Hayman, Watkins, Trout And Lee • 2008/2026

Darren's bluegrass project with David Tattersall (The Wave Pictures), David Watkins and Dan Mayfield (Owl & Mouse / Field Glass) reissued with two extra songs!

linktr.ee

"From the first jangle of banjo, its sentimental heart beats strongly and beautifully. Whimsy only rears its head on Jam-Eater Blues, but elsewhere a soft melancholy prevails, cut from the same sentimental cloth as the songs of the Proclaimers and the Beautiful South. Mesmerising observations emerge, too - 4/5." - THE GUARDIAN

ifitbeyourwill Podcast #179 • Evan Redsky

Evan Redsky grew up on Mississaugi First Nation, on the north shore of Lake Huron, between Sault Ste. Marie and Sudbury — a small community of maybe 500 people, and a history much larger than that. Four generations of his family attended the Cecilia Jeffrey Residential School. His great-grandfather James was the last elder to hold their community's birch bark scrolls before they were dispossessed by the Glenbow Museum. Redsky carries that lineage into everything: the punk fury of Indian Giver, and the quieter, harder work of his solo music — Canadiana-rooted folk that sits closer to Neil Young than Nashville, and closer to truth than either. His 2024 album The Language of Fishermen and the recent single "Red Dress," drawn from losses he witnessed working at a Toronto First Nations youth centre, are artifacts in the fullest sense — stories left behind for the next generation to find.

https://www.evanredsky.com/

"...an unfeigned country ballad about his indigenous bloodline and life on the reserve...an allusion to the residential-school system and its effects on his kin. Warm acoustic tones are cut with Redsky’s sandy drawl...a record showcasing a rugged sound that’s interspersed with whining lap steel and palatable twang.” - The Globe & Mail

“Though the songs' content is rooted in Redsky's Indigenous heritage, the sound is pure Americana, equal parts Springsteen and Petty…” - CBC

Mallory Hawk • Chinook • 2026

malloryhawk.art

ifitbeyourwill Podcast #174 • Michael Feuerstack

A wide-ranging conversation with Michael Feuerstack that traces the arc from Snail House bedroom recordings to a decades-long solo practice shaped by collaboration and quiet persistence. He reflects on how songs emerge—sometimes as fragments, sometimes as loops you can’t shake—and what it means to stay open enough to follow them. Moving through Montréal’s indie community and his own shifting identity as an artist, the episode lands on a simple throughline: make the work, finish it, and put it into the world.

https://michaelfeuerstack.com/

“a national treasure.” – Globe & Mail

“heaving and gorgeous…anguishing and contemplative.” – Stereogum

“one of this country’s most talented songwriters.” – Exclaim!

“simultaneously heartfelt and apathetic, sacred and profane.” – CBC Music

“slow, gentle songs of love and truth and unforgettable regrets.” – NOW Toronto

“Beautiful and patient, this record is the result of years Mike spent practicing his craft and being forced to question if the struggle is worth it. It’s written for love of art and life, a back porch whisper that could float in the wind.” – Hero Hill

Freschard and Stanley Brinks • Hotel Berlin / Pole Fitness • 2026

fikarecordings.com

Michael Feuerstack • Big Sails • 2024

michaelfeuerstack.com

Common Holly • Anything glass • 2026

“I think it’s an exploration of the projections that get cast onto girls and women to embody the highest moral standard, the picture of perfect angels,” muses Brigitte of the title-track. “And it’s about the receptive position of the impressionable child, the way messaging leaves deep imprints on how they experience the world. Maybe it’s also a kind of call to reclaim, for them to take their brains and bodies back and determine for themselves what they believe in.”

 

https://ffm.to/commonholly

“Common Holly is anything but a common artist who is unafraid to push the boundaries of her creativity.”. - Chorus.fm

“Lulling piano and doubled vocals give "Aegean blue" a dreamlike quality, with faint woodwind trills padding out its gentle percussive pulse.”  - Exclaim!

