Young folks focuses on the best, fresh folk, acoustic, singer-songwriter indie folk & alt-country jams. Turn it up Folks!
***guêmhuɣcâ boʒha=82 (Muisca numerical system)***
Loose Screws
‘Another Shot of Whiskey’
[country/rock]
American outfit Loose Screws’ most recent release is the authoritative country-rock blend ‘Another Shot of Whiskey’ with a great rock vocal performance for a song dealing with substances’ struggles…
Press Notes:
Loose Screws is an eclectic mix of rock and country focusing on melody. A good song is a good song, regardless of genre.
Couchsleepers
‘Valentine’s Day’
[indie folk/singer-songwriter/bedroom pop]
An intimate indie folk/bedroom pop bijou, with heartfelt lyrics and sweet vocals, about the silver linings of being on your own. Moody, stylish, and highly esoteric!
Press Notes:
Folk storytelling that tastes like indie rock; a soundtrack for the restless nights.
Couchsleepers was formed in 2019 by writer, producer, and neuroscientist Harrison Wood Hsiang, uniting under a single name a sprawling collective of musicians and artists. The band made its debut with the nine-track Only When It’s Dark in late February of 2020. Their debut tour took them through many colleges (Middlebury, Vassar, MIT), festivals (Nocturne, The Miscellaneous), and venues (Rockwood Music Hall Stage 2, Pianos, ArtsRiot, Once Somerville, …) before being abbreviated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
On the road, Hsiang is joined by frequent collaborators Mike Nunziante, Brendan Ronan, and Max Shashoua.
Timothy Ivan
‘Subtly, Subtly’
[indie folk/noir rock]
An excellent sample of Timothy Ivan’s just released album ‘Last of September’, an amalgam of indie folk with noir rock, which features Brian Chase (Yeah Yeah Yeahs) on drums, and Jeff Berner (Psychic TV) on guitars, and it’s vital for fans of Nick Cave, Tom Waits & Leonard Cohen….
Press Notes:
I’m a New York based singer-songwriter, using piano and voice. I released my debut LP in March 2020. It’s a 9 song album produced by Andy LeMaster (Michael Stipe, Bright Eyes) of lyrics and music about the state of a being. Each song is part biographies of others I’ve met, and part unknown voices speaking from the rarely explored corners of this city I live in.
Max Carlson
‘Fathom’
[americana/singer-songwriter/soft rock]
Central Florida-based singer-songwriter Max Carlson’s ‘Fathom’ contains one of the enslaving choruses, we’ve experienced in a while, bringing in mind the effortless melodies of acts like Sparklehorse & underrated Sanford Arms. This one belongs in the very special category that it could just go on forever, and just to give you a hint this is its first verse: “I think I found a way, a way for me to break, to break unto the open blue with everything to take. It all makes sense to me now, what am I to do? Leave behind everything else, and everything means you”
Press Notes:
Max Carlson is a singer/songwriter and recording artist based in Central Florida. In December of 2021 he released his debut EP, THREE. THREE can be described as the search for a sound from a young and eager artist. With each track slightly exploring different styles, Max subtly crosses the subgenres of rock, folk, and maybe into something new.
THREE opens with ‘Wait for the Time’, an acoustic/electric, in-your-face track that’s driven by crashing drums and raw vocals. The contrast between the racing vocals of the verse and the smooth chorus create a unity that ties the song together. The next track is the lead single of the EP, ‘Fathom’. Fathom has elements of folk and is layered with thick, moody electric guitar parts. Following a guitar solo, the track enters its final chorus and is joined by harmonized brass which leads the song to its end… or so it seems it’s over. ‘The Cook’ is an upbeat acoustic instrumental with a brass hook that separates side A and side B of THREE. ‘Pale and Blue’ opens the back half of the EP with two beautiful guitar parts that provide a soft platform for the vocals to rest on. Swells and harmonies float around the guitar parts until a snare and kick enter the track to bring clarity. Right when you suspect that you understand the direction of Pale and Blue, the peaceful swells and vocals are cut and replaced by an unsettling, foreshadowing guitar progression that leads to a grunge-esque, drum-filled outro. This then leads to the finale of the five-piece EP. ‘Water Droplets’ opens and brings you into a harmonic dream. Similar in form to Pale and Blue, Water Droplets is airy and surrounding until the percussion joins halfway through to bring the song to its climax. Water Droplets carefully ends the EP with an honest and delicate line of vocals accompanied by tight harmonies.
THREE really is a search for sound for Max Carlson. The difference in styles and influences from track to track can be heard, and it is obvious that he is attempting to forge something new. It becomes hard to put a finger down on the specific genre that Max Carlson can be placed into… Perhaps this will become easier as he releases more music.
Subterranean Street Society
‘It’s Me Babe’ – Live From Amsterdam
[indie folk/acoustic]
Dutch-Danish genre-blending outfit Subterranean Street Society’s acoustic version of ‘It’s Me Babe’ is a spine-chilling soul deposit, unleashing tons of raw emotion, and is accompanied with a beautiful video shot on a cold rainy January afternoon in Amsterdam. Instant classic!
Press Notes:
Subterranean Street Society is a Danish-Dutch trio that plays a mix of Folk, Alternative and Grunge. Over steel metal resonator guitars, heavily overdriven hollowbody bass guitars, vintage cassette tape noise and deep beating drums, a road worn voice shouts out poetic tales about tragic heroes, romantic love and vagabonds. Vulnerable story-telling with a manic edge based on a life travelling between venues, festivals and busking on the streets of Europe. As a trio the band’s live performance is rough, explosive and unpredictable. Still the group has more up their sleeve as they are able to bring out stripped-down rendition of their music. Featuring acoustic instruments, classic folk harmony vocals or even just the bare minimum of street music: One man and his guitar. On November 6, 2020, the band released “Twelve Steps” with a live stream from the Melkweg. The album was critically acclaimed by the Dutch music press. The band can also be heard in the Norwegian netflix series “Ragnarok”.
Darlingtyn
‘In The Back Of The Real’
[country/americana]
The lead single off Darlingtyn’s upcoming full length is a beguiling country-americana song with laid-back vibes, beautiful vocal harmonies and paramount lyrics of an Alen Ginsberg’s poem. Ace stuff!
Press Notes:
Darlingtyn is the love child of Philadelphia musicians Jack Shoudy and Emily MacDonald. Their unique style of Americana and “real Philly folk with outstanding original songs” (City Island Music, 2/1/18) has made them a rising act in the Philadelphia folk and jam communities. “Swiftly gaining steam as one of Philly’s artists-to-watch within both Folk & Jam scenes” (MilkBoy, 10/31/17) Darlingtyn has shared the stage with Ryan Montbleau, Andy Frasco, Zach Deputy, Jennifer Hartswick (of Trey Anastasio Band), Zach Nugent, Roots of Creation, The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band, Steal Your Peach, and Nicholas Cassarino (of The Nth Power). Mixing deeply personal lyrics, vocal harmonies, and a cosmic take on the folk tradition, Darlingtyn brings a unique and powerful new sound to the jam and Americana scenes.
Jackie West
‘Amelia’
[chamber folk/dream pop]
Hope you are ready for the ear-melting, chamber folk excellence with a huge dream pop heart, by up-and-coming Jackie West. ‘Amelia’ is the lead single off West’s self-titled debut EP, and is about “a dear friend who also represents the ‘agape’ love state after you’ve come and gone from each other’s lives many times”. A song of timeless quality that will directly seep into your brain!
Press Notes:
Jackie West was raised in a musical family in Boston. She studied classical and jazz theory but left it behind to travel to the shores of Martha’s Vineyard working on an old boat yard at first and soon finding her way to work on farms: tilling, harvesting, gardening and taking care of horses on the island. That year, Jackie got to know a community of folk musicians and began learning songs and writing music on an old acoustic guitar she borrowed.
