Browsing Tag

Dark Folk

Michael R Shaw is set to release his feat of dark-folk redemption ‘Lord of All’

Posted on 6 May 2022
Michael R Shaw

Lancashire singer-songwriter Michael R Shaw has teased the humility and ornate originality in his upcoming album by giving us a preview of the short and profound dark-folk single, Lord of All.

Straight away the Nick Cave, Guy Garvey, and Richard Hawley influences start to resound around Shaw’s art-folk ingenuity which carries a touch of tenderness, poetry exhumed from a plaintive soul and a bold alchemic appeal that almost takes this folk track to a celestial level. It certainly wouldn’t be out of place on the Peaky Blinders soundtrack. Lord of All could have been the track to prevent the criminally excessive use of Red Right Hand.

Lord of All is the intro to Shaw’s upcoming album, which is due for release on September 1st, 2022. Check out Michael R Shaw via his website and SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Case Watson spins a phantasmal fairy-tale in her folky art-pop single, Hollow Tree

Posted on 17 March 2022

In her latest single, Hollow Tree, the ethereal art-pop artist Case Watson, well and truly came into her alchemic stride. With cinematic electronic obscurity nestled against folkish mysticism and a few caustically volatile elements thrown in for good measure, Hollow Tree moves beyond an aural experience. Its arcane air sets your imagination alight and tears you away from realism in the process.

If you could imagine what it would sound like if Emilie Autumn opted for nuance instead of archaic hysteria, you will get a good idea of the phantasmal bliss found in this darkly electrifying lyrical fairy-tale. We’re officially obsessed.

Hollow Tree is now available to stream on Spotify. Or head over to Case Watson’s official website for more info.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Made Of Stone: Boria carries on with the heavy load via his outstanding new single ‘At Arms Length’

Posted on 14 December 2021

Taken off his debut solo album called ‘Any Place But Now‘, Boria brings us a majestic new single that fans of Lambchop, Gregory Alan Isakov, The Cinematic Orchestra, or Damien Jurado will be feasting ravenously over with ‘At Arms Length‘.

Boria is well-loved Great Canyon Records signed Catalan dark-folk singer-songwriter Lluís Bòria’s brand new project and this is a special listen that shall carry you to heartfelt places you didn’t know existed.

”Boria paints melancholy portraits of life, death, and love floating across his fingerpicking patterns for which he has become known. His solo debut was produced and recorded by Jordi Casadesús and mixed by Bernat Jordana at TapeTone Studio.” ~ Boria

Boria exhilarates our fleeting souls with a truly magnificent presentation that has you sensing that you have just heard something quite astonishing. There is so much love on each part of this absolute gem, that seems to have your engaged ears listening rather intently as you reach for the tissues on this emotional masterpiece.

‘At Arms Length‘ by the brilliant Catalan dark-folk singer-songwriter Lluís Bòria aka Boria, is a truly excellent song that will you have you reflecting on your own relationships in life. As time seems to move so much faster and recollections fade a little quicker, spending time with those who you love has never been more important. This is a special single that will certainly remind of you this essential notion that shall have you thinking a lot deeper than before you pressed play.

Hear this terrific new single on Spotify and see more news via his IG music page.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

Saintfield – Into the World featuring Anne Bourne and Ed Hanley

Posted on 12 June 2021
Into The World by Saintfield

Canadian duo Saintfield have released their neo-classically-inclined, psychedelic ‘alt-world’ single, Into the World; the deeply spiritual release inspires synaesthesia while the profoundly ethereal instrumentals unravel with the finesse of a Ramin Djawdi score.

The multicultural textures in the release evoke an atmosphere akin to what you can expect from the global sensation, Heilung, yet, Saintfield also plays with post-punk and goth-rock elements to bring a connectable sense of modernity to the release that transcends immersive and operates in the realms of the celestial.

Into the World is now available to stream and download via Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Jack & Cherry delivered a dark folk rockabilly revival with their sophomore single ‘Moonchild’

Posted on 27 March 2021
Jack & Cherry

Berlin-based duo, Jack & Cherry, have released a hypnotic rockabilly revival with ‘Moonchild’; the first single to be released from their debut EP, ‘Roadkill Lullabies’.

Instrumentally, shimmering echoes follow the meandering guitar stretches that pay ode to the styles of Dire Straits. Lyrically, Moonchild will throw Chris Rea and Stevie Nicks reminiscences your way.

There may be plenty of dark imagery within the lyricism, but ultimately, Moonchild is a song that urges you towards self-acceptance. After we’ve all had so much spare time to spend with our anxiety and insecurity, plenty of people will find resonance through the lyrics which reflect the strength of your shadow side but remind you that you’re stronger still.

Any fans of Tiger Army, Hillbilly Moon Explosion and April March will definitely want to make room on their radar for Jack & Cherry. Their debut EP is due for release in late 2021.

Moonchild was released on March 26th, you can check it out for yourselves by heading over to SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Find the optimism in existentialism with Bill E Daly’s latest single, ‘All We Have’.

Posted on 11 March 2021

‘All We Have’ is the fourth single to be released by Irish singer-songwriter Bill E Daly, an artist in the habit of shifting perspectives with the lyricism cased in their constantly in-flux sound. The only constant is the assurance that you’ll be drawn in by introspection that dares you to embrace the dark while seeing the light.

