Browsing Tag

folk

Digging for a Clue: Eric Harrison conquers all on the buckle-up quickly single, Undertow

Posted on 1 July 2023
No Defenses by Eric Harrison

Taken from his brand new 15-song double album and 6th release called No Defenses, Eric Harrison’s Undertow is creatively a rather special gem to etch in the sunshine forever in this moody world.

Eric Harrison is a Fanwood, New Jersey-based indie folk singer-songwriter who opens up his book of wisdom by accepting the inevitable but still fighting for what is right.

Recorded by Kevin Salem in Woodstock between 2020 and 2022 while feeling like this is his best work ever, Eric Harrison rides like the hero we needed and guides us to a much happier place to be inspired by. Sung with a gloriously pure style and written so brilliantly, this is a victorious soundtrack to play on loud all day.

Undertow from Fanwood, New Jersey-based indie folk singer-songwriter Eric Harrison is a track that will connect souls together to keep on fighting for what is right. Delighting all ears and reminding us that ignorance is bliss sometimes, we find a peachy track to appreciate for its goodness wrapped inside for anyone who wants to brush away all hopelessness.

If you like your music with proper meaning, this is the type of song to tell your family about.

Lather ears back into calmness on Bandcamp.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

Behold Andy Smythe’s Orchestrally Lush Vignette of a Homeward Bound Beatnik, Prodigal Son

Posted on 23 June 2023
https://soundcloud.com/smytheandy/prodigal-son/s-PSNv058J9tC?si=e47bea85f2ea48afa369111846732d67&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

‘Prodigal Son’ is the latest baroque folk-rock single from the psychedelically captivating singer-songwriter, producer and arranger, Andy Smythe, who transcended the Bowie and Beatles assimilators with his orchestrally lush vignette of a homeward-bound beatnik after a soul-seeking journey.

Anyone who has ever searched for tangible evidence of an entity or philosophy which contextualises reality while grasping and affirming inner essence will feel the force of a fist full of resonance while Prodigal Son is narratively unfolding under the duress of the London-based singer-songwriter’s magnetic with soul vocal lines.

There’s no overstating the sharpness of the songwriting chops or the compelling Buckley-esque 4-octave warmth in Andy Smythe’s vocal lines. After cutting his teeth for the past 20 years as a songsmith, Smythe could give Nosferatu a run for his money with his quintessentially quirky sonic signature which has garnered rave reviews on both sides of the pond.

Prodigal Son will hit the airwaves on June 23. Hear it first on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

Casting Shadows: Sadcliffe is at his best on the stunning release Sound Financial Advice

Posted on 16 June 2023

Opening up the libraries of our emotions with skill and precision, Sadcliffe drops one of the most profound singles anyone is likely to witness in 2023 on the supremely stirring soundtrack taken off the 7-track release Our Quiet House, Sound Financial Advice.

Sadcliffe aka T.M Broad is a Portsmouth, UK-born indie folk singer-songwriter and writer who performs with heartwarming passion on each of his expertly penned creations.

”His latest work comprises of the music created as I explored the recent diagnosis of my father becoming ill with cancer, how this affected me profoundly and how it caused me to reevaluate my connection to him both in the past and present.” ~ Sadcliffe

Actualising his true emotions and bravely performing with grit and honesty, Sadcliffe fuses our ears with his new Spanish classical guitar and has created a special anthem for anyone still healing from intense loss.

Sound Financial Advice from London, UK-based indie folk singer-songwriter Sadcliffe is one of the most poised tracks to enter our eardrums this year. This is a delightfully top-drawer effort made with true love.

Sharing a deep moment with the world and moving us calmly through the archives of life, this is a must-listen and learn-from single which feels rather timeless.

Hear this fine single on Spotify.

Check out the news on IG.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

The Marsh Family instilled empathy for refugees in their single, See Your Face Again

Posted on 16 June 2023

Released to raise awareness for 2023’s Refugee Week, The Marsh Family’s compassion-driven and strings instilled latest single, See Your Face Again, is as devastatingly beautiful as it is necessary. In a time when tribalism and prejudice are so pervasive in the mainstream discourse, and when it is painfully evident that empathy is the only remedy, singles don’t come much more seminal than See Your Face Again.

The indie folk single by the musical family gives the listener a view into how heartbreaking it is for migrants to decide to tear themselves away from the ones they love in search of a future that is brighter. There’s no sacrifice greater than leaving family behind in landscapes where more rubble amasses every day.

Instead of preaching to the choir, the Marsh Family collectively put themselves in the unenviable position of migrants, allowing the listener to come to their own emotional conclusions, whilst being guided by the euphonic grace of the release.

The single features Ali Esmahilzada, who fled from Kabul to LA without his violin, but was benevolently given one by a US benefactor. The single itself pushed me to the brink of tears; the stunning contribution from the resoundingly talented Ali Esmahilzada pushed me over the edge.

Stream See Your Face Again from the 16th of June via SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

Some Kind of Poison: Bobby Fire found her body with buzzing flies for company on Hounds Hunting Me

Posted on 15 June 2023

With a truly sad single which will cause tears to flow like the rains coming during the winter, Bobby Fire drops a cinematic tree-climbing single which will summon our deepest emotions from the basement on Hounds Hunting Me.

Bobby Fire is a UK-based indie folk/Americana storyteller who makes the kind of real music which is massively memorable for its outstanding authenticity.

Inspired by greats such as Leonard Cohen, Roky Erickson and Sixto Rodriguez, Bobby Fire has created one of the most eye-opening singles of modern times. This is real to the core. It shows us deep inside the nature of current days with money, greed and poor decisions in such a kind world, which is currently caged by evil deeds from invisible suits.

Hounds Hunting Me from UK-based indie folk/Americana artist Bobby Fire might be a classic which might only be appreciated in decades to come. That’s the point. This is a single made with so much love and care. Each word means something. The vocals are hauntingly beautiful and the melodies will make many think deeper, about where our planet is actually headed.

They’re killing us baby.

Listen deeper to the truth on YouTube.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

Bay Bryan’s debut LP is a reverie of ubiquitous art-folk revelation

Posted on 9 June 2023

Life often imitates art, but LPs which emphasise realism and naturalism to such a vivid degree that you find yourself open to the purity and vastness of reality on this 1,000-mph spinning rock are a little harder to find, making the debut album, The Meadow, from Bay Bryan a ubiquitous revelation.

With vocals as diaphanous as the quiescent folk motifs, the omnipresent grace of the 10-track release becomes a paradox in its freeing yet arrestive proclivities. With sounds of the forestland flourishing in the same vein as Cosmo Sheldrake’s nature-sampled work in the opening singles before the LP embraces some folk traditionalism and elevates it through tantalisingly minimalist guile, The Meadow unravels as a release you should consume whole so that the euphonic album can return the favour.

There may be a lot to lament in this Anthropocene. Yet, as euphonically alluded by the Colorado-born, Manchester, UK-based artist, beauty still exists in the totality of our existence. Allowing the release to spill the solace of resonance; around the brushstrokes of pure rapture are conjurings of pensiveness, which give the LP as much soul as the euphoric dream-like layers.

The concept album may portray the tale of a protagonist trapped in an endless daydream, but with the infectious flower child celestiality, you may just find the inspiration to forego reality too, if only for the duration of The Meadow.

The singer-songwriter is often gratifyingly guilty of bringing their theatre-making talents into their imaginatively cinematic soundscapes, which have garnered rave reviews and airplay from BBC Radio 3. In an era when there is so much hate and fear, artists able to implant us in the sanctity of a daydream away from the waking terror are worth their weight in gold; Bay Bryan may just be the richest artist in the UK.

“I want you to stop. I want you to breathe. And for the next 30min I hope that you let yourself go —immerse yourself in world of the meadow —and get lost with me in it’s golden hue. The adventure is yours for the taking.” ~ Bay Bryan

Stream The Meadow via Spotify

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Malcolm Duff & Maristela Da Silva shared a message of hope and connection in ‘People’

Posted on 1 June 2023

The latest folk sonnet, People, from the singer-songwriter duo, Malcolm Duff & Maristela Da Silva, is a sombrely enlightening lesson in universal compassion.

Stepping out into the fray of the world, it is hard to contemplate the lives led by everyone you encounter. But in the intimacy of this timeless piano ballad which finds itself between the repertoires of Cohen, Waits and Nick Cave – on a sentimental day – the beauty in the shared experience of sentience shines through the delicate piano notes that spill arcane resonance beneath Malcolm Duff’s contemplatively honeyed vocal lines, which compel you into mindfulness.

People also resonates as a message of hope, conveyed to everyone who feels alone, regardless of how many people surround them. As The Legendary Pink Dots once said, it’s a loveless world, so what’s the point in looking? The point lies in the soul of this profoundly succinct release.

Stream People, which debuted on March 15, on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Changing Times: Sun-Pinned Leaves sees the smoke in the rainfall on City’s Got Soul

Posted on 28 May 2023

Seconding the emotions on offer from a special human, Sun-Pinned Leaves lights up the happiest way possible on the delightfully honest song to vibe with on any day of the week on City’s Got Soul.

Sun-Pinned Leaves is an award-winning Deal, England-based indie folk/Americana duo who return after blessing our souls with the terrific single from 2022, Summer Of Love.

Guiding us back to 1975 and powering in with something rather memorable, Sun-Pinned Leaves have the kind of vibe which many will find truly fascinating. Showing us the experience and thousands (or more) hours of practice, we find a single which belongs in any era.

”Sun-Pinned Leaves are a popular live act with most recent gigs including Dublin Castle, London and Sandwich Folk & Ale Festival, Kent.” ~ Sun-Pinned Leaves

City’s Got Soul from Deal, England-based indie folk/Americana 2-piece band Sun-Pinned Leaves is another bonafide gem when we all needed it most. This is a superbly delivered single which shall ease all pain away, to show us what excellent music sounds like in 2023.

When you feel the vibration of your local city, everything changes forever.

Spark up the passion again on SoundCloud.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

Eli Waltz: A Folk Tune’s Breakthrough

Posted on 27 May 2023

Eli Waltz, a talented folk singer-songwriter, has graced us with his latest composition, “Writer’s Block.” This introspective ballad is a heartfelt exploration of creative struggles, inviting listeners into a world of vulnerability and artistic self-reflection. With his signature blend of poetic lyricism and soul-stirring melodies, Waltz captivates us from the very first note.

“Writer’s Block” unfolds like a gentle breeze on a summer evening, carrying with it a profound sense of introspection and raw emotions. Eli Waltz’s honeyed vocals weave seamlessly with his skilful acoustic guitar strumming, creating an atmosphere that feels both intimate and inviting. The song’s stripped-down arrangement allows Waltz’s lyrics to take centre stage, and they do not disappoint.

Lyrically, “Writer’s Block” delves deep into the universal struggle faced by artists, capturing the essence of grappling with creative stagnation. Waltz’s introspective lines paint vivid images of frustration and self-doubt, evoking a sense of empathy that resonates with anyone who has experienced the daunting silence of inspiration.

The song’s melody is beautifully crafted, with each note carefully chosen to enhance the emotional impact of the lyrics. From the haunting harmonies to the delicate guitar picking, every element intertwines flawlessly, creating a captivating sonic experience.

Eli Waltz’s social media presence reflects his commitment to connecting with his audience. His website serves as a comprehensive hub for his music, while his Instagram and Facebook pages offer glimpses into his creative process and upcoming projects. On TikTok, Waltz shares snippets of his musical journey, inviting fans to witness his artistic evolution.

In conclusion, “Writer’s Block” showcases Eli Waltz’s talent as a singer-songwriter and his ability to craft deeply personal narratives through his music. With its introspective lyrics, soulful melodies, and Waltz’s captivating vocals, this folk ballad is a must-listen for anyone seeking an emotional and introspective musical experience. Waltz’s unwavering dedication to his craft is evident, and we eagerly await his future endeavours.

Lucas Pasley put his audience in the saddle of injustice in the roots release, Icelandic Horses

Posted on 21 May 2023

The authentic but by no means archaic Americana luminary Lucas Pasley twanged plenty of timeless soul onto the airwaves with the release of his third album, Ponies Back Home. The serenely composed release, which carries all the Grammy-nominated allure of Bonny Light Horseman’s debut LP, starts with the standout single, Icelandic Ponies. 

With melodies that sway in the breeze of his songwriting which pays homage to his Appalachian Mountains roots and a voice so soothing it could placate a rabid raccoon, there’s no overstating the arresting allure of Icelandic Horses.

His slide guitars reach the pinnacle of sonic catharsis as the lyrics lament the inherent unjustness of the universe while showing you the beauty within it in the same breath. The fragility of life is laid out in a series of short and bitter-sweet vignettes to brim you with gratitude for the burdens you don’t bear and fill you with empathy for the ones who do.

Stream Lucas Pasley’s album, Ponies Back Home, on Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast