Laurel Canyon Music

24 Blackbush Avenue Chadwell Heath, Romford, England, RM6 5TU United Kingdom

For fans and musicians of Folk, Americana, Country, Blues, Singer-Songwriter, Rock, Roots & Acoustic and music from the Laurel Canyon late 60’s/early 70’s era.

LCM is a new co-operative music community, promoter, event organiser and on-line magazine to promote & support the music that we love. All the latest news, reviews and interviews

LCM is your indispensable insider guide to the wonderful world of independent music and beyond

We aim to help music fans connect and discover great new music and help indie musicians promote their music and help them build relationships with supporters and industry professionals.

Please join us now and explore our website.

We also have some special and exclusive items in our LCM store that you might like.

Filtering by Category: Country Music

Golden Hour - Kacey Musgraves (30/03/18)

April 22, 2018  /  Gary Smith

  • Artist: Kacey Musgraves
  • Release Date: 30th March, 2018
  • Genre: Country, Cosmic Country
  • Record Label: MCA / UMG Nashville
  • Tracks: 13
  • Website: http://www.kaceymusgraves.com/

 

Known for her very clever and often 'tongue in cheek' songwriting the multi-award winning Kacey Musgraves returns for her excellent third album 'Golden Hour'. It contains a range of styles from cosmic-pop country and folk through to disco-pop. It's a little bit of a departure from her previous albums, but I think it really works. The album continues to grow the more times you play it, which is always a very good sign. It is one of my favourite albums this summer and one that I keep going back to.

'Golden Hour' is an album created for crossover success. The lyrics tone down her trademark sardonic vignettes of small-town life in favour of larger and more universal themes. It's a album-length ode to not having the right words, to being overcome by the moment and of surrendering to it.

Comment
categories / Country Music, Country-Pop
tags / Kacey Musgraves, Golden Hour, LCM New Releases 2018, March 2018

Accidentally On Purpose - The Shires (20/04/18)

April 21, 2018  /  Gary Smith

  • Artists: The Shires
  • Release Date: 20th April, 2018
  • Genre: Country, Pop
  • Record Label: Decca (UMO)
  • Tracks: 12
  • Website:

The biggest selling UK country act of all time, The Shires, announce their highly anticipated third album ‘Accidentally on Purpose’, due for release on 20th April 2018 through Decca Records. The trailblazing duo will also be hitting the road this summer, performing their new music across the UK, including London’s Royal Albert Hall on 18th May. Recorded in Nashville, Tennessee, The Shires’ new album combines massive country-pop choruses and emotive words about their whirlwind journey, relationships and their time in the States. Increasingly, US country music is taking music influence from the mainstream with pop-inspired hooks, a sound that The Shires’ new album reflects. “Accidentally on Purpose is full of personal songs that really sums up the whirlwind journey we’ve been on together. From the first day we met, we’ve been crazy dreamers with big plans, who really believed that Country could break into the UK mainstream. For all those dreams, we never imagined it would all happen so quickly and we’re so proud and excited to be releasing our third album.” – Ben and Crissie, The Shires

Comment
categories / Country Music, Country-Pop, Pop Music
tags / The Shires, Accidentally On Purpose, LCM New Releases 2018, April 2018

Mind Of Mine EP - Lisa Wright (25/05/18)

April 17, 2018  /  Gary Smith

  • Artist: Lisa Wright
  • Release Date: 25th May, 2018
  • Genre: Country, Singer-Songwriter
  • Record Label: Lisa Wright (Independent)
  • Tracks: 4
  • Website: 

One of the most exciting voices in the UK’s homegrown country/Americana scene, Lisa Wright, has announced the May 25th 2018 release of her brand new EP ‘Mind of Mine’. Produced by Matt Greaves (Ward Thomas, The Girls Musical), ‘Mind of Mine’ contains four brand new songs, and is Lisa’s most personal work to date. Lead single, ‘Tennessee’, co-written by Lisa with Kaity Rae and currently gaining airplay on country shows & stations across the UK, was inspired by her trip to the US in late 2017, reflecting the notorious ups and downs of the music industry and the search for purpose in life.