By channelling the Doors and Cash into All We Have, it boasts the perfect contrast between tonal accordance and swampy lyrics. The dark folk imagery takes your psyche to a macabre school while Southern bluesy soul reaches out with a touch of compassion.

With their next single ready for official release on April 22nd, it will be more than worth making room on your radar for the singer-songwriter – especially given their tendency to pull optimism out of existentialism.

All We Have is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Alt Electronica artist Daughter of Dawn has released her debut album ‘Crushed into Dust by the Weight of the World’.

Posted on 18 February 2021

The captivatingly melodic guitar tones in the first single ‘Juniper Boughs Collide Upon My Shores’ perfectly sets the tone for Daughter of Dawn’s debut alt-electronica album ‘Crushed into Dust by the Weight of the World’. It is an existentialist’s playlist staple.

The dark electronica release comes with a cavernously cathartic feel, you can’t help but be pulled into the trippy progressions which glitch their way through lashings of reverb and laceratingly efficacious guitar hooks. Daughter of Dawn may play with the cold and chillier colours on the tonal palate, but there’s still a soulful empyreal air to the atmospheric sound.

Daughter of Dawn is the latest project by Minnesota-based trans artist, artist and producer, Emma Goldman Grey, a semi-professional musician who has toured the world in punk, metal and hardcore bands such as Hive, Contentious and Malachi. With her solo career, she takes inspiration from the likes of Chelsea Wolfe and other artists who experiment with evocative and ethereally dark elements to construct entrancing soundscapes with the capacity to heal.

Crushed into Dust by the Weight of the world is now available to stream via Spotify.

Connect with Daughter of Dawn via Facebook & Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

Alt-folk alchemist, Bill E Daly, has pulled light from the darkness with ‘The World is Waiting’

Posted on 27 January 2021

In the same way you wouldn’t want to strike up a conversation with someone that had nothing to say, we should be mindful of which artists we take the time to listen to, any amount of time spent listening to Irish singer-songwriter, Bill E Daly will be well-invested.

The lifelong artist may have only just started to make waves as a solo artist, but after decades honing in on their craft and increasing the value of their introspection, there has been no better time to get acquainted with his unique alt-folk sound.

Their latest single ‘The World is Waiting’ was penned during the first lockdown in 2020 after sympathetically witnessing the impact of lockdown on young adults. While many struggle to see past their own plight, Bill E Daly extended his compassion to some of those hardest hit by the pandemic. Everything feels like it’s the end of the world to those still adjusting to adulthood, the levels of despair while the world stands still is unimaginable.

With reminiscences to Nick Cave, PJ Harvey and other alchemists of alt-folk who aren’t afraid to experiment with darker tones on the sonic palette, The World is Waiting atmospherically encapsulates the dull view which so many have taken upon the world. Lyrically, Bill E Daly finds unique ways to inspire optimism and instil confidence.

It’s a stunning single transpired from just as stunning sentiment.

The World is Waiting is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Vincent Sonder lights up our day with ‘Camel Lights’

Posted on 20 January 2021

In his day job, Vincent Sonder – the alter-ego of celebrated filmmaker Joe Connor – has worked with bands as diverse as The Rolling Stones, Sam Smith, Coldplay, Paul Weller, The Maccabees, and Placebo (among others), and that shoulder-rubbing pedigree has obviously stood him in good stead when it comes to his own creative flow. Recorded in 2017 but only now available across streaming services, ‘Vincent Sonder’ the album is a gorgeous, glorious affair, and ‘Camel Lights’ is a perfect introduction.

Beautiful, exquisite piano accompanies Sonder’s mellow storytelling vocal, the lyrical flow creating a perfect mood of contemplation and reverie, dreamlike and meditative, with a narrative feel that tells the story of ‘the memory of a man that I can’t find’. It’s bewitching, evocative, and anecdotal, made all the more memorable by the interplay with the second, female vocal intertwined between Sonder’s lead and those plaintive minor piano chords; you listen, and you can practically see cigarette smoke drifting from a discarded ashtray, monochrome, in the rain. It’s beautiful.

Follow Vincent Sonder on Instagram; hear ‘Camel Lights’, and the rest of the album, on Spotify.

Review by Alex Holmes

Michael Golden sends a haunting Alt Folk Christmas card with ‘Some Kind of Holiday’

Posted on 10 January 2021

Michael Golden’s latest single ‘Some Kind of Holiday’ perfectly captures that contemplative morosity-tinged mood that everyone has the proclivity to fall into the festive season. Through the sparse lyrics and haunting choral tones, there’s an invaluable affirmation that the state of seasonally-inspired forlorn introspection is universal, regardless of what facades are worn.

The tenderly compelling single may be the ultimate antithesis of a Christmas single, but it is all the better for it. It is performed without pretence, odious capitalistic desire or cliché wistfulness. Instead, it brings emotions to the surface which you wouldn’t have independently experienced, it allows you to get lost within the romantic imagery in the lyricism, it allows you to shed tears for all the right reasons.

The official music video for Some Kind of Holiday premiered on December 23rd. You can check it for yourselves via YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast