New Album Reviews

Mark Schatz & Bryan McDowell Grit & Polish Patuxent

Mark Schatz barely needs any introduction to Americana followers - he has been a mainstay as a bass player with the likes of Nickel Creek, Claire Lynch, Bela Fleck and many more, and is a two-time IBMA Bass Player winner. It’s not as well known, though, that he is also a banjoist, clogger and ham boner, as well as a guitar and mandolin player.

His friend and collaborator on this album, Bryan McDowell, is not quite a household name yet, but that is just a matter of time (at least in Americana circles). He has been a Nashville session player and sideman for several years, always with innovative bluegrass and adjacent roots artists, and has toured with Claire Lynch and Molly Tuttle, among others. His instrumental chops are without question, having won multiple prestigious and National Championship titles in flat picking guitar, mandolin and fiddle.

All of Mark Schatz’ solo projects convey his enthusiasm and contagious zest for life, elements that are hinted at in his work as a band member with others, and this album is no different. Here, Bryan McDowell gets a chance to showcase his vocals for a change and also introduces his songwriting.

Written while in London, Mark’s old timey instrumental Kensington Station kickstarts the album in style, initially led by his clawhammer banjo playing, then we get a riot of flatfooting while Bryan takes up the tune on fiddle. They breathe new life and fun into Louis Jordan’s old chestnut, There Ain’t Nobody Here But Us Chickens, with Mark on vocals and Bryan on guitar. I defy you to listen without smiling. Bryan sings and fiddles on Doc Watson’s Muskrat, accompanied by Mark on jaw harp. Next, Bryan flat picks on the lovely slow Gardenia Waltz, which runs into the barnstormer Flop Eared Mule, which he learned from his banjo playing father. Cruso Flood is an original composition from Bryan, which he openly acknowledges is an homage to John Hartford, and he accompanies himself on mandolin on this one, with Mark on bass.

Mark wrote the sentimental ballad My East Tennessee Home many years ago, about his late wife Eileen Carson’s family home, and here he’s accompanied by their friend Claire Lynch on backing vocals. If The Girl I Love Don’t Pay Me No Mind sounds familiar, it’s because it’s a Flatt & Scruggs tune, here sung by Bryan, accompanying himself on fretless banjo and added percussion comes from Mark, the master ham boner! There’s a sublime rendition of Dylan’s classic, One Too Many Mornings, with Bryan singing and playing guitar and Mark on subtle bass. Bryan gets to impress with his flat picking again on a song called Italy (the North Carolina town!) which they got from Laura Boosinger, and Mark sings on West Virginia Reverie, written for Eileen after a particularly memorable party.

I should mention that this project was recorded at the start of the pandemic, so the duo have only had a chance to tour and promote it properly this year. I’m so glad that I discovered it and I urge you to do yourself a favour and check it out. Who among us doesn’t need a bit of joyousness to lift us in these troubled times?

Eilís Boland

The Soda Crackers Self-Titled Stay Play

The Bakersfield sound has variously been described as an influential sub-genre of country with a defined backbeat that was pioneered by Wynn Stewart, Buck Owens, and Merle Haggard, which was at odds with the more string-laden crossover sound that was prevalent in Nashville at the time. In recent times, it has, while remaining a persuasive sound, not retained its position and audience locally. Recently, Owen’s venue, The Crystal Place, had to shut its doors. Legendary honky-tonks like the infamous Blackboard are also long gone.

However, there are those who still love that sound, hail from the area, and are intent on reviving that sound from its base. The young band Soda Crackers are an example, and their debut album mixes original songs with some songs that are associated with the area’s heyday. They are fronted by singer, guitarist, and fiddler Zane Adamo, who is obviously not the only family member drawn to continuing that particular sound. He is joined by Cooper Adamo, also on fiddle, with another Adamo, Felix, credited with the photography. The band’s the rhythm section of Choy Holguin on big bass fiddle and Drummer Jeff Gerow. The lineup is completed by guitarist Benjamin McCarthy and pedal steel practitioner Benjamin Mathiews.

They have wisely picked to work with a man who knows what is required in Deke Dickerson, who co-produced the album with Zane. He was also involved with the album’s mixing. They get it right, as it sounds as though it could have been made a few decades ago. The playing and delivery are spot on, and while they may lack a little in terms of longevity, given they are a relatively new band, they can only progress and add depth in terms of songwriting skills and singing. They still, however, have that obvious love and energy that the music requires overall.

The best of their own material is Tomorrow’s Used To Be from Zane, but followed closely by McCarthy’s Don’t Start a Fire, who also wrote the instrumental Blackboard Boogie (a direct reference to the aforementioned venue, I would assume). Going Broke Livin’ Rich and Two Step Solution also show their potential as songsmiths as well as players.

The covers may be open to consideration in comparison to the better-known versions of the oft-covered Silver Wings, Dim Lights, Thick Smoke, It’s Such A Pretty World Today, as well as the auxiliary and welcome trucker song I’m A Truck Driven’ Pool Shootin’ Son-Of-A-Gun. Of course, depending on who you choose, these versions don’t have the luxury of a long-time acquaintance. They do, however, set the tone and are likely welcome inclusions in a live setting. The Soda Crackers have made an enjoyable album that sets out their remit, and the next time out with some more original songs, they are going to be a name worthy of adding to the list of the greats who came from and immortalised the Bakersfield Sound.

Stephen Rapid

Tony Poole Faith In Us Aurora

Few artists wait over fifty years to record their first solo album, but that is exactly what Tony Poole has done. He was a member of the 1970s rock band Starry Eyed and Laughing, and more recently played a key role in Bennett, Wilson, Poole, where he combined with Danny Wilson (Danny & The Champions of the World, Grand Drive) and Robin Bennett (Saint Etienne, The Dreaming Spires), to release two albums, both produced by Poole. If those albums touched on a collective admiration for 1960s pop music, FAITH IN US unapologetically revisits that musical era closest to Poole’s heart with this eleven-track collection.

That fascination began with Starry Eyed and Laughing, which was heavily influenced by the UK pop/rock scene of the Swinging 60s and the cross-pollination of music between England and America. The Byrds were primary influencers and, appropriately, the title track from FAITH IN US opens with a Rickenbacker riff saluting Roger McGuinn, whose jangly guitar sound on his twelve-string Rickenbacker inspired Poole to recreate that tone in Starry Eyed and Laughing. The song also includes bass and harmony vocals from Poole’s sidekick in that band, Ian Whitmore.

Self-produced by Poole, the album features guest musicians on a few tracks; Glenn Phillips (Hampton Grease Band) and Chris Bayliss (SIAM) contributed guitars, and Nick Holland (Barbara Dickson, Maddy Prior) contributed keyboards. Poole performed all other instruments, including vocals, electric and acoustic guitars, bass, keyboards, and drums.

‘1965 - what a time to be alive, two years to the Summer of Love, four years till it all goes’ announces Poole nostalgically in Chelsea Girls (1965). Fusing power pop with a side of psychedelia, the song evokes memories of The Move and The Kinks, who shared similar sentiments in real time in the mid-60s. In a similar fashion, Broken Glass and This Slice of Time reproduce the charm and quality of songs that blossomed during that era.

We’re transported from London’s Swinging '60s to sun-kissed California in Chasing The Rain. That fascination with the West Coast also surfaces in Dreams of Life, with thoughts of the land of The Byrds, flashy cars, and cloudless skies, the primary mode of escapism for Poole during miserable teenage years spent at boarding school in Bedfordshire.

The shameful destruction of the Amazon rainforest to raise cattle for meat production is the subject matter in This Slice Of Time. The song evolved from a demo sent to Poole by Nelson Bragg (Brian Wilson, Stew), who is credited as a co-writer. Bookending the album Film Noir, at seven and a half minutes long, is an epic affair, ebbing and flowing, and showcasing pulsating guitar breaks from Glenn Phillips.

 For 60s music lovers, this album is a mesmerising journey. Poole taps into the hooks and intricate arrangements that launched his career and marries them with perfectly tailored songs that would qualify as classic jukebox material in a different era and decade.

Declan Culliton

Amy Speace The Blue Rock Session Windbone

A solo acoustic album is something that a lot of folks a drawn to on the basis that it offers a more intimate listening experience, together with the opportunity to feel close to the original source of the songs while in composition. If that is you, then you’re in for a treat on this new album from the prodigiously talented Nashville resident Amy Speace.

The entire record was recorded in just three hours at a songwriting session in Wimberley, Texas and taking a week away from her busy routine was clearly an inspired choice, leading to a studio session at the Blue Rock Artist Ranch. Amy certainly hit the fast lane, resulting in the delivery of eleven top class songs, but it also provided proof positive of the enduring quality and talents possessed by one of America’s outstanding singer songwriters.

Over forty-two minutes Amy ponders upon the vicissitudes of life, often reflecting that it takes courage to endure and to continue believing in some benevolent force that ultimately will deliver a means of redemption. How to reconcile the past with the present? Do we truly stay weighed down by memory, or is there the sense that our recollection of the past can never be fully trusted? With nothing more than her Gibson J-45 acoustic guitar, Amy provides an intimacy along with a great rhythmic dexterity, highlighted by her superb fingerstyle technique.

The true cost of being a professional musician is captured so articulately in the words on the opening song On A Monday In London ‘I’ve travelled so much in my life, Hotel days and folk club nights, Packed my bags to travel light, Learned to sleep on many flights, I wake in different towns and beds, To worlds I make up in my head, Write down the things I wish I’d said, And slip away, On a Monday in London.’ Superbly observed and captured with a quiet eloquence.

The following two songs are very much driven by relationships, the first, God Came To Me, in terms of religion and the ghostly presence of a non-interventionalist God in Amy’s life, the second, In This Home, a contemplation on the aftermath of a divorce, where ‘Old pictures I took down, The shelves are half-filled with my paperbacks now, And all the furniture is mine, I’ve got time.’

One of the most lauded songs written by Amy dates back to the album How To Sleep In A Stormy Boat (2013), and the inclusion here of The Sea and the Shore is a welcome reminder of the finely honed sensibility that Amy brings to her craft. The metaphor of sea and shore is used to great effect in describing unfulfilled love and the random timing of reading the signs, and the momentum of attraction at the right moments ‘Said the shore to the sea, "You left me here too long, And I was promised to the moon while you were gone”… ‘So the sea took one last look and turned away, And the shore was more than strong enough to stay.’ We have all been there, standing on that shoreline.

The Dream Of the Hawk is nature placed in a metaphor of undying love and the frailty of expectation ‘Once I was a dreamer in the forest, Wanting you to notice me.’ Another song, that introduces piano for the first time, is Out Of the Blue and the influence of a Jim Morrison poem informs the words. In centuries past, it was known that ships could hit calm waters that rendered their sails redundant, sometimes for days without progress. During these voyages the sailors would throw any horses being transported overboard in attempts to conserve food and water. The regions where such calm seas occurred were called “horse latitudes” and in this song Amy references such horses as if their sacrifice could somehow allude to saving a failing relationship.

Weight Of the World was a hidden track on an early album, THE KILLER IN ME (2009), and it is given a new vibrancy here with the poignant tale of a brother killed overseas in the army, with the fallout on his sister and family captured so vividly. Her powerful vocal and the pain contained within, bursting forth with a heartfelt resonance.  I Found A Halo looks at acceptance of darker times and of not looking to judge others ‘Every ring of light hides an empty hole, With a darkness inside you can’t control.’ It is a song of introspective searching for a place where grace and self-acceptance can thrive.

Also included is Both Feet On the Ground, again, an older song that harks back to a time when Amy was recovering from addiction and looking to redefine her life goals. Playing a lovely melody on piano Amy also references her experiences as an expectant mother and all that comes with the responsibility of new life, both for her and her baby.   

The Texas floods of this recent summer are the subject of The Mother and the media images that Amy could not shake of the devastation caused. The frame of reference is captured by the words ‘Is there a God who decides who survives?’ Beautiful acoustic guitar plays along with the reflection that every mother feels the pain of the threat in losing her baby ‘A woman hanging on a tree with one arm, the other holding up a child.’ Chilling, and yet sensitively delivered.

The final track is a cover of the Ben Glover song Kindness and it’s a prayer to allow loving awareness pervade everything we hold dear ‘More than all, May this be true, May you know kindness, May kindness know you.’ It is the perfect sentiment on which to end this album of human yearning and spiritual compassion, which is the essence of what defines Amy. This album is a real joy and arrives in such an understated and unpretentious way. An essential purchase.

Paul McGee

Afton Wolfe Ophiuchus Grandiflora

Afton Wolfe is a dweller in the regions of magical symbolism  and he seeks out meaning where there appears to be none. The thirteen songs included here play out over an hour of eclectic music and different zodiac signs are represented on the tracks, with an additional song that speaks to the seeker within us all. If it all sounds very hippie-dippy, don’t be put-off, as the music created here is very much rooted in style and variety, with plenty to recommend it.

The opening song is the title of the album and it’s a big juggernaut of sound coming to claim your sense of calm ‘Oh God, From your view behind the stars, What were you thinking leaving us in charge?’ The thirteenth sign of the zodiac is “The Serpent Bearer” Ophiuchus, a large constellation that is located around the celestial equator. Although not officially recognised by Western Astrology, it is said to represent healing, resurrection, and the balance between life and death. Whatever relevance Astrology has in your daily life, Afton Wolfe has decided to base this entire album around the signs of the zodiac and the mythology conjured up in the believing.

There is angst, pain, passion, humanism, love, devotion, and deep connection in these songs. All genres of music are crossed over in the song arrangements and the track I Deserve To Be Forgiven (Scorpio) is a fine example of the rich talents on display.  It’s a country blues with clever lyrics in search of redemption for past mistakes made ‘I’ve lied and cheated and stolen and gambled, And showed up to formal events woefully underdressed, And on several occasions of utmost import, I must confess to not doing my best,’ with Smith Curry on atmospheric pedal steel leading the rich melody.

Afton Wolfe, was born in Mississippi and there is no doubt that being steeped in the spiritual resonance of the region has had a strong impact on his music. He now resides in the creative epicentre of East Nashville, and he wears his influences proudly, with Rules Of War (Libra) sounding right out of the Dr John songbook of creative groove, Zachary Douglas playing some mean trumpet. On the song Crooked Roads (Leo), we have a very personal insight that name-checks Dr Sarah Bick, Assistant Professor of Neurological Surgery at Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville and a date given for what appears to be a vital operation ‘We’re gonna see the other side of the sixth of December, Til then all power and guidance and wisdom to Dr. Sarah Bick, Take care of my baby’s head and send her back home to me quick.’ If my interpretation of this song is correct then I can only wish for every positive outcome possible and I send positive prayers for the healing process.

The calming tempo on Rushing Back (Taurus) follows the instrumental Sphere Shift (Gemini), with both trumpet and saxophone complimenting the lovely piano part as Afton repeats the line ‘Every little thing comes rushing back’ over the tune, as if memory cannot be stopped from imposing itself on the routine of daily living. One Million Children (Aries) is a standout moment with the righteous anger of Afton railing against the power-mongers who wage war irrespective of the consequences upon the innocent. In this song it’s the deceased children of conflict who are remembered in the words ‘ Attributes of God’s Mercy, Execution style point blank, Flood the tunnels and black out the sky, Now nothing can remain here, Under the tread of a tired tank, From the River to the Sea, we all will die.’

Last King Of the Blues (Pisces)  has an atmospheric blues arrangement that channels Tom Waits in the vocal delivery ‘And there's a false Prince up in Memphis, wearing Carl Perkins’ stolen shoes, but you gotta get off those paved roads if you wanna get time with The Last King of the Blues.’ Throughout the tracks, Afton calls upon a wide variety of talent to bring these songs to life and the song credits are many. Probably the best groove is on the jazz-fused Forgive Yourself (Aquarius) that slides between a Little Feat rhythm-meets Gospel, with Courtney Santana on vocals and the pumping bass line of Daniel Seymour real highlights.

The acoustic arrangement on Winter Comes For Mary (Capricorn) is dedicated to the memory of Mary Sack a much loved member of the music community in Nashville who assisted numerous artists over the years with her management skills. Everything comes full circle in the zodiac with Invocation (Sagittarius) and a mantra to keeping the creative essence of songcraft alive ‘Precious Vibrations, Don’t lift your foot off the pedal, I don’t want the Music to end,’ the longest track included on the album, and featuring Afton Wolfe (vocals, guitar, piano), with Doc Sarlo (guitar, percussion, bazouki), joined by Seth Fox (clarinet, saxophone) and Ryon Westover on tanpura, a beautiful drone instrument. All the colours of the rainbow are here, superbly illustrated across these engaging songs. An album that is of great resonance and lasting impact.

Paul McGee

Rachael Sage Canopy MPress

This new collection of songs represents album number sixteen in the colourful career of this New York native. Her debut appeared back in 1996 and over the years her ability to cross genres has become something of a calling card. Having studied dance, drama and voice, Rachael achieved a Master Of Fine Arts and has won independent music awards, including the John Lennon songwriting contest grand prize. She is also a visual artist and former ballet dancer who performed with the New York City Ballet.

The beauty of Belong To You with harmonica (Trina Hamlin), violin (Kelly Halloran), cello (Dave Eggar), piano (Rachael Sage) and upright bass (Kerry Brooks) is a tender love song that stays in the memory, and the equally impressive The Best Version is another string based vista into the creative mind of this songstress. A cover version of the Buddy Holly classic Everyday is a slowed down reflection on the words that perhaps get lost in the more up-tempo renditions of the song; subtle strings and glockenspiel to the fore ‘Love like yours will surely come my way.’ Another song Kill the Clock is a playful look at the pressure of expectation put on the biological ‘duty’ of women to bow at the feet of reproduction in service of prolonging the human species.

The song Nexus speaks of lifting each other up and was written after Rachael read about a nonbinary student Nex Benedict, and the tragic story of their death, after being violently beaten by their school peers. La Reve is an instrumental that has a Parisienne quality in the light jazz touch and the accordion (Rob Curto) and clarinet (David Krakauer) are subtly underpinned by upright bass.  The Irving Berlin classic God Bless America is  performed with a reverence and the understated piano and violin arrangement is suitably poignant, given all that is happening in the ‘disunited states’ these days. The final song Underneath is a gentle affair with cello, violin and acoustic guitar spinning a melody around thoughts of warfare and wanting to feel protected in our lives against outside fears ‘I wonder if the guns that guard us will ever cease to cause us grief.’

There are alternate versions of two earlier songs, with both Just Enough and Everyday getting a ‘chamber’ treatment at the mixing desk, the former song stripped of the original soulful tempo in favour of an acoustic focus, with the latter switching to a simple piano and violin treatment.

Since founding her own label MPress Records, Rachael has become known as a philanthropic advocate who has raised money for a wide range of causes, including Foundation For Women's Cancer, WHY Hunger, American Refugee Committee/Alight, and National Network For Youth (NN4Y). Rachael Sage continues to deliver brightly wrapped records of real quality and the consistency displayed in her writing and her musical craft and well worth your investigation. An excellent album.

Paul McGee

Various Artists I Will Swim To You (A Tribute to Jason Molina) Run For Cover

The bright burning star of this richly gifted songwriter sadly burned out in 2013 when he was taken from this world. Having grown up in Ohio, Jason Molina would go forward to create a body of work throughout his musical career that still resonates greatly among so many today. His legacy is to be found in his sixteen studio albums, eight EPs, and numerous singles. He blended elements of indie rock, Americana, and alternative country into his understated vocals and is remembered on this tribute album for all the gifts he brought.

However, it’s such a sad realisation to know that Jason fell victim of serious addiction issues that ended up taking his life at the tender age of only thirty-nine. What he could have gone on to achieve is there for anyone to surmise, but while he was among the troubles and strife’s of this world there is no doubting the brilliant talent that was on display. This tribute album is a gentle acknowledgement of that range of music across the various projects that Jason Molina gave himself to; whether the music created as Songs: Ohia, or with the band Magnolia Electric Co. and in many more collaborations bedsides.

I am brought to reflect upon the specific songs chosen here and the messages contained in the lyrics. The beautiful opening song Just Be Simple, covered here by the talented MJ Lenderman, with the chorus that repeats ‘Trying , trying, trying, to be simple again.’ It’s as if he was searching for something lost in younger days that could never be recaptured. Perhaps that sense of innocence before our illusions shatter? Blue Factory Flame is given due reverence by the band Horse Jumper Of Love and their gradual build on the lines ‘Paralysed by emptiness’ reflects another side of this dark genius and the ghosts that he wrestled with in his solitary hours.

Another song is The Dark Don’t Hide It, covered by Trace Mountains, with dreamy pedal steel drifting above the slow tempo and the opening lines that resonate ‘ Something held me down and made me make a promise, That I wouldn’t tell if the truth forgets about us.’ The band Sun June provide a real highlight with their rendition of the heartbreaking Leave This City, the ethereal vocals of Laura Colwell wringing everything from the lyrics ‘ Thought of all my great reasons for leaving, Now I can’t think of any, It’s true it was a hard time that I’ve come through, It’s made me thankful for the blues, Half my life spent on a highway, Half my life I didn’t choose.’

The individual musician credits are many on a compilation such as this, but they somehow seem to blend unobtrusively in the spirit of how each artist and band gave lovingly of their talents to this unique compilation. The country groove of Old Black Hen, covered here by Sadurn, is another highlight and will have the hairs on your arms tingling with delight in the sleepy build of the arrangement. Across twelve tracks, an hour of superb music unfolds gracefully, and the cover of Everything Should Try Again by Advance Base has an addictive quality in the arrangement with a vocal that reminds me of singer Mark Mulcahy (Miracle Legion). The album title is a lyric from the song Lioness and here it is covered by Hand Habits, a Los Angeles artist who provides a dreamscape for the restrained performance.

Whip Poor Will by Teen Suicide provides another lovely moment ‘I've got my window open in the southern cross hotel, It's been my longest night I can tell, By the way I'm not surprised, To see the desert cover over paradise.’ Perhaps the final reflection should be from the song Farewell Transmission and the words ‘The real truth about it is no one gets it right, The real truth about it is we're all supposed to try, There ain't no end to the sands I've been trying to cross, The real truth about it is my kind of life's no better off, If it's got the map or if it's lost.’

As tribute albums go, this is one of the most touching and will stay in the memory long after the contributing artists have returned to their own search for that great star of inspiration in the sky. Rest assured that they all did more than justice to the memory of Jason Molina here.

Paul McGee

Neal Casal No One Above You (The Early Years 1991-1998) Royal Potato Family

Thirteen tracks and one hour of sweet nostalgia are included on this very timely release of early songs penned by a greatly missed songwriter who left us back in 2019. Neal’s musical legacy runs deep with twelve solo albums released between 1995 and 2011; additional album releases as a member of bands such as Ryan Adams and the Cardinals; Chris Robinson Brotherhood; Beachwood Sparks; Circles Around the Sun; Hazy Malaze; Hard Working Americans, and GospelbeacH, plus numerous artist collaborations, and a series of compilation albums, culminating in the expansive Highway Butterfly, a 3-CD tribute of cover versions by various performers, and released through the Neal Casal Music Foundation.

The songs included here are from an earlier period of Neal’s life when he was still trying to establish himself as a solo artist. They are mostly unreleased early studio recordings and demos and there is a freshness in the music and a bright quality to the recordings that captures something of the West Coast optimism of the 1970s Californian music scene. Of course, the sweetly played guitar solos and rich melodies hide a message that is prevalent in his words; often masking an inner loneliness that must have taken a toll on the wish to find real connection in this life.

His voice had such a lovely tone and a smoothness in the delivery that brought both an empathy and a real warmth. The songs often contain references to leaving and last chances, a need to break away and feel free, and hopes for real connection. They hint at some of the inner pain that must have haunted Neal over his career and the demands placed upon a professional musician to adopt a nomadic lifestyle can hardly have helped.

The recordings were compiled and restored By Neal’s friend and manager Gary Waldman, Cardinals' bandmate Jon Graboff, and Grammy award-winning engineer Jim Scott. There are some cover versions included, and the harmony vocals of Angie McKenna are a real stand-out, with the overall production a very intoxicating offering.

Greatest Friend is a cover of the song written by The Incredible String Band, and Second Handed Flowers is a Tom T. Hall song about a road accident and the fate suffered by an old girlfriend. Another Tom T. Hall song is featured with Running Wild, giving insight into the influences on the early songwriting of Neal. Cora Jones is based on the true story and Neal recounts the awful events around Christmas-time that resulted in the kidnap and murder of the 12-year-old girl in Wisconsin. Songwriter Floyd “Red Crow” Westerman is featured with his song Quiet Desperation containing the words ‘I gotta leave, I can’t stay another day, There’s an emptiness inside of me, and I can’t bear the loneliness out here, There’s another place I’ve gotta be.’ Telling lines and an interesting song choice for Neal to want to cover.

Lost love is the subject on Valley Of the Fallen which contains some killer guitar and mandolin work and soars high in the melody. Other titles such as Silver Dollar and Someone Else’s Shoes look at the hope for better days and a new beginning. There is an optimism running through The Search For Silver Lake and the chance to start again in love is the inspiration for Indian Summer. The final song is Mellow Down Easy and is a mantra to a lifestyle of someone passing through, stealing time, and leaving no trace. In a way it sums up the impossible dreams of youth that never factored the cold reality that everywhere you go, you bring yourself along.

Gone, but never forgotten, the music of Neal Casal will always be with us. Such a shame that Neal was not in a place where the outpouring of love from others was sufficient to lift him up in his moments of real need. A true artist and a free spirit, these songs from the archives are a wonderful memento of the talent that has been lost. Great credit is due to the team that was inspired to bring this old memory of Neal to fruition with such care and guardianship.

Paul McGee

Woody Guthrie Woodie At Home : Vol 1 & 2 Seamus

There is little to be added to the enduring legacy of Woody Guthrie, the father of the protest song, the dust bowl troubadour who rode the railways of America in search of equality for all. His influence threads through the entire Folk movement of artists from Pete Seeger and Joan Baez, through to Bob Dylan, Neil Young, and beyond.

A political activist who fought for worker’s rights, and against social injustice, his music has shone as a beacon for so many who became inspired by his iconic message, placed on his guitar "This machine kills fascists." Has there ever been a greater voice for the marginalised in society, and probably more apt now than at any other time, given the fragile state of the World.

And now, just like discovering hidden gems under your floorboards, we are treated to twenty-two tracks previously unreleased and thirteen songs that Woody never recorded elsewhere. This collection is taken from 1951-1952 home recordings that were discovered and restored using new music technology. It’s stripped back quality is perfect for the messages that resonate over time from the six strings of Woody’s acoustic guitar and for one hour plus it is absorbing to hear him play such iconic classics. Beginning with This Land Is Your Land there is the added inclusion of someone coughing in the background, adding an authenticity to what was a simple take, perhaps in his kitchen.

On the original tape we hear Woody chatting and justifying his decision to record these songs at home, in preference to the busy downtown environment of the music publisher Howie Richmond’s offices. The version of Deportee is very special in that it was never recorded by Woody, despite the multitude of artists who took the song as inspiration to highlight racist attitudes. The song details the plane crash that occurred in Los Gatos Canyon, California in 1948 and took the lives of 32 people - 4 Americans and 28 migrant farm workers who were being deported from California back to Mexico.

Woody also sings about the sinking of the Lusitania (Great Ship), migrant fruit pickers (Pastures Of Plenty), and Jesus ‘ When Jesus came to town, All the working folks around believed what he did say, It was these bankers and these preachers who nailed him on the cross, And laid Jesus Christ in his grave.’  He also sings of injustice on the song Innocent Man  and you can hear background noises on the recording, almost as if the authorities are getting ready to take Woody down. Elsewhere you hear knocking on a door and some hammering; other inclusions that go to the simple approach in capturing these songs in a raw format that is so apt.

