Browsing Tag

Folk Singer Songwriter

Intuitively spiritual rhythm meets sensual folk in DORA GOLA’s latest single, Dance with Danger

Posted on 17 June 2022

If any track is going to tempt the weary and wary out of their comfort zones after sanity diminishing lockdowns, it is the artfully fierce electronic folk-pop earworm, Dance with Danger, from the spiritually magnetic singer-songwriter, DORA GOLA.

With the intuitiveness of the rhythm, you scarcely need her bio to tell you that she’s a dancer. Her connection to music is enviably strong, but at least she’s had the grace to share her natural gift with the world through emboldening hits that tease your rhythmic pulses as much as they stir the soul.

Following the release of Dance with Danger, the Poland-born, West Ireland-based artist will continue to make her discography a rediscovery of ancestral roots, mystery and sensuality. We can’t wait to hear what follows. She shines luminously bright in a sea of ego-driven artists.

Dance with Danger will hit the airwaves on June 17th. Stream it here.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Henry Liggins orchestrated every hopeless romantic’s quintessential playlist staple with his folk single, Makeup

Posted on 10 June 2022

After a Cohen-Esque acoustic guitar intro, Henry Liggins’ vocals mellifluously float in with the same captivating ease over his tenderly orchestrated piano and guitar progressions as Glenn Hansard in his latest single, Makeup.

The hopeless romanticism in Makeup is nothing short of breath-taking poetry as Liggins muses on his muse, capturing the fragile beauty within the vulnerability of relationships in our chaotic existence. The amount of sincerity is almost a shock to the system. There’s no doubt that this dreamy serenade came straight from Liggins’ sugared Shakespearean soul.

While staying true to his timelessly intimate style, the Birmingham-based singer-songwriter notably has a tirade of commercial appeal behind his ornately captivating sound.

Makeup will officially release on June 10th. Hear it here.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Robin Lewis speaks for the malaised in his Waitsy Americana acoustic rock single, No Light

Posted on 26 May 2022

Armed with his trusty resonator guitar and Gibson 63, the BMI published folk singer-songwriter & producer, Robin Lewis, has released his Americana acoustic rock heartbreaker of a Waitsy release, No Light, taken from his moody and retrospective lockdown-born album, Everyone Has a Story.

No Light was compassionately composed for listeners all too accustomed to the days which become signified by malaise. In all sincerity, it imparts solace in the reminder that the sun sets on even the darkest of days. Lockdown releases may often get tarred with the same trite brush, but No Light will be resonant for years to come. It’s a stunning exposition of the collective state of our consciousness; now that we know the ‘new normal’ generally blows and there’s no putting the gloss back on the facade of our modern existence. We honestly couldn’t be more psyched to have Lewis on our radar. We’d advise that you reserve him space on yours.

No Light, taken from Robin Lewis’ album, Everyone Has a Story, was officially released on May 16th. You can check it out for yourselves by heading over to SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

Jessie Dipper spoke for her frustrated generation in her grunge-folk feat of candour, Where Do I Go

Posted on 26 May 2022

The folk-grunge maverick and award-winning singer-songwriter, Jessie Dipper, has stayed true to her sincerely originalist style with her latest single, Where Do I Go, taken from her coming of age second album.

However many times you’ve taken a trip around the sun before hearing this fiery yet soulfully flawless single, you’re sure to find the resonance in the frustration that easily stems from the uncertainty that confounds around our mental maps of the future. She didn’t just speak for her generation; she spoke for all of them.

With guitar licks that would serenade any Springsteen fan, the stridently distinctive vocals and Ben Folds-Esque pianos, the Cardiff-based singer-songwriter orchestrated a matchless hit that is going to put her on an even bigger map than the one that has seen her picking up awards, lauded by the BBC and touring across the globe.

Where Do I Go was officially released on May 20th. You can catch it for yourselves by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Max Minardi took us to Northern California with his folk-pop single, Young & Green

Posted on 13 May 2022

North California’s folk singer-songwriter, Max Minardi, wore his heart on his sleeve and gave us all his shirt in his latest narratively spellbinding indie folk-pop single, Young & Green.

The Lumineers and Mumford and Sons may have given folk-pop a bad rep, but the pop hooks and Americana roots in Young & Green is more than enough to restore the reputation with a single sonic hand.

The intricately spirited piano melodies and the orchestral layers bring the instrumental gravitas to the same level as his naturally magnetic vocals, which carry the same timeless beguile as Cat Stevens, Paul Simon, and Ben Howard, while up against the effortlessly synergistic female vocals.

Young & Green is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Michael R Shaw is set to release his feat of dark-folk redemption ‘Lord of All’

Posted on 6 May 2022
Michael R Shaw

Lancashire singer-songwriter Michael R Shaw has teased the humility and ornate originality in his upcoming album by giving us a preview of the short and profound dark-folk single, Lord of All.

Straight away the Nick Cave, Guy Garvey, and Richard Hawley influences start to resound around Shaw’s art-folk ingenuity which carries a touch of tenderness, poetry exhumed from a plaintive soul and a bold alchemic appeal that almost takes this folk track to a celestial level. It certainly wouldn’t be out of place on the Peaky Blinders soundtrack. Lord of All could have been the track to prevent the criminally excessive use of Red Right Hand.

Lord of All is the intro to Shaw’s upcoming album, which is due for release on September 1st, 2022. Check out Michael R Shaw via his website and SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Slow down with Hunter & Girton’s folk-tinged alt-rock single, Fast World

Posted on 5 May 2022
Hunter & Girton

With piano melodies just as haunting as the scores on Westworld, the sombre vibrato vocals, cuttingly atmospheric guitars and the lyrics that tear through the polarity that has distanced and disillusioned us all, Hunter & Girton’s latest single, Fast World, is an evocative masterpiece.

We can be counted as gratified for the band’s step away from the touring circuit and into the studio to release singles such as Fast World, which acts as a harrowing sign of the times. Conceptually, there are a fair few reminiscences to the iconic Mad World, but Hunter & Girton’s cutting dissection of contemporary society is enough to make you long for the Mad World that Tears For Fears warned us about in 1982.

Yet, through the resonance that is delivered hand over metaphorically harbingering fist, it’s hard to find anything but intense satisfaction after hearing the ordinarily-alienating ennui at the centre of this feat of pensive panache.

Naturally, we can’t wait to hear what follows from the rural Indiana-hailing folk-infused alt-rock duo. Fast World is almost enough to make up for Editors giving up the ghost on their latest album.

Check out Hunter & Girton via Facebook.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Brothers Reed take us ‘Home’ in their folk Americana heart warmer

Posted on 9 April 2022

The Brothers Reed’s latest single, Home, is sweet enough to make you homesick for a place you’ve never been. If that doesn’t stand as a testament to stellar songwriting and performative charisma, I’m not entirely sure what does.

The playful bluegrass roots blossom in the eclectic yet traditional folk instrumental arrangement while the lyrics and honky-tonk vocals paint a vivacious picture of miles travelled and home comforts yearned for. If you don’t feel the oxytocin start to flow by the time you’ve hit the romantically punchy chorus, you might want to check that you’ve still got a pulse. We can’t wait to hear what follows after the Brothers Reed’s stint away from the airwaves.

Home will be available to stream everywhere from April 8th, including SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

London folk hero, The Guv gave neo-folk an exotic twist in ‘December in Istanbul’

Posted on 5 April 2022

Istanbul-born, London-based folk singer & songwriter, The Guv hasn’t lost sight of the muse since making his debut in 2020 – especially on the basis of his most successful single to date, ‘December in Istanbul’. Today, he’s back with new release ‘Love and Joy’.

A decidedly loving and romantic ode to life, and the potential it gives all of us to truly be happy in our relationships with ourselves, ‘Love & Joy’ was mastered by Andy Baldwin / Metropolis Studios who also worked with The Who, UB40, Pet Shop Boys.

While the classical strings cause a drop in the temperature in December in Istanbul, the easy accordance from the acoustic folk guitar progressions will envelop you in the warmth of the timbre. With a chorus that could rival the euphonically anthemic feel of Mumford and Sons paired with the Eastern folk nuances and roots-deep western folk sensibilities, December in Istanbul is an instant timeless classic.

Fans of Queen, Tori Amos and Tim Buckley will want to pay attention to the modernist multinational spin on folk, as well as lovers of high caliber, Decemberists-leaning sensibilities.

As The Guv will be launching new music twice weekly, the Istanbul-born, London-based artist is well worth a spot on your radar. You can check out December in Istanbul without grabbing your passport by heading over to Spotify, where you will also find The Guv’s already-extensive collection of affable neo-folk.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Colin Clyne sings the blues in his profoundly plaintive alt-folk single, Wishing Winter Away

Posted on 5 April 2022
Colin Clyne

The endlessly accoladed Aberdeen alt-folk singer-songwriter, Colin Clyne sang the blues in his orchestrally decorated raw Americana single, Wishing Winter Away; winter’s teeth have scarcely seemed sharper than when they bit into the warmed sepia tones.

The roots of folk sway in the highly evocative melodies, but Clyne also discernibly has a knack for modernising profoundly plaintive folk. With his Waitsy vocal timbre that shares the same honeyed whiskey-soaked gravity falling over the arresting acoustic guitar progressions as they weave around the striking keys and classic strings, it is enough to test your soul’s capacity to feel. Or at the very least leave you yearning for summer.

Check out Colin Clyne on his official site, Instagram, and Facebook.

Review by Amelia Vandergast