We know Christmas has been and gone now and everyone is looking forward to New Year celebrations, but that hasn’t mattered to Howth who yesterday released Xmas Songs via Bandcamp. He says it is “less optimistic” than his recent album The World Is A Beautiful Place, which may be something of an understatement. Musically it is a mix of folk, psych and weird outsider pop and lyrically … Continue reading Howth – Xmas Songs
Lets start drawing a year to the close with The Menders, a five piece band from Gastonia, North Carolina. They expertly blend influences such as The Beatles, Jack White, The Doors, and Ryan Adams into a folk-laced garage rock sound – check out Unbreakable from their self titled debut album. . Continue reading MM Short 644: The Menders
Grand Lake Islands is a collective led by songwriter Erik Emanuelson. Their forthcoming LP, Song From Far was recorded during Portland’s bleakest months and the songs reflect a period following a sea change that occurred in Emanuelson’s life. More than half the songs would emerge from two months of long nights in Emanuelson’s dank, unheated basement where his expressive tenor recalls Nashville Skyline era Dylan and delivers … Continue reading Great Lake Islands – Song From Far
As we gallop towards the end of the year it is natural to start looking forward to 2015 and anticipating the new releases that will be coming our way. However, it is an inevitable certainty that, during 2014 we have missed out on a huge number of records that deserved a mention and sharing…so rather than look forward, we’ve looked back and picked out a … Continue reading Some We Missed (Round Up Time Again)
Halfbeak, a London psych-folk outfit influenced by artists such as Tom Waits and Sparklehorse have just released their first EP Things I Knew, available digitally. Listen to Happy below and order from Bandcamp here. . Continue reading MM Shorts 642: Halfbeak
Los Angeles-based group The Tulips have shared the second single off of their forthcoming LP, Echo Blue. Winter Winds is a gorgeous slice of pastoral psych-folk that counterbalances the sweet vocal harmonies with just the right amount of wooziness to wrap you in a hazy, slightly ethereal musical cocoon. Lovely stuff. . Continue reading MM Shorts 641: The Tulips
With his upcoming full-length record Windfall, to be released on the 10th March, Joe Pug has shared the debut single from the album. If Still It Can’t Be Found, which features Pat Sansone from Wilco on mellotron, is a yearning, sweetly strummed ballad that perhaps captures some of the hard times and question marks over his future as he struggled with writers block and, as he says, “fell out … Continue reading New Track From Joe Pug
And so we bring our round up of favourite songs, albums, covers, and guilty pleasures to a close with the final “best of” post, Mad Mackerel’s own top twenty. 20 Kye Alfred Hillig – My Young Love Was As Blind As Ray Charles And Half As Cold As Heat . 19 Parquet Courts – Black And White . 18 Jamie T – The Prophet . 17 … Continue reading Best of the Year: Mad Mackerel’s Top Twenty
Our penultimate offering comes in the shape of Mrs Mackerel’s favourite songs of 2014… …I think, being a fish of some advancing years now, I know what I like – but at least that ranges quite widely (she says, defiantly). As usual, though, I’m late to deadline, so without further pontification or procrastination, here are my favourite songs of 2014. 20. War On Drugs – … Continue reading Best of the Year: Mrs Mackerel’s Top Twenty
It might almost be Christmas Eve, but this was too good not to tell you about. Cat Meat have released a free EP of country music covers via Bandcamp including their takes on songs by George Jones, Waylon Jennings and Willis Alan Ramsey. Check out their version of If Drinking Don’t Kill Me below or simply click through to get the whole EP for nothing… … Continue reading Cat Meat’s Free Country Covers EP
The Mad Mackerel 