rescuing musical virtue in distress.
If Bye London Bye , which helped pave the way for this release, showed Matthew Austin Hunt’s more subtle and reflective side, on this, his debut album, he gets to really let rip. American Made which acts as the opening sonic salvo is a proud statement of identity but one which rings with an honesty which... Continue Reading →
If rock and roll is all about the swagger and the spectacle and country music based around more deft and emotive song crafting, then it is in bands such as 32 Below that the two genres manage to marry up perfectly. A rock yin to a rootsy yang. As Such a Waste nearly demonstrates, the... Continue Reading →
If there is a more powerful metaphor for protection against adversity in the great American story than the image of wagons being circled up to keep out wild beasts and perhaps even wilder men, then I don’t know what it is. And whilst Love Me In The Dark’s latest release is high in detail about... Continue Reading →
Whilst I have always used a few very obvious handles to try to convey Joe Mayk’s sound -Americana, alt-rock, alt-country, indie - you know the usual shorthand of the lazy journo’, A Century Entirely seems to defy even those broad literary brush strokes. I guess all of those sounds and styles are in there somewhere... Continue Reading →
I must admit, writing this from an ocean away I don’t know the difference between alt-country or Americana, I can’t really tell you where country music becomes bluegrass or even folk music. I’m sure, like genre debates across the world, no-one will ever really agree where these demarcations lay and to be honest does it... Continue Reading →
Inhabiting a space somewhere between contemporary country and bluesy southern rock, Judgement Day both sits comfortably within traditional sounds and pushes boundaries too. There is a lot that fans of such southern sounds will warm too immediately (though it should be noted at this point that David is actually from North Dakota but geography has... Continue Reading →
Four albums in and still sounding like the bastard sons of Steve Earl and Ryan Adams and like those two purveyors of alt-country, The Southern Sessions is brimming with songs that straddle the country/rock divide. Someone once told me that the difference between country music and Americana is the boots. The former sports shinny, Crome... Continue Reading →
If you have ever heard a room full of people yelling “I hope your husband dies” in some harmoniously sloppy, drunken unison, then you will have stumbled into an Amigo The Devil show. Danny Kiranos, better known as his musical alter ego, has spent the last few years challenging the expectations of traditional folk, country music purists and rock/extreme metal fans... Continue Reading →
It’s probably a lazy reference from a journalist from the wrong side of the water but at that point when Angelia kicks in, I'm reminded of hearing Steve Earle for the first time. A rocker masquerading as a country player, a writer of great, accessible tunes in which were concealed some fine, heartfelt lyricism, a... Continue Reading →