The Latest
Philadelphia’s The Noisy, fronted by poet Sara Mae, premiere their stunning new video, “Tony Soprano,” directed by Sam Cush. “It’s meant to talk about the collective experience of grief and I think having my friends sing on it, my friends star in it and eat the food I made, just felt like a particularly poetic and special experience. This one means a great deal to me.”
On Old Segotia, Seán Mac Erlaine and Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh engage in an intense musical conversation. Rather than compromising between folk and jazz, they create a new palette, crafting varied tracks that shift from smoky grooves to avant-garde improvisation. Augmenting traditional instruments with electronics and field recordings, the duo create a complex, surprising map of new musical terrain.
Emily A. Sprague’s “Cloud Time” is one of the most stunning ambient records in recent memory. Recorded live in Japan, it draws from the “naturalist” school of modular synthesis, engaging with the Japanese tradition of environmental music. Sprague whittled hours of recordings into a suite that is both deeply contemplative and refreshingly human, a “sonic wonderment” of texture and off-the-cuff creativity.
Acclaimed pedal steel guitarist Barry Walker Jr. has announced his debut album for Thrill Jockey, Paleo Sol. He unearths new dimensions, fusing cosmic country and ambient minimalism with the profound patience of geology and the intimacy of new fatherhood. Listen to three tracks from the album today.
On Merlyn Driver’s debut album, “It Was Also Sometimes Daylight,” there is an ease to his singing and playing that belies the nuance and complexity of his songwriting, which at times approaches genuine poetry. He takes highly personal, confessional songwriting and elevates it with unconventional language. It’s also a timely reminder of the small amount of time and space we all take up on this world.
The Little Unsaid unveil their video for “Surfacing”, taken from their new album, “Stay Fragile All Across This Cold Frontier”, which is available now on all platforms via Carbon Moon Records. “It’s a snapshot of every gig we did and captures something about that tour that really carried a lot of energy and emotional weight for us as we celebrated our tenth year as a band.”
Iona Zajac shares “Murder Mystery,” a surreal new single and video from her forthcoming debut album Bang (Nov 21). The track, accompanied by a striking visual featuring Zajac’s alter ego, is a “fearless dive into the scary everyday fears women live with.” A seasoned artist, Zajac’s debut promises raw, defiant storytelling.
With John Smith’s now much higher profile, these revisited and, at times, transformative reimagined songs should, deservedly, find a far wider acclaim and audience than the originals. At the same time, ‘Gatherings’ serves to remind us that he is one of the true elite on the UK contemporary folk scene.
Composer, singer and multi-instrumentalist RÓIS and rob mulhern, aka hhh, have unveiled their bold new single and video, “Did ye ever get The Ride at The Wake House?”. The accompanying video, directed by Adam O’reilly who is also a dance artist, features Alex Vostokova, a dance artist and emerging choreographer. Delivering a shockwave that reverberates across a tranquil Irish landscape, it is not without it moments of humour.
Welcome to another Monday Morning Brew Playlist, featuring Sean Hayes, Cat Clyde, Sierra Ferrell, Canon’s Jug Stompers, Jimmie Driftwood, Clarence Ashley, Doc Watson, Carolyn Hester, Haley Heynderickx & Max García Conover, Minna, Hand Habits, Andrew Bird, Frazey Ford, Kaia Kater, Jesse Welles, Michael Hurley, Kacy & Clayton, Anna & Elizabeth, Tim Eriksen, Mama’s Broke, Ursina, and Alela Diane.
Greg Jamie is unashamedly preoccupied with the liminal. Across a Violet Pasture, tilts at the hard-to-hit zone between sleep and waking. This is Old Weird America with a nod to the stranger recesses of British hauntology. At times, the Townes Van Zandt comparisons also seem more apposite than ever, a reminder that, for all the uncanny, rootless strangeness of his music, the album is built on Jamie’s outstanding songwriting.