With their newest album called Tall Pines &Tangled Vines, Odhran Linsey and Lucy Mckinlay do an excellent job vocalizing a beautiful blend of acoustic and folk greatness throughout the album. One of the most powerful tracks is Wild which explores the idea of being on a journey and the path that leads to an individual’s map to answers. Alongside the beautiful vocal talents, the musical arrangement of the album encompasses a variety of sounds which include the mandola, harmonica, and bodhran. When referencing similar artists, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, Devendra Banhart, and Iron & Wine all have close similarities to The Rabbitts’. If you take a listen and close your eyes, The Rabbits give you a sense of wonderment, internal reflection, and a feeling of peace as their music hits your soul.
Upon first listening to Eric Frisch, listeners can hear the sound of The Weepies, Dr. Dog, and Iron & Wine all rolled up in one. From the ensemble rock sound and power solos on the track to the carefully placed keyboard, Head Up In The Clouds delivers such beautiful vocal talents of Eric Frisch, while simultaneously delivering an anthem of truth, power, and confidence. The folk acoustics and raw and powerful vocal talents of Frisch, will make listeners want to hear more of his raw and emotional sound. With lyrics such as “nothing can change who I am now”, and “now I know what I stand for”, the single Head Up In The Clouds not only delivers to fit the overall vibe of his other music, it makes anyone listening curious to see what lies ahead.
Intially turning on luliano’s music will make listeners want to reflect on his strong lyrics and effortless sound. On the other hand on some other tracks, listeners will want to dance while listening to the feel good music that luliano creates. Drawing comparisons to the musicians Mika and Devendra Banhart,luliano combines vocal similarities with the sound of electric and nylon guitar strings in the background of his tracks. Listeners can also hear a subtle hint of Toro y Moi within his music as well. Hidden Roots is not only well formed in sound, but tells us just a start of what luliano has in store for the future. Hearing musical inspiration from all around Europe, luliano crafts his sound into something we can all experience when turning on Hidden Roots in our headphones.
Jacob Pek just released his new EP called Acoustic Medicine and it definitely stands out. With the mixture of an experimental sound crossed with folky undertones, Pek delivers an authentic and raw album. If anyone pays close attention to the guitar rhythms he plays, a worldly sound presents itself. A well versed and experienced musician, Pek shows his violin talents on the track Sweet Melody’s Memory which characterizes the perfect mixture of folk, world, and classical music. Without a doubt, he proves himself through a well-fitting album name to go with his musical talents.
Marcus Foster has soul. No, not that superficial junk that is sometimes played off as soul today, but that true guttural, passionate soul. Only a few artists are capable of creating this sound today (i.e. Ray LaMontagne) and Foster’s powerful crooning makes the 24-year-old London musician a part of this exclusive club.
Foster has released one EP thus far in his burgeoning career. The link embedded in EP brings you to a page where you can purchase the four-song release in full or individually. If folk singer/songwriters are your thing, then give Marcus Foster a listen.
“Shadows of the City” is the first track on Foster’s EP Tumble Down. The song’s introduction features Foster’s robust voice demonstrating its impeccable range. The main draw for every singer/songwriter is their voice. When it comes down to it, only those with great, original voices survive in the cutthroat world of singer/songwriters. There are far to many creating similar tunes for everyone to succeed. A singer/songwriter is judged on their voice first and then their music. Foster easily passes the voice test. It is his clear strength. His voice is vigorous, but trained. Foster knows when to unleash it to its full potential. At the end of “Shadows of the City,” a melancholic percussion-driven piece with pleasant acoustic rhythms, Foster impressively displays a controlled scream that is shocking, but interestingly refreshing.
With the above acoustic home recording of the EP’s title track “Tumble Down,” I wanted to express Foster’s folk roots. He is clearly most comfortable in stripped down string-heavy folk recordings. The song is over six minutes, but it does not lose its charm. The additional acoustic instrumentation is nice, but I even feel that the song would succeed with only Foster and his acoustic guitar.
Soon, Foster will release his first full-length LP and if you like what you listened to on this post feel free to click this and pre-order his album Nameless Path.
The Music Court 