SOMETHING FOR THE WEEKEND?
DONE well, there’s few who can resist the lure of the ‘New Americana’ sound, and right now there’s not many doing it any better than Texan, Rī Wolf.
Having spent 14 years as a collegiate track and field coach – and almost a decade away from music – Rī Wolf has returned to his first love and released a stunning debut album, ‘Elemental.’
It’s an album laced with stories true and familiar to those who call Texas and the Great Plains home, rugged, authentic, with an acoustic guitar driven mix of country, soul, blues, and rock.
“I really try to focus on solid song writing that tells relatable stories and really focus on melody as well in order for that story to ‘stick.,” he said.
“There are many elements of blues and soul to my music as well which I think makes it more palatable for someone who isn’t familiar with the Americana genre.”
Granted, the ‘Americana genre’ doesn’t sit easily with everyone, but its audience is currently increasing at a steady pace outside the USA.
“I see Americana and even country music growing in the UK,” he added. “I think folks in the UK recognize good song writing and storytelling and I think good Americana music does that very well.
“I believe the Americana genre is one that can be well received in the UK, although it may be niche. I have quite a few friends online from the UK that appreciate and support the music that I and others like myself make. To me Americana is simply a more modern kind of folk music that is real, authentic, and relatable.
“But I would say for my music specifically, where I have more success in the UK is with my more blues driven tracks. On this album, ‘Blood Red River,’ ‘Another Weary Soul,’ ‘Hard Times Are Comin,’ songs like these with more blues influence seem to do better in the UK, but the UK is currently my second largest market behind the US, so there must be something within the song writing that is relatable and I believe it’s simply the authenticity of the songs.”
Wolf’s radio single, ‘Hurricane,’ launched in February 2022 is included on the album and was written, arranged and produced in his home studio. He even brought in the talents of Trailerhawk’s Carmen Bruno to sing background vocals.
‘Hurricane’ is one of many collaborations featured on ‘Elemental,’ including three songs with blues guitarist Justin Johnson as well as three songs including fiddle player Kyleen King (Brandi Carlile), and a previously released collaboration with up-and-coming singer-songwriter Sophie Dorsten with ‘Desert Marigold.’
‘ELEMENTAL’ track Listing: 1. Two Wild Horses 2. Queen of Canadian County 3. Hurricane (feat. Carmen Bruno) 4. Blood Red River (feat. Justin Johnson) 5. Annabelle 6. Another Weary Soul (feat. Justin Johnson) 7. Until The Stars Are Gone 8. Long Black Train (feat. Justin Johnson) 9. Beautiful Thing 10. Hallelu 11. Hard Times Are Comin’ 12. Desert Marigold (feat. Sophie Dorsten) 13. Two Wild Horses (Acoustic) 14. Moving Mountains.
Ri Wolf Music | Americana Country Soul | United States | RiWolfMusic.com
T W O
FEATURING Jack Williamson and Adam Potts, Manchester-based LOSSLINE are a song writing duo who having gained some success with previous releases ‘Fading Affect Bias’ and ‘One Of Us Was Building An Empire’ and continue to push their sound forward releasing next week their latest single, ‘Death Masks.’
“The is a song about becoming increasingly jaded towards modern life and the anxiety which comes with being connected all the time with no ability to switch off,” said Williamson.
“The song is louder and faster paced than previous singles due to a need to encompass those feelings musically. ‘Death Masks’ as a term refers to the masks we wear towards the world, a fake presentation of ourselves and something which has become so built into us that we can’t remove them.”
This an extraordinary tale of social observation: “…And there’s people left alone by the side of the road and it doesn’t feel right,” a perfect, poetic soundtrack to grey suburban lives filled with increasing paranoia and angst.
It’s a rare, northern, tour de force, enveloped by smog, crushing isolation and it’s a fucking masterpiece.
Death Masks pre-save: Death Masks by Lossline – DistroKid
Connect with Loss Line: @l0ssline | Linktree
T H R E E
DUBLIN’S alt synth indie rockers AFTERBLISS follow up last October’s The ‘Unknown Machine’ EP, with the release of new single, ‘Shout It Out,’ on Friday, June 3rd.
Formed in 2019, the Dublin-based group feature Evan Cassidy (vocals), James O’ Gorman (guitar), Shane Waldron (bass), and co-founders Alex Burcea (guitar/synth) and Ally Pender (drums.)
Featuring synth driven verses, accompanied by rockier – yet at the same time lush – darker tones, ‘Shout It Out’ is a huge step away from ‘The Unknown Machine’ and highlights the young bands remarkable evolution which appears to be taking place at breakneck speed.
Join AFTERBLISS if you can at the single’s launch on June 11th at Dublin’s ‘The Sound House,’ tickets now available via Eventbrite.
Watch 2021’s ‘Until Sunrise:’
Connect with AFTERBLISS: @afterbliss | Linktree
F O U R
WITH the end of season awards still some way off, I’m fairly confidant there isn’t going to be a worse video released all year than the one accompanying BIKINI TEST FAILURE’s latest single, ‘Nip And Tuck.’
Imagine your worst migraine, on a long-haul flight, in front of an unruly child continually knocking your seat, and behind someone who has just pushed themselves as far back as possible thereby rendering any level of comfort you had been striving for, impossible. All this while the pilot attempts to navigate through the worst turbulence known to man. And then some.
It’s all over the place, but credit where it’s due, it’s a perfect example of how not to produce a short film.
The single isn’t that much better, whiny at best, three minutes out of your life you’ll never reclaim.
However, songwriter James Hill, possesses a somewhat different opinion.
“Happy to say that after several weeks of pulling teeth, I’ve managed to finish and release a new Bikini Test Failure single, ‘Nip And Tuck,’ and make a mildly amusing video to go with it!” he said.
“I think after 35 years of climbing the mountain of music industry ambition, the mountain has now been removed, so until I find something else to climb, all I can say is, here’s a new song that pleases me more than anything else I’m currently listening to. It’s pithy!”
As always, please judge for yourselves:
Connect with Bikini Test Failure: Bikini Test Failure (@Testfailure) / Twitter
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(Fancy appearing in a future edition of ‘Something For The Weekend?’ Get in touch, and we’ll see what we can do.)