Two of the tracks were solely written by Lisa, with ‘Giving Up The Ghost’ penned in collaboration with Jake Etheridge, known for his starring role as Sean McPherson on CMT’s Nashville TV show, and having also lent his songwriting talents to the show’s soundtrack.

Combining Lisa's staple of honest and emotive lyrics with a new exploration of sound and style, it’s obvious that ‘Mind of Mine’ will showcase this young artist’s ability to continually re-create herself, while staying true to her roots. Having opened for US country star Cam earlier this month and with support dates with the likes of Ward Thomas & Phil Vassar under her belt, it’s easy to see why the Nashville Songwriters Association (NSAI) have declared Lisa Wright “one to watch”.

Comment
categories / Country Music, Americana Music, Singer-Songwriter
tags / Lisa Wright, Mind Of Mine EP, LCM New Releases 2018, May 2018

Starfire - Caitlyn Smith (19/01/18)

February 12, 2018  /  Gary Smith

Caitlyn Smith - Starfire.jpg

  • Artist: Caitlyn Smith

  • Release Date: 19th January, 2018

  • Genre: Country, Rock, Pop

  • Record Label: Monument Records/Sony

  • Tracks: 12

  • Website: http://www.caitlynsmith.com/

  • Review By: Gary Smith (LCM)

‘Starfire’ is one of our favourite debut album this year. It’s wonderfully written, arranged and produced and a real gem. It’s also personal, heartfelt and sometimes hard hitting. We think Caitlyn is one of the very fast rising Nashville singer-songwriters and hope that this album gets the credit that it richly deserves.

The twelve songs on Starfire illustrate the range of Caitlyn's storytelling and the striking impact of her voice. "Don't Give Up On My Love," which she wrote by herself in a cabin in North Dakota, is almost painful in its intimacy, while "East Side Restaurant" is more cinematic in its detail and dramatic in its delivery. "That's about a past relationship that was quite toxic," she says, "so I know it's a song people can connect with").

The pain, struggle and daily rejection of chasing your dream in Nashville is clearly evident in one of our favourite tracks on the album ‘This Town Is Killing Me’. Personal and very hard hitting.

From small-town Minnesota to the stages of Lollapalooza and the Austin City Limits festival, Caitlyn Smith is now living a dream she's had from a very young age and with the release of the mature, masterful ‘Starfire’, there's no telling what happens from here.

"The path sure wasn't what I thought it would be," she says, "but it took all those 'no's and this whole journey to find what I needed, after trying too hard to do what other I thought other people wanted me to do. I needed to ask myself, 'What do I love, what can I do that no one else can?' And now I know that I'm not going to give up...This is what I was made to do." 

BUY YOUR COPY BELOW >>>

Comment
categories / Country Music
tags / Caitlyn Smith, Starfire, LCM New Releases 2018, January 2018

Hallelujah Nights - LANCO (19/01/18)

January 15, 2018  /  Gary Smith

  • 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).

Comment
categories / Country Music, Country Rock
tags / LANCO, Hallelujah Nights, LCM New Releases 2018, January 2018

Wild Silence - The Wandering Hearts (09/02/18)

January 14, 2018  /  Gary Smith

There’s no doubt that 2017 has been a whirlwind year for folk-Americana group The Wandering Hearts. Having released their first EP Burning Bridges in November, and with a string of high profile performances under their belt, The Wandering Hearts are now kicking off 2018 with their debut album Wild Silence, out on Decca Records on 9 February 2018.

Wild Silence promises to be a thrilling debut album from the quartet. With their seamless vocal harmonies, The Wandering Hearts are reminiscent of First Aid Kit and Of Monsters and Men, whilst channelling Fleetwood Mac’s pop sensibility and the storytelling of Chris Stapleton, all the while keeping their British roots at their heart. Band members AJ, Chess, Tim and Tara are all grafters – working hard to hone their skills as musicians and songwriters, and the standard is there to be seen. Their debut album showcases the band’s knack for telling heartfelt stories through their lyrics, and is a perfect balance of catchy, up-tempo numbers, such as ‘Fire & Water’ and ’Rattle’, and flawless harmony-led ballads, such as ‘If I Fall’ and ‘Laid In The Ground’, for which the band have become renowned. The album features previous releases ‘Wish I Could’, ‘Devil’ and ‘Burning Bridges’ which have become rapturously received favourites during the band’s live shows this year.

Tracks
1    Rattle     
2    Wish I Could     
3    Fire and Water     
4    If I Fall     
5    Change For The Good     
6    Devil     
7    Biting Through The Wires     
8    Wild Silence     
9    Laid In The Ground     
10    Burning Bridges     
11    Heartbreak Hotel     
12    Iona

Comment
categories / Country Music, Folk-Rock
tags / The Wandering Hearts, Wild Silence, LCM New Releases 2018, February 2018

Vaquero - Aaron Watson (24/02/17)

January 01, 2018  /  Gary Smith

aaron-watson-vaquero-cover.jpg
  • Album: Vaquero
  • Artist: Aaron Watson
  • Release Date: 24/02/17
  • Genre: Country
  • Record Label: Big Label Records
  • Tracks: 16
  • Website: http://www.aaronwatson.com

Groundbreaking independent country artist Aaron Watson continues to chart his own course with the February 24th release of his new album Vaquero (BIG Label Records/Thirty Tigers). Watson made history in 2015 when his 10th studio album, 'The Underdog' debuted at No.1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart, marking the first time an independent, male country artist had ever debuted at the coveted top spot. Watson's unprecedented accomplishment turned heads and opened many eyes to what he had been building independently for years. The new 16-song collection finds the Texas native following the trail back to his roots, keying in on his influences and tipping his hat to the fans and family who helped set the foundation for his success. 'Vaquero', which means the "original cowboy". Throughout, he depicts stories of a rugged people, humble but hardworking, like himself. He puts a playful spin on an insider's view on the Texan way of life with 'Amen Amigo' and delivers life lessons courtesy of an old vaquero with the title track. On the poignant 'Diamonds & Daughters', he opens up his heart for his little girl. 'Mariano's Dream' is a companion piece to 'Clear Isabel' and on 'They Don't Make 'Em Like They Used To' he sings of the longing for the nostalgia of an earlier time. Watson co-produced Vaquero with award-winning producer Marshall Altman.

Comment
categories / Country Music
tags / Aaron Watson, Vaquero, LCM New Releases 2017, February 2017

Burning Bridges EP - The Wandering Hearts (17/11/17)

December 21, 2017  /  Gary Smith

Wandering Hearts - Burning Bridges EP.jpg

The Wandering Hearts are a group from London that came together almost in defiance of the current zeitgest of rhinestone hats and Fender guitar UK country-rock that has jumped onto the proverbial bandwagon in the last two years. The Wandering Hearts demeanour, work ethic and lyrics echo the struggle of a group of musicians who’ve lived the hard pavements of North London.

They have all jobbed it as musicians and the standard is there to be seen, earned through nights of sweat on string, scraping by but smiling alongside the communal friendship that the life brings. They drink at lunchtime, talk of ex partners and the odd Chris Stapleton lyric, and rather than ring contrived it reflects a sense of authenticity to their beautiful harmony laden Alt-Country infused Folk-Americana.

Seeing them live, and how naturally their voices just ‘fit’ together, one would scarcely believe they met almost by chance through mutual friends in a bar one night less than a year ago, and a love of country music lyric put them together one afternoon in the kitsch empty bar room of the Earl Haig Hall in Crouch End for their first rehearsal.

Comment
categories / Americana Music, Country Music, Acoustic Music
tags / The Wandering Hearts, Burning Bridges EP, LCM New Releases 2017, November 2017

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