Jason Isbell: Live From The Ryman (19/10/18)
Artist: Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit
Release Date: 19th October, 2018
Genre: Country, Rock
Record Label: Southeastern Records
Tracks: 13
Website:
Filtering by Category: Country Rock
Mercury Lane - Jimmie Allen (12/10/18)
Artist: Jimmie Allen
Release Date: 12th OCtober, 2018
Genre: Country, SInger-Songwriter
Record Label: Stoney Creek Records
Tracks: 15
Website:
As an homage to the origin of his story and how far he’s come, the soul-baring album takes its name from the street Allen grew up on and pays tribute to the influence home and family has had on his incredible journey. Fans will instantly receive six songs with a pre-order of ‘Mercury Lane’, including “Best Shot,” “Underdogs,” “21,” “Warrior,” “Back of Your Mind” and “Make Me Want To,” a brand-new track that highlights the singer’s hopeless romantic side.
“Mercury Lane is where my journey began. All of the fundamental life lessons that shaped my values and make me who I am today, I was taught on that street—it’s where I learned about love, family, life, how to believe in myself, the concept of never giving up, following your dreams and being a good person,” said Jimmie Allen. “This album touches on all of those ideals and truly feels like I’m sharing a piece of my heart with the world. I’ve been working toward this moment for so long; I can’t wait to share it with everyone.”
‘Mercury Lane’ comes nearly one year to the day after Allen quietly dropped his self-titled EP which earned him recognition on a slew of “Artist to Watch” titles. Now with his debut single, “Best Shot” rocketing up the charts (currently Top 20), with more than 38 million streams to date, Jimmie has become one of the most buzzed about Country newcomers and is slated to make his national US TV debut next month on NBC’s TODAY. Fans have gone rabid for Allen’s undeniable talent and incredible story of perseverance and positivity, as depicted in his docu-series “Jimmie Allen All In.”
For months Jimmie Allen fans had been teased with the promise of a full-length album; hoping to satiate the craving for new music, the critically-acclaimed rising star had been sharing one brand-new track each month as a collection of songs he calls the “Slower Lower Sessions.” The series, inspired by the ‘Slower Lower’ region of the state, held fans off temporarily but it is clear that after teasing ‘Mercury Lane’ details on his Instagram story earlier this week, people are excited for more Jimmie Allen.
Desperate Man - Eric Church (05/10/18)
Artist: Eric Church
Release Date: 5th October, 2018
Genre: Country, Country Rock
Record Label: Spinefarm Records
Tracks:11
Website:
In a video message speaking directly to his fans, 2 x CMA ‘Album of the Year’ winner and 7-time Grammy nominee Eric Church told his faithful Church Choir [Church’s official fan club]: "It’s been a while, I just want to say I have missed you. I have good news…the album is done, and we are back. It’s called ‘Desperate Man’ and the first single is called ‘Desperate Man’."
‘Desperate Man’ is the latest and sixth studio album from one of country music’s premier names and biggest, most respected stars; an artist whose ground-breaking 2014 outing, ‘The Outsiders’, a chart-topper in the US and the biggest selling country album of that year, paved the way for the rock country blend that is such a rich seam today.
Eric has long maintained that putting music into specific genres is an outmoded concept, and ‘Desperate Man’ (11 tracks tellingly overseen by regular producer Jay Joyce) is further proof of EC’s broad range of influences – from rock and metal acts through to Hank Williams Jr. and Ray Wylie Hubbard, the latter getting a co-writing credit on the new album’s lead single and title track.
In 2015, Eric Church stunned industry and fans alike with the surprise release of ‘Mr. Misunderstood’ (the album), giving it to his fans first without interviews, hype or promotion. Church Choir members spoke directly to local television on how they received the record, being the first to confirm its existence. Church commented, "Everyone is so focused on your first week. But I am more concerned with week 80 than week one."
