Ryan Hamilton & the Harlequin Ghosts is a transatlantic collaboration, with frontman Ryan Hamilton hailing from just outside of Fort Worth, TX, while his backing band The Harlequin Ghosts are based in the U.K. The follow up to 2019’s This Is The Sound (which won an Independent Music Award for Best Indie Album’), Nowhere To Go But Everywhere was written by Ryan during a long road trip across the USA with his dog Peaches, while coming to terms with his recent divorce.
Lost within the hype, attention and brouhaha over the 50th anniversary re-issue of The Beatles “White Album”, is First Collection 2006 – 2009, a retrospective on the early Fleet Foxes recordings.
There is a pleasing new wave of music artists taking the bold step of making ‘real’ music again. The old-fashioned way, so to speak. Like Texas-based singer-songwriter Molly Burch.
THE JAYHAWKSRainy Day Music (Lost Highway/American)
After the greater pop emphasis of Sound of Lies and Smile, the Jayhawks return to the roots rock approach of their earlier albums (especially Hollywood Town Hall and Tomorrow the Green Grass) with this, their first album with the Lost Highway label (also home of that other alt-country standard bearer, Ryan Adams).
Always a joy to discover a new artist that embraces the full potential of rock ‘n’ roll. On his new EP – Water Into Gold – Eric Frisch, digs deep into the well of country-folk goodness to deliver three gorgeous songs.
Another week, another Spotify playlist where we spotlight new modern rock music that we are confident you have probably never heard of BUT definitely should!
This is probably one of the toughest reviews I’ve ever written. Ever since I first listened to this debut full-length from Seattle’s Fleet Foxes, I’ve been wondering how in the world I would be able to string together a couple (or more) sentences that would do justice to this masterpiece! For a band to be able to meld the rustic melodic beauty of Brian Wilson/Van Dyke Parks’ Smile and the heartfelt echoes of 70s singer-songwriter movement, is almost unbelievable.
Not the “Kurt and Courtney” of the 90s but certainly this collaborative album between Courtney Barnett and Kurt Vile is highly evocative of that decade’s alt-rock highs.
The legendary Gram Parsons once remarked that “country rock” was a misnomer and for him, rock ‘n’ roll included country music. Well, that certainly applies to Nikki Lane and new album Highway Queen.
Damn, this is an easy album to get into. Singer-songwriter Anderson has followed up his acclaimed 2014 debut, The Weaver’s Broom, with the stunning City of Vines.
In the PoP scheme of things, country-folk-rock music is as much THE NEW ROCK N ROLL as alt-rock so we are happy to recommend Elijah Ocean and his eponymous new album.
