Vodka has never included a video from The Devil Makes Three before, most notably because the band makes very few videos that aren’t just audio-only tracks or full studio performances. But the new release from this band nearly demanded that we find a video somewhere so that we could add a review for the band’s new long-player, Chains Are Broken (August 2018). The Devil Makes Three is essentially a three-piece outfit, steeped in the folk storytelling tradition, but not at all beholden to a single style or genre’…
Read MoreFrom time to time, Vodka takes a look back at an artist that graced our reviews some time ago to see how the group or artists is faring today. Sometimes we are disappointed to find they no longer exist, and sometimes, like this time, we find that the group/artist is still out there making great music. Enter Mipso, which first appeared on Vodka back in August of 2013 with Carolina Calling. Mipso is a folk-bluegrass group from Chapel Hills, North Carolina. They have been making music for a number…
Read MoreThe Dead South is a gravelly, gritty, road-worn bunch of Canadian misfits. Their brand of bluegrass and Americana influenced folk is full of stories of misdeeds and mayhem, but it’s something that you can get your feet into. Coming from diverse musical backgrounds that included metal and singer-songwriter, this unlikely amalgam somehow manages to make great and infectious music. In Hell I’ll Be In Good Company (seen/heard here), is from the group’s first long-player, Good Company (April 2014), but the band has a…
Read MoreSpark & Whisper is a folk band with nods to rock, blues, bluegrass, and country thrown in for good measure. Grandma’s Song (seen/heard) here, is from the band’s 2011 self-titled long-player, but the group released Monument (September 2016) just a few months back, and it is excellent! The collection of eleven tracks on Monument is written by bandmates Velvy Appleton (vocals, guitars, and electric bass) and Anita Sandwina (vocals, acoustic guitar, mandolin, and banjolele). Fleshing out the band’s sound are Paul Eastburn (upright bass), Scott Johnson (drums), Robert…
Read MoreThe River Kittens are a little alt-folk-bluegrass threesome (plus Bass player Nate Gilberg not seen in this video) who, transplanted to St. Louis, MO through mutual personal circumstances and by good graces, found each other. The River Kittens have just released their self-titled debut EP (May 2016), on which the results are snarky in your face (Trouble [seen here], Dressing On The Side), more traditional (Mama, Blue), and religiously motivated (I’m On My Way, Praise Be). Always just a bit in your face, The River Kittens are a breath of…
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