Tag Archives: folk-rock

John Prine’s The Tree of Forgiveness

Posted on 18th July 2018 by Gary Whitehouse

John Prine is the folk singer America deserves. And needs. Since his debut self-titled album in 1971 he has been ministering to our malaise with his unique blend of humor and pathos, comedy, tragedy and tragicomedy that perfectly reflects and … Continue reading →

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Cowboy Junkies’ All That Reckoning

Posted on 18th July 2018 by Gary Whitehouse

Cowboy Junkies’ latest release marks the 30th anniversary of the Canadian folk-rockers’ breakthrough album The Trinity Session. All That Reckoning, all these years later, still is built around Margo Timmins’ hushed vocals, but this one seethes with a barely suppressed … Continue reading →

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Dana Sipos’ Trick of the Light

Posted on 24th May 2018 by Gary Whitehouse

If like me you appreciate deeply rooted folk music that’s recorded with the sort of post-modern studio wizardry that enhances that music’s moods and meanings, then you owe it to yourself to check out Dana Sipos’ Trick of the Light. … Continue reading →

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Ryley Walker’s Deafman Glance

Posted on 10th May 2018 by Gary Whitehouse

I’ve been listening to Chicago-based folk-rocker Ryley Walker maturing his music since his first full-length All Kinds of You came out on Thompkins Square in 2014. He gained critical acclaim for his second Primrose Green the following year, with its … Continue reading →

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Beatrice Deer’s My All To You

Posted on 10th May 2018 by Gary Whitehouse

Beatrice Deer is a singer-songwriter from Nunavik, the icy region of Quebec north of the 55th parallel and home to Quebec’s Inuit people. My All to You is her fifth record since she left her tiny hometown of Quaqtaq for … Continue reading →

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Fairport Convention’s Fairport unConventional

Posted on 29th April 2018 by David Kidney

I have chosen a somewhat unconventional way to review this collection, partly because of the title but mainly because there is just so much stuff in this box that it demands consideration. Geez! It cost almost $30 to mail it … Continue reading →

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Wûtas’ Eponymous Debut Album

Posted on 15th February 2018 by Robert

“Wûtas” (pronounced “wuotas”) is an Alemannic word denoting the Wild Hunt. (Alemannic is either a group of discrete languages or a group of dialects, depending on which school of linguistics is your favorite, spoken mainly in southern Germany, Austria, parts … Continue reading →

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Jolie Holland and Samantha Parton’s Wildflower Blues

Posted on 11th November 2017 by Gary Whitehouse

I’ve been a big fan and follower of Jolie Holland since her home-recorded debut Catalpa came out of left field in 2003, but this little gem sneaked under my radar. If you missed it, too, when it came out quietly … Continue reading →

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Gun Outfit’s Out of Range

Posted on 4th November 2017 by Gary Whitehouse

Out of Range is the fifth full-length record by the Los Angeles-based Gun Outfit. They refer to the sound of their music as “Western expanse,” and that’s as good a description as any. Musically it’s a guitar-laden melange of cosmic … Continue reading →

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The Weather Station’s self-titled album

Posted on 29th October 2017 by Gary Whitehouse

Toronto-based musician Tamara Lindeman records and performs as The Weather Station. This self-titled album is her fourth release under that name, and it’s a bold, self-confident report back from the baffling frontiers of adulthood, relationships, independence, dependence and life in … Continue reading →

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TRADarrr’s Cautionary Tales; Further Tales of Love! Death! And Treachery!

Posted on 19th October 2017 by Lars Nilsson

Let me sum it up: TRADarrr’s debut album is one of the best first albums I have ever heard from anyone. But is it really a debut album? Three of the five members on that album (PJ Wright on guitars, … Continue reading →

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Anna Tivel’s Small Believer

Posted on 10th September 2017 by Gary Whitehouse

Anna Tivel, whose Heroes Waking Up rose to the top of my best-of list in 2016, has a new record out already this year, and Small Believers lives up to the high mark set by that record. Portland’s Anna Tivel … Continue reading →

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Deer Tick’s Deer Tick Vol. 1 & Deer Tick Vol. 2

Posted on 4th September 2017 by Gary Whitehouse

In the chorus of “Only Love,” midway through the acoustic, folky Deer Tick Vol. 1, Deer Tick front man John McCauley sings, “It’s only love, so don’t be afraid, it will let you down but not today … it won’t … Continue reading →

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A Consumer´s Guide to Fairport Convention

Posted on 5th July 2017 by Diverse Voices

Preliminary Note: This guide deals only with the official studio and live albums released by Fairport Convention. No samplers, collections or unofficial live albums are mentioned. The albums are graded as follows: (****) = A classic. Should be in everyone´s … Continue reading →

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Cory Branan’s Adios

Posted on 31st March 2017 by Gary Whitehouse

The best thing about Cory Branan is his now-they’re-funny, now-they’re-sad lyrics. No, wait, the best thing is the way the tune always works just right with the lyrics, and it’s always catchy as hell. No, wait, the best thing is … Continue reading →

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Ani Cordero’s Querido Mundo

Posted on 22nd March 2017 by Gary Whitehouse

Ani Cordero is a Puerto Rican-American singer, songwriter and musician (and a Latin American music researcher) living in New York. I became a fan of her eponymous alt-Latin indie-rock band in the early 2000s, which led me to the Mexican … Continue reading →

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The DeSoto Caucus’s 4

Posted on 16th March 2017 by Gary Whitehouse

The DeSoto Caucus released their second and third albums within 11 months of each other, in 2013 and 2014. I first caught up with them on their third, self-titled album, which I liked a lot. This Danish quartet took a … Continue reading →

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Michael Chapman’s 50

Posted on 8th February 2017 by Gary Whitehouse

I’m a little embarrassed to say that Michael Chapman’s new album 50 is my first exposure to this nonpariel British guitarist, singer and songwriter. After all, he gets name-checked alongside such greats as Richard Thompson, Bert Jansch and Davy Graham, … Continue reading →

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Ryley Walker’s Golden Sings That Have Been Sung

Posted on 19th December 2016 by Gary Whitehouse

Ryley Walker’s Golden Sings That Have Been Sung is a logical follow-up to his critically acclaimed 2015 album Primrose Green. The earlier release was noted for its almost spookily faithful homage to 1960s English folk-rock, particularly early Van Morrison. While … Continue reading →

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William Tyler’s Modern Country

Posted on 19th September 2016 by Gary Whitehouse

Guitarist William Tyler’s Modern Country was one of my favorite drive-time listens of the summer of 2016. I was so busy enjoying it, I didn’t get around to writing about it until now! First, about the title. It’s amazing how … Continue reading →

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Strangelings’ Season of the Witch

Posted on 17th September 2016 by Deborah Grabien

The Electric sitar: Not just for George Harrison tunes. Okay, I’m in love. Electric sitar! Bliss! No, seriously. Not hyperbole: it’s love. I’m replaying one of my happiest discoveries in a season of catch-as-catch-can, the Strangelings CD, Season of the Witch. … Continue reading →

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Y La Bamba’s Ojos del Sol

Posted on 7th September 2016 by Gary Whitehouse

Lyrically, musically and thematically complex, Ojos del Sol represents a leap of creative faith by Luz Elena Mendoza, the Portland, Oregon-based singer-songwriter who leads Y La Bamba. Her previous efforts, including 2012’s Court the Storm have combined the rhythms, sounds … Continue reading →

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Various artists’ Refugee

Posted on 14th July 2016 by Gary Whitehouse

We fled our homes from flames of war you rained in on our shores And now you’d sooner let us drown than open up your doors. For a life is only worth the dirt upon which it is born And … Continue reading →

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Various artists’ Refugee

Anna Tivel’s Heroes Waking Up

Posted on 9th May 2016 by Gary Whitehouse

Anna Tivel sings her songs of world-weariness and hope in a voice that sounds a lot younger than her words. The Northwest-raised Tivel currently calls Portland home, but she’s spent a lot of time on the road and with her … Continue reading →

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Chris Eckman’s Harney County

Posted on 30th January 2016 by Gary Whitehouse

Some parts of Harney County, Oregon, are among my favorite places on this planet. They include Steens Mountain, the Alvord Desert, and the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, which lately has been in the news around the country because it was … Continue reading →

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Calexico’s Edge of the Sun

Posted on 7th April 2015 by Gary Whitehouse

Calexico’s Edge of the Sun is packed full of the kind of music that made me a longtime fan of the Tucson band. To me it’s one of Calexico’s more successful albums in quite a while. The songs have strong … Continue reading →

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The Decemberists’ What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World

Posted on 4th January 2015 by Gary Whitehouse

The Decemberists have emerged from a more than three-year hiatus with a strong set of indie-rock songs for adults, What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World. Even with a January release, it’s sure to be on a lot of … Continue reading →

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Thompson’s Family

Posted on 17th October 2014 by Gary Whitehouse

Fans of Richard and Linda Thompson have been waiting for them to record together again since they broke up more than 30 years ago. I suppose a reunion of sorts became inevitable when two of their offspring, Teddy and Kami, … Continue reading →

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Richard Thompson’s Acoustic Classics

Posted on 23rd August 2014 by Gary Whitehouse

Richard Thompson’s style and competence as a solo performance have evolved a lot in just the past 20 years, and even more since he broke up with his former wife and singing partner Linda Thompson and set out on his … Continue reading →

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The Horse’s Ha’s Waterdrawn

Posted on 19th August 2013 by Gary Whitehouse

Waterdrawn from The Horse’s Ha seems like a good companion piece to Anais Mitchell’s 2012 Child Ballads. Most of the songs and the entire spirit of this project are drawn from the same well as those old Anglo-American ballads with … Continue reading →

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Sam Amidon’s Bright Sunny South

Posted on 5th August 2013 by Gary Whitehouse

Sam Amidon is a Vermont native formerly active in the New England folk scene, now based in London. Bright Sunny South is his fourth full-length release but his first on a major label. In addition to his solo work, he … Continue reading →

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Richard Thompson’s Electric

Posted on 23rd February 2013 by Gary Whitehouse

Electric which someone calculates to be Richard Thompson’s 40th release, features the English folk-rock icon in a power trio setting, with plenty of power provided by drummer Michael Jerome and bassist Taras Prodaniuk, both of whom have been playing with … Continue reading →

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Richard Thompson’s Strict Tempo!

Posted on 21st February 2013 by Gary Whitehouse

Lately, every time Richard Thompson issues a new recording, a spate of interviews appears in print and online media, conducted by writers of varying familiarity with his extensive oeuvre. Inevitably, one of more of them will ask him about his … Continue reading →

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Fairport Convention’s 4Play 76/79

Posted on 25th June 2012 by Michael Hunter

A not uncommon response when Fairport Convention is mentioned is to think of a band with regular line-up changes. However, that was really only the case in the first couple of decades of their existence. The remaining two and a … Continue reading →

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Bowerbirds’ The Clearing

Posted on 21st April 2012 by Gary Whitehouse

The Clearing is a fully realized artistic vision of Beth Tacular and Phil Moore, the young North Carolina couple who perform as Bowerbirds. It’s their third album, and it’s a mature, emotionally charged work that reflects some of the travails … Continue reading →

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Richard Thompson Band’s Live At Celtic Connections (DVD)

Posted on 27th January 2012 by Gary Whitehouse

The most recent incarnation of the Richard Thompson Band started its run with a string of nine or 10 shows along the West Coast of the U.S. in February of 2010. They played a set of 13 new songs that … Continue reading →

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Richard & Linda Thompson’s Shoot Out The Lights (Deluxe Edition)

Posted on 23rd May 2011 by Gary Whitehouse

What is left to be said about Richard & Linda Thompson’s swan song and masterpiece Shoot Out The Lights? It has garnered all kinds of honors in the nearly 30 years since its 1982 release, landing on more “best of” … Continue reading →

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Richard & Linda Thompson’s Hokey Pokey

Posted on 17th May 2011 by Gary Whitehouse

It’s probably going too far to say that Hokey Pokey is an overlooked gem in the Richard Thompson catalog. But this, the second of six studio albums released by Richard and Linda Thompson between 1974 and 1982, generally doesn’t receive … Continue reading →

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Richard Thompson’s Walking On A Wire, 1968-2009

Posted on 9th May 2011 by Gary Whitehouse

What can you say about a musician whose career began more than 40 years ago and whose creative and physical energies are still going strong? If the artist in question is Richard Thompson, you needn’t say anything. Just open the … Continue reading →

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Richard and Linda Thompson’s I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight

Posted on 30th March 2011 by Gary Whitehouse

Richard and Linda Thompson are among the most revered of musical couples in rock history, at least among fans not confined to music’s bland mainstream. That reverence is largely based on two albums: their first, I Want To See The … Continue reading →

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Makam’s Almanach

Posted on 22nd August 2006 by Gary Whitehouse

Makám has been putting its own stamp on Hungarian folk music for more than 20 years now. Or rather, Zoltán Krulik’s stamp. Almanach is the first album by this group I have heard, but they’ve been making recordings since 1984. … Continue reading →

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Lhasa’s The Living Road

Posted on 6th October 2004 by Gary Whitehouse

Lhasa de Sela is a Canadian singer who performs a unique blend of acoustic folk and electronica, sung in the three major languages of the North America: French, Spanish and English. This CD is brimming with passionate melody and rhythm … Continue reading →

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Calexico’s Feast of Wire

Posted on 24th March 2003 by Gary Whitehouse

In Feast of Wire the Tucson, Arizona-based Calexico has made the most overtly political statement in its brief but prolific history. Their fourth full-length CD offers a cohesive vision of the collision of cultures in the desert borderland between the … Continue reading →

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