The Kernal - Light Country There's something refreshingly familiar about Light Country, the new full-length record from Jackson, Tennessee-based red suit wearing traditionalist, The Kernal, out via John Paul White's Single Lock Records. With quick-witted lyrics that encompass everything from a knock-kneed ballerina who has the heart but not the know-how to living in an abandoned Taco Bell, and... Continue Reading →
Pew Playlist: 3 Albums That Should Be On Your Radar, 2/10/17
Kory Quinn & The Quintessentials - Black Gold Blues EP In the grand tradition of socially aware folkies like Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan, Kory Quinn calls out corruption and turns a critical eye to everything from capitulation to fossil fuel use, the silent injustice of dead peasant insurance, rampant fear-mongering to maintain the status quo, and... Continue Reading →
Pew Playlist: 3 Albums That Should Be On Your Radar, 2/3/17
Rose Cousins - Natural Conclusion The JUNO Award-winning Canadicana songstress' rich voice brims with wisdom and depth while it gracefully dances and trips along each stunning verse. Hers is a voice that can make us fall in love and break our hearts in one note, supported but not overrun by its lushly-produced acoustic stylings. The beauty... Continue Reading →
Pew Playlist: 3 Albums That Should Be On Your Radar, 1/27/17
Brigitte DeMeyer & Will Kimbrough - Mockingbird Soul These two were born to sing together, and this collaboration proves it. Though it's not their first rodeo together, these best friends and longtime music-makers have knocked it out of the proverbial park with Mockingbird Soul; by mixing acoustic stylings with straight out of the swamp harmonious blues,... Continue Reading →
Pew Playlist: 3 Albums That Should Be On Your Radar, 1/13/17
The Infamous Stringdusters--The Laws Of Gravity The Grammy-nominated bluegrass powerhouse is back with The Laws Of Gravity, and this one is an absolute jaw-dropper. Over the course of 13 mesmerizing tunes that put their kickstands down firmly on the bluegrass-y landscape, the band manages to push the limits of what string band music can be;... Continue Reading →
Pew Playlist: 3 Albums That Should Be On Your Radar, 12/16/16
Robbie Fulks - Upland Stories Robbie Fulks tries to make songs that offer more than verse-chorus-hook: songs that have space, calmness, unresolved tensions, and the hallmarks of lived experience. This sort of complexity is displayed in Fulks' Grammy-nominated Upland Stories. His richly emotional storytelling is illuminated by his instrumental prowess and emotional voice, reflected through the lens of fatherhood,... Continue Reading →
Pew Playlist: 3 Albums That Should Be On Your Radar, 12/9/16
Kelsey Waldon - Dirty Old Town Kelsey Waldon's Dirty Old Town, released in August of this year, came back to our attention recently with a live Audiotree Session featured on Spotify, and we got all excited about the record all over again. This album from the hardworking Nashville-by-way-of-Kentucky songstress is country as cornbread, and we just know... Continue Reading →
Pew Playlist: Christmas on the Lam and Other Songs From The Season
Even though the Christmas season doesn't officially begin until after Turkey Day, we have decided to go full-tilt-boogie with the holidays this year, and thought y'all could use a little jumpstart on Christmas cheer too. Our friends at Red House Records, based in the nation’s icebox of Minnesota, have a lot of experience with below-zero temperatures... Continue Reading →
Pew Playlist: 3 Albums That Should Be On Your Radar, 11/4/16
Adrian + Meredith - More Than A Little With their brand new release, More Than A Little, Nashville-based duo Adrian + Meredith put a punk rock sneer on old-timey tunes that slice through the ever-present noise and offer a defiant and fresh take on early swing and jangly jazz. Featuring guest appearances from rootsy fixtures like Fats Kaplin (Jack... Continue Reading →
Pew Playlist: 3 Albums That Should be On Your Radar, 10/28/16
Cris Jacobs - Dust To Gold Baltimore-based troubadour Cris Jacobs released his second solo album, Dust To Gold, last week, and it's a doozy. With a smooth-as-silk soulful voice and some gritty guitar work, Jacobs conveys his rocking road-worthy stories in a way that could please any set of ears. Marc Broussard - S.O.S. 2: Save Our Soul: Soul... Continue Reading →