Browsing Tag

bob dylan

Jeremy Hilliard – Deep Blue Me: A Soulful Submersion into the Reverie of Yearning

Posted on 6 January 2025

Jeremy Hilliard’s standout single, ‘Deep Blue Me’, from his sophomore solo album, Going Back to Where It All Began, carries the weight of a wistful sigh and the warmth of a late autumn sunbeam. Rooted in classic folk songwriting but with a dreamy indie twist, the single doesn’t rely on the laurels of tradition. Instead, it threads introspection through a needle of authenticity, crafting an intimate reverie that gently peels back the layers of the soul.

A songwriter hailing from Brooklyn, New York, Hilliard is best known as the creative force behind PEAK, a rising jam band lighting up stages across the northeastern United States. With more songs than his band could possibly use, Hilliard began releasing collections of home demos before debuting his first solo album, Trouble For Another Day, in 2023. His follow-up, written and recorded at home, sees him joined by collaborators Brendan Hefty (drums), Marshall Norton (keys), Bethany Hilliard (vox), and Josh T. Carter (bass).

In ‘Deep Blue Me,’ the intricate guitar work flows and flourishes, accentuating the lyrical themes of all-consuming passion. Hilliard’s soft yet purposeful vocal delivery melds with the ethereal instrumentation, creating a poetically meta ode to the way desire can consume and transform. With its lush, introspective atmosphere, the track is one you’ll want to revisit each time life feels heavy.

The Going Back to Where It All Began LP is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Ben Joyner’s ‘Audrey (Nice Name)’ is a love letter scrawled in indie folk blues threads

Posted on 12 December 2024

With Audrey (Nice Name), Los Angeles-based filmmaker and musician Ben Joyner twanged his Southern roots into an indie-folk soundscape laced with bluesy undertones. Joyner’s North Carolina upbringing whispers through the raw, weathered production, evoking the nostalgic warmth of back-porch serenades. Yet, there’s a cinematic depth to his storytelling—unsurprising from someone who knows his way around both a melody and a narrative arc.

The single feels like the love child of Elliott Smith’s emotional vulnerability and Bob Dylan’s effortless breeziness, with a rugged charm that never veers into self-indulgence. The simplicity of the arrangement amplifies its emotional punch, striking listeners with the same visceral authenticity that made Grandaddy and The Flaming Lips cult favourites in indie circles.

While the track humbly avoids overwrought polish, allowing the magic to permeate through the endearing imperfections. Like a page torn straight from Joyner’s diary, the lyrics unashamedly bare the heart of a diehard romantic, exuding an effortless intimacy that many polished productions fail to capture.

It’s rare to encounter a track so uncontrived in its affections, yet refined enough to avoid straying into cliché, but sure enough, with Audrey (Nice Name), Joyner more than lives up to his name.

Stream Audrey (Nice Name) on Spotify now, and connect with the artist via Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Folk troubadour Adam Foster purged the poison of deception with ‘Charming Lies’

Posted on 2 November 2024

In his latest single ‘Charming Lies’, Adam Foster captured the quintessence of folk within a powerful narrative that treads the line between Johnny Cash’s vignette-casting storytelling and Bob Dylan’s lyrical genius.

The candid Americana allegory critiques the deceit of snakes in suits, driven by insatiable greed and a penchant for indoctrinating the working classes into inequality. Foster’s voice weaves this narrative into a sepia-toned melody that feels like it has been directly lifted from an old-school tape deck, drenched in warm, nostalgic delay.

Having been a fixture in the music scene since his teens, Adam Foster has been perfecting his craft in various venues across the United States. Throughout the years, he’s flitted between rock, blues, folk, and country influences, drawing inspiration from legends like the Rolling Stones and the Doors, ensuring his sonic signature is far from counterfeited.

His discography spans from his solo acoustic debut in 2004 to his upcoming LP, Neon Nashville Nights, which promises a mix of originals and covers recorded with the live energy of a Nashville and polished with studio fidelity.

Charming Lies sets the tone for what’s to come and marks a moment of maturity in Foster’s career. This single positions him as a true folk troubadour whose stories resonate with authenticity and introspection. If this track is any indication, someone will need to make room for him in the Nashville Hall of Fame.

The official music video for Charming Lies will premiere on November 1st; stream it on YouTube and follow Adam Foster to keep up to date with news of his new LP, Neon Nashville Nights, via Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Noah Hamlin has unveiled a debut of panoramic Folk romanticism with ‘Bluebonnet Girl’

Posted on 5 September 2024

With a vocal timbre that would make any fans of Cohen, Cave or Dylan quiver at the knees, folk singer-songwriter, Noah Hamlin’s debut single, Bluebonnet Girl revisited old Americana roads while injecting fresh fervour into the folk genre.

The Austin, Texas-hailing troubadour’s artistic maturity belies his 23 years; with oceans of poetic depth in the lyrics which paint a vignette of panoramic landscapes which become the backdrop to a love story for the ages, sinking into the sepia hues of Bluebonnet Girl becomes an all-consuming sensory experience for the soul.

The finger-picked acoustic guitar notes, influenced by the likes of Townes Van Zandt, puts the romanticism into mellifluous motion, exhibiting Noah Hamlin as not just another artist entering the oversaturated folk genre, but a true purveyor of artistic ingenuity. After one hit, you will be stoked for the sophomore.

Bluebonnet Girl was released on August 18th; stream the single on Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

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
https://on.soundcloud.com/99fhH

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