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americana

Barnyard Stompers – Punk Rock Girl: A Honkytonk-Punk Rock Antithesis of a Love Story

Posted on 13 January 2023
Barnyard Stompers

I never knew how much I needed a gritty Americana track with psychobilly tendencies about the incompatibility between honkytonk guys and punk rock girls until I heard Barnyard Stompers’ narratively enticing single Punk Rock Girl. If you thought that Nick Cave could weave a compelling set of lyrics, prepare for your idol to be sonically knocked down a peg or two by Barnyard Stompers with their quintessentially country tones and ability to reel you in hook, lyric and sinker.

With touches of desert psych to the rolling basslines in the intro that give way to the definitive twang of Americana guitars and the astute observations about the contrast of the two cultures, “he doesn’t have a clue why you want to burn shit down”, it’s impossible not to get immersed in the antithesis of a love story.

Towards the outro following the Gretschy psychobilly riffs that fade into distorted obscurity away from the solid rockin’ rhythms, there is a twist! The honkytonk man was once a punk rock boy; he liked the new wave, ska, hardcore, psychobilly, and oi but threw away his DMs because there’s nothing punk about punk rock anymore. I can wholly relate.

Punk Rock Girl will officially release on January 13th. Check it out via the band’s official website.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

Terry Blade warns even unconditional love has its limits in his Country-Blues single, ‘Won’t Be Around’

Posted on 6 January 2023

Two-time recipient of the Global Music Awards, Terry Blade, lined himself up for more prestigious accolades by recording his latest single, Won’t Be Around. The stripped-back simmering melting pot of Gospel-Esque Soul, Blues and Country commands your adoration from the first gravelled in feisty-fervour vocal note.

From there on out, the lyrics compel you to take stock of the protagonists in your life as you’re reminded that unconditional love always has its limits. With his voice commanding the soundscape, which paid homage to the roots of Americana with the minimalistic trickle of bluesy keys and strummed acoustic guitar notes, you’re left with no option but to be arrested.

During his career, which sheds light on his experience as a black gay artist, Terry Blade has picked up over 40 awards, And something tells us his glory days are far from behind him.

Won’t Be Around will officially release on January 6th. Hear it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Chris Landry un-reliced roots music in his debut album ‘Marylou’

Posted on 29 November 2022

Chris Landry is a well-known name in the Ottawa music scene; the singer-songwriter and musician has been writing, recording, and touring since the turn of the century. At the start of his accoladed journey, he livened the punk and rock scenes. Now releasing music as a solo artist using his own name as a moniker, he’s delivering roots music entwined with a sense of soul that brings to life his observationally arresting lyricism.

His debut album, Marylou, was officially released on November 8th. The title single is a compellingly contemporary reiteration of country that proves his maturity as a songwriter. After the desert-y bass rumbles in the prelude, on top of the foot-stompin’ percussion, his vocal melodies soar above the pedal steel and organ wails, giving that iconic country sound a new lease of life with the same zeal of Kurt Vile.

Chris Landry’s debut album is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Swing back to the late 60s with Sarah Streitz’s dusky groove-led rock hit, Time Passes

Posted on 23 November 2022

Ahead of the release of her 2022 album, Different Space, we got stuck into the retro grooves of Santa Fe and Minneapolis singer-songwriter Sarah Streitz’s single Time Passes. While there’s no arguing with the titular statement, clearly, Streitz doesn’t conform to the linear passing of time if the tonal nostalgia that the dusky rock record spills is anything to go by. With just a few licks of the bass and her effortlessly cool vocal performance, you’re doused in late 60s synaesthesia.

After leaving Americana and country (mostly) behind her, Streitz teamed up with the Grammy-winning sound engineer Marc Whitmore to deliver soundscapes that would make Tarantino’s head spin. Evidently, Whitmore poured the same magic into Time Passes as he did with The Black Keys records – there’s something infinitely intoxicating about her demurely vintage vocal timbre colliding with the bass lines that roll around the shimmering organs and spacey sonic effects that bring a touch of modernism to the trippy swing of the single.

Time Passes is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Masorti presents: “Father’s Eyes”, a new studio release

Posted on 8 November 2022

Masorti is a creative and talented musician with a focus on exploring a wide variety of influences, while still ensuring that his music is incredibly punchy and creative, appealing to listeners of all backgrounds while portraying the artist’s personality and Americana-folk vibe.

Masorti’s most recent studio work is titled “Father’s Eyes”, and it is yet another step forward for him. This one shows a lot of potential, as the production is just as good as the performance of the artist, which brings so much vitality and passion to the mix. The release is a crossroads of different vibes and influences, yet as if by magic, it all really acquires a stunning and original tone, which adds to the scope of this release.

Find out more about Masorti, and check out “Father’s Eyes”, his flavorful new release.

