The Liar (seen/heard here) is from Denver-based Alright Alright, the creative moniker for Seth and China Kent, and their most recent long-player, Nearby (October 2018). Positioned firmly in the indie-folk category, the sum essence of these nine beautifully executed tracks is the stories they tell. If you can’t get that from The Liar, then take a listen to all of the tracks as a cohesive unit and you will feel the force that the stories create. The Kent’s music is power-driven, both instrumentally and lyrically, and I don’t mean that…
Read MoreDavid Ian Roberts Sending Out Fires (seen/heard here) is from the more interesting side of folk singer-songwriter compositions and appears on the artist’s March 2019 long-player, Traveling Bright. The long-player has apparently been in the works for a while, with production and engineering taking place in 2017. Like a well-aged whiskey, there’s a benefit to the wait, as experienced through the 12 carefully created tracks that appear on Traveling Bright. At times, there is a feel of late sixties-style folk-rock goodness, (lead-off track A Million Winds) troubadour style…
Read MoreAyla Nereo is no newcomer to the world of music, artistry, and self-healing. She’s been at it since at least 2006 when she released her self-recorded first long-player, Play Me A Time. She has recorded as a single artist, and in various collaborations, which means that there is ultimately a wealth of music available that she has either influenced or totally created. Ayla is a free spirit, less defined by a single genre’ of music than influenced by all of it. She adapts lyrical brilliance with orchestral…
Read MoreVodka has always had a soft spot for close female harmonies and the wonderful three-piece, Lula Wiles, does not disappoint. Steeped in the traditions of folk music, Lula Wiles bandmates, Isa Burke, Eleanor Buckland, and Mali Obomsawin, add just a hint of a more modern indie sound that keeps their music fresh and delightfully accessible while remaining true to the story-telling traditions of folk music. Love Gone Wrong (seen/heard here) is the lead-off track to the band’s sophomore long-player, What Will We Do (January 2019). So what does a…
Read MoreJefferson 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….
Read More