Video: "Officer Down" - Carolyn Mark and NQ Arbuckle

Canadian alt-country balladeers NQ Arbuckle teamed up with singer-songwriter Carolyn Mark this past year for a collaborative release. The result was the full-length "Let's Just Stay Here", released through Vancouver's Mint Records mid-October. The album marks the first release from NQ Arbuckle since their 2008 Juno-nominated released XOK , and the first from Carolyn Mark since her 2007 LP "Nothing is Free". Driven by the strong storytelling one comes to expect from an NQ Arbuckle piece, and harmonies from Mark that often impress over the melody, Officer Down is one of [...]

Country music purists may be stockpiling vinyl and dry goods for the Swiftocalypse, but all things considered, 2009 was a pretty good year for country music. Country music purists may be stockpiling vinyl and dry goods for the Swiftocalypse, but all things considered, 2009 was a pretty good year for country music. Eric Church, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Ashley Monroe, Elvis Costello, and John Doe, to name just a few, all released solid albums and the ever-reliable George Strait was, well, reliable, but nudged at some boundaries by delivering a version of Mexican folksong "El Rey". Here are [...]