Browsing Tag

Folk Rock

Dust-Stained Dreams and Sky-Wide Hymns: ‘Dreamer’ by Olav Larsen & The Alabama Rodeo Stars

Posted on 23 April 2025

‘Dreamer’, lifted from Stream of Consciousness Vol. 2 by Olav Larsen & The Alabama Rodeo Stars, traverses the most affecting intersections between the avenues of Americana, Alt-Country, and Folk Rock while conjuring a blissfully ethereal manifestation of roots-deep reverie. It’s gospel for anyone who calls the open road home and finds sanctuary within the horizons of a free imagination.

Olav Larsen & The Alabama Rodeo Stars work with a rare sense of serenity and synergy to deliver a sound that instantly transports you to the panorama of soul they paint through harmony, cutting folk strings, and bluesy guitar licks that ground the release in virtuosic cultivation. It takes a rare breed of musician to make innovative passion feel like a timeless portal to a time when life was simpler and sanctity was easier to find, but clearly, Olav Larsen knows exactly how to deliver sonic solace to wearied nostalgia-inclined minds.

For nearly two decades, the Norwegian country purist has channelled his love for traditional songwriting into a raw, heartfelt sound shaped by the weight of Hank Williams, Bob Dylan, John Prine, and Neil Young. As always, his voice carries a weathered resonance that doesn’t posture or reach—it simply lays truth bare. Stream of Consciousness Vol. 2 broadens the blueprint laid out in the first volume, offering a more expansive, full-band experience without losing the poetic intimacy that defines Larsen’s approach.

Dreamer is now 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

The devil is in the detail of The Glorious Rabbits’ rock-licked atmospherically histrionic parable ‘We Own It All’

Posted on 12 February 2025
The Glorious Rabbits

The Glorious Rabbits have returned with We Own It All, the opening strike from their upcoming fourth album, Cauldron of Madness, set to land in early 2025. After their inaugural release, The Glorious Rabbits Conquer the World in 2017, and two impressive records in 2023 (Rabbits 2.0 and The Year of the Rabbits), they now lay fresh claim to rock’s most cerebral edges.

Penned by David N. Straight, recorded at Primetime Studios in Akron, Ohio, and finely tuned by Jeff Williams and mastering engineer John Beres (Artistone Entertainment), this track melds theatre with damnation.

We Own It All paints the devil not as a mere emblem of evil, but as the dark hand on society’s steering wheel, dragging us all through chaos that reigns harder year after year. The narrative’s sardonic swagger intensifies with each boastful lyric until the titular “we” gives way to the ego’s isolated roar: “I own it all.”

Sonically, it’s as if someone siphoned the ashes of a Sisters of Mercy vinyl and set them alight—gothic atmospherics swirl into a rock opera-fuelled storm, its histrionic edges sharpened to a gleaming point.

We Own It All isn’t content with predictable riffs or hackneyed theatrics; it grinds its parable into your psyche, forging a damning vision that’s as meta as it is merciless.

We Own It All will be officially released on February 2nd; find your preferred way to listen by heading to The Glorious Rabbits’ official website. Keep up to date with all the latest album news via Facebook.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Valley of Salt – ‘What Did You See’: Gospel Born from Strings and Soul

Posted on 3 February 2025
Valley of Salt

‘What Did You See’, the standout single from Valley of Salt’s LP, Voice of One Crying in the Wilderness: The Story of John the Baptist, is less a song and more a visceral awakening. Conceived by Brian Stemetzki, produced by Marty Willson-Piper, and bolstered by contributions from the Polyphonic Spree, the Fort Smith Arkansas Symphony, and Dallas gospel singers, the single is a testament to what happens when spirituality and artistry collide with unrelenting force.

The folk-leaning singer-songwriter accessibility is undeniable, but it’s in the aching emotion of the composition’s grandiosity that Valley of Salt takes their place as one of the most criminally overlooked acts in the contemporary rock landscape. As the classical strings slice through the earthy timbre of the production, you’d be forgiven for feeling your emotional defences buckle.

Stemetzki’s guitar work—featuring vintage 6- and 12-string Rickenbackers and a 1972 Fender Strat—lays the foundation for the composition’s humanity, while the orchestral flourishes and gospel harmonies elevate it to the celestial. Voice of One Crying in the Wilderness doesn’t just recount a spiritual saga—it wrestles with faith, doubt, and redemption in a way that resonates universally, beyond doctrines and ideology.

‘What Did You See’ embodies the soul of the project, balancing cerebral gospel storytelling with vocal vulnerability. With sense-swooning choruses and a production that leans as much on emotional resonance as on technical skill, Valley of Salt offers an open hand to those who dare to grasp the depth of its art and spirituality.

Valley of Salt’s LP, Voice of One Crying In The Wilderness- The Story Of John the Baptist, will be available to stream and purchase on Bandcamp from February 3rd. Discover more ways to connect with the band via their official website.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

INTERCONTINEN7AL made history with the post-rock panache in their globally recorded single, Night Shift

Posted on 9 January 2025

Night Shift, the standout single from INTERCONTINEN7AL’s history-making EP World Over, isn’t just an ambitious cross-continental collaboration; it’s an emotive tour de force, commanding you to succumb to the progressive rock sublimity.

The single opens with a cinematic neo-classical prelude, complete with intricate finger-picked guitars and orchestral swells, setting a reflective and ornate tone. As the track evolves, the mood shifts seamlessly into psych-pop territory, with Beatles-reminiscent guitar riffs that carry listeners deeper into its emotional core.

When the soft melodic rock vocals enter, backed by soulfully ethereal harmonies, another seamless metamorphosis is complete, one which will allow fans of Chris Cornell and Eddie Vedder to recognise the heartstring-pulling resonance as it resounds over the essence of 70s folk rock.

INTERCONTINEN7AL, based in Castle Rock, Colorado, emerged from the COVID-19 lockdowns, redefining global collaboration with their innovative use of virtual tools like BandLab. World Over is their fourth album, showcasing an eclectic range of styles, from progressive rock to bossa nova. By recording instrumentation in locales as remote as Antarctica, they created a genre-spanning collection that’s as inspiring as it is groundbreaking.

With Night Shift, the band transcends novelty and crafted a testament to the universality of emotion, delivering a track that lifts listeners far above the confines of geography or genre.

Stream the World Over EP on all major streaming platforms, including SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Folk Rock Introspection: WLDFLWRS Celebrate the Comfort of Isolation with their Debut, BEST COMPANY

Posted on 16 December 2024

WLDFLWRS’ Americana-inspired debut single ‘BEST COMPANY’ holds a quiet candle to the sanctuary of introversion. The Warwickshire folk rock ensemble crafted a panorama of gentle acknowledgement of how loneliness can sometimes feel like the safest shelter. There’s no forced buoyancy in these southern rock-rooted chords; instead, the guitars and percussion carry a patient hush that intricately resounds everything that needs to be said.

Hints of honkytonk traditions keep the track grounded, while an expressive balance between Bob Dylan’s gravitas and the glimmering cool of The Stones offers a familiar frame. Yet WLDFLWRS colour it with their own hue of raw truth, their vocals authentically aching as they pull listeners into the quiet corners of their world. The resulting sound is a dioramic blend of vintage rock tones that refuses to pander or wilt.

The band’s knack for honest arrangement and subtle swagger allows each note to fall perfectly into place, forming a soundscape which extends connection without stomping on the boundaries between personal reflection and universal resonance.

The official music video for BEST COMPANY premiered on December 6th; stream the video on YouTube now.

Follow WLDFLWRS on Instagram to stay up to date with all the latest releases and tour news.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Denim Dan sought sanctuary in his latest seminal 70s folk-rock single, ‘Circe’s Song (Save Me)’

Posted on 9 December 2024

With another album to round out the year, Denim Dan has served the airwaves once more with his tender harmonies, nostalgia-beckoning instrumentals and lyricism that always knows which emotive triggers to aim for.

As the standout single on Circe, the 70s-inspired orchestral folk-rock ballad, Circe’s Song (Save Me) exhibits Denim Dan at his most affecting; while he never comes in heavy-handed, the delicate ornate grace of this release allowed the singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist to reach his diaphanous zenith.

The way the chamber orchestral strings pull against the steady rings of the acoustic guitar beneath Dan’s organically aching timbre ensures this plea for sanctuary resounds with raw humanist realism.

Between the reflections on existential plight and the poetic projections of a need to find a soul to bolster your own, everyone can find a fragment of themselves within Circe’s Song (Save Me); the lucky will meditate on the single with gratitude for kindred spirits and soul mates, while the lonely will find consolation that they’re never as alone in their alienation as they feel they are.

Stream Denim Dan’s latest album, Circe, in full on all major platforms via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Tim Briggs – The Long Fall from Grace: A Folk-Rock Sanctuary for the Soul

Posted on 12 November 2024

After decades of carving out soul-stirring melodies across various genres and scenes, Tim Briggs converged all his experience into his latest triumph, The Long Fall from Grace LP.

