Browsing Tag

Tom Waits

P.B Ruck – Some Love: Sonorously Sentimental Americana Folk

Posted on 21 January 2021

Under the influence of Cohen, Waits and Dylan, Southampton-hailing artist, P.B Ruck, released their sonorously powerful latest single ‘Some Love’; the sense of romanticism is just as old school as the sepia-stained tones in the meditative Americana folk soundscape.

Through spatial effect and lyrical sparsity, Some Love is just as much about your introspection and amorous nostalgia as it is about the artist’s. With a touch of modernity on the production, folk roots are firmly implanted in the mix, but it blossoms through the tender vocals which resonate with a nuanced touch of celestially choral mesmerism.

Some Love was released on December 28th, it is available to stream via YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Vincent Sonder lights up our day with ‘Camel Lights’

Posted on 20 January 2021

In his day job, Vincent Sonder – the alter-ego of celebrated filmmaker Joe Connor – has worked with bands as diverse as The Rolling Stones, Sam Smith, Coldplay, Paul Weller, The Maccabees, and Placebo (among others), and that shoulder-rubbing pedigree has obviously stood him in good stead when it comes to his own creative flow. Recorded in 2017 but only now available across streaming services, ‘Vincent Sonder’ the album is a gorgeous, glorious affair, and ‘Camel Lights’ is a perfect introduction.

Beautiful, exquisite piano accompanies Sonder’s mellow storytelling vocal, the lyrical flow creating a perfect mood of contemplation and reverie, dreamlike and meditative, with a narrative feel that tells the story of ‘the memory of a man that I can’t find’. It’s bewitching, evocative, and anecdotal, made all the more memorable by the interplay with the second, female vocal intertwined between Sonder’s lead and those plaintive minor piano chords; you listen, and you can practically see cigarette smoke drifting from a discarded ashtray, monochrome, in the rain. It’s beautiful.

Follow Vincent Sonder on Instagram; hear ‘Camel Lights’, and the rest of the album, on Spotify.

Review by Alex Holmes

LEE DAVEY has painted a stark meta portrait with their swampy demonic folk rock single ‘Incubus’

Posted on 24 December 2020
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiW5g_71WHY&feature=youtu.be

We’ve all had spare time to spend with our demons in recent months, Alt Rock artist LEE DAVEY spent plenty of time mentally frolicking demonic spirits before penning their darkly hypnotic single ‘Incubus’.

Nick Cave comparisons are easy to make, especially with the ‘red right hand’ lyrical reference but allowing you to believe that Incubus is solely an assimilative work would be nothing short of criminal. The mythology-laden lyricism allows LEE DAVEY to transcend the Murder Folk genre and enter the realm of Demonic Folk Rock. Expect slithering rhythms, tinges of swampy Americana Alt Folk and searing solo work which affirms that LEE DAVEY’s prowess as an instrumentalist parrels their abilities as a lyricist. The dark imagery he paints with does more than just leave a macabre canvas behind. It exposes the darkest corners of our minds, the ones we can barely look into ourselves, let alone invite others to see.

You can check out Incubus for yourselves by heading over to YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Lucas Penner has taken Post Punk to a seriously slick new stratosphere with “So Well”

Posted on 27 October 2020
Lucas Penner

You’d be hard-pressed to find old-school crooning alongside cold Post Punk tones and slick Setzer-style rock n roll grooves anywhere other than Toronto-based artist Lucas Penner’s standout single ‘So Well’.

So, you may as well hit play on the beguilingly masterful release which puts a neo twist on baroque. The styling may be on the archaic side, but you can expect a retro-futuristic earworm to crawl in your ear from the outset.

Any fans of Nick Cave, Tom Waits or Fable Cry will definitely appreciate the insidious air to the murder folk-style lyricism which will allow you to feel like you’re being aurally dragged into a hellish stratosphere.

You can check out So Well for yourselves from October 27th via YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Get high with Michael Golden’s intoxicating Alt Folk single “Mr. Ecstasy”

Posted on 8 October 2020

Slip into the soul contained in US singer-songwriter Michael Golden’s debut album Some Kind of Holiday, it’s a candidly compelling narration of the artist’s experience navigating life, you’ll find plenty of familiar moments staring back at you.

The perfect introduction to their melodically haunting style is irrefutably “Mr. Ecstasy”. Any fans of Leonard Cohen and Tom Waits are going to get stung by the melancholy. Just like dropping a pill, there are blissfully radiant highs and soul-scraping lows. Yet, Mr. Ecstasy is able to offer far more than narcotics could.

The tender nostalgic comfort contained in Mr. Ecstasy is worth its weight in gold. Michael Golden has palpably succeeded in recreating the 70s sound with a modern digital folk edge.

