When Orenda Fink released Ask the Night in October of 2009, it was an album that took me a few listens to get comfortable with its words and sounds. I’ll admit right now that my brain always hears Maria Taylor’s voice when I hear Fink’s. If you didn’t already know, Taylor and Fink made up … Read more
I adored Tift Merritt’s last studio effort, Another Country, so much that I recently called it one of the best singer-songwriter albums of the last decade. Her album clearly spoke to me with tunes like “Keep You Happy,” “Broken,” and “Hopes Too High,” and it reminded me so much of Neil Young’s Comes a Time, … Read more
Photo by Paul Janovitz “There is no DIY, there is only Do It Together.” Will Dailey believes that, and why shouldn’t he? His upcoming album, due on 8/26, is titled National Throat, and it’s being released independently, despite interest from the “largest record label in the world.” Doing it together means doing it with you, … Read more
St. Louis native Bhi Bhiman has a big voice, and it’s best experienced on “Guttersnipe” from his 2011 album, Bhiman. You’ll have a chance to see him tomorrow evening at Plush in Saint Louis, where Bhiman will be opening for Josh Ritter & the Royal City Band, a show that will almost surely sell out, … Read more
“I don’t see myself as a singer that plays piano,” says Danish singer-songwriter Agnes Obel. “It always feels weird when people refer to me as a singer, because to me being a singer is secondary to the music. The songs and the melodies are the most important to me. But I’m not sure what you … Read more
Earlier this year, Abigail Washburn hit us hard with her second solo album called City of Refuge; it’s been called a “a sublime marriage of old-time and indie-pop,” and rightfully so – it was recorded with a new cast of characters, including My Morning Jacket’s Carl Broemel and The Decemberists’ Chris Funk. It certainly takes … Read more