SHARK-FIN AWARDS

Arizona based Celtic quartet Swann’s third studio release Under a Willow Tree embraces tradition, but only so far. The four piece, also known as Cockswain, doesn’t adopt a thoroughly purist approach to their songwriting but lovers of Celtic music will appreciate their fluency with the form. It has earned them the status …

Some people, even those who know better, roll their eyes when they hear the term “folk music”. It doesn’t refer to indigenous music from different cultures but, instead, the zeitgeist’s image of the stereotypical folky with an acoustic guitar warbling some interminable version of “Pretty Polly” with an optional harmonica …

Cardiff based duo, No Thee No Ess are set to release their latest album, Dimmer Switch, on Sept 17. The record is a fully fleshed and deliberate offering of one of the most underrepresented genres in all of music today; psychedelia. Living in what is a subjective era of absurdity, …

Foolish Deep is a five piece steadily carving out a reputation as one of the most musically inventive acts of their ilk emerging in recent years. They join a crowded field of talented peers and contemporaries confident their voice will be heard above the din. Their faith is not misplaced. …

Sun King Rising isn’t a band in the traditional sense of the term, but you discover it doesn’t matter seconds into Sun King Rising’s first album release Delta Tales. Singer/songwriter/musician John Blangero’s desire to issue this work under a moniker likely reflects, at least in part, his musical background. He came of …

I like to believe, somewhere beyond the grave, Terry Kath is smiling. Todd Omohundro attended a 1977 Chicago concert and the brilliant guitarist riveted the young man with his transformative six string skills. Kath, likewise, awakened him to music’s possibilities in a wider way than ever before. Omohundro resolved then and …

Burn the Ballroom have been enjoying a pretty exciting career over the past ten-plus years. Starting off with You’re Already Mine, these rockers never hid the fact that they come into the studio with their heart on their sleeve, but finding that perfect middle ground between open-chest poetry and sharp, hard-charging rock beats …

Color My World from folk/country singer and songwriter Annette Adler is full of lush harmonies and riveting lyrics. Playing on her penchant for, well, colorful words, Adler’s angelic voice elevates the hues and honey-dipped melodies in this sing-along, reflective album. If you’re a fan of traditional country, these songs check several boxes. If you’re also …

James Raftery is loath to let a good song go to waste. He refined and recorded the nine song collection Tornado during the pandemic-prompted lockdown, but the songs first came to life during the writing for 2017’s Everything. These piano-inspired ballads strip away any self-indulgent gloss in favor of functional stylistic flourishes and a thorough …

Chesca made some pretty big waves with her single “Crocodile Tears” earlier this year, and in her new album Feel the Breeze, she brings the aesthetical concept behind the aforementioned track to a feature-length unlike any other I’ve heard in 2021. Rather than skewing simple pop with an unreal knack for …