West Virginia-based singer-songwriter Charles Wesley Godwin tells the real stories of his homeland of Appalachia on his forthcoming album Seneca (out on Feb. 15). With a voice and pen as mighty and enthralling as the Blue Ridge Mountains, Godwin is one to watch.
Must-listen: “Coal Country,” a gorgeous, powerful song that traces the history of West Virginia’s coal industry.
Los Angeles-based Americana duo Roses & Cigarettes first entered the scene with their 2015 self-titled album. Since then the duo, made up of Jenny Pagliaro and Angela Petrilli, has made a name for themselves as the embodiment of the SoCal country-rock sound, opening for Jim Lauderdale, Elizabeth Cook, Amanda Shires and more.
Now Roses & Cigarettes is gearing up to release their sophomore album Echoes and Silence (out on Feb. 22), a bold collection of songs recorded during an incredibly trying time for the duo. Several of the songs, including the recently released “Fast As I Can,” address Pagliaro’s battle with Stage IV cancer. READ MORE…
Seneca shines, its pitch perfect production balancing traditional sounds with a more contemporary approach to arrangements. For every moment of fiddle or flatpicking, there is hammered percussion or layered backing vocals. The acoustic folk ballad “Half a Heart” segues into “Hardwood Floors”, with its insistent beat and confident full-band blitz. “Coal Country” features fiddle and piano in support of a beautiful melody addressing the vein of coal which runs from generation to generation as both a blessing and a burden: It put a roof over my head / And armor on the tanks in Normandy / The light shone bright in the hands of its care / From the Western skies to Washington DC / Now it lies broken, high and cold / In its grave of Appalachian stone.
In the midst of a burgeoning career, Michael McArthur did what many singer-songwriters may find unthinkable—he took a break. Requiring respite after years of constant writing, touring, and performing, McArthur spent some time away from his musical passions to focus on repairing his relationship with his spouse and himself. Ever Green, Ever Rain is the result of the folk artist’s return to it all after taking what restful moments he had self-prescribed. Fading lines between whimsy and wisdom, McArthur’s forthcoming album is a full-bodied work of folk majesty that pushes the chestnut genre’s musical boundaries in captivating new directions.
Jennah Bell is looking back at the lessons she learned throughout her 20s on forthcoming debut album Anchors & Elephants. Today, Bell premieres her new single “Everybody Likes to Party” exclusively via NYLON.
The track, produced by Michael Haziza, sits toward the end of the chronologically ordered album. It’s a little bit soul, a little bit folk; Bell’s years surrounded by a family of both music aficionados and artists (her father is Ronnie Bell of Kool and the Gang) are present on every utterance. If you preferred Amy Winehouse’s stripped-back sessions to her fully produced albums, this is exactly the album you’re going to want to dig into as soon as it’s out. READ MORE