I'm certain it struck me after my first listen to Sweet Appalachia by These Mad Dogs of Glory. It usually happens when I become attached to a particular song. I took my copy of the EP with me on a drive, and put on my favorite, "Golden Boy." That sound, to me, says open road, and who knows what lies ahead. Just keep going. The Austin-based quartet made their debut with the release of their self-titled EP last year. After a few line-up changes, the band got in some quality recording time with producer Erik Wofford at Cacophony Studios to work on Sweet Appalachia. (Some of their work on “Appalachian...
» read more

The cover art on Brooklyn-based band Widowspeak's forthcoming record Almanac is slightly misleading. At first. It features band primaries (singer Molly Hamilton and guitarist Robert Earl Thomas) clad in late 19th-century garb standing in front of a rocky, Appalachian waterfall. The typeface for the title is ripped right out of a Victorian music hall handbill. Hamilton leans back slightly, and shoots Thomas a coquettish look as he stands jack straight with his thumbs thrust deeply into his jaunty, brown waistcoat. But if you're expecting the music to be probably too-twee, trendy, hipster americana you might be surprised. Actually, that's not...
» read more