It’s the catch in the voice; the catch that’s not quite a hiccup, not a cry, but an achingly lovely double-clutch, a double negative making odd of even, that makes Rosie Thomas’ unguarded vocals so compelling. It is precisely this quality that made the unknown singer stand out on Sub Pop’s 2000 tribute to Bruce [...]

Raised in Georgia’s lower Chattahoochee Valley, Precious Bryant hails from, and is steeped in, similar tradition to blues foremother Gertrude “Ma” Rainey. Akin in both spirit and execution to Jessie Mae Hemphill, Bryant is a genuine article of truthful expression, coupled with artful chops. As with many blues and R&B greats, Bryant’s first performing experience [...]

As with their tributes to Bob Wills and Johnny Cash, The Executioner’s Last Songs finds the Pine Valley Cosmonauts banging out some tunes to accompany a rotating stable of indie/alt-country guest vocalists. Rather than paying homage to a single artist this time, Jon Langford and crew take on traditional and newly penned murder ballads and [...]

Nashville based singer-songwriter Michael Kelsh , a founding member of Southern Culture On The Skids, makes gentle folk songs that need to be here now on Well Of Mercy, his third solo release. Kelsh’s songs function as dreamy folkified hymnody in the parlance of common language, uncommonly good guitar work, roughly whispery vocals, and the [...]

For his solo debut, Widespread Panic’s John “JoJo” Hermann hops up a guitar, some “cowboy chords” and a backing band that includes the North Mississippi All Stars’ Dickinson brothers. Less greasy, funky, and lighter (in more ways than just skin color) than most of Oxford, Mississippi’s Fat Possum roster, Hermann’s offering makes sense in much [...]

Taking its name from a Spanish children’s book, Old Ramon emerges after laying away for nearly four years since San Francisco’s Red House Painters put the ten-song collection to tape. While the late-’90s major-label merger kept Old Ramon tucked away, principal Painter Mark Kozelek remained busy, issuing a pair of solo records (one of which [...]