Simon Linsteadt - Simon Linsteadt (2015)

Recognized by music critics in 2015 as an “emerging talent on the Americana music scene” whose “flat-picked guitar is up there with the big boys,” singer-songwriter and guitarist Simon Linsteadt’s first two albums with San Francisco band Steep Ravine (The Pedestrian, 2015, and Trampin’ On, 2013) racked up high praise for their “highly crafted tunes awash with catchy hooks” and “vocals suffused with intimacy and emotional heft”.* With this debut self-titled solo album, Simon delivers a fresh batch of tunes that hone in even closer on his melodic song craft and intricate guitar work. Woven between his intimate vocals and lyrical prose, Simon’s trademark guitar style fuses bluegrass-inspired cross-picking with a gentle, folk-laden attitude, the occasional jazz chunking, and a side of thwacking, primarily using a flat-pick.

* Marin Independent Journal, Northern Sky, FolkWords, No Depression