New West

Rollicking, raw and teeming with palpable punk energy one minute, laid back and burning with the tranquil beauty of a southern sunset the next, Luther Dickinson's new solo album, Rock 'n Roll Blues, will be released March 18. Luther is best known as the lead guitarist and vocalist for boogie and blues-rock innovators North Mississippi Allstars and has recorded with an amazing array of musicians throughout his impressive career including Robert Plant, Levon Helm, Beck, Ry Cooder, Mavis Staples, Patty Griffin, John Hiatt, Lucero, Jon Spencer among others. Since he first made his recording debut at 14 playing guitar on The Replacement's Pleased To Meet Me he has become widely known both as a talented go-to musician and producer with five Grammy nominations to prove it.<br/> <br/>More in line with his South Memphis String Band records or his two Grammy-nominated solo albums than with the North Mississippi Allstars, Rock 'n Roll Blues as Luther puts it is "folk music with juke-joint drums and lots of harmonies." Essentially an autobiography set to music, the 10-track LP traces Luther's journey from excitable teen growing up in rural Mississippi to tour-van vet and showcases his acutely observant songwriting and superb guitar playing.

I can do whatever I wanna all by my lonesome<br/>If that's a problem well you can't say shit<br/>Cause I'm going my way<br/>Livin' and dyin' - NIKKI LANE<br/><br/>From the first bass note within the driving drum beat you can tell something is different about the new record from Nikki Lane. The backbeat feels like a gutsy strut while the lead guitar feels like a revved up engine shifting gears. Denim & Diamonds comes out firing, spit shining the cowboy boots and tossing on a jean jacket.<br/>Produced by Joshua Homme (Queens of the Stone Age), Denim & Diamonds has the Highway Queen embracing a more rock-oriented sound while still maintaining the heartfelt outlaw country sound she has developed across her previous three releases. Denim & Diamonds still has the fuck-off flare of which Nikki has come to be known. Her stylized, story-telling lyrics are all there as well as her catchy country hooks. The outlaw country sound is now balanced out with a gritty guitar and a machine gun snare that echoes the sound of 70's rock.<br/>Nikki Lane has made a record that sounds new and old. Familiar and surprising. She embraces where she has come from, ("First High", "Born Tough") the lessons learned along the way, ("Good Enough", "Try Harder") all while doing things her way, ("Denim & Diamonds", "Black Widow").

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Denna platta är en sagolik tidsresa tillbaks till 70-talets countryrock allt uppblandat med lite Tom Petty's första plattor. Ny signad till New West, och ska man dra någon likhet med en labelkompis är det hyllade Daniel Romano - Aaron Lee är precis hur bra som helst!

Rodney Crowells album "Close Ties" visar hans styrka som låtskrivare och hur han hittat balansen mellan personliga minnen, litterär kvalitet och djup musikalitet. "Close Ties" är ett av hans mest personliga album samtidigt som det kanske är ett av hans mest lättillgängliga. Livet och konsten smälter samman till ett.<br/><br/>"It's a loose concept album, you could say", berättar Crowell. "And the concept is related to how you tell stories about yourself. Having a few years ago written a memoir, my sensibilities toward narrative-especially trying to find a common thread in different pieces of writing-had become a part of my songwriting process". <br/><br/>"Close Ties" är ett album med djupa musikaliska rötter, inte minst för att Crowell själv har en historia som sträcker sig ända tillbaka till den alternativa country-scenen i det tidiga sjuttiotalet. Och på senare år har etablerandet av Americana-genren betytt mycket för Crowell. "I have declared my loyalty to Americana. It's a hard category for people to get their heads around, or at least the terminology is. But all the people who represent it-Townes van Zandt, Guy Clark, Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle and more recent stars like John Paul White and Jason Isbell-share a common thread, and that thread is poetry. Whether they are actual poets or their music exemplifies a poetic sensibility, generally speaking, the Americana artist shuns commercial compromise in favor of a singular vision. Which resonates with me".<br/><br/>Det finns även en tydlig ton av blues som präglar "Close Ties". "Recently, I think-I hope-that my study of the blues is starting to show up in my music. Those artists, whether it's Lightnin' Hopkins or John Lee Hooker or the acoustic Delta players, connected to something fundamental. With that in mind, I'm trying to move forward but also get back there".

Digipack.<br/><br/>Han har gift sej, och flyttat till ett annat hörn av USA, och kanske framförallt bytt skivbolag till New West! Denna, hans sjunde platta, är inspelad av och hemma hos Mike Mogis i Omaha.<br/>Mike, som bl.a. hjälpte First Aid Kit att slå igen med Lion's roar, har skapat lite av ett nytt sound - Justin var m.a.o. i goda händer när Kids in the street spelades in. Han låter lite säkrare, han har skrivit bättre låtar, det låter helt enkelt bättre! Ytterligare ett bevis på att när det snackas americana av högsta kvalité står det nästan alltid New West på skivan.

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