In 2005, Chad Kichula sold his truck to pay for his first album. The result was a self-titled Americana/roots-rock album that showed he could craft lyrics and tell a story with the best of them. In 2007, Chad went into the studio to record a three song EP entitled Better in the Morning. It featured acoustic compositions which Chad was already playing on the road. In … Continue reading Mad Mackerel Recommends…Chad Kichula
Céleigh Chapman grew up singing country standards in the juke joints of Bakersfield, California. Isaac Watters was born in Mexico City, Mexico and raised in Tucson, and spent much of his youth in El Coyol, Mexico. He is an artist, writer and architect. Celeigh and Isaac met and began performing together in Los Angeles. Coyol is the result: whiskey bravery and absinthe romanticism, a collision … Continue reading Introducing…Coyol
North Carolina’s Crystal Bright & the Silver Hands are gearing up to release their first full length album, While hard to categorise, the lyrics and melodies on the debut album portray the world as a dark and strange (and often funny) place deeply connected to fables and imagination. So we could say twisted carnival folk anyone? Experimental, creepy vaudeville perhaps? However, you choose to describe … Continue reading Introducing…Crystal Bright & The Silver Hands
Lawrence & Leigh are a duo from Brooklyn and their first major undertaking, entitled Odyssey, is a set of three EPs, each with its own distinct sound and character. The first release, which has been a year in the making, is in fact the final chapter, Volume III: Hills and Masts. The EP will be released on 7th March. Coming across like a blend of … Continue reading Introducing…Lawrence & Leigh
Coastwest Unrest is the moniker for the collaboration between violin whiz kid Alex Barnes, and brothers Josh and Noah Dickie who formed the band in the spring of 2009. Their second full-length album is out now. Old Weird America is full of material that lives up to its title with songs about redemption, biblical imagery, rebellion, loss, the nightmarish American landscape and the haunting ghosts of … Continue reading Mad Mackerel Recommends…Coastwest Unrest
Ty Segall turned up on lots of the end of year ‘best of’ lists and it has meant we have gone back to his 2010 album Melted for another listen or two – and we’re glad we did. Not sure how we missed that gem in the first place… Anyway, he has also recorded a Daytrotter Session that features five brand new tracks. Check out … Continue reading Ty Segall on Daytrotter
Doing those things you do at Christmas. Watching a film. Quietly crying a few tears at a sad story. Feel a small hand cover mine. I’ll look after you mama. A little time passes. A few more tears cried, this time belonging to the owner of the small hands. Empathy. Compassion. Love. One moment to treasure a whole lifetime. Happy New Year. Mrs Mackerel I … Continue reading Mrs Mackerel’s TFI Friday (31st December)
Despite all the ‘best of’ lists, the top tens/twenties/fifties/one hundreds etc. and all the Christmas songs too, there has still been a cracking amount of new releases in December as well. So lest you missed out, here is our monthly round-up of the best tunes we’ve posted in December and, as always, a couple of new ones too. That’s the New Year’s Eve mixtape sorted … Continue reading MM’s Best of the Month: December
Master bluesmen are probably pretty thin on the ground in South London, but it is down there, amidst the grey arterial routes, Victorian terraces and leafy parks that Duke Garwood makes his home. Garwood’s new album, Dreamboatsafari sees him expanding on the spacious, dusty room blues found on previous albums Emerald Palace and The Sand That Falls. The genesis of this LP came when Garwood was … Continue reading Mad Mackerel Recommends…Duke Garwood
The Skeleton Dead are a fledgling band of only six months but this is something to marvel at rather than use as any sort of rationale. What sets the bar at a different level is the Greek/bouzouki-style guitar rhythm that hooks you in from the very first bar: it’s both memorable and hypnotic. This is like a combination of many of my favourite musical influences … Continue reading Introducing…The Skeleton Dead
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