Strange Pilgrims and Kelly McFarling – “Embers (Remix)”
-There’s nothing I can say here that will prepare you for the auditory goodness that is the vocal blending on this track. It’s beautiful with a CSNY style of timeless folk vocals highlighted by unconventional melodic structures that are sure to give your brain some happy chemicals. I love how the song is unhurried, allowing the listener to ease into the psychedelic elements with genuine engagement and contemplation. This is a captivating style that could have emerged in the late 60s, but here we are getting to hear it for the first time in 2025. What a time to be alive!
Levi Robin – “Whole as a Broken Heart”
-Every once in a while I hear a folk song that makes me feel like the first time I heard Oscar Isaac’s “Fare Thee Well” from Inside Llewyn Davis. This track captures that style of sentimentality and sincerity. Even the lyric “come as you are, whole as a broken heart” feels like a genuine expression of human engagement. I appreciate the quality of Robin’s vocal, which speaks with depth in some moments and soars with emerging energy in other parts. This whole composition feels a bit more gritty and “in the shadows” than other songs, but there’s a hopefulness in it that seems perfect for our own moment. “Keep on keepin’ on” is an anthem for many of us in these uncertain times.
Sam Plecker – “Front Door Blues”
-There’s more than one type of blues out there and this version from Sam Plecker reminds me more of the Jimmie Rodgers style of blues than, say BB King, and it works here. The easy, almost scrappy style of the acoustic guitar work here works perfectly with the slappy, jovial spirit in the lyrical work. The vocal is cool, a style that makes you say, “hey I know that guy” even if you don’t actually know Sam Plecker. He seems like that guy you went to school with… or an old friend. The jangle from the piano and rhythm section gives it that loose jug band energy, even though the performance is tight and rewarding for the listener. The whole thing is good, but the sing-a-long “nah nah nahs” on the chorus make this song ready for the festival circuit and big crowds of folksters to engage with it.
Image courtesy: Strange Pilgrim IG
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