John Prine’s Heartfelt Storytelling Made Him a National Treasure
John Prine’s songwriting blends down-home storytelling, thumbnail portraiture, deep compassion, bitter cynicism, absurdist humor, and offbeat rhymes.
folk
Heading Down the Same Bob Dylan Road
Although How Many Roads isn’t an essential Bob Dylan biography, not all books have to be necessary to be effective and rewarding.
Rob Smith Unspools Mesmerizing Psychedelic Folk on ‘Salt Star’
Rob Smith’s Salt Star is a brief, bright light of emotion and musical interplay, highlighting his unique, consistently engaging vision.
Sequoia’s ‘So Long’ Is Imbued with Tuneful, Melodic Grace
Sequoia’s So Long is the sound of a well-lived, occasionally heartbroken folk troubadour who has seen it all and will happily oblige you with a story in song.
The Miracle of It: Allison Russell on the Power of Self-Reflection
With a soulful new album and a book about her life coming out, Allison Russell has a lot to say about the state of the world and her own journeys.
The Waterboys’ Mike Scott Hasn’t Yet Done His Last Jam
With the release of a box set that expands upon the Waterboys’ most iconic album, frontman Mike Scott reflects as much as he continues to propel forward.
Beth Orton Looks Up to Find Herself Buried Alive
Making The Ground Above may have been therapeutic for the folktronica artist, but it is not redemptive, and Beth Orton knows it.
Old Crow Medicine Show Celebrate America at 250 Years
Ketch Secor’s insistence on making a “Hooray for America!” record ends up putting Old Crow Medicine Show in an awkward position.
Odd Okoddo and Ogoya Nengo Give Their Dreamscape an Edge
Even in the ever-changing, ever-progressive realm of folktronica, the sounds of Odd Okoddo and Ogoya Nengo stand out here as exceptional.
Eilen Jewell Steps Off the Road, But Not Out of the Song
The Doors’ influence runs deep, folk-Americana singer-songwriter Eilen Jewell admits. “I basically wanted to be Jim Morrison,” she said with a laugh.
Tucker Zimmerman Says Goodnight and Offers a Wonderful Dream
Life is but a dream, and the dream has a life of its own. We wake up only when we sleep. Tucker Zimmerman’s final opus offers a lullaby of love.
‘A World of Our Own’ Is a Maximalist Folk Compendium
This is a well-fleshed-out picture of how UK and Irish folk revival artists of the 1960s drew from and inspired their more widely recognized North American counterparts.