It is well documented on here how much we love the wonderfully forbidding, and sometimes macabre, indie folk of the Howling Owls. For their latest track, they have teamed up with Maximino for A Wordsmith’s Reverie. It has an almost a waltz-time feel to it, but is still an everyday tale of resignation and failed expectations. And of course we love it. Enjoy. Visit their … Continue reading Howling Owls Are Back
Ah, the desolate wasteland of January. What else is there to do other than go to work, hunker down, listen to music, read a few books, knit a few rows … do it all again. I find January quite a dark month, however, I’m expecting my team to cheer me up this Sunday. This may, of course, be misplaced optimism. After Halloween’s tawdry performance, I … Continue reading Mrs Mackerel’s TFI Friday (14th Jan)
We were delighted to hear from Sharon Van Etten that she is to play one UK date in London next month before heading off as the personally invited support for the National’s European tour. For those that don’t know, she sings with the voice of a wounded angel and tells slow, melancholy tales of yearning, loss, bitterness and mourning that send shivers down the spine … Continue reading Sharon Van Etten’s London date
On their new album Crimes, the marvellously named Occult Detective Club play a mix of straight-up, raw, no nonsense first wave punk and new wave music with a focus on catchy choruses, thoughtful lyrics and a DIY mentality. Think the Ramones, with echoes of The Jam, even Sham 69 thrown in the blender with the passion and forward thinking of Billy Bragg. The Denton, Texas-based … Continue reading Introducing…Occult Detective Club
Hurray For The Riff Raff began when a teenage Alynda Lee Segarra started hopping freight trains across the USA to satisfy a yearning to explore its mythical small towns and backwaters and live a life on the road and the rail track. She left her native Bronx, New York at the age of 17, and while riding the rails she hooked up with The Dead Man … Continue reading Hurray For The Riff Raff to release debut album in the UK
Caleb Stine’s music is hardworking, genuine, and unafraid to tell it like it is. Armed with a storyteller’s eye and a restless independent spirit, Stine recently released his latest album (his fifth), I Wasn’t Built for a Life Like This. Described as, “somewhere between the renegade cowboy-poetry of Townes Van Zandt and the sweet rough and tumble sound of Neil Young’s Harvest”, the album is a … Continue reading Mad Mackerel Recommends…Caleb Stine
Here are some (sketchy) detail about the new record from Obits. It’s their second full-length, and it’s called Moody, Standard and Poor. It was recorded at Brooklyn’s Saltlands Studio. Sub Pop will release it on March 29, 2011. The wonderful sleazy, rockabilly rumble of Two-Headed Coin from their 2009 debut I Blame You made our top-ten of that year. You Gotta Lose, the taster from the … Continue reading Obits ready Moody Standard And Poor for release
The Builders & The Butchers sealed their place in MM’s affections with the debauched, stomping folk rock sing-along of their 2009 album Salvation Is A Deep Dark Well. Their new release, Dead Reckoning, complete with more superb cover artwork, comes out on February 22nd via Badman Recording Company. It is no exaggeration to say that this (their third album) is one of our more/most hotly … Continue reading The Builders & The Butchers Return
Despite not being half way through January yet, we’re already being overwhelmed with good stuff to share. So in a typical ‘blogger’s cheat’, here is a round-up of some of the excellent songs that have come our way and deserve far more than the arbitrary couple of lines we’re giving them. First up is the welcome return of Pete & The Pirates who made their … Continue reading Latest Releases: Round Up
We’re very much looking forward to seeing Justin Townes Earle playing live in February as he has rescheduled his UK tour (see below). To mark his arrival in the UK, one of the stand-out tracks from his excellent Harlem River Blues album, the beautiful Rogers Park is now available to stream. Have a listen. Visit his MySpace here. Buy the album from Amazon here. Tour … Continue reading Justin Townes Earle: New Single & UK Tour
