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

Mojo Magazine’s Pet Sounds Revisited

This month’s Mojo magazine cover CD is a re-imagining of the Beach Boys classic Pet Sounds. A tribute to their seminal 1966 album, it features The Flaming Lips, Neil Cowley Trio, Saint Etienne, Jodie Marie, Gaz Coombes, Tim Burgess, Jeffrey Lewis with Wooden Wand, Here We Go Magic and more. Two of our favourites below – you can buy Mojo at any decent newsagents or … Continue reading Mojo Magazine’s Pet Sounds Revisited

Mad Mackerel Recommends…Restavrant

Restavrant play a unique mix of maniacal junkyard blues, hillbilly stomp, and electro-punk, but expertly make the sum of these parts into one glorious cacophony of pent-up fury. Whilst their second album Yeah, I Carve Cheetahs was released at the beginning of the year we have only just come across a few tracks from it. This Victoria, Texas bred, Los Angeles based duo delivers a diverse cannon … Continue reading Mad Mackerel Recommends…Restavrant

New Single From The Cast Of Cheers

Family by Irish four-piece The Cast of Cheers was one of the first singles to really catch our ears at the start of this year, being an infectiously raucous slice of indie-rock that mined a similar vein to Howler or Spector. Ahead of the release of their first proper debut album later in the year, the band are releasing Animals, another rousing, raucous monster of a … Continue reading New Single From The Cast Of Cheers