Prolific songwriter Paul Moody drops his best work yet with the impressive new 11 song album By Your Side. An intriguing blend of traditional folk moments like No Sorrow offer elegant contrast to more indie inspired numbers like The Cold Hallway Between Warm Bodies. Parrallel periods in folk find relative space on this carefully crafted release. All mantaining a consistent tonal intellect, the instrumentation and Moody’s signature vocal holds the album together, never straying too far from the inspired intention.
What should be an instant folk festival delight, Moody succeeds at bringing the two traditions together, and embellishes the similarities without fracturing the authenticity of the moment. What shines through is his genuine nature, a modern writer whose scope of influence bears the trajectory of roots music from its community hall founding through the advent of Spotify. The tempo design of The Cold Hallway Between Warm Bodies draws similarities to indie folks new reigning champs, artists like Mumford and Sons, Lumineers, and the Head and The Heart. The association offers Moody mainstream potential, with exciting variation within a contemporary framework to stand out while still falling in.
The more contemporary numbers like No Sorrow also bring their own underground appeal, connecting him with purveyors like Bonnie Light Horseman and Darlingside. Moody doesn’t just meet them in the middle, he marries their aesthetics, forming the stylistic glue to usher in a new age of influence.
Paul Moody is featured now on our Emerging Folk Playlist
Tom Adams is entrancing on his new album Beside the Analogue Sea. With hypnotic vocal abilities, he gracefully eases you into every moment like an indie folk yoga master. The sentiment is embellished on the charming companion video for the single If My Love Was A Guitar, and boosted by the thematic press photo featuring the artist fully submerged beneath a big body of water. See and hear for yourself…
Adams has the enviable ability to take it all on. A trait of a superhuman, an existential prodigy who lives in an alternative reality, free from superficiality and the demands of convention. That alone is enough to draw inspired fans to his altar, but the gift of these angelic songs is what will turn the skeptics. Melodically beautify, the album is produced elegantly. Every texture, from the soft synth to the cascading piano paints a dreamy atmosphere. It engulfs you like the oasis of Tom’s cherished ocean.
At its core Beside the Analogue Sea is a roots singer songwriter moment, featuring an elusive vocal command that shines with hymall presence. Produced in this manner, the music personifies a moment all its own. Like a dream pop Nick Drake, with indie folk sensibility known to Sufjan Stevens and Andrew Bird, Tom Adams is singular in affect.
Hear for yourself. Peep the vid and return to If My Love Was A Guitar now on our Emerging Folk Playlist.
Tommy Alexander is anthemic on the epic new single Feelings. A raw broken delivery has just enough musicality to give him radio potential. It’s not what drew us to him though, we love the broken smoke burdened appeal. It helps you feel something, makes it more real. We want to believe our rock stars are just as degenerate as we are. We can’t speak for Tommy, but if the evidence is in their vocal delivery then we’ve got that in common.
Initially broken and lyrically hurt, he brings anger and passion to the performance. The band matches his energy when they burst into the moment. A classic organ brings southern appeal to this folk punk poetry. The new alt-country movement that splintered from Nashville’s pop takeover needs Tommy Alexander. He could draw similarities to Nathaniel Rateliff, but with the genuine affect of Justin Townes Earle. Feelings has NPR potential, and Tommy has the resume to make you look twice. Already having shared shows with Big Thief and Mac Demarco, as well as receiving love from KEXP and Magnet, it’s only a matter of minutes.
Dig into Feelings now on our Emerging Folk Playlist.
Internet deep dives revealed imaginative producer ttypes. The midwestern artist blends dreamy intention with elite sonic intellect. A musical visionary, his ability to reimagine songs in new ways is evident on their notable rework of 73 78 Honey, the recent collaboration known to Phillip Glass and Beck. ttypes adapts it into a new cinematic soundscape. With soft precision the careful synth choices conjure a row of computers patterned to create one immersive sonic spectrum. The vocal layers are equally embellished, all lending to entrance the sonic atmosphere.
Its not all adaptations and inspired covers. His songwriting skills shine on singles like I Remember In the Time of Dangerous Groups. Embracing his classic soft synth appeal, the artist welcomes correlations to Brian Eno, The Books, and Postal Service. The vintage aesthetic is further embellished in the accompanying music video, featuring classic computer shots and intergalactic cosmic dreamworlds reminiscent of the music at its essence.
ttypes is midwestern songwriter Tim Krauss. His works include collaborations with Biiko and Conrad Shock. ttypes is crafting his own stylistic space in dream pop, assumingly ready to feature his own work as well as offer his producer talents to artists looking to blend their songs with his exciting aesthetic.
ttypes is featured now on our Emerging Folk Playlist
The Wild Is Calling 