My Duty: Kev Scott and The Cherished Times are the lifeguards needed to wash those tears away on Find Your Love

Posted on 29 October 2022

Knowing that the romance is there after the harrowing seas calm down mightily, Kev Scott and The Cherished Times are ready to hold hands again with that cherished human on Find Your Love.

Kev Scott and The Cherished Times are a Blackpool, Lancashire-based Gospel-fused Americana alt-folk rock act who makes those dreamy tracks you can’t ever forget.

”Tales of lockdown crisis and a world war 2 rescue are two of the themes that accompany love, loss and life set to the blend of Gospel tinged Americana/Alternative folk rock that has become the signature sound of the band.” ~ Kev Scott and The Cherished Times

Delighting us with something rather special to truly feel profoundly, Kev Scott and The Cherished Times send our hearts into a whole new level of comfort on this important new single.

Find Your Love from Blackpool, Lancashire-based Gospel-fused band Kev Scott and The Cherished Times is a soaring soundtrack which shows us that genuine care does indeed exist. Sung with care and poise, filled with superb vocals and fused together so splendidly, this is a soundtrack to play loud when you need to feel that all-important hope again.

Listen up to this new song here and see more on his IG.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

Remind Me: Andrew Akins almost gave up on the drive-filled I-25

Posted on 4 October 2022

From dreaming through that late night moon and drifting slowly through so many memories, Andrew Akins shows us the route through those Colorado mountains on I-25.

Andrew Akins is a 27-year-old Amarillo, Texas-based indie Americana solo singer-songwriter who makes that road trip music that will make you smile for hours.

”He’s shared stages with modern poets such as Ryan Culwell, Natalie Schlabs and Charles Johnson, and even opened for lyrically-renowned heavy outfit Silent Planet.” ~ Andrew Akins

Lathered with a sensational layer of authenticity, Andrew Akins has cultivated a song that shall take you to back to a certain time in your life when you didn’t want something special to end.

I-25 from Amarillo, Texas-based indie Americana solo singer-songwriter Andrew Akins is a romance packed journey to finding the peace with two souls. Rich in love and caressed with an embrace to get things back on track, you will find a song to hold on tight with here. Vocally strong and backed up with a memorable ambience that shall lurk in your veins all night, this is a single to turn up as loud as possible.

Listen up on Spotify.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

Hodges Country stand and deliver raucous country rock euphoria in ‘Country’s Kicking’

Posted on 25 September 2022
https://soundcloud.com/steve-and-sheri-music/countrys-kicking-2

The country rock raconteurs behind Hodges Country are primed and ready to take you down the ramshackled county line in their latest upbeat single, Country’s Kicking, which has been picking up plenty of steam on the airwaves since its July 2022 debut.

With over 128k streams on SoundCloud alone, the father and son duo led by American singer-songwriter Steve Hodges paid a stunning ode to his late wife, who was the co-creator and muse behind many of his greatest hits; her legacy is in a blaze of glory on the basis of Country’s Kicking alone. How the wake and tragedy can translate into such euphoric country rock raucousness is the epitome of beauty in my book.

Delve into the bluegrass righteousness for yourselves by heading over to SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Warick Pond picked up the pieces with the aching soul in his single, The Wreckage

Posted on 23 September 2022

Taken from his seminal album, Open Roads, Warick Pond’s standout single, The Wreckage, carries the solemnity of Tom Waits, the contemporary Americana edge of Kurt Vile, and the mellow melancholy of the Verve.

Reminiscences aside, the American singer-songwriter puts his own authentic beauty into aching soul through the resounding quiescence of his guitars, which match the gentle outpour of visceral emotion through his Americana-tinted vocal timbre.

When an artist can create such a profoundly emotional soundscape with minimal production and understatedly passionate vocals, you know that you’ve just come across a one-in-a-million entity. Enduring the agony of hopeless romanticism fleetingly became worth it through the resonance extended by Open Roads, which captures the enduring loneliness of the human condition and how tightly we cling to connections which can turn to past tense in the blink of an eye.

The Wreckage is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Copperhead Jones is down by the water in his narratively blissful country single, Cold Beers and Tight Lines

Posted on 21 September 2022

While deployed with the US Navy in 2012, the Texan country crooner, Copperhead Jones, started to pen his roots-deep Americana songs. A decade down the line, he is fresh from the release of his narratively escapist sophomore album, Anchor.

The standout single, Cold Beers and Tight Lines, lyrically sets the scene of a more serene time, while the upbeat Americana instrumentals feed the euphonic highs through the flair of the bluesy piano motifs, winding Country guitars and assuredly steady percussion that would have a dive bar crowd tapping their feet to the tight snappy rhythmic magnetism in no time at all. Regardless of the mood that Cold Beers and Tight Lines catches you in, the soulfully sincere soundscape is sure to brighten it.

Cold Beers and Tight Lines is now available to stream on Spotify along with the rest of Copperhead Jones’ 2022 album, Anchor.

Review by Amelia Vandergast