MM Shorts 41: The Great Lakes Unreleased Track

We picked this up via the excellent Piaptk Blog and figured it had to be worth a repost. The Great Lakes are a psych-Country act from Brooklyn who we posted about back in the summer of 2010 when they released their lovely album Ways Of Escape. That was a record of introspective folk and country tunes, and while this is in the same vein, there … Continue reading MM Shorts 41: The Great Lakes Unreleased Track

MM Shorts 40: Van Meter

Van Meter’s new album Mess Of My Memory is sometimes angry, occasionally tongue in cheek and always authentic. Recorded live, it stays true to the roots of alt-Country, but with a rather addictive dark twist, running the gamut of revenge, disappointment and acceptance. You can download the album from Amazon here. Download Van Meter – Sittin’ Pretty mp3 (from Mess Of My Memory) Continue reading MM Shorts 40: Van Meter

Introducing…Flap!

A fiery yet charming Australian ensemble featuring brass, guts, words and skins, Flap! formed during an informal jam at the 2007 Port Fairy Folk Festival. True to those roots they’ve since gone on to become firm festival favorites country wide having torn it up everywhere from Port Fairy to Woodford, Falls, Adelaide Fringe, Apollo Bay, Melbourne Jazz, Rainbow Serpent, the National Folk Festival and many … Continue reading Introducing…Flap!

Mrs Mackerel’s TFI Friday (18th November)

After a short adjournment from the Mrs Mackerel mantle, it’s back to business this week with a blast from the musical past. Anyone Can Play Guitar had a one-off showing at my beloved Phoenix Picturehouse in Oxford this week. It’s always a pleasure to go the Phoenix and I have to admit, I didn’t really know what I was going to see other than a … Continue reading Mrs Mackerel’s TFI Friday (18th November)

MM Recommends…Caithlin De Marrais

Caithlin De Marrais – the Brooklyn-based former frontwoman of the much loved indie rock band Rainer Maria, for whom “sonic bliss comes naturally,” as the Boston Globe put it – has just released her sophomore solo album Red Coats on End Up Records. This luminous album is a progression beyond Rainer Maria and her solo debut My Magic City. Analogue fuzz-scapes ease the listener into sharp idiosyncratic … Continue reading MM Recommends…Caithlin De Marrais

Video Round Up

Here are a few more of the videos that we have been sent recently that have appealed to our eyes and ears. First up is Monument Valley whom we posted about recently. This is the off kilter video for Round And Round together with a download for Dear John Letters from the forthcoming Tongues EP. Download Monument Valley – Dear John Letters mp3 (from Tongues … Continue reading Video Round Up

New Album From Lonesome Wyatt & The Holy Spooks

We included Lonesome Wyatt & The Holy Spooks on our recent Halloween playlist and subsequently discovered a new album had been released just last week. Titled Heartsick, and recorded in a damp Wisconsin basement, it is another foray into their idiosyncratic world of doom laden, southern gothic folk and country. Lonesome Wyatt is one half of another dark country duo (Those Poor Bastards) so perhaps … Continue reading New Album From Lonesome Wyatt & The Holy Spooks

Mad Mackerel Recommends…Vagabondage

Vagabondage is a Bay Area, California based folk-punk band that was born over nachos and wine on a tiny stage in an empty theater in San Francisco’s Mission District. They have been getting people up on their feet, yelling, drinking and singing along to their songs since 2008. Their new album was conceived at San Francisco’s Secret Studios over a bottle of cheap bourbon – … Continue reading Mad Mackerel Recommends…Vagabondage

Mad Mackerel Recommends…New London Fire

New London Fire’s third album The Dirt The Blood The Faith is inspired by the pride we can find in despair. With the deck stacked hopelessly against the labourers who built his country, Dave Debiak’s richly-crafted characters rise up time and again to challenge a system that will take everything for the sake of profit. The result is that The Dirt The Blood The Faith is … Continue reading Mad Mackerel Recommends…New London Fire