Beyond The 45
Singles, EPs, Downloads
The Fatea office also serves as a home for our weekly Along The Tracks show on Blues & Roots Radio and as a rule singles and Eps have generally gone in that direction whilst Fatea generally concentrates on albums and live reviews for our full length feature, but with more artists going back down the single route to keep themselves in the public eye, we thought it was time to reflect that in our offerings and as rules are made to be broken or at the very least adapted, welcome to the Singles Round Up.
Annie Dressner - Dance We Do
www.anniedressner.com
Dressner is one of those singer songwriters who sits just below the radar as far as the average music consumer is concerned. But you only have to listen to her blend of New York pop, and English folk once to be captivated. This is towards the pop end of her music, the words are typical Dressner, analysing life and love over breezy harmonies and guitars. My order for her album "I Thought It Would Be Easier" is in and yours should be too. TM
Alex Seel - Wild Goose
www.alexseel.com
A single form last year's All Sails to the Sun album, and one of the standout songs. The words are where Seel steps out from the crowd. "I walk on eggshells round the breakfast table Sour milk poured on my aching heart." The music is more Laurel Canyon and chiming guitars than some of his more folk based tunes. But that just makes it a good point of entry for his music. The album is worth a listen and will end up being a fixture for some time, as it has for me. TM
Alexia Parenzee - Blue
www.alexiaparenzee.com
Describing herself as an "alt soul-folk singer/songwriter" Alexia Parenzee hits the mark very closely. This single is a strong song with a liquid electric guitar line underpinning her vocal. She is one of a number of Australian based singers who are bringing something very individual to folk music and is a name to watch out for with an EP due soon and another single to try in the meantime. TM
Greg Hancock - The Longest Night
www.greghancockmusic.comDevon singer Greg Hancock's new single is a winter song with a melancholy feel. The Cello and piano reinforce that feel. As he says of the song: "Alongside all the festivities and fun, midwinter can be a lonely and sad time for many people who are missing someone they love." A delicate lovely song. TM
The Haar & Jessie Summerhayes - My Sweet Wild Rose
thehaar.ie & jessiesummerhayes.com
With violin, bodhrán and accordion backing Molly Donnery's singing and Summerhayes' spoken word, this funerary poem, which comes in at nearly ten minutes, was written as a spontaneous response by Jessie to encounters with wild roses on a hot summer's day and imagery of the death of a child from tuberculosis. As unsettling as the subject matter suggests, this should be at the top of every contemporary folk playlist this year. TM
Freddy And The Phantoms - Heart Is A Highway
www.facebook.com/freddyphan
What starts off sounding like fairly pedestrian country rock quickly morphs into something far darker and dirtier in sound. A Danish band and part of a group of great European blues rock acts coming to prominence. The presence of more keyboards than most similar bands gives them a sound all their own. Appropriating the riff from Layla may or may not be deliberate, but it works. TM
Anaya And Churchdown - Little Lonely Town
www.facebook.com/AnayaandChurchdownd
A quiet country ballad from a Welsh duo. The story in the words needs careful following and is the main focus, with just a lightly strummed guitar behind the voices. You keep expecting something to break the tension in the song, but to their credit they don't give in to the temptation. Deeper and different and worth hearing. TM
Mairi MacMillan - Fagail Bhornais
mairimacmillan.com
Fàgail Bhornais was written by Donald MacDonald from Bornish for his neighbour who left Uist with his family on the SS Marloch which carried a mass migration of people from South Uist to Canada in 1923. The hymn like quality of the song, reflects that theme. This is a beautiful song, and lacking the Gaelic to understand it shouldn't put you off hearing this and the rest of her EP. TM
Ão - More
ao-band.com
A Belgian based band with roots in Portuguese saudade, indie and electronica. An ambient soundscape with words in Portuguese and English over a Spanish guitar may sound like there's a lot going on and there is. But it all blends together to produce something unique. You need to listen to this as I can guarantee you have heard nothing like it. TM
Kaia Kater - The Internet
www.kaiakater.com
"This was a quick write, a couple of verses in a notebook over a glass of wine during the pandemic about how weird it is to talk to people through a screen". Knowing when it was written puts the song into context, and the unintelligible words at the songs centre reflect the experience of many of us trapped behind our screen at that time. Picked guitar, and strings give the song a sense of calm that the slightly desperate sounding words don't offer. TM
Secret Sisters - Same Water
www.secretsistersband.comCountry duo The Secret Sisters recorded this at Muscle Shoals' historic FAME Studio, and the soul which that studio is known for has seeped into this song which goes beyond the blandness which infects so much contemporary country. A slide guitar solo breaks up the powerful song which is easily the best modern country song I've head in a while. TM
Andy Smythe - Out Of My Mind
www.andysmythe.com
A song about the search for a soul partner in the London metropolis featuring a brass arrangement that turns this into a psych/folk wall of sound. His voice is quite something, full of emotion and desperation, remarkable. The feeling is of trying to reach above the music to be noticed. Big, brassy and demanding to be heard. TM
True Foxes - Devil's Calling
truefoxesmusic.co.uk
A Cornish duo who claim influence from the likes of Secret Sisters, and First Aid Kit. Smooth harmonies and more folk based music make the influence hard to spot. This is very much folk pop with only a tinge of Americana creeping in through the fiddle. It is however very good folk pop. TM
Rosie Frater-Taylor - Twenties
rosiefratertaylor.com
For her third album she has made "a stylistic shift, deftly blurring the boundaries between rock, alt pop, neo soul, new-school jazz and folk whilst tackling an array of themes including self-reflection, vulnerability and anger." And this breezy piece of jazzy soul is everything she was aiming for. A formidable guitarist her singing and song writing have now caught up, although they were always pretty good. The George Besons style middle 8 is brilliant, and with the other songs from new album Featherweight showing the same promise this is on the hotly anticipated list. TM
Paul McKenna Band - Solid Ground
www.paulmckennaband.comA lively and convincing performance from this award-winning Glaswegian Band who are shortly performing at Celtic Connections on 25thJanuary. Paul's percussive guitar playing and persuasive voice are very ably backed by fiddle, whistle and percussion. The song is about the unchanging Scottish landscape, set against the changing face of different human generations. The musicianship is expert in that it compliments and enhances Paul's expressive singing. Highly recommended! AS
Rayon - Driving
www.facebook.com/missrayonmusic
A fourpiece Americana outfit from Portland, Oregon present this very catchy tune. It begins with a sparkling banjo lick and has a very hooky chorus 'we got friends'. A beautifully produced track -one can imagine this being a successful radio song, great music to drive to! The band's latest single comes from their 2022 album, Colour. AS
St Jimi Sebastian Cricket Club - Golden Parachute
www.cricketclub.se
The most interesting band name I have come across in a while and the music is suitably eclectic with acoustic episodes interspersed with punky basslines, joyful electric guitar licks and an eccentric vocal performance followed by a classic key change to give the song an ecstatic ending. I almost feel out of breath…The band are Swedish but the singer sings with a pronounced London accent, the nearest reference I can think of is 'The Clash'. The music feels quite chaotic, but I think this is a deliberate ploy to put the listener out of the comfort zone. Something unique and different to check out! AS
The Petal Falls - Someday
thepetalfalls.com
A classic melodic hard rock band from Kent that have been performing in various guises for 30 years, they are now a solo singer/songwriter outfit supported by John King who provides drums and production. The guitar playing is of a virtuoso Yngie Malmsteen type level and with a heavy organ texture the song has a progressive rock feel. At times I found it difficult to hear the words clearly and understand the lyrics, however don't let this detract from your enjoyment. The musicianship is first rate and I am sure that the song will make waves in the hard rock/progressive rock community. AS
Jason McNiff and Gabriel Moreno - Everything's a Song
jasonmcniff.bandcamp.com
Jason wrote this song with Gabriel Moreno after a night out playing a gig at the legendary 12 Bar Club in London. It is a wonderfully atmospheric song, definitely one of the most finely crafted I've heard on the grassroots scene for a while. The lyrics tell a story of a song-writing collaboration born from a mutual appreciation of Leonard Cohen. The striking thing about the song is how the haunting instrumentation works so beautifully in tandem with the lyric. It starts with the two voices in unison accompanied by a Spanish guitar, and then drifts into an episode of heavily laden psychedelia with slide guitar and strings encapsulating the break of dawn perhaps, before the two singers return home with a sparse and haunting coda. There is a rare appreciation of the lyrical metric in this song that stems from a combination of their joint experience and talent. They are gigging together currently, and I would strongly recommend going to see their show, it is rare to find such strong musicianship and lyrical complexity interwoven together AS
Holly Lerski - Chicago
hollylerski.com
Holly is a singer/songwriter who enjoyed some significant success in the early 2000's earning national BBC Radio play and supporting artists as significant as The Cranberries. She is on the comeback trail after having travelled around the United States and been inspired by its panoramas to write and record new material. This is a captivating single, beginning with some nicely strummed guitar and mellow strings, before being embellished with a rhythm section. Holly has a really warm and emotive voice that rises and falls through a melody with a jazzy scat styling. She mixes the lyrics with a certain breathless intonation which drifts effortlessly above a varied and thoughtful arrangement. Certainly, if the comparison hasn't been made before then it should be made now - I feel that she shares a gift for melody with the great Van Morrison. I certainly left my listening experience wanting to follow her on Spotify and learn more! AS
Rob Picazo - Soothe My Soul
www.robpicazo.com
Rob Picazo is a London-based blues singer who oozes class with a deeply soulful and melodic voice. He will remind you of Ray Charles, Sam Cooke and Solomon Burke all rolled into one distinctive voice. The band sits beautifully beneath him in the mix, with a finely picked guitar, a hammond organ and a velvety trumpet part complimenting his vocal lines perfectly. The female backing vocals and subtle jazz drumming on congas provides a further layer of mellow bliss. This is an artist at the top of his game, I would love to see him live with his band at Primrose Hill Community Library on 16th Feb- I think it would be a welcome break from the oppressive English winter! Please go and check him out, and take in a little New Orleans jazz, Mowtown soul and Chicago Blues all wrapped up in the singular voice of one very talented artist. AS
Fatea Showcase Sessions
The Fatea Showcase Sessions are a series of downloads featuring acts that we've really enjoyed and think that more people should get the chance to hear.
Corsair is the current session and features 16 fantastic artists check out the website to find out more about them and download your copy
www.fatea-showcase-sessions.co.uk for all the artist information.
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