Category Archives: Music

Boban Marković Orkestar’s Boban i Marko

There seems to be, in the Gypsy tradition of Serbian music, an affinity for Western jazz. This does not mean that the music performed by the Boban Marković Orkestar is jazz, but simply that jazz wanders in and feels very … Continue reading

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Fylgja’s Strå

“Fylgja” in Scandinavian folklore is a guardian spirit that appears in dreams, often seen as female. Fylgja in contemporary music is a group composed of three Danes and two Swedes, with strong roots in traditional Scandinavian music and a tendency … Continue reading

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Cordelia’s Dad’s Comet / Jane

Cordelia’s Dad is one of a number of acts that started as a punkish rock band in the early Nineties and morphed into a roots band by the end of the decade. The Massachusetts-based combo went further into their roots … Continue reading

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Mozaik’s Changing Trains

What I’m noticing in my journey through “traditional” music is, first of all, tradition is what you make of it (in other words, anyone who works with traditional music is negotiating with the past), and second, there are lots of … Continue reading

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Jolie Holland and Samantha Parton’s Wildflower Blues

I’ve been a big fan and follower of Jolie Holland since her home-recorded debut Catalpa came out of left field in 2003, but this little gem sneaked under my radar. If you missed it, too, when it came out quietly … Continue reading

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Gun Outfit’s Out of Range

Out of Range is the fifth full-length record by the Los Angeles-based Gun Outfit. They refer to the sound of their music as “Western expanse,” and that’s as good a description as any. Musically it’s a guitar-laden melange of cosmic … Continue reading

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Saz’iso’s At Least Wave Your Handkerchief At Me

This is a momentous collection of folk music. Not least because it’s the first project produced by the renowned Joe Boyd in 17 years (and also apparently resulted in his getting married to one of the participants). This album of … Continue reading

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Blowzabella’s Blowzabella — New Tunes for Dancing

The English band Blowzabella has been a force to be reckoned with on the European traditional dance scene for many, many years. Recently, the band celebrated 25 years of making music, albeit with a little down time between 1990 and … Continue reading

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The Weather Station’s self-titled album

Toronto-based musician Tamara Lindeman records and performs as The Weather Station. This self-titled album is her fourth release under that name, and it’s a bold, self-confident report back from the baffling frontiers of adulthood, relationships, independence, dependence and life in … Continue reading

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Sharon Isbin’s Journey to the New World

I am in the habit, when preparing to write about music, of putting a CD on the changer or carting it with me to work and letting it be part of my context for a day or two before I … Continue reading

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