Ian Fisher—based in Berlin, Germany, but raised on a farm in Missouri—is a little man with a big voice. He’s played hundreds of concerts all over the world. His songs, like the man himself, are simple and honest. He’s a 21st Century country musician… without a country. His debut album, Nero, comes out Oct. 23 in the U.S., and in Europe January 2016, both on Snowstar Records. READ MORE…
Quaildogs breathe life into a distinctive brand of alt-country that recalls the genre’s heyday as a potent ’90s niche, while at the same time reveling in classic, freewheeling rock & roll. Having managed to keep together a steady and unfaltering six-piece lineup since their 2011 inception, the band has developed a unique camaraderie and sound that has earned them opening slots for a diverse set of acts including The Handsome Family, Futurebirds, The Wood Brothers, Moon Taxi, Roadkill Ghost Choir and the Dirty Dozen Brass Band—and all this before having released a proper full-length debut. READ MORE…
On Wednesday, warm up band People’s Blues of Richmond were rowdy, driving and loud and reminded me of the frenetic blues of Cedric Burnside and Lightnin’ Malcolm. They filled the club early with their own mass of fans who knew every word. It was wonderful to see a young band who so clearly enjoyed performing and being with their bandmates. As their time on stage was ending, each player was independently trying to catch the eye of the soundman to see how much longer they could stay on, and were ecstatic when they were granted two, not one, last songs. On Thursday, The Revivalists were supported by big-band old-school R&B/soul Gedeon Luke and the People, a nine-piece band coming off a couple months of touring. They had the crowd dancing the entire time and wandered out into the crowd for their encore. And with a lot of upcoming gigs in the area, they will most definitely be on my To See list. READ MORE…
Not many 23-year-old guitarists can claim to have toured opening for B.B. King—Hamish Anderson has already checked this milestone off the list, having finished a run with the iconic bluesman in October. Hamish made a name for himself in his hometown of Melbourne, Australia, with an impressive live show offering a mix of electric-blues-soaked rave-ups and modern roots-rock, all anchored by top-notch songwriting chops and and an unmistakably expressive voice. Hamish’s self-titled debut EP was released in November 2013, and his second EP, Restless, dropped in October, 2014.
On Restless, Hamish teams up with producer/engineer Krish Sharma (Rolling Stones, Counting Crows, Liz Phair). Recorded in Los Angeles at Henson Studios, the EP is a vehicle for his bluesy rock & roll and evocative lyrical imagery. Single “Burn” is an adrenaline-charged blues explosion with classic guitar riffs and propulsive drumming. The other tracks on Restless (“Shotgun,” “Little Lies,” “Restless” and “Street Lights”) showcase Anderson’s wide-ranging guitar talents along with his distinctive vocals. In addition, Grammy-winning pedal-steel guitarist Greg Leisz (Tom Petty, Wilco, Lucinda Williams) lends his magic to “Shotgun” and “Street Lights.”’ WATCH HERE…
The self-titled debut album from Willie and the Giant is a double shot of vintage rock and soul. The retro-minded Nashville band cut these new songs at all-analog studio Welcome to 1979, where an impressive list of legends and contemporaries have recorded before them—Todd Snider and Dave Schools’ Hard Working Americans, The North Mississippi All-Stars, Those Darlins, Jason Isbell, even Animals frontman Eric Burdon.
We wanted that warm, saturated sound that you can only get from tape,” frontman Will Stewart says, ” and Welcome to 1979 specializes in just that. It was cozy, too. Everything there is intentionally stylized to take you four decades back in time.”
“It definitely felt like a special place,” adds six-foot-five lead guitarist Jon Poor (aka The Giant). “From the minute we walked in, we were instantly at ease.”
This positive feel carried over to the sessions, which found the Nashville group’s Alabama roots on prominent display. Both Stewart and Poor were veterans of the Birmingham scene before relocating to Nashville, striking up a friendship and starting Willie and the Giant. For their self-titled debut LP (out April 21 on Cumberland Brothers Music), the band’s two singer-guitarists, plus bassist Grant Prettyman and drummer Mac Kramer were joined in the studio by friend and ‘Bama staple Matt Slocum—who tours with Black Crowes guitarist Rich Robinson—on keys. LISTEN HERE…
There’s a wistful, unpretentious elegance to Book Club’s sound. At once urbane and downhome, this is modern pastoral pop music that—in sound and spirit—can trace a straight line back to the simple, unaffected roots of American storysong. On Book Club’s new LP, One-Way Moon (out Feb. 3 via Cottage Recording Co./Bear Kids Recordings), frontman/songwriter Robbie Horlick practices introspection without navel-gazing, his wounded warble trickling like creekwater past the strum of the nylon six-string and the pluck of the banjo, cascading over daydreamy piano and the breathy moan of bow on strings. Further downstream, his vocal melodies empty into a crystal pool where they swirl gently, endlessly, around the wholesome, charmingly demure voice of harmony singer Rachel Buckley. The whole affair is a dazzling exercise in restraint—a stripped-bare, acoustic album where what you don’t hear is just as important as what you do.
Glide Magazine is premiering “Most Lonely” from One-Way Moon, a track that affirms Book Club as devoted practitioners of experimental sounds and orchestration.
“”Mostly Lonely” is one of my favorite songs on the record, says Horlick.”The music and lyrics came to me very quickly and naturally, as if I were just channeling them, and the song was arranged and recorded in the studio much the same way. I tend to trust songs that develop in this way more than songs I labor over.”
Horlick goes on to explain, “To me, it’s one of a certain category of songs that sneak up on you. It’s melodic, driving and upbeat, but it hides a darker theme: one of those “happy” songs that, after a few listens, you realize is actually kind of sad. Not that the narrator’s point of view is a secret—the premise is the title—but I think the tune’s melody and arrangement allow the listener to kind of float over it, letting the point marinate (“when the sun is bright, it’s hard to see just how dark it might actually be”) and then surface if and when the listener’s subconscious wants.”
“Whoever the narrator is speaking to—whether himself or someone else—the point is clear, and the question is direct (“Is it that hard to see?”). But what we do with that perspective is the point. We can treat it as an observation, a truth, a distortion or a call to action. It can be a sad song; it can be a happy song. It can be a sad song that makes people happy, or a happy song that makes people sad. Or some other combination. But no matter what, it’s a slice of honest and direct emotion. That was the aim, at least.” LISTEN HERE…