Since the day he decided to “give the artist thing a shot,” Wakefield has remained one of my favorites. His voice has no limitations; neither does his arranging or composing. While the genre attached to his music is country, he expands into so many other places. Between his enormous growling belt and his gentler bluegrass arsenal, Wakefield continues to emulate what true artistry is about. He does not need computerized support or another person to write his material. He’s original, extremely special and an artist that gives Nashville a proud name.
Sound Cloud Sunday, January 6, 2019 (Episode 35)
Sound Cloud Sunday January 6, 2019
Happy New Year from Laurel Canyon Radio! We remain committed to bringing the best in indie, unsigned and should-be-signed artists from around the globe for all of the New Year. We are especially proud of our first episode of the year as it encompasses 14 artists from 6 different countries from the Netherlands to France, Portugal and the UK. That sound of high harmonies and the big bright sun of Southern California seems to loom largely over the influences of many artists and we are always proud to bring them to you on our radio station, Laurel Canyon Radio.com You can listen to this episode by clicking on the link below:
Wildwood Kin – Talkin Bout A Revolution
Hometown: Exeter, UK
Album: From their EP “Voices of Equilibrium” out November on Silvertone.
Review Snippet:
Website: https://www.wildwoodkin.com/
Wynchester – Gospel of Good Times
Hometown: Los Angeles
Album: Their debut album was released back in June on Space Horse Records.
Review Snippet: “Wynchester captures a unique, yet classic approach to Country Music, mixed with the familiar sounds of Southern and Classic rock.”
Next Time In LA: Laurel Canyon Radio is in talks with presenting their next Los Angeles show this summer.
Website: https://www.wynchester.com
Pierce Brothers – Juno
Hometown: Melbourne, Australia
Album: From the album “Atlas Shoulders” released on Warner Music Australia.
Review Snippet: Waiting, the first track of the album has an immediately familiar sound to long-standing Pierce Brothers fans. The song builds its layers through the verses with lead vocal from Jack Pierce, through to a soaring end featuring horns. The classic Pierce Brothers combination of upbeat music and more melancholy lyrics is also present in Wasted, Water And Sand, Reckless Hearts And Restless Hands, and Love You Broke – all songs with catchy choruses and strong rhythm sections. These songs share a more rounded and developed sound than previous recordings and as such, capture more of the live magic which has seen Pierce Brothers selling out shows across Australia, North America, and Europe.
Website: https://www.piercebrothers.com.au/
Tip Jar – Keep On Rolling
Hometown: Neunen, Netherlands
Album: From their debut album “Onward” released on Shine A Light Records In November.
Review Snippet: All written in Dutch…stay tuned!
Website: https://www.tipjar.nl
Storyhill – Blazing Out Of Sight/Falling
Hometown: Bozeman, Montana
Album: From their album “Stages” released in November on Storyhill Records.
Review Snippet: Storyhill confirms that they are one of the most important songwriting duos today. Mixing old-fashioned storytelling with hauntingly spare acoustic arrangements, they sing about love, war and the many sorrows that accompany them.
Web Site: https://storyhill.com/
Beautify Junkyards – Sybil’s Dream
Hometown: Lisbon Portugal
Album: From the forthcoming album “The Invisible World of Beautify Junkyards” out in March on Glassbox Records.
Review Snippet: Worth a buy on the strength of the rather fetching Czech new wave/pulp fiction-inspired cover alone, which is a typically eye-catching design by Ghost Box’s resident visual genius, Julian House.
The music on Beautify Junkyards’ third album offers instant gratification too, as the Lisbon collective strike up a woozy amalgam of esoteric English psych-folk and Brazilian tropicalia. There’s also tinges, of kosmische and an underlying hauntological vibe (this is Ghost Box, remember) adding an eerie, dystopian edge.
It’s splendid stuff, but then you’d expect nothing less from a band whose beatific cover versions of Kraftwerk’s ‘Radioactivity’ and Nick Drakes’ ‘From The Morning’ were as dizzyingly good as the originals. And as with their first two LPs, there’s much to love here — standouts include the swirling ‘Sybil’s Dream’, channelling Broadcast’s wistful retro-futurism, and the transcendental Os Mutantes-like ‘Manhã Tropical’. Anything but invisible, it’s a bewitching album that you’ll
Scott Hirsch – While You Were Old (El Dorado)
Hometown: Ojai, California
Album: From his second album “Lost Time Behind The Moon” released last month on Scissor Tail Records.
