Americana Spotlight II
While the term, “Americana,” might be a bit of a pigeonhole for the vast range of acoustically driven and heartfelt submissions we receive, we’re gonna stick with it for now. But if you’re reading this, what you are about to hear extends well beyond the genre’s boundaries, if any such boundaries even exist. Whatever you wish to call it, Americana Spotlight is for the songs that have the ability to tunnel deeply into the hearts of listeners, often acoustically, before creating a little home inside of you. Instead of trying to explain it with a metaphor, let’s just get on with it…
There’s no doubt that each song conveys a certain mood, but there is something very special, delicate, and intimate when it involves a duet between a male and female vocalist. For this, we reveal Jack Rasmussen and his latest release: “Ruby’s Heart of Gold.” The song was written and recorded by Jack in Thailand and when you put on those headphones or pop in those earbuds, pressing play is going to take you on a fantastic journey through all the feels. It features shared vocal duties with Pim Taechara and, in true indie folk fashion, they trade lines throughout the verses before ultimately harmonizing with each other. Even though we managed to go an entire paragraph without drawing a comparison to the mainstream, fans of The Head And The Heart are going to eat this one right up, then come back for a second serving:
Going out on your own is never easy. And though we have no reason to believe that JPeck is permanently leaving Bosco and Peck, this is his first attempt at a solo release. JPeck’s EP, Come What May was released on September 7th after being written and recorded in just thirty days for the Lights and Lines Records “Album Writing Club” songwriting challenge. “The idea was simple. Can you write and record an Album, or an EP, in a month? After judging completed in July, Come What May was awarded a “One To Watch” award.” We have not yet heard the entire EP, but wanted to make sure to pass along “Old Misery,” which is bound to bring about a sensation similar to the one you get when you hear the first bit of Styx’s “Renegade.” The acoustic guitar hits all the right notes and those harmonies are simply to die for. This track is raw as all hell and contains none of that fancy production wizardry; it relies solely on performance and, as we’ve said before, that is a very rare thing these days:
If JPeck got your sitting-around-the-campfire juices flowing, Tom Houston will add a few more logs to those glowing embers. In fact, for those of you who intend to spend the upcoming autumn nights around the old fire pit, “Smiling at the Croft” would be the perfect contestant to play between ghost stories and s’mores. While Houston does end up incorporating more instrumentation, like bass, piano, and drums, “Smiling at the Croft” does not lose its tenderness and compassion. This track will not be officially available until September 30th, but you can head over to Tom’s website to hear it and order a limited run of his upcoming album, Pushing the Pull Door. You can also check out all of his previous releases, including this one:
-ST