Woody talks of being happy with his output on these tapes, including his kids in the background, and the song Peace Call is a testament to the enduring message that he imparted in all that he did; live life in an honest and simple way. He refers to Einstein in a chat about riding the box cars and an imaginary conversation that they had about developing a theory that did away with race hatred, and the divisions created by ‘other places’ – no North or South, East or West, but the freedom to ‘still go around and around.’ The theme of human communication is continued in the song One Little Thing An Atom Can’t Do and that’s the ability to hug and kiss someone close to you.

My Id and my Ego is a clever song that reflects upon the love felt by Woody for his beloved wife Marjorie, and You Better Git Ready brings the songs to a conclusion with a call to arms to be ready for the fight that may be about to happen and require your input into winning the battle against inequality, and injustice, and to deliver a more socialistic society. It’s a fascinating look back down the lightning rod of time into the simple songs of this lone troubadour who went on to change the world.

Paul McGee

New Album Reviews

Melissa Carper A Very Carper Christmas Soundly

Christmas albums tend to fall into two categories: the many predictable throwaways and the occasional interesting and more compelling ones that the listener is likely to return to in future years. A VERY CARPER CHRISTMAS falls into the latter category.

Rather than a last-minute recording of over-exposed Christmas songs, Texan Melissa Carper kicked off the process for this record over a year ago. With the invitation to join JD McPherson on his annual ‘Socks: A Rock & Roll Christmas’ tour, which starts its fourteen-date tour on December 4th, Carper recorded this fifteen-track album at Andrija Tokic’s The Bomb Shelter Studio in Nashville last January.

Tokic carried out the production duties, and a testament to Carper's dedication to creating a quality product was the calibre of players who contributed. Chris Scruggs (guitars & pedal steel), Chris Gelb (drums), Dennis Crouch (upright bass), Doug Corcoran (trumpet, saxophone), Katie Shore (fiddle and vocals), Emily Gimble (piano, organ), Tim Crouch (fiddle), Grey Harkins (guitars), Jeff Taylor (accordion, piano), all featured. It’s fair to say that the host of talented players and Carper’s note-bending vocal timbre and unrushed delivery have created something quite lovely here.

Included are several co-writes with regular collaborator Gina Gallina, one co-write with both Brennen Leigh and Katie Shore, three solo compositions by Carper and two classic covers. Following the model that has gained Carper a growing audience in recent years, the album is a fusion of Western Swing (Made With Love), traditional country (Christmas In New Orleans) and bluesy jazz crossovers (Plug In The Tree, Crusin’ In Santa’s Sleigh). Seasonal easy listening is also covered with Christmas Memories and Cats In The Christmas Tree, before the album is appropriately bookended by the slow-burning The Day After Christmas.

More of an album that you’d be happy to listen to at Christmas rather than a throwaway and rehash of standard Christmas cover tunes, A VERY CARPER CHRISTMAS embodies the ‘easy to listen to’ and good-humoured identity ideally suited to the season it characterises.

 Declan Culliton

Waylon Hanel When Waylon Came To Nashville CDX

Christened after Outlaw Country legend Waylon Jennings, twenty-three-year-old Millington, Michigan native Waylon Hanel is continuing in the style of Jennings, writing and recording his own material alongside covering some classic outlaw country songs. Despite his young age, Waylon’s earthy vocals and impressive stage presence have earned him support slots for Ashley McBryde, Travis Tritt, Ward Davis, Josh Turner and Jo Dee Messina.

This self-produced album offers eight songs and was recorded at Dark Horse Recording Studios in Franklin, Tennessee, and Omni Sound Studio in Nashville. Some of Nashville's finest players featured on the recordings, including Steve Hinson (steel guitar), Carl Miner (electric and acoustic guitar), Mike Durham (electric guitar), Spence Peppard (acoustic guitar), Dennis Holt (drums) and Luis Espaillat and Craig Young (bass), Walter Killius (drums).

Given Billy Don Burns' outlaw output and close friendship with Waylon Jennings, it's no coincidence that three of Burns' songs are covered, including the album’s title track, which is borrowed from a Waylon Jennings tribute song written by Burns. The other two Burns-written compositions are Talk About Crazy and Keith Whitley Blue. The two original compositions are the Hanel/Ethan Wynn co-writen, My Name and Hanel’s barroom romp, Thinkin’ About Drinkin.’ Also included is a live acoustic performance of The Red Bricks, written by Gibson, Sallis, and White.

Hanel is a self-taught singer-songwriter who, at the age of twenty-three, has already got three albums under his belt. With his voice and songs that tick all the boxes as another young man keeping the flag flying for genuine outlaw country, and the growing popularity of the genre among a younger audience, the future looks exceptionally bright for Waylon Hanel.

Declan Culliton

Geoffrey Miller Everything That Sparkles Self-Release

This time out for the Californian performer who makes no bones about his love of the country music that has emerged from that State over the decades and, on the evidence of this and several other recent releases, still does. There are Telecaster riffs aplenty; this is paired with solid, significant pedal steel, occasional fiddle, and an unshakeable rhythm section. However, while it pays homage to a particular past, it is, with its eleven original songs, marking its place with a new and appreciative growing audience that is being turned on by the authenticity of its sound.

I am well aware that many are looking for something with a higher octane permeating their vision of country music. This can often be found in some of the more recent bands from all over Texas and elsewhere. For those looking for that particular sound, there are many examples to choose from; Americana and Rock-Country highways await. But for those who see a direct lineage from Buck Owens to The Desert Rose Band through to Dwight Yoakam and want to hear more of that sense of roots, then Geoffrey Miller is here to give you that tap of the feet and appreciation of that sound..

The album was recorded in his home State and produced by Max Hurt, who has given the recording the right touch of the past and of the future. The album is not overplayed or flashy; rather, it is right on the money for what it set out to deliver. Miller is right up there at its centre as guitarist, vocalist and instigator. Behind him are some fine players, such as Bill Bergren, Travis Troy, and Max Hart, on pedal steel. Jim Frink has the drum stool throughout, while Mark Eagleton and Ian Worley are the bassists completing the rhythm section. Also, Joe Craven and Matt Combs add some fine fiddle to a couple of tracks. This suggests a number of sessions over a period of time, something that is not unusual for an independent artist when trying to complete a new album.

The tracks never outstay what is required of them, clocking in at just over 30 minutes for the eleven numbers. This means nothing is wasted and everything is concise and to the point. This includes one effective instrumental in On A Bender - likely a title with more than one reference. Other than that, the album opens with a number of dance floor-oriented outings, the first of which is the title track, a lively take on barroom banter. The next song, Heartbreak, Coming Soon, reminds me a little, because of its phasing on the chorus, of Jason Ringenberg. Exes And Os and Two Passed Two both show that Miller knows how to write a suitable set of words for the job at hand.

Next up, offering a tempo break, is the ballad Don’t Need Luck, in which the steel makes its presence, telling a man who may not need much or even luck as he has the person he wants. Foot back on the pedal for the following number, The Crow Flies, which shows how Miller understands how to make that Telecaster twang, and it is a standout. Crystal Bottle makes the comparison between a crystal ball telling his future and the bottle on the shelf, giving perhaps a different prediction. Honky Tonk Sin, In Pieces are next and further tell of how the search for love is often sought in the wrong places. We finish with Okie Road, a song that looks back to where a person came from and where they have ended up. It finishes the album on a higher note with the fiddle prominent.

This third album finds Miller refining his craft while continuing to do what he loves. While it could be said that he is not the most immediately distinctive of vocalists, he is well capable of making an overall impression with his combination of skills and his determination to make the music in the way he wants to, especially with the assembled team here to add that required honky-tonk sparkle to the proceedings.

Stephen Rapid

Johnny 99 Mr Lonely NCC

A Toronto-based guitarist, Johnny 99, had been a lover of some classic country sounds for a long time, from his love of Gram Parsons through to the more lyric-based work of John Prine. He, under his given name of John Sponarski, plays lead guitar and tours with the more alternative indie band City And Colour. He grew up in the UK, but his later discovery of acts like Blue Rodeo and especially Dwight Yoakam and his guitarist, Pete Anderson, made a big impression. This led to the creation of his alter ego, Johnny 99, to pursue his own take on that favoured twang-laden sound on his second album. Songs about the central themes of memory, friendship, love, heartbreak, and loss, often self-inflicted. These recount a lifestyle that encompasses frequently repeated mistakes and relationships that are not always in one’s best interest - but are pursued anyway.

Sponarski is joined in the studio by fellow City and Colour members, including multi-instrumentalist Matt Kelly, bassist Erik Nielsen, and drummer Leon Power, all equally adept at delivering the required honky-tonk sound. They are also effectively joined by Georgia Harmer on backing vocals and fiddler Kendel Carson. This ensemble obviously enjoys playing together, and the songs are largely up-tempo and guaranteed to get feet moving. Sponarski has a voice that is placed in a higher register than the deeper baritone sometimes prevalent in the form. It is a voice that soon makes its way to the forefront of these tales effectively. Just Like You benefits from Harmer’s harmony vocals that fit with the lead delivery well, as it does on other songs throughout. Whilst another track is One More Memory, where the protagonist asks for just one more memory before he goes. Slower and gliding on a soft pedal steel base, the title track, which, in keeping with its topic, is introspective and inconsolable. In a more Bakersfield beat is the hope of finding a fitting end with the wish fulfilment of I Wanna Go With My Boots On.

There are brief references to some classic songs of the past in Two Step To Forget, a lively two-stepper itself. The sense of insecurity is apparent in You’re Not Even There. Yet again, it is a song that soon makes its presence felt, leading to the need to try to move on, which is harder than expected in Getting Over You. A life lived on the road, as is often the case for many a musician, and the need to be somewhere is white line leading to Lay Down The Hammer. A more restrained and thoughtful song closes out the album with a request for something of an intimate embrace in Hold Me Close.

The songs are, as one would expect, given their individual subject matter, easy to appraise, with a selection of strong riffs, some memorable choruses, and a solid rhythm section to drive them along. Johnny 99 has made his case to be considered alongside some contemporary performers who assimilate their songs with robust guitar delivery, accompanied by a band worthy of the task. There has been a worthy tradition of classic country performers from Canada making their own mark by expressing their love for the format that inspires them. Loneliness has, perhaps, its own rewards and its place in the annals of the barstool and beyond.

Stephen Rapid

Belles Self-Titled East Music Row

This is a debut EP release from an artist who states “It’s a mix of strength, vulnerability, and a little bit of sass, rooted in classic country storytelling but with my own edge.” And who am I to argue with the lady?

The six songs are very enjoyable and give a strong indication of the talent that is going to evolve into the future career of Belles. Porcelain is a love song that celebrates a dream lover who ticks all the boxes for this sweetly pampered woman ‘He reigns my wild heart and wild horses in.’ Broken In Boots follows and shows the opposite side of love and the aspiring young artist finds herself on Broadway, Nashville in the early hours, with no sense of what to do next. Following your musical dreams to the big city doesn’t always work out and the past will always be hard to get left behind.

Crazy As Me is traditional country and a co-vocal with Blake Wood on a song that sees a bar-room flirtation promising lots of fun, if not also filled with the potential for anti-climax. It’s a fun track and certainly made for radio play. Happy Hour introduces another drinking song and this time out the girl is drowning her sorrows in memories of a love that once was filled with promise, now replaced with the reality of disappointment ‘Now your eyes are getting dark, I tried and tried to light that spark, It seems like you hate every move I make.’

Forget To Remember You follows and is another song of missing the guy who no longer features, apart from in memories ‘I don’t want to think about missing you anymore.’ Maybe the problem with all these victim songs is that just once in a while you want to woman to fight back and show her inner resolve. The final song Ring On The Table is a highlight and it suggests the American dream and a perfect marriage, with hopes clouded by abuse and domestic violence once the image shatters ‘A cookie-cutter house with a For-Sale sign,’ leading to ‘The baby was born on an October night, While he was staying warm under neon lights’… The classic story of dreams shattered. Much more to come from this artist who has a striking vocal presence, but I would like to believe that the song choices might deepen and stretch to offer greater breadth in the content.

Paul McGee

Kim Edwards Vignettes Self Release

This is the third album that has been released from Pennsylvania singer songwriter Kim Edwards. She has been recording music for years and has found her songs featured across varied social media platforms in addition to fulfilling a childhood dream by playing support to The Beach Boys.

Opener Ashes To Ashes is a torch lit to a relationship that has run out of rope ‘And you could keep every promise, And I could give you all my hope, But if we’re really being honest, We can’t escape the smell of smoke.’ Beautifully arranged with soaring strings and reflective piano. Next track is The Seafarer’s Song and one that captures the pull of the sea and the rise of the tides towards having to call a day to one’s passion ‘I'm so tired of chasing my whale, Of losing my grip, Of fighting ghosts to no avail, Shall I hang up my hat and cut down my sail, And would you call me, call me home?’

The love song Tamed is performed on piano, with strings created by Rob Szabo, augmenting the lovely melody,. On Winter we have a tale of regret and a lost romance that stings in the memory. The lovely violin and cello accompaniment lifts the song to great emotional heights. Superbly crafted. The tale of Raised By Wolves is that of the loner who strikes against convention in preference for a life of singular vision, the pull of love not enough to tame a restless spirit. The Cure has very clever word play in the lyric and is a song of frustrated love that reaches a happy conclusion.

Please Let Me Go is a song of relationship endings where the sad reality of communication breakdown is unavoidable ‘Parting is such sweet sorrow, It lingers into tomorrow, You know you don’t love me, I know I don’t love you, Yet here we are.’ The story song of Steinbeck features Fletch Wiley on flugelhorn and trumpet and Phil Miller on trombone, lifting the atmosphere of dust-bowl days spent in struggle and the days of the Great Depression.

Perhaps the most intriguing song here is The Cowboy Philosopher and it strikes me as being something personal for Edwards – perhaps a close relative featured in the lyric ‘‘Cause there’s a man behind the curtain, I wonder who hurt him, Who taught him to run, When the past knocks at the door, Whether imposter or prophet, The bones in the closet, Are in tow with the ghosts, And they dance up a storm.’

The album ends with the soaring beauty of Far and a heartfelt plea for closure from Edwards ‘I've built walls and I have borders, For my protection as much as yours, That's what I tell myself, But when I'm by myself, I know that I am lying, 'Cause I have scars, I know how to bleed, From when my heart was wounded upon my sleeve.’ Cathartic release through the medium of music and song. It beats having to encounter other means of release and when the music is this uplifting then it’s pretty much a win-win situation for all concerned. This is an album that brings great riches.

Paul McGee

Red River Dialect Basic Country Mustard Hintergrounds

Album number six in the ongoing climb of David John Morris and his band of merry musicians. The band originally formed in Cornwall in 2008 and from their debut album in 2010, regular members have included Simon Drinkwater (guitars, harp, backing vocals), Coral Rose Kindred-Boothby (bass), Ed Sanders (fiddle, pipes), Robin Lane Roberts (keyboards), and Kiran Bhatt (drums). Their sound conjures up the spontaneity of the Waterboys, laced with the atmospherics of Tindersticks, in the arrangements and melodies. Others may hear an echo of Nick Cave in the ether, but whatever about name-checking, the overall experience of hearing an album from Red River Dialect is one of great enjoyment. Laura Loriga on backing vocals is a recent addition to the band and is a perfect foil for the ‘quaver’ in the vocal delivery of Morris.

It's their first recording as a band in six years and they played the songs in a live setting at Big Jelly Studios, Ramsgate, England. It’s a seaside town located in Kent and I can just imagine the musicians gathered together in such creative and relaxed surroundings, making music again, while their long-time friend Jimmy Robertson returned on production and recording activities. It’s a generous listen with the twelve tracks stretching over fifty minutes of interesting variety, from the opening dynamic of This Restlessness, all the way through to the final bonus tracks Hole In My Doughnut and Burn The Clutch.

Morris (guitars, cuatro, lead vocals), previously spent time as a Buddhist monk in a Canadian monastery, with a solo album (2021), Monastic Love Songs, that captured this time in his life. There are references to his spiritual influences throughout this new album and the longest track Again, Again references old prayers recited in order to make sense of the passage of time and the fleeting memories of youth, the impermanence of everything captured in viewing life as akin to a candle flame or a dew drop. The easy country flow of Sheep’s Clothing masks a lyric that echoes sadness and leaving, with mention of self-searching, pain, and dogmatic faith ‘I have a stone in my belly.’

The album title track Basic Country Mustard has a nice drum shuffle, together with sweetly smooth piano, and looks at the attraction of English mustard, perhaps tongue in cheek; almost as a paean to all of life’s suffering. Curse Is Broken is a highlight and the slow build of the melody lingers in the aftermath, while the superb fiddle playing on Black and Blue echoes the pain of relationships and trying to find a formula that works. Equally, with Ghost River 29 we have a reference to change and the insecurities grown from unsuitable relationships that scar ‘ I know how Ghost River in me flows, I also know the suffering I chose’ – an I Ching study reference to the entry of souls into this world.

Fire BB (Frocks Of the Parson) has references to pregnancy, arson and fire; quite an abstract lyric and perhaps reflecting on the pull between family commitment and the duties to wider community. The lyrical content can be somewhat inscrutable with hidden meanings no doubt present just below the surface. However, it all stands the test of repeated playing, with new interpretations unfolding, always a good sign of challenging music that at the same time soothes the spirit.

Paul McGee

KB Bayley East Side Confessions Self Release

A third release in the evolving career of this very interesting singer-songwriter, who previously released two excellent albums in FLATLANDS (2021), and LITTLE THUNDERSTORMS (2022), both of which were reviewed previously by Lonesome Highway.

The fingerstyle guitar technique across these ten songs is quite compelling and invites you into a world of quiet contemplation and sweet reverie, as in ‘pull a chair and pour the wine.’ KB Bayley exists in the space of what we refer to as contemporary folk music, his story songs mixed with personal reflection.

He plays Weisenborn guitar, dobro, and acoustic guitar in such impressive style. It’s like being invited into the back room at a particularly rabid party where all you crave is some moments of quiet contemplation. He is joined by a variety of musicians across the ten tracks that support and uplift his reflections. The Light Through the Trees is a timeless piece about the trick of nature that pushes emotional urges forward in a search for immediate satiation, when really, all that is required is a moment of calm.

The decision to include four cover songs is something that is open to question. Whereas I agree with the choice to celebrate an influence in a building career, so many inclusions can dilute the unique qualities of the artist. In this case we are given songs as diverse as Everybody’s Got To Learn Sometime (The Korgis), Love and Texaco (Gretchen Peters), Whie House Blues (Charlie Poole and the North Carolina Ramblers), and That Kind Of Lonely (Patty Griffin), and whereas all are performed with integrity, there is a sense that other original songs would fit more snugly into the project.

It's more the lyricism in songs like Until Today that resonate and the insight of ‘we’ve got to travel blind, between the shadows and the knowing, there’s a peace that we can find’ Superb imagery and augmented by the lovely female backing vocals. Equally on the song Somewhere East Of Moscow the atmosphere created is quite superb with harmonica and acoustic instrumentation setting a reflective mood ‘I set my dreams of western coasts for the gulf of Mexico, somewhere east of Moscow with no place left to go.’

The beautiful ensemble playing on The Flowers Outside the Church delivers the album highlight, with a plea for understanding in what binds us all as a species on the planet – a common humanity. This musician is quite a talent and his musical abilities offer great succour to both the weary and the worldly wise.

Paul McGee

The General Store The Great Indoors Unified Feels

The influence of The Beatles shines clearly on the opening song Airport Breakfast and the guitar twang of The Byrds is also present as the lyric speaks of being ‘Thirty thousand feet out of my mind’ with echoes of 30-miles high, and the chorus and rhythm building to a take-off climax. Stirring stuff.

We slow down somewhat for Pretty Eyes, and the sense of Tom Petty meets ELO is very prevalent in the soaring melody and the chorus hook ‘Don’t you ever change, I want to see your love light shining through.’ Both tracks are from the album Local Honey (2002). We then step into a different vibe, with the country influenced sound of Desert Weathered Hiway and a relaxed tempo on a song about ‘You won’t know what you’re missing until it’s gone,’ it sounds like the Eagles have transported back in time to their early days. All very pleasant and bursting with great melody. The following song is Over Here and the up-tempo sound is pure 90s pop-rock with soaring choruses juxtaposing with sunny guitar lines. These two songs are taken from the Mountain Rescue album (2008).

We then enter into five previously unreleased tracks, and at this point I should point out that we are in the presence of The General Store, a “melodic alt-country pop project fronted by multi-instrumentalist, producer and songwriter Tam Johnstone.” Whether you want to shop here is purely down to taste but there is certainly plenty of choice and variety on the shelves. The acoustic drift on Sailing Away is followed by the dance-floor groove of Makes No Difference and a workout that would have found a home on an early Billy Joel album.   

Leave Your Loving (At the Door) is very country-influenced, and a song about moving on, before we encounter the interesting Fading Like A Star and a mix of power-pop meets rocker sensibilities in the song arrangement. Anything is the final song in this section of the compilation and it stands as the most arresting song featured with the stripped-down approach, acoustic guitar and understated percussion-build, on a profession of undying love ‘I would do anything for you.’

The last song on the album is Long Road and the similarly acoustic approach is very appealing in the sincerity of the feeling generated; another love song for the generations ‘There’s nothing in the world that I would rather do, Than drive along a long, long road that leads to you.’ There are so many different influences that permeate this album, over the years represented, and there is no doubting the likeability factor across the project, but for me the final songs are pointing to the optimal direction forward for this talented musician.

Paul McGee

New Album Reviews

Rebecca Porter Roll With The Punches Self Release

The short prelude to Rebecca Porter’s striking debut album opens with the chilling lines ‘God blessed the men who did me wrong/Too many times’. That might get your attention alright. What follows is an eleven song autobiographical concept album, loosely based on the spaghetti westerns that she watched as a child, with music that is steeped in the honky tonks of the South. Born in Guam (a Pacific Island and US Territory), Porter’s parents divorced when she was a child and she was raised in the Shenandoah Valley, West Virginia, mainly by her grandmother. Rightly proud of her Chamorro heritage, it wasn’t easy growing up brown in the Appalachians but, as well as racism, she also suffered domestic abuse and sexual abuse as a child. 

The anger and pain of her formative years are explored here, and Porter doesn’t hold back. Opening with the slow, mournful ballad Memories, she is found searching endlessly for memories that were either ‘erased or never there at all’.  Payday Loans was fuelled by the financial instability that she, and countless others, experienced growing up. The spiral of debt was never ending, and she found herself in the same position in adulthood, ‘into the ocean of debt/ you’re swimming against the tide’. The Laundry Pile is another honky tonk ballad on a related theme, the familiar never ending pile being an obvious metaphor for life’s perennial obstacles. 

Recording in Harrisonburg with Danny Gibney in the producer’s chair (he also notably produced Palmyra’s debut album) was an inspired choice. As well as Porter herself on acoustic guitar throughout, she is accompanied by Ben Bailey (guitars), Perry Blosser (mandolin, fiddle), Ross Wright (keys) and the rhythm section of Ben Schlabach (bass), Joseph Harder (drums) and Jacob Briggs (percussion). The standout musical contribution (for this reviewer) is the presence of Jason Summer on pedal steel guitar, whose playing is to the fore on every song. 

In The Devil, Porter comes to the conclusion that ‘the devil you know… ’, which isn’t really much of a choice. Shadow Of Doubt, opening with Ben Bailey’s searing electric guitar riffs, continues that theme, detailing the harrowing abuse she suffered, when ‘my bruises became my only armour/ sometimes one could save me from more’. Porter’s powerful vocals express her pain in no uncertain manner, there’s a rawness here which cannot be ignored. Then there’s the theme of abandonment which fuels the sad, mid-paced ballad Let Me Go, where she’s struggling to forgive the (unspecified) person who let her down badly in the past. Erin Lunsford’s banjo drives along the heavy rock backdrop of another chilling song, No Evil, where Porter reacts to the racial abuse that she experiences, even within her own family and network. At last, however, we’re starting to feel her perseverance and her resilience beginning to appear. In The Mountain, she calls out BS with ‘Don’t promise me the mountain/with no dirt on your hands’.

The closing track, which is also the title track, chillingly recounts all the abuses she suffered, ‘I rolled with the punches/and I almost died’. But she closes out defiantly with ‘but I never gave up the fight’. 

Rebecca Porter has found the strength to come through her life experiences and acknowledges that it still isn’t easy and that therapy has been helpful. She wants this album to ‘help others to feel seen, to know that everything’s going to be ok, and for them to see their worth’. She has achieved that, and a lot more. ROLL WITH THE PUNCHES will be included in my Favourite Albums of 2025, and I’m looking forward to discovering what she does next.

Eilis Boland

Foggy Mountain Spaceship Galaxy Tracks Volume One Self Release

They look conventional enough at first glance ... three bearded and besuited men with instrument cases. What could possibly go wrong? Then the lights go down and you become aware that they are sporting cyberpunk illuminated LED glasses (and, worryingly, no neck ties). The music starts … and you are immediately transported to a galaxy far, far away. Your senses become overwhelmed by psychedelia, even though you could have sworn you didn’t partake of any substances …

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the cosmic kingdom of Colorado’s Foggy Mountain Spaceship. Formed only two years ago by the three Denver based musicians, their first album comprises seventeen tracks, at an average of five minutes each, and I guarantee you will never have heard anything quite like them. They each play banjo, but mostly not your average 5 string acoustic version. Kyle Ussery plays his own 2024 invention, the ‘Banjo Synth Model 1’, which he built as a means to play both bass and keyboard sounds without sitting at a keyboard. He also plays (though not at the same time) a Gold Tone Banjo Bass. Much earlier, in 2005, percussionist Chris Sheldon developed his ‘Banjotron Acoustikit 2000’. It uses a banjo head as a snare drum, but it still has a neck, and his armoury is completed by a castanet, a mini washboard, a kazoo, a mini cymbal and a foot operated bass drum. Chris Elliott, who is an award winning banjo player (winning Telluride and Rockgrass competitions) and teacher, plays a Gold Tone electric banjo as well as a conventional acoustic banjo, and is the lead vocalist.

The record kicks off with the funky groove of their own instrumental composition, Interstellar Blues. Things get even more cosmic with Kyle Ussery’s instrumental The Pleiades which is inspired by that open star cluster in the constellation Taurus (d’oh). Chris Elliott’s Space Mango features a percussion solo on his Banjothon Acoustikit, followed by another of his original intrumentals, Echoes Through The Void. More familiar is the first of the cover songs, an absolute stonker of a version of Riders on the Storm, complete with vocals. There’s a nod to their jazz influences with an unconventional rendering of Sweet Georgia Brown, featuring much percussion and bass banjo solos. Sands of Mystery Suite transports the listener to North African, with haunting, echoey vocals from guest Nabanita Sarkar. Polka on the Banjo is a not unexpected nod to Flatt & Scruggs, but you might not be prepared for JS Bach’s Two-Part Invention No 1. (but don’t worry, it’s only 1:31 mins long). 

Just when you’re starting to think that they could never reproduce these tracks live, there follows four live tracks, recorded at various recent gigs. Firstly, there’s a cool version of Sting’s classic Walking on the Moon, followed by a Flatt & Scruggs standard Farewell Blues.  Next up is the funkiest version of AP Carter’s I Ain’t Gonna Work Tomorrow you will ever hear, complete with mandolin from Sam Bush himself. By complete contrast, the fourth live track is an interstellar retelling of the Mario Brothers Medley, which will appeal to a certain demographic!

Then it’s back to more conventional space travel with Pink Floyd’s Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun (from their 1968 second album, A Saucerful Of Secrets), which is amazingly close to the original. There’s a short instrumental from Kyle Ussery, Sometimes It Rains, and a version of Linus and Lucy, which will be recognised by North American listeners as the theme song from the Peanuts franchise. They close out with yet another surprise, an otherworldly instrumental version of Billie Eilish’s theme song from the Barbie movie, What Was I Made For? 

Check out the band’s website for video versions of all of the tracks here, and more, which should whet your appetite until you get to catch them live.

Oh, and in case you haven’t realised, this album is highly recommended.

Eilís Boland

Brinsley Schwarz Shouting At The Moon Fretsore

Brinsley Schwarz was a leading light of the 1970s pub rock scene and founding member of Graham Parker and The Rumour. His latest album is a continuation of his solo recordings, which began in 2016 with UNEXPECTED and continued with TANGLED in 2021.  The material includes songs written back in the late 1990s and more recently penned compositions. The common denominator is the distinctive, soulful, rootsy sound that was at the heart of that burgeoning live pub rock scene that packed London venues like The Hope & Anchor, The Lord Nelson and The Nashville, before the punk rock explosion in 1976.

Schwarz played all guitars, bass guitar, together with vocals and harmonies on this album. He worked closely with another Graham Parker collaborator, James Hallawell (The Waterboys, Jackie Leven), who produced the album and played Hammond organ, bass, percussion and brass.

Recreating the signature sounds of the pub rock scene that spanned several genres, the highlights include the Van Morrison-style soul blues crossover, Falling Over Backwards, and the breezy Steely Dan-sounding Nothing Is What It Seems. The lively vibe in Hard To Change reproduces what Ian Dury’s band, The Blockheads, excelled at, and it includes one cover version, Schwarz's favourite Graham Parker's song, Watch The Moon Come Down.

Although the early to mid-1970s were plagued by rising unemployment and weak economic growth, life was somewhat simpler, and the live music scene flourished, particularly in the Greater London area. The album’s title reflects the present unsettling times, and tracks like the previously mentioned Nothing Is What It Seems and Hard To Change are commentaries on today’s darker social issues.

Two years short of his eightieth birthday, Schwarz has reached back to earlier times with this record and has done so with flying colours.

Declan Culliton

Jake Xerxes Fussell and Jim Elkington Rebuilding Fat Possum / Crowded Table

When approached by filmmaker Max Walker-Silverman to compose the soundtrack to the film Rebuilding (on the recommendation of its producer, Dan Janvey) Jake Xerxes Fussell’s first call was to long-time collaborator Jim Elkington. Most recently, the pair had worked together on Fussell’s 2024 album WHEN I’M CALLED, and they laboured remotely, Fussell from his home in North Carolina and Elkington from his studio in Chicago, to fashion this seventeen-track record. The result is sixteen atmospheric instrumentals, and one short a capella performed by actors Kathy Rose and Nancy Morlan.

Using Ry Cooder’s soundtrack for the 1984 road-drama Paris, Texas, as a reference point, Fussell and Elkington have recreated soundscapes that entirely suit the modern Western tale of loss, community and survival. The film follows the fortunes of a man whose home is destroyed by wildfire and takes refuge in Montana in a FEMA trailer, surrounded by others forced to live in similar conditions. Focusing on the protagonist's renewed relationship with his young daughter, the film centres on rebuilding that father-daughter bond, as much as on the property.

Acoustic guitars, pedal steel, strings, piano, and touches of brass in places, capture the film’s scenes superbly, with standout tracks like Things We Lost, Begin Again, and A Cowboy Without Cows, and the title track, being particularly striking. 

In addition to its often-dramatic soundtrack, the album stands on its own as a fine collection of instrumental compositions.  While capturing the intended cinematic backdrops, it’s also a calming, meditative listen, beautifully performed by Fussell and Elkington.

Declan Culliton

Colter Wall Memories And Empties La Honda / RCA

1800 Miles, the opening track and first single from Colter Wall’s latest album, could have been borrowed from Merle Haggard’s songbook. It’s also a pointer to what amounts to the Canadian artist’s most traditional country album to date. That Haggard association doesn’t end there either. MEMORIES AND EMPTIES was recorded at Nashville’s RCA Studio A, where Haggard and his outlaw brothers Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson recorded some of their finest cuts. Co-produced by Wall and his regular collaborator, Pat Lyons, the recordings featured his regular touring band, the Scary Prairie Boys. Those players are Pat Lyons on electric guitar, Russ Patterson on drums, Josh Shilling on piano and organ, Brady Henrie on pedal steel and Jack Groves on harmonica.  

The album takes a sonic journey back to the early 1970s, exploring classic everyday country topics. The songwriting delves into the simplicity of country living, the pain of lost love, the melancholy of barstool blues, and the comfort of a good drink.  

The title track is a gentle, honky tonk, George Jones-style ‘tears in your beer’ ballad, where the barstool has replaced the marital bed. Drinking to mask the unhappy memories of a broken marriage, the Jones connection may or may not have been the motive to use ‘swinging doors’ in the lyrics (‘Til I walk myself through swinging doors, replacing memories with empties again’). Less melancholic than that title track, It’s Getting So (That A Man Can’t Just Go Into Town Just To Have Him A Drink) is another ‘drinking’ song, but more playful than rueful.

Entirely more profound is 4/4 Time. Bordering on the spiritual, it ebbs and flows, sometimes hushed and other times full-bodied, with Wall’s baritone voice rejoicing in the beauty of the nature that surrounds us. The Ian Tyson-written Summer Wages is an ‘easy come, easy go’ affair, offering sage advice (‘Never leave your woman alone when your friends are out to steal her. She’ll be gambled and gone like summer wages’). Among other standout tracks are the gorgeous pining love song My Present Gets Past Me, featuring Nikki Lane on backing vocals, and the more honeyed, serenading Back To Me.

Although loaded with tender nods to a previous era, Wall is not simply paying homage to the classic country legends of yesteryear. Instead, he has recorded a robust effort here that is equal to many of those much-loved late 60s and early 70s country records. With songs that sound like they’ve been around forever, and not a minute wasted, MEMORIES AND EMPTIES is an unabashed country record with a capital C, from one of the leading standard bearers in the classic country revival of recent years.

Declan Culliton

Chris St John Never Where I Am Halo

Back in 2021 this songwriter decided to release a solo debut album, I’m Dreaming. Until this point he had been active as a practicing attorney for nearly 30 years, a former prosecutor, and an elected judge. He also was the founder of HALO Missions, and has brought medical care, surgeries, and education to orphans in Zambia, El Salvador, the Dominican Republic and Argentina.

Since that debut, St John has gone on quite a creative streak, releasing a further four albums which included a recent 6-track EP in 2024. We are today looking at a talented musician who delivers his songs in a convincing and confident fashion. Assembling a group of studio players, the album was recoded at Dark Horse Studios in Franklin, Tennessee and St John looks at different topics in the songs. The break up of a relationship is addressed in The End Of the Road and the political strife of societies pulled apart is the subject of Differ We Must.

There is a tribute to his partner on Used To You, and to his mother on Heavy Lies the Crown. Other relationships are remembered on the songs, Maryanne and An Irish Goodbye, and the sense of fate in the random chances not taken, and the life decisions made. The joy of being in the moment is covered on A Flower Blooms and The Little Things, while on You’ve Got To Be Good To Be Great, a child born out of marriage is given the advice to stand strong and be proud of your place in the world.

Perhaps the abiding feeling is captured on Never Where I Am and the lyric ‘Not sure of tomorrow or how to make it through the day, You can’t change someone’s mind, When they’re already on their way’ with the twists and turns that life can throw in our direction perfectly captured. The road not taken, and the paths we choose to walk; somehow they converge and lead to the person we become through the experiences along the way. An enjoyable album and plenty to admire in the playing and the fine production.

Paul McGee

Nolan McKelvey How Small We Are Self Release

This artist grew up in Lansing, Michigan and he moved to Flagstaff, Arizona during the 1990’s. His musical career has seen McKelvey play in various bands, and his temporary sojourns in other American states were usually motivated by chasing his musical ambitions. He spent a number of years playing  in the Boston area, but no matter where his travels have led him, McKelvey felt the urge to return to his home base in Flagstaff.

There have been many albums released over his career and this new offering is marked by the mature playing and songwriting throughout. The broad sound fits into an Americana and Roots arena but it seems too limiting to try and define what is a timeless sound that reverberates. The album opens with a testament to his upbringing, Raised By Love and the important bedrock that is established by being surrounded by the right environment. Jeff Lusby-Breault assisted in the recording process and he contributes with some nice fluent guitar lines on this, and other tracks.

The Valley Of the Sun celebrates nature and the joy of being in the presence of the source ‘Born and reborn we find our place among the stars, when night falls on the desert, you’ll know how small we are. ’ Again there is some subtle electric guitar, this time dovetailing with the lovely pedal steel playing of Jon Rauhouse. Anam Cara is an old Irish phrase that translates as “soul friend” and the song with this title is a love song that swears devotion to a deep love, with Mandy Fer sharing co-vocals. Same Conclusion looks at the broad issue of religion and our belief system. Trusting in something more and the fear that it’s all just illusion ‘Is it not the same if you find relief, if it gives you comfort, If you believe?’ We all walk through the valley of tears in search for solace, one way or another.

All of the songs have merit and the album is very much a personal affair with McKelvey not only co-producing but also writing all ten songs that are included. He plays upright and electric bass, acoustic guitar, and performs all lead and harmony vocals. His voice has a warmth and a pleasant tone, highlighted on the track In Front Of You which offers sage advice to a youngster as they grow into adulthood ‘Find you way, Nobody’s gonna give it to you.’

Resilience, and living with oneself, is the topic of Lonely, Not Alone shining a light on the fact that you can feel alienation while being in a relationship. The country feel of Preparations has Tim Kelly on dobro and Jesse Valenzuela on guitar, with Stephanie Groot on violin and PH Naffah on piano, taking the arrangement into a bluegrass direction, and echoing the need to rise up against oppression and not to be afraid of the consequences.

Seed Is In the Fruit is another celebration of nature and the seasons, with springtime bringing renewal and fresh beginnings. There is a nice blues swing to Mama, I’ve Been Trying ‘It’s not always black and white, There are shades of grey, I strive in my mind to keep doubt at bay, But since you’ve been gone, it’s just day by day.’

The album concludes with Moon and Stars To Give circling back to the notion that ‘small is all we are.’ It looks at the passing of a loved one and the grief and regret that follow. Pedal steel resonates and the slow tempo highlights the need to remember all the good times as an essential part of healing. This is a very strong statement of the talent behind the songwriting and the performance skills of Nolan McKelvey and certainly someone that you should investigate further.

Paul McGee

Katie Spencer What Love Is Lightship

Album number three in the ongoing rise of this very gifted musician. This time out Katie mixes things about, with new personnel bringing their varied skills to the recording studio, the one exception being Tom Mason on upright bass, who is retained from her last outing. That album, Edge Of The Land, was my pick of the year, back in 2022, and three years on, we are given ten new songs to compare and contrast with that timeless work.

Who was it that said “comparison is the thief of joy”? Theodore Roosevelt is linked to the quote and when it comes to music journalism, we may be culpable of resorting to such laziness, but when comparing work from the same artist, there is some validity in what is experienced. In this case Katie has swapped the gentle sounds of flugelhorn and piano, both prominent on the last record, and introduced a new dynamic of clarinet and pedal steel into the song arrangements. The writing still retains a very intimate quality and these songs reflect upon love in all its guises, be it celebratory or painful. The warm vocal tone with which Katie delivers these personal insights is as beguiling as ever.

The instrumental Back To the Brightness Above is beautifully constructed and reflects the soothing qualities that permeate this album. There is a tribute to the influence of the great John Martyn in the melody and the playing on Cold Stone, a song about valuing the moment and appreciating all that is given us ‘a golden light, arms out-stretched wide, breathe.‘  These ten songs are all so beautifully judged and delivered, in quiet contemplation of emotions and memory, whether past or present, the influence of others in our lives and the love that either departs or remains.

Katie has spoken openly about her experiences of adoption and there is a tribute to her adoptive parents on the song It Was Then That I Knew Love with the lines ‘at last, they found me a home, to my bed I was shown, hey it was then that I knew love, it existed beyond blood.’ In other songs there is a thread woven that highlights love as the one constant, the title track What Love Is a prime example in the words ‘When will we know what love is, Are you going to wait and see with me.’

Elsewhere the sense of being lost is evident in the need for reassurance and reconciliation with both Come Back and Find Me and Forget Me Not looking at the pain of separation and isolation. The free spirit who leaves in Goodbye was always destined to seek pastures new and the letting go can bring loss. However the loving awareness that is mixed into the fabric of Home shows an open vulnerability that strengthens the bond ‘When I’m travelling and I’m on my own, I think of you and I’m not alone, I think of you and I come home.’

The final song Carry It All speaks of the power to be found in the acceptance of the journey undertaken and the paths that it leads us towards, the passing of time and the perspectives gained. Indeed, love is enough to carry us home ‘Some things soften, with the passage of time, And this love will carry it all.’ The interplay between the four musicians is gently delivered and quietly superb. The understated pedal steel, the rich and mellow clarinet playing, the melodic upright bass, and the creative guitar prowess, mixed with gentle percussion and sweet synthesizer sounds. A very rewarding album in every sense and the entire project is delivered by Katie Spencer (vocals, guitars), Giacomo Smith (clarinet), Max Clilverd (pedal steel), Tom Mason (double bass), Matt Ingram(drums, juno). The production is courtesy of Matt Ingram and the album was recorded at Urchin Studios, Hackney Wick, London.

Paul McGee

Emily Hines These Days Keeled Scales

A debut album from Ohio singer songwriter Emily Hines and the seven songs included were all recorded straight to cassette in a small house located in Nashville. It harkens back to simpler times when music was played for the simple pleasure of creating something of value in the writing process, and that is what we are given here.

Opener, My Own Way, is a gentle song about finding a singular path and not being too hard on yourself, the easy melody and rhythm create a sweetly comforting sound. Next up is Cold Case and a song that muses over the possibilities that a relationship might bring too great a cost in the unfolding layers ‘Is love something that you choose, Or does it burn a hole right through you?.

Another relationship song is All Of Our Friends and the implied pressure brought to bear by friends’ expectations, whether to defy the issues or to bend to social mores, ‘Will you hate me if this doesn’t last forever? All of our friends can see us together.’

Cowgirl Suit has such a gently delivered vocal, strummed guitar and quiet percussion ‘Sorry if I wasted your time, I don’t think that I wasted mine’ and the sense that all is not well in love and the fallout. The song also reflects 'I saw you walk in and it changed my whole day, Is it by design when you’ve got nothing to say?’

On Callin Ya we are treated to internal musings of whether Emily should reach out to her significant other and try to melt the ice of a floating iceberg that drifts along their relationship tides ‘ I’ve thought about calling, But what good could it do? If you don’t love someone, You can’t pretend to.’  The lovely melody again highlights the unique qualities on this album, just so subtly balanced in all areas.

The list of musicians deserve all the credit here and blend so effortlessly. We have Emily Hines (vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, nylon string guitar, harp, percussion), Heny Park (vocals, bass, baritone, electric guitar, 808, drum machine, mellotron, percussion, keyboards), Holden Bitner (cello), John-Ruben Medina(drums), Liv Greene and Madelyn Baier (background vocals) to thank for the atmospherics. The production is delivered by Henry Park and all songs are written by Emily including two co-writes with Olivia Ann Greene (Liv).

On UFO there is the suggestion that love cannot be ever truly known and might as well be represented as some alien space ship that comes to visit momentarily ‘I don’t know about you, But I’m holding out hope.’ Cedar On the River is a song that  reflects upon the ease with which songs can be a vehicle for true emotions that are too difficult to negotiate in conversation with another ‘This whole time I’ve been trying to rip the skin off the snake.’ There are other songs that merit a mention and on the CD/Vinyl versions there is an additional track ‘ I’ll Never Know.’ This superbly crafted song is a real highlight and it is sadly reflective and hints at relationship challenges ‘I need a smile before we go to bed.’

Subsequent to the release of the album Emily recorded a killer version of the Jackson Browne classic These Days and she really does it justice in her vocal phrasing and emotion-filled take on the sense of disillusion with youthful love ‘Don’t confront me with my failures, I have not forgotten them.’ This debut album is very interesting and hints at so much more quality music to come from the songwriting craft of this impressive artist.

Paul McGee

New Album Reviews

White Rose Motor Oil Merry Crisis Self-Release

This mini-album from the engaging duo of Eryn DeSomer and Keith Hoerig-DeSomer is one for those whom the festive season may in fact not be so. Instead, they consider that it also brings some more unwanted thoughts to the fore. Playing all the instruments themselves, it is still a set of relatively pared-down arrangements that are featured. They have also been astute in their selection of material. Overall, it offers an alternative to overproduced, all-too-often saccharine renditions of Christmas classics. A source of material that can still be handled, depending on the particular artist, with a degree of individuality using interesting arrangements.

Here, for instance You’re A Mean One Mr. Grinch, which opens the album, comes from an animated TV show from 1966. The Feminist Santa Baby was performed originally in 1953 by Eartha Kitt and is a very familiar melody. Dolly Parton wrote the song Hard Candy Christmas and released it herself in 1982, and Merry Christmas (I Don’t Want To Fight Tonight) was by The Ramones. Broken Heart Holiday is a rerecording of an original White Rose Motor Oil song. All are given a largely, though not always, energetic reading that has much of the upbeat spirit associated with the season, even if the lyrics don’t always reflect that. 

Given the proliferation of Christmas songs that flood the market this time of the year, this one accurately reflects the music that White Rose Motor Oil release on their non-seasonal recordings and highlights how the duo deliver an punk/rock/rockabilly sound that is rooted in an earlier musical explosion but is just a relevant today, if not more so, given these unpredictable times. 

Though a duo, the fact that both play a number of instruments means the sound is never sparse but sounds exactly as they and the listener would wish. There are undoubtedly going to be a number of singles and albums released around this time of year that will rise above the cliches of the holiday happenstance, and this is one of them. There are good song choices, good performances and a good deal of variation on these eight songs. It will be one I will return to again when wanting some realism that makes these tracks something of an alt-Xmas stable, joining the likes of Jason Ringenberg’s calm-to-frenetic original, Lovely Christmas (a duet with Kristi Rose), or Robert Earl Keen’s engaging tale, Merry Christmas From The Family.

Stephen Rapid

Abigail Dowd Saints & Warriors Self-Release

The third album from singer-songwriter Abigail Dowd is a ten-track project, all written by her. Produced by Grammy-nominated Jason Richmond (The Avett Brothers, Dom Flemons, Emily Scott Robinson, Aoife O’Donovan), Dowd’s vocals are underpinned by a host of talented players, including Scott Sawyer on electric guitar, Alex Bingham on bass and synths, and George Sluppick on drums and percussion.

The record skips from the deeply soulful Miss Annie to the gentle rock of Already Free and the classic modern, Mothers of Saigon. The common thread is Dowd’s heavenly vocals, which ebb and flow faultlessly throughout. A particular highlight is the mid-paced, achingly gentle ballad Papa, which, alongside the similarly measured Sunday Morning, is enchanting, bordering on trance-inducing.

In previous decades, when classification was simpler, SAINTS & WARRIORS would likely be found in the rock section of your local record store. Dowd is a gifted storyteller who blends gentle ballads with more explosive tracks. Both vocally and lyrically, she recalls Joan Armatrading's early career for me. Applying her skill to writing about history, the environment, and topics close to home, won me over  with this impressive collection of songs.

Declan Culliton

Tommy Talton Seven Levels Strolling Bones

Cowboy, the 70s Georgia band formed by Tommy Talton and Scott Boyer, was often described as Southern Rock’s best-kept secret. They recorded four studio albums between 1970 and 1977 and, following Boyer’s death in 2018, their final album, 10’LL GETCHA TWENTY, which featured recordings from 2007, was released. Talton died in 2023, and SEVEN LEVELS was recorded at the Capricorn Studios in Macon, Georgia, in 2022, prior to his passing.

This is a seven-track album that feels like a stroll down a 1970s country-rock lane. At the time of recording, Talton was battling cancer; the album was intended as a farewell to his fans and family. Its quality achieves that aim. The recordings feature Talton’s former band members and Capricorn label mates. Talton, whose session work included Gregg Allman, Wet Willie, and others, played electric guitar and handled lead vocals. He wrote six songs; the seventh, Ramblin’ Man, was written by Scott Boyer. The studio players were Randall Bramblett (organ), Chuck Leavell (electric piano), Rick Hirsch (slide guitar), Charlie Hayward (bass), and Bill Stewart (drums).

Fittingly, the album closes with an eight-minute bluesy jam, Say A Prayer On My Behalf, with Talton’s stinging guitar work centre stage, supported by a booming rhythm section. Other tracks whose titles reflect the album’s theme include Time Will Take Us and the solemn ballad I Want To Do It All Again. A standout track that recalls The Band, I’ve Got The Sun In My Heart, includes backing vocals by Donna Hall Foster, and they slow things down a couple of gears with Ramblin’ Man.

SEVEN LEVELS is precisely what you would expect given its origin. In keeping with the core sound that defined Talton’s talent, it delivers an album that is hugely more than simply nostalgic and underpins the talents of all involved.

Declan Culliton

Michael McGovern Thin White Road Cauldron

In 2021 this Scottish singer-songwriter released a debut album that garnered much praise from the music industry and wider social media outlets. Written during the Covid pandemic and fuelled by the lockdown experience, it was largely an acoustic-based project with eight songs, and a focus upon the vagaries of loneliness, love and relationship challenges.

With this new album we are given a different approach with a bigger sound palette across ten songs, and the presence of co-producer Bill Shanley (guitars, bass), along with James Steele (saxophone), Jamie Sturt (vocals), and Scott C. Park (guitars, bass, vocals) from that original debut recording. Joining these musicians are Josie Duncan and Niamh Corkey (vocals), Ali Caplin (fiddle, piano), and Callum Little (drums). It is the presence of drums on a number of the tracks, together with strings, that changes the band dynamic and with Michael McGovern contributing on guitars and keyboards, the overall impression is of a talented artist expanding his creative vista.

All songs are written by McGovern, with five co-writes, and these is a sense of regret on a few of the songs that channel relationship issues. On the song Evelyn we have a reflection on the lost love of youth and the distance caused by the passing of the years ‘I could say I’m sorry, but words won’t do much now, The more you got to know me, The more I let you down.’ Another song I Made A New Friend suggests a schoolboy crush that became something darker ‘Well not much has changed since way back when, I’m still burdened by your regrets, Though you can pray for mercy and search for excuses, You can’t forgive what you can’t forget.’  Yet another track In the Garden is perhaps closing the circle on past attempts to try and make a love work out ‘I suspect that time has crumbled, And my life has passed me by, And when I said I never loved you, You couldn’t look into my eyes.’

Elsewhere we have the poignant tribute to the actress and dancer Ann Miller, with her iconic work in the 1940s and 1950s, drawing the comment that she was one the greatest actors never to have received an Academy Award nomination. Her final role was in the iconic David Lynch movie Mulholland Drive (2001). In her life she suffered a tragedy in losing her new-born baby as a result of domestic violence and the lyrics capture that sense of grief ‘And I never heard my daughter, Calling out my name, So I’ll die in hope that I’ll see her again.’

There is also a tribute to the poet, novelist and screenwriter Laurie Lee and his adventures in pre- civil war Spain, captured in his book As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning (1969). I get the sense that McGovern was influenced by the nomadic wanderings of his artful hero and that a similar wanderlust may well have risen in his own mind ‘I was lost then too, In the madness of my youth, I prayed to the stars that night would end soon, God only knows what I tried to prove, Carelessly burning my roots, It was something I had to do.’ Taking risks is a necessary part of the creative journey and who knows what benefits that the journey can unveil.

The Harbour is a story song about an orphaned blind girl who is forced into prostitution in order to survive and who ends up murdering a man in order to try and gain redemption. The title track, and I Heard the Thunder Cry are two songs that reflect upon the isolation to be found within, even where relationships offer some succour ‘ You held my trembling fists and wiped my eyes, When the ground below me cracked, And swallowed me inside’ (Thin White Road), and the words ‘Indulge me like it’s the first time, And let me sleep on your thighs, Then bring me to bed, And let me surrender, With tears in my eyes.’

A standout is the track The Will and the sadness sprung from helping a parent write a living will in anticipation of that day when the Grim Reaper comes calling ‘I want to be by your side, When death comes and I can see your pain subside, I’ve seen the world through your eyes.’ There is a short instrumental as a coda to the song and the melody is achingly delicate. There can be no doubt about the growth achieved by this talented artist on his creative journey. These songs are superbly considered and delivered, with McGovern’s singing both engaging and warm in the vocal tone. His Glaswegian accent comes through in his voice and this adds a certain charm to the excellent production qualities. A fine achievement and an album that  certainly leaves a lasting impression.

Paul McGee

Steve Aliment & Annie O’Neill Fuego Self Release

This duo were introduced to me by my sister-in-law, Maureen Boyle, who caught a gig in Tacoma, Washington and who saw their band playing live at The Spar venue in the city. Maureen thought that their sound was in the central sights of what Lonesome Highway targets, so she bought this current release at the gig, and gave it to me for review consideration. And how correct she was with her instincts. It’s a really enjoyable romp through the environs of Country and Americana, with plenty of memorable moments to recommend the album.

The fourteen tracks are all written by Steve Aliment, with one co-write, and the album was self-produced by him, alongside Bart Hyde. The excellent band that deliver the goods is made-up of Mark Wuesthoff (pedal steel, dobro), Bart Hyde (guitars, piano, harmonica), Annie O’Neill (vocals, guitar), and Perry Morgan (drums, percussion). Steve Aliment plays bass on the album and joins Annie O’Neill on lead vocals across the songs. The duo are based in Seattle and have been releasing music since their formation in 2020.  Previous releases saw the appearance of A Long Way To Go (2023), Armadillo Tattoo (2021), and 150 Tears (2020).

The word “Fuego” means something is really cool, and there is nothing wrong with a little self- promotion. Opening track Down the Line highlights the instant likeability factor with a nice rendition of all that made the old 50s Country sound so popular, a swing-beat that sets a positive tone. Another song The Fun Is the Ride puts down the rhythm of getting out on the highway and seeing where the asphalt takes you, with nice guitar and pedal steel playing off each other ‘She’s gonna keep on rolling down the line, She can’t get off, And she’ll never arrive.’ The early Eagles sound on Lonesome Broken Home is very radio-friendly with the harmony vocals echoing the warning of placing all your chips on the wrong bet ‘When the show was over, The girl and the money were gone… left me on the doorstep of my lonesome broken home.’

Hot Biscuit #1 is a nice country blues romp about going out on the town and having a good time, while the easy groove on Last Exit Sign is a traditional sound with the pedal steel of Mark Wuesthoff bringing home the weary traveller ‘It’s been a long a long drive, But now I can see that exit sign, Judgement day ain’t something that I fear, Did I tell you that the highway to hell runs right through here.’

The beat on Roosevelt Dime is a rockabilly workout that has the band nicely in the pocket of the rhythm and certainly worthy than greater currency than a ten-cent piece. Things slow down for Holding On and the co-vocals of Steve Aliment and Annie O’Neill reflect upon a relationship that is teetering on the edge ‘We keep holding on, Now that the love is gone, We’re just trying our best to hold on.’ A standout moment is Tacoma To Tupelo with the driving guitar sound propelling a song about breaking out and heading for good times without a care ‘Now if you ain’t sure, we can take it slow, let the wind take us where the wind wanna blow.’

Things continue at a pace with If You Were A Movie and a love song that celebrates the longing for connection, again the co-vocal of O’Neill and Aliment hitting the mark. Truck Stops, Cheap Shots is a co-write and it is classic country in the delivery, pedal steel tickling the edges of the melody as the joys of pulling off the highway for a night of partying is to be celebrated. The slow beat on the song Can’t Feel the Bottom Yet reflects the sadness of a relationship crash where the victim is heading towards unconditional surrender.

There is an instrumental version of the earlier track Down the Line and Lonesome Broken Home is also revisited with a similar mix to the initial arrangement. The final song is Empty Heart which includes some very tasty saxophone, courtesy of Max Rose, who engineered and re-mixed the song with a fine soulful tempo, the original appearing on the 2023 album A Long Way To Go.

