The Sea Thieves are Naomi Thompson and Zac Coligan from Adelaide, South Australia. In their music you will hear the pluck of the ukulele, the wheezing of bellows and the singing of a saw. Their latest album They Will Run is out on Big Rig Records and taster track Focus The Stars is a real gem. Hypnotic and haunting, it is a song that is meant for … Continue reading Mad Mackerel Recommends…The Sea Thieves
Blind Willies began at San Francisco’s High School of the Arts as a duo playing covers of American folk songs and songwriter Alexei Wajchman’s originals which he began writing when he was 15. After their professional debut at San Francisco’s Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival, the band’s first two releases of all original songs, The Unkindness of Ravens (2007) and Everybody’s Looking for a Meal (2008), … Continue reading Mad Mackerel Recommends…Blind Willies
It has been a bonanza month at MM – our in-box overflows daily and here is another quick round-up of new stuff we’ve discovered. Once again we’re entirely failing to do the artists justice, but listen to the songs and if you like what you hear please do investigate them a bit more! Hotel & Highways album Lost River is an easy-going folk-tinged meditation on … Continue reading Friday’s New Music Mix
Oh Minnows will release their debut album For Shadows on Young & Lost Club on the 20th June. It is a dreamy, beguiling affair, mixing woozy synths, effected vocals and thoughtful, philosophical lyrics and while not usually the kind of thing we go for, it has succeeded in drawing us in completely – could do the same for you too. Check out the video for … Continue reading Introducing…Oh Minnows
We know very little about Savaging Spires – their e-mail to us had no information other than a request to listen to a track, Bending The Rules For Brian. We did, firstly, who wouldn’t listen to a song with a title like that, and secondly it is taken from their debut eponymous album which is due out in September on Critical Heights – this is the … Continue reading Introducing…Savaging Spires
Probably like most blogs, there are a handful of bands out there for whom the mere mention of new material can cause great excitement. The Roadside Graves are one such band for us here at MM. Ever since we fell for the brilliant My Son’s Home album in 2009, and particularly the wonderful Far And Wide (which is simply one of our favourite songs of … Continue reading New Album From The Roadside Graves
We are loving Joyful In Song We Are by Mr Plow. It is the band’s second album following on from 2009’s Book Of Common Despair. This latest collection of twelve self-penned tracks are what MM loves best: dark country, tragic tales interspersed with dry, black humour. Mr Plow’s rich baritone voice lingers over a backdrop of twangy Gretsch guitars, shuffling drums and zinging flat top … Continue reading Mad Mackerel Recommends…Mr Plow
We could have called this no sleep til Hoxton, being that MM and I were so severely short of shut-eye by the time we arrived at the London Hoxton Bar and Kitchen last night. Never mind though, all was well because we were there to see the Cave Singers on the only UK date of their European tour. If we were tired, the band could … Continue reading Live Review: The Cave Singers, Hoxton, London 23/5/11
Bahamas is singer-songwriter Afie Jurvanen who is also the touring guitarist for Feist as well. Already Yours is from his solo album Pink Strat which has been around a while apparently, but has started to pick up a lot of interest and buzz recently. Having given the track a couple of spins it is easy to see why and we’ll be adding him to our (admittedly … Continue reading Mad Mackerel Recommends…Bahamas
Up Up Up, from debut album In Light, is to be the debut release from the Deep South’s ebullient purveyors of melody, rhythm and anomalous harmonies, Givers. It’s a bouncing ode to resilience featuring a celebratory home-grown exoticism as the band mix afro-beat, Cajun and Zydeco into something new and unashamedly joyous and uplifting. In Light, will be released July 4th on Glassnote/ Island Records. … Continue reading Introducing…Givers
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