Category: Folk

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  • If the name Nina Persson doesn’t ring a bell, I’m fairly certain that the sound of her voice would. She’s the front woman of both The Cardigans and A Camp, you see. Not sure who those bands are? Perhaps the name of The Cardigans’ most successful single will ring a bell: “Lovefool.” It was a…

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  • Mindy Smith is an American singer/songwriter who was born and raised in Long Island, New York but eventually ended up in Nashville pursuing a music career. Her music has been called folk, country, Americana, bluegrass and even pop. She’s often compared to Norah Jones and Alison Krauss. Snowed In is her second Christmas release, following…

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  • by Michael McCarthy When I say that these are the “60 Best Albums of 2013,” I’m just saying that these were my favorite albums this year. I’m simply entitling this piece “60 Best Albums of 2013” instead of “60 Favorite Albums of 2013” because everyone always uses the term “Best Of,” not favorite. But make…

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  • Of Montreal mastermind Kevin Barnes is not one to make the same album twice. Roughly a decade ago he shifted from doing indie rock/trippy twee to electro-centric albums that often felt like twisted — but always fascinating — experiments. The first three albums from this second period of his career were especially experimental; Satanic Panic…

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  • If I listen to a new album over and over again, I either end up liking it more and more each time or I like it less and less each time. I always have some sort of emotional reaction. But if I don’t like an album the first time I listen to it then chances…

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  • Lovely folk with a dash of pop from the daughter of the late actor John Ritter.

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  • The genre-bending sisters Haim once again prove that they’re the best percussionists in the business with their blistering new folk-rock-ish tune “Let Me Go.” It starts off with a faint humming, and barely any percussion at all, as lead singer Danielle almost raps the lyrics (and does so barely louder than a whisper): “Gimme out…

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  • Well, well, well, this is an interesting album. When this duo — Joy Williams and John Paul White — were riding the surprising success of their 2011 album Barton Hollow, which won them three shiny Grammy awards, they kept insisting that they weren’t romantically involved with each other. In fact, they were both happily married…

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  • Tony Harnell was the lead singer of the hard rock/heavy metal band TNT for 22 years until he left in 2006. If you’re a fan of the genre then chances are that you’re already familiar with him and are a fan of his music. Like Freddie Mercury or Robert Plant, Tony has one of those…

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  • Gabrielle Aplin grew up in a small town called Chippenham in Wiltshire, England. Her parents bought her her first guitar when she was just 11 years old. She grew up listening to Bruce Springsteen and Joni Mitchell and she cites them as influences. She’s also a big fan of singer/songwriters like Leonard Cohen and Bob…

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  • Nehedar is what NYC-based singer/songwriter Emilia Cataldo goes by, much the way Natasha Khan calls herself Bat For Lashes or Sarah Assbring calls herself El Perro Del Mar. Let’s face it — it’s trendy for female solo artists to give themselves a cool name these days. But Emilia didn’t just start calling herself Nehedar because…

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  • In 2008 Nouvelle Vague co-founder/musician Marc Collin did a side-project album called Hollywood, Mon Amour. The album featured songs from ’80’s movies covered Nouvelle Vague style, meaning that they were the sort of covers that are often drastically different than the original versions of the song, though care is taken when making these interpretations because…

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  • Shadows is the third album by Australian singer/songwriter Lenka. Her name might not sound familiar, but you’ve surely heard her music as it’s been featured on Grey’s Anatomy and in the movie Moneyball, as well as appearing in advertisements for Apple, Coke and Old Navy. Billy Crystal even sang part of “The Show” — a…

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