Cahalen really transcends his genre in this album and is able to really show his passion for his craft. I'm amazed at the amount of energy he can convey in his singing and playing that keeps me interested through his whole album. This is definitely one of my favorite albums and one of my favorite singers. I can't wait for the next release.
                            Read more...
                        

                            
It's hard to believe this was recorded live.  The singing is so spot on and the playing so precise you'd think it would have needed multiple takes to get it so right.  Not so with this great musician.  Cahalen Morrision is equally comfortable on several instruments but it's the depth of feeling in his singing that sets him apart from the rest.  The songwriting on this collection breezes across the old timey and the bluesy and never comes across as cliche.  That's a feat right there.  
Cahalen
                            Read more...
                        

                            
Acoustic roots music songwriter Cahalen Morrison has a gift for communicating the simple truths of folk music.  He hand-crafts songs that sound timeless, and Cahalen clearly knows and loves the early American music from which he draws his inspiration. His guitar picking sounds like the laid-back playing you might have heard at Mississippi John Hurt's fabled community BBQs back in the 1950s, with maybe a guest visit from Doc Watson. Morrison's playing fuses the best of country blues and early country picking into an effortless foundation for his songwriting. And it's his songs that truly shine on his new album, Old-Timey and New-Fangled.

It's not uncommon for songwriters to tap into earthy, organic imagery to lend their songs a rootsy sound, in fact an entire genre of music was born from this recently (Alela Diane, Iron & Wine), but what we like about Cahalen's songs is how natural this imagery sounds with his music. He sounds like he's lived the life and known the life and understands what it means to be connected to the land. Added to his songs, Cahalen's playing on a multitude of acoustic instruments: mandolin, guitar, clawhammer banjo and slide guitar seems effortless. The fact that his new album was recorded live with family and friends playing along yet sounds as polished as a studio album speaks to Cahalen's mastery of acoustic music making.
                            Read more...