Category: Singer-Songwriter

Mailbag: Andy Berkhout – Love Without Fear

Andy Berkhout‘s Love Without Fear is a beautiful, folk-inspired record that unfolds like a lazy afternoon in the country.  An acoustic album, with roots in folk and Americana, Love Without Fear is an intimate, gorgeous listen that is sure to captivate you.  Tracks like “Love’s Deep Embrace” (below) remind me of Elliott Smith, even as they create something that is both personal and original.

I have to agree with Slowcoustic on this one: “So essentially I am saying that you know this album wasn’t just thrown together, it grew out of crafting numerous tracks over time and it shows in the pretty darn solid collection of finger-picking, folk tinged beauties.”  Andy spent a year in which he released a song per week, and that dedication to improving and honing his songwriting craft really shines through here.

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Mailbag: Chris Kiehne – Pray for Daylight

Chris Kiehne’s Pray For Daylight is a mesmerizing, almost-lost album full of exquisite harmonies (provided by the excellent Sonya Cotton) and wispy threads of literate, Americana-tinged folk.  It’s an album that – despite its hard-luck history – has a freshness that speaks volumes about its talented creators and their passion for this project.  At least, that’s my take.  Here’s what Chris has to say: “It’s about zombies and love and other gross stuff, and Sonya sings harmony through its entirety.”  Of course, there’s more to that story…but how can you pass up zombies?

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Out Now: Ghosts I’ve Met – From A Spark

Out now on Yer Bird Records, Ghosts I’ve Met’s From A Spark is a beautiful, poignant debut album that finds singer-songwriter Sam Watts at the peak of his talent.  The debut LP, which features guests such as Jenna Conrad (Damien Jurardo), Anne Marie Ruljancich (The Shins), and Ben Blankenship (Modest Mouse), unfurls slowly in a wash of deeply-textured atmospheres that pull the listener deep into intimate reflection.  The effect is instant and striking, unfurling as it does like a rainy day with nothing but the view, some tea, and silence for company.

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Mailbag: Andrew Malo – Wait For Miles

Andrew Malo’s second album – Wait For Miles – is a real gem of an indie-folk/country album.  There are hints of Tom Waits in songs like “Hotels,” and traces of early M. Ward in numerous tracks, but the real star here is Andrew himself.  The songs have a true intimacy, and are almost hypnotizing as they slowly unfold.  And while the production is high-quality, the album itself has a decidedly lo-fi atmosphere that bristles and shines with rich textures.  The result is a remarkably chill album that’s well worth a look.

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Mailbag: Katie Davis – Three Songs EP

Seattle-based singer/songwriter Katie Davis writes beautiful, melancholic songs about the ambiguities of love and loss…and she performs them fearlessly with a voice that is as clear and strong as it is soft.   It’s a combination rarely found, but one that speaks to an enormous wealth of talent.  When her EP – Three Songs – landed in my mailbox, it came with a tease from Performer Magazine: “This is the type of CD you listen to when you’re drunk and alone, contemplating calling your exes to ask them why they stopped loving you.”  And I can see that, but I also feel in these songs the cautious, slow, inward steps toward making peace with something beautiful that just never delivered.

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