The Roches’ 10 Most “Punk” Songs
The Roches’ music drew on folk, pop, rock, and more. No one would call it punk, yet here’s a batch of their songs that just might qualify.
folk
Syd Matters Returns to Familiar Ground After 16-Year Hiatus
Syd Matters’ A Gospel of Some Sort repays careful listening and offers insight into the struggles of alienated individuals.
Clara Mann Delivers Exquisite Folk on ‘Wishbone’
Clara Mann’s Wishbone posits that even if love isn’t predicated on chance, it doesn’t lose its poetic appeal. That’s why love is poetry: it chooses you.
Richard Thompson Sings About ‘Hippies, Thugs and Heroes’
British folk-rock legend Richard Thompson sneeringly releases another album that reveals the complex nature of the human condition.
Flora Hibberd Takes a Turn with Latest Art Pop Record
Where the folk-pop of Flora Hibberd’s Swirl exudes sophistication, the synth-driven Mammoth is expansive and fantastical. You could be watching a Mummers’ play with Keats and Shelley.
Embla and the Karidotters Subvert Country Music Conventions
Norway’s “queer country” Embla and the Karidotters deliver high-energy fun performed by a kick-ass, live-show-honed band, anchored by strong songs.
John Prine’s ‘Found Dogs’ Offers More Than Leftovers
Thirty years after John Prine’s classic Lost Dogs & Mixed Blessings, this is a carefully curated set of demos, alternate takes, and unreleased songs.
Brody Price Lays It on the Line with ‘Leaf Miner’s Daughter’
Brody Price is unafraid to sit with dark emotions without letting them destroy him or his compositions, because the darkness will transfigure into the light.
Margo Cilker Finds Grace in Sadness on ‘Little White Cross’
Margo Cilker’s Little White Cross succeeds not because it dwells on sadness but because it finds meaning within it. Her gifts as a storyteller give these songs weight.
The Male Pattern Creates a Brilliant Concept Album
The Male Pattern’s I Was Shot in the Heart! uniquely chronicles one man’s struggles with heartbreak, money, and drugs on a brilliant concept album.
Rhiannon Giddens Champions Past and Present American Folklore
Rhiannon Giddens summons brilliance and reimagines American folk music in her latest release Hope Is the Thing with Feathers.
Thank Goodness for Joy Oladokun and ‘Hope Is a Heavy Thing’
In Hope Is a Heavy Thing, Joy Oladokun seamlessly pairs concerns about violence and environmental catastrophe with lamentations of her own flaws.