Nashville based alternative-folk band Birdtalker – married couple Zack and Dani Green, Andy Hubright (drums), Brian Seligman (mandolin and guitar), and Jesse Baker (bass) – are set to release their new EP, Just This, on August 19th. The collection contains six songs, including the melodically exuberant “Graveclothes,” all penned by the Greens that bring forth stellar songwriting, beautiful musicianship and lush harmonies. Just This immediately draws you in with opening track, “Want,” an acapella filled with sweeping harmonies that is lyrically powerful, uplifting and incredibly thoughtful, “I don’t want my words to be a weapon, but a healing balm/I don’t wanna have a dagger tongue…. I wanna have eyes of love.” That’s followed by “Heavy,” a gentle, celebratory folky-foot stomper that hits hard emotionally, offering hope for a fearful life with a healing love. “Take a trip to your dark side go on and have a good cry, were all lonely together…. Leave what’s heavy, what’s heavy behind.” and “Just This” an airy, atmospheric and undeniably heartfelt song about separation, physical or emotional. The EP is rounded out with the blending of percussion and mandolin on “Father Texas” where Zack sings “You don’t have to hide for the rest of your life, you’ve been knocking from the inside all this time” and “Blue Healer” a reflective mid-tempo ballad about a relationship that leaves one with a sense of clarity regarding what’s important. “I’ve been proud and looking in the mirror and that’s clouded with smoke that’s been keep me shrouded believing I’m fine but you wipe clean all of these illusions that ain’t me, now you got me looking and I hate me, where is my spine. Much more than an average six song EP, Just This, is a collection that was undoubtedly constructed with love and care filled with meaningful lyrics and melodies that linger long after the last song is played.
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When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005, shortly after Daniel Amedee’s 18th birthday, the singer-songwriter took time to regroup and moved to Cork City, Ireland where he found his musical footing while playing bass in the popular band Remma. Ultimately, though, Amedee moved back to the states where he has since recorded two albums and an EP taking his music all over the United States and Canada. Already having released the EP Everything Will Change this past February, Amedee readies his latest collection, Life due to be released August 19th. The original five song collection begins with the incredibly atmospheric “Life” a folk-leaning tune with hints of rock that speaks simply of light, love, and creation. The uplifting lyrics in “Be All” encourage one to just be “be healthy, be whole be, healing…” or whatever it is you may want to be, while “The Only God Is You,” with its well-placed tambourine, again focuses on the importance of self-worth. The EP is rounded out by the Pop/Folk feel in “Rhythm of Being” and the incredibly intriguing “Reaching Outside” on which Amedee’s raspy vocals speak a truth many may find utterly relatable, “Yeah it’s easy to feel trapped when you’re living inside your mind.” Amedee’s Life surely doesn’t fit neatly into any box, but neither does life. It’s creative. It’s art. It’s positivity in music that makes you feel and think…and it’s definitely worth a listen. Already wildly successful in Texas and the South, Cody Johnson is poised to bring his music to a much larger audience with his new album, Gotta Be Me due on August 5th. Produced by frequent collaborator, Trent Willmon, Gotta Be Me features fourteen tracks, nine of which Johnson co-wrote, that present you with a crystal clear picture of who Johnson is, both professionally and personally: a hard-working, God-fearing country loving Texas cowboy, husband, son, and father who is eternally grateful for the life with which the Lord has blessed him. Laced with harmonica, opening track “Gotta Be Me” leaves no questions unanswered as Johnson sings unapologetically in his delightfully honest and amiable twang, “You can wine me up and dine me/You can polish up and shine me, but the real thing’s gonna shine through…it ain’t always pretty but the cowboy in me couldn’t change if he wanted to.” Other aspects of his personality - that of undeniable romantic and family man - shine through on current single, “With You I Am” as well as “I Ain’t Going Nowhere Baby” while “I Know My Way Back” (Clara’s Song) is an emotional and poignant song for his daughter. There’s a swaying rhythm to the tender “Half A Song” where a chance, almost lost, is ultimately taken while the contemporary flavor of “Kiss Goodbye” delivers an infectious melody and “Wild As You” relates the story of a gal who is a free spirit ebbing and flowing from gentle, romantic verses to the freedom in the chorus. “There’s a part of me that prays that you’ll hang up your wings someday but the part that truly does love you always hopes you never do.” Johnson injects light humor, mischief and lots of fiddle, calling to mind an early Brad Paisley, in “Grass Stains,” “Chain Drinkin’” (both of which were co-written by the Brothers Osborne) and “Billy’s Brother.” The first playfully requests an afternoon rendezvous where “we can get a little green where the sun don’t shine” while in the boisterous “Chain Drinkin’” Johnson gets “hillbilly high with a little swerve in my stride” before revving up for a fight on the high-energy latter, “Steady as the beer flows/Anything in here goes/Circus done come to town.” Written by Shane Minor and Jeffrey Steele, “The Only One I Know” (Cowboy Life) seems custom made for Johnson and those on the rodeo circuit, conveying the forks in the road that they must choose between when chasing that buckle of gold. The tender “Every Scar Has A Story” connects the scars of the rodeo to the scars left by heartache, “Now I thought I knew pain, ain’t nothin’ I ain’t been through, but when I met you I fell hard…every scar has a story, just ask my heart,” as the sorrow flows from the pedal steel in “Walk Away” (co-written with Randy Rogers), a broken-hearted tale that’s a country classic in the making. The collection closes with the bonus track “I Cant Even Walk” which brings things full circle, returning to Johnson’s roots in the church on the gospel track where he is joined by his parents. Whether sentimental, serious or lighthearted, there’s a deep feeling of authenticity flowing from every song on Gotta Be Me and that’s a testament to Johnson's ability to remain true to himself and in doing so keeping traditional country alive and well. In the 90's, Beth Marlin was a BMG’s children's recording artist who sang at The White House and wrote for Disney TV and Sesame Street Live. Since then, the independent artist has released six albums and is readying her seventh, Railroad, which is due on August 13th. The four-song EP features some of L.A.’s finest musicians assisting Marlin in digging into the roots of American music, taking on traditional tunes as well as well-told stories of her own. The set begins with the autobiographical folk tale "Califor-ni-an," which is followed by "Hillside" a simple, tender song of a dog, a man and a hill highlighted by a gentle fiddle. The EP is rounded out by the haunting and heartfelt "Juliana Valentine" which was written for a four-year-old victim of 9/11 and Marlin's fresh take on "I've Been Workin' On The Railroad" which includes a new verse. Marlin has said she released a four-song EP because, "That’s about the length of my attention span these days," but it's also just enough to grab your ear and leave you ready to hear more. http://www.bethmarlin.com/bio https://www.facebook.com/bethmarlinmusic/ https://twitter.com/heybethmarlin Singer-songwriter Jeff Ellis patrolled the deserts of Iraq with the U.S. Army from 2005-2006 and again in 2009-2010 and currently patrols the streets of South Charleston, West Virginia as a member of the city’s police department. When Ellis is not serving his country, he is following his passion making time for his band, Jeff Ellis and 40 Days, who recently released their new album, Modern Time Blues which is a collection, of often personal stories, that is not afraid to comment on the uncertainty that permeates our society. The eleven tracks, which blend heartland rockers and ballads, touch on topical issues like the WV water crisis in "Must Be Something In the Water," as well as real life events that impacted Ellis and his family in “Battery” and "So Charleston City Beat Blues.” Other songs on the album include the harmonica-laden, autobiographical roots rocker “The Work," the heartfelt "Never Enough” (where Ellis vocally recalls Tom Petty) and the emotional “A Heart Divided.” Modern Time Blues is a thoughtful album of reflection and insight. Give it a listen. |
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October 2018
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