Somehow we missed the release of Back To Soft this summer, the third long player from Bar Harbor’s Coke Weed. It follows the release of two outstanding albums in Nice Dreams and Volume One. But, if anything, this one is even better – a woozy, narcoleptic trip through the realms of psychedelia, indie rock and hazy Americana. Reference points range from classic Velvets style underground to … Continue reading MM’s 5:1 Interview No 14: Coke Weed
This weekend sees the annual Gathering festival in Oxford – a brilliant event that takes in seven venues around the city and runs from the afternoon into the wee small hours. This year the line up includes such MM luminaries as Local Natives, Drenge, Waxahatchee, Temples, Charlie Boyer & The Voyeurs, Pyyramids, Port Isla, Wolf Alice, To Kill A King, Cheatahs and a whole host more. … Continue reading The Gathering – A Playlist
Today is a proverbial red letter day in Mad Mackerel terms as it sees the official US release date for new albums from two of our favourite artists. From our side of the pond we have Sleep Dreamt a Brother, the new album from musician and artist Mathew Sawyer, out on Fire Records. The majority of the album was written and recorded following the loss of three friends … Continue reading New Albums Released From Wooden Wand And From Mathew Sawyer
We’re loving our belated discovery of Woody Pines and latest album Rabbits Motel, which is a charming and old fashioned throwback to the days of riding the rails, jumping boxcars and sleeping beneath the stars and all with echoes of Woody namesake Guthrie (of course). These are tracks of classic, ramblin’ country blues, where songs are filled with characters fighting to climb up or sliding … Continue reading Mad Mackerel Recommends… Woody Pines
Well, seeing as our last posts were covers by Eagulls and Shearwater, and seeing as they say good things come in threes, here is long standing favourite of our blog, Joe Pug covering another long standing favourite of our blog, Vandaveer and vice versa. It comes courtesy of the excellent I Am Fuel, You Are Friends blog. The two are touring together throughout October and … Continue reading Joe Pug & Vandaveer Covers
The songs at the foundation of Jus Post Bellum’s forthcoming sophomore album Oh July are bathed in the idyllic voices of Geoffrey Wilson and Hannah Jensen. The first taste comes with Gimme That Gun – banjo, drums, country twang – fabulous. The album is out on the 12th November. Continue reading MM Shorts 456: Jus Post Bellum
Next week sees the release of Better Days by the Harmed Brothers, and if the evidence of these two tracks is anything to go by, it is going to be a real joy. Mixing folk and bluegrass with a wistful twist of poignant melancholy, Love Song For The Assumed is as sweet and as simple a song of heartbreak and longed for resolution as we’ve … Continue reading The Harmed Brothers – Better Days
Suitably enough, the taster track from San Francisco duo Callow’s forthcoming album Blue Spells is called Strange. For somewhat strange Callow certainly are. It is not the influences so much (ranging from the Velvets to Pink Floyd to Nina Simone to Pavement) as the way they are combined – strong vocals, minimal instrumentals, haunting melodies, sombre tones, and poetic lyrics work perfectly together to create a sense … Continue reading Mad Mackerel Recommends…Callow
Videos to start the week from Cheatahs and some blurry, blown-out landscapes to accompany the psych-swirl of new single Cut The Grass, and from Indianapolis sisters Lily & Madeleine comes their studio set video for gorgeous single Devil We Know. From Roadkill Ghost Choir we have some stunning cinematography to match the emotional resonance of standout track Beggars Guild from their Quiet Light EP, and lastly the darkly … Continue reading Videos of the Day: Cheatahs || LIly & Madeleine || Roadkill Ghost Choir || Pincers
We’re loving I Have To Speak With Rocky Balboa by the Happy Jawbone Family Band – an oddball concoction of idiosyncratic folk, pop, rock and God knows what else, that is anchored by some of the best lyrical wordplay we’ve heard for a good long while. Eccentric it is, surreal too, but also, against all the odds, quite affecting and certainly memorable. It is the … Continue reading Mad Mackerel Recommends…Happy Jawbone Family Band
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