Four Arms to Hold You: Harrison Whitford, Erin Durant, Bedouine and Lucy Roleff

A busy weekend, but first one of these round up thingies. The weekly playlist might also be delayed until Monday. I’m not yet sure.

A new UK-label Screwdriver Records starts it career with a bang by releasing Harrison Whitford’s amazing album Afraid of Everything on the 28th of June. It’s an album that deserves a lot of love and recognition and I couldn’t be happier about it getting a proper LP/CD release. Nashville-based Harrison Whitford is a long time collaborator of Phoebe Bridgers and he self-released this remarkable record about a year ago. The fragile honesty wrapped inside poignant and eternally beautiful songs has been quietly haunting me ever since I first heard the record. So take a listen below and follow my lead to the label website and purchase copy of Afraid of Everything.

Harrison Whitford at Facebook
Screwdriver Records Website

New Orleans-born and NY-based songwriter Erin Durant has already been mentioned on these posts, but hey nobody’s counting. And there’s several great reasons to mention her magical songwriting again like a) Her wonderful album came out today on Keeled Scales b) I haven’t posted the album opener Rising Sun which is a song that I love wholeheartedly. So let’s go back to Islands, a place of spellbinding beauty.

Erin Durant Website

There’s also a stunning new Bedouine album Bird Songs of a Killjoy in this beautiful planet of ours. Spacebomb released it a week ago on the 21st of June and it’s like a perfect antidote against the every day hustle of the modern world. A moving light breeze that evokes deep emotions.

Bedouine Website

Tonight this journey ends in Melbourne, Australia with the enchanting new Lucy Roleff album. Left Open in a Room came out on the 15th of May on Lost and Lonesome Recording Co, Little Lake and Oscarson and contains absolutely mesmerizing chamber folk songs that will drift your troubles away.

Lucy Roleff 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.

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OCTA Weekly Playlist Episode #47

Another week, another weekly playlist.

It sort of looks like there’s even less point to do this during these summer months. Apparently people have other things to do in the summer than listen to an hours long weekly playlist. Who would have thought? I suppose I still keep on doing this through the summer too, because I’m sort of stubborn plus I’m so close to 50 episodes. And the release schedule is still very strong and the week brought lots of great new records. I had been eagerly waiting for the Pony Bradshaw and Bedouine albums. The release date changed for both, but now they are finally here and are totally worth the wait. That just a tip of the record mountain though. There’s new full-length albums from Fernando Viciconte, Merival, Stanley Brinks & The Wave Pictures, Black Pumas, Drivin N Cryin, Mannequin Pussy, The Raconteurs, Guidon Bear, Fruit Bats, Willie Nelson, Jim Lauderdale, Chuck Mead, Bruce Robison & Kelly Willis and Fell Runner. Peter Bruntnell has been out a while, don’t know how I managed to miss that one, because I’ve been fan a couple of decades. On the EP front there’s new ones The Rumblins of Spring (new project by Matt Paxton) and Hackensaw Boys.

The small Finland section contains a new EP from Tams, a new single from Since November and the White Jackets single that I missed a week ago. I’m sure there had to be more.

And as usual a ton of brilliant new singles. Some personal faves were the new songs from Tyler Childers, Leslie Stevens, Matt Woods, Jason Hawk Harris, The Hold Steady, Beth Bombara, Joanna Sternberg, Rue Snider, Andrew Combs, Joseph Robert Krauss and Zachary Lucky.

That’s all for now. I know I missed a lot of stuff again, because NHL Draft and midsummer took a lot of time from my weekend. Back next Sunday with a new playlist and before that one of those silly Four Arms to Hold You post in the middle of the week. Love love love.

OCTA Weekly Playlist Episode #47

1. Pony Bradshaw – Josephine (Sudden Opera, Rounder Records, 2019)
2. Bedouine – Sunshine Sometimes (Bird Songs of a Killjoy, Spacebomb Records, 2019)
3. Fernando Viciconte – Thirsty Man (Traitors Table, Fluff & Gravy Records, 2019)
4. The Rumblings of Spring – Tidal Waves (The Rumbling Of Spring EP, 2019)
5. Merival – Planting a Garden (Lesson, 2019)
6. Stanley Brinks & The Wave Pictures – Gin in Me (Tequila Island, Fika Recordings, 2019)
7. Black Pumas – OCT 33 (Black Pumas, ATO Records, 2019)
8. Tyler Childers – All Your’n (single, Hickman Holler / RCA, 2019)
9. Leslie Stevens – 12 Feet High (single, 2019)
10. Matt Woods – Blue-Eyed Wanderer (single, 2019)
11. Jason Hawk Harris – Cussing at the Light (single, Bloodshot Records, 2019)
12. Drivin N Cryin – What’s Wrong with Being Happy (Live the Love Beautiful, Drivin N Cryin Records, 2019)
13. Beth Bombara – Upside Down (single, 2019)
14. The Hold Steady – Denver Haircut (single, Frenchkiss Records, 2019)
15. Joseph Robert Krauss – Around Here (single, 2019)
16. Joanna Sternberg – Step Away (single, Team Love Records, 2019)
17. Andrew Combs – Stars of Longing (single, New West Records, 2019)
18. Peter Bruntnell – King Of Madrid (King Of Madrid, Blue Rose Records, 2019)
19. Zachary Lucky – Helsinki (single, Nordvis, 2019)
20. Dalton Domino – Daddy’s Mud (single, Lightning Rod Records, 2019)
21. Molly Burch – Only One (single, Captured Tracks, 2019)
22. Angie McMachon – And I Am a Woman (single, AWAL Recordings, 2019)
23. Bad Heaven Ltd. – 100 (single, 2019)
24. White Jackets – Fumes (single, Pinetree Music, 2019)
25. Jade Imagine – Remote Control (single, Marathon Artists, 2019)
26. Rue Snider – Make Me Feel (single, 2019)
27. Mannequin Pussy – Drunk II (Patience, Epitaph, 2019)
28. The Raconteurs – Somedays (I Don’t Feel Like Trying) (Help Us Stranger, Third Man Records, 2019)
29. Guidon Bear – Magellanic Cloud (Downward Mobile: Steel Accelerator, Antiquated Future Record / Yoyo Recordings, 2019)
30. Fruit Bats – Gold Past Life (Gold Past Life, Merge Records, 2019)
31. Pete Molinari – Waiting For a Train (single, We Are Hear, 2019)
32. Kyle Cox – No Matter How Far (single, 2019)
33. Willie Nelson – My Favorite Picture Of You (Ride Me Back Home, 2019)
34. Jim Lauderdale – I’ll Forgive You If You Don’t (From Another World, Yep Roc Records, 2019)
35. Chuck Mead – I’m Not The Man For The Job (Close to Home, Plowboy Records, 2019)
36. Bruce Robison & Kelly Willis – Heartache to Houston (Beautiful Lie, Motel Time Music, 2019)
37. Hackensaw Boys – Factory Blues (A Fireproof House of Sunshine, Free Dirt Records, 2019)
38. Daughter of Swords – Fields of Gold (single, Bella Union, 2019)
39. Anna Vogelzang – Beacon (single, Paper Anchor Music, 2019)
40. I Am Oak – Swells (single, Snowstar Records, 2019)
41. Leif Vollebekk – Hot Tears (single, Secret City Records, 2019)
42. Steve Gunn – Be Still Moon (single, Matador Records, 2019)
43. Fell Runner – Come Home (Talking, Yes Plz, 2019)
44. Tams – Vaeltava Aave (Aikahyppy 1 EP, 2019)
45. Since November – Airplane Astronauts (single, Recording Robots Records, 2019)
46. Bill Callahan – 747 (Shepherd in a Sheepskin Vest, Drag City, 2019)
47. Nev Cottee – Local Hero (single, Wonderfulsound, 2019)
48. Tim Bluhm – The Cape (single, 2019)
49. Chris Gantry – Wasted (single, Drag City, 2019)
50. Courtney Hartman – Here’s to The Ones (Ready Reckoner, Reckoner Records, 2019)

Playlist link

Oh and do buy the vinyl/cd/download. Spotify and other streaming services are perfect for these introductory purposes, but try to buy at least the music that matter the most to you

If you are looking this after a week has gone, the embedded Spotify will show the latest playlist. I’ll just update the same playlist because a) if someone wants to follow it, they can just follow that one list and will get a new set of songs each Sunday b) so that I don’t have a trillion of different playlists on my Spotify account

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Four Arms to Hold You: Michaela Anne, Jason Hawk Harris, The Rumblings of Spring and Hermina Jean

Midsummer is around the corner, but first one of these quick round up posts of songs that I love. This time I’m almost up-to-date, because these are all fabulous songs / videos that have been released within a week or two.