“Beautifully accomplished, there’s a devastating edge to her voice, with every word stamping itself on the listener” - CLASH

“blends soft folk with evocative imagery” - Psychedelic Baby

Trippers & Askers • “Kin” • 2026

I really don’t think life’s about the “I could have been’s”

I really think that life is all about the “I tried to dos”

- Nikki Giovanni

Haley Heynderickx & Max García Conover • Song For Alicia • 2025

My grandpa was a communist, they might've said a terrorist

And when someone looks at what I've done

I know songs won't seem like enough

Songs are for sure not nearly enough

So it's ride, Alicia, ride

Move, Alicia, move

I would be Boricua even if I was born on the moon

The two groups convicted of American sedition

Are the Proud Boys and the Puerto Ricans

We share a Wikipedia page

So what else can you say?

It's ticker tape accumulation, neoliberal sublimation

New precariat convinced that immigrants are corporations

Hold the phone, just be patient while we burn your poets' pages

While the doctor takes the medicine and tries to fuck the patients

Oh my God, they put her in a courtroom in Chicago

They bound her hands behind her back, put tape across her mouth

And when she screamed, the tape released, and she said what the world says

"You cannot own a country, you do not own a country"

And so two guards took her legs and held her to the floor

While another punched her in the face and gagged her like before

And she got fifty years and more

And they never said what for

https://fatpossum.com/collections/haley-heynderickx-max-garcia-conover

Rapt • Natural Light • 2025

I got some news on you from a friend

You're in Charlotte again

Teaching Spanish at high school

He said you're going by Joy

You cut your hair like a boy

And you don't talk to your old friends

I found a picture from before our fight

We're in natural light

And you're sitting on my lap

Like everything is alright

I've walked around with you on my mind

The way things were at the time

You know I've changed so much since then

I've thought on the things that we said

And what if we'd had a kid

I guess they'd be 15 now

I found a picture from before our fight

We're in natural light

And you're sitting on my lap

Like everything's alright

credits

released June 6, 2025

Written by Owen Ashworth (Casiotone For The Painfully Alone)

ifitbeyourwill S05E02 • Ben Woods of The Golden Dregs

Dive into the rich musical journey of Ben Woods, the talented frontman of The Golden Dregs, as he explores the evolution of his sound and songwriting. From his early inspirations in Cornwall’s vibrant garage punk scene to the thoughtful lyrics of his latest album "Godspeed," Ben shares heartfelt insights on creativity, collaboration, and resilience amidst the challenges of the music industry.

We discuss how experiences shape artistic expression, the various influences that crafted his unique sound, and the importance of fostering a collaborative environment in music creation. As Ben's journey unfolds, he candidly reflects on the trials he faced and how they shaped his artistic vision.

Listeners will walk away with a deeper appreciation of the artistry behind songwriting and be inspired by Ben's dedication to his craft. Tune in to discover the stories behind the songs and what the future holds for The Golden Dregs. You won’t want to miss this engaging conversation!

Don’t forget to subscribe, share, and leave a review if you enjoyed the episode!

 Direct link to MP3

https://thegoldendregs.com/

A charming, hook-filled track, ‘The Company of Strangers’ is richly layered, blending folk-tinged guitars with playful piano riffs and lush harmonies. But with its gentle melodies come profound reflections on urban life, as Ben wryly delivers lyrics like: “Maybe it’s time I was taken out to pasture / since lately I’ve been getting it wrong”.

Of their new single, Ben says: “The Company of Strangers is a business empire into which one might invest their best life years, best health, best thoughts, every last hour of daylight in the winter months, to expire, become surplus to requirement, served notice, redundant. The Company doesn’t care about you but you are better than that. Godspeed The Company.”

Mappe Of • Happiness In The Singularity • 2025

https://mappeof.netlify.app/#

With a brand new track, “Happiness In The Singularity,” released today via Paper Bag Records, Mappe Of is stepping into the post-apocalyptic musical space. Within the modern tradition of post-apocalyptic art—perhaps even post-earth-as-we-know-it art— definitely post-pandemic - there's an increasingly tangible feeling like these works are no longer fictitious, but are instead a very real and present depiction of our lives on this planet. And yet, these works are most often defined by hope, and resilience, comradery, and faith. They pose to us, one of the most difficult questions we can face: Can we continue in the face of oblivion?