This is a very enjoyable album and it certainly prompts a visit to the back-catalogue of the band, in expectation that it will prove as impressive as this new release. In the meantime, if Steve Altimont and Annie O’Neill are looking for a PR person in the Tacoma area, they could do a lot worse than looking up their advocate, my sister-in-law, Maureen!   

Paul McGee

Steve Postell Walking Through These Blues Quarto Valley

Settle in Folks for just over an hour of inspiring music from the very impressive Steve Postell. Just in case you are being introduced to this talent for the first time, Steve has spent a storied career in the music industry over a number of decades and has left his mark on many projects, whether as a musician or a producer.

The number of A-list artists that he has played with is highly impressive, including such luminaries as James Taylor, Jackson Browne, David Crosby, and Michael McDonald, John Oates, Jennifer Warnes, Kenny Loggins, among others. On this new solo album Steve has written all twelve songs with three co-writes included. Production was overseen by both Steve and Peter Adams at Katonah Studios, Marina Del Ray, CA and you can almost see the sunshine glinting on the water if you imagine the setting. There was also production input on two songs by both Russ Kunkel and Danny Kortchmar, just two names that will resonate with admirers of the 70s California sound. Indeed the list of players on this album is the stuff of dreams with appearances from David Crosby, Iain Matthews, Glen Phillips, Tony Furtado, Bekka Bramlett, Jeff Pevar, Greg Leisz, Steve Ferrone, Leland Sklar, Bob Glaub, Jeff Young, Peter Adams, Ramon Yslas, Debra Dobkin, Waddy Watchel, Danny Kortchmar, Mark Shulman, and several others.

The entire project is a celebration of all that is enriching, inspiring and uplifting in music. The ability of a melody and a song to reach out and touch the listener in a palpable manner is what brings the magic to the listening experience, and this album is a complete joy from start to finish. The warm melodies and the ease with which the musicians interpret the arrangements is testament to the intuitive playing of the musicians. There is such invention in the interplay, everything appears effortless in the end-result, surely the finest compliment that can be paid to the entire creative process.

There is no filler on this album, with each song leaving a strong impression, and don’t let the title fool you as there is much more here than just a walk through the blues. Having said that, there is no doubting the price to be paid for letting the current state of the world impact upon your daily mood, and the title track Walking Through These Blues has Steve looking for some clarity and truth.  Buried Stone has the superb Bekka Bramlett on guest vocals as the slow groove laments earlier times when the musical synergy was more spontaneous.

How Far We’ve Come is a look at the social media and the progress made, and yet, there always seems to be so much more to tackle ‘Flew me to Paris, Train down to Rome, Missed all the scenery, Just staring at my phone, We’re so connected, But we always feel alone.’ A highlight is the track Wait Until You Get Here and the message that life brings wisdom as we age, and the aspirations of youth will be balanced by the consciousness of living in the moment.

The unrequited love of Until I Do is a sweetly delivered reflection on the stances we take ‘I won’t complain about the cards that were dealt, It was just a little sleight of hand, I went looking for the Jack of Hearts, And a better place to stand.’ Another memorable song Is This It appears to be a tribute to the passing of David Crosby, but it could also be about any loved one who has left this mortal coil ‘When I see you in my dreams, Are you really in the room, Or is it just me tryin’ to tell you, That you left this world too soon.’

Wicked Wind brings everything to a conclusion and it reflects on the reality of loss, plus the hope for good fortune as we look towards better days, with the guitars of Mark Shulman and Steve Postell ringing out for a fair wind in our collective sails as we navigate the sea of life. Steve says in the liner- notes that “In a world of singles, I still love the idea of a “record”. I still love creating a body of work that represents a time of life and a point of view.” A quite superb album in every way, and one of my favourites for the current year.     

Paul McGee

Jim Patton and Sherry Brokus Two True Loves Berkalin

It’s been a long road that this husband and wife duo has walked since they began releasing music back in 1998. Their initial band was called Edge City and for a number of years they played in their home state of Maryland, before taking the decision to relocate full-time to Austin, Texas, where they were accepted by the music community into the local scene at the time.

Jim Patton writes the songs that the duo perform and he takes his lyrical inspiration from everyday life, the people that he encounters, and the lives lived with quiet dignity. He also looks within for creativity and tackles many of the questions that we all ask ourselves in negotiating our way through the challenges of life. On this new album he writes all fourteen songs, with seven co-writes included across four different collaborators. It has been noted that co-writing can be somewhat akin to going on blind-dates, in that you’re never quite sure how things will turn out. Happily, in the case of Jim Brokus, his wealth of experience results in positive outcomes more often than not. Plus it’s a positive thing to stretch outside of yourself with regard to trying new ways to create with others.

This is album number eight in a run that has seen Patton and Brokus create music as a couple since their debut appeared back in 2008. They did release a collection of their songs in 2019 that spanned the period 2008 – 2018, capturing their first ten years of recording, with their own preferred track selections, and altogether their four prior album releases are equally represented across the eighteen songs chosen.

With the new project, the talents of long-time friend Ron Flynt are featured as both producer and musician. The location was Jumping Dog Studios in Austin Texas and in addition to Flynt playing a variety of instruments, including bass, keyboards, acoustic guitar and harmonies, there are the talents of Scrappy Jud Newcomb on lead guitars, John Chipman on drums, Bettysoo on harmony vocals, to add to Jim Patton on acoustic guitar and lead vocals and Sherry Brokus on harmony vocals.

Patton does not possess the most strident vocal, but his delivery is very focused on both a sensitivity and honesty in portraying the messages that these songs convey.  Wanting to be surrounded by the things that bring personal satisfaction is very much the message on opener I Want It All  with the importance of community a priority ‘A handful decide what’s best for all the rest, Every step up the ladder they care for you less and less.’ The fluent playing of the band sets a real marker for the rest of the album.

The title track refers to being committed to what you do for living and being passionate about your partner in life. The two don’t have to be mutually exclusive of course and it’s preferable if both can align. Looking for love is something that Annabelle Lee considers, whereas the trio of songs Why Did You Leave Me For Him?, She Doesn’t Want To See You Anymore and What If You’re Fooling Me Now tackle the issues where things don’t run smoothly in love and the downside of existing relationships can bite hard.

Laurence Beall is a song written for an old acquaintance that has fallen out of regular contact over the years. He had a band called The Sultans back in the 1990s and was active in the Nashville area.  Another song that looks at past friendships is That Cup Of Coffee We Never Had and the influence that someone once held. Caught In the Headlights is a look back at heady youth and the melody captures that sense of insecurity. Hard Times is a look at the other side of the coin, where adulthood brings compromise and the things that folks have to do in order to survive go beyond the innocence of youth. A high point as the band stretch out on a soulful melody and deep rhythm.

Nothing At All is a song about lost dreams and the stark reality that disappointment brings, even if trying is the most important thing ‘They say if you fly too high you’re bound to fall… but if you stay on the ground, you won’t see nothing at all.’ One More Song is a tale of past glories and the compulsion that pushes old musicians to continue playing to smaller audiences ‘Something inside that never quite died, And they’ve always got one more song.’

This sentiment, in a way, perfectly encapsulates the story of Jim Patton and Sherry Bokus; a couple who decided to walk a creative path opened up by their love of music, shunning the safer option for a more comfortable existence that pursuing regular careers would have offered. However, the memories earned and the joy that the creative process brings is more than sufficient compensation for the risks taken. This album is another worthy addition to their ongoing dreams of self-sufficiency and creative freedom.   

Paul McGee

Su Andersson Postcards Firma Su

This singer-songwriter is based in Göteborg, Sweden and she made a decision back in 2019 to change her life as an architect to pursue music as a full-time profession. Full marks for bravery as the risks inherent in the performing arts and the unpredictable nature of earning potential has to be balanced against the personal satisfaction of following your passion and making dreams become reality.

The debut album back in 2020 was titled Trains and it reflected upon journeys across the United States of America, and she returns to the theme of travel on this, her third album release. Focusing on her travels in Europe this time out, Su reflects on travelling alone to various places, including Hamburg, Berlin, Montpellier, Barcelona, Valencia, Paris, and other locations.

The songs are very well written and the production is quite superb, with the music really jumping out of the speakers to grab the listener. The influences are also quite varied across the ten songs included here, from the jazzy-noir of Based On A True Story, to the spoken-word vocal on the dramatic Sunset Unlimited, and the commercial sweep of Vertigo, mixed with the soft melody of Reunion.  The elan displayed on Voices From the Future is balanced against the reflections on Voices From the Past and a look back at her younger self, when the prospect of the dreams and hopes were unbridled ‘A voice from the past, calling me nicknames, A voice from the past, Names I’d forgotten.’

I have always enjoyed the music of Su Andersson and it is always engaging, innovative and memorable in the creation and her reflections on life. This album continues the momentum of this interesting songwriter and is worthy of your time.

Paul McGee

Kyle Carey The Last Bough Americelta

Folk traditions traverse the continents and embrace many different oral and musical influences in their rich heritage. The study of the land and the people who inhabit the territories has led to many great legacies that enrich our communal histories. For many years Kyle Carey has explored these hallowed spaces and looked to shine a light upon what unites us as part of the human spirit, what binds us to the great emotional tug of the earth, and the ancient traditions that are passed from one generation to the next.

Previously, Kyle has lived in Alaska and travelled to Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, on a Fulbright Fellowship, where she began her study of the Gaelic language and its music. She also immersed herself in the study of Scots Gaelic, while living for two years on Scotland’s Isle Of Skye. This album represents her fourth release since her debut back in 2011. It was recorded in Nashville, at Peach Tree Studios, and was produced by Kai Welch, who also contributes piano, accordion and synthesizers. Backing vocals are provided by Ruth Moody who also plays on bodhrán, and the overall feel of the project is softly reflective in tone.

Four songs are sung in the Scots Gaelic tradition and the beautiful sound of the language really translates superbly. There is a song that is sung in Italian also and the inclusion of Eden’s Grief and Armour’s Mystique are two of the stand out moments across the ten songs included.

The skill of Anthony Dacosta on guitar is matched by the fiddle playing of Christian Sedelmeyer, together with the whistle and flute contribution of Mike McGoldrick, with percussion, courtesy of Jamie Dick, and the sweet vocals of James Graham also noteworthy. A diverse collection and one that is laudable for its scope and depth.   

Paul McGee

New Album Reviews

Roberta Faceplant Brisket & Cigarettes Self Release

The latest EP from Philadelphia’s cowgirl, Roberta Faceplant, showcases her honky tonk credentials, her strong vocals, her songwriting and, above all, her sense of fun. Recorded in Philly’s Cambridge Sound Studio with her own band, it is a six-track country rock riot.

Big Dark Town opens proceedings. Written by bass player Nick Anastasi, it’s the darkest song inclusion here, its broody and clanging guitar-driven palette suitably accompanying the tale of the seedy underbelly of every town, where drug dealers weigh out the demon drugs for the addicts who are 'drowning in their scars’. The title track introduces the food theme underlying the whole record, suitably illustrated by Nick Anastasi’s sleeve design, an amusing homage to cold meat packaging. Brisket & Cigarettes is a manic retelling of a hunger fuelled car chase, where Katie panics that she won’t make that night’s show. Her pet lizard, who is ‘a brother, much more than a pet/ got left behind in that roadhouse’ and that story is relayed in much more detail in the hilarious Lizard in a Bar. The country flavoured spoken intro introduces us to all the items that one can bring into a bar (from head phones to hats and scarves) and all the behaviours tolerated (from throwing darts to throwing punches) but the innocent lizard is still barred!

Mykk Hoffman’s country lead guitar playing gets to showcase in Eat Em, where Roberta tries to hold back from eating the sausages she's cooking. In A Can ups the tempo with Beachboy influenced harmonies, while Roberta plans how to 'make a gazillion' by ‘putting you in an airtight container’, 'if they sold you in jars/you would go far’. The closing song Bottle It Smash It is a more serious piano led ballad (keys by Frankie Padano), an exhortation to ‘drink it while you got it’ because 'good times don’t last’.

This is an excellent calling card for an act who can be enjoyed playing live in the Philadelphia area and further afield. Catch ‘em if you can.

Eilís Boland

Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter Forever, I've Been Being Born Ideologic Organ/Southern Lord

It's been a journey of evolution and growth for Jesse Sykes and her musical partner Phil Wandscher. Fourteen years since the release of their last album, MARBLE SON, they now make a welcome return with their fifth studio album. Their relationship, which began in Seattle, Washington, in 1999, led to the formation of The Sweet Hereafter and the release of their acclaimed debut record, RECKLESS BURNING, in 2003. OH, MY GIRL followed a year later to hugely positive reviews, and was followed by LIKE, LOVE, LUST AND THE OPEN HALLS OF THE SOUL in 2007.

Having written and recorded the material for this latest album several years ago, the release was delayed primarily because two band members, essentially the band’s rhythm section, left after MARBLE SON was released, splitting the band that had become akin to a family unit. Although written before COVID-19 and the current political environment, much of the writing on the new album, as if prophesied, addresses trauma and dislocation. While sonically somewhat less muscular than its predecessors, it retains the core otherworldly and enthralling attributes that make the Sykes and Wandscher partnership so unique. 

Mortality has often been visited in Sykes’ writing, and the title track in this record explores the crossing from death to an afterlife (‘It’s to this that I will surrender. Forever I’ve been born’). It’s beautifully articulated by Sykes's crystal-clear pronunciation and supported by whirling guitars, lap steel, and strings, with Marissa Nadler adding backing vocals. Following a similar thread, Gentle Chaperone, with its aura of oblivion and limbo, could be the next stage in the journey spoken of in the title track (‘This is where I stay, but this is not my home’). A spine-chilling affair, A New Medium drifts from a gripping acoustic opening before Wandscher’s guitars and organ explode spectacularly mid-song. The name ‘Lorelie’ is taken from a river rock in Germany where sailors were coaxed to their deaths by a mythical siren, and the melancholy, haunting I Still Hear Lorelie expresses irresistible, and often deadly temptation, regardless of the likely consequences. 

Sykes and Wandscher have both been active with other projects in recent years, Sykes as lead vocalist in Dave Alvin’s band, The Third Mind, while Wandscher has been working with Marissa Nadler and Jon Langford of late. However, the re-emergence of their partnership in Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter, is celebrated with this striking album that sits comfortably alongside their powerful back catalogue.

‘What’s left my Sweet Hereafter? I’m coming home to you,’ Wandscher announces in the lyrics of My Sweet Hereafter, a song which features only his vocals and guitar. Hopefully, it’s a declaration that the reincarnation of this unrivalled gothic-folk partnership, which is essentially in their DNA, continues to flourish.

Declan Culliton

Courtney Hartman With You Reckoner

 A member of bluegrass band Della Mae for nearly a decade prior to launching her solo career, multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter Courtney Hartman has collaborated with Anaïs Mitchell, Gregory Alan Isakov, and Sam Amidon in the past. Her latest project follows that trend of working closely with like-minded artists.

Very much a triumph over near tragedy, Colorado-born Hartman’s latest record seemed unlikely to see the light of day amid a series of life challenges. While rebuilding their house in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, Hartman and her husband learned that Courtney was pregnant with their first child. That joyous realisation was followed by misfortune when her husband fell off a ladder, leaving him unable to work for several months. Further misery followed when Hartman was dropped by her booking agent and lost their family car in an accident. Rather than finance what was to be her fourth album, the money saved to record the album was used to survive that difficult period. However, instead of being smothered by their predicament, Hartman began writing material reflecting on both her physical and emotional condition.

Continuing in that vein, WITH YOU became a ‘motherhood’ album, navigating across the pregnancy experience, the joys of birth, and the bouts of post-natal depression which followed. This exploration then drew Hartman’s attention to the difficulties other mothers face in balancing the demands of a creative career with the responsibilities of childcare. As a result, she connected with several other women in similar circumstances, leading to co-writes with Dawn Landes, Tift Merritt, Sarah Siskind, Ana Egge, Kristin Andreassen, and Emily Franz Marlin of the husband-and-wife duo Watchhouse.

The album opens and closes with the same song, divided into two parts. The former, titled Softening, visits both the defencelessness and tenderness experienced in the early stages of pregnancy. On reflection, it was decided to split the song into two, resulting in the closer, Softening Again. Both are lo-fi dreamlike affairs with Hartman's vocals surrounded by drifting synths. That calming sonic soundscape is repeated in the Ana Egge co-write, Bright Eye, the nickname Hartman gave her daughter.

Everything At Once, co-written with Sarah Siskind, who gave birth the same week as Hartman, traverses the full gamut of emotions accompanying motherhood (‘I want to be held, I want to run, I want to be holding someone’). Like A Woman, also co-written with Siskind, addresses the often-overlooked need for emotional support after childbirth (‘No one needs mothering like a woman in the summer days of mothering. No one needs covering like a woman on the journey, discovering’) and is complemented by the enduring love for the child in Inside Outside.

Given its theme, WITH YOU could have resulted in an overly self-indulgent affair. Instead, Hartman has created something quite lovely here. With contributions from her friends and peers, her heartfelt lyrics and evocative vocals are underpinned by musicianship that maintains a consistent, intimate ambience throughout.

Declan Culliton

Drive By Truckers The Definitive Decoration Day New West

“Considered by many (including me) to be DBT’s masterpiece, this is the ultimate version of Decoration Day, sounding better than ever,” declares Patterson Hood on the remixed fifteen-track album originally released in 2003. The package also includes the previously unreleased double album HEATHENS LIVE AT FLICKER BAR, ATHENS, GEORGIA, JUNE 20th, 2002, and a forty-page full-colour booklet.

SOUTHERN ROCK OPERA, the band's third album, had been released two years earlier than DECORATION DAY, having been funded by fans and family. A mammoth twenty-track project that ran for over one and a half hours, it generated a degree of positive media attention and saved the band (formed in Athens, Georgia, by longtime friends Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley in 1996) from throwing in the towel. The band members at that time were Patterson Hood, Mike Cooley, Earl Hicks, Brad Morgan, and Rob Malone. When Malone departed, leaving a gap for a guitarist, Jason Isbell entered. Invited by Patterson from the audience to perform with the band at an unofficial gig, and despite being half Hood and Cooley’s age, Isbell was in the tour van the following day.

Despite his young age, Isbell’s songwriting impressed to the extent that two of his songs, Outfit and Decoration Day, made the final cut on the album, the latter replacing what was to be the record’s title. Recognising the band’s potential, Lost Highway signed them but, when presented with a fifteen-song track listing for DECORATION DAY, insisted it be whittled down to ten and wanted all of Mike Cooley’s songs to be removed. Outraged by the prospect, the band bought the album back from the Lost Highway and found themselves once more without a label.

New West, one of several interested labels, came on board, and the album was released in the format the band presented. The material was written at a time when Hood and Colley’s marriages were falling apart, apparently because they put the band ahead of family life. The writing on the album reflected that grim period and served as an examination and commentary on the darker side, emotional wreckage, and the undercurrent of real Southern life. Hood and Cooley’s writing tackled issues head on and included relationship breakdown (Sounds Better In The Song, Something’s Got To Give Pretty Soon, Your Daddy Hates Me), incest (The Deeper In), a jilted bride (My Sweet Annette), farm repossession (Deep Hole), and suicide (Do It Yourself, When The Pin Hits The Shell). Although only two of his compositions were included, the influence of the new kid on the block, Isbell, was immense. Outfit’s slant was one of leaving the nest and surviving in the big, bad world, advice Isbell was to ignore, as he followed the other members' hedonistic lifestyle during his six-year tenure in the band. Decoration Day was a classic depiction of a brutal, long-standing family feud that Isbell had heard from relatives, and it was, deservedly, selected as the album’s title.

Propelling the band to the frontline of alt-country bands in America and Europe and away from their previous Southern rock façade, both Drive By Truckers and Jason Isbell went on to record several masterful albums, but, arguably, DECORATION DAY was their finest undertaking.

HEATHENS LIVE AT FLICKER BAR, ATHENS, GEORGIA was recorded a year before DECORATION DAY was to be released. A late-night session at the small local bar in their hometown, the essentially acoustic set (bass player Earl Hicks was the only one amped up) included many of the tracks from the upcoming album performed for the first time. Even in the stripped-back format, the energy of the recorded songs isn’t lost, and although the band would confess to being worn out from touring and, like most of the audience, ‘drunk as skunks’, the playing and vocals are impressive.

An essential purchase for Drive By Truckers’ fans and a reminder, if needed, of the most stellar lineup and creative writing of the band’s three-decade existence.

Declan Culliton

Kimmie Rhodes West Texas Heaven Revisited Sunbird

This is a very welcome re-release of an album whose timeless quality has remained intact over the years since its original debut back in 1996. Twenty nine years later and the original twelve songs still maintain a warm reflection on what life was like for an aspiring young talent, with Kimmie’s sweetly gentle vocal so prominent in the production.

The arrival on the music scene of this new talent was given real gravitas by the appearance of Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Joe Ely and Townes Van Zandt on the recording. As a veritable who’s-who of Texan music legends, Kimmie could not have happened upon a more influential quartet to announce her arrival.

This remixed and remastered album includes six additional tracks, three new songs and three out-takes, together with the twelve original creations that still stand up so well here. The duets with Willie Nelson on Hard Promises To Keep and I Never Heard You Say both lament lost love and are performed with an elegance and rueful reflection. Two more tracks, Maybe We’ll Just Disappear and Be Mine are sung with Waylon Jennings and celebrate the love shared between two people to great effect. There is a sense that the genuine respect between the musicians at the time made everything sound even more real in the delivery.

The impressive I’m Gonna Fly really hits the spot and the co-vocal with Townes Van Zandt pulls on the heartstrings, as both singers dove tail together on a song of longing and wishes unfilled. There is a wide musical palette that includes the French lyrics and waltz-time of Les Roses Sauvages, the mandolin giving a stylised impression of cosmopolitan Europe in earlier times. Corner Of the Bar is a song of regret and includes a sample melody from the classic La Vie en Rose, with accordion and acoustic guitar echoing the lonely lyric, partly sung in French.

The light jazzy arrangement on Home John is a fine example of the versatility of Kimmie Rhodes, the piano and electric guitar in unison as she sings of getting back on familiar ground. My personal favourites are the cool blues groove on Just To Be Near You and the equally impressive Git You A Job, with atmospheric playing, including superb harmonica and guitar combinations, really shining.

Of the new songs, I’m Not An Angel is memorable, a promise to be true, despite a dark past. The superb Send Me the Sun has Kimmie performing alongside Emmylou Harris and Beth Nielsen Chapman on co-vocals on a song about true love. Another song Lines is a reflection on a life lived and the wisdom gained that often shape the song content that Kimmie writes. ‘I live on the outskirts of the back of my mind.’ It’s also poignant to hear the superb playing of Joe Gracey who provided bass and rhythm guitar to many of Kimmie’s recordings, together with Jack “Cowboy” Clement. Kimmie was married to Joe Gracey for twenty-eight years before his untimely death in 2011.

Other players on the songs include David Zettner, Mike Maddux and Mickey Raphael, in addition to her son Gabe Rhodes adding some nice lead guitar parts. It all works superbly well and the album is a timely reminder of all that attracted folks to the original Outlaw Country movement. Kimmie continues to record, and in 2024 she released HYPNOTISED, an album produced by her son Gabe and one which continues her impressive creative output.

Paul McGee

Stephen Simmons Hunch Self Release

I have always thought of Stephen Simmons as the quintessential example of Heartland Roots music that has endured over the decades, since it became fused with the Alternative Country music movement of the 1990s. Simmons took to the highways back in the early years of the Gen Z generation when his debut album LAST CALL (2004) was getting very positive media reaction. Ever since, he has been capturing stories from the road and impressions derived from his globe trotting in the chase of his eternal muse.

There are any number of guitar slingers out there who label themselves as road warriors in the never-ending pursuit of nightly confirmation of their talents. As Simmons sings on Amsterdam ‘Nobody ever had a dream that didn’t cost them anything, nothing’s free.’ On the ten songs included here there is nothing that wouldn’t sit easily alongside anything that say, Springsteen, might deduce from looking at this crazy world that we all share. It’s album number twelve in the continuing journey of Stephen Simmons and it’s a real beauty.

The album was recorded in Tennessee by Goffrey Moore and the relaxed production delivers plenty of room for these songs to breathe. The title track Hunch imagines a country boy who just wants to break out and become a musician. No factory or farm work when you can take an amplifier and a guitar to make some sweet noise.

Decoration Days is right out of the Tom Petty songbook with melodic guitar hooks and a memory of days now past. On Song Of Us we are given a failed relationship in all its compromise and hurt ‘Running in place and running on hope, Running behind, and running out of rope.’ Country influenced Grandpa’s Jacket is a song about moving on but always being tethered to the past, and with Early Rising Moon the pedal steel plays a lazy melody on a song that professes a deeper love. The story song Dresden Doll captures a lonely night in Europe, and chasing down a feeling that may just be something of a dangerous desire ‘One night is all it takes to fall, For a Dresden doll.’

With Amsterdam we find the weary traveller in a rented car and feeling alone. Ten years of touring and wrestling with the demons you are running from, can there ever be any joy to be found ‘You can’t learn without being wrong, Like a singer that ain’t ever lived his song.’ The slow tempo is right along the lines of a Springsteen reflection on a blue funk. To balance the dark mood we then get Tomorrow Is Another Day and the optimism ‘We may never be here again, So I try to be in the moment and take it all in.’ Such a better life philosophy.

Boy Before the Man is a look at the path taken in the development of adulthood and maturity. You cannot rush the journey ‘You won’t know ‘till it’s over, what it was about all along.’ You can’t go back in time and help the boy before he becomes a man … sage advice from the pen of Simmons.

Someone Like You is the final song and it’s an attempt to reach out to a loved one in order to find connection ‘I’m not going to play forever, these little songs will leave me too, the only melody that is eternal is a song shared with someone like you.’   A nice sentiment to end on and confirmation that at the end of it all, the only important message to take is one of connection, to our inner selves and to each other.

Paul McGee

Nathan McEuen My One and Only Mesa/Bluemoon

This five-song EP is a taster for the talents displayed by Nathan McEuen, the son of John McEuen (Nitty Gritty Dirt Band). Nathan has been steeped in music from an early age, and he has released a number of previous recordings, from 2005 through 2014.

The songs here are all firmly based in the Americana stable and the loving sentiment of the title track My One and Only is certainly destined to become a popular wedding song in the years to come. Equally, on the song Lately we are given a sweet melody and a celebration of shared love in the words ‘Through the endless sea of city lights, Yours is the only one that shines.’

Up To No Good changes things up a little on a song about trouble coming to call and the consequences of experiencing dangerous situations. The tempo is very much an acoustic blues with the ensemble interacting nicely, McEuen (guitar, vocals), Jimmy Calire (piano), Steve Nelson (upright bass), Mario Calre (drums), and Jesse Siebenberg (slide guitar), teasing the melody. The deeper groove on Sticks and Stones is a highlight with nice B-3 organ and both electric and slide guitar parts fuelling a song about staying strong amid all the challenges that life imposes.

The final track is Beautiful Night and returns to matters of love with a Bossa nova rhythm, aided by strings, mandolin, piano, hypnotic percussion and sultry gypsy violin. Very assured and engaging, with hopes for more to follow from the creative talents of Nathan McEuen.

Paul McGee

Sister Speak Coming Home Reso Nation

This is the fifth release from Canadian artist Sherri Anne Nyberg who performs under the stage name of Sister Speak. Previous releases included two studio albums, a live recording, and an EP. This new music is also released as an EP and it has five songs, running over fourteen minutes, with the arrangements mainly acoustic-based.

Coming Home expresses the urge to return to your roots and losing yourself in dreams of mountains and starlit skies. Home is in British Columbia for Nyberg and the acoustic guitar strums a nice melody to accompany the understated piano.

We Can Rise follows, with a slow rhythm and electric guitar backed by bass, on a song about taking stock and taking action to protest against the ongoing differences that repeatedly separate our wish for peace. Anger and pride fuelling the actions that keep people apart ‘Have we forgotten all the visions that we can make come true?.’

I’ll Find Peace is a song that looks for a way to resolve internal conflict and bring contentment to a troubled mind. The war here is a battle fought within. Another song Oh Sunshine is performed acapella, with communal hand-claps, asking for the sun to reveal itself and bring some restorative  healing to the spirit. There is a gospel feel in the performance.

The final song L'amour Partout is performed in French and the co-vocal of Sherry Ann and Matt Stern is very enjoyable. The slow melody tickles in the build and the song speaks of ‘taking what is not ours’ and questions ‘what are we fighting for?’ It’s a plea to save the earth from shortsighted power that places profit before everything. It’s a pleasant EP, even if the short duration leaves you wanting more from this talented artist.

Paul McGee

Alice Di Micele Reverse the Flow Alice Otter

This is an album of Folk-infused music from a songwriter who is based in Oregon, and who has released a number of albums, compilations and collaborations over the years. Her concerns include environmental, LGBT, and anti-war sentiments, with such topics reflected in the songs and the words of this talented artist. Such interests are highlighted in her impressive and powerful vocal range, and illustrated on the opening song here, I Wanna Love.  It is a celebration of womanhood and calls for self-love to abound when celebrating the influence of the female spirit.

The next song One Little Word is about the sense of separation caused by the use of the ‘Gay’ word, trying to defame same-sex relationships, rather than celebrating the love shared by people ‘Love is beautiful and kind, and I hope you change your mind.’ Misunderstood and hated just for loving what society deems to be alien to our natures.

Falling Through the Cracks tackles issues of homelessness and the lack of care in the system ‘There’s no salvation in this land, people turn their heads instead of lending a hand.’ Worship of profit over people is going to be the death of us all as the cracks continue to appear in society. The electric guitar of Andy Casad in a highlight on this song.

Counting on nature to show the true essence within us all is the theme of The Mystery with beautiful harmony vocals, violin and viola, complimenting the flowing piano melody. Springtime (Here We Go) has a similar focus with the onset of the new season opening the possibilities of living proud and embracing the universe, while the acoustic arrangement on Oh Humanity bemoans the urge of men to make war ‘Will we keep fighting over what was never ours, The earth cannot be bought and sold, It’s just illusion that men can hold power, True power is not for us to hold.’ Amen.

Bonafide has a nice blues rhythm on a song lamenting the evils of the world and the failure to find lasting solutions that can see us live as one; maybe all we can do is focus upon our own meaningful lives together? The Ghost Of Alice is a track with atmospheric violin and a story-song that tells of a murder in rural America, with the spirit-world seeking retribution for dark deeds done ‘And the ghost of Alice sings with the owls at night.’

The final song is Reverse the Flow and it speaks of the power we all have to change the order of things, the communal voice is still loud enough to be heard and to make a difference ‘We’re still here on the ground, we’re still here on this sacred ground.’ Despite the protest of ‘fake news’ in our media, we could ask is nothing ever true unless it comes from the heart? This is her first album in three years and Alice Di Micele continues to prove that class is permanent, with her strong environmental message and her well-crafted songwriting. Yet another home run.     

Paul McGee

New Album Reviews

Cory Grinder and the Playboy Scouts And More Self Release

The cartoon cover does not reflect the serious skill of all involved here, but it does give you some idea that they don’t take themselves too seriously and there is a sense of humour throughout. I think what struck me the most this time out was the versatility of Cory Grinder’s lead vocals, which are more expressive than what one might come to expect from some honky tonk bands. The album was recorded directly to one inch tape with the band playing together in one room. That accounts for some of the spontaneity and energy on display. Led by Grinder, their chief songwriter, the band also includes guitarist Anthony Papaleo, steel guitar from Tebbs Karney, as well as bassist Jon Wolfe and drummer Bee Roberts. Grinder also joins Matt Dunkelberger and Papaleo on the fiddle work as well as on guitar throughout.

Given the mention of Grinder's fine vocals, he is ably joined by Karney, who takes the lead on the sad ballad The Lights Of Angel Falls, one of the highlights, among many, on the album. The album opens with On Time, the current single, built around a solid danceable mid-paced rhythm and flowing steel guitar. This set out the stall for the album, that mixes the heartbreak ballads like Angel Falls and also I Turned The Lights Out, Pull Me Out and How About Blue - all songs wherein Grinder’s vocals embody the sense of disappointment that is present lyrically. This contrasts nicely with the driving hardwood floor fillers like Take Me, Feelin’ It Too and Back Of My Heart, all solid arrangements filled with steel guitar and twanging Telecasters.

The song that perhaps in terms of word play stands out is On Brand For Me, wherein he outlines all the stupid moves his protagonist makes on life choices; like how he “brings a knife to a gunfight” or “keeps on barking up the wrong tree” and “making a mountain out of a molehill”, all pretty much, he realises, are on brand for him. The track also has a western swing feel with the fiddles and pedal steel guitar largely responsible for that disposition. There are numerous moments here that are memorable for this Ohio based band, who certainly deserve a much wider recognition for their collective ability. Ain’t Enough Of You has a stand out guitar riff with some effective organ playing behind it.

There is a strong collective vocal in How Do I Make Up, in which he asks how he can possibly make up for losing out in this particular relationship. The title track closes the album in, again, a reflective manner that is deep at the heart of the ethos of honky-tonk storytelling, throughout its history surviving even the proliferation of the mundane bro-country and by-committee material that we thankfully seem to be moving away from these days, especially with a genuine ear for traditional country mores.

So in the end AND MORE delivers more. It is the collective work of a band that undoubtedly works as well in this recorded format as it surely does in a live setting (as this recording equally shows). Most definitely a name to add to the growing list of those acts who walk the talk and reemphasise their love and keep alive a genre that is both relevant and rewarding.

Stephen Rapid

Dead Buzzards Roadkill Self Release

A hard workin’, hard country-rock five piece band from San Diego with a new album to their name. They are fronted by songwriter Ace Collins, who can pen some effective and appealing country orientated songs that stand up for themselves. The overall tone is again that mix of how males misunderstand the dynamic of a relationship in a rueful, though often unaware, circumstance. That lack of awareness and misapprehension is perhaps best summed up in the song I’m Leaving You (After You’ve Thrown Me Out). This is the last track on what is an enjoyable collection of twelve melodic and vigorous tunes.

The remainder of the band consists of Al Gordy, Teddy Herrmann, Roscoe Miles and Renny Nave on keyboards, lead guitar, bass and drums respectively - all also contributing additional vocals. They constitute a tight and unified combo, all having a similar vision. The title songs feature fiddle and keyboards to glorify the use of the plentiful food sources available on a busy backroad or highway. Eva Reed duets on the song Last Call At Closing Time and it is, for that reason, another standout track and example of a contemporary take on a classic male/female interaction. The underlying element of humour is a part of that track, as it is in the somewhat ill-natured Body Snatchin’, “let’s go body snatchin’ tonight, as the med school Is paying half for each corpse” is the off colour message. There is a punkier sound to Slab City with a description of a town on the edge of law and order.

Having to deal with other people’s children appears to be what Rug Rats delineates, “they should be at home taking naps, as any sane person would know”. The tale told in Rob Me A Bank is pretty much in the title of this 'get the loot and run' tale. Their take on the classic r’n’b song is given a run out with (Lick Your Wounds On) Route 99. In a somewhat more subjective look back at growing up and what the taste of a Daddy’s liquor might leave in your mouth is where Daddy’s Poison leaves us. It is another track that gives you an idea of how this would be fun in a live venue.

Otherwise, Dead Buzzards is an example of one of the many regional bands building up a local reputation and give their best with their individual perception of a rockin’ country sound that they describe in a nod to the early Who with the Maximum C&W poster. Scrape this one off the tarmac for a palatable musical stew!

Stephen Rapid

Meghan Clarisse Shadows Of A Ghost Town Self Release

Described as a personal perspective on life, viewed through a sense of the West as a place of exploration, as well as the spirits that surround you in reality and in their sense of the past. The songs were all written by Clarisse and realised by Don Richmond who recorded, mixed and mastered the album. It uses the touchstone of bluegrass and country throughout, with pedal steel and dobro acting as a pointer to the each tangent. Overall Clarisse takes a non-literal lyric, allowing individual interpretation of the exact meanings on offer. Her website has the welcome inclusion of the lyrics, which show the more poetic nature of her words.

For instance the lines in Desert Run conjure place but also personal perceptions: “On a dry and dusty trail / You're feeling desperate, full of fear / Tumbleweeds blowin’ nowhere / You're both looking for a place to disappear”. Then on the pedal steel led Here I Am Again the words suggest a beautiful but fruitless situation “Your heart made of steel / I just can't make you feel / But here I am again.” On the very traditional sounding duet with Richmond that is The Catch That Got Away, she balances her higher voice with the deeper tones of Richmond. It also blends the pedal steel with fiddle and banjo to create a very enticing song and album standout. Desperation seems a large part of the intense sense of isolation that is The Ballad Of Lily Mae, perhaps underscored by lines like “It only got worse / Started thinking she must be cursed / With no way to live She's got nothing left to give / Thinking of the babies she lost”.

That sense of sorrow carries on through these songs, that hint at, rather than detail, what are the actual tales but rather they capture the essence of the story. Like on Never Going Home, we don’t know the plan but we know the possible consequences. “Two stolen horses and pitiful plan / They were never gonna let us get by / Said a love like ours was a shameful crime / I'm not one to run from a risk.” More upbeat then is Strong, that feels like there is a hope to be had if you have the ability and strength to just keep on. “When you've had all you can take / Between the rocks and a hard place / Don't lose your drive / It's just one step at a time … Hold on strong”

“Spent some time in the Mojave / Lit a fire in Joshua tree / Wrote out all the things you never were fed/ the fire your effigy”, are echoes of the desert and the lives that crossed paths with it in The Ghost Of California. The twelve tracks close with another that appears to be a more positive title in Life Of The Party which is, in itself, a tribute to another soul,who may well have been the man of the title. “So l hiked up here to reminisce / And maybe cry just a little bit / Feel what my heart can't see / Pour one out for the life of the party.”

Alongside these songs the assembled players do much, under the guidance of Clarisse and Richmond, to bring these ghosts to life. Of particular mention however is the dobro and pedal steel playing of Todd Clayton, simply because it is at the forefront of these arrangements - but kudos to all. This is an album that should be given the time to listen to, as it reveals its nuances with each play. It is not one that will suit all tastes, but many will enjoy the journey it takes.

Stephen Rapid

Meghan Hayes Latecomer Cranky Heartburn

The final track on Nashville-based Meghan Hayes’ 2019 album SEEN ENOUGH LEAVERS was simply titled Story Of My Life. It wrapped up an album of personal and observational struggle, landing on a note of guarded hope. Hayes’s new ten-track album deepens those themes, confronting the past six years’ personal upheavals, post-pandemic fallout, and a shifting political climate.

 ‘You can fly or you can fight. Either way you’re hiding, the sun’s gonna chase you through the stars at night’, Hayes sings on Unlock the Door, labouring under self-doubt and denial. A co-write with Mando Saenz, weeping pedal steel by Paul Niehaus adds to the deeply melancholic song.

 Picking up the thread of powerlessness, the title track features Hayes’s vocal and acoustic guitar, her voice approaching breaking point as she speaks for the forgotten, helpless, and underprivileged. This theme continues in Tornado, where Megan Palmer joins on backing vocals and Fats Kaplin on fiddle. Possibly inspired by the 2020 East Nashville tornado, this song also hints at commentary on the political landscape in Hayes’ homeland and farther afield.

 ‘Grief has been my default, sorrow my first friend. Please, please, saints and angels, let your kingdom have an end’ she pleads in I’m Getting There which, in a similar vein to Story Of My Life, the closing track on Hayes’ last album, does offer a glimmer of hope. On this occasion, Hayes closes with the song Work, accepting past losses and tribulations, and preparing for the long road ahead (‘And the rest of our life, this is the punch line. Back on the run and all this work to be done’).

 LATECOMER explores the grinding realities of pain and complexities of real life, presenting an intense, brutally frank album. Hayes possesses the wherewithal to craft exceptionally moving songs and delivers them in a soprano vocal that perfectly matches their subject matter, and she has succeeded once more with flying colours with her latest record.

Declan Culliton

Emmylou Harris Spyboy New West

Originally released in 1998, SPYBOY, named after Emmylou Harris’ backing band, was a fourteen-track live album featuring cuts from a twenty-five-date tour in 1996 and 1997. The band had been formed to reproduce material from Harris’s 1995 Daniel Lanois-produced cutting-edge album WRECKING BALL in the live setting. It consisted of Lanois on guitar (temporarily), Daryl Johnson on bass, and drummer Brady Blade, with Buddy Miller, who co-produced the album with Harris, replacing Lanois.

The initial release of SPYBOY was by Eminent Records. Like WRECKING BALL, it pushed Harris into more experimental territory, while also featuring selections from her extensive back catalogue. This revisited New West record includes an additional five tracks with the inclusion of Tom Petty’s A Thing About You, Bob Dylan’s Every Grain Of Sand, Bill Monroe’s Get Up John, Lucina Williams’ Sweet Old World, and All I Left Behind, written by Harris and Kate & Anna McGarrigle.

After country radio gave little or no play to her excellent COWGIRL’S PRAYER album in 1993, and because stations excluded several ‘older’ artists, Harris ended her mainstream country career with that record. Instead, she boldly departed from her traditional folk and country roots with WRECKING BALL, which, while alienating some followers, also introduced her to a wider and younger audience. This shift led Harris to pursue a more experimental path, resulting in RED DIRT GIRL in 2000, where, she wrote or co-wrote eleven of the twelve songs on the record. SPYBOY captures that sonic shift perfectly, with gritty renditions of Deeper Well, Where Will I Be, and All My Tears, alongside more familiar deliveries of Boulder to Birmingham, Wheels, Tulsa Queen, and Love Hurts.

SPYBOY represents Emmylou Harris at the most transitional and arguably most creative period of her career. It cemented her reputation as more than just a silver-tongued vocalist with a sharp eye for covers. She was also a major player, though not always credited, in the alt-country movement of the mid-'90s, which rallied against country music becoming entirely mainstream.

Revisiting this period in her career is a joy; Harris’ vocals are sublime, and she’s backed by a killer band that never puts a foot wrong. It catered to both her hardcore country fans and others brought on board by her more progressive musical direction, and with the addition of five extra tracks, it’s a ‘must have’ for any serious roots music collector, most of whom would already own the original recording.

Declan Culliton

Jeremy Pinnell Decades SofaBurn

A road warrior who seldom has time to rest due to his touring schedule, DECADES finds Jeremy Pinnell expanding his musical repertoire. He now includes 70s-styled blues and rock alongside his customary gritty country sound.

The gospel-tinged opener Barabbas, about the Biblical figure reinventing himself after past misdeeds, may be self-directed. The closing track, Pink Champagne, is equally first-person and as ‘country’ as the record gets. Elsewhere, Pinnell turns bluesy with the raunchy toe-tapper Too Much Sugar. Save You, about two young lovers drawn together by addiction, is a straight rocker with Eleanor Whitmore adding backing vocals. Dallas, sounding like something from Rodney Crowell’s songbook, is a hooky gem with driving rhythm and a killer guitar break. Ironically, it was inspired by a gig Pinnell played in Houston to an audience of one (‘and he asked to pray for me after the show!’ Pinnell recalls).

The pleading and quite stunning Set Me Free could be directed at an estranged lover or a plea for release from addiction. Resurrecting lost love also raises its head in Stuck In The Rain, and Come Home To Me holds a forgiving hand out to forsaken friends and lovers.

The record was recorded in one week at Steakhouse Studio in Los Angeles. Shooter Jennings produced it, played organ, and provided backing vocals. Pinnell’s vocals were recorded live, accompanied by Chris Masterson and John Schreffler (guitars), Ted Russell Kamp (bass), Patrick Keeler (drums), and Eleanor Whitmore (fiddle and backing vocals).

‘I've been releasing records over a 10-year span. People change so much within that time, so why shouldn't the music change, too?’ explains Pinnell. The changes are not dramatic, but the results are significant, triggering Pinnell’s strongest album to date.

Declan Culliton

Micah P.Hinson The Tomorrow Man Ponderosa

‘It hit me that all I was doing was writing about my previous relationships and situations, and that meant I had nowhere to go. How can you progress as a human being into the future if all you're doing is writing about all the shit that chains you to the past?’ confesses Memphis-born artist Micah P.Hinson, referring to his latest studio recording.

Consistently intriguing and thought-provoking, it’s fair to say that the material in Hinson’s ten-album back catalogue was never a Saturday night listen. THE TOMORROW MAN, although equally dark and questioning as his previous work, refocuses his lens from personal matters to more universal challenges.   Alongside that variation in subject matter, Hinson performs the songs in crooner style, with rich orchestral arrangements that, on first listen, may camouflage the thorny questions many of the songs ask. That admiration for the classic crooners raised its head in 2009 with ALL DRESSED UP and SMELLING OF STRANGERS, which included reinterpretations of songs performed by Frank Sinatra and Roy Orbison.

Dividing his time between Europe and Texas, THE TOMORROW MAN was recorded in Spain, Italy, and Texas, with the production duties carried out by Italian Alberto ‘Asso’ Stefano, who also worked on Hinson’s 2022 album I LIE TO YOU. The rich orchestral arrangements on this album, conducted by Raffaele Tiseo and performed by the Benevento Orchestra, give the material a gloriously uplifting dynamic.

Written during a challenging period when Hinson considered abandoning his artistic career, the songs find him wrestling with infatuation, heartache, and pain, without descending into self-pity. He opens and closes the album with different takes of Oh Sleepyhead. The first is upbeat and optimistic, a rallying call; the last is less bullish, bordering on acceptance of defeat. Though Hinson claimed past relationships would be excluded, the self-critical I Thought That I Was The One, verging on dark humour, concerns exactly that. One Day I Will Get My Revenge also finds Hinson looking back at past let-downs. Think Of Me, presented in a voice at near breaking point, is simply divine. Take It Slow may be self-directed, as the writer prepares for personal liberation. The countryfied The Last Train To Texas, complete with mariachi-style horns, is both intoxicating and mournful.

This album finds Hinson giving himself a reassuring hug, casting away the shackles, and accepting himself for what he is, faults and all. Journeying from desperation, through pain, to final freedom and release is at the heart of what is his strongest recording in quite some time.

Declan Culliton

Craig Edmonds View From This Side Self-Release

A novel project from South London, U.K. artist Craig Edmonds. Not only did Edmonds write, produce, record, perform vocals, and handle all instrumentation on the album, but he also designed the artwork and packaging. A VIEW FROM THE SIDE is his third album, and it genre hops from prog to power pop and folk to psychedelia.

The four press photos that accompanied the album show Edmonds with acoustic and electric guitars in hand and behind a drum kit, donning dark shades and looking remarkably like a young Brian Wilson. Whether deliberate or otherwise, that Beach Boys vibe raises its head on the album’s title track, which closes the twelve tracks on the record.

Edmonds dashes from the sunny Laurel Canyon sounding From Me Again to the poppy Autumn Flowers, at times mirroring the work of Syd Barrett and elsewhere dipping into early Genesis territory. Two lo-fi thirty-second inclusions, I Feel More Me and Faded Photograph, are a flashback to the 1960s when artists like The Beach Boys and Paul McCartney stepped out of their comfort zones and slipped similar ditties into their albums.

The overall mood of the album is one of an artist steeped in the sounds of the 1960s and early '70s, and the results are quite spectacular in places. Don’t expect to find this album on the top shelf of your HMV store, so check out the options on Bandcamp to have a listen.

 Declan Culliton

Terry Klein Hill Country Folk Music Self-Release

One of the few advantages of being an independent artist is the option, finances allowing, of recording an album and getting it out for public consumption within a short period of time. This is the case with HILL COUNTRY FOLK MUSIC, the fourth album from Texas singer-songwriter Terry Klein. Recorded over three days at the beginning of August this year, the eleven-track album is released three months later.

Lonesome Highway’s introduction to Klein was his 2019 album TEX. Sagamore Bridge, the outstanding opening track on that album, drew this writer in on first listen, and the other songs on the album lived up to the promise of that opener. GOOD LUCK, TAKE CARE (2022) and LEAVE THE LIGHT ON (2023) followed and received equally complimentary reviews from us.

In keeping with his previous recordings, Klein’s latest record combines previously unrecorded songs, often revisited when requested at his live shows, with material written more recently. In the time-honoured troubadour tradition, despite the time difference between the newer and older songs and the varying dynamics in their delivery, they work seamlessly together.

As with his previous two albums, Klein worked with celebrated producer and guitarist Thomm Jutz (Nanci Griffith, Mary Gauthier, Connie Smith, David Olney). The studio core band was also the same, consisting of Tim Marks on bass and Lynn Williams on drums. Other contributors included Justin Moses on fiddle, Mike Compton on mandolin, Finn Goodwin-Bain on piano and organ, and Scotty Sanders on pedal steel.

Storytelling that is very much in the present, Try opens the album on a positive, upbeat note as the protagonist defiantly dusts himself off and prepares to turn over a new leaf. The same song, retitled Try Again, bookends the album, with a slower, weary vocal that hints at despair over the current environmental and political chaos, yet vowing to carry on regardless. Dealing with a friend’s suicide, If You Go offers a helping hand to those barely sustaining themselves (‘This is for whoever needs to hear it, if it makes a difference, I don’t know. You’re loved, you’re loved, you’re loved, and someone’s gonna miss you if you go’). Mortality and the crippling acceptance of terminal illness are articulated tenderly in My Next Birthday (‘Yes, I hope the party’s big and it goes late, when they remember me on my next birthday’).

A palpable sense of anger is presented in Hopelessness Is Going Around which tells of a father and decorated war hero, whose small business is bought out by a large corporation, ending his days in a nursing home, with little by the way of entertainment except watching Fox News (‘ Now dad’s in a nursing home watching right wing cable news. He likes the way it makes him feel, couldn’t care less if it’s true’).

It's not all cheerless; a playful sensibility runs through both I Used To Be Cool and The Job Interview Song. The former, a hook-heavy affair, reflects on the passage of time. The latter is a typical engagement between an interviewer and an interviewee, who could literally relate to the character in the former song, going through the motions (‘You and I are the same Pawns in a rich man’s game’).

It's ‘business as usual’ for Klein with his latest project. Impeccable songwriting, splendidly articulated and supported by suitably sympathetic players, combine in an instantly rewarding listen.

Declan Culliton

New Album Reviews

Ella Spencer Oregon self release

Brought up in Suffolk, where her father started the Maverick Festival in 2008, Ella Spencer has been exposed to roots music for as long as she can remember. Now in her mid-twenties and living in London, she has become ‘one to watch’ in indie-folk circles. Classically trained in piano and viola during her childhood, she is a multi instrumentalist favouring piano, guitar and banjo these days. A friendship with the much underrated musician Jerry Joseph developed initially through the Maverick festival, and he has become a mentor, resulting in her visit to his Portland, Oregon base in 2024 to record this EP.

I Never Told You About Oregon, written during an earlier visit to Oregon, deals with loss and coming to terms with it. ‘There’s a bruise on my nail from Oregon/every day it gets closer to oblivion’ refers to the passing of her grandmother during that visit, and how Spencer dealt with the pain, which coincided with the gradual fading of a finger injury. Opening with just her vocals and piano, it gradually builds with guitars, drums and backing vocals to a powerful tour de force, with Spencer admitting that ‘I don’t miss you/I just see you in everything I do’.

There’s an air of menace emanating from the start on Warning Signs, opening with Joseph’s resonator guitar along with Spencer’s acoustic guitar, over her distinctive deep and resonant vocals. Possibly a metaphor for a relationship that went wrong, it’s rich in imagery of stormy weather but we are left somewhat in the dark as to its meaning, the sign of clever song writing.

Interestingly, the title of Scotty’s Tyres came about accidentally when Spencer recorded a voice note of potential lyrics as she passed her local tyre centre! Co-written with Canadian artist Poesy, it concerns the disintegration of a relationship (‘I can feel the wind it’s blowing/touching everything in your room’) with unfinished threats (‘And I really want to slash your tyres set your car on fire/ And that’s something I still might do’). The obvious hurt and regret are infused with a hint of the possibility of salvaging the once passionate liaison.

The three main tracks above were recorded in The Panther studio in Portland, the home studio of Steve Drizos, who also contributes percussion, guitars, synth and backing vocals, and co-produced with Jerry Joseph. Joseph himself also adds guitars and backing vocals. The bonus/fourth track is a stripped back version of Scotty’s Tyres recorded in London with Michael Smith.

Ella Spencer has plans to return to Portland to record more material soon. Check out this superb EP as an introduction to the work of an artist who we will be hearing a lot more of. 

Eilís Boland 

Luke Bell The King Is Back Thirty Tigers

There has been a long history of musicians who have dealt with and, at times, succumbed to addiction. At the same time, until reasonably recently, mental issues - often inherent in the associated aspects of that lifestyle - have received less coverage. Luke Bell died after an accidental fentanyl overdose in August 2022 at the age of 32. Although he had a career that had suffered some setbacks, he was gaining respect and fans for his music, particularly for his 2016 self-titled and only officially released album. It may have seemed, after his death, that there would be no new music from Bell, but friends and family have worked hard on this posthumous release of 28 tracks, recorded at various times over the last few years. They are a testament to a talented singer and songwriter. They are more than just demo recordings and largely featuring a full band. There are few better ways to celebrate the positivity of Luke Bell’s music, which has the potential of a much wider reach than any other format or single tribute performance. The release includes full liner notes, especially one written by his mother that is heartfelt and outlines Bell’s ongoing struggles, as well as his successes.

The album opens with Rattlesnake Man and it has the rollicking feel of early 1950’s honky tonk, something that was brought home when I heard Hank William’s I Saw The Light, slightly out of context, in a movie soundtrack recently. That feel, for this listener, continues in many of the featured songs from the first section of the album. This set of tracks (Side A) were cut in The Bomb Shelter in November 2013, and the choice of Andrija Tokic as producer on these tracks only serves to emphasise that direction. There some great songs like Don’t Mind If I Do, which features also some fine harmony singing from Kiki Cavazos. Lone Gone Love and Black Crows are also great performances. The players here are also spot on, like the rhythm section of Jimmy Lester and Dave Spicher. Also among those adding to the overall feel are Stephen Daly on guitar and pedal steel and the fiddle of Avery Bright, while Micah Hulscher is the keyboard player. These seven selections are taken from a previously available independent album, DON’T MIND IF I DO.

The next set of recordings (Side B) were recorded around a year later in October and December and again in the Bomb Shelter with Tokic back behind the desk. Some of those contributing to these selections differ from the earlier tracks, with Carter Brallier and Ryan Elwell on bass and drums. Stephen Daly plays electric guitar and Casey Driscoll is on fiddle. Mark Sloan is on keyboards and the steel player is Leo Grassl. Here the mood has moved on a few years, with a sound that is still pure country but with more of a 60s feel overall. More electric twang prevails and the vocal has a layer of warmth and confidence. Again some great songs in Dark House Of Fools, Ready For Love and All I’ve Got. Relationships and how they can ebb and flow is the overall lyrical theme. The final songs on this section again move on a year to the end of 2015. The assembled players are largely the same and the two songs again are reflective of that additional year and conviction in Guitar Man and Hand to Hold. The former is of a gentler persuasion, wherein he reasons that being a guitar man is destined to be his role in life. The guitar and keyboards are featured prominently under a subtler vocal from Bel,l seeking to be understood. The latter is one that could have easily found favour in a different environment in radio, then obsessed with a very different notion of what constituted ‘country music.’

The same set of players are featured on the next number of cuts (Side C). These tracks were from the same 2015 sessions as the previous two songs. Blue FreightLiner is about travel and some degree of feeling lonely, and it has some strong steel playing. Bell’s neighbourhood and friends are the subject of Hard Time, but it also has some old school yodels in a Jimmie Rodgers’ style update. Life, love and work as the constants are components here, if I read the songs right, in the likes of the bluesier Roofer’s Blues. Stag is given a more uptempo and upbeat arrangement, suited to its subject of a man going out and ‘acting single’ and wanting to avoid some aggravation from his love.  River is a more keyboard-led ballad with an effective harmony vocal from Cavazos and show how they were collectively stretching out at the time. This section finishes with the track Bottom Of The Sea which fits that sense of exploration with a subtle rhythm and some light touch guitar from Matt Menold. It was produced by Justin Francis and offers another perspective on where Bell might have explored.

The final set of songs (Side D) were taken from a series of Nashville sessions in 2014, all produced as the previously mentioned track by Francis, at what became know as the Tin Dog Sessions. These include the title track of the album (which was laid down a year later). It is assertive and advises to “hold your hat, the party’s on, the king is back.” Peter Lindberg and Brailler handled the rhythms and bass with Bright on fiddle and guitarist is Menold. Irrigator’s Blues again has Bell featuring on harmonica, with a nod to the blues. Orangutang has a touch of Roger Miller about what is a seemingly light-hearted delivery, that is also memorable. The last song from this set of recordings is Waste Of Time, with a freewheeling Bell vocal. The final three songs were all recorded in a private home in 2016. In some ways it is a return to the early hillbilly sound of the earliest cuts on the album. Stephen Daly is listed as producer and guitarist, with Elwell and Brallier listed as joining in. Seven And Strong, The Party Song and Tiger’s Mouth all finish off the album in upbeat fashion.

I have thoroughly enjoyed this music and it is great to have it in the world. Though I would have appreciated it as much without knowing of the tragedy that preceded it. It is also an acknowledgment of how, despite the physical and mental pressures which many people (artists, musicians and others) face in their lives, there is creativity to be found and while not everyone is able to be in the position of having such a testament as to who they were, this is something special. So, long live the king.

Stephen Rapid

The Autumn Defense Here and Nowhere Yep Roc

The opening track, The Ones, from the latest recording by The Autumn Defense is a six-minute gem and a dizzying country rock and classic pop crossover addressing deeply felt losses. Beautifully arranged, it also defines what John Stirratt and Pat Sansone, the founding members of the band, do so well. 

Eleven years since the release of their last studio album, FIFTH, the band return to their sun-kissed and deeply melodic Laurel Canyon signature sound with HERE AND NOWHERE. The brainchild of Stirratt of Wilco and Uncle Tupelo fame, and his close friend and Wico member Sansone, this eleven-track record seldom strays from their harmony-drenched and lush sounds that date back to their 2001 debut album, THE GREEN HOUR.

Recorded at Creative Workshop, Nashville and spaced over three years between Stirratt and Sansone’s other recording and production projects, the other contributing players were long time rhythm section of James Haggerty (bass) and Greg Wieczorek (drums, percussion), alongside a host of guests including Brad Jones, Jim Hoke, Matt Combs, Austin Hoke, Jennifer Kummer, and Steve Tyska.

From the string-infused classic pop In The Beginning to echoes of The Byrds in I’ll Take You Out Of My Mind and Hearts Arrive, they don’t put a foot wrong. Things take a more countrified slant in Raven In The Wood, and the unrushed More Than I Can Say is an intoxicating ballad. The niceties and relevance of love in a mixed-up world are considered in Love Lives.

Showcasing their flair for melodic songs that are so easy to access, The Autumn Defense have triumphed once more with this record. It’s another noble effort by the band to keep the heart and soul of the flourishing Los Angeles sound of the mid-to-late 1960s alive and kicking.

Declan Culliton

Joshua Hedley All Hat New West

Christened ‘Mr Jukebox’ for his capacity to roll out four-hour sets of classic country covers effortlessly at Lower Broadway’s Robert’s Western World, there is a lot more to Joshua Hedley’s credentials than simply a singer, fiddle player and country music historian. Since moving to Nashville from Naples, Florida, over two decades ago, Hedley has worked alongside several residencies in Music City, serving as a session player and touring musician with numerous artists before recording his debut album, MR. JUKEBOX in 2018. That record recalled the classic country sound of the 1960s and was followed four years later by NEON BLUE. 

Inspired by the passing of Joe Diffie in 2020, that album was a tribute to 1990s country, which Hedley described as ‘The last bastion years of country music.’ Maintaining his genre approach to writing and recording, ALL HAT finds Hedley turning his attention to country and western, jazz-influenced, Western Swing.  

Never one to do things by half measures, Hedley hooked up with nine-time Grammy award winner and frontman of Asleep at the Wheel, Ray Benson, who undertook the production duties. The recording was the first to take place at Benson’s new studio, The Bismeaux Barn in Austin, Texas, with Asleep at the Wheel players and celebrated fiddle player Jason Roberts all contributing.

Of the eleven tracks, nine were written by Hedley, the others being a co-write with Brennen Leigh, Crawlin’ Home To You, and the Ernie Newton-written Boogie, Woogie Tennessee. Good time dance tunes often laced with humour include Fresh Hot Biscuits, written by Hedley the night before the recording, and the playful All Hat, No Cattle. Other highlights are the jazzy waltz Crawlin’ Home To You, and the meticulously performed instrumental Hedliner Polka, which sounds like it was borrowed from The Texas Playboys' songbook from the 1930s. Ray Benson takes the lead vocal in Stuck In Texas and the slow-burning love-lost Over The Line bookends the album.

Hedley’s devotion to Western Swing dates back to when, at fifteen years old, he recorded his own Bob Wills tribute album. ALL HAT spectacularly recaptures all that sparkles about the genre and sticks religiously to the style that made it so popular in the Texan dance halls and further afield.

I’ll leave the last words to Hedley, ‘This album is my pièce de resistance. It’s all been building up to this moment. I feel like I’m making music I love more than any other style.’ 

Declan Culliton

Todd Snider High, Lonesome And Then Some Aimless

‘Humans are just awful, and I feel like I’m one of the worst ones sometimes‘ says Nashville-based anti-hero Todd Snider, tongue in cheek, or maybe not. 

Often considered a heartbroken troubadour, Snider has been surviving on the edge since the release of his debut album SONGS FOR THE DAILY PLANET in 1994. Revered by his peers and despite recording classic albums like EAST NASHVILLE SKYLINE (2004), PEACE QUEER (2008) and AGNOSTIC HYMNS and STONER FABLES (2012), the self-destruct button often appeared to deny Snider the opportunities for the recognition his songwriting warranted.

Plagued with chronic back pain that has prevented him from touring for a number of years, the lasting impression is that the album’s title accurately reflects his current state of mind. Snider's friends rallied around to assist with the album, most notably his close friend Aaron Lee Tasjan, alongside Robbie Crowell and Joe Bisirri, who are credited as co-producers.

It's not an easy listen; several of the songs play out like demos rather than the finished article, and Snider’s cracked vocal deliveries are rawer and raspier even by his standards. The less skeletal tracks, like the Chris Robinson co-write While We Still Have A Chance and the title track, both, unsurprisingly, the two singles that preceded the album’s release, are vintage Snider. The former is a piano-led cry from the heart (‘I know how lately I’ve been walking you crazy, but I’ve been saving and I got my eye on a little car. And just as soon as I save enough more money, I’m planning on taking you way too far’). The latter is a glorious self-deprecating tale of regret, set to a bluesy back beat.

‘I can’t please anybody that loves me, anymore than anyone I know,’ Sniders imparts in the semi-spoken The Human Condition. That air of self-censure also raises its head in his reworking of Don Covey’s 1971 soulful Ain’t Nothing a Young Girl Can Do. Re-christened Older Woman, it loses the playfulness of the original and instead gives off an air of desperation. Stoner Yodel No.# 2 (Raelyn Nelson) is a four-minute-plus rant directed at a named ex-girlfriend (‘She’d picked some guys in Gene Simmons side band over me. He ties bandanas to his belt loops and hangs them all the way down to his knee’) before wrapping up the record with a slight glimmer of hope with The Temptation To Exist.

Snider’s writing has never been sunburnt and blissed out, but HIGH, LONESOME AND THEN SOME is a challenging listen at times. It’s a ‘warts and all’ update of Snider’s state of mind and body, melancholic rather than uplifting. Hopefully, his headspace and spirits will improve, but in the meantime, it’s a relief to find that his creative juices continue to flow.

Declan Culliton

Signe Marie Rustad Do You Know Something I Don’t  Die With Your Boots On

‘I wanted to find out what impact the energy and love from an audience in a live setting can have on a studio album, ’ explains Norwegian singer-songwriter Signe Marie Rustad, on the brave move to record her latest album in one take in front of a live audience. DO YOU KNOW SOMETHING I DON’T was recorded in Oslo Konserthus, Lille Sal, on May 23rd, and the seven-track captures the blend of folk, roots and pop that has become the cornerstone of the Nordicana music genre in recent years.

The backing musicians that joined Rustad on the recording were among Norway’s finest players and included regular members of her backing band, Bjørge Verbaan (piano), Alexander Lindbäck (drums), Sander Eriksen Nordahl (guitar), and Njål Uhre Kiese (bass). Guests included Solveig Wan, who co-wrote three of the songs; Stine Andreassen of The Northern Belle and Silver Lining; and Live Miranda Solberg, whose stage name for her solo project is Louien, and who is also a member of Silver Lining.

A recurring feature of the talented artists and bands emerging from the Norwegian music scene is the quality of the vocalists, and Rustad’s vocals certainly live up to that accolade. Opening with the beautiful piano-led title track, the album pays homage to the wide musical influences that shape her. The tracks travel through alt-folk (Conformities Of Life, Everything They Said About You) to percussion-driven pop (Just What We Asked For, Tell Me Something True, The Line) and closes with a remodelled and more peppy offering of the title track.

From the minimalistic to the fully blown, the melodic intensity created by the musicians and the quality of both the lead and backing vocals make this record a most impressive listen.

Declan Culliton

Mariel Buckley Strange Trip Ahead Birthday Cake

EVERYWHERE I USED TO BE (2022), the second studio album from Canadian artist Marial Buckley, featured highly in our albums of the year at Lonesome Highway. STRANGE TRIP AHEAD should further bolster Buckley’s standing as one of the most exciting artists emerging from the Canadian alt-country/Americana scene in recent years.

The latest album does not stray too far from the model that worked so well previously for her. Observational songwriting, often relationship-related and always brutally honest, a driving rhythm section, and soaring vocals are once again the order of the day.

The production duties on EVERYWHERE I USED TO BE had an exclusive Canadian feel to it.  Buckley engaged Marcus Paquin, whose previous work included collaborations with fellow Canadians Arcade Fire, The Weather Station, and The Barr Brothers, to oversee that project. For this album, she travelled to Nashville to record with Jarrad K (Ruston Kelly, Lucie Silvas, Fancy Hagood, Goo Goo Dolls) at his home studio, Chateau Noir.  

An artist with the capacity to deliver bleak themes in an upbeat and melodic manner, the opening track Vending Machines is a case in point. The harsh reality and downside of a touring musician, compounded by the absence of a soul mate for support, are expressed frankly. The instantly catchy Swimming Practice addresses self-discovery as a non-heterosexual teenager and the resulting emotional turmoil (‘I had just shaved my head, felt like nobody loved me’). On first spin, Anvil may play out as a typical ‘tug of war’ relationship story, but a closer listen reveals the maternal desire for children, on one side of the partnership.  Further soul-searching songs, like the self-deprecating Sick of Myself and the recalling of sexual predatory behaviour in Somewhere Else, continue the forthright song cycle on an album that is seldom short on drama but is equally a deeply satisfying listen.

As was the case when I previously reviewed Mariel Buckley’s work, comparisons with Kathleen Edwards spring to mind in STRANGE TRIP AHEAD.  In a similar manner to her fellow Canadian, Buckley has the capacity to present deeply emotional matters with a hook-filled sound that draws the listener in and holds their attention from start to finish. The title may be a pointer as to what to expect when you first listen to this record, but it’s also a trip well worth venturing on.

Declan Culliton

Shawn Williams Acoustic Sesshawns Self-Release

New Orleans native Shawn Williams’ songwriting has invariably focused on matters of the heart and, in many cases, issues of the flesh. Unbridled desire was at the forefront of her striking WALLOWIN’ IN THE NIGHT from 2022; the content and rawness of that record recalled Marianne Faithfull’s classic album BROKEN ENGLISH. The following year found Williams in a more reflective mood but no less enraged with SULKING IN LOVE. Her latest recording is an acoustic eight-track collection, recorded by British-born Canadian resident Mark Howard (Lucinda Williams, Bob Dylan, Tom Waits, Neil Young).

Does the acoustic setting find Shawn Williams in a more relaxed mood and steering her thoughts towards social commentary or environmental matters? Of course not. From the get-go, we are told of unreciprocated love in My Baby. Aired in a vocal that’s approaching breaking point, Williams pours her heart out about her loss. Recollections of that affair could also be the background to Love Is and Only One On My Mind. The brooding Where We Start, the album’s longest track at over five minutes, is the standout track. It’s not all agonising over lost love, either. The bluesy Good Time finds the protagonist dusting herself down, donning the gladrags and heading downtown for her next adventure.

Williams is in fine voice throughout and is as convincing a storyteller as ever. Whether the tales are garnered from real life or observational, they continue to populate eyebrow-raising territory, delivered in what she labels her distinctive ‘alt-rocka countrybilly, serial killer blues.’ 

Declan Culliton

The Prickly Pair Self-Titled Self-Release

What started as students at USC/Thornton School of Music in Los Angeles, when Irene Greene and Mason Summit teamed up for a class assignment, progressed romantically and eventually to the formation of The Prickly Pair, for this East Nashville-based couple. Their self-titled debut EP is a harmony-drenched, five-song set of well-constructed, easy-on-the-ear compositions.

 Capturing the richness and mood of polished harmonies, the love ballad Winsome Loser Some Game is an impressive opener. Spreading their lens wider, Swamp Angel looks back on the tortured life of folk-hero Helen Spence, who avenged the murder of her father by shooting dead his killer in the courthouse at his trial. A fleeting love affair and its inevitable ending are at the heart of Riverside, and Never Any Good is a twangy tale of a no-good drifter. I doubt that D.B.Cooper, the alias of an unidentified Boeing 727 hijacker who was never caught and brought to justice, has previously been the subject of a song, but Piece of the Sky, the album’s final track, uses his mystery and disappearance as a study of detachment and exile.

The sonic terrain into which this EP falls is that ever-expanding Americana genre. Greene and Summit’s vocals are perfectly placed and work extremely well together. Alongside cleverly written songs and graceful arrangements, they sound like a couple who know exactly what they are doing. I’m interested to see what comes next for The Prickly Pair. This short introduction points to a duo with a very bright future.

Declan Culliton

New Album Reviews

Heather Little Even Better Now CRS

EVEN BETTER NOW is an appetiser by Texas-born, singer-songwriter Heather Little, before the release of her new studio album which she is currently working on. The recording features remodelled versions of several songs that were included in Little’s acclaimed 2024 album BY NOW. The revisited songs include additional input from like-minded artists that were approached by producer Brian Brinkerhoff (Nathan Bell, Shannon McNally) to refashion the original recordings. Also included are four solo studio recordings by Little that will be featured in their fully fleshed shape in her forthcoming album.

It was welcome news that Little returned to the recording studio after a ten-year break from the release of her 2013 debut record WINGS LIKE THESE from 2013. An exceptional songwriter, hugely regarded by her peers, she has had her songs recorded by Sunny Sweeney, Miranda Lambert (I Don’t Love Here Anymore was the standout track from Lambert’s 2005 album KEROSENE), and Keith Urban. By her own admission, her writing is primarily autobiographical. With three failed marriages and a career that began in her mid-teens, she has accumulated many life experiences to write about.

The songs that also appeared on BY NOW include Sunset Inn, which features Hannah White on backing vocals and recalls a traumatic period in the writer’s life that necessitated leaving home and taking shelter in various medium-term rented rooms and shelters. Bones is injected with even more atmosphere than the original version by the contribution of Irish traditional band Fourwinds, and in particular the haunting concertina input by Caroline Keane. Retaining that connection with Irish artists, the title track includes vocals by Noelie McDonnell, Noriana Kennedy, and Nicola Joyce of Galway-based band, The Whileaways. Stefan Prigmore shares vocals with Little on the sorrowful ballad Razor Wire.

Tinged with sadness, the stripped-back acoustic solo Just Like Trains and She Knows are powerful stories of helplessness and abandonment. In contrast, there is a sense of defiance and fearlessness in Won’t Be Sorry.

If Heather Little’s album from last year, BY NOW, passed you by, you are well advised to check this one out. Her accolade as a ‘songwriter’s songwriter’ is well earned. Still, she richly deserves to be recognised well beyond the music industry, and this, and last year’s record, could well be the stepping stone for much wider recognition.

Declan Culliton

Ryan Davis & The Roadhouse Band New Threats From The Soul Tough Love

Harking back to an era when bands like Lambchop, Okkervil River, 16 Horsepower and David Berman’s Silver Jews were challenging mainstream country and rock music with what was tagged Alt-Country, Ryan Davis has been treading a similar path. Described by the late Berman (during Davis’s former days as band leader in State Champion) as ‘the best lyricist that’s not a rapper going,’ that accolade still rings true in his more recent mission, Ryan Davis & The Roadhouse Band.

DANCING ON THE EDGE from 2023, with a title that precisely describes the essence of the album, was Davis's return to songwriting following a five-year pause.  A seven-song collection that ran for over fifty minutes and ranged from good-humoured rambling banter to fearful observations, it could have slipped under the radar, but fortunately, it earned consistently positive reviews. NEW THREATS FROM THE SOUL follows a similar format and is equally intriguing. Again, the record features seven tracks. This time, it’s fifty minutes long and, like its predecessor, requires a fully attentive listen, with headphones advised and ideally in one sitting.

‘I left my wallet in El Segundo; I left my true love in a West Lafayette escape room. She had the kind of smile to get a blue swine in trouble,’ Davis tells us in a relaxed voice on the title and opening track. It’s as close to a love song, although without a happy ending, that Davis has penned, and Catherine Irwin of Freakwater, one of many guesting contributors, adds well-placed harmonies.  The woozy Monte Carlo/No Limits, sounding like a collage of songs pieced together, also confronts a fizzled-out romance, and former, less complicated times are considered in The Simple Joy (‘And life was a safe if you could crack it or not…’Till I grew up and started living alone’), Will Oldham adds his vocals on this track. A contrite Davis confronts these failed liaisons in the countryfied Better If You Make Me (‘I can change for the better, if you make me’).

The semi-spoken delivery in Mutilation Springs adds to the dark message contained within the song, like a desperate look out of a half-opened door at the unfolding carnage that threatens to take over (‘Forsaken punks flip for police force work, And worse, then gift their king horse’). Mutilation Falls that follows three tracks later does little to lift the gloom or introduce an iota of optimism, (‘They waste no flowers on our graves but pray where our remains are really at. They pray for the beauty queen but more so for her parents’).

There’s no happy ending on the album either. Crass Shadow (At Walden Pawn), which brings the tales of unbridled despair to an end, finds its author clinging on for dear life as what may be a final wave of helplessness threatens to smother him.

Very much an inkling of what lies in Davis's inner mind, with gorgeous arrangements that add a degree of lightness to hard-hitting lyrics, NEW THREATS FROM THE SOUL is a riveting listening experience that I’ll be returning to many times in the near future. 

Declan Culliton

Kirsten Adamson Dreamviewer Last Day

'I'm not the person that I'm not, I'm not the thing you think you got. I'm just a complicated fool, like any other Joe, I'm a little hung up on my life,' announces Kirsten Adamson in My Life, the opening track on her second solo album, DREAMVIEWER.

Adamson’s 2023 record MY LANDING PLACE was a deeply personal affair, opening the album with two heartfelt songs directed at her parents, No Other Mother (‘You’re like no other mother – and you’re mine’) and My Father’s Songs (‘But I never knew my father, 'Til I sang my father’s songs’). Disappointments and troubled times also got an airing on a number of brooding ballads on that record. That theme of soul searching and meditation on life’s challenges is also at the heart of DREAMVIEWER.

As the album title suggests, it includes phantasmal-like narratives but also some plainly spoken bittersweet hindsight. If the opening track is a stout-hearted, 'this is me, warts and all,' Adamson drifts closer to shifting trains of thought elsewhere in the record. A case in point is the striking song In The Next Life, which camouflages a deep-rooted thought process with a jangly, power-poppy arrangement. That tempo is matched in the punchy and hugely impressive Back Seat Driver, a tale of pipe dreams and high hopes thwarted by life’s grinding realities.  Enhanced by Joe Harvey-Whyte's weepy pedal steel, Perfume is a cry for the return of childhood innocence and the casting off of self-imposed shackles.

Fond memories of cherished times in a relationship, sadly exhausted, are revisited in Valley and the Pines ('Wipe the tears from my cheek, wind on through the valleys and the pines. Some scars are too wide to heal in a lifetime'). The title track closes the album on a hopeful note, bookending a project that journeys from remembrance to yearning, but ultimately with an undercurrent of resolve and inner strength.

Recorded at Karma Studios in London and produced by Joe Harvey-Whyte, Adamson was joined by her backing band The Tanagers, Jon McKenzie, who co-wrote nine of the album's eleven songs, on guitar, Fred Abbott on Hammond, piano and backing vocals, and the rhythm section of Scott Forsyth and Richard Anderson.

Whether intentional or not, Adamson's Scottish lineage shines brightly across the album. Her splendid and natural vocals thankfully avoid any adopted accent, and Harvey-White has her voice perfectly placed in the mix. I also get echoes of a range of artists from the folk leanings of Eddie Reader to the melody of Teenage Fanclub and the Celtic rock of her father, Stuart Adamson's band, Big Country. All in all, an album that packs a hefty punch by an artist whose work gets better and better with each recording.

Declan Culliton

Rosy Nolan Main Attraction Self Release

Proving that the Los Angeles alt-country scene is continuing to thrive, we have Rosy Nolan and her new album. Ten tracks that offer a pleasing look back at how the music of that region developed from earlier times to today. A part of that journey was drumming in an all girl punk band at the age of 15, which was a time that inherently meant a lot to her. Later she widened her vision, getting into a scene that was more founded in techno and electronic music. All the time keeping the energy and anger of punk at her core. She grew up around music, theatre, and circus, activities her father was immersed in during her childhood and that remain a part of her performance. His leaving the family when she was young also marked another life-changing time in her upbringing. That nomadic musical search eventually brought her to country music, its history, and self-relating songwriters like Lucinda Williams. All of these were formative for her.

The album starts, as it means to continue, with Dead On The Vine, which, as the title suggests, doesn’t hold much hope for a current relationship. This theme will be consistent throughout the album, as it has been in country music songs for a very long time. A shuffle it allows Nolan’s voice to be upfront and surrounded by fiddle and upright steel. The fiddle (by Julian McClannahan) with its old-time feel is a key to the sound here and again drives How It Feels To Fall In Love. Utilising a more acoustic sound, it stands out with a strong vocal chorus, and Dirk Powell's addition of accordion helps to emphasise its expression of love. She wrote this track with fellow artist Ted Russell Kamp. 

Also sounding like it came from a lost 50s album is Them’s The Breaks. Despite the downward nature in calling out many male preconceptions in Get On Me that often emerging in internet exchanges the deliver is upbeat. The feel of the music is effectively a contemporary take on that more acoustic country that was prevalent in the 40s and 50s. It actually sounds quite refreshing in this era of male-dominated turbo country, definitely more California than Nashville or Texas. The sole cover is the Hazel Dickens-written " Don’t Put Her Down You Helped Put Her There which uses Powell’s accordion as a prime part of the instrumentation. It also relates to Nolan’s strong feminist attitude and involvement, which remains with her, along with other commitments important to her sense of justice. 

The album finishes its outing with Bad For You, wherein she expresses a sense of what loneliness and often loss can come to be a way of looking at what life’s cards have dealt you. She may feel that she is the one who might be bad, but all too often, it is the other way around. This is Nolan’s debut full album. She produced it alongside Heather Ann Lomax and Jason Hiller (who also engineered it) in Electrosound Studios in L.A. Doc Brown (guitar and steel), Doug Organ (piano), Ryan Posner (double bass), with Jim Doyle and Kevin Brown (drums and percussion) all played their part as did the various singers who also added their vocals.

Other than the cover songs and the co-write, the songs are all written by Nolan. She has gone back in some ways to come forward in terms of her chosen sound, but she has incorporated all the good and bad things that have happened along the way, as well as all the different locations she has lived in, into her songwriting, which is the main attraction here. With an EP behind her, she now has the freedom to explore herself going forward and, hopefully, in the time-honoured way that California country has always been such a rewarding route.

Stephen Rapid

Sparkle Carcass Maraschino Chevy Self Release

This is the second release from the Chicago based honky-tonk four piece. The band is led by singer guitarist Cody Palmer with his wife vocalist Reilly Downes, Justin Frederick on bass and drummer Aaron Vincel. Also involved here are Jeff Lyman on steel and lead guitar, Julie Nichols on organ and on one track Palmer’s mother Tammie Messick adds piano - so something of a family affair. Palmer also produced this straight down the line set of songs suitable for the local bar and honk tonk but also making an album that is enjoyable in the recorded format as well.

There are eight tracks that include a cover of the late, great honky tonk icon Gary Stewart’s Single Again. This is sung with conviction by the husband and wife

with an uptempo hardfloor feel that does the song some justice. From then on its is a solid run through of the other seven tracks, that all feel that they’re going to the right places. The songs are slices of life and leisure, from the clear message of Sippin’ On A Cool One through to the appeal for a relationship to carry on through all that might occur, good and bad, in Not Ever, as in 'not now, not ever’. Trying to drink some memories away, a honky tonk staple, is summed up in New Year No You. The title track is the real gem here, a story of a baptist preacher father and the wish to own the car of the title, Maraschino Chevy. It has a solid beat, some nice steel and guitar interplay, and shows the band off at its best. Following closely behind is the harmony laden Rainy Day Head, “been livin’ on water and bread” doesn’t sound too promising a lifestyle but the song itself is. Caldwell County has some nice piano to give it that extra texture, contributing to the build up to a strong finish.

I have some doubts that the band name actually best describes what they do, which, on this evidence, is something they do well. This may not seem, on the surface, to be that different from a number of other local area bands, but that is not to downplay that it is a purposeful and well played bunch of songs from a band that sound like they would be well received in a small bar setting. Palmer is a convincing singer and songwriter with songs that deal with life on the road, love in less than easy times, and facing life in Chicago in the wake of the pandemic and other problems. This though is also balanced with humour and hubris, indicating that although this is their second album, there is a lot more music in them to come as the rev up and move on down the highway.

Stephen Rapid

Bill Scorzari Sidereal Days Self Release

Those acquainted with Scorzari’s previous work will be familiar with his grizzled and raspy, gravel hewn voice, which is always placed above a well thought out and pleasing set of arrangements that are cinematic in outlook. Scorzari’s often poetic lyrics deal with acute observations from a personal perspective, that are in context both often painful but also true-to-life affirmations of the positive. The songs here appear, from the credits, to have been written over a period from 1995 to 2016, but ones that Scorzari thought their time had come and he set about recording them from 2020 onwards, initially recording his contributions in his home studio in New York. Later, further embellishments were recorded in studios in Nashville. For the uninitiated perhaps think of Sam Baker (though that might not really help too much for those who are equally unaware of the latter’s work), or perhaps consider a touch of Leonard Cohen at times, a not so melodic voice placed against a detailed and revealing set of arrangements.

A dozen musicians or so have contributed alongside Scorzari’s multi-instrumentalist input, and that includes drummer and percussionist Neilson Hubbard who handled the production duties with Scorzari. The album opener All This Time incorporates a string section and it balances that distinctive semi-spoken vocal with a subtle pedal steel. Suffice it to say that throughout the album these characterisations are apparent in the consistent level of music contributions. Some may take issue with Scorzari’s vocal delivery, it is true. yet it is the element in these songs that is their humanity and focus. It’s also true that on Endgame he pushes his delivery and sings it with some gusto.

The ten featured songs vary in length from under two and a half minutes to over eight minutes, and while they are all lyrical interesting it is sometimes hard to catch their full meaning and insight devoid (on a review copy) of the lyric sheet. These however are helpfully available with the commercial release. Lyrics are an important part of Scorzari’s music, but it is the overall combination of lyric, voice and musical accompaniment that creates his vision and attraction for the listener. Each of the songs has an individual story to impart, such as And Carries Me Away where the instrumentation is suggestive of travel, particularly trains. By contrast, in Can’t Break This Fall the subject is more self-realised and about the notion of falling in love. This consideration of relationships and their many and varied interpretations is also there in Borrowed Hearts. Scorzari is generally not one to write songs of simple brevity but he does,on occasion, as in From Your Heart. Less than two and a half minutes in length, this country styled song, which still uses his full set of assembled players, is as convincing as many of the those that take their time in revealing their depth.

As with all reviews the real themes and meanings of the lyrics are Scorzari’s, my considerations are simply my take on them - which is perhaps not a bad thing as it allows the listener to play their part. It is another prodigious release that will find its fans - both old and new - and demonstrates that Scorzari is among a group of artists who have produced lasting work and will continue to do so while staying well away from the fickle mainstream spotlight. Explaining his choice of title, Scorzari writes “I liked the concept of a pure descriptor of the moment when something returns to where it had previously been, without consideration of how it was otherwise moving.” A second volume of these reworking and reimaginings of earlier material will be available in early 2026. If you enjoyed this volume, then you will await the next with some anticipation.

Stephen Rapid

Caroline Spence Heart Go Wild Self Release

Album number six in a run that has produced some enthralling music from this gifted artist. This new offering is absolutely beautiful, with production qualities that expand into hushed soundscapes in the delivery of these twelve songs. The listening experience is both intimate and spectral and Caroline Spence has a lovely voice, residing in the high register, at once inviting and endearing in the meaningful words and honeyed vocals.

Leading off with the superb Confront It, a song of self-analysis and self- doubt, which wrestles with gaining meaning from the vulnerability experienced in negotiating life ‘It never left, You carry it with you, It walks around keeping the score.’ Interestingly, in a departure from her more introspective songs, Soft Animal is an example of the new approach, mixing it up with the sound almost bordering on a rock groove, and a look at breaking free from the norms ‘Do you know how hard it is these days, To take a step against the grain.’

The lovely melody that runs through Effortless belies the message of striking out against expected behaviour ‘It’s not right yet, But I know that I’m doing nothing wrong, Not changing my tune, Just because they haven’t played my song.’ Perhaps a reaction to her time spent with Rounder Records and their expectation for an artist to fit into a corporate box. She has since severed her links with the record label and followed her aspirations toward a different vision.

Why the Tree Loves the Ax is trying to recapture something that has been forfeited; perhaps in a relationship, or with the loss of innocence – ‘Sometimes we want something, That is good for nothing, Just because we miss wanting, Something all the time.’ Again, the words are so carefully sculpted and portray deep emotion in such a graceful way. Where the Time Goes is just beautiful, a love song with time suspended ‘Oh I’m finding myself, Lost in the moment, Don’t know where the sun is, But every hour is golden now.’ The use of synthesizer and programming is a new departure in stretching out the sound palette and it works superbly well.

Another song that revels in wedded bliss is The Sound Of You and the gorgeous tone of Caroline’s vocal against a soft melody of piano and pedal steel ‘Oh a wordless melody, Oh the only thing I need.’ Caroline is now a young mother and the new experience of parenthood informs Dried Flowers, Old Habits with the changes in her daily living perhaps reflected in a new form of identity ‘Why am I this way, Waiting on the perfect way to change, A sure-fire way to let your colours fade.’

The title track Heart Go Wild is a search for new inspiration to appear ‘I heard before, That you want what you can’t have, But I want it all, Never wanted anything so bad.’ Fun At Parties is a pure joy, and as close to a commercial sound that Caroline has come to, the rhythm creating an earworm, along with the lyric ‘All I wanna do is dance, And be carefree, but I just can’t – I wanna be, but I’m not gonna be, fun at parties.’

Vulnerability in love is beautifully captured on Heart Like A Mirror and the sweet surrender to honesty in communication ‘All my life I’ve only ever dreamed, I’d hold someone this close to me, All this time I thought I knew myself, But you’ve reflected someone else that I’ve tried not to be, Love is daring to be seen.’ The message on Leaving Now is the need to rediscover what has been lost, perhaps stifled creativity? The temptation is to reference her label split again with the artist fighting against being pigeon holed ‘It was noise, now it’s music. My saving grace, you called it useless, I went above, I went beyond, To change your mind ‘till I got lost.’

A highlight is the final song Where the Light Gets Through and it is a dedication to a lost friend with a reflection on missing their presence ‘But it still feels empty, This place you left behind, Still everything about it, Brings you to my mind.’ No question, Caroline Spence has delivered something very special here, and without doubt one of my favourite albums of 2025.

Paul McGee

Ed Dupas Codename California Black Bear

“Go West, young man” is an oft-used phrase when it comes to striking out for change and new horizons. In the case of Ed Dupas it was something of a reunion to return to the state of California where he had originally been conceived. His family had settled in Texas but there was always an emotional tug pulling Ed back to the hills of the Golden State.

The journey undertaken was a pilgrimage of sorts from his home in Ann Arbour, Michigan to a small residence in Laurel Canyon. Following the death of his father in 2019, Dupas hit a creative wall and in dealing with the grief encountered in the loss of a parent, he then found himself caught up in two years of forced seclusion as a consequence of the Covid pandemic. So, a time to take stock and to reflect upon the journey taken, and the road that stretches out ahead.

The opening song, and album title, is Codename California and it’s fair to say that the place he had longed to revisit was long since disappeared. This is evidenced in the lyric to Barbed Wire Cross on the reflection “The sun’s going down on better days, So we’re sending our prayers from far away, Through the twisted streets of broken glass, To the folks sleeping underneath the overpass.” The separation between the haves and the have-not’s just keeps getting bigger and wider each year.

Another consequence of time and the Covid experience is the sense of isolation that is now palpable in the eyes of lost souls wandering around our cities, all looking for connection. With the song Box Of Lonely Men Dupas captures this cry for help perfectly in his observation of a local bar ‘When the whiskey flows like wine, You get everybody feeling fine, Till it’s closing time,’ and the patrons leave to return to their solitary routines. The need to get lost for a period during his grief is mirrored in Ready To Be Found and the admission ‘I’ve been paying the bills in the Hollywood Hills for a while, Living without care as the world out there runs wild, Yeah, I had to turn off the news just to find my smile.’

There are relationship songs that profess the love shared between two spirits bound in time and both Queen Of Hearts and My Only One give hope for the future that is not necessarily found in The Great Shutdown which captures the distance found between us politically when ‘Red or blue is the only thing to choose.’ Elsewhere, The Medicine is a song about addiction and the need to try and cope from day to day ‘I’ve been trying for so long to pick myself up off the ground, It’s probably the medicine that’s been bringing me down.’ When you get dealt your cards, it’s not always possible to play a strong hand.

Perhaps the philosophy expressed in Holy Land is all we can cling to ‘And walk the path of peace, my son, like a river flows, Try to be a North Star to the world when the cold winds blow,’ and the song emerged from a chance encounter at a truck stop with a man of God. This is the first album in six years and Ed Dupas sounds really authentic in his vocal delivery and heartfelt words. Think Steve Earle as a signpost to this new direction and sound that Dupas has shaped.

The final song is Angel and it seems to channel the loss of a loved one, perhaps his father, in the sentiment that we are never alone and someone, once loved, lives on in our hearts ‘When I was a child, You’d softly smile, Into my dreams, Once in a while.’ Ed Dupas has bridged the gap between finding himself born again and that sense of being lost which existed. The musicians are all trusted friends from earlier albums with Michael Crittenden co-producing, in addition to playing various instruments.

Drew Holland on pedal steel, lap steel and dobro adds plenty of great moments in his playing and Tony Pace also appears on lap steel and dobro. The rhythm section of Rob Avsharian on drums and both James Connors and James Simonson on bass is quietly assured and vocal contributions from Drew Nelson, Chip Habitz and Caroline Barlow are full of colour. Ed Dupas takes all lead vocals, writes all the songs and plays acoustic and electric guitars with a  knowing ease. Impressive on many fronts, a great sounding band record and one that comes with much to offer.    

Paul McGee

Holly Carter Leave Your Mark Self Release

Holly Carter is a singer-songwriter and multi-award-winning instrumentalist who has established a reputation as one of Bristol’s leading fingerstyle guitarists and as one of the UK’s only professional female pedal steel players. So informs her website upon an initial visit and this album is her full-length debut.

The album was recorded at Middle Farm Studios in Devon and apart from the obvious skills of Carter, the other musicians are Joe Wilkins (guitars), John Parker (double bass), and Matt Brown (drums, percussion). The songs were recorded live in the studio with Peter Miles in the producers chair providing an organic sound to capture the interplay between the musicians.

The ensemble playing is superb and Holly sings in a voice that is somewhat reminiscent of Natalie Merchant in its restrained quality and unhurried tone. The ten songs display a keen sense of place and time, from the cover of Joe Hill’s Where the Fraser River Flows seeking union rights for workers, to the tribute to activist Stetson Kennedy who successfully exposed the Ku Klux Klan’s racist activities in the 1960s.

The opening song What You See concerns our splintered society and the inclination to only see one side of any opinion ‘Every different kind of lens makes a different kind of sense.’ The instrumental Morewen is timeless in its beauty, capturing the purity of acoustic instruments, gentle percussion and double bass lines that echo the great playing of Danny Thompson at his intuitive best. The atmosphere is reminiscent of a lazy country bike ride on a summers day. The jazzier flow of He’s A Man is something of a jaunty ride that exposes the failings of the powerful and blinkered powermongers that eat up so much of our shared oxygen. There is an atmosphere to Follow Your Lead that suggests an insecurity in decision making, where perhaps an easy route taken is better than making waves, whereas the slow blues of Idle Eyes is a sultry swing through the choice of going with the flow of life.    

Out To Sea is a standout track with atmospheric pedal steel wrapping a melody that conjures up earth and sky on a horizon that stretches into the distance. This is a fine album with superbly executed songs, understated and sonorous in the delivery. Worthy of your attention.

Paul McGee

New Album Reviews

Greazy Alice Just Another One Loose

In advance of their debut album, this four-track EP serves as an introduction to Greazy Alice, featuring New Orleans' Alex Pianovich, backing vocalist Jo Morris, and, for these recordings, Will Repholz on bass and Austen Hellman on drums.

Difficult to categorise - think somewhere between Mark Lanegan/Isobel Campbell, and Lee Hazlewood/Nancy Sinatra – the band took its name from a working girl characterised in Terry Allen’s 1975 album, JUAREZ.

The title track, which opens with atmospheric spoken word by Pianovich before he is joined in full voice by the silver-voiced Morris, was inspired by a scene from the movie Casablanca. Woozy and spellbinding, the seven-and-a-half-minute-long Flag Day is a slow-burning gem that recalls the lo-fi panache of David Berman and Bill Callahan.

With a playful sensibility running through it and in complete contrast, Stop Asking Why is a countryfied delight and the fourth inclusion, Departures, is an acoustic, prayer-like affair.

With an eagle eye for unearthing left-of-centre talent, Loose discovered the band on a talent-finding mission to New Orleans a few years ago. This medley of songs is more than enough to whet the appetite for what is to come down the road from Greazy Alice. Well worth your attention.

Declan Culliton

Brennen Leigh Don’t You Ever Give Up On Love Signature

It’s not an overstatement to describe Fargo, Dakota-born Brennen Leigh as one of the most consistent flag carriers for hardcore country music over the past few decades. She may not have achieved anything like the colossal sales that numerous female pop/country crossover artists have. Still, she has steadfastly ignored industry trends that support soap-opera type artists peddling  bland pop music masquerading as ‘country.’

The past six years have found Leigh at her most prolific. As well as this latest album, she has recorded three others, AIN’T THROUGH HONKY TONKIN’ YET (2023), OBSESSED WITH THE WEST (2022) and PRAIRIE LOVE LETTER, the latter was album of the year at Lonesome Highway in 2020. This latest addition encompasses all the key elements of its predecessors: clever, hard-hitting and witty lyrics, as well as masterful flatpicking, presented in Leigh’s perfectly punctuated vocals.

Having focused on honky tonk and Western swing on her two previous records, DON’T YOU EVER GIVE UP ON LOVE ticks the ‘old-time’ and country and western boxes, while also including some rowdy barroom songs. Recorded at Wolfe Island Recording Co. in Dayton, Texas, the players that contributed to this twelve-track record included Kevin Skrla, who produced the album and whose standout pedal steel playing is a recurring feature, Damian O’Grady (piano), Dave Biller (electric guitar), Josh Hoag (upright bass), Jason Baczynski and Matty Meyer (drums) and Katie Shore (fiddle).

The title track is a co-write with Elijah Ocean, who had commenced writing the song with Leigh in mind. Without hesitation, Leigh got on board to complete the song, which eventually fashioned the album’s core theme of ‘love and lost love.’ A comparison with Loretta Lynn may be a lazy observation, but songs like Dumpster Diving and Tell Me mirror Lynn’s ‘iron fist’ and ‘tell it as it is’ attitude. Leigh’s enthusiasm for co-writing and her capacity to pen songs with others that sound like they have been around forever yielded several standout tracks. Thank God You’re Gone and Texas Tumbleweed, both written with ‘new kid on the block’ singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Alex Miller, are cases in point, as is the jokey Nothing You Can Fix, credited as a co-write with Mary Bragg.

 A classic country album wouldn’t be complete without a ‘drinking’ song, and A Reason To Drink (‘One of my favourite topics in country & western music is alcoholic denial and shame,’ admits Leigh) connects the alcoholic scorned lover and other woman in a tale that was never going to have a happy ending for any of the parties. By way of contrast, I’m Easy To Love After All is a tender, waltz-like, love ballad.

The combination of Brennen Leigh and Kevin Skrla, two die-hard hardcore country artists and scholars, has brought into play all the essential components that contribute to a classic country and western album. Twangy vocals, lots of weepy pedal steel guitar, delicate fiddle playing and impressive stories all feed into a lovely listening experience from start to finish.

Declan Culliton

Nicki Bluhm Rancho Deluxe Little Sur

San Francisco native, currently living in Nashville, Nicki Bluhm’s latest recording, RANCHO DELUXE, is her eighth studio album and follows on from her 2023 album, THE BEAT GOES ON, which was a tribute to Cher.

Named after the home studio that she created with her producer and co-writer Jesse Noah Wilson, the album was completed over five days and squarely reflects Bluhm’s globetrotting musical career over the past two decades. Her West Coast leanings are never too far from the surface, and she also shifts confidently between folk-rock and soul.

The ten tracks play out like individual chapters of those past years. By way of a preamble for what is to follow, Bay Laurel Leaves opens the album with the protagonist in desperate straits and seeking refuge (‘I won’t say that I was running, but I just couldn’t stay. All the songs that I was singing, like a bird inside a cage’). Falling Out Of Dreams follows with a favourable resolution that signals the beginning of a journey that ultimately has a happy ending. We hear of inner strength and survival in Keep On Growing and more playful memories in Cumberland Banks, even if the latter could have ended poorly, as a canoe trip down the Cumberland River ended up as a survival challenge.

One of many standout tracks, Tumbleweed showcases cosmic Americana at its finest, with woozy guitar breaks that dance from speaker to speaker. It’s equalled by the spacey Change The Channel, which, at five and a half minutes, is the album’s longest track. A co-write with Leslie Stephens - check out her killer album SINNERS and her self-titled record - it’s the album’s knockout track for me, Bluhm’s fluid and unhurried vocals, a feature throughout the record, particularly excel here.

If uncertainty and anxiety raise their head in Taking Chances, the mood lightens in the final track, Long Time To Make Old Friends, signing off on a high note. With the vocals shared with Bluhm’s neighbour, Dillon Warnek, it’s the final chapter in an autobiographical story that, having arrived in Nashville from California in 2017, freshly divorced and with a shattered career, signals a happy and well-deserved ending for Bluhm.

Declan Culliton

John Francis O’Mara Forbidden Hymns Self-Release

With that name and album title, it is, perhaps, no surprise that O’Mara’s writing has some religious overtones within its titles and lyrics. He is an ordained Episcopalian priest and is pursuing further studies towards a doctorate in theology. However, that is not the totally defining aspect of what’s on offer here. He writes songs that can stand up in the overall framework of what an album and set of songs should do, which is to make the listener want to listen—and listen well. 

Ken Coomer produced the album and has some sterling players, the most notable being bass player Dave Roe, who sadly passed away back in 2023. This indicates that some of the recordings here took place some time ago. Which, in itself, is not a problem, as it often takes time these days to prepare a physical or downloadable release option. Alongside Roe, there are notable performances in the studio from Kenny Vaughan, Chris Scruggs, John Lancaster and backing vocalist (a role that can often mean more than it might imply) Vinchelle Woods. John Carter Cash adds his voice to a song that he co-wrote for the album.

Opening with the echoes of confusion and concern that is Walking In Babylon, a wry look at a world that is turned upside down and inside out. It is a blend of roots Americana with strong spiritual and humanist overtones. The song Lately Mary has a sense of rumination about a special person. Jesus Walked On Water asks the question: if Jesus could walk on water, why can’t I? So, belief is one of the central motifs that O’Mara employs through these songs, which reflect his own journey and faith. That song has a more meditative arrangement, as do several of the tracks; this contrasts with songs that have a more up-tempo and upfront approach, as in Ashes Ashes, which highlights the diversity and simple listening ability inherent throughout.

Of course, some of these tunes have an immediate impact on this listener, and one of them is Maria, I Would Dance With You But My Hands Are On Fire. I won’t pretend to decipher its meaning, but the overall effect is powerful. There is some layering of soul (of different sorts) in another memorable track, Miracle. In truth, there is a lot of material that has the potential to leave a lasting impression after playing. A lyric sheet might have helped in better understanding some of the words, but that doesn’t happen too often with review downloads. However, it is easy to decipher enough of the overall content to acknowledge the assurance and skill involved here. O’Mara’s deep conviction and quintessence are very apparent in Might Power a song that may have fitted the repertoire of a couple of iconic Irish bands. It's a title that could just as easily sum up the feeling that the album delivers. The final song Let It Be So is again one that I see a resonance with the aforementioned Celtic spirituality, as well as with faith in the broader sense.

Coomer and the assembled players have created an album that I found delivered on several levels, especially for a singer/songwriter I hadn’t encountered before. This is a testament that O’Mara’s need to make music goes beyond fame and money. In that light, I sense a similarity to the music of Michael McDermott. Another artist who puts his heart and soul into his work, rather than just seeking monetary recompense and fleeting fame, as the overriding need to create and deliver his music.

It’s always something of a very pleasant surprise when a newly discovered artist brings something that musically resonates with you (which of course is in itself a variable feast). These “hymns” are not a forbidden pleasure but a simple assurance that when music is born of a positive conviction, it will be apparent as it is here.

Stephen Rapid

Paul Burch Cry Love Glider

After releasing ten previous albums under his own name since 1996, Paul Burch has most definitely established his vision, which can now be easily classified, even though consistent elements from earlier times are immersed in the music. Above that, Burch has developed a recognisable vocal style that is wholly suited to the delivery of his own songwriting. This has been accomplished on many occasions by the accompaniment of his WPA Ballclub bandmates, both live and in the studio. In this case, founder members Dennis Crouch and Fats Kaplin join him at the production desk, along with noted guitar player Richard Bennett (all of whom, when listed in an album’s credits, should warrant further inspection).

Burch has also just published his debut novel, Meridian Rising, which is a fictional account of the rise of singer Jimmie Rodgers - a singer who has been a major influence on Burch’s own work as an innovative, contemporary roots player. A deep love of a style and epoch that drove him to play it live in the then somewhat rundown environs of Lower Broadway in a residency at Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge (along with acts such as Greg Garing and BR549). Burch continues to play shows in intimate clubs, often with guests and without the safety net of a set list.

As perhaps is fitting, given the album’s title, these are largely songs that relate to the perennial topic of relationships. The album's opening track is titled Glencoe and is about a town in Oklahoma rather than the area in Scotland. But it is a welcoming introduction to this upbeat album. Burch can add that rockin’ beat when required, as in One If By Land, which has echoes of his Buddy Holly tribute album (WORDS OF LOVE). Also, an up-tempo treat is Radio Gal, which is a twangy notification that the lady in question is “coming tonight.” The title track equates the need for help with a call to a suitable practitioner, such as a fireman for a fire or a waterman for a flood. However, when it comes to love, you need help from a very different source, and that is to ‘cry love.’ The Fat Man has a sound that goes back decades to a pre-Hank Williams time. Similarly, I Won’t Miss My Baby Anymore finds him in that time-honoured treatise that you won’t miss your baby until sugar is no longer sweet or any other similar metaphor.

Trying to make a liaison move forward to a better place is outlined in Close To Love, which has a short and sweet arrangement that is bettered by its brevity. Something he knows that he needs to explore more is the need for the kind of dynamic that is Chemistry. A little tougher with its strident bluesy guitar is Braggin. Not stepping out on your partner is a promise sought in Step’ Out. This has Fats Kaplan’s gypsy style fiddle employed to give it its overall feel. Don’t Forget To Come Back Home is a gentle call to do just that. A more soulful space is explored in the instrumental keyboard-led Rice Pudding. An old-time prewar honky-tonk feel, again keyboard-led, permeates the closing instrumental Jitterbug Waltz.

This is an album that will delight Burch fans and those who want to explore the roots of pre and primeval rock ’n’ roll and how it fits into the current musical landscape. It is a recording delivered by a skilled team of players who are led by Burch’s innate understanding of that era and beyond. A melting pot of ideas and their fundamental basis and how to place them in the here and now. This is music from the heart, to be played in intimate, smaller venues rather than larger arenas. It also sounds totally convincing in its organic recorded state here. What’s not to love.

Stephen Rapid

Rhett Miller A Lifetime Of Riding By Night ATO

This finds the two Old 97 bandmates working together for the first time in quite some time. This has a folk-pop feel that is quite different from their work in that seminal band. In some ways, its more generic and relaxed approach is comparable to Murray Hammond’s recent solo album release. They share the bulk of the instruments featured and are joined by Faith Shippey on bowed upright bass, Annie Crawford’s harmonium and percussionist Richard Hewett. This combination offers a thoughtful ambience that reflects on the passage of time and, as you get older, what matters most to you.

A Little Song starts proceedings by stating that he has a “little tune he could hum to turn back time to all our better days and nights … I found a pretty way to sing … a little song to make you stay.” The lyrics seem to be a heartfelt appeal to try to save a faltering relationship. This is followed by another statement about how everything he does is for one sole purpose. All For You then sums up the process of deciding priorities. From then on, there are another eleven tracks that are reaffirmations of love and hope. The opening track A Little Song also appears twice more in other iterations of that hopeful appeal. There are moments of great solidarity throughout, where the music highlights Miller’s prowess in bringing something deeper to his vocal delivery, which is a vital component of this process. Being, perhaps, more apparent here, in this context, than on the Old 97s releases.

Come As You Are has a memorable chorus, with Evan Felker (of Turnpike Troubadours) joining in, adding to the overall effectiveness of the track. Felker also has some co-writer credits here, too, as do a number of other co-writers that include Nicole Atkins and Caitlin Rose, as well as Jesse Valenzuela and Ben Greenman. The latter cowrote the song People Are Lifted that illustrates the vision and deftness of the writing with line such as “I’ve been able to think on the things that I’ve seen / I watched as they happened I don’t know what they mean / I have tried to make sense through patience and prayer / Of the bodies on earth rising into the air.”

The reflection on a life lived in music, and how it creates and also can destroy, is paraphrased in the lines from the title track: “A lifetime of riding by night / Turns out it pays no dividends / Except in loneliness that never ends.” However, that likely doesn’t paint the complete picture of where he was and where he is now. This album demonstrates that there is still life and music in Miller. He’s not done, and while this dwells on some of those darker moments, it is full of light in a way that these songs are produced. The fact that the album closes with the song Brand New Heart, which, despite its pessimistic perspective, still sees possibilities for better things ahead. “What a sight for these sore eyes to see / Such a pretty face and so familiar to me / I wish that I could tell you that I’ve loved you from the start / What I need is a brand new heart.”

These are more than a number of ‘little songs,’ which represent a point of reflection on the past and a hope for the future that are captured in a way that is open to interpretation and the understanding of the way this is, in itself, musically, a body of work that will enhance a long standing career as a member of the Old 97s and as a solo artist who can explore other aspects and ways to create music that has the power to illuminate how ones vie can change (for the better) over time.

Stephen Rapid

The Equatorial Group Sunseeker Self Release

Album number four from a band that deliver the most superb sounds in displaying their collective talents from Eastbourne, a beautiful seaside town on the south coast of England. It looks an idyllic place to live, with a rich history and a cultural oasis of art galleries and music. Any wonder that the five-piece band are reluctant to tour extensively outside the immediate area. This of course simply adds to their mystery, and there is a charming sense of magic dust that sprinkles their gorgeous melodies and laid-back, lush sound.

The group consists of Neil Grimes (drums, vocals), Dave Davies (guitars, vocals), Helen Weeks (guitar, pedal steel, vocals), Andy Tourle (bass, vocals), and Teresa ‘Twe’ Fox (keyboards, vocals). They gel together in such a sweet seductive sway across these twelve tracks, recorded live over just five days, and capture the moment of all five members in one room at Brighton Road Recording Studios, Sussex, with producer Ali Gavan at the helm. The results are absolutely charming.

Opening track Some Small Nature deals with relationship aftermath and the opening lines declare ‘There was a fine line between us, Our edges barely met, More blur than definition.’ And this in a way defines the rest of the album, with tales of relationship challenges from various perspectives, all wrapped in rich melody and lovely harmonies, the songs are quite superb in their creation and delivery.

Difference touches on decisions taken and the fragile nature of compromise ‘I’ll lose again this week, It hurts to borrow you, And our threadbare memories.’ Can memory really be trusted if it only reflects a subjective recall? The song 400 refers to album collections and living in high rise buildings. Another relationship in flux, perhaps likening life to splendid isolation ‘It’s been a strange time, Can I face another rebuild? When we're still learning to let go.’

The title track Sunseeker captures the separation of leaving and the freedom of travel to foreign places, the letting go of routine ‘Sunseeker, She thought you’d never leave her.’ Another song Giants expresses an urge to look outside for inspiration, instead of internal focus for the strength needed to effect changes ‘Passenger blues, Essential escape, Over the wild grey brine, away.’

It’s almost as if the protagonists in these songs are searching for varying degrees of self-awareness, something that comes slowly, if at all. And the subject of change also threads through the songs, like on That Is True which looks at tangled feelings ‘And I can’t fight the way that is true, All this time we are here and so blue, But I don’t wanna be loved by you, I will change your mind.’

So High deals with disappointment and the way in which we can’t afford to rely on others ‘You fell in love on Friday, But not with me, I’m drifting off now, all at sea.’ The standout Missouri Boy references an untimely death, with the passing a cause for much reflection ‘Suffocating home, I miss you, This shit’s so black and white, I could’ve turned my back, you know, I fear the living not the dead.’

The CD has an additional four songs that don’t appear on the vinyl, and Cold Amongst Cold looks at separation in a relationship ‘As close as you are, You’re never here, we’re so much more together when we’re apart,’ with atmospheric keyboard sounds highlighting the sense of unease and angry guitar chords driving home the grip of isolation. Lester is a track that reflects family dynamics with colourful playing from the ensemble ‘Mama always says that Lester’s right.’ Couldn’t Help Myself soars with a fine arrangement and a message of love gone wrong again.

