Posts by Maeri Ferguson

[rating=9.00] All cheesiness aside, Al Scorch’s banjo-picking will scorch you! It’s too hot to touch and practically leaves smoke in its wake. On his new record Circle Round the Signs you’ll get frenzied bursts of bluegrass in each quick tune. Scorch barely comes up for air on each track, playing his heart out with an intimidating […]

[rating=6.00] The dark rasp of Marcus Blacke will hit you from behind, and the way it sneaks up will make you want to follow it through the hauntingly beautiful intricacies of Blacke’s new self-titled record. Hailing from Australia, Blacke’s voice has the world-weary, lived-in feel of a rail-riding wanderer. The grimness of the record only […]

[rating=7.00] Country music today is littered with watered down garbage that’s so crossover, it shouldn’t dare even deign to be associated with the genre. There’s a soullessness to so much of what’s on offer, it can make you feel hopeless about the future. But artists like Ryan Beaver are looking for something a little deeper […]

Monday night rock and roll shows are always unpredictable when it comes to turnout, but Murder By Death can pack a room. And that they did at Rough Trade in Brooklyn on April 18th, selling the place out and filling it with their diverse and dedicated fans. Punk rockers, granola heads, and everyone in between […]

[rating=9.00] Sturgill Simpson has emerged as a standout in a new breed of country music artists who harken back to a purer sound in the genre’s history. He’s got that old school vibe with Waylon’s masculine grit and George Jones’ cowboy romanticism. And on his much anticipated new record A Sailor’s Guide to Earth, he […]

[rating=6.00] For some of 2016’s loveliest listens, look no further than Love Letter for Fire, the special new record from Jesca Hoop and Iron and Wine’s Sam Beam. The duo got together in all their hipster twee glory and created thirteen soft-focus, dazzling duets, complete with rich string accents and earthy acoustic guitar. Love Letter […]

[rating=8.00] “Hello, this is Charles Bradley,” the prolific soul singer introduces himself in the powerful and emotional spoken word intro “God Bless America” on his latest record Changes. Never one to shy away from a dramatic entrance when it comes to his songs, Bradley does not disappoint on any part of Changes. And though it […]

[rating=8.00] If you’re of the mind that Robbie Fulks cannot make a bad record, you know that you will gladly consume anything he creates. And with his latest creation, the stunning Upland Stories, Fulks has only solidified his place as one of the true prolific songwriters of the South. The sepia-toned portrait that graces the […]

[rating=8.00] Every few years an artist comes along that makes you wonder where they’ve been hiding all this time and why you’ve never heard them before. And when Margo Price belted her songs out on the museum stage at Newport Folk Festival last summer, she convinced a packed house that she was one of them. […]

[rating=6.00] Lucius have long been a buzzed about band that seem to be popping up everywhere over the last couple of years, whether backing up Roger Waters and Mavis Staples on stage at Newport Folk Fest or teaming up with Wilco, all the while amassing a steady following. The faces of the group are lead […]

[rating=8.00] If you can get through “End of the Rope”, the first song on Brett Harris’ sophomore album Up in the Air without beaming and feeling all warm and fuzzy inside, you probably have no soul. It comes at you full blast with a toe-tapping beat and sunny guitars and keys. And it is just […]

[rating=7.00] In the ever expanding world of indie psych rock, Quilt stands out. Anna Fox Rochinski’s sultry, smoky voice is haunting and pierces through her band’s trippy, fluid arrangements, lulling you into their colorful, fully bloomed world. Plaza, the band’s third album, hones in on this sound, but also doesn’t limit them to it. That […]

[rating=7.00] If you were already a fan of Cotton Jones, then you are familiar with Michael Nau’s soft, lovely voice. Part Beatles, part Nilsson, with a little smoke and the gentlest touch, Nau’s vocals are a treasure. And while he typically makes up half of the Cotton Jones duo (with his wife Whitney McGraw), his […]

[rating=4.00] It’s hard to imagine a band more divisive than Animal Collective, a wonky group of guys who straddle the line between stunt and seriousness. But no matter what you think of them, they really don’t sound like anyone else, and even if the way they do sound is not for you, it is difficult […]

[rating=7.00] Washed out is such a common aesthetic these days, it has practically become its own genre, and within that genre Wild Nothing have always stood out. With their latest record Life of Pause, they get a little more specific, though, keeping what was beautiful about their sound and giving it some new life and […]

[rating=5.00] Mount Moriah has taken a shiny polish to their sound and come up with the exuberant How to Dance, their follow up to 2013’s beloved Miracle Temple. And what many were initially quick to peg as country has continued to morph and evolve into something much more complex. While lead singer Heather McEntire has […]

[rating=5.00] In this age of pseudo throwback soul saturation, it seems that the list of bands jumping on this genre wagon is never-ending. Some are exceptional and others fall short. Lake Street Dive fall somewhere in the middle ground, and with their new record Side Pony, they maintain that status but with more hype than […]

[rating=7.00] There’s a dreamy murkiness to the new record from Deep Sea Diver, no doubt influenced by their hometown of Seattle. Their sophomore LP Secrets is 10 tracks of scuzzy power pop that hits the spot. It’s got a mod retro feel to it, like Nico under strobe lights in a dark club, but there’s […]

[rating=8.00] Mavis Staples can do no wrong. At 76, she is as vivacious and powerful as ever, and her energy is infectious and astounding. Her latest record Livin’ on a High Note is aptly titled – Staples is certainly living her best life as her best self. She still sounds amazing and has plenty to […]

[rating=6.00] In terms of talent, sheer vocal power and songwriting, Lissie is a no-brainer. The solo artist has been through a lot since her 2010 debut Catching a Tiger. And though it was only a handful of years ago, she has grown and changed both as an artist and a person. With her third studio […]