
A chance encounter with Asheville bluegrass quintet Town Mountain and their twangy, countrified cover of I'm On Fire at this weekend's Joe Val Bluegrass Festival - a dark and yet surprisingly charming version of the Bruce Springsteen classic song that chugs along like a train through the psyche - reminded me how deeply this particular classic is embedded in our national songbook. And a check back at our own archives confirms it: in the last twelve months alone, we've posted no less than four separate covers of the song, from Shakey Graves ' bedraggled [...]

Coyote Grace's latest record Now Take Flight doesn't do enough to elevate it above a by-the-numbers affair. Coyote Grace is an up-and-coming trio that blends traditional roots music with a more modern spin. However, they don't have a distinct twist or stamp to put on the conglomeration and as a result, their latest record, Now Take Flight, doesn't stand out at all. That's not to say it's a bad record; the structures, arrangements, and melodies are all pleasant enough and well done. Yet, there's still certain elements missing. This isn't a record...

You know sometimes how songs and albums can creep up on you, revealing themselves slowly, the hidden depth, the detailing, simplistic beauty - this is one such album, on my first run through I’ve got to admit to multi-tasking and not paying full attention, but trying to get around to listening to as much music as possible that arrives on Beat Surrender’s doormat often means squeezing things in here, there and everywhere - the better recordings of course have enough gravitas to stand out and get themselves noticed - this is one such album. Born out of a [...]

Our last (Re)Covered post at the end of April focused on new coverage from folk bands and singer-songwriter previously featured here on these pages, thus adding to our ongoing celebration of those who interpret song. But our mandate is bi-directional here at Cover Lay Down: the songbook is sacred, too, and our features just as often tout composition and canonical outlook. Today, then, we pay tribute to the songwriter, revisiting older Covered In Folk and Single Song Sunday features through select new additions to their respective sets. [...]