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Best Folk Music Blog & Promotion

James Pots Cradles the Right Words for Devotion in the Lo-Fi Folk Reverie of ‘Close My Eyes’

Posted on 10 March 2025

James Pots doesn’t waste a second of Close My Eyes trying to impress with grand gestures. Instead, he lets his whispered reverence do all the talking. The short and sweet burst of idyllic folk reverie is a love letter penned with unflinching adoration, performed with an impassioned quiescence that draws you into the centre of the intimately minimalist performance. With little more than the rugged pulls of his guitar strings and the warm reverberations of his honeyed harmonies, he strips romance back to its rawest form—delivered with the quiet conviction of someone who knows exactly what devotion sounds like.

Featured on his debut LP, Everybody’s Gonna Know Your Name, Close My Eyes is just a glimpse into the album’s broader meditation on love and commitment. Where so many artists overcomplicate what those three little words mean, Pots keeps it unpretentious and unguarded.

At just 18, Pots has already proven himself to be a master of understatement. With a growing catalogue spanning acoustic folk, pop, and even dance EDM, he’s building a reputation as an emerging Australian artist unafraid to explore his creative instincts. If Close My Eyes is any indication, he’ll be one to watch as his sound continues to take shape.

Close My Eyes is available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Denim Dan’s Cover of Things Have Changed – A Time-Warped Waltz Through Unchanged Chaos

Posted on 4 March 2025

Denim Dan’s take on Bob Dylan’s Things Have Changed doesn’t chase imitation—it struts with the eccentric zeal of a Tom Waits fever dream, drenched in 70s pop panache. The playful shake-up of Dylan’s quasi-waltz groove lets the walking basslines and jangly piano keys call the shots, keeping things rooted in their era while the intricate guitar work wraps the production in a fully immersive haze.

There’s no forced nostalgia here. Instead, it’s an exploration of the human psyche that feels just as relevant now as it did when Dylan penned it. The paradox is baked into the song itself—everything changes, yet the absurdity of existence remains consistent. Denim Dan leans into that contradiction, using his well-worn storytelling instincts to breathe new life into the track without stripping away its weariness.

Denim Dan’s legacy stretches back to the mid-’90s, but this cover makes it clear they haven’t lost the spark that first set them apart. With a lineup featuring veterans like Dave Gellis and Garden Kent, their latest work taps into decades of experience without feeling weighed down by it.

Things Have Changed is available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Liverpool’s Luke O’Hanlon Dissects the Wreckage with ‘Alcohol and Sodium’

Posted on 28 February 2025
https://soundcloud.com/lukeohanlon/alcohol-and-sodium

There’s no glamour in self-destruction on Luke O’Hanlon’s single, Alcohol and Sodium. The first cut from his forthcoming album, The River Only Flows One Way, carries the weight of every regret that lingers long after the bottle’s empty and the neon lights have lost their warmth. O’Hanlon’s lyricism, steeped in stark poetry and weary wisdom, doesn’t romanticise the rough edges—it lays them bare, exposing the loneliness in bad decisions and the inevitability of time slipping through cracked fingers.

Sonically, O’Hanlon leans into the mesmerising guitar work of Kurt Vile while pulling from Modest Mouse’s raw alt-country grit. When the composition fractures into garage rock territory, Strokes-esque vocals carve their way through the stripped-back instrumentation, ensuring every line lands like an unfiltered confession rather than a performance.

There’s a whisper of Tom Waits’ barstool storytelling and Richard Thompson’s cutting clarity in the delivery, but O’Hanlon’s voice is entirely authentic—ragged yet resolute, with a cynicism that never topples into defeat.

Rather than framing hedonism as rebellion or a necessary rite of passage, Alcohol and Sodium offers a different perspective—one that doesn’t ask for sympathy or redemption, just recognition. If this is just the first glimpse into The River Only Flows One Way, the full release in April 2025 is set to be an unflinching, razor-sharp reflection on survival itself.

Alcohol and Sodium is now available to stream on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Elysrei’s ‘Is There Really Nothing You Miss?’ Cuts Deep with Cinematic Southern Gothic Resonance

Posted on 25 February 2025

Loss doesn’t simply take—it leaves behind a hollow, a mess of illusions, and a silence louder than the words that were never spoken. In ‘Is There Really Nothing You Miss?’, Elysrei crafts a dark Americana vignette steeped in the pain of devotion turned to dust.

With hauntingly husky vocals, she takes command of the roots-infused instrumentals that stretch between the Southern Gothic and the cinematic grit of a Tarantino western. The atmosphere is so thick it could blunt the sharpest knife, with growling basslines, rattling percussion, and twang-laced motifs that curl through the mix like spectral echoes of something long gone.

Hailing from Singapore, Elysrei has never been one for easy categorisation. Her music draws from pop, R&B, soul, and jazz, yet every note is tethered to a space where authenticity reigns, where emotional resonance trumps convention. ‘Is There Really Nothing You Miss?’ doesn’t play to expectation—it revels in raw sentiment, pulling listeners into a soundscape that aches with longing and bitter revelation.

The track’s Western noir aesthetic gives the heartbreak a cinematic weight, as if the dust has barely settled from the departure of someone who took everything and left nothing but questions in their wake. It’s a song for anyone who’s been left to wrestle with naivety, for those who know the sting of devotion repaid with indifference.

‘Is There Really Nothing You Miss?’ is out now on all major streaming platforms; find your preferred way to listen via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

All James’ ‘Falling Back’ Lifts the Weight of the World with Power-Pop Panache

Posted on 22 February 2025

With his latest single, All James filtered Americana, power pop, chamber pop, and indie folk through a lens of authenticity, refusing to fit into any pigeonhole framework. The soaring orchestral strings and lush 90s nostalgia in ‘Falling Back’ blur into an arrangement that feels almost too big for Broadway, yet it never loses its intimacy.

Written between the lines of Falling Back is the efficacious reminder that no one is as alone as they believe they are—there’s always someone to fall back on. The clarity in the crescendos affirms that sentiment, carrying listeners through the emotional turbulence of feeling lost and the sanctuary of being caught.

Every note in Falling Back feels intentional, designed to be epic and emotional without losing sight of its raw honesty. If it has been a while since a singer-songwriter has driven you to the brink of tears, hit play and remind yourself of how sound is capable of making your soul feel whole.

Falling Back is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Blue Rose’s ‘If I Had a Rose’ Finds Harmony Between Heartache and Hope

Posted on 21 February 2025
Blue Rose

Chicago’s most authentically affecting singer-songwriter duos, Blue Rose, have etched their names into indie folk pop with a rawness that refuses to be polished away. Their latest single, ‘If I Had a Rose’, carries all the hallmarks of their sound—rootsy warmth, soul-deep sincerity, and a perfectly weighted electric guitar solo that teases technical skill into an emotion-driven production.

Originally penned by Adam Wright and recorded by Kelly Willis and Bruce Robison, Blue Rose honoured its sentiment while making their own mark, writing a chorus and instrumental section, which is as euphonic on the ears as it is on the soul. Under their duress, the melodies progressions sweep up in the atmosphere around you, transcending sound to comfort you with the consolation that everyone has known the bittersweet beauty of longing.

If Blue Rose’s songwriting chops get any sharper, they’re gonna sear their way right through the earth’s core with their innovated odes to tradition; the duo’s chemistry is undeniable—Jori Griffith’s vocals carry a weight of lived experience, and Marcus Gebauer’s instrumental textures offer an unshakable foundation.

‘If I Had a Rose’ is now available to stream on all major platforms via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

your friend juniper’s ‘makesmehappy’ Builds a Bridge Between Fantasy and Fearless Living

Posted on 20 February 2025

What begins as a Disney-esque ballad in makesmehappy doesn’t stay in the realm of romantic fantasy for long. your friend juniper—Nashville-based singer-songwriter, producer, and videographer—obscures the whimsical with artful neo-folk instrumentation, her textured rhythm section syncopating beneath vocal lines that don’t just soar but ascend into something divine.

Seamlessly shifting from delicate reverie to something far more profound, this track solidifies her as much more than a vocal powerhouse; she’s an artist who doesn’t just perform but pours her soul into sound.

With a background spanning musical theatre, classical, and contemporary music—honed at Berklee College of Music—your friend juniper wields her vocal versatility with intent, never relying on sheer power alone. makesmehappy resonates with the same evocative energy as her inspirations Hayley Heynderickx, Madison Cunningham, and Regina Spektor, yet the emotional depth and spiritual warmth in her sound make this track unmistakably hers.

If any single can convince you to chase your happiness without hesitation, it’s makesmehappy, which only becomes more of a revelation with each repeat listen.

The first single from her upcoming full-length album is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Connor Bettencourt’s ‘House of Cards’ Stacks Emotional Intensity on a Shaky Foundation

Posted on 20 February 2025

With the fervour of acoustic folk punk and the raw magnetism of Americana, Connor Bettencourt’s latest single, House of Cards, bridges folk intersections while shattering the illusion of stability with frenetic strings and a vocal performance that drags vulnerability into the spotlight. His jaggedly chopping fretwork slices through bluesier angular notes, creating a duality that mirrors the push and pull between emotional defiance and confession.

While plenty of artists latch onto the concept of resilience, few acknowledge how brittle it can be. Bettencourt doesn’t try to spin triumph from hardship; he lets the cracks show, making House of Cards one of the most relatable folk releases of the year. Each note and lyric submerges you further into its storm while holding a mirror to the turbulence within.

The weight of Bettencourt’s honesty, paired with the kinetic energy of his guitar strings, ensures House of Cards leaves an imprint. His talent knows no bounds, and neither does the resonance of this track. Fans of artists like Frank Turner and Shakey Graves will find plenty to sink their teeth into here. House of Cards is now available to stream on all major platforms.

House of Cards was officially released on January 31; stream the single on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Baz Edmondson Bridges Nature and Nostalgia in ‘Ladybird Red’

Posted on 16 February 2025
Baz Edmondson

 When the digital haze clears and the static of modernity subsides, Baz Edmondson’s latest single, Ladybird Red, stands as a reminder of the wonder that still exists beyond screens. The Dorset-based singer-songwriter, whose evocative sound places him in the lineage of artists like Damien Rice and Ben Howard, melds folk, classical, rock, and cinematic composition into a spellbinding indie-folk ballad that carries the weight of traditional storytelling artistry.

Filtered through neo-classical grandeur, the delicate folky intimacy of Ladybird Red is juxtaposed with its sweeping crescendos, creating a sonic experience that feels as though it materialised in the very moment inspiration first sparked. The instrumentation—where intricate guitars meet elegantly restrained piano and soaring string sections—moves with an organic force, grounding the song in nature’s rhythms while lifting the listener into a cinematic reverie as Edmondson’s vocal performance shifts between vulnerability and sheer power, mirroring the ebb and flow of emotion embedded within his poetic lyricism.

In an era when connections are fraying, Ladybird Red stitches them back together with its seamless interweaving of naturalistic awe and romanticism. It’s a song that pulls you outside of insular introspection, urging you to breathe in something real. The anticipation for Edmondson’s debut EP, set for release later this month, only grows stronger with every note of this latest release.

Ladybird Red is now available to stream on all major platforms. Find your preferred way to listen via the artist’s website.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Joyland Finds Grace in Uncertainty with ‘Mysterious Ways’

Posted on 14 February 2025

Faith is rarely a straight road, and in Mysterious Ways, the up-and-coming genre-fluid evocateur Joyland trails its winding paths with a diaphanous acoustic score that filters spirituality through the lens of Americana folk.

Vulnerability pours from the vocal notes, cascading into hushed guitar rhythms so quiescent they resound like whispered secrets. The candour in the lyrics flows effortlessly, while the female backing vocals layer against a honeyed timbre that falls between the magnetism of Cash, Cohen, and Waits.

Known for bending genres to their will, Joyland thrives in contrast. Their music oscillates between soulful folk gospel and high-octane rock, never adhering to expectations but always delivering with raw emotional intensity. With Mysterious Ways, they strip things back to explore faith, fortitude, and the weight of the unknown, proving that their sonic range stretches from raucous to reverent with equal potency.

When the lap steel strings join, the track reaches an aching crescendo before salvation and consolation envelop the release, offering the reassurance that the right path is always within reach. While some tracks preach, Mysterious Ways simply speaks, offering listeners a place to find their own meaning in its echoes.

Mysterious Ways is now available to stream on all major platforms, including YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast