Browsing Tag

bob dylan

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

Bob Dylan-interpreter Vargen drops the first single from the debut album called ‘Mindy Morning’

Posted on 22 June 2022
Mindy Morning by Vargen

With the new 6-piece band adding so much thrilling ambience to the core of his crisp creations, Vargen shows us into the story of the woman who is never alone with his take on that ‘Mindy Morning‘.

Vargen (The Wolf) is a Varberg, Sweden-based indie singer-songwriter than was created by Swedish singer-songwriter Reine Johansson.

”His albums of Bob Dylan translations and covers “Tänk inte efter (Don’t Think Twice) – Bob Dylan in Swedish” (2019) and “Love/Leave” (2020) were praised both by the Indie press and Dylan community.” ~ Vargen

Fusing in Americana, country, blues, rock, folk in his own polished way, Vargen returns with a splendid single that takes your mind away from current climates and shall infuse your soul with a vocal experience that is smoother than anything you’re likely to hear today.

”The band is new and – obviously – the songs are new, but since I’m a sucker for 60-70’s pop culture I wanted a retro touch to the sound.” ~ Vargen

‘Mindy Morning‘ from Varberg, Sweden-based indie singer-songwriter Vargen is one of those timeless songs that has you in such a dreamy world. He sings with so much love and affection, taking us into a world that feels so warm and kind while packed with so much quality that soaks the walls of your hypnotized eardrums.

Leading us into this terrific single that has you sensing that you have just listened to a rather fine artist, Vargen brings us something truly excellent into a world that needs so much more love and understanding.

Hear this classic sounding single on Bandcamp.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

Sanchez. delivered an off-kilter folk-rock confessional masterpiece with his latest single, Feeling

Posted on 2 March 2022
Sanchez

Following his debut 2022 album, Burgundy, which was produced by the legendary Pete Maher, the already iconic singer-songwriter Sanchez., is here with his latest single, Feeling. With that title, the artist set the evocative bar high; he heart-wrenchingly transcended it with his folk-rock-inspired confessional.

In the cavernous intro that consists of little more than rugged folk-rock pulls of acoustic strings, names like Cohen, Waits and Dylan spring to mind. Yet, Feeling steadily grooves into its own distinct and artful gravitas as the soundscape is enriched by ascending melodies, raw and off-kilter choral sonic power and blisteringly luminous organ notes. It’s Richard Hawley meets Pixies. It is also the aural evolution that melancholic outliers have been waiting for.

Feeling is due for official release on March 2nd; dive into it yourselves by heading over to Spotify.

Connect with Sanchez. via Facebook and Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

Spotlight Feature: Psych Soul Food is Back on the Menu with Denim Dan’s Return to the Airwaves

Posted on 25 January 2022

The NYC psychedelically blessed folk-pop-rock powerhouse, Denim Dan, serenaded us with their seminal spacey album, No Guarantee, ahead of the release of their upcoming album, 3AM.

Each of the singles on the 2020 album, No Guarantee, provides the opportunity to shift the ennui and existentialism out of your worldview. To complement the psychedelic tones, the enlightened lyricism that was penned to hit the evocative spot by uplifting just as much as the transcending instrumental timbres.

After forming in the 90s, Denim Dan’s fusion of 60s pop and 70s rock has remained just as sweet in the 21st century. Instead of modernising their sound that carries reminiscences to The Beatles, Steely Dan, Bowie and Tom Petty, they’ve stayed true to cathartically resonant form.

Along with the release of their upcoming album, the nostalgia-inducing outfit are also set to release their tribute to Bob Dylan to coincide with the opening of the Bob Dylan Museum in Tulsa, OK. They are well worth a spot on your radar.

Denim Dan’s 2020 album, No Guarantee, is available to stream in full via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

New Earth Farmers share their reverent soul in their psych-tinged compassionate single, Everything Was Beautiful, Goodbye.

Posted on 26 November 2021
Into The Great Unknown by New Earth Farmers

After the pandemic inspired Nicole Storto and Paul Knowles to share pensive narratives with the world by forming New Earth Farmers, the duo delivered the resonance that the airwaves have been crying out for. Instead of musing on the most obvious facets of torment and malaise that gripped the world in 2020, New Earth Farmers delved deeper and explored ego-loss in their latest single, Everything Was Beautiful, Goodbye. Tom Petty and Bob Dylan fans won’t be disappointed with the vintage ease that the single carries through the progressions.

The track would bruise a few narcissistic egos if narcissists were emotionally aware enough to fathom their nefariousness. Considering that they will only ever look in the mirror with rose-tinted glasses, this sweetly psychedelically-tinged single is one for the enlightened.

Everything Was Beautiful, Goodbye, is now available with the rest of their album, Into The Great Unknown,  via Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Layla Frankel evades genre and embodies soul in her standout single, Dear Jennie.

Posted on 28 September 2021

Layla Frankel’s recent releases may evade genre, but they revolve around style and soul. Her standout single, Dear Jennie, is a stunning testament to her effortlessly uplifting sound. With her influences ranging from Bonnie Raitt to Sheryl Crow to Joni Mitchell to Bob Dylan, she found her own voice in between, and what a voice it is.

With the same ABBA-Esque piano chords that allowed the Manic Street Preachers to get to the top of the album charts when they used them in their latest album, The Ultra Vid Lament, Dear Jennie brings just as much euphoria with her complexly layered sound that indoctrinates unpredictable progressions, cathartic crescendos and sheer vocal dynamism.

Dear Jennie is available to stream on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast