Articles tagged "folk"

Music Review

Will Stratton: No Wonder

by Evan Sawdey

[12.Nov.09] :. Following his quiet stunner of a debut album, this 22-year-old folk artist just proved that lightning, indeed, can strike the same place twice.

Recent Music reviews

Capsule Reviews

Caethua: The Long Afternoon of Earth

by Deanne Sole

[4.Nov.09] :. A thoughtful, wistful, and likable album.

Capsule Reviews

Column: Busted Headphones

The Messengers

by Quentin B. Huff

[12.Oct.09] :. K'naan's The Messengers series is a trilogy of episodes designed to highlight the genius of Nigeria's Fela Kuti, Jamaica's Bob Marley, and the United States' Bob Dylan.

Recent columns

Music Feature

Running with the Beasts: An Interview with Castanets

by Zach Hinkle

[7.Oct.09] :. After being held-up at gunpoint, recording alone in the desert, and being covered by Sufjan Stevens, Castanets' Ray Raposa is finally ready to step out on his own with a concept album about wild beasts that features some of his most tender and dramatic performances to date.

Recent features

Music Review

Various Artists: The Rough Guide to Irish Folk

by Deanne Sole

[2.Oct.09] :. Geoff Willis, the compiler, must have been aiming to put together a concise round-up of living musicians who show their own fidelity to established styles. This comes off pretty well.

Recent Music reviews

Music Review

Väsen: Väsen Street

by Deanne Sole

[30.Sep.09] :. The gravity of their playing gives each song a feeling of being presented or framed, as if on a stage, illuminated.

Recent Music reviews

Will Stratton’s Free Album Bonanza (MP3)

by Evan Sawdey

[11.Sep.09] :. Too-young folk genius Will Stratton is building anticipation for his 11/3 sophomore disc No Wonder by releasing his second album of free material out to fans just because he can.

Deolinda: Canção Ao Lado

by Deanne Sole

[27.Aug.09] :. Canção ao Lado is fado music that grins at moody aesthetes and applauds practicality and humour.

Mariachi Real De San Diego: Mariachi Classics

by Deanne Sole

[19.Jul.09] :. Traditional mariachi being upheld with absolute fidelity.

Mamer: Eagle

by Deanne Sole

[25.Jun.09] :. Mamer demystifies the experience of Chinese Central Asian music and keeps the beauty of the sound.

Ben Reynolds: How Day Earnt Its Night

by Deanne Sole

[23.Jun.09] :. A thoughtful conversation between him and the guitar.

Lily Storm: If I Had a Key to the Dawn

by Deanne Sole

[22.Jun.09] :. The songs she has chosen sound like laments, or the love songs of women whose lovers are absent.

Musk Ox: Musk Ox

by Deanne Sole

[21.May.09] :. Musk Ox asks for a contemplative listener.

Genticorum: La Bibournoise

by Deanne Sole

[14.Nov.08] :. La Bibournoise probably won't dazzle you straight away, but the album has real warmth.

Los Cenzontles with David Hidalgo: Songs of Wood & Steel

by Deanne Sole

[14.Nov.08] :. This album is a worthy experiment that needs more work.

Julie Fowlis: Cuilidh

by Deanne Sole

[29.Oct.08] :. Fowlis has a sure voice, and her light, decisive handling of the songs is pleasant to hear.

Frigg: Economy Class

by Deanne Sole

[27.Oct.08] :. The musicians in Frigg shoot along in tandem, rather than slide eelishly around one another in interlacing patterns, as the members of some other Nordic groups do.

Ani DiFranco: Red Letter Year

by Quentin B. Huff

[2.Oct.08] :. The Little Folksinger's latest is the perfect guest for your New Year's Eve bash. It's the life of the party, as well as the designated driver.

All That The Name Implies: All That The Name Implies

by Alan Ranta

[22.Sep.08] :. It's a hippy drum circle from the late '60s, and Richie Havens just drop out of a cloud with the good stuff, but you won't need four hits of sunshine acid to dig it.

Justine: Justine

by Alan Ranta

[19.Sep.08] :. The term "lost classic" gets tossed around a lot, but the lone orchestral pop release from London's Justine can be classified as nothing else.

Lissa Schneckenburger: Song

by Marc A. Price

[2.May.08] :. A cheerful array of old school folk tunes with the emphasis on the fiddle.

Le Vent du Nord: Dans Les Airs

by Deanne Sole

[21.Apr.08] :. Dans Les Airs has the air of a good democracy, a core stability that doesn't stifle the inhabitants.

Various Artists: The Rough Guide to the Music of Hungarian Gypsies

by Deanne Sole

[28.Mar.08] :. Hungarian Roma music, according to this Rough Guide, has a dancing energy, like a ball always bouncing forward.

Clara Hill’s Folkwaves: Sideways

by Quentin B. Huff

[25.Mar.08] :. This is the folksy side of a dance machine.

Kate Walsh: Tim’s House

by Mike Schiller

[13.Mar.08] :. Kate Walsh is like a compartmentalized version of Joni Mitchell, one who knows only how to write slow, sad, pretty songs about boys.

Taraf de Haïdouks: Maškaradă

by Deanne Sole

[13.Nov.07] :. With the fan base they've built up over the past two decades, the members of Taraf de Haïdouks could have gone on reworking past successes forever like a Roma Rolling Stones.

Blake Rainey and His Demons: The Dangerous Summer

by Jason MacNeil

[6.Sep.07] :. Roots-oriented singer-songwriter Blake Rainey has been known in smaller circles around Georgia, but hopefully this record makes him break out into bigger circles.

Ezra Furman & the Harpoons: Banging Down the Doors

by Matthew Fiander

[31.Aug.07] :. Ezra Furman is precocious and energetic, but he can also write one hell of a song.

Aly Bain and Ale Möller: Beyond the Stacks

by Deanne Sole

[28.Aug.07] :. Like many sequels, it gives you more of the same but you don't mind at all because you enjoyed everything so much the first time around that you didn't really want it to change.

Greg Brown: Yellow Dog

by Steve Horowitz

[27.Aug.07] :. A recording of a benefit show from back in 2005 for the Upper Peninsula of Michigan’s Yellow Dog Watershed.

Väsen: Linnaeus Väsen

by Deanne Sole

[21.Aug.07] :. The three string musicians are all as good as they were on Live in Japan, yet I like this album less.

Au: Au

by Mike Schiller

[20.Aug.07] :. Au's Luke Wyland seems to have the right idea, with his commitment to individuality and willingness to go where his muse takes him; regrettably, that muse isn't quite ready for prime time.

Putumayo: Women of the World

by Courtney Tenz

[18.Jul.07] :. Despite the different springs feeding into these women's inspirational homes, the album is successful at uniting these unique, accomplished musicians.

A heart full of stories - happy, sad - in song

by Allen Pierleoni [McClatchy Newspapers (MCT)]

[10.Jul.07] :. Whenever the music landscape of the 1960s and `70s is revisited, one name invariably makes the short list of artists who made a difference. That would be Judy Collins, the extraordinary soprano...

Don’t call Melissa Ferrick a folkie - she’s a rocker

by Chuck Myers [McClatchy-Tribune News Service (MCT)]

[27.Jun.07] :. Extensive touring with few breaks can take a significant physical and mental toll on musicians - especially a solo artist. Just ask singer-songwriter Melissa Ferrick. In late 2005, Ferrick reached...

Vandaveer: Grace & Speed

by Mike Schiller

[31.May.07] :. Vandaveer's Mark Charles Heidinger can tell a pitch-black story in a way that makes it sound more like unfortunate happenstance than world-moving tragedy.

The Chrysler: Cold War Classic

by Joe Tacopino

[10.May.07] :. There is an endearing quality to the Chrysler's quiet folk rock. Sort of like a diet caffeine free version of Peter, Bjorn and John.