Browsing Tag

Leonard Cohen

Grieve humanity’s lost promise through Baldy Crawlers’ folk-sermon release, ‘Hatred?’

Posted on 27 August 2026
Hatred? by Baldy Crawlers

From Claremont, California, Baldy Crawlers create folk sermons your soul has been silently screaming for. Led by luthier, producer and Berklee College of Music graduate Martin Maudal, whose handmade guitars gave the project its first spark, the collective turned their latest single, Hatred? into a solemn, humanity-starved release built from lived-in musicianship and social conscience.

Through Hatred?, Baldy Crawlers summon an atmosphere that instantly makes your eyes feel raw with emotion. All the arcane touches in the production amplify the evocative weight in the lyrical narrative, which has a beguiling way of recontextualising the fragments of memory, anxiety and perception lingering on the surface of your consciousness.

As a cry for humanity lost, as a solemn acknowledgement of the myriad traumas that become monuments within society that only we can see, Hatred? becomes a plea to stop allowing hatred to prevail in the White House and on the streets. The folk arrangement carries Americana weathering, Latin-rooted instrumental richness and chamber-shadowed gravity without letting the message slip into heavy-handedness.

Fans of Leonard Cohen’s sermon-dark lyricism, Nick Cave’s moral theatre and the social conscience of classic protest folk will find all the right emotional coordinates here. Ultimately, Hatred? is a darkly cathartic affirmation that it is okay to grieve the world we could have been living in, rather than the theatre of oppression we’re within.

Hatred? is now available on all major streaming platforms, including Bandcamp, where you can download the single to support the artist.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Spottiswoode Made ‘Oh, What a Beautiful World’ Feel Like a Psychedelic Retort to Existential Doom

Posted on 23 May 2026

The sound of a psychedelic 60s summer resounds through Oh, What a Beautiful World, the latest single by the eccentrically ingenious artist Spottiswoode. Forget about where you fit in the optimism-pessimism binary when you hit play; the quirky retro indie aesthetic of the release possesses a cerebrally witty way of injecting enough whimsy to start a pandemic of joy into spaces where most just see run-of-the-mill mundanity.

As the progressions unfurl like a kaleidoscope of visualised serotonin, vocally, Spottiswoode defies the typical folksy forlornness, even while acknowledging the pain, suffering, and tedium breathing amongst us. If anyone dares to quote Nietzsche to you, Oh, What a Beautiful World, in all its complexly timbred, era-hopping sublimity, is the ultimate retaliation. There is something about the way his gravelly velveteen vocals echo Cohen while refusing to absorb any of his bitter-sweet aura.

Taken from ‘It Wasn’t in the Script’, Spottiswoode’s album which chronicles fatherhood, ageing, family tenderness, rock and roll mischief, and morbid humour, the single carries deep affection without sanding down its irreverence. After seven acclaimed records with Spottiswoode & His Enemies, the IMA winner lets this chapter feel stripped back, personal, and alive with strange domestic magic.

Oh, What a Beautiful World is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Woody Bradshaw Resurrects Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’ into a Country-Gospel Communion of Faith

Posted on 27 May 2025

Woody Bradshaw may have taken on one of the most relentlessly reworked songs in modern music, but in his hauntingly orchestrated cover of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah, he found fresh soil to sink new imaginings into. With an accord between Americana-fuelled guitar chords and the softly aching edge of his vocals, Bradshaw channels restraint at first, only to cast it off in favour of an impassioned surge that spills into gospel fervour.

As the progressions deepen, the arcane orchestral arrangement unfolds as a meditation on finding strength in faith, on holding light in the tension between loss and divinity. Bradshaw’s percussive choices hit with boldness, punctuating the track with the force of spiritual reckoning. The country-tinged guitars never get lost in the production—they find nuanced ways to thread themselves through the instrumental landscape, guiding the listener towards the lyrical divinity with quiet conviction.

So much more than a cover, Hallelujah becomes a revived awakening in Bradshaw’s hands. The American singer-songwriter’s path from theatre stages and television screens to the soul-stirring depths of Nashville’s music scene shaped his ability to perform with resonance rather than theatre. After a pivotal encounter with Jimmy Webb and years spent forging his songwriting voice in the Nashville circuit, Bradshaw created a space where performance gives way to purpose.

Now collaborating with producer Stephan Oberhoff, this rendition marks more than a return—it’s a renewal.

Hallelujah is now available to stream on all major platforms via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Romanticism blossoms in Devin Kyle Leslie’s alt-country folk outpour of affection, Beautiful Rose

Posted on 15 January 2025

Devin Kyle Leslie’s standout single, Beautiful Rose, reimagines classic folk songwriting through an orchestral lens, creating a soulful and tender ode to unflinching affection. With a vocal presence that carries the weight of profound sincerity, Leslie’s performance is cradled by ethereal reverberations, adding swathes of soul to the Americana-tinged alt-country composition.

The track flows with mellifluous organic progressions that echo the artistry of legends like Neil Young, Leonard Cohen, and Joni Mitchell, while still carving its own intimate niche. Romanticism flourishes in the alt-country vignette, where every note and lyric feels imbued with Leslie’s deep emotional investment. The orchestral swells underpinning the folk melodies elevate the song beyond its roots as Leslie’s sharp social commentary adds another emotive dynamic to the bitter-sweet instant classic ballad.

Leslie’s ability to marry classic influences with a fresh vision proves his artistry isn’t confined to tradition, resulting in a track that resonates with timeless warmth while showcasing the potential for reinvention within folk music.

Beautiful Rose is now available to stream on all major platforms, including YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

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

Cohen’s Protégé, Perla Batalla, is One of the Last True Chanteuses in ‘Awakened’

Posted on 23 December 2024

Between Grammy nods and praise from Leonard Cohen himself, there’s little doubt why Perla Batalla commands such esteem in the industry. Her most recent seminal single, Awakened, from the LP A Letter to Leonard Cohen, which was released on what would have been Cohen’s 90th birthday, proves she needs no coattails to ride upon. Cloaked in a sublime sense of grace, every note carries a cinematic magnetism that draws you into her soul-baring homage to the revered Canadian poet.

Batalla earned her prestigious industry stripes by touring and recording with Cohen for over a decade. Inspired by her upbringing in an immigrant household—an Afro-Mexican mariachi father and an Argentine mother who ran a record store—she developed a genre-blurring palette. In Awakened, her commanding voice glides alongside stirring melodies, reflecting the resilience that fuelled her return to the studio after a catastrophic hard-drive disappearance in Barcelona.

This release follows her first tribute, Bird on the Wire, which Cohen personally supported by attending sessions and contributing ideas. Dedicated to the late producer Hal Willner—known for orchestrating unorthodox musical collaborations—A Letter to Leonard Cohen also features Batalla’s two original compositions and includes special appearances such as Broadway luminary Patrick Page on Democracy, produced by the multi-Grammy Award-winning Mike Elizondo.

From sharing stages with Nick Cave and Rufus Wainwright to hosting sold-out shows worldwide, Batalla remains an essential interpreter of Cohen’s legacy, and Awakened resonates as pure melodic poetry from one of the last true chanteuses.

A Letter to Leonard Cohen is available to stream and purchase on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Discover more about Perla Batalla via the artist’s official website.

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

Chris Bannister unleashed the black dog of depression in his latest Americana folk vignette, William, You Lied

Posted on 27 July 2024

The roots-reverent folk singer-songwriter, Chris Bannister, broke the radio silence which followed the successful release of his 2020 album, Truth, with his latest lyrically panoramic single, William, You Lied.

Taken from the UK-residing professional musician’s upcoming sophomore album, The Calling Course, which is due for release in August, William, You Lied is a sonically stripped, tonally paralysing, emotionally charged vignette of how heavy depression weighs on the soul and how it clouds vision with confusion and loss of direction.

The single, which follows the release of seven critically acclaimed LPs, aches with authenticity as Chris Bannister takes influence from folk greats in the vein of Cohen, Nick Drake, and Steve Earl while using his distinctive Americana-tinged acoustic folk signature to scribe a striking account of the all-consuming afflictions imposed by a melancholy mind.

William, You Lied was officially released on July 26th; stream the single on Spotify and discover more about Chris Bannister via his official website.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Nick Cave Meets the National in Harry White’s Latest Feat of Melancholic Liberation, A Way to Go

Posted on 17 March 2024

Harry White’s single, A Way to Go, extracted from his seminal LP Elvera, released on February 23rd, is a profound exploration of introspective lyricism and eclectic soundscapes.

The London-based artist embarked on a new musical chapter with his third album. A Way To Go, in particular, stands out as a vivid illustration of White’s artistic evolution. The influence of Nick Cave permeates through the keys and the gravelly drama of the vocal lines, while the introspective and intimate lyrics carry the magnetic flair of Leonard Cohen.

White’s venture into a more eclectic sound palette is evident in the fusion of electronic effects and the inclusion of a scratchily turbulent backbeat, hinting at The National’s influence. This backdrop is more than just a sonic layer; it’s a canvas for White’s philosophy that the world’s end is inevitable, regardless of individual actions. This theme, rather than being oppressive, is presented with a liberating twist, making A Way to Go a paradoxically uplifting anthem of melancholy.

The track is a compelling blend of styles, reminiscent of the transcendent zeal of ELO, yet amplified with a gothic romanticism unique to White. As the singer-songwriter gears up for live performances, A Way to Go solidifies his position as a seminal artist on the London circuit.

Stream A Way to Go on Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Jack Cade – The Glitter Around Your Eyes: Achingly Affecting Americana

Posted on 21 February 2024
Bewilderland by Jack Cade and the Everyday Sinners

If you always turn to Cohen, Waits and Nick Cave for sonic solace, redirect your quest for sanctity toward Jack Cade’s folk-meets-alt-country LP, Bewilderland.

His gruff baritone notes against Helen Muggeridge’s glassy-with-soul harmonies create a heart-wrenchingly sentimental dynamic in the standout single, The Glitter Around Your Eyes. Like all of the most affecting love songs, the alchemic feat of Americana lyrically locks into the minute details of affection to elucidate how deep in the veins the affection runs.

Around the bluesy guitar bends, honkytonk piano keys that give the track a touch of the 70s and the roots-wrapped tones as a courtesy of the slide guitar, the two vocalists portray a hesitant yet fervent testament of passion which reaches the epitome of compelling. Slow dance to it, cry your heart out to it as you mourn lost loves, or make it a playlist staple; whatever you do, don’t pass up on this timelessly touching serenade from the UK-hailing conduit of candour.

The Glitter Around Your Eyes was officially released on January 26th; stream the single and Jack Cade’s seminal LP, Bewilderland, on Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast