Tag: indie folk

Denison Witmer is a guitarist and vocalist. A classic singer-songwriter in the indie folk style. Witmer grew up in Lancaster, Pennsylvania attending Lancaster Mennonite School, representing the faith tradition in which he was raised. At some point during his youth, Witmer began taking guitar lessons from Don Peris (The Innocence Mission), and recorded his first album while he was in high school. The project was not marketed to the public, so his true debut came a few years later in 1998, in the form of Safe Away.… Continued →

“Gravity” is the second single from the forthcoming I Write the Songs I Need full-length album from indie folkster Good Saint Nathanael. The single still speaks to past traumas songwriter Nate Allen has endured, but there’s clearly now some distance and perspective gained as the songs from the new album are lighter than 5 years ago. “Gravity” is now available for streaming or download. Additionally a video for the song has been released as well. Both can be found on the artist’s Bandcamp page: https://goodsaintnathanael.bandcamp.com/track/gravity… Continued →

As you’ve undoubtedly already read elsewhere, and seen all over the chrindie corner of the internet, Michael Knott died earlier this week. Much has been written about the man, the music, the iconic artist, so I don’t intend to re-tread any of that ground here. This is a Song of the Day post after all. Nonetheless it does seem fitting to use this week’s SOTD column to feature more of Knott’s work. He wrote and recorded so many incredible albums from the 1980s through the 2020s that it’s hard to pick a “best” or even a “favorite.”… Continued →

This band has been around since the 90s, maybe even the late 80s, making brilliant folk/pop/rock/blues/adult alternative/whatever type music. They’re the sort of band that other musicians love to love. The core of the band is husband-wife duo Linford Detweiler on piano and Karin Bergquist on vocals. The rest of the band has been a revolving cast, and in the half-dozen times I’ve seen them live, roughly half of those have featured just the pair. They’ve always danced around the edge of whatever “Christian music” means, always dropping hints about their faith, but simultaneously distancing themselves from the industrial machinations of the Christian music industry.… Continued →

This folk-punk band was formed as a sort of atypical worship band. Their purpose was to create “authentic church music devoid of hype.” Hailing from Pittsburgh, the band features members of Last Hope and Timbre, its roots firmly embedded in the punk scene. Their one and only album was self-released in 2010, but saw a digital re-release in 2019 via Zap Records (home of 2 Minute Minor, Voice of the Mysterons, October Bird of Death, and others). I reviewed the album in 2019, here, and really enjoyed it.… Continued →

Singer-songwriter and indie darling, Damien Jurado, long known for his poignant songs and unique arrangements, has as of this week pulled all of his music from streaming giant Spotify. The announcement came yesterday via his blog. Jurado didn’t mince words when it came to the reason behind his decision: “I simply cannot continue to support or align myself with a corporation who continues to profit off of the musicians it refuses to pay a fair and decent wage.” Read the full statement here: https://damienjurado.com/blog/2023/01/05/leaving-spotify… Continued →

It’s so great to have Gary Murray and co. back to making music again after almost a decade of quietude. Gary had to retreat for a few years beginning in 2014 while taking care of aging parents and other personal matters. Monkeys & Spoons certainly reflects that solitude, as well as the grief of losing someone you’ve had close. While the album cover nearly depicts contents of jazz fusion or post-rock (both Koinonia and strangely, Talk Talk are evoked by the artwork), don’t be led astray there.… Continued →

Havalina Rail Co. was a delightfully quirky, eccentric, genre-fusing and genre-bending experimental band from California. Across their 10-year career (give or take), the band dabbled in folk, ska, jazz, ragtime, blues, Americana, surf, and multiple internationally-themed genres. No two albums in their canon treads the same ground, and yet each successive opus is clearly recognizable as Havalina. The band stopped recording as HRC somewhere in the early 00s, but members have turned up elsewhere. Most notably are Matt Wignall who is a renowned photographer and is perhaps now best known as the producer for several Cold War Kids albums.… Continued →

Brownstory, the music project from all 4 members of Mainframe will drop their 14 song album this Tuesday May 25th. Check out a full stream of the eclectic album, below. You can purchase the album right now on Bandcamp and get a full instant download of all 14 songs. Grab lyrics and more info on the link. Enjoy!… Continued →

So, it’s New Year’s Day. 2020 is a recently faded memory, but with the obvious enduring repercussions. Do you make New Year’s resolutions? Or affirmations, or commitments, or whatever else people are calling them nowadays? My wife (who is an artist) loves the New Year holiday. She sees it as a blank slate. A new chance to start over. Erase all the marks from the chalkboard (remember those?) or the whiteboard, or your Zoom screen and go again, taking all you’ve learned to try and do it better next time.… Continued →

Orion Walsh has just dropped a brand new song through his bandcamp page titled “Song For John Denver”. Check out the song below in the comments and be sure to support Orion Walsh directly buy purchasing on Bandcamp here.… Continued →

Roemer is a stripped-back acoustic/indie folk project. If you’re anything like me, folk has to be some really special to catch my attention—a quirky vocal style, effective use of harmonies, skilful playing, or best of all hard-hitting and/or poignant lyrics. If it has one or more of those, I’m more likely to pay attention. Straight Bars and Guns was written from an outsider looking in. Much like myself, Roemer is an American citizen living abroad. He in Berlin, me in the south of England. Being an American who doesn’t actually live in the United States gives one an interesting take—neither more nor less accurate, just different.… Continued →

