SHANNON JAE RIDOUT TWO BUSTED BOOTS AND A BROKEN HEART ANTI-CORP MUSIC Back in the mid-s60s, when Vanguard Records were all the rage on the folk scene, it was practically an honour to get a chance to record a solo folk/singer-songwriter album [...]
BIG BRAVE IN GRIEF OR IN HOPE THRILL JOCKEY The emotional element was never missing from BIG|BRAVE’s music, but for its latest album, in grief or in hope, the Montreal/Berlin trio turn that emotional level a few notches further up (or more [...]
SISTER GEMINI SCREAMING CRYING LAUGHING SIGHING DANGER COLLECTIVE RECORDS Sister Gemini is one Remy Jean, supported on her debut album Screaming Crying Laughing Sighing by a quite select collaborative crew, with musicians and producers that have [...]
AMELIA DAY EGO TRIP INDEPENDENT It is true that the number of artists covering that currently popular ground between Americana and pop/rock. Yet the key there is how distinctive their music is – whether they separate themselves from the rest and [...]
MICHELE DUCCI SNAIL IN THE CLOUDS MONOTREME RECORDS Snail in the Clouds might be just the second solo album for Italian songwriter and vocalist Michele Ducci, but he comes to it with ample experience with M+A band and collaborations with his [...]
JOSY AND THE MIND READERS SIGH SOME MORE GOLD ROBOT RECORDS When you have in mind that what you have in front of you is a 5-song EP (formally a debut one at that) and that its full title is “sigh some more” (because it releases endorphins [...]
GINA LESLIE I LOVE YOU ALWAYS NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS INDEPENDENT Where would you choose to be as a singer songwriter if your music would fit within so many categories but having a strong connection to roots and Americana sounds? Well Nashville [...]
WIDEMOUTH NO GASOLINE URBAN SCANDAL RECORDS Chicago quartet Widemouth probably had other ideas (or maybe not?) when they named their debut album No Gasoline, but they somehow foresaw what is currently going on with it. At the same time, the [...]
PRIMULA NOTHING NEW FLAK RECORDS When somebody mentions that a certain indie band is including jazz elements within its music, the usual first impression is that of a few classic jazz elements brought into the usual pop or rock setting. Yet, the [...]
LEEROY STAGGER PILGRIMAGE CORDOVA BAY RECORDS So, is there a difference between Americana and Canadiana? Sure, musically, the two are like twins, but even with twins, there are visible (or in this case, audible) differences, and no matter how [...]
HUSH FOR DOLLY SIMONE RECORDS How do you craft a debut album to make exactly the right impact? Do you rush into it while the inspiration is red-hot, or do you take it slow to make sure everything sounds exactly as you envisioned? For Montreal [...]
SHAKEY GRAVES FONDNESS, ETC. DUALTONE RECORDS When you decide to go lo-fi, make a DIY record, and make it work, there has to be a set of very solid musical reasons (unless it is a question of being forced to go cheap) behind it, and those [...]
SHHE THALASSAÂ ONE LITTLE INDEPENDENT RECORDS Your personal background comes into play at some point when you create music, and for the Scottish-Portuguese sound artist and producer Shhe (Su Shaw), for her new album Thalassa she references her [...]
SIMON BROMIDE AND THE BROMIDES FOREST MOUNTAIN FOREST SCRATCHY RECORDS Carrying the torch of great artists and bands is not as easy as some listeners might think. That torch could be damn heavy if you haven’t picked up all the right cues [...]
ABIGAIL LAPELL SHADOW CHILD OUTSIDE MUSIC Some readers might get the impression that Abigail Lapell is kind of a Spill Magazine favorite. Ok, so they might be right, but the reasons for that do not lie solely with the fact that she’s from [...]
ROB & ELLEN IN ON IT INDEPENDENT Making pop rock that is distinctive is a feat, whether it relies on inspiration drawn from other musical sources or whether it brings up something completely new. And an even bigger feat comes when it all [...]
BITTER BLUE LEVITY TRIBAL RAJBER RECORDS Where is modern pop rock coming from these days? Simple answer – everywhere. The more complicated one – how does it fit in within general trends in modern music, how does it cross language barriers, and [...]
VALLEY BOY CHILDREN OF DIVORCE INDEPENDENT With a fresh moniker that is Valley Boy, and a debut album titled Children of Divorce, initially you just might think that you are encountering the music of this Valley Boy (real name James Alan Ghaleb [...]
KACEY MUSGRAVES MIDDLE OF NOWHERE INTERSCOPE/LOST HIGHWAY/UNIVERSAL MUSIC CANADA No, Kacey Musgraves is not your standard country musician anymore (if she ever was), no matter how quite a few listeners will think that her latest album Middle of [...]
ANDERVEL IRONCLAD & PALM TREES INDEPENDENT How does a prospect of a Mexican singer-songwriter sing in English and Icelandic (and only a single one in Spanish) sound? While the English in that equation might not sound so strange, well then [...]
TAJ MAHAL & THE PHANTOM BLUES BAND TIME THIRTY TIGERS What more can you say about an artist that has been on the scene for over six decades, has rarely recorded something that is a dud (everyone has got at least one of those), and has [...]
CHARMIAN DEVI DIAMOND HOUR INDEPENDENT Looking at a collaborators list for this album, the first thought that comes to mind is that there must be something interesting going on here. Otherwise, how do you get a list of collaborators for a debut [...]
BEATRIX WE SWALLOWED THE SKY NICE LIFE One thing you can almost instantly spot with singer songwriters is if they have classical music background. The key thing there is how they use that background in a pop/rock musical setting – are they able [...]
STEPHEN BECKER GRAVITY BLANKET ONE IS THREE RECORDS Avid readers of Spill magazine have probably noticed that NYC’s Stephen Becker is one of the frequent artists you can meet here. His brand of so-called bedroom pop has that quirkiness and [...]
