Tag Archives: Americana music

Various artists’ The Best of The Johnny Cash TV Show, 1969-1971

American musicians always have, for the most part, understood that the various categories of American music are mostly imaginary. They’re marketing tools drawn up by those in the business of selling music to the public, and they cater mostly to … Continue reading

Posted in Film, Music | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Various artists’ The Best of The Johnny Cash TV Show, 1969-1971

Chris Whitley’s Hotel Vast Horizon

Chris Whitley first took center stage with a stunning debut album called Living With The Law in 1991. Slide guitar, solid rhythms and Chris’s vocals in a Lousiana gumbo … it was beautifully funky. After a couple of changes of … Continue reading

Posted in Music | Tagged , | Comments Off on Chris Whitley’s Hotel Vast Horizon

Trond Kallevåg’s Fargo single

One of the albums I listened to the most during the darkest days of the Covid pandemic was Norwegian guitarist Trond Kallevåg’s Bedehus & Hawaii, released by Hubro in 2019. So I’m especially happy to learn that Hubro is scheduling … Continue reading

Posted in Music | Tagged , | Comments Off on Trond Kallevåg’s Fargo single

Margo Cilker’ Valley of Heart’s Delight

I was among the reviewers and critics who fell head over heels for Margo Cilker’s 2021 debut Pohorylle. No sophomore slump here as Valley of Heart’s Delight marks a big step in fulfilling her early promise as a country folk … Continue reading

Posted in Music | Tagged | Comments Off on Margo Cilker’ Valley of Heart’s Delight

Viv & Riley’s Imaginary People

Vivian Leva and Riley Calcagno have made a delightful album that reflects the changes in their lives, moving from old-time and folk country in a more indie roots and folk-pop direction as they’ve moved from Portland, Oregon to Durham, North … Continue reading

Posted in Music | Tagged | Comments Off on Viv & Riley’s Imaginary People

Commentary: RIP Jimmy Buffett

Well. I didn’t see this one coming. Mr. Margaritaville has transitioned to the Big Beach. I’m not a real Parrot Head, as the Buffett fanatics call themselves. I stopped following him in the mid-80s, when he started getting played on … Continue reading

Posted in Commentary, Music | Tagged , | Comments Off on Commentary: RIP Jimmy Buffett

The Handsome Family’s Hollow

It’s been a long wait for new music from Albuquerque’s The Handsome Family. Their previous release was 2016’s masterful and thematically coherent Unseen a strong collection of twang-filled Country & Southwestern gothic songs. At last comes their 11th studio album … Continue reading

Posted in Music | Tagged | Comments Off on The Handsome Family’s Hollow

The Handsome Family’s Honey Moon

The press release accompanying The Handsome Family’s eighth album, Honey Moon, makes much of the fact that 2009 marks Brett and Rennie Sparks’s 20th anniversary. Indeed the songs on this album all qualify as love songs, but then I believe … Continue reading

Posted in Music | Tagged | Comments Off on The Handsome Family’s Honey Moon

The Handsome Family’s Wilderness

“Can you imagine your own world suddenly made shining, weightless and stretching infinitely in all directions?” This is the question Rennie Sparks asks toward the end of her essay on woodpeckers, the first in her 70-page book Wilderness that accompanies … Continue reading

Posted in Music | Tagged | Comments Off on The Handsome Family’s Wilderness

The Handsome Family’s Last Days of Wonder

The Handsome Family sound energized on Last Days of Wonder. This is their seventh studio album starting with 1995’s Odessa, in addition to which they have put out a live set and an EP of odds and ends, and contributed … Continue reading

Posted in Music | Tagged | Comments Off on The Handsome Family’s Last Days of Wonder