Jefferson Hamer has been making great folk music for a long time now, both as a solo and as a collaborative with other musicians. His new long-player, Alameda (October 2018), is born out of a number of eras in his musical creative process, some dating back as far as 2006. Vagabond (seen/heard here) is one of the newer (2017) compositions among the eight tracks referenced on Alameda. While short in length, as long-players go, it is long on stories and tradition, with a great variance between-song construction and style. There’s…
Read MorePortland, Oregon’s Fox And Bones, create indie-folk that is smart and full of surprises. In their second full-length offering in just three years, the duo creates magical images with words and music. Enter Love Me Like A River, from the latest long-player, Better Land (October 2018), and the story of a passionate love demand, with lead vocals here provided by the male half of the duo, Scott Gilmore. Throughout Better Land, lead vocal duties switch up, with magnificent performances by the female half (Sarah Vitort) just…
Read MoreCheap Fakes appeared on Vodka clear back in July 2013, but they are still going strong. Sisters is from the band’s latest long-player, Deep Space (July 2018). From the jangle of the opening notes of Sisters to the wonderful horn fills after the first verse, this music grabs your body and sets it moving. The band is still very much a melding of styles, with elements of rock, r&b, ska, funk, and more. All those styles are tuned carefully to work well together. It’s been a few months since the…
Read MoreStraight up folk in the Scottish traditional sense: Enter Hannah Rarity and Land o’ the Leal from Hannah’s excellent debut long-player, Neath The Gloaming Star (September 2018). Sung with the true presence in the moment, Land o’ the Leal wrenches figurative (if not real) tears from the listener. Hannah’s voice is sheer beauty, ringing with sincerity and depth. She feels this music as much as sings it, and the experience for the listener is palpable. Each track on Neath The Gloaming Star…
Read MoreVodka announced the release of Projection (October 2018), the latest release from the great pop duo, Sinnober, back in August, with the first single from the new long-player, Angels Of Fire And Snow. That long player should be out by the time you read this, which means you should immediately head up to Sinnober’s bandcamp.com page and pick up a copy in your preferred medium. I’m perhaps even more excited by this long-player because of the diversity of the tunes that have been released thus far, which include this jazzy…
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