Two of the latest free NoiseTrade offerings come from Family Of The Year and Shovels & Rope. Family Of The Year play an upbeat, infectious blend of pop and folk, which has let to support slots with Mumford & Sons and Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeroes amongst others. They are offering up a five track sampler EP of their wares ahead of forthcoming summer … Continue reading Free Samplers from Family Of The Year And Shovels & Rope
With Another Time, Sonnet Cottage offer rich, rootsy rhythms and melodic vocals carrying listeners on a modern journey through the woodsy folk and honey-dipped hymns of yesteryear. Virginian sisters Rachel and Torey Russell’s ethereal voices conjure up the laid back sweetness of Norah Jones and Lisa Hannigan as they gently meander over the warm acoustic backdrops provided by the band’s creative spearhead, Kent Heckaman. The simple arrangements fit like a … Continue reading Introducing >>> Sonnet Cottage
What with being out at No Direction Home and away with the day job, a whole host of songs have come and gone without us posting them, so we’re remedying that oversight now with this round up of the best from our in-box and around the web. We have the anthemic Mrs Magician who released their debut album Strange Heaven a couple of months ago. … Continue reading Round Up Time Again
No Direction Home Festival || Welbeck Abbey, Nottinghamshire || 8-10 June 2012 The omens were not good for the inaugural No Direction Home music festival, setting out in heavy rain that only got heavier as the traffic got slower the further north I went. However, despite the slate grey skies and constant brake lights of the M1, a journey of over 5 hours was rewarded … Continue reading No Direction Home Festival: A Review
Magic Trick is a band, but it wasn’t always that way. In the beginning it was just Tim Cohen alone in his San Francisco bedroom studio, swatting songs out of the ether during the spare hours between tours with his other project, weirdo-pop juggernauts, The Fresh & Onlys. When the tapes filled up, he’d cull a few favorite tunes to press a solo record. To … Continue reading Mad Mackerel Recommends…Magic Trick
We are delighted to bring you an exclusive premiere of Golden Lung, the second track to be released from Edmund II’s forthcoming album Floating Monk. He served his apprenticeship in the underground rock scenes of the Midwest including the cello-rock band Utah!, and in North Carolina where he performed and collaborated with The Rosebuds, Bowerbirds and Megafaun amongst others. Now after a lengthy writing sabbatical, and … Continue reading MM Premiere: Edmund II’s Golden Lung
We’ve long been admirers of Georgia’s no nonsense, full on rockers The Whigs who have announced a new album Enjoy The Company, which will see a release on September 18th. With more than a nod to the Ramones on the one hand and the Walkmen on the other, the band play tight, melodic, driving rock songs that is summed up perfectly with this taster track … Continue reading MM Shorts 171: New Album From The Whigs
As you read this I will probably still be speeding northwards through the torrential rain on the M1 heading for Sherwood Forest and the inaugural No Direction Home music festival. Having spent the last two years happily enjoying the fantastic End of the Road festival, my plans were scuppered for a hat-trick by a sneaky move in dates making it clash with our first overseas … Continue reading No Direction Home Festival: Free Mix
The Mad Mackerel 