Robbie Fulks's adventurous spirit has defined a critically acclaimed 30-year career that has included 15 solo albums and two GRAMMY® nominations. He came to national attention as a defining artist of the alt-country scene in the 1990s, with releases on the Chicago-based indie Bloodshot Records, North Carolina's Yep Roc, and Los Angeles's Geffen Records. Bluegrass music has always been a part of Fulks's musical vision bit his new album, BLUEGRASS VACATION, is his first purely bluegrass endeavor. Paired with a cast that features some of the brightest stars of the genre including Sam Bush, Sierra Hull, Ronnie McCoury, Tim O'Brien, Alison Brown, and Jerry Douglas, the result is one of the most remarkable bluegrass albums of the century. In the end, Fulks plants his flag firmly in the bluegrass tradition, a genre that built the stepping stones Fulks walks on today. He muses: "Electric guitars might give way to computers, as seems to be happening now, but the mountains will still be there."
The second album from Brisbane-Meanjin indie-folk five-piece Full Power Happy Hour builds on the immense promise of their 2021 self-titled debut, adding a gorgeous tinge of alt-country elegance to their inherent feel-good jangle-pop foundations. This musical bed - assembled collaboratively allowing the band’s true spirit to shine through - proves the perfect foil for frontperson Alex Campbell’s compellingly personal lyrics documenting a tumultuous period in their life, an at times fraught journey recast into beautiful, eloquent art. The 10 songs veer from bright, upbeat toe-tappers to plaintive, introspective ballads, but flow together superbly due to the group’s underlying camaraderie and fast-blossoming chemistry. At times reminiscent of forebears like The Go-Betweens and The Clean, with flourishes of Lucinda Williams and contemporaries like Big Thief and The Weather Station, Bit of Brightness is 100% Full Power Happy Hour and one utterly beguiling aural experience.
End of Ways is a bridge to healing as it was written during the period of helping a loved one escape an abusive household while working though its lingering horrors to find peace. On this second album release by indie label Kill Rock Stars, 18-year-old Elliott Fullam touches on even darker subject matter than his predecessor What’s Wrong which was a dissociative trip that reached out to thousands of like-minded music enthusiasts who hailed the record as their album of the year. And End of Ways is the next record that will continue in that same gentle melody which alleviates the emotional storm that torments so many of us. Elliott’s sophomore full-length is a blend of home recordings as well as studio recordings which bring some extra depth within the songs to suit their somber settings in the tracks Throw It Away, Forget, and Better Way. But the record still retains its stripped down, lo-fi vibe in songs like Let’s Go Somewhere and Remember When with their clear Elliott Smith and Nick Drake influences in both the acoustic guitar lines and quiet vocals. The addition of young pianist Jeremy Bennett also beautifully adds candle-light melody through-out the album with his haunting notes in the opening song Mistake and his Tim Burton-meets-Vince Guaraldi style in the album’s escapist-themed title track End of Ways along with the dramatic climax to Timeless Tears and the album closer, Over the Moon which is Elliott’s profession of love to his present companion who he saved from her former home. Nick Drake, Big Thief, Crumb, and Alex G that explores childhood, dissociation, heartbreak and ultimately, survival.
Elliott Fullam is a New Jersey artist who conjures the magic of when loneliness meets hope with his ghostly vocal melodies and gentle guitar tracks that bring a tranquil feeling to the listener. All of Elliott’s songs are recorded in his bedroom at home and mastered by the world-renowned Alan Douches of West West Side Music. His teenage goal was to release his first album by the time he turned 18 and he achieved that goal with the release of his debut album “What’s Wrong” on his 18th birthday of September 2, 2022.
Elliott is also an actor, playing the co-starring role as Jonathan in the film Terrifier 2 which made a big smash at the box office as an uncut and unrated horror film. And as a dedicated music fan, Elliott has interviewed many musicians since the age of 9 including James Hetfield of Metallica, J Mascis, Ice-T, Jay Weinberg of Slipknot and many more. He always held his passion for music in high regard while finding inspiration in his favorites Elliott Smith, Duster, Mazzy Star, Broadcast, Radiohead and Nick Drake. With nothing else in his life plans aside from the pursuit of creating the best music he possibly could while sustaining his promising acting career, Elliott will continue to release music and play shows for as long as he exists on this planet in hopes that he may be a small part of the force for good in this trying world.