Browsing Tag

bob dylan

Nick Cody rearranged a loveless world through the folk strings in his cover of Nick Cave’s Nobody’s Baby Now

Posted on 14 February 2024

If you thought Nick Cave’s rendition of Nobody’s Baby Now from his 1994 album, Let Love In, hit hard, brace yourself for the evocative impact when delving into the bitter-sweet folk reimagining by Nick Cody featuring Towse, Harry Orme, Corwin Zekley.

Atop the Bob Dylan-esque instrumentals, the harmonised to-the-nines vocal arrangement pulls at the heartstrings with devastating precision. Though the lyrics have always been tragic in their forlorn romanticism when depicting a woman living a loveless life, Cody innovatively found a way, through the beguile within orchestral folk crescendos, to impart even more empathy for the female protagonist.

It takes an exceptionally talented artist to find more room for resonance within an already hauntingly captivating single. Clearly, Nick Cody can consider himself amongst the few sonic visionaries with the ability to breathe new painfully provocative life into already stunning scores – even though his humbleness, evidenced in this reworking, would never allow such an ego to show in his work.

Nobody’s Baby Now will debut on Valentine’s Day; stream the single on SoundCloud and wait for the LP, which is scheduled to drop on April 26.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Charlie Diamond’s Melodies Are Blowing in the Wind in His Latest Release, ‘New York’s Been Good to Me’

Posted on 23 November 2023

Charlie Diamond’s latest single, New York’s Been Good to Me, is a striking homage to the classic folk era, echoing the raw, unfiltered essence of Bob Dylan with its old-school production and soulful harmonica blows. Diamond, whose life reads like an adventure novel brings a unique authenticity to his music. His experiences, including hiking the Appalachia trail and musing in solitude, infuse his songwriting with a depth that resonates deeply.

The song paints a vivid, panoramic picture of New York City, reminiscent of Tom Waits’ wistful storytelling. Diamond’s lyrics and melody transport listeners to the bustling streets of the city, capturing the inviting yet overwhelming paradox of New York and portraying the city as a character in itself, whose acquaintance isn’t for the faint of introverted heart.

The singer-songwriter’s belief in his anachronistic reincarnation adds a layer of timelessness to the track which bridges decades for ample cross-generational appeal. If you lament living this timeline too, find ample solace by hitting play and taking a journey through the eyes of a troubadour who has lived a life as colourful and varied as the landscape he sings about in this nostalgic escapism-aiding release.

Stream New York’s Been Good to Me on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The soulfully-funked hues in Jeremy Hilliard’s single Lay Down Like Lovers captured the haze of utopic affection.

Posted on 23 November 2023

Taken from his LP, which is rooted in swathes of nostalgic funk and soul, Trouble for Another Day, singer-songwriter, Jeremy Hilliard’s standout folky neo-jazz pop single, Lay Down Like Lovers, is a fitting ode to the serenity of passion. The dreamy hues capture the haze of unconditionally all-consuming love as the groove pockets deliver oceanic depth, ensuring Lay Down Like Lovers is a release you can fully immerse yourself in.

If you can’t get enough of the lyrically driven song-crafting finesse of Paul Simon, Kurt Vile, Neil Young and Bob Dylan, you will be instantly enamoured with the poetically mellifluous beguile within Lay Down Like Lovers, which is hopefully the first of many hits from the Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter, who is coming into his own away from his successful band, PEAK, which has made America’s Northeast their touring circuit.

Stream Lay Down Like Lovers on Spotify and Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

McKay versed indie-folk-punk poetry in their latest sardonically scintillating single, Bad Liar

Posted on 1 August 2023
McKay

Bridging the sonic gap between Neutral Milk Hotel, Mumford and Sons, and Bob Dylan is the confessionally exhilarant indie folk single, Bad Liar, from the storytelling four-piece, McKay.

While the vocal melodies prove all too well that McKay know how to hit their harmonised vocal notes with euphonic precision and honed cadence, Bad Liar favours the visceralism of raw spoken word expression, allowing the meta lyrics to hit harder than a candid meteor from space.

With each progression, the single drifts from different eras of folk, while the harmonica timbre will throw you right back to the 70s, the folk-punk energy and massive indie folk choruses fast-forward through the decades at breakneck speed.

The Nashville-hailing outfit may be best known for their passionate performances during live shows, but thankfully, for all of us across the pond, their insightful lyricism and dynamic presence resonate just as well on record.

Bad Liar will hit the airwaves on August 1st; stream it on SoundCloud and follow the affably rogue outfit via Instagram and TikTok.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Gathering Dust: Adrian Fahy couldn’t keep to himself on Idols

Posted on 28 May 2023

Wondering why everything feels like hell right now, Adrian Fahy guides us through the conquered hate which can consume even the happiest souls with the movie-like soundtrack, Idols.

Adrian Fahy is a Tipperary, Ireland-based indie alternative singer-songwriter who makes melodic soundtracks to enlighten many minds about where the truth is hidden.

Inspired by legends such as Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan, Adrian Fahy takes us through the blindly followed path as we all find the right route, amongst the noisy news designed to confuse our precious minds. Performed with pure poise and an abundance of skillfully poised layers of excellence, we are stunned to the core by an outstanding creative.

Idols from Adrian Fahy is a rather magnificent single all about trying to find a real home in this rather strange world. Sung so authentically and sending us into a natural vortex of discovery, this is a stunning song made for our tired eyes to consume so wonderfully.

Listen up to this fine track on Spotify.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

Jeff Livingstone augmented Americana in ‘Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here with You’

Posted on 28 April 2023
Jeff Livingston

In his latest single, Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here with You, the Cypress, California-hailing folk-rock singer-songwriter, Jeff Livingstone, augmented Americana to pay an ode to quintessential country while giving the roots a kiss of life.

With the rapturous riffs and energy of All You Need is Love by the Beatles against the heart-on-sleeve influence from the icons Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, and Jerry Garcia, Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here with You is a riot of twangy sentiment-heavy soul that won’t fail to pull you right into its visceral core. With vocal cords that connect with your heartstrings with every harmony, you’re damn right I shed a tear over this stellar feat of virtuosic songwriting.

I don’t whip out the V word for just anyone, but after bringing his extensive vocabulary in music theory and strong musical foundation together in a tapestry of ingenuity, I can’t think of many other contemporary artists worthy of that accolade.

Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here with You will officially release on April 28. Hear it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Alex Coz looked ‘Between the Lines’ in his romantically rugged Americana pop-rock debut

Posted on 16 February 2023

Keeping the timeless romanticism of Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, and David Gray alive, the Nova Scotia-hailing singer-songwriter Alex Coz’s debut single, Between the Lines, will stir souls as cogently as a tornado ripping through a neighbourhood.

With whiskey-soaked poetry that will win over any Bukowski fans against the orchestrally-cut piano pop-rock ballad, Coz knew exactly where to implement nostalgia between the striking minor piano keys and orchestral crescendos to subjugate his audience into affectionate submission.

As far as debut releases go, you would be hard-pressed to find one as evocatively rich as this sonic feat of beat poetry. We’re officially stoked to hear what the singer-songwriter delivers next. If we still gave artists the opportunity to reach the same heights as Springsteen, Coz would have sealed his fate in the hall of fame with his debut 3-track single.

Between the Lines was officially released on February 7th. Hear it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Joey Sherman sings the beatnik blues in his acoustic rock single, Moonlit Night

Posted on 18 January 2023

Moonlit Night is the seminal lo-fi acoustic rock single from the singer-songwriter, Joey Sherman, who needs little more than an acoustic guitar, his engrossingly assured vocal timbre and his beatnik lyrics that will easily appeal to any fans of Jack Kerouac and Bob Dylan.

As the ardent chords ring, Sherman transfuses Midwestern soul into the soundscape that may be rough around the edges, but it is still a shot to the heart for anyone who knows how it feels to constantly be rebuilding themselves from the ashes of their former lives with scant foresight over which path to push forward on at the crossroads.

Moonlit Night is now available to stream on YouTube.

Follow Joey Sherman on Facebook.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Frontier Station’s latest folk-rock single is ‘Mediocre’ in title alone

Posted on 28 October 2022
Frontier Station

Frontier Station wove a masterfully enticing tapestry with the close-knit boy-girl harmonies in their latest single, Mediocre, taken from their upcoming debut album, The Birds, The Stars & The Chimney Sweeps, which is due for release on January 20th.

The London-based folk-rock six-piece married Americana rock swagger with the roots of Irish folk and modernised the soundscape with The National-Esque production on the cascading guitars – to awe-inspiring effect.

With Frontier Station, there is the promise that every song tells a tale; with Mediocre, they put a swoonsome romantic epic into melodic motion as they set a scene in a mining town in Thatcher’s England. That name may make everyone with a semblance of empathy cringe, but her cursed capitalist legacy doesn’t stand a chance against the soul impassionedly poured into Mediocre.

Mediocre will officially release on October 28th. Check it out on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Charlie Diamond is the last of the die-hard romantic dreamers in his latest serenade, The Star Studded Girl and the Sunset Kid

Posted on 26 September 2022
The Star Studded Girl and The Sunset Kid by Charlie Diamond

Armed with his harmonica, acoustic guitar and poetically romantic sensibility, the Connecticut folk singer-songwriter, Charlie Diamond, orchestrated the ultimate outpour of affection in his latest single, The Star Studded Girl and the Sunset Kid.

Released on September 5th, The Star Studded Girl and the Sunset Kid carries Bob Dylan-style overtones, with outlier dreamer candour as the affirmation of his artistic autonomy. With the almost spoken word versing of the lyrics, which takes you to breathtaking landscapes and even more arresting attests of passion, it’s the ultimate aural escapism for die-hard romantics.

The Star Studded Girl and the Sunset Kid is now available to stream and purchase on Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast