Most of my blog time for the next three weeks will be spent on the online anniversary festival, but first I want to quickly tell you that I absolutely love this new album from Los Angeles-based americana songwriter Jason Hawk Harris. The album Love & The Dark came out on the 23rd of August on Bloodshot Records and it’s one hell of a country record with a whole lot of rock’n’roll and heavy-hearted narrative. Super entertaining, but also able to drop your heart to the apartment below. One of my personal favorites of the year so far. Here’s a couple of great songs from the album. Listen to / buy the whole great record by hitting those links on the Bandcamp player.

Jason Hawk Harris Website

I’m embarrassed that I’ve missed this magnificent EP series from country singer-songwriter Erin Enderlin. I just stumbled upon this now when she is already in Chapter Three, but better late than never. All three chapters are full of wonderful real country music and captivating storytelling. Many of these songs are also available in form of an excellent music video. Here’s Tonight I Don’t Give a Damn from Chapter One and I Can Be Your Whiskey from Chapter Two.

Erin Enderlin Website

Continuing with tremendous classic country songwriting. Vincent Neil Emerson from Fort Worth, TX is a new find for me, but I’ve really loved all the singles I’ve heard from this forthcoming album album Fried Chicken and Evil Women, due out on the 13th of September on La Honda Records. Here’s a couple of those wonderful singles. A music video for Willie Nelson’ Wall and an acoustic live of 7 Come 11.

Vincent Neil Emerson Website

Let’s stay in Texas to wrap up this little blog entry with a song from the brand new Garrett T. Capps album All Right, All Night that just came out last friday on the 30th of August on Shotgun House Records. I’ve barely scratched the surface of this one at this point, but sure sounds like a damn good country album. Lately is on the weekly playlist at the moment, so let’s go with another great album cut Alone With You that features the wonderful Jamie Lin Wilson on vocals.

Garrett T. Capps Website

Four Arms to Hold You is an ongoing feature with a weird name. It might not contain a whole lot of words, but it does contain a whole lot of love towards the featured songs. Basicly this is just four albums / songs / artists that have done their part in holding me together and therefore I want to tell the world or the seven readers of this blog how much I love them. Not entirely sure do these kind of posts serve any kind of purpose and I do hope I manage to write longer posts too. Right now it just feels like the playlists and these kind of short posts are the only way to keep this dear hobby alive. Plus it’s really the music that matters, not my random ramblings and these posts will always contain magical music.

Tonight’s round up story starts from Astoria, New York with the new Frog album Count Bateman that was co-released by Audio Antihero and Tape Wormies on the 16th of August. It’s a very delightful album full of beautiful lo-fi indie songs and mellow and soft americana. Blissfully strange yet somehow instantly catchy. Here’s RIP to the Empire State Flea Market from the album. Follow the links on the player to buy/hear the whole lovely record.

Frog Website

Traveling on to Santa Barbara California and adding some jazzy vibes and psychedelic moods into the mix. Eamon Fogarty’s new album Blue Values came out on the 26th of July on Jealous Butcher. I still need to take some deep listens with this one, because I feel like there’s layers that haven’t completely sunk in to my consciousness. Nevertheless, I already and absolutely love some of these songs. Utopia In Blue, God’s Guts and If the Spirit in particular are just remarkable. The record ends with an intriguing cover of Chris Bell’s classic I am the Cosmos, but Eamon Fogarty’s own songs are the ones that shine most brightly.

Eamon Fogarty Website

Next up Portland, Oregon and the new album Traitors Table from Fernando Viciconte that came out on Fluff and Gravy Records on the 21st of June. It was a collaboration with Luther Russell and it’s a very powerful and provocative album. The whole thing is great, but I’m especially fond of the latter half of the album. It may be fragile and somewhat stripped-down, but damn these songs still have fierce power. Here’s one of the singles called Hey Darlene. As usual follow the links on that bandcamp player to buy/hear the whole gorgeous album.

Fernando Viciconte Website

Small step into Seattle, Washington for the last entry of this small blog entry. I haven’t been very good at promoting the forthcoming Wharfer album Teeth that is due out on the 11th of October. I’ve only shared the two advance singles on the weekly playlist so far. The latest one Myrtle Beach is there right this minute, so let’s go with the first single Obsidian on this blog entry. Here’s some dark folk brilliance from Kyle Wall aka Wharfer.

Wharfer at Facebook

Four Arms to Hold You is an ongoing feature with a weird name. It might not contain a whole lot of words, but it does contain a whole lot of love towards the featured songs. Basicly this is just four albums / songs / artists that have done their part in holding me together and therefore I want to tell the world or the seven readers of this blog how much I love them. Not entirely sure do these kind of posts serve any kind of purpose and I do hope I manage to write longer posts too. Right now it just feels like the playlists and these kind of short posts are the only way to keep this dear hobby alive. Plus it’s really the music that matters, not my random ramblings and these posts will always contain magical music.

A small round up for tonight. Again albums and songs that should have essays written about them instead of these small blurbs. Beginning from Colorado with Courtney Hartman’s new full-length album Ready Reckoner that came out on the 14th of June. It’s her first solo album after an EP and the two collaborations albums (first with Robert Ellis and than with Taylor Ashton). A stunning collection of beautifully arranged folk songs. It engages me from the first note and blissfully doesn’t let me go until the last note has drifted away from the headphones. Here’s my personal favorite called January Third.

Courtney Hartman Website

Next up is the folk music duo Nickel & Rose from Milwaukee and their powerful new single. Carl Nichols and Johanna Rose continue fighting the good fight with their magnificent and thought-provoking songs. The important new single Another Man addresses modern day racism and it will certainly keep on burning within the listener long after it has ended.

Nickel & Rose Website

Continuing with wonderful folk duos that are bringing some old time music into modern times. Paper Wings is Emily Mann and Wilhelmina Frankzerda from Nashville, Tennesse and their new album Clementine came out on the 14th of May. Here’s my own favorite called Troubled Soul. As usual, hit those links on the Bandcamp player to listen and/or buy the whole beautiful album.

Paper Wings Website

It’s 1 am here in Finland, so it’s time to call it a day with a sweet lullaby from the new Will Beeley album Highways & Heart Attacks that came out on the 14th of June. It’s his first record in 40 years. Tompkins Square reissued his albums from the seventies a couple years back and that snowball led to a whole new record. Jerry David DeCicca produced, Tompkins Square released and Will Beeley sang his heart out. I’m especially fond of this song called Singin’ Lullabies, but everything else works too. So you’ll know what to do. Listen to the song below and then carry on to the bandcamp page (or local record store, if you are lucky enough to still have one in your neighborhood).

Four Arms to Hold You is an ongoing feature with a weird name. It might not contain a whole lot of words, but it does contain a whole lot of love towards the featured songs. Basicly this is just four albums / songs / artists that have done their part in holding me together and therefore I want to tell the world or the seven readers of this blog how much I love them. Not entirely sure do these kind of posts serve any kind of purpose and I do hope I manage to write longer posts too. Right now it just feels like the playlists and these kind of short posts are the only way to keep this dear hobby alive. Plus it’s really the music that matters, not my random ramblings and these posts will always contain magical music.

Tonight’s round-up takes place in Canada. We shall begin with the latest hit song from Daniel Romano’s “flower pop supergroup” Ancient Shapes. A Flower That Wouldn’t Bloom is the first outtake and title track from their forthcoming album that is out on the 25th of October on You’ve Changed Records. It comes with colourful music video directed by Daniel Domenico Romano. What can we expect next from this multi-talented man. A novel collection, feature-length movie, re-imagination of Mona Lisa. Whatever it is, I’m sure it’s going to be awesome.

Ancient Shapes at Facebook

A smooth transition to the new self-titled Espanola album that came out on the 28th of June. The man behind the name is Aaron Goldstein, a Canadian studio wizard, master of pedal steel and a true liner note hero. He has played with lots of my favorite Canadian artists (incl. Daniel Romano) and he has also produced and/or recorded lots of songs that mean the world to me. But even if you are great at making others shine more brightly, it’s good to do you own thing too. Espanola proves that he can also handle the songwriter department of music making and blasted out a gorgeous rock record with monster riffs, country flavors and psych traces. Here’s one awesome album cut called This High, listen to / buy the whole record by hitting the links on that bandcamp player

Espanola at Facebook

Well guess who played some pedal steel on this one and did some production work too. Aaron Goldstein of course. So there’s another smooth transition to the new Run Coyote album In Shadowlands that came out on 26th of April on So Sorry Records. If you are into some vintage film noir and spaghetti westerns, you’ll have a new favorite band right here. Actually just loving rock’n’roll is sufficient, because this is just a damn good record. Here’s Late Night Lovers from the album and as usual buy/listen whole thing by hitting the links on that player.

Run Coyote Website

Let’s end this little round up blog post with a song from the new Slow Healer EP Always Trippin’. It’s the musical side of Mitch Fillion, who should get some kind of lifetime award for everything he has done in the moving pictures department by documenting performances from countless amount of fabulous artists (Southern Souls, Live at Massey Hall). Apparently he can also do this songwriting too, because this is a really good EP. Oh and obviously Aaron Goldstein plays on this one too. Not on this particular track Tell Me though so this love letter to Aaron won’t go overboard.

Four Arms to Hold You is an ongoing feature with a weird name. It might not contain a whole lot of words, but it does contain a whole lot of love towards the featured songs. Basicly this is just four albums / songs / artists that have done their part in holding me together and therefore I want to tell the world or the seven readers of this blog how much I love them. Not entirely sure do these kind of posts serve any kind of purpose and I do hope I manage to write longer posts too. Right now it just feels like the playlists and these kind of short posts are the only way to keep this dear hobby alive. Plus it’s really the music that matters, not my random ramblings and these posts will always contain magical music.