Album Review: Cinder Well, 'No Summer'

Song Premiere: Kronos Quartet & Friends, "Where Have All the Flowers Gone"

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Song Premiere: Kronos Quartet & Friends, "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?"
- Jul 29, 2020
- Kim Ruehl
To pay tribute to Pete Seeger, the Kronos Quartet enlisted the voices of Sam Amidon, Aoife O’Donovan, and others to tell the tale in a sort of relay, with a new voice for every verse. The result feels like the song is posing a question that a community ponders, rather than being the rumination of a single singer. Indeed, in these challenging and often troubling times, many of us find ourselves wondering when we will ever learn.

Hear It First: Laura Cortese & the Dance Cards, 'Bitter Better'
- Jul 10, 2020
- Devon Léger
Effortlessly complex string arrangements that sound simple and natural? Check. Powerfully astute songwriting that touches on the waxing and waning of love across time? Check. Seamlessly integrated electronic music components pushing the album further towards indie pop than you might think? Check. Laura Cortese’s strength has always been as a bandleader, shepherding an eclectic and interesting vision for folk, and the new album finds her even more at the fore.

Hear It First: Mile Twelve, 'Roll the Tapes All Night Long'
- Jun 25, 2020
- Henry Carrigan
Roll the Tapes All Night Long showcases Mile Twelve’s restless creativity, their ability to inhabit a song and turn it inside out to make it their own, even as they preserve the spirit of the original. Mile Twelve embraces every twist and turn in the musical terrain, showing us around the nooks and crannies of bluegrass, folk, jazz, and even rock, revealing the glimmering facets of each style.

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