The midway point of the year is a good time to take a step back, breathe and give some thought to how the rest of the year will play out for you…but also is a good time to reflect on all the great music you heard in the first 6 months of the year. So that’s what we will do here.
While other publications are a bit more liberal in the spreading of their favorites for the year with “50 best” and more, we will keep things simple here and given its 2016, give you the best 8 things we heard in the first half of the year, with the best 8 in the second half to follow.
So, before I keep on rambling, in no particular order…
Sam Moss ‘Fable’ : Sam Moss bleeds this sense of vulnerability that draws you to him and his voice. At times he sings in almost a whisper and his fingers glide elegantly across the fretboard. His demeanor and aura is that of grace, though the tenacity and speed with which he plays guitar is mind boggling when you really pay attention. ‘Fable’ sees the songwriter putting his voice and playing on full display and the songs are deep pools you can find yourself lost in the depths of. Favorite tracks include the cascading note filled “Beast” and the haunting and moving title track. If the Milk Carton Kids were melded into one incredible being who play some of the most interesting and exciting guitar lines with a gorgeously impactful vocal, well then you would get Sam Moss.
Sarah Jarosz ‘Undercurrent’ : There was no doubt that the follow up to Build Me Up From Bones was going to be a killer record, I just didn’t realize HOW good it was going to be. Jarosz is a main staple in the thread of the current roots music landscape and her musicianship, voice and writing is on point here on Undercurrent. There has been a maturation of the songs here on this record. Sarah has opened up even more and let the light shine in, just a peek. Beautiful songs, expertly crafted and executed. Favorite tune: “Still Life”…to quote our review “this songs destroys me”.
Lula Wiles (self titled) : A band that continues to get better with every word they breathe out into their songs. Thats what you get with Lula Wiles. Their debut release as a trio sees the girls expanding the sonic palette of songs they have strengthened through live performance and really opened up in the studio with new arrangements and experimenting that has only made them better and more exciting. The harmonies are gorgeous, the songwriting is great and each of these multi-instrumentalist, songwriting, singing gals is at the top of their game on each and every track. Favorite tracks: “Good to You” and “Traveling On”.
Cowboy & Lady “Take Me To Town” : Can a record both break your heart and make you want to shimmy and shake? Well, Cowboy & Lady proved that answer to be true. The duo’s debut release was a kick in the teeth, honky tonking, cry in your whiskey romp around an old barroom floor. The two stepping is plentiful, Tyler James Kelly’s guitar playing is on fire and the lonesome feel of their voices gives you all of the feels. Its hard to believe that this isn’t straight out of the days of Johnny and June or Graham and Emmy Lou…and the chemistry between Tyler James and Jess Powers seems as though it has been building since then as well. And the writing really hits hard with one liners and a delivery that slays. Favorite tunes: “Fool With A Song” and “Everybody’s Drunk”.
Aoife O’ Donovan “In The Magic Hour” : The title says it all, this record was pure magic. Aoife O’ Donovan has forged her way from her Crooked Still days to being one of the finest songsmiths and performers I have seen to date. Her voice is unique and elegant, the songs are deep and introspective, and her progressions and arrangements are pensive and not your typical “folk song” chord patterns. There is something deeper in her music and I was smitten from the very first drop. “In The Magic Hour” finds O’ Donovan in a place of contemplation and reverence for the past and stories stemming from it. A beautifully moving collection of songs from a huge talent. Favorite tracks: “Stanley Park” and “Porch Light”.
Ruby Rose Fox “Domestic” : You sometimes hear about artists time after time and very stupidly don’t pay attention. Well, Ruby Rose Fox hooked me right in the face and I’ve been reeling ever since. “Power house” doesn’t really do her and this record justice. A no apologies freight train of energy and sound, the band and Ruby are exciting and engaging and plainly, just something different in a sea of things that can sound similar.. It’s just f*cking intense. “Provocative and sexy, it pulls you towards it, beckoning like a siren until you are stuck and can’t break free of it’s hold (not like you would want to anyway).” Favorite tracks: “Bury the Body” and “Every Time I Tell”.
Margo Price “Midwest Farmer’s Daughter” : It’s always funny how when someone breaks out the masses exclaim “overnight success”, but Margo Price has been busting her ass for a long while to get where she is and “Midwest Farmer’s Daughter” catalogues the long and restless nights, heartbreak and triumph that comes with the territory of the music industry’s heavy thumb coming down on the working artist. She isn’t the only artist making country music great again, but her voice is one of the loudest and strongest shedding light on what whats it so great. She mixes attitude and grit with grace and poise and the first time I heard her voice I was completely barreled over. A genuine diamond in a truck filled with lumps of coal. Favorite tracks: “This Town Gets Around” and “Hands of Time”.
Honeysuckle (self titled) : Honeysuckle’s full length self titled release this year took what the band manages to accomplish live and encapsulate it into this collection of songs. Holly McGarry’s voice is as good as it gets in modern day roots music and I sometimes find myself completely awestruck that a voice so HUGE can come from her small frame. The harmonies only add more inspirating feats of musicality to the party and the arrangements and interplay between instruments is smart, witty and beautiful. Mandolin dancing with banjo and guitar notes in a jubilation of sound that just makes me happy…even if the subject matter can delve into the yearning and longing side of things. One of the most exciting bands I have seen since I started performing music in the New England community. Keep an eye on them in the next year.