Review Snippet: A couple of years back Scott Hirsch moved out of the studio pool, producing Hiss Golden Messenger records and holding down time in The Court and Spark to release a solo record. The record touched on plenty of the same ground he’d explored with those outfits – mellow, smoke and sunset country-folk that was nuanced and peppered with seasoned vets in the studio. On his follow-up, Hirsch has refined that sound, but added a low-slung groove to his tanned leather soul. Among those other plaudits, Hirsch was instrumental in mobilizing the one-off brilliance that was Golden Gunn and he brings the same reverence for the catalog of JJ Cale’s cocaine country to the fore here.
Website:
Night Flight – Parade
Hometown: London, UK
Album: From their self-released debut album.
Review Snippet: Night Flight is an understated gem that demands the listeners undivided attention. Throughout Holmes and the band choose subtle shading rather than bombast as they flesh out the songs with delicate musical textures, allowing the undulating hooks and melodies to nestle in the subconscious gently.
Website: http://nightflightofficial.com/
Herman Dune – Life On The Run
Hometown: San Pedro, California
Album: From the album Santa Cruz Gold released in December on Yaya Tova Records.
Review Snippet: Melodies, poetry and rhythm overlap like summer nectar, and Herman Dune roll on like the most profound pop circus in the world.
Website: http://www.davidivar.com/santa-cruz-gold/
Adam Wakefield – Cheap Whiskey And Bad Cocaine
Hometown: New Hampshire
Album: From his album “Gods And Ghosts” out in November on Average Joe’s Entertainment.
Review Snippet:
Website: http://www.adamwakefieldmusic.com/
Dusty Heart – Broke Down
Hometown: Minnesota
Album: Their debut album was self-released in March.
Review Snippet: Barbara Jean and Molly Dean of Dusty Heart have that rural campfire chemistry that can make you lose all tension in your jaw”
Website: https://www.dustyheartmusic.com
Charley Crockett – A Dime At A Time
Hometown: New York City via Somerville, MA
Album: From his second album this year “Lil G.L.’s Blue Bonanza on Son of Davy Records.
Review Snippet: Playing the blues, however, is what Crockett is all about — as he told Rolling Stone Countrylast April. “I write songs as a resolution to conflict. That’s what I think the blues is. That’s why I’m always calling [my music] the blues,” he said. “The blues is singing about bad feelings, and the way you sing about bad feelings is that you get rid of that baggage and you feel better for having gotten it out.”
Next Time in LA: April 26 and 27 at the Stagecoach Festival.
Website: http://www.charleycrockett.com
Trent Dabbs – Back Before Dark
Hometown: Nashville
Album: His latest album “Positano” was released in November on Ready Set Records.
Review Snippet: It’s evident in Trent Dabbs’ newest collection of songs, Positano that he’s been ruminating on the bigger picture of life, love and the depths of emotion. In line with his other ten solo albums, this release captures his ethereal and reverb-induced laid back vocals we’ve all come to love from him that flow over steady grooves and gorgeous melodies allowing the listener to hit play and let the album run song after song after song. It’s the perfect playlist for your heavy mellow moods. In fact, one of the early believers in this new collection of songs is none other than Taylor Swift who, just a few months ago, added track three – “Come Home Safe” – to her Spotify Playlist titled “Songs Taylor Loves.”
Website: http://www.trentdabbs.com/
Raoul Vignal – I Have Sinned
Hometown: Lyon, France
Album: His 3rd album “Oak Leaf” was released in France on Talitres Records. No digital version, CD or vinyl.
Review Snippet: Soothing vocals and a delicate fingerpicking technique stand as his trademarks incomposition. His music has many times been referred to as “evocative”.
Website:
Gareth Pearson – Cowboy’s Hymn
Hometown: Wales, UK
Album: From the album “A Tweak on Antique” released December 21 on Candy Rat Records.
Review Snippet: “Before I knew it, I was flying over to Nashville and I was playing in front of some of the best Chet Atkins fingerstyle guitar players in the world,” Pearson, now 27, recalls. “That was like a dream come true, one of the most amazing moments of my life.”
Since then, Pearson has toured and performed in the United Kingdom, Europe and North America. He played at the 2010 Ottawa Folk Festival and has had multiple appearances at the Montreal International Jazz Festival. He’s released two solo guitar albums on CandyRat Records, a label specializing in guitar music. His YouTube videos have racked up in excess of two million views.
Website: https://www.garethpearson.com/