Keith Settles is a name you may not instantly recognize but in terms of IVM past history, the name contains significant weight. Jess started out the IVM interview series on YouTube way back in mid 00’s and then when Keith Settles came aboard to help out, he created some of the finest video interviews we had up until that point. In fact, those are the last video interviews conducted by IVM (see YouTube page). Keith was frontman for a group out of So. Cal. called The Parousia and as of the last couple of years he has gone solo with some teeth clenching, honest tunes with an ep titled “Stories To Tell” set to drop on May 15th independently.… Continued →

Benjamin Daniel (Ben Kunz) a friend and constant IVM supporter over the years has just dropped his debut full length titled “Shaping Season Vol. 1”. If you could imagine a collaboration of David Bazan, Sufjan Stevens, Manchester Orchestra, My Epic, Anathallo, and The Fray, you’ll get a hint as to the direction of these songs. This is beauty in it’s most purest form and a stripped down approach that takes the listener on a moody journey through the stories and music of Mr. Benjamin Daniel.… Continued →

I’ve known Adam Rosenfeld for several years since his days running Men of Israel Records, the home of Man Alive in their early years. He has been making music under a number of different names for the past 2 decades and now has unveiled his latest project, Har Adonai. He takes indie rock and folk, combines it in one explosive push of the mix button on the blender and creates a sonic masterpiece only he could make. I can’t even describe what it sounds like other than to say it sounds like HAR ADONAI.… Continued →

If you asked me to name the most beautiful song I’ve ever heard, there would be a lot of contenders, but this one would certainly be up there. Haunting melodies (courtesy of Karen Peris), cryptic lyrics that hint at familial pain of some sort, topped off with Don Peris’s intricate acoustic guitar work and some incredible harmonies as well. It’s hard not to be moved by music this gorgeous. Check out the original version here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izewuu3rX8k The band reworked the song last year. Listen to that version here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPbWVCGt_eM… Continued →

Here’s the thing . . . Sufjan is incredible. Whether or not you like his music, one has to acknowledge the astounding amount of talent the guy has. To me, he is the musical equivalent to the literary Tolkien. What I mean is this: somewhere in the deep recesses of their brains, the creative impetus for all those ideas already existed. For Tolkien it was a myriad of languages, races and lands–each with their own histories and storylines. For Stevens, it’s his complex musical compositions alternately cloaked in folk, electronica, and baroque hues.… Continued →

If you’re reading this review, chances are you’re aware of Nate Allen. Released a ton of folk-punk albums with wife Tessa as Destroy Nate Allen. DNA was energetic, fun, and although there was always a message, it was generally focused outward (“Jesus, Keep us Safe from the Cops” and “Boobie Bar” come to mind). Good Saint Nathaniel is Nate’s latest project, a solo outing, in which he turns inward to personal reflection and resolution. And the results are surprisingly good. Stylistically this is indie folk. Closest comparisons I can make are Damien Jurado’s darker stuff (there are no pop songs here), or even some of Mark Kozelek’s stuff (Red House Painters, Sun Kil Moon), but with more uplifting content.… Continued →

One more song from the Josh White and Josh Garrels collaboration titled “Enclosed by You”, can be heard below. The song is an older Josh White track that has been re-recorded by both artists in their collaborative style. This is a beautiful song as is the last one released from this project. I can’t wait to get this whole release.… Continued →

Indie Folk singer-songwriters and husband/wife duo – Jenny & Tyler, have just released a remastered version of their “10,000 Miles” album. It is now available through iTunes and Spotify.… Continued →

Arthur Alligood has released his long awaited new ep titled “Portage Vol. 1: At The Edge Of The World” and you can grab it right here. Take a listen to the track “Old Mistakes” below. [Facebook]… Continued →

Indie Pop singer/songwriter, Jess Penner, will release her new ep titled “Imagination” on August 11th through Position Music/Recurrent Records. This laid back collection of tunes for the whole family is ripe with electro pop-folk and will inspire joy not only in youngsters but adults alike. I’ve followed Jess Penner’s music since she was a part of the Hawaii based alt rock band Spooky Tuesday way back in the 90s. She has continued to produce positive, uplifting indie focused pop music for the past few decades through groups like Chandelle, We Cry Diamonds, Kayjez, and her much adored solo work.… Continued →

Married indie folk-pop duo Jenny & Tyler, have just released their brand new covers ep titled “For Freedom II”. It is available exclusively on iTunes here. All proceeds go to organizations that fight Human Trafficking. Catch the group on their cross country tour which is taking place right now.… Continued →

Vocal Few, the duo featuring Matt MacDonald of The Classic Crime and his wife Kristie, will release “Snowdrift Ep” on November 25th. Pre-order now and get an instant download of “Ice Storm 2008”. Check out a stream below.… Continued →

Josh Garrels will release his Christmas songs album titled “The Light Came Down” on November 24th. Check out the album teaser and tour dates for this album, below.… Continued →

Indie-Folk-Bluegrass-Pop group One Way Home, are heading out on the “Front Porch Tour” (named after their most recent full length) with Justin Gambino. Tour dates and such can be found at the One Way Home page here.… Continued →

I am proud to introduce our readers to the music of folk-pop trio, One Way Home. Featuring a blend of folk, americana, bluegrass, and pop in an undeniably addictive mix of music meant to get you singing along and lifting your hands in praise. I haven’t heard a group quite like these fine people so make sure you check out their new full length “Front Porch” that released back in March on spotify below. You can download the title track to that full length on Hearts Bleed Passion Vol.… Continued →