Johnny Bertram & The Golden Bicycles Release Neon City

Johnny Bertram & The Golden Bicycles second album Neon City has now officially seen the light of day and is available everywhere via Esperanza Plantation. It is a very tasty excursion into robust, but still melodic indie rock with some folky undertones and while the topics don’t always make for easy listening, it gives the record a depth and character that is more often than not absent … Continue reading Johnny Bertram & The Golden Bicycles Release Neon City

Uncut’s Free Americana Cover Disk

While Q magazine goes from bad to worse to even worse, thankfully Uncut is going in the opposite direction and is just about the best ‘mainstream’ music magazine there is at the moment. Their latest issue dropped through the door this morning and the Cover Disk is simply titled Americana 2012. It contains fifteen tracks from the likes of MM faves such as Father John … Continue reading Uncut’s Free Americana Cover Disk

Introducing >>> Dubious Ranger

Dubious Ranger began as a band name concocted by classical pianist Alexander Eccles. As a band name warrants a band, he took the plunge and formed a peculiar brand of art-rock based in his hometown of San Francisco. Dubious Rangerʼs newest album, Found Recordings From The Panda Valley Mining Company c.1931, sounds like a blend of Tom Waits and Beck and is a creative collaboration between … Continue reading Introducing >>> Dubious Ranger

The Owsley Brothers Release Cobalt

Cobalt is the debut album by experimental garage-blues trio The Owsley Brothers. We’ve been waiting pretty eagerly for this one following their excellent release Separated At Birth and a solid free download EP titled Pure Lust towards the end of 2011. Take a listen to the single If It Ain’t One Thing and the band’s own favourite track, the high octane riffing of album closer My Man … Continue reading The Owsley Brothers Release Cobalt

Streaming Round Up

Here are a few tasty streams for you to hit the play button on, and a couple to download too. First, some new blissed-out, hypnotic psychedelia from White Fence who have a new three track single out titled Green Balloon via Sexbeat Records in Europe – limited to 500 vinyl copies, and we’ve just pre-ordered one of them… a Next up is the altogether more … Continue reading Streaming Round Up

Mathew Sawyer & The Ghosts Box Set

We’ve been big fans of Mathew Sawyer & The Ghosts since the release of the exceptional How Snakes Eat back in 2010. His wonderfully skewed view of the world, obstinate refusal to conform, and wonderful lyrics marked him out as one of the very best singer-songwriters around. It is fair to say he was for us, on a par with the MM standard setters – Wooden Wand … Continue reading Mathew Sawyer & The Ghosts Box Set

MM Shorts 145: Justin Townes Earle’s New Album

We are looking forward with much anticipation to the new album from Justin Townes Earle. His fourth release, Nothing’s Gonna Change The Way You Feel About Me Now will be released this spring via Bloodshot Records. It comes ahead of a run of UK June dates in Bristol, Manchester and at London’s KOKO. The album was recorded completely live with no overdubs over a 4-day … Continue reading MM Shorts 145: Justin Townes Earle’s New Album

Twilight Hotel – Live Review

It is funny how things turn out sometimes. Four months ago, Austin Texas duo Twilight Hotel were turning up in various MM End-of-Year-Best-Of Lists following the release of their superb album When The Wolves Go Blind. On Saturday they turned up at the fag-end of their UK tour just a few miles from chez Mackerel playing a free show at the rather lovely, and certainly … Continue reading Twilight Hotel – Live Review

Another From Orpheum Bell

Orpheum Bell have become our favourite ‘Country & Eastern’ artists! They deftly and elegantly mix classic Americana with gypsy rhythms plucked from travelling carnivals and vaudeville sideshows to create something that is in equal parts melancholic, seductive and sometimes a little bit dangerous. We’ve already posted two tracks from their latest album The Old Sisters’ Home and here is a third, the ukelele led Whatever Shines So … Continue reading Another From Orpheum Bell