Melanie McGovern

Amanda Jo Williams sounds entirely out of place and time. A musician born and raised in Hogansville, Georgia she has been likened to classic country stars such as Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris for her countrified drawl and raw, ragged musical approach. But it’s her voice that really makes her stand out from the LA crowd she now finds herself playing before multiple nights of the week. It resonates the …

This self-titled release captures the timelessness of artists like Neil Young while adding a modern twist to countrified characteristics and songs that have been dragged through their haunting histories to the bleak and yet somehow sepia tinged hopefulness of Mount Moriah’s present.

Andrew Vladeck of New York City is releasing not only his EP Passing Knowledge this spring, but a book by the same title. It is also the first edition of the Pocket Songster Series, paying homage to the Pocket Poet Series of San Francisco and through which Beat poet Allen Ginsberg’s works were printed.

Swedish band Mire Kay recently released their debut EP Fortress, it comprises of five songs, tied neatly together with chamber pop arrangements, ethereal vocals and dark often mythical lyrics built out of rich images and hollow, natural sounds which, layer upon layer, create a warmth out of their often sombre subject matters of longing and searching.

Puzzle Muteson is the latest artist to join the Bedroom Community label. His debut recording En Garde plays out a spellbinding and hauntingly evocative fairytale of emotions of one man’s imagination.

Panda Su releases her new EP today, a miniscule four-track but full of deep-bodied yet humbly produced sounds I Begin continues where Sticks & Stones left off.

This is an excellent album, and one that provides a vivid visualisation of salty sea and sunrise. A story of America as narrated by a 21st Century voice that feels so wisely ancestoral in its huskiness.

Oh My Days is the third release from The Memory Band folk collective who tour with often up to as many as ten members, including Adem Ilhan (Adem), acclaimed folk/electronica artist in his own right.

It’s rather a surprise to find this Washington/Seattle harmonica brandishing trio was in fact borne from the disbandment of Pretty Girls Make Graves. Since their 2007 formation, The Cave Singers have been signed to Matador, releasing two records with the New York label before signing to Jagjaguwar in June of last year; and with whom they now release No Witch.

The Loafing Heroes call to mind dreamlike percussive soundscapes, to a lo-fi anti-electronica Efterklang. Where have they gone the amblers of yesteryear? Where have they gone, those loafing heroes of folk song, those vagabonds who wander from one mill to another and bed down under the stars?

Folk Radio UK talks to Californian born musician Alela Diane. Alela gives an intimate insight into her latest album ‘Alela Diane & Wild Divine’. She explains the reasons behind the new sound she has created and what inspires her.

Following up their split EP with Karine Polwart, acclaimed Scottish folk trio Lau have embarked on another collaborative effort, this time with London based musician Adem. Read Melanie’s review below.