‘Mr. Misunderstood’ went on to win ‘Album of the Year’ at the CMA Awards in 2016, reaching RIAA-Platinum certification earlier this year.
Given Eric’s revered status and record-breaking stats, ‘Desperate Man’ (the album) could have been a collection of slickly-crafted stadium anthems, but instead of going down that pyro-laced path, the end result, very much a body of work, spotlights Eric as a thoughtful artist fuelled by emotion, feel and the desire to tell a story; a family man cast in the great American song-writing tradition, bringing to mind names like Springsteen, Seger and Jackson Browne; a musician whose substantial success hasn’t detracted from his ability to both talk from the heart and shoot from the hip. In short, an album for our (desperate) times."
Summer Setlist EP - The Sisterhood Band (08/06/18)
- Artists: The Sisterhood Band
- Release Date: 8th June, 2018
- Genre: Americana, Rock, Country-Rock
- Record Label: Sony Music Nashville
- Tracks: 7
- Website: http://www.thesisterhoodband.com
Pieces EP - Drake White (04/04/18)
- Artist: Drake White
- Release Date: 4th May, 2018
- Genre: Country
- Record Label: Big Machine Records
- Tracks:5
- Website: http://drakewhite.com
Heart Of My Homeland- Szlachetka (16/02/18)
- Artist: Szlachetka
- Release Date: 16th February, 2018
- Genre: Country Rock, Americana
- Record Label: Matthew Szlachetka
- Tracks: 11
- Website: https://szlachetkamusic.com/
Hallelujah Nights - LANCO (19/01/18)
- Artist: LANCO
- Release Date: 19th January, 2018
- Genre: Country
- Record Label: Sony Music Cmg
- Tracks: 11
- Website: http://www.lancomusic.com/
Rooted in the southern storytelling of Country music with the modern punch of rock & roll, 'Hallelujah Nights' serves as LANCO's coming-of-age debut album, confirmed for release worldwide on 19th January 2018, including CD & digital formats in the UK, and is available to pre-order now. Equal parts nostalgic and forward-thinking, lead singer Brandon Lancaster wrote all eleven songs and found success breathing new life into universal themes. Simultaneously, LANCO’s first-ever #1 'Greatest Love Story' - certified Gold in the US - reigned at the top of the Billboard Country Airplay chart for the last two weeks of November, and remains in the top five on that chart, as well as on Hot Country Songs (which blends radio play, sales and streaming data).
Lowdown & Lonesome - Kendell Marvel (13/10/17)
- Artist: Kendall Marvel
- Genre: Country, Americana, Rock
- Release Date: 13th October, 2017.
- Record Label: Big Daddy Records
- Tracks: 10
- Website: http://www.kendellmarvel.com/
Selma Avenue - Troubadour 77
- Artist: Troubadour 77 (T77)
- Release Date: 1st December, 2017
- Genre: Rock, Alt Country, Indie
- Record Label: Transfer Records
- Tracks: 11
- Website: http://troubadour77.com/
To quote a Troubadour 77 song, “I guess we’ll never know how the story could’ve read, cause we can’t go back again, to 1977.” Or can we? Forty years later there is one band boldly leading the charge and taking fans back to the Rock n’ Roll, California Country and Singer-Songwriter roots of the 1970s. T77, has listened to the generation raised on great melodies, lyrics and records, and agree with them that there is an under-served population of music lovers who are ripe to hear some new original music that can live beside the nostalgic tunes spinning in an endless loop on their favorite classic rock satellite radio stations or streaming playlists. The time has come to deliver songs that address the life circumstances, social issues and perspectives of an older and wiser generation of music lovers.
