Roots Round-Up (New Music from US & Canada)

A round-up of new releases of note from North America, the plan for this column is to showcase both artists who are pushing their traditions forward and roots music communities that may not be well known overseas. There’s a wealth of great music coming out of the US and Canada these days, so check this column each issue to find new artists to love!

Bassist, songwriter, singer and composer Mali Obomsawin should be familiar to readers from her early work with American folk trio Lula Wiles, but her new work has been diving deep into free jazz and now indie circles. After a prominent music feature in one of the most powerful episodes of Indigenous-led TV show Reservation Dogs, Obomsawin’s new duo, Deerlady, with New York guitarist and composer Magdalena Abrego is in the spotlight. Their album, Greatest Hits (5729715 Records DK, ★★★★), is a shimmering landscape of song, soft and heartfelt, but simmering underneath. The duo call it an anti-colonial collaboration, but fans of Lula Wiles will recognize Obomsawin’s deft, subtle songwriting as well. 

Speaking of dynamic duos, the new album, Au Chemin 4 (Alexis Chartrand ★★★★), from Québécois fiddle wunderkind Alexis Chartrand sees him united with one of the genre’s best arrangers and deepest thinkers, Cédric Dind-Lavoie. Chartrand is known for his pensive reworkings of Québécois fiddle tunes, drawing them down to a stately tempo and pulling out the fine craftsmanship of these old melodies. Dind-Lavoie is a kindred soul whose superb 2021 album Archives built lush compositional soundscapes around scratchy old field recordings of Québécois trad. Here the two redefine a tradition known for its raucous party nature. It’s a revelation and a joy to listen to.

We should expect nothing less than a sublime and joyful music experience from American roots band Watchhouse, and this is what we get from their performance on Austin City Limits Live at The Moody Theater (Yep Roc, ★★★★★). But more than that, there’s an incredible poignancy to the timing of this particular concert. Recorded in January 2020 shortly before the world shut down from COVID-19, there’s an impossible feeling of nostalgia in looking back at how we were. When Andrew softly sings ‘Everything’s so great, it can’t get better / It makes me want to cry,’ you just might find yourself crying from memories of brighter days.

Hailing from the richly diverse Richmond, VA music scene, Justin Golden’s new album, Golden Country: Volume 1 (Vocal Rest Records ★★★★★) – Volume 2 is coming later this year) – is a glorious exploration of the hazy dividing line between the blues and bluegrass. Golden is able to easily demonstrate the Black roots of bluegrass, working from the bedrock of the country blues that he knows so well, blending it with Appalachian roots. He’s joined by some ace players like bluegrass mandolinist Trey Hall and blues harmonica player Andrew Alli, and the whole album just romps along in the most delightful way. Though Golden’s been pinned down as a blues musician, this is the music he loves, the old barn dances and house parties of Southern America before the blues and country were split apart.

New Orleans chanteuse Cyrille Aimée’s equally diverse background is on full display on her new album, à Fleur de Peau (Whirlwind Recordings ★★★). It’s a blend of her Dominican heritage and her childhood in the French city of Samois-sur-Seine where she wandered the famed local jazz manouche festival at a young age. Her new songs are silky smooth, wavering between velvety R&B, New Orleans brass blasts, rippling synth and bass, and Big Easy jazz crooning. She sings in English, Spanish and French, built the album between New Orleans, Costa Rica and New York City, and pulls it all off with a deep confidence and an easy sense of charm.

This column originally appeared in the May 2024 issue of Songlines. Never miss an issue – subscribe to Songlines today