Alt.country

First Aid Kit – The Lion’s Roar

Heartfelt ode to Americana from the Swedish siblings

5 Jan 2012

(Wichita) On the surface, First Aid Kit’s obsession with Americana looks a little odd, given that they’re Swedish sisters barely out of their teens. But the pair’s homage is steeped in knowledge, and this second album sounds like it could’ve been…

Bap Kennedy - Howl On

23 Jul 2009

Belfast-born singer-songwriter, Martin (or Bap) Kennedy, has been treading the rocky boards for nigh-on 20 years having led minor hitmakers, Energy Orchard, on their unsustainable UK Top 60 debut in 1990. Once sharing a stage with mentor, Van Morrison…

Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy - Beware

5 Mar 2009

ALT.COUNTRY Wildwood lothario Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy – the alter ego of Kentuckian alt.country outlaw Will Oldham – has inhabited and advanced the guise of folk defiler, kinship analyst and hirsute, horny man-beast since his come-hither intones were…

Lambchop - OH (Ohio)

30 Oct 2008

After the melancholy of Lambchop’s last album, the illness-inspired Damaged, Kurt Wagner and his band return with a more upbeat – and occasionally up-tempo – offering. Their tenth album definitely has a lighter feel than its gloomy predecessor, but in…

Giant Sand - ProVISIONS

30 Oct 2008

Arizona-bred Howe Gelb has been reconstructing North American country music under various guises and with numerous collaborators for the past 20 years. Almost twice as many records later it’s hard to tell the difference between his solo projects, his…

Calexico

4 Sep 2008

‘It’s not what some people have called a return to form, because there are new elements on the record,’ says Joey Burns, singer, songwriter and co-founding member (with percussionist John Convertino) of the idiosyncratic alt.country outfit Calexico.

Iron & Wine

18 Oct 2007

ALT.COUNTRY Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh, Mon 29 Oct It would be difficult to find a location more at odds with the music of Sam Beam than the London hotel lobby I meet him in. Swanky, super modern and decked out in stark white clinical decor and…

Records - Holly Golightly & The Brokeoffs

Holly Golightly & The Brokeoffs

9 Apr 2007

ALT.COUNTRY Following her departure from Thee Headcoatees, this is Holly Golightly’s 14th studio effort, and after successful collaborations with Jack White, Mudhoney and Rocket From The Crypt she now teams up with long-time bandmate Lawyer Dave to…

Porch Song Anthology

The Den at the Café Royal, Edinburgh, Fri 6 Oct

10 Oct 2006

ALT.COUNTRY In the face of ‘the death of live music in Edinburgh’ - (c) every naysayer east of Greenock - it’s nice to see someone continuing to make an effort. Local gig promoters Baby Tiger might have looked like being a part of the big cull when…

Micah P Hinson

ABC, Glasgow, Tue 3 Oct

18 Sep 2006

ALT.COUNTRY At 25 years old, Micah P Hinson seems a little young for the world-weary sorrow etched into his melancholic tones, but the Texan singer songwriter has experienced more than his fair share of heartbreak and misery. Hinson was a young…