Our Top Six Releases Mar 22
Top Six Releases
March 2022
Our Top Six Releases Mar 22
By Rob Dickens
Amanda Anne Platt & The Honeycutters
The Devil & The Deep Blue Sea
Organic Records
25 February 2022
Well, this is unusual. A double album of twenty tracks reaching eighty-seven minutes. And it is a glorious and ambitious testament to Amanda Anne Platt & The Honeycutters that they are able to maintain such excellence over the entire span of material on The Devil and The Deep Blue Sea.
The band has been releasing singles in pairs, mainly between April and December 2021 and ultimately grouped this material into two categories for this, their fifth album – the up-tempo and outgoing ‘Devil’ tracks and the more reflective and understated ‘Deep Blue Sea’ songs.
Platt has a classic, soothing country voice and the formidable band knows where everything goes, if you catch my drift. I saw this Asheville, North Carolina outfit back in 2015 and was impressed. And I continue to be more impressed with everything they do.
Via Crossroads Label Group and Organic Records
Goodnight, Texas
How Long Will It Take Them To Die
Independent
21 January 2022
Goodnight, Texas‘s previous release Conductor featured in our Best Albums 2018 and their live show at the 2019 Bristol Rhythm and Roots Reunion (read our review) was immensely enjoyable.
The Americana-folk outfit has a depth in vocals, musical styles and inspirations that set them apart. Reminiscent of The Band with the sheer volume of high-class ingredients, How Long Will It Take Them To Die (their fourth album) is another cornerstone in what should be a long career.
The band was formed by its two core songwriters Avi Vinocur and Patrick Dyer Wolf who met in the San Francisco Bay Area and began a cross-country collaboration when Wolf moved to North Carolina. They derived their band name from the exact as-the-car-drives midpoint of their two homes in San Francisco and Chapel Hill, North Carolina. This is where the tiny town of Goodnight in the Texas panhandle resides.
Ian Noe
River Fools & Mountain Saints
Thirty Tigers/Cooking Vinyl Australia
25 March 2022
Kentuckian Ian Noe has an extraordinary voice – clarion clear with a woop at the end of most lines that give the words added emphasis and passion. It makes you stand to attention and drop whatever it is you’re doing. Listen, that’s the only option.
River Fools & Mountain Saints (his second release) provides us with a deeper soundscape, a vivid portrayal of modern Appalachia and country rocker storytelling. Less ramshackle and droll than The Felice Brothers, more front porch than Bob Dylan (his work with The Band excluded), there are shades of John Prine here as well.
But Noe is his own man. The title comes from the landscape and geography of Kentucky, replete with colourful and unique characters and events. It’s about good times in tough places and rising above it all with hope.
Via Jo Corbett Publicity
The Rave-Ups
Tomorrow
Omnivore Recordings
4 February 2022
Anyone remember The Rave-Ups? Pittburgh’s power country rock band that loomed large in the 1980’s, one of a handful of outfits like Giant Sand, Green On Red and The Tail Gators that released some classic albums on Demon and other labels.
The Rave-Ups’ most regarded issue at the time was the soaring Town + Country (2015) which I am pleased to say has just been re-released with heaps of bonus material (eleven un-issued tracks) on Omnivore Recordings.
The band’s first album for over thirty years, Tomorrow is a delight. Jimmer Podrasky‘s vocals are still dynamic, the band’s harmonies take flight, the riffs are highly appealing and the band’s renowned tautness is evident.
If you missed them way back, here’s your big chance – listen to Tomorrow today. They’ve returned when vinyl is cool again!
The Weeping Willows
You Reap What You Sow
Independent
4 March 2022
For a duo that seems immersed in matters rather somber and dark – murder, foul deeds and decomposition, The Weeping Willows have been surrounding themselves with glitter lately – Award wins and nominations a-plenty in not just one genre but many – country (‘Golden Guitar’), folk (Australian Folk Music Awards) and Americana (Music Victoria).
Laura Coates and Andrew Wrigglesworth have, with their highly -anticipated third studio outing, You Reap What You Sow, undoubtedly upped the ante, blending multiple genres into their singular artistic vision.
Andy is one of the finest guitarists in Australia (e.g. “Lonesome Now I’m Gone”) and the harmonies and solo vocals from both are a treat. The album features ragtime, blues, country, folk and gospel ballads, as well as hypnotic instrumentals (“Prelude”). A masterful and entrancing release.
Full review to follow on this site.
William Crighton
Water and Dust
ABC Music
11 February 2022
As I said back at Port Fairy Folk Festival 2020, William Crighton is a powerful, new emerging figure in the Australian music scene. His voice is deep, his gaze is strong and he sings with a simmering menace and intent.
With Water and Dust, he continues his uncanny ability to re-present the Australian zeitgeist. The songs here provide a rocking, brooding landscape raising questions about connectivity to the land, the environment and the treatment of traditional owners.
Crighton enlisted well-known Australian musicians – Midnight Oil’s Rob Hirst (there’s s similarity with that band’s urgent passion here), internationally regarded didgeridoo player William Barton and master guitarist Jeff Lang.
Water and Dust deserves to be widely regarded as an Australian roots music classic.
ADVERTISE WITH LISTENING THROUGH THE LENS
More Music Adventures Await!
***
Our Top Six Releases Mar 22
Our Top Six Releases Mar 22
Our Top Six Releases Mar 22
