Kiss The Ground, Reach for the Stars: Kayla Schureman’s Debut Soars Featured Album Interviews Uncategorized by Brian Carroll - March 21, 20170 Listening to countless numbers of records, singles, songs, voices every week can be a monotonous and tedious endeavor. Things start to sound the same, voices bleed together and guitar lines go from one song to another and the realization that there truly are only so many chord progressions that exist seeps into your mind. That is, until the tedium of uniformity is broken every so often by a special moment. That is what happened the second I heard Kayla Schureman's voice. The record kicks in with "Airshow" and as strange as a comparison as it sounds, it brings me back to early 90s band "Big Head Todd and the Monsters" in how the chorus kicks in with is melodious flow and
Christopher Paul Stelling Announces New Record “Itinerant Arias ” Out May 5th Featured Album by Brian Carroll - March 1, 20170 There is no denying that for as long as Christopher Paul Stelling has been playing music he has been pouring his whole heart into it. To see him perform is to be entranced by the magic of his energy, his fervor, his passion for the songs that he is playing. Stelling's 2015 release "Labor Against Waste" was a poignant example of how much a person can truly put into their art. The man bleeds himself into his work unlike any artist I can think of out there today, and that much is evident in both his recordings and his live performances. May 5th will mark a new record for Stelling. A year that has already seen his voice be as strong
Hail, Hail Rock n’ Roll: Ron Gallo’s Heavy Meta – Weighty, Heavy & Much Needed Album Reviews Featured Album Music Features by Brian Carroll - February 8, 20170 A couple of years ago the roots, rock and folk realm was filled with release after release of "holy shit this is the best thing I have heard" type records being sprung forth into the world, and our ears. Jason Isbell's Southeastern started a pattern in which you could write introspective, deep and poignant songs but still play rock n' roll guitar and have the words hit home just as deeply as if there was a sorrowful, lonely acoustic slowly picked under the lyrics. It's been a while since another one of these records has come along. I have been craving another record like that, with soaring riffs but writing that cuts deep below them. 2016 was dotted with a
Let’s Duet Old School: J.P Harris Announces Release of Duet Project “Why Don’t We Duet In The Road” (Nikki Lane, Kristina Murray, Leigh Nash, Kelsey Waldon) Featured Album by Brian Carroll - December 19, 20160 When we spoke with J.P Harris back in July at Newport he eluded to some new projects in the works, but allowing them the proper time to come to fruition and happen organically. Well, we may not be getting a Harris original collection in early 2017 (at least not that we know of yet) but we do get the next best thing. A collection of country classics sung as duets with some of the best that the genre has to offer. Harris will be joined on 4 classic country tracks by 4 different female singer-songwriters...its like a modern day Johnny and June or Graham and Emmy-Lou happy surprise to end your year with...and get in the New Year. From Harris's website: JP Harris
EXCLUSIVE: Bow Thayer’s “The Source and The Servant” Stream (Released 10/28) Featured Album Interviews by Brian Carroll - October 28, 2016October 28, 20160 Today Bow Thayer releases "The Source and the Servant", a collection of tracks in a way dedicated to the music of yesteryear and specifically to the likes of Dock Boggs and Fred McDowell. With a whole host of covers and a few inspired originals, the record is a fluid, forceful lesson in heartfelt, heartworn tunes steeped in tradition with a contemporary twist. In Thayer's words, "Whether it is fate or coincidence, the fact is, these guys struck a chord with me, a deep one, and one I did not even realize until recently. I was living in Boston going to art school just outside of Kenmore Sq. during the late eighties and nineties and fairly unimpressed with what was coming over
Play by Play: Zach Schmidt “The Day We Lost The War” Preview (Out October 7th) Featured Album Uncategorized by Brian Carroll - October 6, 2016October 6, 20160 Its a big week for great, late additions to the year in 2016 albums. This week alone Shovels & Rope releases "Little Seeds" (review here), Glen Phillips has a new album, Hiss Golden Messenger drops "Heart Like a Levy" and this record from one of our favorite badass Nashville songwriters, Zach Schmidt, finally gets thrown out into the world for all to hear. I have been living with this record for a quite some time now and I am truly excited for it to be gobbled up by the general public and leave them with a warmth in their chest, burning like a shot of whiskey and leaving you with that melancholia that only the cry of a pedal steel
From The Ashes: Andy Campolieto on Jo Henley’s latest “Burning Down the Dark” Featured Album Interviews Uncategorized by Brian Carroll - October 6, 2016October 6, 20160 I was working for an artist management company/recording studio in exchange for studio time a number of years back when I first heard the distinctive voice of Andy Campolieto. As someone who was just working on their first studio effort I heard that voice and immediately thought "here is a guy that knows his sound and owns it". The confidence and emotion bleed from Andy's vocal with each breathe, there is a conviction in how he presents the words to his songs that kept with me all the years between then and now. Jo Henley was a band I admired for the jammy quality of their songs but still being able to maintain a sense of "yeah, ok I actually
Aoife O’Donovan To Release Man In A Neon Coat: Live From Cambridge On Yep Roc Records (Sept 9th) Featured Album by Brian Carroll - August 26, 2016August 26, 20160 “I have seen many shows at The Sinclair and I am yet to witness an artist be able to captivate an audience in that way and hush an audience of hundreds to a complete pin-drop silence. Beauty incarnate.”, is how we summed up O' Donovan's performance last April in Harvard Square. I was unsure if i would experience that live experience again...luckily the trio recorded the evening for a release due out in just about 2 weeks time. You can listen to "Detour Sign" from that evening below or hit up our Youtube page to watch a live performance of "Stanley Park" from the evening as well. In the meanwhile pre-order the live record, this band was absolutely phenomenal live.
A Smooth Burn: The Whiskey Boys “As I Fall” EP Released Featured Album Uncategorized by Brian Carroll - July 15, 20160 The Whiskey Boys often draw comparisons to progressive bluegrass bands, new grass or chamber grass or whatever the hip description is. The basic elements and foundation is pretty easy to explain: virtuosity blended with infectious melody and writing. Whatever you want to call it, there is no doubt that comparisons to that other brotherly bluegrass outfit HIT the target (I'm trying to reach here, but yes, they often times hit Punch Brothers-esque acrobatics on their instruments with smart and pensive arrangements). With "As I Fall" bandleader and fiddler David Delaney has really found his voice. He sings with a strength and unbridled ease that is both comfortable to listen to but also pleasant and on point. The songs here, while occasionally
Pickin’ and Grinnin’: The Misty Mountain String Band “Red Horizon” Featured Album by Brian Carroll - July 12, 20160 There is very little that makes me smile and beam as much as good bluegrass music. 4 part harmonies, everyone taking a break. There is just nothing like it. Whether you are a fan of the genre or not you can't deny the delicate dance that players perform in waltzing their way around a central condenser mic and the prowess and grace that takes to know where to move to next. The Misty Mountain String Band keeps those traditions alive with rich, velvety harmonies that would make Bill Monroe proud and expert picking that excites and engages. The latest from the band is called "Red Horizon" and was just released at the end of May. Listening to this album reminds me of