Browsing Tag

Acoustic Folk

Cee has released her stunningly orchestrated debut EP “As I Keep On Dreaming”

Posted on 19 February 2020

Swiss Singer-Songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Cee has recently released her debut EP “As I Keep on Dreaming”. With the instantaneous unveiling of her ability to explore sound at the same time as human complexity in the title track, we were hooked from the first verse.

As I Keep On Dreaming is an aptly-titled dreamy melodic work of Alt Folk with cinematic semi-orchestral layers which allow Cee to take her sound to an ethereal level.

Whether you’re enamoured by her distinctive guitar playing, the celestial feel behind the production, or her expressively quaint vocals, you’re sure to find as much indulgent appeal in As I Keep On Dreaming as we did.

You can check out Cee’s latest single As I Keep On Dreaming for yourselves by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Toronto-Based Folk Artist Zafer Has Released Their Fourth Single “You Can’t Stop This Train”

Posted on 5 February 2020

Toronto-based Indie Folk Rock artist Zafer has recently released their cinematically captivating single “You Can’t Stop This Train” which offers plenty of timeless appeal to fans of personably soulful Folk Blues.

If you like your Folk simple yet evocatively snaring, you’ll warm to Zafer’s rhythmically rendered single before the first verse draws to a close. As for the chorus, that’s all-consuming. And you may want to check yourself if you’re in public when you listen to You Can’t Stop This Train. It’s impossible not to let the deftly crafted rhythms move you.

With the effervescently shimmering organs, animated yet gently melodic guitar progressions and snappy concordant percussion, Zafer made the perfect platform to lay down their optimistically arrestive vocals. It will stay with you for long after it has haded to a close.

You can check out Zafer’s debut for yourselves by heading over to Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Sonorous vocals meet minimalist melodies in anisos’ latest Indie Folk single “treetops”

Posted on 30 January 2020
https://anisos.bandcamp.com/

Brisbane-based Indie Folk innovator anisos released their latest rapturously sweet single “treetops” on January 17th.  And my soul feels infinitely lighter for hearing it.

The quiescently quaint Folk soundscape leaves the instrumental arrangement minimal. Which leaves plenty of room for the resoundingly arrestive vocals to fill the soundscape full of personable passion which makes it all too easy to surrender yourself completely to the single. The ethereally light air to treetops along with the reflectively poetic lyricism makes for a sonorously unforgettable experience.

If you could imagine what Nick Cave’s music would sound like in an alternate universe where he didn’t aim to disconcert with his music. Instead, he aimed to captivate through pure indulgent rhythmic alchemy, you may be able to get an idea of what’s on offer in treetops. Of course, you’d get a much more accurate picture by hitting play for yourselves!

You can check out the latest track from anisos for yourselves by heading over to Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Steve Daniels – Green Triangle: Vividly Colourful Alt Indie Folk

Posted on 26 January 2020

As a fairly ardent fan of the Legendary Pink Dots, hitting play on Steve Daniels’ recently released single “Green Triangle” and hearing those porously emotive vocal notes was an unforgettably grounding experience.

Steve Daniels has a rare nuanced air to his softly-versed vocals which allows him to paint in vivid colours with his words. The instrumental arrangement may be fairly sparse, but the warmth found in the stripped-back melody is captivating all the same.

The artist may have a Machiavellian tendency to pull at your heartstrings using spacial effect. But he was kind enough to ensure that listening to Green Triangle will bring you a kaleidoscope of emancipating catharsis.

You can check out Green Triangle for yourselves by heading over to YouTube now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Bent Roads Tavern and Christian Stokkmo – Sweet Mirona: Cinematically Alchemic Semi-Orchestral Folk

Posted on 23 January 2020

If it’s been a while since you’ve checked if your soul is functioning, you can give it a thorough once over by hitting play on the latest single released by Folk artist Bent Roads Tavern “Sweet Mirona” featuring Christian Stokkmo.

With classical strings brought into this mix, Sweet Mirona is safely situated on the more cinematic side of Folk. But the roots of the genre still gently weave their way through this pensively alchemic mix. If you could imagine how Lou Barlow’s (ex Dinosaur Jr) vocals would resonate over a mesmerising contemporary Folk melody. You’ll get an idea of the stinging evocative potency which will permeate once you hit play on Sweet Mirona.

You can check out the video to Sweet Mirona which premiered on December 27th via YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Moths in the Attic – Forward: Semi-Orchestral Indie Folk Rock  

Posted on 20 December 2019
https://mothsintheattic.bandcamp.com/track/forward

Ohio Alt Indie artist Months in the Attic released their single “Forward” on October 25th. With an incredibly primal feel to the succinctly melodic single, the up and coming artist perceptibly worked hard to surpass the expectations of Alt Rock artists.

While there’s no shortage of semi-orchestral Rock, no artist offers the same artful concordance through the merging of the stylings. In between the fierce experimental progressions is a gentle evocative catharsis which is extremely efficacious in subduing you into an arrestive state of awe.

Moths in the Attic are so much more than an instrumentally talented outfit, their ingenuity registers as unlimitable. Usually, I’d suggest other artists who offer a similar sound, but in Forward, reminiscences are incredibly fleeting. It’s a smorgasbord of complementary elements which gently smashes through genre constraints.

Forward is available to stream and download via Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Colman – Hawks: Rhythmically Captivating Murder Folk

Posted on 25 November 2019
https://soundcloud.com/user-424718977/hawks

Murder Folk seems to be all the rage right now, and it doesn’t come much more ominously captivating than New York artist Colman’s recently released single “Hawks”.

Any fans of Amigo the Devil are sure to appreciate the ingenuity which Colman has brought to the genre with their tribally organic acoustic percussion and deeply reverberant acoustic guitar tones which create the perfect platform for their deep Americana Folk vocals.

Hawks consistently switches from swampy blues to striking guitar progressions which carry the same chilling temperature as Post Punk. The progressive nature of the single makes it all too easy to remain transfixed by the inventive melodies from the first note to the last.

It’s tracks like Hawks which make us stoked to hear of any new release from Colman. We’re fairly sure that anyone with a penchant for Alt Americana Folk will feel the same once Colman is firmly planted on their radar.

You can check out Colman’s latest release Hawks for yourselves by heading over to SoundCloud now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Evan Koteles has released a timeless Acoustic Indie Folk Pop classic with “Postin’ Hopin’”

Posted on 24 November 2019

Whether it was the slow rhythmic melody or the narratively compelling lyrics in Evan Koteles’ latest single “Postin’ Hopin’” the lovelorn melancholy devoured us.

Not many people – let alone lyricists are brave enough to own up to those moments before we post content to social media with the hope of indirectly catching someone’s attention. But it is that very candid nature which makes the sentiment behind Postin’ Hopin’ potently resonant. Even though Evan Koteles created a love song which perfectly encapsulated the frustrations of 21st-century modern relationships, by keeping the sound quintessential for the acoustic Folk Pop genre, the soundscape is timelessly accessible.

You can check out Evan Koteles’ latest single Postin’ Hopin’ which was released on November 1st by heading over to YouTube now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Disparate Souls – I Know Me Emotively Haunting Acoustic Folk

Posted on 30 October 2019

If Disparate Souls aren’t already on your radar, can you really call yourself an acoustic folk pop fan?

With the release of their latest self-titled album, they have proven that their sound is about as quintessential as it gets. The standout track “I Know Me” is a rare soundscape which offers haunting intimacy alongside a glimmer of upbeat energy. Any fans of Tom Waits, Cohen, and Bob Dylan will appreciate the slightly archaic tonality of I Know Me. But Disparate Souls isn’t an artist who clings to nostalgia. There’s vibrant modernity found within the single which reflects the artist’s pioneering approach to sound.

I Know Me is the aural equivalent to someone smiling while their pain refracts through their eyes. There’s an analogy I never thought I’d write. But there are few other ways to allude to the potent emotion which runs through the full-bodied, captivatingly emotive single.

You can check out I Know Me along with the rest of the singles from their 2019 album for yourselves by heading over to Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Dan Hollinrake – Perfect World: Melodiously Magnetic Indie Folk Pop

Posted on 15 September 2019

Through a combination of melodiously magnetic acoustic guitar, striking vocals, and candidly narrative vocals, singer-songwriter Dan Hollinrake has created an unforgettable single with “Perfect World”.

The Indie Folk artist refrained from using the annoying jangly guitar progressions, and equally as annoying fractured vocals. Instead, in Perfect World, you’ll find rhythmically rendered immersive Blues melodies which sit in perfect synergy with Dan Hollinrake’s pitch-perfect vocal dynamics, they may stretch high, but they never break out of concordance.

The uplifting Folk track alludes to the importance of putting your own needs and feelings first in the aftermath of a breakup. Even if you don’t find yourself that same situation as you listen to Perfect World, it’s still an evocative hard-hitter.

You can check out Dan Hollinrake’s latest single Perfect World for yourselves by heading over to SoundCloud now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast