Browsing Tag

folk

Following Me: Lewis Ross-Robson is in a reinvigorated form we should surely savour on Black Again

Posted on 31 January 2023

Making his return to the music world after a much-needed hiatus to complete his studies and explore the perimeters of his sound, Lewis Ross-Robson is in extraordinary form on the rather memorable new single Black Again.

Lewis Ross-Robson is a York-born Manchester-based indie-folk singer-songwriter who has overcome those easy-to-pickup-bad habits to make music with a real message and pure purpose.

”Lewis’ take on introspective folk is a reminder of the importance of simplicity in music, seeking to retain a delicate and distinctive essence through his sound.” ~ Lewis Ross-Robson (taken from his Spotify page)

With quality overlooking at every corner as each note stirs the soul, Lewis Ross-Robson has cemented his name into our anxious hearts with a simply superb showing on his much-anticipated single Black Again.

Black Again from York-born Manchester-based indie-folk singer-songwriter Lewis Ross-Robson is a single all about trying to stay positive in a rather tempting and destructive world, He sings with truth and love. The realness attached is rather refreshing and shall float our minds away from the harsh vortex, which can take our souls away if safeguards aren’t put into place.

Knowing what you need to do is the start. Actually achieving your goals, is the brave battle where success is formulated.

Heal your heart on Spotify. See more news on his IG.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

Lindsey Sampson – Sand: An Elemental Folk-Pop Triumph.

Posted on 27 January 2023

With frenetic synth sequencing that made us nostalgic for the soundscapes from Alan Vega, the pop singer-songwriter, Lindsey Sampson’s latest single, Sand, is an elemental triumph.

Oceanic momentum flows through progressive rising tides in the un-archetypally structured single that harnesses deep reverence for natural phenomena and articulately observes how nature often works to reflect introspective sensations.

Lindsey Sampson, who spends her time between Nashville and New England, marries the soul of country with a contemporary indie folk pop edge that is definitively hers. We can fully attest to her ability to appeal to the spirituality that lies within us all – regardless of whether we nurture that relationship or not.

Since her humble beginnings, the singer-songwriter has been nominated for the award of Best Female Performer at the New England Music Awards and received many other accolades along the way while performing solo and as part of her folk-rock band, Visiting Wine. 

Sand will officially release on January 27th. Dig your toes in on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Californian solo artist, Beau James Wilding, put the grit in folk with his reverently fervid single, SET MYSELF ON FIRE

Posted on 13 January 2023

With the choppy discord in the acoustic guitar strings against his gravelly punk blues vocals, the Californian solo artist, Beau James Wilding, orchestrated a roots rock masterpiece with his latest single, SET MYSELF ON FIRE.

We didn’t need his bio to inform us of his intense emotional relationship with sound and music. But learning that the relationship was strengthened after he was left legally blinded by a disease at eighteen made the fierily ardent passion in SET MYSELF ON FIRE burn with even more reverence.

Any fans of Dogs D’Amour and The Quireboys won’t want this fervidly impactful single to pass them by. The dark poetic imagery in the lyrics paired with the frenetic pace of the guitar rhythms that consume the instrumental arrangement with their ragged timbre is a sobering multisensory experience that reaches the pinnacle of gritty folk.

SET MYSELF ON FIRE will officially release on January 13th. Stream it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

It Goes “From the Grave” Right to the Heart

Posted on 7 January 2023

Listening to Abby Lokelani’s track “From the Grave” is a mixed bag of being devastated by the beauty of the art – to weepy sentimentality over my own lost-love. Her breathy but pitch-perfect performance gives way to an intimate engagement in this tune. The electronic drums help to offset what would otherwise be a guitar singer-songwriter number – all the while a heartfelt and, dare I say, the genuine sound is present. Then we move to the lyrics, I have to say, as a widower the phrase “I’ll love you better from the grave” hits me in a way that I can’t imagine anyone else on earth feels. This is a beautiful piece of music balanced by instrumentation, deep/naked emotion, and honest sentiment.

Seems as though Abby Lokelani is a Hawaii native and plays more than a few instruments including guitar and keys (and of course, her most important instrument – her voice, she sings beautifully). She was classically trained as a cellist – which might go some way to explaining her ear – and moved to write her own music and lyrics.

In her own words “I write music to make people feel something…” which is an apt summary of my experience with “From the Grave.” I can say, from my experience, that Abby’s music was that therapeutic balm I needed on a Friday night after a hectic week. Maybe it can do the same for you.

Aayushi has released her captivatingly cosy ukulele-led lullaby, I Ran Out Into the Snowflakes, Laughing

Posted on 5 January 2023

Daringly opting to use a ukulele as the main melody driver in a single that encompasses the nostalgia sparked by Christmas paid off in spades for the Birmingham-based folk singer-songwriter, Aayushi in her latest single, I Ran Out Into the Snowflakes, Laughing. The artist’s background in poetry and literature also owed itself to the quiescent track, as Aayushi reclaimed the term ‘snowflake’ away from those who wish to abstract from the beauty of compassion and uniqueness.

The stripped-back sonics did little to detract from the disarmingly arrestive power of the cosy lo-fi lullaby, which rekindles the warmth of childhood Christmases in the snow while reminding us that, as autonomous adults, we get to choose how we reignite that magic.

Released on December 23rd, the quaint serenade quickly amassed ample attention, including placement on several staunchly followed Spotify playlists. It is a single her fans will undoubtedly turn to year after year to stave off the threat of festive melancholy.

I Ran Out Into the Snowflakes, Laughing is now available to stream on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Too Short: Midlands duo Bluebyrd waits for the ship to come in on Song and Dance

Posted on 31 December 2022

Asking us to make the most of our short time on this strange planet, Bluebyrd releases that held up vitality with an inspiring track to remember all day called Song and Dance.

Bluebyrd is a Midlands, UK-based folk pop duo who perform with so much love and care on each of their authentically calming songs.

”In this spec of life that’s gone in a flutter, you know what you’ve got to do.” ~ Bluebyrd

Lathered in so much quality which breezes through the speakers like those memorable anthems do, Bluebyrd guides us towards the light with a soul-beaming single to hold hands with.

Song and Dance from Midlands, UK-based folk pop duo Bluebyrd is a step-out-the-shadows soundtrack to get us off our seats and into a better mentality. Showing us where that song-and-dance is, we find a tranquil gem to turn up and enjoy for its pureness in a seemingly unwelcoming world.

If we look up to the sky and stay positive, the day shall always be more enjoyable.

Turn it up on Spotify. See more on IG.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

The UK orchestral folk duo River Knight is on melodious form in their sanctuary spilling single, Unsprung

Posted on 25 December 2022

The folk duo River Knight has been fairly quiet since their 2021 album, Grow. They are back on melodious form in their latest orchestral folk single, Unsprung, which borrows fractions of the melody to Take on Me, but with such a stunning orchestral string ensemble and hints of the Verve and 90s Britpop in the verses, who is complaining?

The earworm brings the ragged and rough timbres through the acoustic guitar strings and percussion while the smooth can be found in the gloss of the orchestral crescendos, which are as close to heaven as the impious are likely to get.

Each new progression is a brand-new opportunity to fall in love with the duo who banded together in 2017 as a form of therapy for Darren Knight after the tragic passing of his wife. Stone River was there for unwavering support and to offer the Ying to Knight’s songwriting Yang. The duo are well known on the London, Portsmouth and Southampton live circuit, but it’s only a matter of time before they take their international-level approach to indie folk rock to the status it beckons.

Unsprung officially released on December 16th. Catch it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

BREGN inspired cognizance in the ethereal art-rock world of his latest single, Dopamine Mind

Posted on 24 December 2022

The Danish 100% DIY artist, BREGN, explored neurobiology within his ethereal indie art-folk single, Dopamine Mind, to inspire mindfulness around one of the most toxically prolific habits imparted by the 21st century.

Anyone with a smartphone will know the subconscious compulsion to gaze into its black mirror. What is less understood is the key driver behind the habit that is tearing away at our ability to connect with the real world, as opposed to the divisive world depicted across social media.

While the euphonious melodies work to quell you into a state of quiescent meditative calm through the angular guitars against the quasi-jazzy keys, the lyrics allude to the entrapment of our dopamine reward system. With each new notification bringing a validation-soaked dopamine rush, breaking the habit is hard. But it’s a necessary step towards a more enlightened existence, unblighted by the platforms that profit from and exploit our mindlessness.

“It is so easy to get distracted and addicted to those distractions, which are now more instantly accessible than ever. The protagonist in Dopamine Mind thinks it is the phone’s fault, but he reveals that the root of the addiction is elsewhere.

He sets out to reset his mind and restart life, focused on things of meaningful deep value, away from artificial dialogue and small talk.”

Stream DOPAMINE MIND on Spotify and SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

From tragic inevitability, hauntingly filmic beauty is born in Rico Friebe’s single, This Day

Posted on 23 December 2022

Folk singer-songwriter, Rico Friebe, has unveiled the hauntingly filmic second single from his upcoming debut album, Word Value. Born from tragedy and hope, the vividly redolent single, This Day, explores the inevitability of the days we fear the most, alluding to our inability to avert discourses we are compelled to run from.

There is a profound grace in the alchemic vocal layering that spills soul across the stabbing minor piano keys that torridly flurry through the soundscape to reflect the phenomena we have to accept we can’t overcome. In concept and execution alike, This Day is a masterful piece that has left us with plenty of anticipation over the debut album.

Listen to This Day on Spotify from December 23rd. Await the alchemy in the debut album, which is primed for release in early 2023.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Peaks & Valleys speak for the melancholic souls in their orchestral indie-folk single, Surrender

Posted on 13 December 2022
https://soundcloud.com/peaksvalleysband/sets/how-far-we-fell/s-gE9cEGTNYtf

Peaks & Valleys have debuted their masterful, aptly morose EP, How Far We Fell, featuring the bitter-sweet exposition of grief, Surrender. The Edinburgh-based three-piece start with sombre acoustic guitars before the quiescently ennui-laden vocals hush desolation into the polished orchestral production, which brings in orchestral strings and minor piano keys to pay homage to the roots of Scottish Folk and laden you with compassion for the disillusioned protagonist portrayed.

In a time when it feels like everyone with a shred of empathy and awareness is succumbing to the subjugating grips of futility, Surrender will undoubtedly have a profound effect. The grief shared through the lyricism that leaves plenty of room to inject your reason for melancholy against the climactic orchestral crescendos is inexplicably beautiful in its resounding darkness.

Surrender will be available to stream from December 13th via SoundCloud.

Follow Peaks & Valleys on Facebook and Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast