Welcome to our monthly round-up of all things folky. Some good finds this time.
Nathan Reich – Motion Sadness
One of the joys of Bandcamp is finding artists and albums that would have otherwise passed you by via the music feed page. Nathan Reich, a songwriter and guitarist from Nashville, is one such find. Motion Sadness was recorded in one take and is, in Reich’s words, “filled with imperfections” as a result. This gives the release an organic feel, a real sense of the human behind the tales told, bringing to mind folks like Hip Hatchet and Psalmships.
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You can buy the album on Reich’s Bandcamp page.
Brian Laidlaw and the Family Trade – Jeremiad b/w Glad For Every Burden
A couple of weeks back we featured a lovely record by Ben Weaver which was released by a new label run by the folks at Hymie’s Records in Minneapolis. Those good folks have also put out this 7″ by Brian Laidlaw and the Family Trade. A-side ‘Jeremiad’ is a pretty, reflective folk song with some nice strings and a rousing, romantic chorus. The record’s B-side, ‘Glad For Every Burden’ is a lot more countrified, with lyrics that hark back to a classic era of country and folk music. He sings in the chorus: “Oh honey I’m glad I’m glad for every sorrow that I’ve had, I’m glad for every burden / Without this old heart to weight me down, I’d fly away for certain.” You can get the single now via Hymie’s Records and if you haven’t got the Ben Weaver one yet then why not grab that too?
P.S. You can hear some of Laidlaw’s previous releases over at his Soundcloud page. I’d highly recommend it.
Sally Fowler – These Lines Laid Down
These Lines Laid Down is the fourth release from Virginia’s Sally Fowler. She has a fairly traditional sound, employing acoustic instruments and lyrics about sorrows and devils and crossroads, and her voice is strong and mournful and really rather great. If you like First Aid Kit or Laura Marling then it will be right up your street.
Sally started off covering songs via Youtube before progressing into her own material. You can find them on her Youtube channel.
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You can buy the album on a pay-what-you-can basis via Bandcamp.
Siskiyou – ‘Deserter’
‘Deserter’ is the first single from Nervous, a brand new album from Canadian folk (?) band Siskiyou. The new album promises to be an advancement of the sparse and ghostly atmosphere of the band’s previous work, a foray into chamber pop territories recently inhabited by artists such as PJ Harvey, Nick Cave and Tindersticks. The mood and texture of the album is a product of health problems faced by lead singer Colin Huebert, who battled an inner ear condition which left him hyper-sensitive to certain volumes and frequencies. Also look out for the impressive roster of guest musicians, including Colin Stetson and Owen Pallett.
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/173216145″]
Nervous is being released on Constellation Records on the 20th of January. Pre-order it now to get a 12″ x 12″ art print of the beautiful Indian ink artwork by Michael Drebert.
Sarah Louise – Field Guide
Sarah Louise is the recording project of Sarah Henson, a young lady from North Carolina who makes music that feels as old as the Black Mountains which inspire her. “More than anything, these songs are a reflection of my home in the Black Mountains of North Carolina,” she says, “smooth-stone creek bottoms, delicate lunar-born mushrooms beneath rhododendron boughs, extreme changes in elevation.” Her new album Field Guide is coming out in the New Year on Scissor Tail Editions and it feels like a lost disc from Harry Smith’s Anthology of American Folk Music. Some of the tracks are inspired by old Appalachian hymns, while others have an almost far-Eastern meditative feel. It’s really, really good.
You can get Field Guide right now on a pay-what-you-want basis over at the Sarah Louise Bandcamp page.