Vickers Vimy: Atlas Of Hearts

Irish folk band Vickers Vimy looked West for a shot of Tex Mex Americana for their new album Atlas Of Hearts, with prominent roles for mandolin, brass and strings. With lead singer Ed Drea as a captivating story teller they serve up tales about big cities, the Irish country side, and dilapidated luna parks. It's a gently swaying record, carefully arranged with just enough rough-around-the edges ardour to keep the momentum going.

The quartet and their guest players have managed to bottle passion in large quantities. Ask them for a refill and a buzz of musical enjoyment will kick in shortly. Be prepared to sing softly along with instantly timeless songs.

Cover Me: All My Loving

Watch Amy Winehouse perform The Beatles' classic All My Loving. Recorded live for the UK TV series Glastonbury Calling, 21 June 2004.

» mywinehouse.com

What Artists Get Wrong With Their Vinyl Releases

With the resurgence of vinyl as a format it's essential to get all the EQ's right during the mixing and mastering stages before sending it off to the plant, only to discover that the album sounds like shit when the finished product is playing on a record player. Reverb.com sat down with Scott Hull, a veteran in the business and owner of Masterdisk in Peekskill, NY. First off: vinyl can handle way more than is widely believed.

There’s been so much written about the limitations of vinyl that I think people get the misconception that vinyl is somehow fragile and not a robust format.

Hull covers a lot of ground during the interview, and some technical knowledge might come in handy, but most of it pretty straightforward use of common sense:

Words about music (479): Marc Bolan

All rock musicians are deaf... Or insensitive to mellow sounds.

Marc Bolan

Borka Balogh: Traces Of You

Hungarian indie folk singer Borka Balogh move to Amsterdam a couple of years ago and turned some heads with her debut single Let This Be The Last Song. Her first EP Traces Of You finds her expanding her musical palette, with hints of vaudeville (Prague and chamber pop (The Disappearance Of Our Spotless Love) and straight up English folk (About A Warrior).

Her dreamy voice is always smack in the middle of the mix, with the musicians sounding like they were set up in a circle around her. The keyword for her music is delicate. Serious folk fans should own this.