The band is the brainchild of Grammy award-winning singer-songwriters, Anna Wilson (Piano/Lead Vocals) and Monty Powell (Electric Guitar/Vocals). Wilson and Powell have been married for 16 years, making music together as artists, songwriters and producers in Nashville. Collectively they have written a dozen #1 songs and countless album cuts that appear on over 70 million records sold and have co-produced unique special projects that pay tribute to The Eagles, Billy Joel and the Countrypolitan era of music. Additionally, Powell was a key creative force in establishing the mega success story of Keith Urban. He was his early producer and one of Urban’s top collaborators for many years, earning Golden Globe nominations and countless industry awards for the songs they composed. Ultimately, Wilson and Powell spent 25 years in Music City together, but it wasn’t until after breaking away and retreating to their second home in the Utah mountains that they found a new muse that came calling so strong, they had to answer.
The songs of Troubadour 77 are written by Wilson and Powell and recorded in their world-class studio in Utah. It all started when Wilson began revisiting the records of Jackson Browne, The Eagles, Firefall, Linda Ronstadt and many others, and realized how much she missed someone just singing her a great song. Wilson states, “Those artists made music that was authentic and addressed the issues of the times, and yet all those songs still hold up 40 years later because they are honest and real. It’s the type of music I’ve always wanted to write and record as an artist but the industry would not allow. Today, of course, we can take our music directly to the fans. I used to think I was just born 20 years too late because I wasn’t in Los Angeles in 1975. I was just 5 years old singing in my room in Pennsylvania into my hairbrush. But now I think perhaps it’s not too late, and it's worth it to attempt to carry the torch of that great era of music, so that's what I am going to do.”
Powell chimes in, “With all the new ways to discover music, you can go find your true believers. We figured if we love that classic sound but don’t just want to hear Stairway to Heaven for the ten-thousandth time, there’s probably a whole lot of other folks out there who would love to hear some fresh tunes not dominated by kid singers, hip-hop based rhythms and soundscapes with cultural themes that just don’t match who they are. Troubadour 77 is here to say it can be done."
Joined by their band mates, Austin Weyand (Guitar/Vocals), Kassie Weyand (Bass/Vocals) and Nathan Chappell (Drums), the band hails from Salt Lake City. In an interesting twist, Austin and Kassie have also been married for 15 years and making music together. Austin, originally from western Pennsylvania, is a premiere finger style guitar player who has recorded two solo albums and is the 2014 champion of the Wyoming finger style guitar competition, and also holds the same title in Utah from 2012. His wife Kassie, from Honeyville, Utah, began playing the piano at a young age (5), and was very involved in theater and dance during her teenage and young adult years. After getting married she picked up the bass and began to perform with Austin and they forged a duo. Powell says, “When we met Austin we knew he was something special. Then he told us his wife played bass and Anna and I said, bring her over and lets jam.” Needless to say, Wilson & Powell were thrilled to have them join the band. Powell often jokes, “Yes, we are two married couples in a band together, like Fleetwood Mac, without the drugs and affairs.”
On drums is Nathan Chappell, a Native American from the Hopi tribe who grew up in Brigham City, Utah. He started playing drums at thirteen (1977) and later joined the Marine Corps at seventeen. He served for four years, and afterwards decided to take the leap and pursue his first love...music...as a full time musician. In addition to his role in T77, he is a drum instructor for two private music schools, facilitates drum workshops for various after school and library arts programs and is a world-class cajone player, which is a skill all in itself.
Music, and making music, is not just for the young, although you would be hard pressed to know that by what is regularly turned out by the music giants. In fact, instead of an explicit language sticker, T77 says with tongue firmly in cheek, that they label their music as “not suitable for anyone under the age of 35”. Wilson says, “It’s high time artists start making new music for adults as well as kids. Yes, dare I say songs you can understand the words to and make you reflect and celebrate your place in life, without relying entirely on the nostalgia of a bygone era. We just want to carry on the great music made in the 70s. Back then artists weren't afraid to write and sing protest songs, and neither are we. We've got some songs that reflect the current issues and the times we're in now and we hope they can affect change in our world in a positive way. We’ve also got songs about getting older, as well as looking back. I think artists should make music that addresses those parts of the journey too.”
