Jacqueline Hackett is serene on her recent Garden. The slow crawl of this back room groove pulls your lover close for a mid show slow dance. Hackett offers a chance to reminisce on your relationships growth and the trials that pulled you apart. The lyrics suggest she’s had to repair her own Garden a time or two, and occasionally sow the seeds to please her own selfish taste.
Garden is a journey. It’s a lengthy epic that evolves with progressive swings, as the band builds in tandem to Hackett’s emotional swells. Teaming up with producer Devlin Quinn, the production includes stylish notes known to country, blended with a modern indie flavor that paints this poetry dreamy.
Jacqueline Hackett is believable, with a passionate voice fit to front the big band that backs her. Garden has crossover potential in the spirit of Kacey Musgraves, with a melancholy pop appeal known to Phoebe Bridgers and a songwriter flare known to Kathleen Edwards. Jacqueline is also slightly classic, and ready to embrace her nostalgic aura. Producer Devlin is a self described Linda Rondstadt superfan, and it shows in Garden’s collective intention.
Hear for yourself, checkout Garden now on our Emerging Folk Playlist.
Ali Neil is back with I Just Wish (You Were Mine). The eclectic songwriter is haunting on this melancholy gem. Neil is innately melodically beautiful, and even makes a sad song sound pretty. With rusty southern flair its slightly dusty in the spirit of country folk, recalling the legacies of Townes Van Zandt and his band of wandering troubadours. With modern indie intellect it could draw comparisons to Gregory Alan Isakov and his perceived slow poetic leanings. LIVE however, Isakov is fierce and full of inspired energy. We suspect Ali Neil brings that same intention, with a diverse growing catalog that transverses convention.
The new single is a refreshingly honest work. It bypasses the immediate gratification of modern indie pop in exchange for a sentimental design. The minimalistic production of a trailing piano responds to his vocal cues, as spiritual backing vocals add depth and metaphysical presence. I Just Wish (You Were Mine) was made with true intentions. It’s a song for a breaking heart that knows it was always destined to be broken. The trials of a man who knows his destiny and finds solace in the sanctimonious nature of the journey. The same spirit that drove the cowboys and pioneers of old, before life was laid out with modern pragmatic roles known to advanced civilizations.
Enjoy I Just Wish (You Were Mine) now on our Emerging Folk Playlist.
Daisy Cools is taking back Sunday. It’s not just the title of her new single, its a conceptual roadmap for weekly deliverance. Not in the way that you would imagine, though. It’s not Sunday Funday, it’s our weekly reflection on truth, a chance to look in the mirror and push through our flaws. A timely intermission within our modern hustle and bustle to take spiritual inventory. Cools knows that the idea of taking a break is suddenly revolutionary, and recently scary. Corporate programming and the new promoted standard of success wants us to stay within their stringent measures of productivity. Cools knows her teachings go against the modern grain. “Sunday freedom will confuse you,” she admits.
Lyrically, Daisy grazes the simple pleasures that emphasize what makes her Sundays flow. She also references what we refer to as “Sunday Scaries” when she admits “Sunday is for crying, Sunday is for dreading what’s coming.”
Sunday has duality. It’s all by design. Cools knows its polarizing, but neccessary. Dressed in this indie folk package, it’s the perfect addition to your Sunday morning playlist.
Cools grew up listening to the Kinks. Her Father was a huge fan. She shares Davies penchant for unassuming storytelling, his flair for jest where the lyrics aren’t always what they seem. Sunday presents like a charming anthem, but its more of a melancholy contemplation. Stylistically it connects with clever singer songwriters like Andrew Bird and Anais Mitchell.
Hear Sunday now on our Emerging Folk Playlist.
Dover Lynn Fox caught our attention with her recent single Boulevard. The song is stuffed with catchy lyrical sentiments that bring classic appeal. It’s slightly abstract as poetic fragments are pasted together to form one full picture of this sentimental setting. We found hints of Bowie in lines like “You live for heaven, you live for pain. Open Mic seekers never made it rain.” The slightly dark lyrical moments would please fans of Lana Del Rey. With indie sensibility and dressed in a clever minimalistic band bred composition, it also connects with works by Dawes.
It’s no happy accident. The artist offers influences ranging from Neil Diamond to Mazzy Star. It’s a vibe where lyrics drive the songs ascension. The musical design adapts in response to her lyrical shifts. Much like her cherished Boulevard, the song has variable sections that compliment each other while bringing clever variation to keep you in it. It definitely tells a story, as the lyrics unfold like a revelation of this complicated soul. Her depth is beautiful and displays conviction, and the piano led musical arrangement accentuates her trademark detail as a songwriter first.
Enjoy Boulevard now on our Emerging Folk Playlist.
The Wild Is Calling 