MAXEL TOFT: 31
MAXEL TOFT 31 Self Released www.maxeltoft.com Toft’s 31 showed up at Sing Out!’s offices in a sandwich bag. Physically speaking, it’s a white CDR with “31” written in Sharpie and “Maxel Toft” written in … Continue reading →
Category Archives: Reviews
PLAINSONG: Reinventing Richard: The Songs of Richard Fariña
PLAINSONG Reinventing Richard: The Songs of Richard Fariña Omnivore www.omnivorerecordings.com There is a clear line between recitation and interpretation. Interpretation, hopefully, takes a song someplace it hasn’t been before, someplace new. Iain Matthews and … Continue reading →
APRIL MAE & THE JUNE BUGS with MIKE METTALIA: Grease It Up And Go!
APRIL MAE & THE JUNE BUGS with MIKE METTALIA Grease It Up And Go! April Mae and the June Bugs www.aprilmaeandthejunebugs.com Pure fun end-to-end, April Mae & The June Bugs’ Grease It Up & Go! … Continue reading →
HILARY DIRLAM: Tunes From Here and There
HILARY DIRLAM Tunes From Here and There Self-Released www.hilarydirlam.com Hilary Dirlam first visited Nepal, in 1993, to further her understanding of Buddhist practice. One of the impressions that most stayed with her from the … Continue reading →
DANNY SCHMIDT: Owls
DANNY SCHMIDT Owls Live Once www.dannyschmidt.com Schmidt’s smoky voice and rocking band make this an easy album to enjoy. Recorded at the Fire Station in San Marcos, Texas, the songs combine a rootsy feel … Continue reading →
THE RAILSPLITTERS: The Faster It Goes
THE RAILSPLITTERS The Faster it Goes Self www.therailsplitters.com The Railsplitters is a bluegrass band made up of three women and two men, and this is their debut album. The men, banjo player Dusty Rider … Continue reading →
STEEP CANYON RANGERS: Radio
STEEP CANYON RANGERS RADIO Rounder 11661 www.rounder.com Radio is Chapel Hill, North Carolina’s Steep Canyon Rangers’ ninth studio album and fourth release for Rounder Records – including a couple with actor/comedian and banjo playing … Continue reading →
VISHTÈN: Terra Rouge
VISHTÈN Terra Rouge Plages 05L www.vishten.net If you’ve been to Prince Edward Island or the Magdalen Islands, it makes sense that a band from the former would pay homage to the distinctive red sandstone … Continue reading →
PHIL JAMISON: Hoedowns, Reels and Frolics
PHIL JAMISON Hoedowns, Reels and Frolics:Roots and Branches of Southern Appalachian Dance University of Illinois Press www.press.uillinois.edu Alex Ross wrote recently in the New Yorker that “when classical-music fans hear that a new Hollywood production … Continue reading →
DAVE ELLIS: With Any Luck But Bad
DAVE ELLIS With Any Luck But Bad Little Village Foundation www.littlevillagefoundation.com There’s a quiet authenticity to California-horse-country-bred Ellis’ relaxed, no-frills delivery of songs of the cowboy life. Almost anyone – a kid, a Hollywood … Continue reading →