The Vertical Birds’ new single, “Lonesome Highway,” radiates an invigorating charm as it delves into the turbulent terrains of tumultuous love, wrapped in the comforting embrace of blues and Southern rock. This upbeat ensemble feels reminiscent of Chris Stapleton’s vibrancy, yet holds its own unique spark. Recorded live with a rawness that complements the energetic enthusiasm of the track, it hits the soul with a mixture of happiness and untamed spirit, maintaining a balancing act between vivacity and lyrical profoundness.
“Lonesome Highway” resonates with an infectious fervor, narrating a story of love laden with mischiefs and misdemeanors. The song’s protagonist is depicted grappling with a turbulent romance, where the thrill of being “treated mean” intertwines with a sense of self-realization and acceptance. This lively exploration is empowered by DJ Morrison’s compelling vocals and fervent guitar strings, harmoniously synced with Jeremy Carriger’s bass, Eric Jurgielewicz’s keys, and James Broussard’s energetic drumming. The lyrical journey depicted is compellingly relatable, signifying a universal sentiment of love’s paradoxical nature—its ability to be at once reckless yet utterly mesmerizing.
The Vertical Birds have manifested a spirited escape with “Lonesome Highway,” incorporating a blend of fun, funk, and insightful reflections, marking it a standout in the realms of country-blues and red dirt. The interspersion of lively instrumental vibrato and insightful narratives renders it an audacious anthem of rebellious love. The candid rawness of the live recording encapsulates the listener in an unadulterated musical experience, reminiscent of the freewheeling spirit of Tedeschi Trucks Band and the raw emotional eloquence of The Bros. Landreth. The harmonious culmination of varied musical elements is emblematic of The Vertical Birds’ knack for creating musical symphonies that are both poignant and pulsating.
From the bustling streets of NYC in 1993 to the somber realities of 2023, Ned Farr & The Good Red Road have traveled a vast musical journey. Their fourth album, “THE MASTER PLAN,” encapsulates a pilgrimage through a global pandemic, distilling experiences from those isolating years into a poignant Americana tapestry.
With Ned Farr leading the project, one might have expected a cinematic quality given his long, lauded history in the film industry. And, true to form, this album plays out like an intimate indie film where folk melodies meet alt-country twang under the warm embrace of Americana. The detailed, narrative style of songwriting present on this album is a testament to Farr’s ability to craft stories, whether through visuals or, in this case, soundscapes.
Track opener “The Master Plan” sets the scene, drawing listeners into a world of uncertainty and resilience. There’s a potent atmosphere, with hints of what’s to come, musically and thematically. The shortest track, “The Captain Cries,” at just under a minute, serves as a somber interlude, reminiscent of an old ship captain’s lament echoing over an empty sea.
It’s hard to deny the palpable emotions and personal narrative throughout, reflecting the turmoil of recent years. “Hard Love” and “A Picture of the Sun” delve deep into relationships strained by the distance and stress of the pandemic era. They’re more than just songs; they’re diary entries set to melody. Cenovia Cummins’ virtuoso strings are prominent on “She Just Goes”, and she delivers a blazing violin solo in “Bulls”, highlighting her extensive prowess in both the classical and pop domains.
The soul of this album truly lies in its exceptional band members. With Jon Ossman’s seasoned bass lines providing a sturdy foundation, listeners get a taste of his illustrious musical past with icons like Chris Botti and Paula Cole. Jim Olbrys, with his Berkeley schooling, lends intricate guitar work that’s both emotive and technically splendid, weaving seamlessly with the cello tones of Juilliard-trained Evan Richey. And Joe Casalino’s drumming is precise yet impassioned, reminiscent of a teacher guiding his students with care.
Tracks like “Summer Break” and “Bulls” lean into the alt-country side, infusing an earthy grit to the mix. The former track, perhaps ironically named, suggests the transient nature of respite in these trying times, while the latter feels grounded, sturdy, and perhaps a bit defiant. “She Just Goes” and “Get Up” embody the ethos of moving forward no matter the odds, both thematically aligned with the broader album narrative.
“Bury the Stone” and “The Gift” round off the album beautifully, capturing the essence of remembrance and forward motion. They feel like closing chapters in this intricate musical novel, echoing themes of recovery, rebirth, and the determination to forge ahead.
This album is not simply a collection of songs; it’s a vessel carrying stories of pain, love, loss, and ultimately, hope. The craftsmanship is exceptional, from the instrumentals to the songwriting, reflecting the talent and experience of every band member. As the world tries to find its footing post-pandemic, “THE MASTER PLAN” serves as a poignant reminder of the power of music to capture, console, and inspire during even the darkest of times.
For those familiar with the band’s evolution, it’s hard not to reminisce about their pivotal track, “The Good Red Road.” This song isn’t just a hallmark in their musical odyssey but also the very inspiration behind the band’s name, setting a defining tone for their journey. From then to now, the evolution is evident, and Ned Farr & The Good Red Road continue to carve their unique niche in the vast world of Americana.
In conclusion, “THE MASTER PLAN” is a reflective, beautifully orchestrated homage to the human spirit. It’s not just about survival but about finding beauty amid chaos, hope amid despair. Here’s to the resilience of Ned Farr & The Good Red Road, who, despite the challenges, delivered possibly their best work yet.
There’s a stoic sense of transparency in Jon-Olov Woxlin’s Junk Trunk, a quality that invariably shines through in this Americana/folk rock/country album, the fifth in his discography. Recorded in a single December afternoon, the album comprises 12 cuts that are framed by an insistent commitment to a stripped-down, honest aesthetic.
Woxlin, the Gothenburg/Helsingland, SWE native who penned both the lyrics and music, opens the album with the raw and explicit “Exit Sign Explicit.” The audacious imagery—knives thrown, beer consumed, dancers gyrating—sets a startling stage, the music coalescing into a sharp, unforgettable sonic knife. Björn Petersson’s double bass provides a rolling backbone to Erik Gunnars Risberg’s fiddle, mandolin, dobro, and steel guitar, lending a rich tonal contour when there’s need for instrumental depth on the album, but the true star is Woxlin’s lyricism.
“Already There” swiftly picks up with a country edge, the melody bending under the weight of longing and loss. The rich interplay of Woxlin’s guitar and vocals and Petersson’s double bass creates an evocative sonic canvas, but it’s the mournful twang of Risberg’s steel guitar that particularly stands out.
“Esoteric Woman of the Night,” a melancholic folk-rock anthem, paints a haunting portrait of a woman. Here, Woxlin’s lyrics are profound, laying bare the universal human experience of unrequited love, estrangement, and longing. Meanwhile, “Our Journey’s Just Begun” offers a slightly sunnier disposition, its melody a gentle ripple on the album’s current.
“For Another Day” taps into the roots of country with its compelling narrative, invoking images of the rural heartland. Woxlin’s vocals sit firmly atop this backdrop, narrating the song’s story with a deft sense of honesty.
“Your New World Is Here” is perhaps the album’s most political track, with its apocalyptic prophesying. It’s a significant moment on the record, a stark reminder of the tumultuous times we live in. “Mother of Fate” and “The Blaze of the Thunder” are equally stirring, blending folky sensibilities with rockier undertones.
“Wrap Up My Heart” is a heartbreaking lament, its painful rawness seeping through Woxlin’s grainy vocals and the mournful twang of the steel guitar. “Venlafaxine #305 & 403,” is a bleak reflection on mental health and the impact of medication, a startlingly candid track that tugs at the heartstrings.
Finally, “Millennial Whoop” concludes the album on a note of weary acceptance and resilience, a testimony to the struggles faced and overcome. It’s a fitting close, the melody and lyrics culminating in a slow crescendo that seems to echo long after the last notes fade.
Junk Trunk’s compelling strength lies in its organic immediacy, as Woxlin rejects multiple takes and overproduction. The result is a startlingly raw and honest record that brings the listener into the room with the musicians. This album is a testament to the power of authenticity in music, demonstrating that when it comes to creating art, honesty often surpasses perfection.
