Canadian singer-songwriter, folk-rocker, Sarah Harmer smacks your complacency upside the head with New Low from the forthcoming (out by the time you read this) long-player, Are You Gone (February 2020). The chorus on this track is a gem worthy of repeat: “Out in the street three times this week, new threats, new lows. If this gets us to our feet and grows, who knows?” Through this refrain and the verses leading up to it, Harmer speaks of complacency that makes us feel that the problems of the world aren’t ours, that we…
Read MoreHelium Horses (seen/heard here) is from Clara Sanabras May 2019 long-player, Fugue to the Floating World, and it is an outstanding example of how folk-rock can still be great in this case, fantastic! This track is nothing short of an amazing mix of perfectly combined elements. Clara has a beautiful voice and even though this song rocks out at times, her vocals are never hidden beneath the instruments. That is as it should be! The vocals soar here like helium-pun intended. The music here is carefully crafted and far from…
Read MoreIndigo Blue (seen/heard here) is from Gambler’s Daughter (a.k.a., Jessa Roquet) first full-length offering, Serotinous Skin (due February 8, 2020). ‘Serotinous’ is defined as “remaining closed on the tree with seed dissemination delayed or occurring gradually.” It is obviously a reference used mainly in the study of trees that produce seed cones, however, it isn’t hard to decide the definition that is intended here, or at least my take on it. We have all heard the term “tough skinned” when we have heard certain people defined. We have heard…
Read MoreYou may remember Stella Ruze from a little over a year ago. They were not quite a year into the release of their self-titled EP and Vodka posted the review for Bide The Time from that EP. Well, things have changed in a big way for the band. First, they’ve added personnel. Joining the band since the EP is Sean McIntyre on percussion, Ted Mayo on bass guitar, and Vince Gleason on saxophone. With the addition of these three stellar musicians, Stella Ruze is now…
Read MoreIndie-folk can sometimes be a yawner or it can be the edge of something masterful. Enter RedFox and Stay (seen/heard here) from the band’s latest EP, Recovery (May 2019), which fits squarely in the latter category. RedFox, a five-piece out of Montreal, combines elements of rock, bluegrass, and folk, to formulate a sound that is truly unique and wonderful. Vocalist/violinist Daphnée Vandal, uses her instrument to add a leading texture to these four tracks, with the band adding great banjo (Tim Loten), guitar (Jono Townsend), bass (Sam Robinson), and drums (Samuel…
Read More