Samantha Crain, Kid Face
A sparse folk record with thorough, unflinching self-analysisSinger-songwriter Samantha Crain has always sounded like an old soul, her dusty alto worn down by restless thoughts and free-floating...
View ArticleInterview: Samantha Crain
Samantha Crain doesn’t mess around in the studio. The Shawnee, Oklahoma, native recorded her previous album, 2010′s breakout You (Understood), in just six days. For her latest, Kid Face, she spent a...
View ArticleEmmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell, Old Yellow Moon
A reunion showing that time has given as much as it's taken away“This is the culmination of a 40-year conversation,” Rodney Crowell has said of Old Yellow Moon, his long-awaited collaboration with...
View ArticleThe Mavericks, In Time
A decade later, Raul Malo and his mates leave country in their pastAt this point, it’s flat-out inaccurate to refer to the Mavericks as a country band. They were always left-of-center anyway, despite...
View ArticleLee Hazlewood, Trouble Is A Lonesome Town
A trip through the grouchy Texan's macabre and somewhat bleak worldA grouchy Texan with a fathoms-deep voice, Lee Hazlewood was one of American pop music’s great outsiders. He’s best known for...
View ArticleCaitlin Rose, The Stand-In
Emerging as a confident, distinctive pop-country artistGiven her avowed love of old Hollywood glamour (just check out that album cover), the title of Caitlin Rose’s sophomore full-length likely refers...
View ArticleAshley Monroe, Like a Rose
A fine introduction to an engaging talent in country musicAshley Monroe is best known as Hippie Annie, one fringe-dressed third of the country supergroup the Pistol Annies. Even before she proved she...
View ArticleSon Volt, Honky Tonk
Celebrating the wild and down sides of honky-tonk life“There’s a reckless side of tradition, a push of the tide having its way,” sings Jay Farrar above a guitar, harmonica and accordion wailing...
View ArticleOlof Arnalds, Sudden Elevation
All the tender beauty of her previous efforts — this time in EnglishThe most attractive thing about Ólöf Arnalds’s music is the sense of mystery. Beginning with her beguiling 2007 debut Við og Við,...
View ArticleInterview: Ashley Monroe
From the opening line “I was only 13 when my daddy died,” it’s clear that Ashley Monroe’s sophomore Like a Rose is going to be an emotional listen. The next half-hour, however, reveals it to be so much...
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Free eMusic Samplers
It’s easy to get stuck in a musical rut. The amount of new music that’s released, at this point, on a daily basis can feel overwhelming, and the deluge can cause you to run panicked to old favorites...
View ArticleAnais Mitchell and Jefferson Hamer, Child Ballads
Accessible, American-folk renditions of centuries-old songsOne of today’s most creative and authentic rising songwriters, Anais Mitchell is constantly finding new ways to reinvent folk tradition. She’s...
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Discover: Finders Keepers
An enthusiasm for sounds lost, unknown, ignored or brain-meltingly weird is the principle behind Finders Keepers, the reissue label Andy Votel founded in 2005 with Doug Shipton. A mainstay of...
View ArticleThe Milk Carton Kids, The Ash & Clay
You can’t get far into writing a review of The Milk Carton Kids without mentioning Simon & Garfunkel. (I managed to make it just 14 words). Like S&G, they’re an acoustic duo that sings pristine...
View ArticleJessica Pratt, Jessica Pratt
Earning the "old soul" distinction with gently wry, ruminative folksongsJessica Pratt’s self-titled debut is the kind of record that tends to incite music writers to say certain things: It’s...
View ArticleNumbers And Letters, Guns Under Water
Rambunctious alt-country that exorcises its romantic ghostsAustin alt-country outfit Numbers And Letters open their full-length debut with a brash declaration: “The fire’s been lit,” sings frontwoman...
View ArticleWho Is…Hiss Golden Messenger
File under: '70s country folk with hints of rustic psychedelia and spiritual malaise For fans of: Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Iron & Wine, The Black Twig Pickers From: North Carolina via California...
View ArticleSteve Earle & The Dukes (& Duchesses), The Low Highway
A superb collection representing all facets of his diverse oeuvreExcept for the fact that it contains 12 brand-new songs, The Low Highway could almost be a retrospective of Steve Earle’s...
View ArticleVarious Artists, Way To Blue – The Songs Of Nick Drake
A live tribute album that transcends both the live and tribute templatesAs Nick Drake’s producer in the early 1970s, Joe Boyd helped the legendary English singer-songwriter create albums that were...
View ArticleLuke Winslow-King, The Coming Tide
Mastering the art of revivalist folkThe 29-year-old singer/songwriter, slide guitarist and eMusic Selects alum Luke Winslow-King is from Michigan, but he has called The Big Easy home since 2001. On his...
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