*This first paragraph is a copy of a previously written synopsis of the point behind the new section, The Flock.*
We have two goals here with our blog and our podcast; we want to help you find a bunch of new artists that you love, and we also want to support those artists. We came up with a new idea for a post where we take a genre, and give you a few artists within that genre. That way, it helps everyone. If you come here because you love one artist, you’ve got five more that you’re probably going to love now. That helps you load up your playlist with tracks that will impress your friends, and it also helps the artists hit untapped markets and possibly network with likeminded artists they didn’t know existed. Without further ado, I present “The Flock.”
ARTISTS LOOK HERE: Caleb and I have started a Facebook group that we want to turn into a place for artists from around the country to find likeminded bands to fill shows out, find shows, and really just a community made by artists to talk about the industry. If you’re interested in joining that, CLICK HERE.
Simon Lewis & Onk Lou – “Home 2.0”
The way this was described when it was sent to us was simply: “Two incredible voices in one song that couldn’t be more variant.” When I first started listening to the music, I was like, okay, this first guy has a beautiful voice; I’m sure the other guy does too, but how variant could they really be? And then the second guy came in; and I immediately started to type my response about wanting to feature this song on the blog. Then they harmonize together and I had to stop typing and just listen to the rest of the song before I responded. I was trying to think of who they reminded me of; and I couldn’t come up with anyone that they actually sounded like. They remind me slightly of Middle Brother in the sense that they have very different voices and beautiful lyricism, but these guys have much better voices than Middle Brother (not hating, I love Middle Brother). Let’s dive in briefly to the beautiful lyricism I mentioned:
“I dig a hole in the woods and I grow with the roots and I go with the flood as life tells me so, I let go of the mess created in my head because,
Home is where the heart is and that’s wherever I go.
bridge:
I close my eyes to feel the moment, I walk this path made out of cobblestone, I take a breath before I let it go, when stars collide they fall apart but in the end there’ll always be a start, till than I’ll dance beneath the waterfall”
I could’ve really picked any section of the song and found something to talk about, but I particularly like the message of home being different for different people. In particular; it doesn’t have to be a place with roots stuck in one place, it can also be a flooded river you float down. “Home is where the heart is, and that’s wherever I go.”
Martha Hill – “Spiders”
Do you ever feel like you’re losing your mind? Well this song perfectly describes exactly what that feels like:
“One head two minds
Hands pressing glass from separate sides
Three seconds till I dive
1 2 3 stop
CHORUS
The spiders in my head they just won’t leave me alone
I pick the legs off while I wait for the seconds to slow ”
There’s something about the lyrics that remind me a bit of the short story “The Yellow Wall Paper”, a story where a woman being shut in the house by her husband, becomes increasingly crazy; which causes her husband to shut her in even more for…being crazy.
The beautiful instrumentals that have a nice beat throughout, and then go off the rails like a Pink Floyd bridge at the 2 minutes mark only add to Martha’s haunting vocals that carry you right up to the very last second of the very last “1, 2, 3, stop.” It’s a song that strikes a perfect balance between catchy and disorienting; and I really can’t get enough of it.
Bio: “Martha Hill is a an alternative pop artist based in Newcastle upon Tyne.
After growing up as one of six siblings on a remote Scottish peninsula, where the only link to the mainland was via ferry, she left home at 17 and spent two years touring across Europe as a street musician.
Eventually relocating to north-east England and falling in with a local ‘scene’ for the first time, Martha and her band have spent the past year touring all over the UK – supporting the likes of Holy Moly & The Crackers and Let’s Eat Grandma at venues such as Borderline, The Cluny etc. – with two DIY tours of Europe falling in between. Her most recent gig was for BBC Introducing, supporting Atlantic-signed Mahalia on The Biggest Weekend Fringe Tour.”
keatsu – “Feel Good”
I realize this isn’t necessarily what you might initially think of as “Singer/Songwriter”, but keatsu is basically a one man show, and it’s my blog, so don’t worry about it. Also, if you only listened to the first little bit, you’d assume the whole thing was just a normal lo-fi project with a guy with an acoustic guitar, and then you quickly see it advance and evolve from there into a beautiful call and response with himself that repeats “I just feel good on the dance floor.” This is something you’d expect to be said by Justin Timberlake with a break beat behind it, but is instead said with lo-fi effects and an a minimalistic guitar. The irony and self awareness of keatsu is my favorite thing about all his projects. He’s one of my favorite artists out the moment. On his full-length, he references everything from Nirvana, to Linkin Park, to pop songs, and it all just works. Literally go throw a dart at his Spotify page and you’ll find 3 new favorite songs. We can get you started with our Spotify link at the bottom of this page (don’t skip down there yet, still plenty of good music to hear).
Kaiak – “No Regrets”
I really could see this song making waves on some mainstream channels in the summer months. The thing that really solidified this song for me, other than the beautiful production and vocals, was the interesting use of horns during the later half of the song. It really was a nice surprise for me that took this song from a nice sounding song that I would listen to again, to a song I immediately saved to all of my Spotify playlists. “Lesson learned, passed the test, life goes on, no regrets.” It’s a message that we’ve all heard before, but gets solidified by the pretty package that Kaiak has presented it in here.
Boyce Avenue – “Ride The Wave”
I immediately thought this looked like an advertisement. I guess that might come off as a bad thing; but I mean like a Super Bowl Ad. It’s one of those heartfelt ones that you expect from Budweiser or something. It’s just so beautifully shot, and the music itself fits the vibe that it’s created so well.
“The tide will rise and fall; some days you will feel small, but ride a wave, I’ll ride it in with you.”
I don’t have kids, but that sentiment is just so beautiful to me. It’s both a lesson and a show of support, an acknowledgment of the harshness of the world, but also saying “I have your back as long as I can.” This message mixed with the family fun and love shown in the video can melt the coldest of hearts. Trust me on that.
David Madras – “Me & You”
And last, but certainly not least. Do you like Phosphorescent? Who doesn’t? David Madras’ voice reminds me so much of Phosphorescent. I’m really excited to announce that this song will be a part of our upcoming podcast episode that focuses on Existentialism. Oh you didn’t know we had a podcast? Check it out here. Since we are focusing on it on the podcast, I don’t want to spoil too much here, but let’s dive briefly into one of the lines.
“She said she had a little revelation, about the way the clouds appear, and how a day becomes a year. She said she had a little realization, about everything she’s ever feared, and suddenly it’s drawing near.”
I don’t know about you guys, but I connect to the “she” in this song so strongly. The existentialism episode is going to talk about it at length, but basically the idea is that you suddenly feel and question how tiny and insignificant you are in the cosmos; and this song perfectly captures that feeling. Is that a bad feeling? Yeah, sometimes. But it can also be empowering. “She says, we are young, me and you, there’s so much that I don’t know and I’m never going to. We are young, there’s so much left to do, all the wonders of the world for a boy and girl like me and you.”
We are going to keep updating this playlist every day, so follow it now and check back frequently to see new music throughout the whole month. We will be adding 3-5 new song each day all month long!
It’s Friday night! Are you guys partying? The second you hit a lull and need a pick me up, throw this song on the house playlist to part like it’s 1955 (but now you have MDMA and Tinder). I really can’t get enough of this song. Whoever is playing the piano is absolutely ripping!
“Jesse Daniel’s self-titled debut album sounds both fresh and familiar from beginning to end. Pairing classic country styling with honest and compelling lyrics, Jesse’s album plays like an old favorite with a twist that is both edgy and uniquely his own.”
– Zach Taylor, Raised Rowdy
I really couldn’t agree more with this quote from Jesse’s website.When I read a bit about Jesse on his website, it seems that he has a deeply American story to tell, full of broken families, picking yourself up by the bootstraps, homesteading, heart break, and so much more. If you are tired of pop-country that you hear on the radio, but want some intellectual twang in your life, you can’t go wrong with Jesse Daniel.
