Beat the wintertime blues with these noteworthy acoustic-driven releases from Dylan Day, Haley Heynderickx and Max García Conover, h. pruz, Tony Molina, Josh Martin, Courtney Hartman, Courtney Marie Andrews, Hiroya Tsukamoto, and Christopher “Isto” White.
Dylan Day, The Unanswered Prayer
Quiet, expressive solo guitar compositions played straight from the heart on an imperfect old Gibson LG-2. Recorded in real time, straight to tape, the unaccompanied performances let notes bend and linger without edits.
Haley Heynderickx and Max García Conover, What of Our Nature
Folk music at its most rousing and expressive. Inspired by the life and music of Woody Guthrie, the album pairs sparse fingerstyle guitar and rambling lyrics with audible tape hiss, addressing the present as much as the past.
h. pruz, Red Sky at Morning
Enchanting folk storytelling that is slightly haunting and wholly original. Soft fuzz and intermittent buzzing give otherwise gentle, precise guitar work an uneasy edge.
Tony Molina, On This Day
It’s easy at first to hear Molina’s catalog as a Beatles pastiche, but his songwriting and melodic sense quickly come into focus. As concise as ever, though relying less on his distortion pedal, On This Day is another tightly-packed can of ear worms.
Josh Martin, Western Mind
Colorado guitarist Josh Martin paints guitar-centered landscapes on Western Mind. Hints of country twang and flowing rhythm suggest a strong sense of place.
Courtney Hartman, With You
Hartman’s third full-length album is centered around themes of care and motherhood. Her guitar remains a central voice, though the album is shaped by rich ensemble playing rather than solo performance.
Courtney Marie Andrews, Valentine
Valentine channels Laurel Canyon folk, but is expansive, with full arrangements supporting songs delivered with conviction.
Hiroya Tsukamoto, Rainshadow
A reflective set of original songs and instrumental pieces from the contemporary fingerstyle virtuoso, marked by harmonically adventurous writing and careful phrasing. The steel-string acoustic leads throughout, with vocals and touches of fretless electric bass added in spots to expand the palette.
Isto, Let’s Face the Silence and Dance
This new album by Christopher White, aka Isto, author of Fingerpicking the Great American Songbook, has a vaudeville-leaning Harry Nilsson feel. White sings and plays throughout with a retro, grounded delivery, mixing playful lyrics with folk- and jazz-leaning arrangements.
What new music have you been listening to? Please, let us know in the comments.
Joey Lusterman
Opinionated creative slash beginning guitarist. Joey has worked in every department at Acoustic Guitar in the past 10+ years: front desk, ad sales, editorial, sound guy, camera man, booth babe, email coder, podcast editor, photographer, book designer…
