Here we cover new-releases from the rich traditions of Soul music, Country Music, Blues & Jazz, along contemporary artist influenced by such. We'll tip you off to quality reissues while also checking in with today's torch carriers.
Gillian Welch Soul Journey
We've FINALLY got a vinyl edition of Gillian's Soul Journey, one of her more ramshackle folk-rock records. Paired with her usual musical partner Dave Rawlings, this record has some range, and quite frankly it's a crime it's never been on vinyl. The pacing, the roominess of the production, it's a record tailor made for enjoying a side at a time.
Murder By Death The Other Shore
The Other Shore is the eight full-length of western-gothic Americana from the midwestern road warriors Murder By Death. The dark edges of their sound match the subject matter here, and match the mood of times, with tunes about the challenges of life on Earth, and the fantasy of escape. Their sound is intact, with plenty of cello and high-drama keys, we'll call it pre-apocalyptic folk.
Robbie Basho Land Of Our Fathers
The late Robbie Basho was an American folk treasure. Never a commercial success, he was nonetheless a master guitarist with a long history of beautifully executed records full of his distinct raga influenced playing. Naturally a career on the fringes leads to a rich vault of unreleased and impossible to find recordings, and Land Of Our Fathers is an attempt to bring a few of those recordings out of the shadows. This record equally serves as a fine introduction or a treat for the obsessives and completists.
DeVotchKa This Night Falls Forever
Denver's Devotchka have stayed true to their gypsy inflected high-drama roots music for well over a decade at this point, doing it before it was a recipe for success, and doing it well after their imitators have given up. It's been a long while since we've had a new record from them. With This Night Falls Forever we get exactly what we hope for from a great Devotchka record; global rhythms, heart-felt vocals, and a diverse set of acoustic instrumentation.
Dawn Landes Meet Me At the River
Count Dawn as one of a promising crop of modern country singers channeling Country Music's cult heroes and eschewing a lot of the trappings of today's pop-country, offering a refreshing alternative to what the radio might call Country in 2018. This is some classic sounding stuff, reminding us a little of young Lucinda. Give it a listen.