Vodka has long been a fan of folk singer and songwriter, Emily Barker. Emily’s latest single, Machine, from A Dark Murmuration Of Words (September 4, 2020), and now available as a two-version single, is one of many triumphs from the long player. A Dark Murmuration of Words is one of the most socially conscious records of 2020, and Machine is just one example of that. What’s the point of a great folk song with a powerful message if it is so ho-hum that you don’t want to hear it again? There’s…
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 divorced…
Read MoreDedicated Vodka readers will remember Sandtimer from Vodka’s review of Dormant back in September 2019. As dark as those times were, 2020 has proven to be darker still, with Covid-19, political unrest, and dire headlines. Sandtimer’s music has the ability to highlight the world’s problems without making your blood pressure rise further. Enter Yongo (seen/heard here) the first single from the band’s soon-to-be-released long-player, Running In Sunlight, due out in just a couple of days (November 27, 2020). Running In Sunlight was created with minimalist production, depending on sparse…
Read MoreSomething Real (seen/heard here) is from Letitia VanSant’s just released long-player, Circadian (February 2020), and it highlights an artist with enormous skill at creating music with a strong message. There are some amazing moments within these nine tracks. Take the lead-off track, for instance, which is up for interpretation (is it a response to #MeToo, is it about not having the guts to speak out because of the voices in your head that deny you?) “Too long you’ve lived inside my mind You paid no rent, you stole my time Now I’m…
Read MoreRedFox is an indie-folk band making it’s second appearance on Vodka. Better Now (seen/heard here) is a song with a powerful lyric on the music industry from the perspective of front-woman, lead vocalist, and fiddle player, Daphnée Vandal. I reached out to the band and received this response regarding the lyric meaning from Vandal: “The more I performed, the more I started to notice aspects of the music industry that were bothering me; inconsistencies that were noticeable being one of few women in a lead performing role at many of…
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