Americana Spotlight
Thomas W. Cook is a singer-songwriter out of East Tennessee who’s been making music for about fifteen years. While he has been in various bands for most of his career, October 11 marks his first release as a solo artist. The track is called “Autumn Colors,” and it is here just in time for many of us to bid farewell open windows and ice cream trucks as winter begins its inevitable approach. This time of year always seems most appropriate for a predominately acoustic soundscape, so as the song begins with some gentle, finger plucked guitar, it is the sonic equivalent of driving down a country road as the chapter closes on yet another summer. The tune is carried by Cook’s soft tenor and accompanied by the tender display of piano keys and some thoughtfully placed falsetto, all atop the guitar’s backdrop. Give it a whirl:
Typho is a Leeds-based songwriter who thrives upon writing music that is an honest reflection of how he sees himself and the world. He comes to us beholding numerous accolades, including having been featured on BBC Introducing, which is no small feat when you’re an up and coming musician. He released “So It Goes” at the end of September, a song that contemplates existence and the passing of time. While some listeners may not consider his music to be Americana, this particular track checked all of the boxes for us: acoustic guitar, warm and sympathetic vocals, and lyrics that distinctly describe the landscape – even the ghostly theremin adds to the atmosphere, which Typho claims is a “colorful sonic metaphor for what it means to be alive.” Don’t miss this one:
After spending most of her life in Boston, Meaghan Collins now resides in Asheville, NC, where she’s spent the last couple of years working on her upcoming record, Growing Out My Bangs. From this collection of songs, she has sent us her single, “The Bathtub Song,” an organ-infused, twangy number about “exploring feelings of isolation,” and, as she likes to put it, “the isolation that comes with feeling those feelings.” The lyrical content is something we have all felt, from time to time, bringing the relatability factor up to about a thousand percent, but the execution of it all through Collins’ compassionate vocals really brings this cut to the surface of everyone’s daily lives. That said, the track’s organ and the lyric video’s animation translate it into a fun little number, so if you’re looking to be completely miserable, as some of us often do, you may have to look elsewhere. Have a listen:
Not to be overlooked is “Momma’s Rules,” the first single from Growing Out My Bangs, released back in May:
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