The heat index was topping out at 108 degrees Fahrenheit (43 degrees Celsius) as Pitchfork began. Even hotter than the temperature was the performance of the Great Black Music Ensemble, a 13-piece band under the direction of AACM’s Ernest Dawkins.…
Varied in its themes as it is delivered like a warm embrace, Sharon Goldman’s songwriting is unvarnished folk-pop. Every Trip Around the Sun prides itself on humanity, and it seems to be that it does so with a “nothing more,…
A resident, and well-respected artist, in California, Eleni Mandell publishes what we can call her “prison album”. Even though not actually recorded in prison, the record is inspired by her participation in the “Jail With Guitars” program, bringing songwriting in…
First released in 1972, Misora is timeless. Sachiko Kanenobu’s classic LP far has garnered critical acclaim and the reverence of folk music enthusiasts around the globe, marking her as a beloved singer-songwriter even though it is still her only release…
Tanya Gallagher’s music speaks to generations, and her newest album is the greatest indicator of the singer-songwriter’s multifarious appeal yet. As much a supplement to the 60s and 70s folk ushered in by Joni Mitchell and Joan Baez as she…
While Eric George’s songwriting has previously been described as between early Dylan and Appalachia, his eighth release in only half a decade subverts expectations by paying homage to 60s-era rock’n’roll. Where I Start is an album meant to reawaken what…
Some albums take a lifetime to come to fruition, The Soft Cavalry is definitely one of those. Steve Clarke has spent most of his life in and around the music scene, including a stint in the Ricky Gervais/David Brent band…
Oftentimes, the power of folk music lies in its apparent simplicity. Traditional folk isn’t necessarily revered for its groundbreaking melodies or fanciful chord progressions, but for the stories that they tell. Swedish singer-songwriter and engineer Annamay’s latest single is an…
If ever an album was tailor-made for a road trip (and this road trip has to have the words ‘great’ and ‘American’ in its description), it’s Fruit Bat’s latest record, Gold Past Life. Eric D. Johnson – the project’s singer/songwriter –…
In his time, Los Angeles singer-songwriter Kevin West has run the gamut on performance style. Starting somewhere around the blues, West’s nomadic studying habits saw him investing in the structures of hard rock, metal, jazz, and hip-hop along the way.…