Tonight’s journey begins from Nashville, Tennessee with the new Michaela Anne single By Our Design. She was signed by Yep Roc a while ago and they will release her new album Desert Dove on the 27th of September. I have really high expectations for this one, because I just saw her play live at STHLM Americana last weekend and I loved her concert. The new single is also wonderful and comes with a very sweet music video. The mutual love shines in each frame and each line of their own design. Plus there’s a really lovely cat on the video. I think I will return to this album several times during the coming months.

Michaela Anne Website

Moving on to Los Angeles for another album that I’m waiting eagerly. It’s Jason Hawk Harris album Love & the Dark that will come out on Bloodshot Records on the 23rd of August. The first single Cussing at the Light surfaced yesterday and Stanley Sievers directed a gorgeous music video for the song.

Jason Hawk Harris Website

Traveling on to Hamilton, Ontario for the new EP from long time blog favourite Matt Paxton. He has a new band called The Rumblings of Spring and the self-titled debut EP actually came out today on the 21st of June. It’s available on their Bandcamp as name-your-price download, so what are we waiting. Let’s pick a price and we’ll be awarded with some first class Canadian indie rock. Here’s the exceptional music video Kyle McCreight made for the opening song Tidal Waves.

The Rumblings of Spring at Facebook

Last destination for tonight is 2018 and Montana. Hermina Jean’s excellent Hot Grey EP came out almost a year ago, but there’s a couple of good reasons to revisit it. 1) Alana Waksman directed a great new music video for the album closer I Know Nothing 2) It’s just so damn good that any day is a good day to listen to it.

Hermina Jean 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.

Continue Reading

OCTA Weekly Playlist Episode #46

Another week, another weekly playlist.

Sorry for the small delay. I spent the weekend in Stockholm at STHLM Americana festival and therefore couldn’t do this before today. It’s also the reason why I probably missed more stuff than during a normal week. This is also a bit more rushed effort, because I just didn’t have enough time to listen all the new releases that well. Anyway, I loved the festival. It was great to meet likeminded people and see lots of wonderful concerts. Therefore I begin this weeks playlist with the artists that played there and released something new last week. The great new singles from Michaela Anne and Paul Cauthen and a new album from Swedish country maestro David Ritschard fall into this category.

It was a great week for new albums again. Along with the already mentioned excellent Ritschard LP, there were new ones from Bill Callahan, Will Beeley, Courtney Hartman, Claire Cronin, Mike Adams at His Honest Weight, Butcher the Bar, Greg Felden, Bruce Springsteen, Julia Shapiro, Los Coast, Ramonda Hammer, SadGirl, Jeanines, The Minus 5 and Calexico & Iron & Wine. That Steve Marino I managed to miss a while back, but included it now.

The Finnish section is tiny, but quality is super high. New EP from MeriTuuli and a new single from Litku Klemetti.

And lots and lots of new singles from artists that I love dearly. Mariel Buckley, Erin Durant, Hiss Golden Messenger, Shotgun Jimmie, Erin Rae, Jeremy Ivey, Will Johnson, Joan Shelley, Sturgill Simpson and the list goes on an on and everyone could be mentioned on this text as well. Oh my. Heavenly good week for new music.

That’s the weekly round-up. I have a feeling that I forgot something really important. Sorry if I did. I try do a better job next week. Until then. Remember love.

1. Michaela Anne – By Our Design (single, Yep Roc, 2019)
2. Paul Cauthen – Cocaine Country Dancing (single, Lightning Rod Records, 2019)
3. David Ritschard – Inte här (när jag är här) (Brobrännären, Rootsy Music, 2019)
4. Will Beeley – Singin’ Lullabies (Highway & Heart Attacks, Tompkins Squire, 2019)
5. Mariel Buckley – Casting Stones (single, 2019)
6. Courtney Hartman – January Third (Ready Reckoner, Reckoner Records, 2019)
7. Bill Callahan — Circles (Shepherd in a Sheepskin Vest, Drag City, 2019)
8. Claire Cronin – What the Night is Thinking (Big Dread Moon, Orindal Records, 2019)
9. Erin Durant – Rising Sun (single, Keeled Scales, 2019)
10. Erin Rae – Gold Plated (single, Single Lock Records, 2019)
11. Hiss Golden Messenger – I Need a Teacher (single, Merge Records, 2019)
12. Mike Adams At His Honest Weight – Olivia (There Is No Feeling Better, Joyful Noise Recordings, 2019)
13. Butcher the Bar – Rosa (III, Bobo Integral, 2019)
14. Shotgun Jimmie – Cool All the Time (single, You’ve Changed Records, 2019)
15. Greg Felden – Tell Me What’s Broken (Made Of Strings, 2019)
16. Eilen Jewell – Crawl (single, Signature Sounds, 2019)
17. Will Johnson – Cornelius (single, Keeled Scales, 2019)
18. Joan Shelley – Coming Down For You (single, No Quarter, 2019)
19. Jeremy Ivey – Story of a Fish (single, Anti-, 2019)
20. Bruce Sprinsteen – Stones (Western Stars, 2019)
21. Jesse Malin (with Billie Joe Armstrong) – Strangers & Thieves (single, Wicked Cool Records, 2019)
22. Brack Cantrell – Blissful Blues (single, 2019)
23. MeriTuuli – Saimaa (Yö Saimaalla EP, 2019
24. Litku Klemetti – Sinä tiedät sen (single, Luova Records, 2019)
25. Chris Staples – Old Friend (single, Barack, 2019)
26. Paper Beat Scissors – Gun Shy (single, Forward Music Group, 2019)
27. Louie Short – Call Me Brother (single, 2019)
28. Eamon Fogerty – Utopia in Blue (single, Jealous Butcher Records, 2019)
29. Wilder Maker – Love So Well (single, Northern Spy, 2019)
30. Julia Shapiro – Parking Lot (Perfect Version, Hardly Art, 2019)
31. Julien Baker – Red Door (single, Matador, 2019)
32. Mega Bog – Truth in the Wild (single, Paradise of Bachelors, 2019)
33. Sara Beth Go – Tugboat (single, Blue Room Tunes, 2019)
34. Angharad Drake – Start Again (single, 2019)
35. Calexico & Iron Wine – In Your Own Time (Years To Burn, Sub Pop Records, 2019)
36. Sturgill Simpson – The Dead Don’t Die (single, Atlantis, 2019)
37. Los Coast – The Morning Weight (Samsara, New West Records, 2019)
38. Ikebe Shakedown – Unqualified (single, Colemine Records, 2019)
39. Mikey Erg – Clueless or Cruel? (single, Don Giovanni, 2019)
40. Ramona Hammer – Empathy (I Never Wanted Company, New Professor, 2019)
41. SadGirl – Chlorine (Water, Suicide Squeeze Records, 2019)
42. Jeanines – Too Late (Jeanines, Slumberland, 2019)
43. Steve Marino – Six Two Four (Fluff, Darling Records, 2019)
44. Black Belt Eagle Scout – At The Party (single, Saddle Creek 2019)
45. The Minus 5 – Scar Crow (Stroke Manor, Yep Roc, 2019)
46. Ben Danaher – We’ll Do the Business (single, 2019)
47. Molly Parden & Hollow Hum – Losing My Religion (single, 2019)
48. Lillie Mae – You’ve Got Other Girls For That (single, Third Man Records, 2019)

Playlist link

Oh and do buy the vinyl/cd/download. Spotify and other streaming services are perfect for these introductory purposes, but try to buy at least the music that matter the most to you

If you are looking this after a week has gone, the embedded Spotify will show the latest playlist. I’ll just update the same playlist because a) if someone wants to follow it, they can just follow that one list and will get a new set of songs each Sunday b) so that I don’t have a trillion of different playlists on my Spotify account

Continue Reading