Oh, how refreshing it was to find an album full of beautiful acoustic fingerstyle guitar. It’s been a while since I heard anything in the style, as our collective unconscious has moved into experimental spaces replete with effects pedals and nebulous discord. Not to dismiss either thing – both are absolutely my shit and necessary. But Julian Ledru’s Mellotone Valley was so welcome in its straightforward, gorgeous simplicity – not that his playing style is simple at all, just, it’s nice to focus on the guitar and guitar adjacent sounds. Because that’s one of the most beautiful sounds in existence.…

Ambient country is a genre that raises eyebrows sometimes. It’s not exactly new, with its earliest forms dating back to at least the ‘70s, but its surge in popularity is something music geeks like me love but may elicit confusion from others. Aux Meadows is an Oakland-based act making some of that ambient country goodness, recently releasing a gorgeous new record, Dust Kingdom. Dust Kingdom dropped on May 22nd via Perpetual Doom, recorded in Oakland between October 2022 and March 2023. Aux Meadows comprises J. Imwalle on synth, C. Royalty on guitar, and S. Dawson on lap steel and dobro.…

Cosmic American music has many active scenes across the states and even a burgeoning group of talent in the U.K. Given the genre’s origins, Southern California is a natural place for cosmic cowboys and cowgirls to do their spacey square dancing. The Pacific Northwest is also teeming with cosmic talent these days, including artists like Jeffrey Silverstein. But is there a spot in America any more naturally suited to the sounds of alt-country and cosmic americana than Texas? Maybe not. That’s why I wasn’t surprised when I listened to the blissful sounds of Houston-based Alien Eyelid, which recently released the…

This lovely record from three friends (Trevor Bahnson, Ethan Glazer and Daniel Wright) who reunited ten years after going their separate ways after a promising journey gathered in Ojai around a firepit during the panpan to share songs was brought to my attention by Scott Hirsch, who produced it alongside Syd Sidney. It is just such a pristine example of trademark Echo Magic sound – rootsy, groovy, singable, sparkling folk that’s pure of heart. The three players share singing, writing, and plucking duties, and the result is stunning, culminating in one of the best songwriter albums I’ve heard in a…

In Cass McCombs’ ever-enigmatic evolution, Heartmind, out today on ANTI is some of McCombs’ less opaque lyricism, although for Cass, all is still open to interpretation. For Cass, music is metaphor, used to address the human condition; while the album is unapologetically lurid with cultural references to Tammy Wynette, S.E. Hinton, Elon Musk to perhaps ground his mystique and offer a bit more accessibility into his mysterious mind. A departure from his last album Tip of the Sphere, McCombs has pulled together an incredible band but is the sole guitarist. Charlie Burnham, Wynonna Judd, and the Chapin sisters shine on…

Although I look to ambient music to soothe and quiet the mind, very few do it quite as well as Cynthia and James Bernard. I first discovered Cynthia’s music as marine eyes, her 2021 album idyll a soothing shower of sonic wonder, and Unfailing Love , her collaboration with zakè, a deeply profound, romantic exploration of liminal space and sound. Both are go-to soundtrack for evening dips in the pool, sunset drives through the canyon, airplane rides, dreaming, etc. With her husband James as awakened souls, they recently released the lovely Keep The Orange Sun with From Overseas. And tomorrow…

I was just thinking that we’re past due for an album of gorgeous acoustic guitar instrumentals and just like that, this gift from Davide Cedolin arrived in my inbox. I’d recently been revisiting his instrumental Guitar Meditations in “C” and his songs from Embracing the Unknown was right up my alley. Contemplations and other Instrumentals from the Valley by Davide Cedolin These eight songs of gorgeous, transcendent meditations tickled just the right part of my brain. I put the album on as the sun was rising over the ridge and the quiet yet complex, straightforward but soothing sounds were the…