraterrestrial visitors. “It was a strange and wonderful place that I’ve really come to appreciate as an adult. There was a culture of storytelling, and the stories were often dark—the way I write songs now is rooted in that tradition. The paranormal and the supernatural always seem to make their way in. It was a great place for an imagination to run wild. If I told my mother I was bored, she’d tell me, ‘Go outside and pretend something.’”
Still, the slow pace of rural small-town life was excruciating at times for Vargas, who longed for the action and possibility of the big city. She began playing the flute at a young age and by the time she was in high school developed an interest in jazz that led her to Boston where she studied music at Berklee. After developing her more pop-oriented songwriting skills, she is now returning to explore the music she grew up studying as she continues to round out her style and refuses to be encompassed by either musical or social boundaries.
“A soulfulness, playfulness, and sensuality midway between the classic blues and jazz of artists like Lucille Bogan and Eartha Kitt.” – PopMatters
“With those magical whiskey drenched vocals channeling Eartha Kitt, unlocking new doors and stepping into a new world filled of vintage jazz and blues might just have been the right key.” – The Dutch Guy
“Vargas’ appeal lies in her husky voice and her willingness to explore genres and avoid excessive production cleanliness in her sound.” – Post To Wire
“With outstanding instrumentation and her extraordinary voice, you’ll want to push open the swinging doors of the next saloon, take a whiskey and just listen to the sounds of this wonderful piece.” – Pretty In Noise
“A loving homage to early-twentieth-century Jazz, it’s updated with a radiant, modern wink…humorous, charismatic.” – The Autumn Roses
Publicist: Rachel Hurley
“It was a pleasure working with Rachel. She’s no bullshit and I love that, especially in a publicist. Rachel is also super supportive, standing behind music she believes in 100 percent. I can’t imagine a better PR experience for my album campaign.” – Kate Vargas
The music world needs lifers like Kevin Kinney. As both a solo artist and the longtime frontman for Drivin’ N Cryin’, the 58-year-old singer/songwriter has been grinding out tunes and putting miles on his body and soul for the better part of four decades, with all the accompanying highs and lows that come with that toil.