It’s that time of the month again. Here’s what we’ve been enjoying this month:
Aisha Burns
Violinist, singer-songwriter and member of instrumental outfit Balmorhea, Aisha Burns is multi-talented. She has recently released her debut full length album, Life In The Midwater, on Western Vinyl. It is a dark and brooding album, capped off with Burns’s superb vocals. Listen to my current favourite track, ‘Requiem’, burn with restrained intensity in the player below.
[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/107700464″]
Dave Van Ronk
Dave Van Ronk was a folk artist who died back in 2002. A leading figure in the Greenich Village music scene, he gave help and advice to many upcoming folk acts, including a young Bob Dylan. Van Ronk is about to re-enter the limelight as the Coen brothers have made a film (the upcoming, Inside Llewyn Davis) based on his autobiography. To coincide with this, the ever brilliant Smithsonian Folkways are releasing Down In Washington Square: The Smithsonian Folkways Collection, a 3CD collection of recordings, from early live performances in 1958, to his final studio sessions in 2001, shortly before his death. The film contains Van Ronk’s version of the track ‘Fare Thee Well (Dink’s Song)’, which is included on the set and available now as a digital download from the Smithsonian Folkways website.
Inlet Sound
Canadian band Inlet Sound recently performed a lovely rendition of ‘Fake Empire’ for Southern Souls. The band have also graced the site before, with this session last year. If you like what you hear the band’s debut album, The Romantics, was released last year.
If you don’t regularly check up on what the good folks at Southern Souls are doing you really are missing out.
The River Has Many Voices
The River Has Many Voices (aka Matthew Payne) released his latest album, Division, back in June. It is an introspective album, six romantic country songs full of sorrow and yearning. It’s really pretty and really, really good and amazingly, available as a free download over at the band’s Bandcamp page. I highly recommend you give it a try.
Sam Moss
Sam Moss is back with a new single ahead of the release of his new record, No Kingdom, later in October. ‘Hammer’ is a taste of what the Vermont based songwriter has to offer, and you can also get ‘Ocean’ from October’s edition of Textura. The album is shaping up to be a special one and we will write a full review in the next few weeks.
Nathaniel Rateliff
Nathaniel Rateliff is back with a new album, Falling Faster Than You Can Run, which is available to buy now. Those familiar with Rateliff’s previous album will be delighted to hear this follows the same recipe, stirring folk songs that seem to grant the same importance to the silence between words and notes as they do to the words and notes themselves. We aren’t quite there yet but this is sounding like the perfect winter album, contemplative with moments of fury, elemental outpourings of emotion.
[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/107699832″]
Noah Gundersen
We’ll leave you with a promo for a new Noah Gundersen album that is due out early next year.
See you next month!
P.S. As ever, a stellar collection of Soundcloud picks were posted last week. Check out Head In The Clouds here.