“Happiness in the Singularity” is a cyborg of a song, marrying pieces of the real with the ethereal in a shimmering, stuttering-then-smooth 7/8 waltz through a graveyard of VHS memories and corrupted .mp4 files. Theres a piano part playing counter to the artificial pings and clicks that swirl around—it feels as if one is in an existential behind-the-scenes control room. With the song, Mappe Of is imploring us to preserve our sanity and ourselves.

Califone • The Villager's Companion • 2025

califonemusic.com

Like a passenger riding shotgun on a road trip, The Villagers Companion offers its own unique perspective and story to tell. Featuring tracks recorded alongside last year’s acclaimed villagers, TVC captures the miles between the start and destination—the faded gas station pit stops, the plastic saint statue stuck to the dashboard for safe travels or luck. It embodies the essence of the journey without the burden of driving—the experience of the ride itself.

Finale • ifitbeyourwill S04E29 • Ellis Jones of Trust Fund

Thanks for listening to Season 4… Back in 2025 xox

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Ellis Jones from Sheffield takes us on an emotional journey through the years, from strumming his first guitar at the age of five to forming Trust Fund in 2010. His story unfolds with tales of childhood bands and teenage recording sessions, eventually leading to Trust Fund's recognition in the mid-2010s. Ellis opens up about his creative process and the influence of Bandcamp during the height of his musical releases, offering heartfelt insights into how evolving personal interests have always been at the heart of Trust Fund's unique sound.

A new chapter in music-making begins in Bristol, where shifting priorities in our mid-30s have shaped a practical and heartfelt duo with my partner and bandmate, CD. We find inspiration in lyrical ideas that give birth to melodies, exploring how those creative sparks evoke emotional responses both for us as creators and for our audience. Balancing the quest for perfection with the permanence of music releases becomes a shared challenge, as we navigate the repetitive yet rewarding process of mixing and finalizing tracks.

The pandemic years have brought about a surprising transformation for many artists, including one musician who traded electric for classical guitar, crafting an introspective and courageous new record. The themes shift to a more observant tone, with raw, voice-and-guitar compositions that leave nowhere to hide. As the narrative unfolds, we confront the challenge of staying emotionally connected amidst professional demands, reflecting on personal milestones and relationships that might blur into the background. Join us for an episode that encourages reflection on balancing life's demands with heartfelt connections.

Direct Download MP3

trustfund.fun

We thought it was all over. When Ellis Jones drew a curtain around his career as Trust Fund, it felt like the end of a particularly bittersweet long-distance relationship. That was in 2018, and Ellis had just dropped Bringing the Backline, the quintessential Trust Fund album: full of wry humour, heartache, energetic punk-pop hooks and glittering moments of indie-folk prettiness (it also gave us Carson McCullers, which, in this household at least, will always be one of the greatest pop songs ever written). That Jones had chosen to leave on such a high seemed like a statement of finality, an exclamation mark at the terminus of a convoluted, messy, beautiful sentence. KLOF

best of 2024 • Nap Eyes • Passageway

I had the last verse of this song written for a long time, along with a bunch of earlier verses that I didn’t like as much that I eventually discarded. One quiet day when I was not doing too much of anything, I started to come up with the lyrics of the earlier verses — just in my head without an instrument or speaking them out loud, which is unusual for me. So the song was generated by this out-of-the-ordinary writing method, but I think this resulted in a song that is pretty different from anything else I’ve written to date. 

https://www.napeyes.com/

These songs are poetic, and not just because the words are poems. Their poetry lies in the music itself: Chapman’s reserved but powerful delivery, their lulling, hypnotic repetitions, the avian chorus of squawking guitars and chirping synths. This marriage of words and music captures something ineffable that lies between thought and expression (to borrow a phrase from Lou Reed), and with it, Nap Eyes have produced a beautiful, literary, aspirational, and inspiring work. post-trash

On the parade ground across the great divide

I saw 1000 candles flickering

And through a peasant’s eyes I saw a green-clad man

Ringing blue bells of offering

Beside him, astride, in neon fuchsia robes

And more beautiful than anything

A woman the sight of whom changed his mind

In a permanent way

Well, as for me, I rode the three miles north

Back to old York town

And lodged my horse in a stable there

Before walking to the castle grounds

Strange to make a parade so far away

Where there were so few others around

But I let the thought drop from my head

And that night my sleep was sound

When I awoke, I knew not the hour

But it seemed all the people had fled

I returned to my room and where the mirror had been

I found a blue doorway instead

Bracing myself against a bone-chilling wind

I wrapped my scarf around my head

And entered down a rainbow crystal pathway

Strangely compelled to follow where it led

Well, ever since then I’ve been in this gem-sea land

Where the night is as warm as the day

People talk on phones and they drive down roads

To places many miles away

As for me, I remain by my edge-of-town home

Watching the ocean’s peaceful sway

I’ve been drifting in and out of a mysterious dream

Of that old-time passageway

Is this what I get for listening to “Iris”

At nine o’clock on a Monday morning

In the shadow of the foreboding sculpture

In the diamond circular saw ring?

Far away, the dawn-bright dew

On some blue fields sparkling

In the deep mind, in the well,

In the heart of things

Willie Nelson • Do You Realize?? • 2024

https://willienelson.com/

Willie Nelson is now in his 7th decade as a songwriter, performer and recording artist, but one of his most underrated talents is song interpretation. Over his career he has tackled songs from across the world of music, making each his own. Now for his 76th solo studio album and 153rd album overall as he celebrates his 91st year, Willie turns his gaze to a collection of songs by rock legends, idiosyncratic singer songwriters, altrock heroes and indie folk artists.

 

The second single from the album is Willie’s take on “Do You Realize??” One of The Flaming Lips’ most enduring songs is an existentialist masterpiece well-suited to the tao of Willie. From their perspective, the Lips loved it. “He’s just such a unique singer,” lead singer Wayne Coyne says. “You hear one second of his voice, and you go, that’s him.” Fellow bandmember and song co-writer Steven Drozd says his only regret is that his late father won’t get to hear it: “I wish he was still alive to see this happening, that Willie Nelson is doing a Flaming Lips song I had a part in co-writing. He’d be very proud.”

Nilüfer Yanya • Just A Western • 2024

Speaking about “Method Actor” Nilüfer describes how the concept for the song came together, “I was researching method acting - and from what I read, it’s based on finding this one memory in your life, a life-altering, life-changing memory. The reason why some people find method acting traumatic and maybe not safe mentally, is because you're always going back to that moment. It can be good or bad but you're always feeding off the energy, something that's defined you - and that's what helps you become the character. It’s a bit like being a musician. When you’re performing, you’re still trying to invoke the energy and emotion of when you first wrote it, in that moment. It definitely feels like you're having to recreate or step into that headspace.”

Susan O'Neill • Drive Live on The Tommy Tiernan Show •

https://susanoneill.ie/

Full Performance 

JOSEPH SHIPP • Dig Deep • 2024

Joseph Shipp is a multifaceted artist who weaves threads of music, design, and

photography into a rich, colorful career that defies conventional boundaries. Born between the

storied musical cities of Nashville and Memphis, Shipp’s creative journey is one of constant

evolution, driven by an insatiable curiosity and a deep reverence for the power of art.

https://www.josephshipp.band/

The son of a second-generational photographer, Shipp’s musical influences were shaped early on by the eclectic tastes of his dad. Neil Young, Leo Kottke, traditional Irish folk, and Classical were common sounds around the photo studio or car. Like many young kids of his generation inspired by Kurt Cobain, he started learning guitar at age 12. And at 18, he began writing songs. While living in San Francisco, he and his wife, also a musician and designer, became immersed in Old Time and Bluegrass music endemic to where he grew up. Shipp picked up the fiddle and his wife the banjo and, for a few years, performed traditional folk music as the duo The Family Shipp.

John Prine and Iris DeMent • In Spite of Ourselves • 2018

https://smarturl.it/treeofforgiveness

She don't like her eggs all runny

She thinks crossin' her legs is funny

She looks down her nose at money

She gets it on like the Easter Bunny

She's my baby, I'm her honey

I'm never gonna let her go

He ain't got laid in a month of Sundays

I caught him once and he was sniffin' my undies

He ain't too sharp but he gets things done

Drinks his beer like it's oxygen

He's my baby, and I'm his honey

Never gonna let him go