Kiely Connell is preparing to release her debut LP, ‘Calumet Queen’, a ten-track collection that combines breezy indie-folk with heavy swamp rock & roadhouse country twang. Today’s song ‘Blues That Really Burn’ is one of the album’s less breezy tunes, dealing with a punch in the guts that is a depressive turn. READ MORE…
However Mimi Oz was feeling when she made “Caroline,” she was certainly feeling a lot of it. “Caroline” explodes into a rampant euphoria even after its jubilant horn and key passages are established. Critical to the song’s success are Oz’s talents as a vocalist and songwriter, moving through different registers, from forceful growls to awestruck croons, to tell the story of a wayward American spirit trying to find herself, domestically and abroad. We can’t wait to see where Oz’s musical journey takes her next.
Matt Jones, who is the driving force behind Two Cent Revival, brings many textured layers to bear on ‘Demons‘. There are clear dusty desert rock influences as well as a touch of cinemagraphic glamour – and it would be a foolish person who would bet against Jones ever having spun a disc or two by Tom Waits, yet for all that it is the originality of the album that is most likely to linger in the memory. READ MORE…
The new single from Matthew Check is a rhythmic foot-tapper, upbeat and full of energy. ‘Couple of Reasons’ makes the perfect soundtrack for driving through those wide-open spaces you see in the accompanying video. The harmonies, percussion and melody combine to create a positive vibe but pay attention to the lyrics, which offer a contrast to the song’s sonic happiness.
In the wake of recent press at The Bluegrass Situation, Americana UK, Glide Magazine, Ditty TV, and the Billboard Country Update, Nashville Americana / folk-blues artist Bill Filipiak released new record, Medicine I Need, Friday, Oct. 1, on Vidlicity Records.
As a producer for the most hallowed of Nashville roots-music institutions, the Grand Ole Opry, Filipiak has had a chance to not only brush elbows with, but really get to know and learn from, some of the finest Americana artists around. Which, of course, has been a major influence on his own work. With his latest—and most fully realized—record to date, Filipiak taps the inspiration and wisdom of these artists, honing his lifelong passion for music and songwriting into an impressive, thoughtful and healing folk-blues journey, the aptly titled Medicine I Need.
“When you have the opportunity to talk songwriting with these people and watch them perform—I’m talking about folks like Larkin Poe, Sarah Jarosz, Molly Tuttle, Bryan Sutton and Allison Russell; artists like Lera Lynn and Maggie Rose, who insist on finding their own path while staying true to who they are; or maybe you spend a couple days with a legend like Keb Mo, George Thorogood or Ray Wylie Hubbard—after that,” Filipiak says, “it’s hard not to pick up your instrument, try to emulate what they’ve done, then come up with your own idea and follow through on it.”
And that’s exactly what Filipiak has done with Medicine I Need. The album—his third full-length—features a unique palette: the gritty blues power of a Gretsch Honey Dipper resonator guitar, mellowed by a splash of Beach Boys surf and a healthy dose of Wurlitzer electric piano. Filipiak—who recorded, engineered, produced and played every sound you hear on this singular vision of a record—simmers these ingredients into a potent and satisfying stew of downhome country-blues, folk and Americana.
New York-based singer-songwriter Mimi Oz is back later this month with her third studio album, Growing Pains. Melding influences from jazz, folk, soul, and vintage pop songstresses, Oz’s latest work is a wide-ranging genre sampler, all filtered through her own intimate themes of loneliness and alienation. Oz has already shared a handful of singles from the record, including “In The Water,” “Time Will Tell,” and “Caroline,” and today she’s back with her latest single, “Hate,” premiering with Under the Radar.