The title single exhibits the raconteur’s evolution from an eager singer-songwriter in 70s Ohio to a revered figure on the folk rock and southern rock circuits. After years of touring the states and rubbing shoulders with the likes of Lynyrd Skynyrd and The Marshall Tucker Band, a southern rock grit was naturally embedded into his folk-rooted melodies as Briggs sharpened the emotive potency of his vocal harmonies and guitar licks.

The single ‘The Long Fall From Grace’ encapsulates Tim’s adeptness in suckering your soul into submission.  With every steady, sticky-sweet clash of the strings, you’re increasingly convinced your emotions are safe in the deft hands of the artist whose consolingly pure vocal lines enable him to become a confidant, someone to trust with your most visceral emotions.

While nostalgia may run deep in its veins, ‘The Long Fall From Grace’ stands leagues away from being a mere artifice of antiquity. With the natural breeze of 70s folk, the intimacy of college radio rock and the commercial appeal of Nada Surf, It is a modern classic, a testament to Tim Briggs’ enduring impact and artistic integrity.

Tim Briggs’ The Long Fall from Grace LP reached all major streaming platforms on October 27; stream it in full via Apple Music and Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Mt Bonnell – Mistake: A Little Bit of Country, An Unholy Load of Rock n Roll

Posted on 17 August 2024

It’s almost worth enduring agonising lapses in romantic judgement to prise maximum resonance from Mt Bonnell’s latest lyrically bitter, sonically euphoric alt-rock single, Mistake.

The revelation in genre fusion fuses the twangy, intimate and narratively expansive warmth of upbeat country folk with all the fire and furore of a grungy rock anthem and the stylistic edge of indie to establish the artist as one of the most veritable outfits pouring sound out of Austin.

There’s clearly something in the Texan water which breeds peerless talent, but the flavour of Mt Bonnell is something no other outfit is capable of making you savour. Intensity and authenticity run in the veins of the infectiously zealous melodies ensuring you feel every ounce of the affecting weight in this anthem which epitomises what it means to wear your heart on your guitar strings.

As much as the emotively seismic vocals make you feel, that’s nothing compared to the compulsion to succumb to the rhythmic pulse which speaks volumes of how Mt Bonnell has honed their eclectic sound since forming in 2002, with each member bringing their own sonic proclivities to the table.

Mistake was officially released on August 8th; stream the single on all major platforms via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Isiah & The New People led a rhythmic indie-folk-rock revolution with their debut EP, Boxes

Posted on 8 July 2024

Rooted in roots rock tradition and daring in execution, the debut EP from Isiah & The New People proves that no sonic flavour can rival pure, raw creativity. With an unadulterated emotion as the kindling which ignites through the friction of rhythmic volition, the fourpiece tore down the barricades of the soul, one visceral lick at a time with their four-track EP, Boxes.

The Little Chute, Wisconsin collective of veteran artists amalgamated a genre-fluid compendium of songs that dig deep into the trenches of the human psyche while awakening the senses of anyone who stumbles on this encapsulation of sonic liberation, which was released on the symbolic day of July 4.

The opening track, 1000 Tears, smokes out rich organic indie folk-rock textures with the sax lines while bridging the poetic expressiveness of Bob Dylan and the visceral intensity of Eddie Vedder. Isiah Driessen’s vocal versatility resounds as he navigates effortlessly between the deep, soulful timbres of Johnny Cash and the piercing clarity of James Taylor’s emotive howls.

Cherry Tree, shifts gears towards a more intimate setting, weaving Paolo Nutini-esque vulnerability into the fabric of its melody with tender acoustic guitar plucks and heartfelt vocals.  The third offering, The Girl Downstairs, introduces a grittier, blues-infused sound that showcases the band’s ability to morph stylistically. The overdriven guitars and raw energy inject a robust dynamism into the EP, demonstrating their chameleonic adaptability and broad musical palette.

The EP concludes with Where’s Lake Waldo? a track that ventures into psychedelic territory with ennui-pained lyrics and expansively kaleidoscopic sonics. The tinged-with-existential-pondering is a fitting end to the EP’s narrative—questioning, exploring, and seeking.

With Boxes, Isiah & The New People articulated a philosophy of musical and personal exploration. It is the ultimate statement of artistic liberation which lays down a promising trajectory for the band which is sure to resonate with any music fans searching for an aural mode of genuine connectivity.

Isiah & The New People said:

“We put things in boxes; whether it’s people, ideas, or ourselves. However, every day we have the chance to be reborn, let things go, and take on new perspectives. I felt myself being put into a box. My pursuits in music have been about breaking out of it.”

Stream Boxes on Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast