Folk
The Weather Station Unveil Ignorance (Deluxe): Stream
Earlier this year, Tamara Lindeman staked her claim in indie rock with Ignorance, her latest album as The Weather Station. Still reeling in its success, the folk musician has released a deluxe edition of the already-beloved record today via Fat Possum; physical copies will be available on November 19th. Ignorance (Deluxe) comes in a double-LP format that features the original tracklist, some stripped-down performances, and two brand-new tracks called “Look” and “Better Now.” “I wrote ‘Better Now’ in Banff, Alberta, in stolen moments as I was teaching songwriting and writing for myself,” Lindeman said in a statement. “It’s all just true; the mountains, the piano, the first line, the pain of being hurt and the joy of being alright anyways.” Furthermore, Lindeman writes: “Whene...
Aimee Mann Discusses the Isolation of Obsessive Thinking and Anxiety
Listen via: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Pandora | Stitcher | Google | Pocket Casts | Radio Public | RSS Singer-songwriter Aimee Mann talks about her struggles with anxiety and depression on the latest episode of the Going There with Dr. Mike podcast. Mann explains how her obsessive thoughts can be so powerful and overwhelming, that her depression is almost a response to keep the intensity of her thoughts in check — like a “lid” that keeps her anxiety in check. She also discusses how just as mental illness is devastating when we experience it ourselves, it is also crushing when someone close to us struggles with their own issues. ] Advertisement Related Video She takes on this difficult topic in her new song “Suicide ...
Brandi Carlile Performs Gorgeous Cover of Joni Mitchell’s “Woodstock”: Watch
Brandi Carlile has always been upfront about her love for Joni Mitchell, often playing songs by the folk legend onstage while on tour. Over the weekend, though, Carlile played a particularly special set for SiriusXM’s Small Stage concert series where she broke out a show-stopping cover of “Woodstock,” an underrated Mitchell song from her 1970 album Ladies of the Canyon. Watch a replay of her rendition below. For her take on the cut, Carlile and her bandmates drew “Woodstock” out into a nearly six-minute-long scorcher. Over with some wavering keyboard notes, Carlile opened the Mitchell song with subdued gusto and heart — which is as to be expected, after all, considering she’s famous for putting on incredible live sets — before her bandmates kicked in with big country rock guitar riffs and ...
David Crosby: Neil Young Is the “Most Selfish Person” I Know
It’s no secret that the members of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young aren’t exactly on the best of terms anymore, but any additional confirmation that the folk supergroup won’t be reuniting still feels like pouring salt in a wound. In a new interview with The Guardian this week, the often outspoken David Crosby didn’t hesitate to divulge his feelings about his former bandmates. According to Crosby, some “petty-assed bullshit” has kept him from speaking CSNY peers Neil Young and Graham Nash. “Neil has got a genuine beef,” Crosby admitted in the interview. “I did say something bad about his girlfriend [Daryl Hannah]. I said I thought she was a predator. OK, he can be mad at me. That’s all right.” Even still, Crosby went on to describe Young as “probably the most self-centered, self-obsessed, ...
Strand of Oaks Honors John Prine on New Single “Somewhere in Chicago”: Stream
Strand of Oaks has unveiled his latest single “Somewhere in Chicago” via Galacticana Records. Stream it below. On the track, the artist — otherwise known as Timothy Showalter — daydreams of the Windy City over layered, echoing acoustic guitars while referencing none other than John Prine. “John’s on a walk somewhere in Chicago/ Losing our leaders who you gonna follow/ Might’ve been the movies, might’ve been the lightning/ Might’ve been something much more frightening,” he croons over reflective instrumentation on the refrain. In a statement, the folk rocker described the new song as, “My ode to the late John Prine and the midwestern ethos he so perfectly embodied. The song dreams of the great city of Chicago where John can forever and happily wander.” Advertisement Related Video “Somewhere...
Aaron Dessner on Big Red Machine, The National’s Future, and Working with Taylor Swift
Listen via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Pocket Casts | Radio Public | RSS On this week’s Kyle Meredith With, Aaron Dessner calls in to discuss How Long Do You Think It’s Gonna Last, the sophomore record from his Big Red Machine project with Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon. The prolific producer/songwriter takes us through the process of bringing in more friends for this album, including Sharon Van Etten and Taylor Swift, and how the set came to focus on themes of mental health, depression, and family dynamics. That was particularly true on “Hutch,” a song written for the late Frightened Rabbit frontman Scott Hutchinson, a close friend of Dessner’s. Advertisement Related Video On working wit...
Marissa Nadler Announces New Album The Path of the Clouds, Shares “Bessie, Did You Make It?”: Stream
Marissa Nadler is gearing up to release her ninth studio album. The Path of the Clouds, the forthcoming LP from the Boston singer-songwriter, arrives October 29th via Sacred Bones and Bella Union. As a preview of what’s to come, Nadler has shared the album’s opening track, “Bessie, Did You Make It?,” along with the song’s pensive music video. Nadler wrote the bulk of The Path of the Clouds in quarantine, during which she found an odd solace in the documentary series Unsolved Mysteries. The show’s frequent topics of cold cases and paranormal wonders pushed Nadler to go for a similarly eerie approach with The Path of the Clouds, which sees her grow in her musical exploration. Here, reality and the metaphysical feel less distinct from each other, driven by simultaneous anxiety and curiosity a...
Neil Young Announces Bootleg Recording of His 1970 Carnegie Hall Performance
Neil Young has announced the first volume in his upcoming series of bootleg recordings. The Neil Young Official Bootleg Series — Carnegie Hall 1970 is set to be released October 1st via Shaky Pictures/Reprise Records. The 23-track collection captures the magic of the singer-songwriter’s near-mythic performance on the night of December 4th, 1970 — the first of two back-to-back shows at the legendary New York City venue. Throughout the evening, Young performed a stripped-back setlist of songs like “Down by the River,” “Cinnamon Girl,” and the then-newly unveiled title track to After the Goldrush. He also played early versions of numerous tracks which, up to that point, had yet to be released — or even recorded — including “Bad Fog of Loneliness,” “Old Man,” and “See the Sky About t...
Waxahatchee Covers “Talkin’ Dust Bowl Blues” for Woody Guthrie Tribute Album: Stream
“Mighty thin stew though.” Waxahatchee has released a cover of Woody Guthrie’s “Talkin’ Dust Bowl Blues.” Stream it below. On the track, the indie project of Katie Crutchfield spins a yarn the late folk icon first told in the opening track of his 1940 album Dust Bowl Ballads. “Back in 1927/ I had a little farm that I called heaven/ Well, the prices up and the rain come down/ And I hauled my crops all into town/ I got the money/ Bought clothes and groceries, fed the kids/ And raised a family,” Crutchfrield recounts over gentle acoustic guitar. Advertisement Related Video Waxahatchee’s take on the folk classic serves as the second single off the upcoming tribute album, Home in This World: Woody Guthrie’s Dust Bowl Ballads. The album also features lead single “Dust Cain’t Kill Me”...
R.I.P. Nanci Griffith, Grammy-Winning Singer-Songwriter Dead at 68
Nanci Griffith, the Grammy-winning folk and country artist who pioneered the “folkabilly” sound, has died at 68. No cause of death has been revealed at this time, Variety reports. According to a statement from Gold Mountain Entertainment, “It was Nanci’s wish that no further formal statement or press release happen for a week following her passing.” In the 1990s, she survived two bouts with cancer. Griffith’s successes arrived in contradictory forms. A powerful vocalist, her biggest hits as a songwriter came for other artists, such as Kathy Mattea’s “Love at the Five and Dime,” Bette Midler’s “From a Distance,” and Suzy Bogguss’ “Outbound Plane.” And despite her chops as a writer, she won her only Grammy for a cover album, 1993’s Other Voices, Other Rooms, which fe...
Big Thief Share Two New Singles “Little Things” and “Sparrow”: Stream
You’d think that after releasing two stellar albums in 2019, Big Thief would be keen on taking a much longer break before they began churning out more new music. Thankfully for us, that’s not the case; Today, the Brooklyn indie-folk band returns with two new singles, “Little Things” and “Sparrow.” Both songs were recorded in 2020 and produced by Big Thief drummer James Krivchenia. The slow-burning, hymn-like “Sparrow” sees vocalist Adrianne Lenker recount a Bible-inspired tale that reads like an epic poem of sorts. The track was recorded all in one take, lending to an intimate, natural feel. On the other hand, “Little Things” is an unexpected sound for Big Thief, in which they swap their more typical somber feel with a propulsive rhythm section and noisy guitar riffs. Here, Lenker seems to...
Aimee Mann Announces New Album Queens of the Summer Hotel, Shares Song: Stream
Indie folk-and-piano icon Aimee Mann has just announced a new album. It’s called Queens of the Summer Hotel and it’s due out November 5th via Mann’s own label SuperEgo. Apparently it came about after Mann started developing music for a stage adaptation of Girl, Interrupted in 2018. To preview the record, she’s sharing the album’s lead single, “Suicide Is Murder,” along with a music video below. According to a press release, Queens of the Summer consists of “a song cycle constructed from music that Mann wrote for the show.” It’s sung by Mann and orchestrated with her longtime collaborator Paul Bryan. As a nod to the project’s theatrical origins, the album features strings and woodwinds in addition to Mann’s usual style of piano playing. It spans 15 songs in total and serves as the follow-up...
