| Press |
|
|
|
|
Page 1 of 28
*These are some quick quotes. To read the full length articles and reviews,please continue to the next page* Praise for “BlackTop Road”: "Angela Easterling is a bright shining star on the country/folk/alt.music horizon! Her gift is so special. She will be able to perform and record as long as she wants to. I loved listening to her new "Black Top Road" CD! The instruments are multidimensional and have a luster that I love. Brought me back to the time the Byrds recorded "Sweetheart of the Rodeo" - tradition meets youthful exuberance! I love the Jingle Jangle guitars on "American ID”. -Roger McGuinn (founder of The Byrds) (Jun 22, 2009) - “Angela Easterling, we now know, is a quietly plaintive singer who rewards attentive listening. Her Blacktop Road, with its mandolins, dobros, lap steels, peddle steels, fiddles, etc., is out-and-out "alt. country,"A lot of the songs here sound like they've been around for years—that's a compliment—including the sweetly yearning cover of a certain Wannabe Southern Man's "Helpless." Produced by the agile and sensitive Will Kimbrough.”- Oxford American, Editors Picks for June 2009
"Best Political Country Song" - Angela Easterling - "The Picture"- Daniel Gewertz, Boston Herald, Best of 2009 Music (December 11, 2009) "Dynamite honky-tonk singer Angela Easterling brings a tough traditionalist sound to ballads and ravers alike on her fine new CD Black Top Road." - Philadelphia Inquirer (Jun 21, 2009) "If Steve Earle was reborn as a girl, he’d very likely be Angela Easterling. And Blacktop Road is her Guitar Town . She comes surging out of the chute like a spurred bronco, full of sideways kicks, bucking with all the compressed energy of a coiled steel spring." - Steven Stone, Vintage Guitar Magazine (Oct .09 issue) “Our fair newcomer tonight was Angela Easterling, who brought along her new album’s producer, the great Will Kimbrough for a trio set that showed off her grace and songwriting prowess. She’s a folk singer at heart, but the title track of her current album was a rocking portrait of her family farm’s battles with the encroachment of shopping malls and other sorts of “progress.” BlackTop Road bears all the hallmarks of a smart songwriter with a sharp eye for both the past and future.” –Craig Havighurst, Music City Roots (Nov. 18, 2009)
"BlackTop Road is soaked in an intelligence and far-reaching
historical sense that makes you suspect its origins couldn’t be
entirely human, or at least that all of these songs and performances
couldn’t have emanated from one young woman...the clarity and consistency of the narrative voice
make (you) feel like you’re learning quite a bit about
Angela Easterling. Above all else, the thing you’ll learn is that, regardless of
what may come her way, she’ll be fine. There’s no stopping a talent of
this magnitude." -C.M. Wilcox, Country California (Oct. 1, 2009) “There's an old head on young shoulders in her writing and she shows that underneath there's a burning ambition to not be good, but to be great…there's a personal honesty and splash of life that jumps out at you. These songs are about place, about family, about belonging and in opposition as much about rebellion, not fitting in, leaving and growth.” -Andrew Williams, Americana UK (September 8, 2009) "Angela Easterling – Black Top Road - Roots/Rock sweetheart with a folk sense of cultural activism" TwangNation Best CD's of 2009 (December 18, 2009) "Nashville's overripe with young female singers who want to be the next Taylor Swift, or the next Gretchen Wilson. Thanks, but no thanks. Then you have singers like Angela Easterling, whose music doesn't kowtow to commerce - the songs on BlackTop Road focus on her sparkling, honey-hewn voice, etched with traces of sorrow and hopefulness in equal measure. Produced the estimable Will Kimbrough, the CD is pure, mountain-air acoustic country music. Let's put it this way: Think Emmylou Harris, Alison Krauss or even Gillian Welch. Very sweet stuff indeed. Highly recommended." -Bill DeYoung, Connect Savannah (November 3, 2009)"This is a road trip worth taking... BlackTop Road should be the perfect companion piece to Steve Earle’s Copperhead Road. On her personal protest song, an angry Easterling verbally kicks ass as some South Carolina land in her family since the late 18th century is being grabbed by the state for development. The song and the singer seem destined for a spot in Farm Aid." - Michael Bialas, blogcritics.org (August 3, 2009) "Borrowing Will Kimbrough from Todd Snider’s band to produce and play on Blacktop Road was a stroke of genius for Angela Easterling. Kimbrough surrounds Easterling’s gutsy vocals with some whip-crackingly smart country power-pop on the title track and offers sympathetic sounds even on the more emotional ballads... A pretty voice and poignant songwriter surrounds herself with A-list players and puts out a great alt-country album." Kevin Oliver, Free Times Favorite CD's of 2009 (January 7, 2010) "Angela Easterling isn't just one of the finest singer-songwriters in the Upstate, she's also one of the best in the entire Americana field. "BlackTop Road" features everything from Steve Earle-like angst to Gillian Welch-type introspection." Dan Armonaitis, Spartanburg Herald (January 14, 2010) "Easterling's mix of "gee-whiz" stage presence and solid songwriting and singing was one of the most rewarding, surprising sets of the weekend" Curtis Lynch, Playgrounds Magazine Review of 2009 Americana Music Festival (October 2009)
"Lovely (and
theater-trained) vocals, penetrating songs, and a restless heart that
always finds its way back home with stories to tell." - Rick Cornell, Country Standard Time (July 31, 2009) "I produced Angela Easterling's record, but all I had to do is show up for class and play along. She is a powerful, focused artist who has done her homework: rock n roll, country, bluegrass, literature and French pop." -Will Kimbrough "Highly recommended release from one of our favourite artists." - Smart Choice Music, UK (July 14, 2009)"If “Earning Her Wings” announced Easterling’s arrival, “BlackTop Road” shows that she’s here to stay. Easterling handles soul-searching topics fearlessly and gracefully, weaving stories that entrance as much by her warm, inviting voice as by her heartfelt lyrics." - Craig Ostroff, Montgomery News (Jun 25, 2009) "If you want an excellent example of what Americana that 5 layer dip of genres has to offer you need to put on Easterling’s Blacktop Road. She delivers in her earnestly melancholic voice and her expanded tastes and sensibilities that sound right at home in a honkytonk or a NY supper club…. For all braying about social messages in contemporary country music they are like crayon scribbling compared to finely crafted song like “The Picture”.- Twangnation.com (Jun 22, 2009) “The "back to roots" attitude that Easterling brings to her fine new project transcends any casual lipservice. Fiddles and banjos trade space with slide guitar and some charged honkytonk rhythms for an album that has one foot firmly planted in the traditional southern music, the other in the modern interpretations of Americana. It's a balancing act that blossoms on track such as the wistful slow-dance ballad "Just Like Flying", charming French twanger "Un Microphone" and jukebox raver title track. Recommended.” - DirectCurrentMusic.com (Jun 29, 2009) "Angela Easterling's BlackTop Road is one attractive album. Smartly produced by Will Kimbrough, the set holds originals plus a lovely take on Neil Young's "Helpless". The album's sound is folk-rock, strongly executed throughout." Michael Tearson, Sing Out! (Vol. 53 #2) "A heartfelt album of personal experience, adding youth to tradition. An intelligent and Introspective writer." Larry Kelly, Maverick UK, (January, 2010)
"Angela has just about the prettiest voice to come out
of the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. While she claims Emmylou Harris
as an influence (and wears it quite well), there’s also a spark of youth in her
voice more reminiscent of someone with a rock background, like Jenny Lewis. She
can also knock out an Appalachian rocker that sounds like early Steve Earle,
such as the title track from her album BlackTopRoad" - Tug Baker, Free Times Columbia (Jun 11, 2009) "Easterling is a songwriter who makes listeners feel, think and see.The world can be ugly, but somehow her voice can make anything softer, easier to manage. Harsh stories have beauty. " - Otis Taylor, The State (Columbia, SC) (Jun 11, 2009) “The songs are thoughtful and well-crafted stories that will resonate with a deep intensity with many listeners on a variety of different levels. Angela Easterling is someone to keep a sharp eye on.” – Bob Gottileb, Folk and Acoustic Music Exchange (Jun 23, 2009)
Praise for “Earning Her Wings”
"This is country Roots rediscovered and played the way
it was always meant to be played."
"Enjoyable from beginning to end. Angela has her finger
(and voice) on the pulse of the style." - Robert Francos, Jersey Beat
"Easterling has created an enchanting brand of
neo-traditionalist country that mixes hard-edged honky tonk with fetching
ballads. Her voice is a gorgeous instrument." "Songs that are sure to get your toes tappin', whether they're in cowboy boots, business shoes or flip-flops." - Craig Ostroff, Montgomery News Ticket
"She’s a quality, standout artist. Her music just jumps
out of the speakers."
"Easterling tussles her country ballads as if they were
hair, leaving the strands sweetly knotted. Her voice can be a soaring falsetto
or a raspy whirl. She’s not your usual country girl and, for her music’s sake,
her attitude is very welcome."
"Angela's one of my personal new favorites. Her
debut album is amazing from the opening track to the last." - Take
Country Back.com
|
