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Highway Butterfly: The Songs of Neal Casal Review/Podcast
If you’re not new to Petal Motel dot com, you’re aware of my revere for Neal Casal, as a musician, a songwriter, a guitarist, a music lover, and a person. Last year I did a complete retrospective on his solo albums, and well, there’s a dedication to him imprinted on the bottom of the site, he’s my #1 musical hero, the reason I have good taste (from gorging myself on every interview I could get my hands on and just listening to whatever he said to or played on), and, he’s just missed immensely. He made such an impression on…
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Norman Blake – Day by Day : Review by Cameron Knowler
Petal Motel is pleased to publish this piece by musician/author/artist Cameron Knowler. We’re aware of Norman Blake’s relevance in the world of guitar and banjo music mainly through getting to know Cameron, and who better to discuss Norman’s latest release on Smithsonian Folkways than his #1 admirer? Day by Day, a collection of both originals and trad tunes, is out 10/22. Day By Day by Norman Blake Day By Day is the latest recording effort by every left-of-center folk guitarist’s hero, Norman Blake. Through his storied history as a quiet sideman, iconoclastic frontman, and earnest steward of America’s most goggled-at…
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Scott Hirsch – Windless Day
Windless Day by Scott Hirsch Scott Hirsch’s magical new album, Windless Day, is out today on his own Echo Magic label. Recorded mostly at Scott’s studio of the same name in the flourishing wilds of Ojai, a place (I imagine) to be filled with the spirits of the former owners of the vintage instruments and gear that give Scott’s music such a classic, polished vibe. “Much Too Late” has all the effortless groove and ease of a JJ Cale song, complete with a delicious guitar line, adorned with subtle chimes to make the whole thing shine. Similarly, you would almost…
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awakened souls & From Overseas – Keep the Orange Sun
Earlier this year, marine eyes released a gorgeous ambient album that had soothing vibes on par with Enya (which is high praise, I love Enya and until now absolutely no one could quiet my brain like her pure moods.) My obsession with idyll is likely a direct cause of my newfound and growing interest in the use of synthesizers, in meditation music, and vocals-as-an-instrument. marine eyes, aka Cynthia Bernard, is also part of a duo called awakened souls with her husband James Bernard and today they’re releasing a collaboration with their friend From Overseas called Keep the Orange Sun, with…
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Hayden Pedigo – Letting Go
I thought I may have burned myself out on acoustic guitar records earlier this year, but Hayden Pedigo’s Letting Go proved me wrong. In an interview, he described it as “closer to new age in tone” and perhaps that’s what’s so attractive about it – blending futurism with tradition, welcoming and embracing the new era of Texas musicianship. It’s a beautiful, contemplative, breathing record. Hayden’s elegant and painterly compositions are augmented by Luke Schneider’s pedal steel and field recordings captured by masterful producer and engineer Andrew Weathers, and swirling synths add a haze of lush dreaminess. Each of the seven…
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Dori Freeman – Ten Thousand Roses
Ten Thousand Roses by Dori Freeman Dori Freeman continues a prolific streak of album releases with Ten Thousand Roses, out tomorrow on her own boutique label Blue Hens Music. Her past albums have proved her abilities as a songwriter and singer to convey raw emotion and conjure evocative and lush imagery in perfectly polished, succinct songs that never overstay their welcome and sound somehow classic yet completely fresh. Ten Thousand Roses exemplifies this blend perhaps more than any other, involving more mainstream tones yet firmly rooted in tradition. Dori’s latest is sweeping and cinematic, with larger-sounding production, reverberating drums, and…
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Nala Sinephro – Space 1.8
Space 1.8 by Nala Sinephro Need an instant out-of-this-world astral projection assist? Nala Sinephro’s debut LP Space 1.8, a suite of cosmic synth-jazz-spiraling-celestial jams is here to help. The London-based Sinephro composed the pieces based around the concept of sound’s ability to move matter. In addition to composing the record and playing pedal harp and modular synth, the 220-year old also produced, performed, engineered, recorded, and mixed the album. London jazz-scene luminaries James Mollison, Shirley Tetteh, Nubya Garcia, Eddie Hick, Dwayne Kilvington, Jake Long, Lyle Barton, Rudi Creswick, Twm Dylan and Wayne Francis all contribute, both musically and spiritually—each track is…
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Ruby Landen – Martyr, well
Martyr, well by Ruby Landen When you hit “play” on Ruby Landen’s Martyr, well– you might do a double take. Ruby’s clear, lilting voice, accompanied by soft fingerstyle guitar parts will immediately make you believe you’re listening to a late 60s Brit folk record. Ruby’s soft, sweet songs are wistful and sincere, injecting beauty and the odd wry smile characteristic of that sound. Ruby was born in northern California where she was raised on a steady diet of trad folk and Americana, attending live shows of Bill Frisell (who later became a mentor) and Eileen Ivers and picking up an…
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Rick Deitrick – Coyote Canyon
Coyote Canyon by Rick Deitrick Rick Deitrick used to press small batches of his albums and leave them on hiking trails for people to find. Recorded between 1972-197 and reissued by Tompkins Square Records, Coyote Canyon, like many of Rick’s releases, is acutely in tune with and inspired by nature. Echoing the cascading of a waterfall or emulating a windstorm blowing across a desert mesa, Rick’s guitar work is as timeless as the surrounding canyons and cliffs he was inspired by. With its themes of lonesome reflection, wilderness bewilderment, and Rick’s warm, intimate tones, Coyote Canyon is a quiet, contemplative…
