Greg Mendez bol vždy úsporný skladateľ – používa zdržanlivosť a jednoduchosť ako nástroje, jadro jeho piesní je zaostrené do jednoduchých, ostrých právd. Na albume „Beauty Land“, jeho novom albume a debutovom LP pre Dead Oceans, nás vedie ironický, ale zhovievavý rozprávač, outsider, ktorý sa naučil vyvažovať cynizmus a vieru. Tieto piesne sú skromné bez sebaľútosti, starostlivo postavené oltáre nedokonalosti, ktoré sa prejavujú v popových melódiách, trblietavých, ale naliehavých gitarách a hlase, ktorý siaha po nevinnosti chlapca zo zboru.
Sometimes people talk about the difficulty of releasing a second album. Even though ‘Let It Go Easy’ is an album about a difficult time in the life of Mercy John, the songs for the album came very naturally. After writing his first album ‘This Ain’t New York’ Mercy John was already praised for his songwriting craftmanship, but the new album ‘Let It Go Easy’ proves even more that the deepest emotions often lead to the most intriguing songs. The highly acclaimed debut album ‘This Ain’t New York’ opened up many doors for the honest songwriter John Verhoeven, aka Mercy John. He played several big festivals and support tours with JW Roy and Danny Vera. At one point everything seemed to move a little bit too fast. In these days the singer met both himself as well as some fears that had been following him for many years. The new album, that will be released in February 2019, was written in that period. Despite this, it did not turn out to be a very dark album, but an album on which is being searched and sometimes even found. The Americana influences stayed. However, the sound has become rougher and the songs somewhat harder.
Tift Merritt has long been a torchbearer in americana. To mark the 20th anniversary of her Grammy-nominated album 'Tambourine', Merritt returns with 'Time and Patience' - a companion piece of intimate re-recordings and new songs from Merritt's Tambourine era. Several of the recordings strip her beloved classic songs back to their raw essence - recorded at home, just voice and acoustic instruments, 20 years after it first made her a critical darling. Others have never been heard before.