The duo Mutual Friends released the album “The Cabin” in the autumn. 10 beautiful tracks with folk music, americana on the border to country, acoustic and coloured with mandolin, banjo and harmonica.

The vocals feel very special with a dark voice that sort of marks the entire atmosphere of the music and gives it a more mature feeling, like if Johnny Cash would join in anytime, even if the style maybe lies more in outskirts of his territories.

You can listen to “The Cabin” on Spotify. I’m afraid that I haven’t found any other page with the band’s music, besides the ordinary 30-s snippets on for example Itunes and Amazon. The band also has a Facebook page.

Boys On Bicycles
Winter In July

Bring the Mourning On brings us to the US and to the country music areas where Neil Young spent a lot of time in during the seventies. Dark, alternative country with a hint of rock, the band says about their music, which I think is a good description.

The sound feels classic and Henning Pettersson show the right suffering in his voice; listen especially to the song “Let the Battle Begin” here below, a song that has a lot of what you could ask from the genre.

The debut album, “Going Going Gone”, was released in January and is available since a few days on Spotify. Find out more about Bring the Mourning On on their site.

Let the Battle Begin
Changes

Shotgun Language, aka Gustav Berry, is back with a new release, the EP “Mileage”. It’s about the special, alternative country and fifties’ rock we have heard some of before. This time with a more consistent album with 5 good songs.

You can listen and download the EP on Shotgun Language’s Bandcamp page. You can also visit the Myspace page. Here are two songs:

Mileage at 23
Out Cold

On December 14th Emma Salmon releases her debut solo album “Goodbye Lady Luck”. She’s been working on the songs since 2003 when she moved from Umeå to Stockholm and started working as a freelancing singer and musician.

It’s about 10 tracks of country pop, where you can listen to the first single from the album, “Follow the Road”, here below.
You can read more about Emma on her site.

Follow the Road

I find it interesting to listen to voices in completely new contexts. If it’s a skilled singer he usually manages to produce new layers of emotions that you couldn’t feel in the other genre. It’s like viewing a person from a new angle, the entire picture changes and becomes more complete, and this also affects the way you listen to the former work.

I’ve written about Makkan Johansson and his band Saigon Sickness before, and he has moved here from an alternative, darker rock to americana, as the singer in the band The Medicine Show. It’s about well-trodden paths which moves from country rock to a more rootsy american folk and country.

And they do this really well. Makkan shows a different register and personality here, and the band delivers a row of inviting melodies and songs.
I’ve been listening to their debut album, which is not out yet though, and if you like to be updated about this, you can follow the band on Facebook or on Myspace. Here are two songs from the album:

Paper Love (The Tide Will Turn)
Happy When I’m Drinking