The great American folk tradition features a diversity of genres of songs that often goes unappreciated by modern audiences. But there is such magic and such wonder in folk music due to its variety and Michael Kiel Cash fully exploits this to a great extent. If one wants to hear a masterclass in American folk music, one must listen to his debut album Shores of Mercy, set to be released on July of this year. This full-length album has everything, from country, blues, bluegrass, soul and hymnal sung with a beautiful, metaphor and images filled lyrics and extraordinary storytelling. Tradition and modernity collide in a way that folk is reinvented, bringing the mythical to today.
Michael Kiel Cash is a New York City based singer-songwriter whose sound aims to merge the traditional with strong, poetry filled lyrics. He first delve into songwriting when he was only four years old and grew up alongside music. While he has been performing as a touring musician since 15 years ago, Shores of Mercy marks his first foray into his solo career. Inspired by his parent’s Southern roots, he decided to delve into the traditional American folk song. He is inspired by figures that include Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell and Townes Van Zandt and the poets Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman and Rumi. His sounds covers a variety of genres and is characterized by the mere quantity of musical layers it contains, featuring a great variety of instruments ranging from guitar, accordion, harmonica, violin, organ, flute, piano, banjo and choruses. Also characteristic are his poetic lyrics full of sublime substance with their metaphors, sang with his unique voice, straight from a storyteller. Michael’s Kiel Cash’s songs are extremely intimate: They carve a path into the future by looking at the past, into an infinite landscape that shows us the depths of the human condition.
Shores of Mercy makes us think about love, nature, loss, family and, most importantly, tradition. Cash uses a sound that may be familiar, but does not stop of being surprising. After all, American folk songs are full of surprises! This can be observed on his album with tracks such as the expressive storytelling of blues of “Hoophead’s Country Blues” and “D&RGW Chill Line Blues”, or the soothing guitar of the ballad “Muscadine Wine” or the more upbeat “Lying with my Baby”.
Cash understands were his sound comes from with the Celtic flutes found in “Love’s Arroyo” or the traditional twangy folk narrations of “Flood of Springtime Dreams” and “Rattlebox”. And Cash infuses depth to his sound by showing a deep spiritual connection to the world that surround him in each track.”Hymn of the Harvest” (a full on choral work with organ!), “Heart of the Mountain” (a soul track) “Winged Kiss” (a spiritual ballad that make us question our place on the world) and the eponymous tracks “Shores of Mercy” (a country personal reflection of faith and the power of love) stand out as tracks where Cash shows us his lyrical prowess by making music and magic become one.
these little pieces, you are the song! You know where to drop the needle; the record of the heart is turning.” Michael Kiel Cash
Shores of Mercy is an album that leaves the listener awestruck, full of a sense of marvel that stays with them long after, for days and even weeks. Michael Kiel Cash shows us how tradition does not equate to old by making us rethink what we think we already knew about folk and even what we thought we understood about the world. Make sure you experience this yourself when the album releases on July 22 of this year by pre-saving the album by clicking the following link. Do not miss it!
Don’t forget to support this project and to follow on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, and Spotify. You can also check out his official website. If you enjoy his music and are able to provide monetary support, you might consider downloading it on Bandcamp.
It also helps to stream and share her music; you can obviously find it in the following Playlists: Less Than 1,000 Followers, Fresh Singles, Indie Only, Alterindie State Of Mind, Chill – Folk – Acoustic, Debut Bands (Off The Radar), 12 New Songs This Week, and Sickest & Dopest.
P.S. If you enjoy discovering new artists and fresh new music you can subscribe to this blog Less Than 1,000 Followers and follow the Playlist with all the artists that we have presented here!!!
This coverage was created via MusoSoup #Sustainablecurator
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