American Songwriter includes new Old Heavy Hands album Small Fires with their new releases this week:
American Songwriter
American Songwriter interviews Matthew Check about his new record – Without a Throne – noting, “Check’s book of songs is getting more revelatory as time goes on.”
A deep reflection on how the Brooklyn, New York-based singer and songwriter reached sobriety, “Old Wooden Floor” is a frank outpouring of the despair and survival of that moment in time, and one of the shared stories and narratives from Check’s own life that plays out on his second album, Without a Throne.
Check’s book of songs is getting more revelatory as time goes on. Scanning personal and peripheral stories and even the biblical with the old testament tale of King David’s son in “What a Father Would Do (Absalom),” Without a Throne cracks open a time capsule of long-forgotten songs in waiting, some for decades.
American Songwriter interviews Takénobu’s Nick Ogawa on new single “Traveling Light,” songwriting & pursuing happiness over material success
Takénobu wrote a song depicting everyone’s dream over the past year: quitting the draining and time-consuming traditional job in exchange for something more freeing—the ability to ‘travel light.’
“Traveling Light” is the opening song on Takénobu’s new album, Always Leave a Note. Nick Ogawa, the man behind Takénobu, was inspired to write the song based on his own decision to leave his job in marketing to pursue music full time.
“In 2011, I was really really lucky to have my songs start to take off on Pandora radio and I started to be able to pay my rent from iTunes downloads. When that happened, I was able to quit my job I was unhappy with and pursue music full time. I took a pay cut to do it, but I’ve never looked back or felt regretful about that aspect of things,” Ogawa tells American Songwriter. “I’ve always thought about how liberating it was and with ‘Traveling Light’ I wanted to express both the feeling of being trapped by work and the liberation from feeling exploited by it, even if it means having less or living more simply.”
American Songwriter debuts the new single from Angela Perley, “Here for You,” calling it “rootsy-rock (clad with an irresistible slide guitar line), a laid-back backbeat, and big, rich harmonies on the chorus.”
While 2020 is getting smaller and smaller in the proverbial rear-view mirror, the effects of the stress felt society-wide during that turbulent year are still fresh on a lot of folks’ minds… including Columbus, Ohio’s Angela Perley.
“I was in need of a mental escape,” she explains to American Songwriter. “I was also listening to a lot of Gram Parsons… and when I get inspired, I usually try to let it flow and write music.”
American Songwriter reviews Ross Adams’ new LP, Escaping Southern Heat, out tomorrow
Third time’s a charm? That’s the cliché but, in Ross Adams’ case, it holds true.
The Charlotte, North Carolina-based singer/songwriter has released two previous sets (2014 and 2018), which went largely under the radar. For this one though, he calls in the big guns. That would be Jason Isbell’s 400 Unit band and producer Jimbo Hart, who also plays bass in the outfit. READ MORE…
American Songwriter premieres new single “Raindrops” from LA indie-rock/soul-pop band Under the Rug
If there’s anything to be learned through this past year, it’s that life truly is impermanent. Singer-songwriter Casey Dayan was reminded of this during a trip out to Marathon, Texas, a town boasting a population of less than 500 when the conversation turned to death and loss. READ MORE…