You can check out Mr. Ecstasy for yourselves by heading over to YouTube now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

PB Ruck lays down some haunting soul with their latest single “One-Man Rodeo”

Posted on 1 September 2020

Up and coming singer-songwriter PB Ruck released his latest single One-Man Rodeo on August 24th. It’s pretty much safe to say that it may just be the most pensively raw single we’ve heard so far in 2020.

The hauntingly mellifluous soundscape possesses a timeless Alt-Folk feel which is sure to be a hit with any fans of the likes of Cohen, Waits and Dylan, but it’s anything but archaic. Thanks to the clever contemporary nuances in One-Man Rodeo, it rings with modernity, resonance and connectivity.

You can check out PB Ruck’s single One-Man Rodeo for yourselves by heading over to YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Blonde Lion has released their enrapturing ennui-laden Alt Folk single “Ordinary Day”

Posted on 5 August 2020

Folk-Pop singer-songwriter Blonde Lion released their latest single “Ordinary Day” on August 5th. Elliott Smith may not be with us anymore, but Blonde Lion’s melancholic style is just as efficacious at drawing pensive emotions from you and offering aural resolve.

Obviously, I didn’t make it to the end of Ordinary Day with dry eyes. The delicateness of the atmospheric and intricate acoustic instrumentals was one thing, the resonance in the lyrics was quite another.  Ordinary Days was inspired by the days where you wake up and struggle to find anything which offers any meaning. The jaded ennui was all too relatable and it’s safe to say that after the global lockdown, plenty more people will see themselves in this sublime soundscape which serves as the perfect introduction to Blonde Lion’s compelling style.

You can check out Blonde Lion’s latest release by heading over to SoundCloud now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Max Seidman – The Key: Ethereally Magnetic Americana Folk

Posted on 10 April 2020

Any fans of Kurt Vile will want to get acquainted with the pensively captivating latest single “The Key” from up and coming Americana Folk artist Max Seidman.

There’s a contemporary spin on the timeless genre through the ethereal polished production. Yet, the organically sentimental track shares the same beguiling magnetism as tracks by the likes of Cohen, Waits, and Elliot Smith.

The melancholic keys find perfect synergy with the stripped-back delicate fingerpicked acoustic guitar notes and create an immersive soundscape to lie under Max Seidman’s powerfully resounding vocals which will leave you hanging on every neatly-pitched vocal note in the Key.

Tracks don’t often come as narratively arrestive as the Key. Max Seidman is undoubtedly one to watch.

You can check out The Key along with Max Seidman’s earlier releases by heading over to Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Skeleton Krew – Love: Jaw dropping, Eye popping Goth Rock!

Posted on 26 February 2020

If all good things come in small packages, expect to listen to this song and get one of the best surprises from a dynamic duo from Jackson, Tennessee. Hunter Cross and Cameron Briley make up the members of The Skeleton Krew and their latest offering called “Love”, is already making some serious waves on the internet.

The song starts off with sweet, intricately woven harmonies, reminiscent of Crosby, Stills and Nash or Alison Krauss, and one would be forgiven for thinking that they were about to take us on a journey down the best of a scenic Country or Soft Rock road. Instead, a few face melting guitar solos, talented drum rolls and riffs that are played deep in the pocket, and an incredible vocal performance, make for a heady mix of Punk, Rock, and Goth that is teeth clatteringly good. It’s eight short bars in the back of Buick but the rest is pedal to the metal in a Mustang all the way!

You are going to want to rewind this track a few times as the musicality and vocal dexterity is subtle but brilliant.

Listen to “Love” by The Skelton Crew here at Soundclound. Have fun, we sure did!

Tekla Waterfield – Original Lies: 90’s Nostalgic Pop

Posted on 21 April 2018

I grew up on the iconic sounds of 90’s female Pop acts; Texas, Garbage, Catatonia and The Cranberries to name a few. So, when I checked out the fresh new track Original Lies by the sensational Pop act Tekla Waterfield I was blown away by the nostalgia that is entrenched in the sound. She has a unique sensibility to her vocal style, however her vocal range is somewhat reminiscent to one of my favourite current artists Courtney Barnett. Yet it’s clear, that Tekla Waterfield is more than any sound that has been orchestrated before. The singer songwriter found her own essence within her poignantly palpable harmonies which she’s infused with the roots of her Seattle sound. Her sounds tend to bounce between Folk, Jazz, Indie and Blues through her discography proving that she’s one of the most eclectically talented underground artists around today.

With Original Lies, Tekla has created an anthemically catchy Pop hit, complete with an irresistibly catchy chorus that even Kim Gordon would give 5 stars.

Check out the sensational Pop hit Original Lies on SoundCloud:

Review by Amelia Vandergast