Browsing Tag

Folk Rock

Ryan Hamilton leaves us Free Fallin’ in his Tom Petty cover

Posted on 12 March 2022

Covering iconic singles that have followed us through the eras and become part of the soundtracks to our lives is always a risky move but The Fort Worth, Texas singer-songwriter, Ryan Hamilton’s boldness paid off when he breathed new life into the already upliftingly breezy single, Free Fallin’.

Tom Petty’s original was largely faultless. Yet, as Hamilton has already been branded as the Tom Petty of this generation, hitting play quickly allows interest to evolve into indulging a revitalised classic, which was recorded during a recent trip to London at Abbey Road Studios.

Before establishing himself as a Grammy-worthy singer-songwriter with his original material Hamilton toured across North America and Canada with his former bands, received international airplay and impressed Classic Rock and Kerrang. And perhaps most impressively, he’s written and recorded with the legendary Ginger Wildheart.

We have no doubt the future of his career will be just as luminary. Watch this space.

Check out Ryan Hamilton’s cover of Free Fallin’ via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

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

 

Dive into Stan Silver and the Brave Puppies’ fervently azure folk-rock single, Cool Water

Posted on 1 March 2022

I never anticipated encountering a band that appease my visceral-emotion-seeking soul quite as well as Tiger Army, Koffin Kats or the Brains. The Hamburg hailing Americana folk-rock outfit Stan Silver and the Brave Puppies surpassed all expectations with their latest single, Cool Water.

There’s plenty of reminiscence to Nick 13’s style in the gristly and shimmering Gretschy tones and in the chorus harmonies around the fervent verse vocals that effortlessly paint a landscape that you want to get lost in. Yet, Stan Silver and the Brave Puppies set themselves apart with the rock licks against the psychobilly-style chugging basslines, and the folky picturesque lyrical escapism.

Cool Water is the first song released from the incredibly promising outfit’s forthcoming album. We couldn’t be more stoked for it.

Cool Water is now available to stream on YouTube and Reverb Nation.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

The Grammy-balloted artist, Luanne Hunt, has released her ornately picturesque 21st studio album, Portraits in Song

Posted on 7 February 2022

During her 27-year career, Luanne Hunt has released 21 studio albums and picked up three Grammy nominations along the way for her refreshingly authentic take on modern country. With her love of folk-rock feeding into her sonic signature, her music is as diverse as it is nostalgically comfortable. Her latest album, Portraits in Song, captures her talent at its finest. It is a testament to her determination to strive for excellence and hit emotional chords along the way; you’d be hard-pressed to find a more elegant soul in country-folk-rock.

The album starts on the instantly arresting single, “It Was Always You”; the ardently visceral single is brimming with shimmering soul through the orchestral scoring and Hunt’s ethereally ornate vocals that cherish the notion of perpetuation affection. Her 70s folk-rock influence comes to the forefront in Midnight Rain & Roses, which will undoubtedly be a hit with any Stevie Nicks fans. The arcane production paired with the warmly overdriven guitars and Luanne Hunt’s vocals that become the epitome of beguiling is matchlessly stunning.

Here’s what Luanne Hunt had to say about her 21st album:

“I consider ‘Portraits in Song’ to be my crowning achievement thus far; it reflects my love of folk-rock artists in the same vein as America, Crosby, Stills and Nash and Van Morrison. I can’t get enough of the songs from the 60s and 70s era, they truly are the bar I always set for myself.”

The album also features the Latin Grammy Award-Winning drummer, Heitor Lima, the world-renowned piano player, Hal Ratliff (Righteous Brothers, Grass Roots), and the acclaimed Canadian composer/conductor Jordan Grigg.

Portraits in Song is now available to stream on Spotify. Or you can head over to her official website to purchase the album.

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

Indie alt-folk artist Rhett O’Connor has released his sonorously colourful double A-side, Galactophagist/Untitled 31 Retry.

Posted on 8 October 2021
https://soundcloud.com/user-375093285/sets/im-a-galactophagist/s-RHSAuEw8Mjl

If you recognise Neutral Milk Hotel’s In the Aeroplane over the Sea as one of the greatest albums of all time, you will want to get acquainted with up and coming indie folk-rock singer-songwriter Rhett O’Connor.

Through his latest two-track single, I’m a Galactophagist/Untitled 31 Retry, O’Connor revives familiar folk-punk tones while adding plenty more accordance to the instrumentals while his dreamy vocals lull you into the visceral emotion caged in the acoustic soundscape.

Galactophagist and Untitled 31 Retry are just as sweet as the most honeyed singles from the Maccabees to add yet another layer to his colourfully sonorous sound; there is a slight cosmic kick in the melodies.

Rhett O’Connor’s new singles will be available to stream from October 8th via SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Gary Wight takes us to A House by a Beach in his accordantly sweet debut single.

Posted on 1 October 2021

‘A House by a Beach’ is the heart-wrenchingly soulful debut single by the up and coming North East of England hailing singer-songwriter Gary Wight.

Even though the debut falls into the 70s acoustic rock n roll camp, the artist’s inclination to incorporate genres from across the spectrum permits his sound to resound free from rock n roll cliché. Instead, he delivers unassimilated soul that won’t fail to pull you in through the folky affectionate lyrics and the ring of the accordantly picked guitar notes.

If Syd Barrett and Elliott Smith met in the middle, the aural result would be infinitely reminiscent of A House by a Beach.

A House by a beach is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Jonas and I reach the pinnacle of contemporary folk with ‘Love’

Posted on 27 August 2021
Jonas and I

Indie folk-rock artist, Jonas and I, are right on the contemporary curve with their latest single, Love, released via Humu Records. The deeply atmospheric track is cinematic enough that it wouldn’t be out of place in a Hollywood Blockbuster, yet Love wasn’t written with commercial potential solely in mind.

Refreshingly, Jonas and I didn’t fall into the trap of becoming yet another Mumford and Sons assimilator. They went further back to the roots of folk to create a richly narrative radio-ready single that easily distinguishes itself from the rest.

With the tenderness of Tom Odell in the vocals with visceral robustness that gives the lyrics far more meaning, it’s hard not to get absorbed with the rich sonic textures.

Love was released on August 27th, you can check it out via SoundCloud.

Check out Jonas and I on their website or Facebook.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Apres Pompeii has released his poetic folk-rock single, Clay.

Posted on 3 August 2021

‘Clay’ is the latest poetic folk-rock single released by singer-songwriter Apres Pompeii. What starts as a conceptually intimate and bleary soundscape seamlessly builds into a sonically choral indie hit with sweet psychedelic kicks in the percussion and plenty of colour in the artfully crafted melodies.

After a sonic crescendo of angular indie guitars, the Pittsburgh-based artist brings the tempo back down to conclude the single on a note that will enamour any fan of Violet Femmes, Frightened Rabbit or Manchester Orchestra. If you are always on the lookout for the Elliott Smith of our generation, hit play.

Check out Apres Pompeii’s latest single on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast