Tag: folk

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Me Lost Me – Nevergreen

Me Lost Me is the music project of Newcastle based musician Jayne Dent, and Nevergreen came out a few months ago as one of the singles from her latest album, The Good Noise, which was released last week. The entire album is brilliant, and ranges from meandering, folky ballads to soaring, ethereal pop, many of which are pinned together with crisp and precise drum programming. Nevergreen itself is a beguiling mix of all of these elements and more: something you could easily imagine soundtracking a hallucinatory scene in whatever mind-bending film Ari Aster currently has in the works.

https://www.melostme.com/

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This Is The Kit – Was Magician

On a blazing hot Sunday afternoon last June I watched This Is The Kit perform on Glastonbury’s West Holts stage, and it was absolutely magnificent: exactly the kind of relaxed yet quietly invigorating vibe I was looking for, and I’ve been hooked ever since. Was Magician is the latest in a run of singles from her forthcoming album Off Off On which is out later this month, and is delicate, sparse and very lovely indeed.

https://thisisthekit.co.uk

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Orions Belte feat. Shikoswe – Conversations

This is the latest single from Norwegian trio Orions Belte, a band supposedly inspired by “Nigerian 70’s rock, postcards from the French Riviera and Formula 1” and while I’m not an authority on either Nigerian rock or Formula 1, the breezy, heady melodies of Conversations absolutely call to mind sitting on a warm beach gazing out at the gentle swells of the Mediterranean. It’s an intoxicating blend, easily accessible yet with enough of a punch to stay with you for some time afterwards.

http://www.orionsbelte.no/

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Kurt Vile – Dandelions

Dandelions is one of two Kurt Vile originals on his new five-track EP Speed, Sound, Lonely KV (ep), which also includes three covers: one of Jack Clement and two of US country legend John Prine who passed away earlier this year. From the opening, carefully picked acoustic melody and dreamy background washes to the hushed, muted percussion, this is vintage stuff from an artist who has that rare talent of being simultaneously rousing and reassuring. “That sounded pretty sick” says Vile as the music gradually fades away. I couldn’t agree more.

https://kurtvile.com

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Loma – Don’t Shy Away

Emily Cross, Dan Duszynski and Jonathan Meiburg formed Loma in 2016 when they met on tour. They released their debut self-titled LP back in 2018, which I became mildly obsessed with for a while, especially the majestically sad I Don’t Want Children. Don’t Shy Away is the latest single from their forthcoming sophomore album – also called Don’t Shy Away – and it’s completely brilliant. Breathy, ethereal vocals and a gently strumming guitar that gradually build, fade, build again to a restrained, devastating denouement.

https://lomamusic.bandcamp.com

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Anjimile – In Your Eyes

Records like this are the exact reason I wanted to start this blog: an artist I had never previously heard of, making absolutely incredible music that – so far at least – isn’t quite the attention it deserves. Anjimile Chithambo wrote much of the album from which In Your Eyes is taken while in treatment for drug and alcohol abuse, while also “living more fully as a nonbinary trans person”. The press release goes on to make Sufjan Stevens comparisons, which is usually pretty dangerous ground on which to tread, but in this case is absolutely on-point, and there are also echoes of Tracy Chapman in much of Giver Taker, both vocally and in the quiet rage that underpins some of the songs.

There are so many moment of brilliance in the album, but In Your Eyes gets my particular stamp of approval for being one of the best songs I’ve heard all year.

https://anjimile.bandcamp.com

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Lomelda – Hannah Sun

Hannah Sun is one of three tracks on the new Lomelda album – also titled Hannah – that are named after their creator, Hannah Reid. “It felt important to call it Hannah because it attached me and my person and my responsibility to the music” she said in a recent interview. Even without this exposition, there could be little doubt that these are deeply personal. intimate songs, and Hannah Sun drifts and shimmers like the last sunbeams of the day gently breaking through a canopy of softly shifting leaves.

https://lomelda.bandcamp.com/album/hannah

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Tomberlin – Wasted

Tomberlin’s 2018 debut album At Weddings is without doubt one of my favourite of the last few years, and one I go back to on a pretty much weekly basis. It’s stripped down, fairly mournful folk: utterly beautiful and almost unbearably sad in parts. By contrast, her latest single is positively upbeat, at least in its buoyant rhythm and big, open melodies. But lyrically there’s still that same sense of melancholy that makes her work so personal and unique: “I try to write it out / Make sure nothing sounds weird / Make sure it’s not half bad / Do you think this songs sad?” The answer? Yes, a little, and I’m very much looking forward to the new EP Projections which is due out 16 October via Saddle Creek. 

https://tomberlin.bandcamp.com/

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Sufjan Stevens – America

A new 12 minute song from Sufjan, and the lead single from his forthcoming album. There’s really very little more I need to say about this, other than it seems to be the culmination of almost everything he’s done in his career so far, with elements of folk, noise and electronica vying for space amongst lyrical themes both religious and nationalistic. If this is illustrative of the album, we’re in for a real treat come 25 September.

https://sufjan.com

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Music

Johanna Warren – Hole In The Wall

Beautifully simple and delicate folky americana from Johanna Warren, taken from her new album Chaotic God, which I’ve found incredibly soothing this morning. And if you like this, I’d highly recommend checking out Tomberlin’s album At Weddings from a couple of years ago, which is absolutely brilliant and has similar vibes, both vocally and in the instrumentation.

https://www.johannawarren.com/