From there she moved to Brooklyn, New York, where she began to sing Jazz at a weekly residency while starting a project with her long time friend Emily Gasda, which led to an invitation to travel to Paris to record with Lewis Lazar (Oracle Sisters) on his reel to reel in Montmartre resulting in an EP called ‘Ivansencha’.
After this adventure, Jackie West returned to New York and began writing songs prolifically in her own write, all the while developing as a jazz singer by trade in the corners of Brooklyn and Manhattan’s speakeasies and bars. Teaming up with producer Jon Wiley, these songs resulted in what is her debut EP self titled ‘Jackie West’ released with Westernesse in 2022.
Aspen Jacobsen
‘Shouldn’t Give A Damn’
[country/americana/singer-songwriter]
Award-winning, teen singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, Aspen Jacobsen’s recent single ‘Shouldn’t Give A Damn’ is a country/americana anthem which tackles toxic relationships, sung with a confident maturity, and featuring lovely arrangement with a competent fiddle & guitar performance. Looking forward to her 2nd album set for release in August 2022!
Press Notes:
Award-winning, teen singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, Aspen Jacobsen has a natural gift for connecting with her audience through her introspective lyrics and emotive voice. Aspen’s original work is a modern twist on Americana and Folk music. Aspen recently recorded four new original songs in Nashville, the first of which to be released is “Damned Dynasty.” Aspen previously released the album ‘Love Each Other Right’ in November 2019 and her self-titled debut album in October 2018.
In addition to performing as a solo singer-songwriter, Aspen’s musical versatility has been showcased as a member of old-time string and rock bands. Aspen is currently a high school senior at Interlochen Arts Academy in their singer-songwriter program where she also explores jazz improvisation, learns about the music industry, and enjoys backing up other musicians of multiple genres as a member of the house band.
Pet Deaths
‘All the things you said you were (I don’t believe in ghosts)’ – Radio Edit
[indie folk/art rock]
London-based duo Graeme Martin and Liam Karima, Pet Deaths’ ‘All the things you said you were (I don’t believe in ghosts)’ is a stunning indie folk & art rock hybrid like Neil Young jamming in the same studio with ‘The Software Slump’-era Grandaddy with The Antlers impatiently waiting to join in… Anthem!
Press Notes:
Pet Deaths is the London-based duo Graeme Martin and Liam Karima, who blend enchanting, ethereal concepts with poetic meter and hypnotic melodies to form melancholic, celestial folk.
Having both moved to London in 2017, the duo formed following a chance encounter in Ladbroke Grove. Feeling equally cellophane new in the capital’s concrete fast lane, they agreed to meet regularly. Their subsequent writing and drinking sessions became a Zen-like philosophy by which to navigate their new homes, spending gloomy November evenings on their rain-soaked Ballardian balcony, experimenting with loops, drones and poetry.
The Waymores
‘Even When’
[country/Southern rock]
The first single from The Waymores’ forthcoming album ‘Stone Sessions’ is an upbeat, authentic country number with Southern rock finishing touches, that reflects upon losses. Beauty!
Press Notes:
On their sophomore album, Stone Sessions, The Waymores play authentic country music with an Americana flourish, combining elements of folk, blues and Honky Tonk into an instantly recognizable sound. Willie Heath Neal’s husky baritone and the warm alto of Kira Annalise compliment each other perfectly. Their lush harmonies, and down home lyrics echo the classic work of Conway and Loretta and Johnny and June Carter. On stage, the duo has an easy-going sense of humor that makes every crowd feel like a room full of old friends.
The singing, songwriting and guitar-playing duo met 14 years ago at a bar in their home state of Georgia. “We were singing covers in a freewheeling ensemble called the No Count Palookas,” Annalise recalled. “We both had touring bands, which can stretch you financially. After years of struggling, we finally decided to collaborate and play locally, as a duo, when we weren’t on the road. The more we performed together, we knew we had something special. We’ve been at it ever since.”
[All Press Notes provided by the artists]
Compiled by: Christos Doukakis