I’m pretty interested to see what public court of opinion and interest is for a sophomore effort from the folk-rock duo of John Paul White and Joy Williams (aka The Civil Wars). After taking iTunes by storm and in turn debuting in Billboard’s Top 20 with their debut Barton Hollow (2011), they seemed an overnight success story…even if it’d been two years in the making. The promotional and touring cycle included Grammy nominations for both Best Folk Album and Best Country […]
Posts tagged "country"
Spin Cycle: The Avett Brothers, The Carpenter
In the realm of swaying, stomping, harmonic pop-folk, The Avett Brothers stand only in the shadow of Mumford & Sons, a recent success story that, perhaps not-coincidentally, the long-running North Carolina brother-band is starting to bear more than a passing resemblance to. Comparing Mumford’s lone album to the Avett’s discography previously yielded only superficial comparisons: po-faced, earnest lyricism; the tell-tale lilt of a banjo here and there; shouty, fractured harmonies. But where the Mumfords use their Appalachian sensibilities […]
Spin Cycle: Craig Finn’s “Clear Heart Full Eyes”
Craig Finn’s new solo album is out tomorrow. Does it measure up to the standard set by The Hold Steady’s catalog?
Spin Cycle: Brett Detar’s “Bird in the Tangle”
The amazing thing about people (and musicians are, despite the rumors, also people) is that we are rarely static entities. Time and age have a funny way of sculpting our tastes and experiences, to the point that we may not even recognize ourselves in a decade or so. Brett Detar’s debut solo album Bird in the Tangle is a sonic testament to this truth. After turns as a guitarist in metalcore pioneers Zao and as lead vocalist for the indie/alternative […]