Troubadour 77 is just getting started. Their debut was an appearance with Brandi Carlile at the 2017 Sundance Film Fest, and now they will be kicking off their summer tour at this year’s star studded BottleRock Festival in Napa as well as performing additional concerts with Los Lobos and Robert Randolph and The Family Band later in the season. T77 is giving listeners a chance to rediscover that sense of wonder and connection, when you heard someone singing TO you, FOR you, ABOUT you and in some mystical way, WITH you. Make room on your playlist for Troubadour 77…new music with a classic sound!
Tx Jelly - The Texas Gentlemen (15/09/17)
- Artist: The Texas Gentleman
- Genre: Country, Rock, Soul and Funk
- Release Date: 15th September, 2017
- Record Label: New West Records
- Tracks: 11
- Website: https://www.thetexasgentlemen.com
Sometimes, authenticity can sneak up on you. The first sounds you hear on The Texas Gentlemen’s debut studio album, 'TX Jelly', is that of a band slowly coming together.
It’s deceptive, because it creates the impression these Gentlemen might be hesitant about their first record, but any hint of uncertainty vanishes as the core quintet, Beau Bedford, Nik Lee, Daniel Creamer, Matt McDonald and Ryan Ake tears into the opening track, Habbie Doobie, a low-slung piece of vintage country-funk that slams out of the speakers and announces The Texas Gentlemen as a force to be reckoned with.
This Lone Star-bred collective takes its cues from some of the iconic acts of the past — the quicksilver brilliance of The Wrecking Crew, The Muscle Shoals Swampers (who backed everyone from Aretha to Wilson Pickett), Booker T. and The M.G.’s, and Bob Dylan’s one-time backers The Band are the most obvious examples. Bedford, who shares chief engineering and producing responsibilities at Dallas’ Modern Electric Sound Recorders, assembled The Texas Gentlemen as an all-purpose backing band for an eclectic array of singer-songwriters, including Leon Bridges, Nikki Lane, and more.
In 2016, the Gentlemen were lured out of the studio to the Newport Folk Festival, where they were joined by iconic troubadour Kris Kristofferson, making his first Newport appearance in more than 45 years. Rolling Stone called it one of the festival’s “most exciting sets.”
Kristofferson so enjoyed collaborating with The Texas Gentlemen that he enlisted them to reprise their roles in a series of critically acclaimed Texas concerts. Of Kristofferson and The Texas Gentlemen’s appearance at Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth, music critic Preston Jones wrote “The [instruments] would slowly coalesce around Kristofferson’s gnarled but still potent voice, creating an electric sensation of the past fusing with the present.”
That deft fusion of before and right now is possible thanks to the musicians’ unswerving dedication to simply playing to the best of their abilities, trusting their instincts, and letting the music guide them. Case in point: TX Jelly was created in less than a week — four days, start to finish — at Muscle Shoals’ singular FAME Studios.
Pared down from the 28 songs the Gentlemen recorded in that 96-hour span, TX Jelly effortlessly connects way back to what’s next, summoning the spirits of American songcraft even as it heralds the arrival of 21st century talent. Cut live, with little use for the blinding polish and careful presentation of so much modern music, TX Jelly oozes with skill backed up by that hard-won authenticity.
TX Jelly moves between contemplative and raucous, encompassing the full breadth of the American experience. The music touches on blues, soul, folk, country, rock and gospel — from first track to last, you can feel The Texas Gentlemen reaching deep inside themselves and finding what’s genuine — what illuminates the truth of the country’s rich, complicated and singular artistic history — and delivering it the only way they know how: real, raw and righteous.
Jess and the Bandits - Smoke & Mirrors (15/09/17)
- Artist: Jess and the Bandits
- Genre: Country, Blues, Pop
- Release Date: 15th September
- Record Label: Absolute Marketing
- Tracks: 14
- Website: http://jessandthebandits.com/
Midland - On The Rocks (22/09/17)
Artist: Midland
Genre: Country Music
Release Date: 22nd September, 2017
Record Company: Big Machine Records
Tracks: 13
Website: http://midlandofficial.com/
Originally formed in Dripping Springs, Texas, Lead vocalist Mark Wystrach fronts Midland’s rich sound, rounded out by lead guitarist Jess Carson and bass player Cameron Duddy. Rooted in tradition both in sound and style, the band initially garnered attention playing clubs in the Texas region. Their self-titled debut EP features five tracks, boasting songwriting credits from each member. Midland intentionally nods to the wild west with Country music that is reminiscent of the 1970s and 80s with a modern day twist. They’ve opened for idols Dwight Yoakam and Willie Nelson and have been in the studio with Shane McAnally (Sam Hunt, Reba McEntire, Kacey Musgraves) working on their full length release 'On the Rocks' for Big Machine Records.
Album pre-orders and other signed goodies are available through through website (above) via Pledge Music.
The Barr Brothers - Queen Of The Breakers (13/10/17)
- Artist: The Barr Brothers
- Genre: Sci-Folk, Rock, Roots, Blues, Folk
- Release Date: 13th October, 2017
- Record Label: Republic of Music
- Tracks: 11
- Website: http://www.thebarrbrothers.com/
“Queens of the Breakers” is The Barr Brothers’ finest work yet, a collection of 11 hypnotically fluid songs that speak to the raw, elemental power of reflection, forgiveness, loss, and growing up. The record finds the band, featuring brothers Brad (guitar) and Andrew Barr (drums), and Sarah Pagé (harp), further on their thrilling path of exploring the outer limits of folk, blues, rock and Americana made north of the American border.
Sam Outlaw - Tenderheart (14/04/17)
- Artist: Sam Outlaw
- Genre: Country Rock
- Release Date: 14th April, 2014
- Record Label: Six Shooter Records
- Tracks: 13
- Website: http://www.samoutlaw.com
"There's a tender heart beating for you..."
Cynicism comes easy, but having a soft heart takes real guts. Sam Outlaw's new album 'Tenderheart' dares to tread gently and look inward, with unapologetic sentiment and nods to country music's greatest neon rainbow chasers.
Since the release of his 2015 debut 'Angeleno', Sam Outlaw remains one of LA's only modern country singers to earn international acclaim. And with his follow-up 'Tenderheart' he shows an impressive refinement of his artistic identity. Sonically, the album further elaborates Outlaw's "SoCal Country" sound: a sun-bleached, Baja-influenced twang that deftly points to country's neo-traditionalists and LA's legendary singer-songwriters. Thematically 'Tenderheart' is a thesis on self-discovery and the power of love - a course set with the opening chords of "Everyone's Looking For Home." The opening track is a cinematic, mariachi-laced meditation on Outlaw's own conflicted quest for peace among the chaos of his chosen path.
Over the course of these thirteen songs it becomes increasingly apparent why his clever intertwining of country tropes and crisp modernism has so impressed country music fans, critics and songwriters alike. (Alt-country pioneer Ryan Adams just recently praised Outlaw, calling his work "beyond great songwriting".)
Not one to mess with a winning combination, Sam called on many of the same musicians that made 'Angeleno' such a success: harmony singer Molly Jenson, pedal steel pro Jeremy Long and guitarist Danny Garcia, along with Taylor Goldsmith (Dawes) and Bo Koster (My Morning Jacket). Produced by Martin Pradler and Outlaw and recorded in the San Fernando Valley, 'Tenderheart' also features Erwin Vasquez and Mariachi Teocuitatlan, a local mariachi group who appeared in the video for 'Angeleno's' title track.
Now two years into his new life, Outlaw has learned that great dreams can only be achieved at great cost. And at its core, 'Tenderheart; is the outcome of another lesson learned: if your heart stays true, the sacrifice is worth it.