Part countrified dirty blues, part bluegrass, part Americana, and 100% fun is the latest single from Maygen & The Birdwatcher, He Ain’t Me (seen/heard here). Maygen described the video this way in the promotional material that Vodka received: ” [the song] originated from a conversation Noah from our band and his wife jokingly had about all the small things about ourselves that make us feel important. Those small things tend to be what ends up making your relationship feel special…
Read MoreI’ve been a fan of Laura Veirs for years, ever since the magical track, Galaxies, came out. Vodka covered Veirs a couple of years ago, with the review of Everybody Needs You and also with Case, Lang, Veirs, and Atomic Number. There is something about Veirs compositions and her voice, that has always made her instantaneously recognizable to me, and that’s not a bad thing. Enter Turquoise Wall (seen/heard here) from Veirs latest long-player, My Echo (October 2020), a collection tagged by Veirs as “My songs knew I was getting…
Read MoreIn your face bluegrass-tinged, alt-country, folk fun! That is the white-hot feel of Rattler, from Black Horse Motel. It’s the first single release from their new six-song EP, And Then You Were Gone (July 2018) out now! This is a song that builds to an emotional frenzy without ever losing the beat. It’s a rhythm that will keep you moving until the last stanza fades. And Then You Were Gone follows up to last year’s Parable, a 5-song EP that saw Black Horse Motel moving a little bit away…
Read MoreTaos, New Mexico duo, Trummors, recently released their 3rd long-player, Headlands (May 2017), and the opening track is the sun-baked psychedelic folk-pop of Spanish Peaks (seen/heard here). It’s the kind of song that makes Vodka wish we had discovered these two earlier-their first long-player was released in July 2012. The next three tracks, Desert City Gold, Mendocino, and Hollis Tornado are steeped in Americana with touches of country. Psychedelic pop returns on L.A. River, a meandering piece of work that is more than a bit pleasing. That’s just the first…
Read MoreIt was over two years ago when Vodka posted California Sway from Smooth Hound Smith’s self-titled 2013 long-player. Fast forward a few years and we still find Zack Smith and Caitlin Doyle rocking out. Zack never ceases to amaze with his one-man-band act (guitar, drums, and harmonica), all the while breaking away to sing as well. Ms. Doyle provides the “Smooth” in Smooth Hound Smith, with her velvety pipes able to polish the edges on this wonderful little rockabilly-country number, Sweet Tennessee Honey, the title track of…
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