The Latest
Katie Spencer is the perfect case study of an artist’s maturation. Her journey from the acclaimed debut ‘Weather Beaten’ to her stunning latest album, What Love Is, is a testament to her growth. This album sees her pushing boundaries, inviting listeners into intimate spaces, and exploring love in its many forms. It’s a mature, confident release that affirms her status as an artist deserving of the broadest exposure and audience.
Another Monday Morning Brew Playlist featuring Ganavya, Frantz Casseus, Flaer, Leyla McCalla, She Keeps Bees, The Memory Band, Cerys Hafana, Colleen, Jesca Hoop, Olenka and the Autumn Lovers, Fiona Soe Paing, Emily Wittbrodt, Hurray for the Riff Raff, Bob Frank, Mike Cooper & Steve Gunn, Cheri Knight, Ivor Cutler, Gruff Rhys, Dirty Projectors, A Hawk and a Hacksaw, Gregory and the Hawk, deførmed.
Watch the video for ‘Sailing Away’, the new single from The General Store, a melodic alt-country pop project fronted by multi-instrumentalist, producer and songwriter, Tam Johnstone. The song is inspired by and in tribute to Dave Morrison (who also wrote for KLOF Mag for many years), who was a friend, flatmate of and a musical mentor to Tam.
Michael Hurley’s final album, Broken Homes and Gardens, finds him in essential form: digressive, surreal, jokey, ultimately moving. A folk prankster with a poet’s soul. A fitting way to cap a thirty-odd album legacy that is as important as practically any songwriter you care to mention. He sounds like he had a whole lot more up his sleeve. He always did.
John Elliott of The Little Unsaid has a way of drawing listeners in with universal truths presented in the most personal – and often poetic – of ways. On Stay Fragile All Across This Cold Frontier, the album moves from intimate piano ballads to raw blues-rock and stately meditations, confirming The Little Unsaid as one of the best-kept secrets in contemporary music.
Hillbilly Ragas, the new album from Sir Richard Bishop, drops tomorrow. Watch his latest video for his new single “Head Bone in the ‘Tater Hole,” a track that begins with a galloping figuration that could be a waltz before the ideas boil down into a steaming stew of theme and variations. The nine pieces on the album were carved out in a wild-eyed state, reflecting the “untamed explorations of a musical loner” …
Legendary bass player Danny Thompson has passed away, he was 86. In addition to being a founding member of Pentangle, he also collaborated with notable artists such as John Martyn, Richard Thompson, Ralph McTell, Nick Drake, June Tabor, the Incredible String Band, and many more. Enjoy our tribute playlist, which, although spanning six decades, still only scratches the surface of Thompson’s genius, warmth, charisma and brilliance.
Acclaimed Icelandic singer-songwriter Ólöf Arnalds announces her new album, Spíra, due out December 5th via Bella Union. The lead single, “Tár í morgunsárið” (“Tears at Dawn”), is a beautiful and haunting track where Arnalds reflects on the spiritual void left when she renounced Catholicism as a teenager. The new album is a stripped-back, intimate work that explores themes of love, creativity, and healing.
SML, the LA-based quintet of Anna Butterss, Jeremiah Chiu, Josh Johnson, Booker Stardrum, and Gregory Uhlmann, is set to release their second album, How You Been, on November 7th. The album’s lead single, “Taking Out the Trash,” and an animated video are out now. The new work expands on the group’s unique approach to crafting hyperrealist, collectivist music from live improvisations.
Jim White has released his new single “I Don’t Do / Grand Central.” The track, a spirited vocal exchange with Zoh Amba, is one of two songs on his new album where White sings for the first time. The music video, edited by Eve Sussman, follows the pair on a journey straight to the Oyster Bar of Grand Central Station, where the two commune and parry in delightful form.
Smote’s new album, Songs From The Free House, delves into a dark, elemental soundscape. With guest appearances from Lankum’s Ian Lynch and Sally Mason of the Smote live band, the record marries drone, folk, and electronic music. Their latest single, “Snodgerss”, is a flute-led jig turned ritual, with principal creator Daniel Foggin’s landscape gardening trade inspiring its earthy, heavy sound. The album is a powerful collision of physical and metaphysical.