Helen Weeks has a lovely vocal tone and her pedal steel playing adds great colour to these songs, along with the inventive guitar of Dave Davies, throughout. Helen sings lead on eight of the tracks with Dave singing the remaining songs, ably supported by the great rhythm section of Neil Grimes and Andy Tourle, consistently adventurous in their playing, and the superb keyboards of Teresa Fox adding layers of vibrant resonance; perfectly illustrated on Wrong Song where everything comes together in a heady mix of sweet, soaring sound. These songs build, gently suggesting, whispering in your ear, seducing you with their power. They are the embodiment of an Anglicana soundscape, rooted in subtle melody and taking flight with the superb musicianship. A strong contender for album of the year.

Paul McGee

Zandi Holup Wildflower Big Loud

This debut album from Zandi Holup throws up many pleasant surprises in the quality of songwriting and delivery. Born in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, Holup had always been drawn to write songs and to use the songwriting vehicle as a way to express her inner feelings. After moving to Nashville and facing a lot of initial negativity to her music as being “too dark,” she focused on her social media platforms and found that there was a strong audience out there who wanted the honest self -analysis and the bare-all approach that her songwriting highlights with a genuine vulnerability.

Coming out of self denial and into acceptance is hard, and feeling the pain of the past is one important way of letting it go. All That’s Left Is Me tackles this issue and the lyrics reflect ‘Stripped away my vices, threw my crutches on the floor, Now I can't hide behind what used to numb me anymore.’ Elsewhere, striking out for independence has the girl in Dirty Wings looking for redemption in acceptance of mistakes made ‘Fled the nest at seventeen, lived on dreams and gasoline, Broke down on the dark side of the moon.’

Relationship challenges on Go Find Less are always going to test a sense of self-worth and whether looking for self-esteem through another person is healthy ‘If I was a bit more insecure, Then I'd be what you're looking for, If I'm too much to handle, there's the door.’ On Wildflower the need to strike out for independence runs through the words ‘You can find me growing with the weeds, my long hair blowing in the breeze, Forever young, forever free, God broke the mold when he made me.’

Some people question the need for too much honesty in writing songs from personal experience. However, there is a strength in such vulnerability and whether the themes that thread these songs together are seen as self-indulgent or just fragments of emotions, and fleeting moments, there is a resonance that echoes. Holup writes so well about relationships in all of their messy ways and her insight comes from both personal experience and from imaginings of what transpires between couples.

Gas Station Flowers paints a picture of someone devoid of confidence and looking for the approval of another to define her sense of well-being ‘ I'd rather go through hell than let you go, 'Cause those gas station flowers are better than being alone.’ Memories of Dolly Parton early on in her fledgling career come to mind as she sung often about being the girl wronged, and there is a similarity in the vocal of Holup as she pleads for recognition in an abusive relationship. Dolly is there again in the spirit of Runs In the Family and the abuses that can define a young life ‘‘The hitting and cheating, The quitting and the leaving, The apple didn’t fall far from the tree, I guess it runs in the family,’ and elsewhere ‘generation to generation, same old shit, new iteration.’ Part of escaping abuse is the need to break free from what can follow you into future experiences, like you can never escape the ties that bind.

Love hurts on Doing the Time where an old relationship stings and it feels just like a prison sentence in waiting for the upset to subside ‘You're out on the run, knowing you did the crime, Free as a bird while I'm doing the time.’ The girl on Cowgirls Don’t Cry is prepared to toughen up and face the stings of romance with a resigned strength - an antidote of sorts where the cure is to ‘Get back in the saddle and wish him goodbye.’

Mountain Man has the picture of what rugged self-belief is imagined to be ‘Soon as I reach out to pull him in close, The voice in the woods calls him to come home.’ The tale of addiction on Mary Jane is one that repeats across any number of townships where adolescents seek identity through peer pressure to follow a road that often leads to self-destruction ‘She got him to grow up fast, that innocence you don't get back, The way he saw the world started to change, Felt so good when she was around, but every up took him further down, And he ain't ever really been the same since Mary Jane.’

The final song Things I’ll Never Forget is another look at the marks left by childhood disappointment and a parent who cannot show a guiding hand to a child ‘You're saying that you love me, but not enough to quit, All the things you don't remember are the things I'll never forget.’  At the core of these songs is a very talented songwriter who is expressing emotions that are universal and that resonate with many of the listeners who have already bought into the hard-earned wisdom of this artist. A quietly superb debut.

Paul McGee

Goldpine Three Self Release

Duo Ben and Kassie Wilson are a husband and wife team who met in church and produce a soulful Americana sound with harmony vocals that really impress. Currently based in Nashville and spending a large part of their time touring on the road in their camper van as full time travelling musicians, this third album was recorded in a live environment with their impressive talents separating this duo out from the pack in the strong songs and the vocal prowess of Kassie.

Alabama Born kicks everything off in fine style with a song about growing up in a difficult family situation, but not letting it define you. Kassie moved to Nashville at the age of nineteen to pursue her dreams and the lyric speaks of her early childhood and her mother ‘She wore the wedding band of a man with a heavy hand,’ and elsewhere ‘I don’t carry his name but I feel his blood inside my veins.’

Confessions has a fine rootsy arrangement with harmonica, guitar and handclaps joining together to bring a sense of urgency to the arrangement ‘Hey my name is Jack and I think that I may have a problem.’ The song deals with addiction. The blues of Understand is another vehicle for the expressive vocals of Kassie and her husband Ben joins in attesting to the power of love as the song arrangement burns with an understated passion. Another song Love Is carries a message of  always being there to support a lover through the slings and arrows of relationships.

Kassie plays harmonica and tambourine while also channelling keyboard and drum sounds through a MIDI pad. Ben handles suitcase percussion in addition to playing dynamic guitar atmospherics that lift the songs great heights. This duo have a great live sound that is both vibrant and compelling.

Lean Into the Turns features Radney Foster on vocals and carries a warning of the twisted path of love ‘We could fight about how we feel, but down the road we’re all made real, hold on and lean into the turns.’ Down the Line is a song that reflects on living life in a state of sleepwalking and missing all the signs that point to being in the present moment and effecting necessary changes ‘I can just never see it coming, The way that I let it slip through my hands ain’t funny.’ The song Space dreams of travelling into the galaxy and seeking a place where love endures for all time, the close harmonies again proving a highpoint, along with some tasty guitar lines.

The acoustic rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner is stripped back in the arrangement which allows the focus to centre on the vocal prowess of both Ben and Kassie, before the final song Stumbling Stone brings a healing balm to the listening experience with a powerful singing performance that glories in a higher presence and reflects the power of the voice in song. A really enjoyable album and it comes highly recommended. Songs from the heart.   

Paul McGee

New Album Reviews

Kashena Sampson Ghost Of Me Mule Kick

‘This is an album about ignoring the bullshit and doing what’s authentic to me. Forget the rat race. Forget the bad relationships. Forget trying to please everybody. I’m tired of doing that. I wanted to do something for myself, and that’s what Ghost Of Me became,’ announces Kashena Sampson on the release of her third studio album.

Typical of many of her neighbours, peers, and friends, who represent the enormous musical talent pool residing in East Nashville, Sampson is working tirelessly to survive in an unforgiving industry. If the release of her 2021 album TIME MACHINE was dogged with misfortune when her income stream was severed after a tornado struck East Nashville and partially destroyed The Basement East, where Sampson worked part-time, at least the writing, recording and release of GHOST OF ME was relatively trouble-free. Written in 2018 and recorded in 2019, that genre-hopping album, TIME MACHINE, was a personal reflection on hard times, dysfunctional relationships and isolation. GHOST OF ME is equally autobiographical but with a refreshing sense of defiance, acceptance, and a ‘this is me, like it or not’ attitude 

As she had done in the past, Sampson engaged Grammy-nominated producer and multi-instrumentalist Jon Estes (Rodney Crowell, Kacey Musgraves, Joss Stone, John Paul White) to oversee the production and mixing duties alongside his contributions on bass, cello and keyboards. If her previous albums flirted between folk, rock, and Americana, there is more consistency here than in those previous recordings. Laced with reverb, synths, screeching guitars, thumping bass lines, hypnotic and layered vocals, the nine tracks take her sound further into a much darker side of indie folk.

Despite the often harrowing subject matter addressed, the album is punctuated by numerous upbeat musical moments. Typical is the opening and title track. The sonically uplifting and dramatic arrangements almost camouflage the song’s confession of despair bordering on hopelessness (‘Don’t want to lose myself, the future's growing dim. Oh, I can’t hold back, the feelings finally win’). Equally spacey is Phases, which follows the title track. A co-write with Caroline Spence, it could be an immediate response to the title track with a ‘note to myself’ reminder that bleak times do eventually pass. Spence also receives a songwriting credit on Rearview Mirror, a song that speaks to eventually recognising controlling behaviour and extricating oneself from that incapacitating environment. The boundaries are pushed out even further in the grungy and pleading God (‘Can you help me find a god I believe in, can you help me with my pain’).  

It's not all foot firmly on the gas, and the mid-tempo tearful ballad Fucked Up Love emphasises Sampson’s ability to hit notes well outside the range of many. The Awakening, one of three inclusions written with her sister Jolana, also showcases Sampson’s vocal flair before she signs off on an upbeat and heavily melodic note with recollections of happier times in Thick as Thieves.

GHOST OF ME may have found Sampson drawing from despair, but there is an angelic pureness to her vocals, which gives the songs an ethereal, almost spellbinding, quality. A most impressive project that hopefully will get the attention that it richly deserves.

Declan Culliton

Various Artists It’s All Her Fault: A Tribute To Cindy Walker Hummin’bird

Songwriter, singer and dancer Cindy Walker had over five hundred of her songs recorded, four hundred of which made the top forty in either the country or pop charts. This statistic is even more impressive when you consider that this was achieved over a period of fifty years. Artists who recorded her songs included Bob Willis, Ernest Tubb, Eddy Arnold, Jim Reeves, Ray Charles, Elvis Presley, Willie Nelson, and The Byrds. In many cases, Walker wrote specifically for certain artists, successfully tailoring the compositions to suit both the artist and the market.

The motivation behind the Grammy-winner Grey DeLisle's executive produced project arose when she became aware that Walker’s childhood home in Maxia, Texas was in dire need of refurbishment before it became beyond repair. As a result, the streaming proceeds from the album will be donated to the Cindy Walker Foundation to contribute towards the renovation costs of the house.

Thirteen of Walker’s songs are included on the album, from a broad range of female artists. From the seventy-five-year-old (and still as energetic as ever!) Rosie Flores (You Don’t Know Me) to more recent country breakthrough artists, such as Kimmi Bitter (Hey, Mr Bluebird) and Summer Dean (Don’t Talk To Me About Men), the common denominator is the quality of their vocal contributions, which do full justice to Walker’s writing.   

Vocalist and fiddle player Katie Shore, currently a standout member of Asleep at the Wheel, opens the record with the appropriately named You’re From Texas. It’s not a coincidence that many of the contributors also hail from Walker’s home state of Texas. They include Brennen Leigh, who is joined by DeLisle on the duet You’ve Got My Heart Doing A Tap Dance, Kelly Willis who takes on I Don’t Care, Mellissa Carper with Take Me In Your Arms (And Hold Me), Jolie Holland (Don’t Be Ashamed Of Your Age), and Western Swing historian and multi-instrumentalist, Ginny Mac (The Day You Left Me).

The other contributors include country and folk legend Gail Davies (The Warm Red Wine), the silver-voiced Mandy Barnett, Southern Gothic vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Amythyst Kiah (Goin’ Away Party), and rockabilly singer Mozzy Dee (It’s All Your Fault).  

So much more than simply a fundraiser for a worthy cause, the album captures everything vital about Texan roots music. Western swing, classic country, jazz, rockabilly and heartbreaking ballads are the order of the day in what is a fitting recognition of one of the Lone Star State’s most prolific and successful songwriters.

Declan Culliton

Waylon Jennings Songbird Son of Jessi /Thirty Tigers

SONGBIRD is the first of three albums to be released of previously unknown recordings by Waylon Jennings. The discovery of this album and other recordings occurred when Waylon’s son, and three-time Grammy-winning producer, Shooter Jennings was sifting through numerous high-resolution multitrack transfers of Waylon’s personal studio recordings. If the intention was to unearth a song or two that may not have been released during his father’s lifetime, what he discovered was a treasure chest of recordings from the period 1973 to 1984.

Having won his battle in 1972 against RCA to record his own music in his own studio, Waylon Jennings was at the peak of his career and recorded no fewer than thirteen albums in those eleven years from 1973 to 1984. His longtime backing band, The Waylors, featured up to twenty members during its lifetime. Still, during the period of these recordings, it was arguably at its strongest, including drummer and co-producer Richie Albright and Ralph Mooney on steel guitar. Also guesting at the time were Jessi Colter and Tony Joe White.

The quality of the production is extraordinary, given that Shooter only added minimal touches to the original recordings. In doing so, he invited surviving members of Waylon’s band, Gordon Payne (guitar), Jerry Bridges (bass), Barny Robertson (keyboards) and backing vocalist Carter Robertson to contribute. Elizabeth Cook and Ashley Munroe added additional backing vocals.

I’d Like To Love You Baby doesn’t stray too far from J.J. Cale’s original version, with a similar vocal delivery, but features warm backing vocals from Jessi Colter. The title track elevates Christine McVie’s soft rock ballad to an altogether new level. Similarly, the Johnny Rodriguez-penned The Cowboy (Small Texas Town) plays out as if it were written for Jennings during the height of his ‘outlaw’ period. As you would expect, also included is a ‘drinking’ song, and I Hate To Go Searching Them Bars Again ticks that box and ‘tears in your beer’ ballads include (I Don’t Have) Any More Love Songs and the album closer and string-laden Dink’s Blues.

It’s no exaggeration to say that SONGBIRD can stand side by side with Waylon Jennings' finest. Listening to this album is more than a nostalgic experience; it's a reminder of the genius of an artist who could take a song and make it sound as if it were written specifically for his interpretation.

Declan Culliton

Kolton Moore & The Clever Few A Place That I Call Home Motion & Thought

Taking life as it comes, but also seriously, Kolton Moore delivers a new set of songs that are a deep look into his own life and times. Ably assisted by his band The Clever Few (Ryan Wilcox, Matt Gumley, Sam Jones and Aaron Dowd - guitar, bass, keyboards and percussion respectively) and by top-notch production from Matt Ross-Spang. This represents a hard-fought look at coming of age and the road it took to bring him to this particular place where his journey has brought him. There is an overall sense of roots rock in the arrangements, which draw from a number of contemporary sources but manage to fit together compellingly. Keyboards and electric guitar are pleasingly present to set a dynamic tone over the solid rhythm section.

Home is the operative word here and the connotations that it conjures. Different, perhaps, for everyone, but with enough understanding of the sentiments for the listener to find common ground. So, this feels like something real, lived, and learned from. The title song opens the album, and immediately Moore's voice conveys a sense of authenticity, as well as a defining delivery that is a key point throughout the ten tracks. Many of the songs are a testament to a lifestyle that is often conducive to making this difficult, to maintaining relationships, and ultimately, to embracing love and fatherhood. When We Were Young and Lifetimes And Second look back at some of the crazy things done and often regretted as one travels through the art of growing up. The latter notes how many things take a lifetime to acquire yet can be lost in seconds.

The theme is revisited many times as the album progresses. Just Like That is a realisation of what actually matters, while noting that 'the hands of time can’t be turned back,' and that things you treasure can be gone 'just like that.' Finding higher ground and learning how to swim are essential if you want to survive what might be coming in The Flood. How easily things can turn and realising that you can be your own worst enemy, is conveyed with a slow, moody delivery in Self-Destruct. Yet, knowing that is an important step in making changes. 

Strawberry Thief is a gentler appreciation of what the presence of a child can bring to a relationship, and for an understanding of the small things that make life what it is. There is a poignancy there that is both touching and rewarding. Moore's voice is passionate and yet understated. Closing out the album in a slow and soulful way is This Train. It finishes the album in a more meditative mood. An album that finds all involved meshing together in a way that can only be seen as a beneficial time for all, in what must have seemed like home at the time.

Stephen Rapid

Daniel Meade Time Rolls By From The Top

This is a solo album, in that all the songs (bar one) are written, performed and recorded by Daniel Meade. A quick visit to his Bandcamp page reveals his extensive back catalogue of consistently interesting and satisfying releases from the Glasgow multi-instrumentalist, which means a very productive output of nineteen albums in thirteen years. While that attribute is notable in itself, it is his vocal delivery that is one of the most immediately distinctive elements of his work. The songs themselves are often personal observations of where his life and times are at this particular moment in time. The title itself sums up the fact that nothing is standing still, and life continually drifts by like a river full of inconsistent pointers for the way the future might unfold and for the times that have gone by. These are thoughts that consider the nature of friendship, what being a father means and how individual relationships might unfold. So, in this case, that means Meade himself is pretty much front and centre in these songs.

They are delivered in a largely stripped-down setting of voice and acoustic guitar, with some additional embellishments, such as piano and percussive elements, that keep you interested and attentive. Lyrically, Meade knows how to express these observations clearly, and in many ways, the themes have a broad, common appeal, as these are songs that relate to a certain understanding of how life changes and can move forward. Overall, the mood and tempo follow a similar pattern that is perhaps closer to folk-blues than anything else. But it’s clear that these arrangements are the right way for these recordings to be heard.

These are the questions to be asked of all of us as we navigate and explore the possible answers. There is also a lot of hope to be found here, as evidenced by lines like “there is magic everywhere, I feel the fire in the air … if you aim for the sky you can learn how to fly” (Always The Right Time). Which are balanced against some darker thoughts.“I’m hanging on for what it’s worth, but what it’s worth ain’t worth that anymore” (Life is Always Loading). “I found God in a country song, told the priest and he said I’m wrong … I need love, I need for someone to tell me where it all went wrong” (The Jumped Up Trumped Monday Blues). His cover of Leave The Light On For Me ends the album with a sense of love and belief that is readily apparent throughout.

I’ve always enjoyed the skill and thoughtfulness that Meade has put into his work. He continues to do so under limited financial restraints but still puts his heart and soul into his chosen career. He has worked as a sideman, which has allowed him to play in some very substantial venues with well-known artists, but he happily returns to home recording and small venues to find an audience for his music. This is something to be grateful for in any singer/songwriter, as it shows that they are doing it for the right reasons. 

Stephen Rapid

Dan Whitaker Pulling Up Stakes Empty Highway

Recorded and mixed in Austin, this is a singer-songwriter with a traditionally minded country music feel, setting out his stall. Whitaker is a new name to me, and while he is trading an already well-worn trail, he is, I suspect, knowingly not going to set the Internet alight as the next new sensation. Instead, he is carrying on as he intends to, writing and performing his work in and around Austin and Texas to an appreciative audience. He doubtless has a local fan base and some regular gigs that are a part of that scene. He is doing so on his own terms with a solid group of players around him. In this recording, they are fleshing out his songs (all but one written by Whitaker and that one he co-wrote) and make substantial and effective contributions throughout. He is no fresh newcomer but has some years and memories under his belt. This is his fifteenth release, and with that, he is undoubtedly honing his skills and aims with each release. It is good to see an artist continuing to perform and record their own music despite the current difficulties so many are facing in trying to get their music heard in the broader context.

The twelve songs here are easy to digest and to appreciate. Good Times Gone From The Past uses the pedal steel (Price Porter) in a way that highlights the sense of how things can change, even just in reflection. Whitaker himself adds guitars, harmonica, keyboard, and dulcimer, so he is very much at the heart of these recordings. On occasion, they take a slightly different approach to their influences, as seen in the instrumental New Morning Song, which features some Fifties-style guitar that is refreshing and demonstrates the band's versatility, showing how they can stretch out as required. Wheat Filled Scene is also an instrumental (whose opening riff reminded me of an early Donovan song - but maybe that’s just me). As is Yellow Butterfly, which utilises the rhythm section of Gary Feist and Tony Scarano effectively.

This is not the turbo country I hear from some of the newer Texas bands, but something that might be approbate as closer to a Don Williams than to a Cody Johnson. I Still Don’t Know Why is an upfront country song that has sadness at its heart but is another track that comes together nicely with its melody and beat. The final track is an ode to the rigours of travel and being away from home (though actually not that far away) in Couple Of Towns From Here, and it joins a set of worthy songs that are about what it means to be a regularly touring musician. Hopefully, Dan Whitaker won’t be pulling up stakes anytime soon but will continue to entertain on the dance floors of Texas and beyond.

Stephen Rapid

Tim Grimm Bones Of Trees Cavalier

This Folk troubadour was born in Ohio back in 1960, and he has been releasing solo albums since the turn of the century. This new release represents close on twenty albums from the pen of an artist/musician who is considered among his peers as right up there with the greats of contemporary singer-songwriters over past decades.

He is also a well known actor and has been appearing in movies as far back as the 1980s with credits to his name such as Steel Magnolias, The Client, Backdraft and Superman. Whether creating on the screen or on the printed page, there is no doubting the artistic nature of this virtuoso who is also the founder of a company that runs Scottish Folk tours on a regular basis.

The eleven songs included on this new album boast a range of players across the tracks, with the talented Sergio Webb (banjo, dobro, guitars, mandocello), Chief (bass), Nate Borofsky (piano), Jono Manson (vocals, percussion), Dougie Pincock (pipes, flute, whistle, bodhran), Susan Hyde Holmes (bass), and a whole array of guest vocalists including Beth Malcolm, Jon Brooks, Alissa Branch, Paul McKenna, and Natanya Mason taking their turns to contribute.

Opening song Up In the Attic references a craftsman who held an artifact of an angel in his room in memory of (perhaps) a lost child ‘There’s a chair and a table and a wooden box, And in the distant corner lies a broken clock, From the bones of trees in a craftsman’s hands.’ The album title is included in these words. Another type of ageing is the theme of Getting’ Older with the life lessons learned hopefully easing our exit point ‘And the things that we miss, they may never come back, Why not lift up our heads and look at the sky, the birds and the forests and the life that goes by, It’s out in a moment, It’s gone in a breath, We think there’s more time but this is all that we get.’

In the U.S.A. is a song about gun violence and school shootings with the character venting his frustration at the laws that continue to allow the killing of innocents ‘I don’t want to feel like I’m in jail, They’re building up these walls, Metal detectors in the halls, I don’t want to feel like I’m in jail.’  The search for remnants of the past is part of the story on Hunting Shack and a memory of purchased land that has been passed down the generations. An original hunting shack has long since been lost to the march of time, and Tim Grimm is on a mission to discover it ‘What man may build out in the woods, Nature takes it back, I love these kinds of mysteries, Like the missing hunting shack.’ There is a touch of Johnny Cash in the song arrangement and the vocal delivery, which of course adds an authenticity to the tale.

Barbed Wire Boys looks at rural America and the lives spent tending to the land; generations of young men, tied to the family farm and running barb wire fencing ‘’Well there’s a blink of the eye, There’s a catch in the voice, That is the unsung song of the barbed wire boys.’ On The Mists Of Ennistymon the plight of the emigrant trails from Ireland to foreign lands is reflected in the longing for a home that can never be rediscovered ‘We all come from somewhere else, From travellers of old, And some of those laid down the stones that line these winding roads.’ Powerful imagery and a fine example of the sophisticated songwriting and storytelling of Tim Grimm.

The Christmas Truce of December 1914 during World War One is the subject of Christmas In the Trenches, a very poignant look at the absurdity of war ‘Soon one by one on either side walked into no-mans land, With neither gun nor bayonet, We met there hand to hand…That the ones who call the shots won’t be among the dead and lame, And on each end of the rifle we are all the same.’ The gentrification and land development of rural America is part of Bow and Arrow with local resentment palpable ‘Pickups with big wheels all jacked up, Jack-offs at the wheel, They don’t seem to think about nothin’ or give a damn about the air that I breathe.’ Turning the land into fashionable summer homes.

In the strangest twist of fate, there is a sad tale of Woody Guthrie living in Brooklyn and paying rent to his greedy landlord… a man by the name of Fred Trump. It’s often said that fact is stranger than fiction and here is the perfect example. Woody wrote a song about it, titled Old Man Trump and it  describes the racist housing practices and discriminatory rental policies of his experience. Imagine the dichotomy of the spokesman for the proletariat, paying his living wage to the greedy capitalist regime perpetuated by the landlord class. The song Woody’s Landlord Revisited is a direct reference to this salutary tale and Tim Grimm again showcases his talent with the pen, which is said to be mightier than the sword, after all  - ‘Now the circus has come to town, and all the freaks are running round, It breaks our hearts and makes us numb, to see the inmates run the asylum.’

As the album winds down, things are brought up to date with the political statement on Broken Truth and the state of the nation ‘If you follow him, And you can count to seven, If you call yourself a Christian and you believe in heaven, Greed, Lust, Sloth, Pride, Envy, Gluttony and Wrath, It’s clear as day – they stormed the house, All the hate inside his little mouth, Damn that man.’  The final song is Hadley’s Banjo and it’s a tribute to the line of musicians who stand in the place of speaking truth against all the inequalities in society. A banjo handed down with Sergio Webb namechecked in the words as the perfect recipient to continue the magical gifts that music shares.

There are two cover songs included with Christmas In the Trenches (John McCutcheon), and Barbed Wire Boys (Susan Werner) while all other songs are written by Tim Grimm. Jono Mason engineered, and the entire project is a fine example of the colour and depth that surrounds master craftsmen at their work. An essential purchase.

Paul McGee

Joe Nolan Luv In the Real World Beach House

This has real depth and quality, an album that engages and delivers a timeless set of ten songs which linger far beyond the initial listening experience. The opening track is Wake Up Sleepy Anna with superb string arrangements and background voices as a perfect example of this excellence. It conjures images of a savour of sorts who can instil a sense of value and worth into the daily struggle of modern society and deliver some solace to its troubled masses ‘Wake up little Anna, The world needs your love today, Wake up sleepy Anna, Your sunshine moves the clouds away.’ Anna could be representative of the innocence of a little girl or she may be a fictitious ruler who has benevolence as her guide. The choice is yours. The song reminds me of a Willy Vlautin tune in the delivery and in the atmospheric, restrained melody of the arrangement.

Too Much Time To Kill is a plea from a tired character who has seen too much of life. It suggests that a moment of reckoning is pending ‘ I’ve got one bullet left, I’m gonna shoot it in the dark, Soon as the sun sets, Over this rusted out heart.’ Possibly a suicide or a crime is about to happen? The challenge in the guessing is part of what elevates Joe Nolan as a songwriter. This is album number eight in a solo career that began back in 2009 and that has seen eight album releases to date, plus a number of EPs and singles. He just keeps honing away at his craft and getting better with each new release; nuance and subtle hints populating his words.

Half A Tear, Half A Grin is a song that captures the pain of leaving ‘As I’m leaving, As I go, I’m so scared of tomorrow.’ On the track Been Here Before we are looking back in a dream sequence where ‘All that’s happening has already been, Crashing into waves of doubt.’  The song Blood On the Pages is in honour of the myriad musicians who continue to eek a living out of touring in support of their compulsion to keep chasing the flame. The Covid lockdown did not help their plight to continue in an industry that works on the basis of sporadic income at best ‘We paid our dues in all these barrooms and broken stages.’

Rebound sees the singer wondering on the price of love and the fallout from relationships undefined ‘If I was your cigarette, Your hit and quit it then, I’ll be your bad habit, Then disappear like magic, If I was your playboy, Your broken little toy, And then you say can we be friends, Send it in a drunken text.’ One of the highlights is Modern Day Melancholy and the fear that nothing adds up anymore ‘Another product of inherited sadness, Modern day melancholy, Are we losing touch?’

I’m discovering new layers on each listening and the sublime musicianship adds greatly to the spacious sound of the production, courtesy of Tyler Chester, who also plays an array of instruments on the songs. Jay Bellerose and Griffin Goldsmith share drum and percussion talents, Sebastian Steinberg plays upright bass, Nigel Gale plays bass, Dylan Day provides electric and acoustic guitars, John Arndt creates string arrangements, Sara Watkins is on fiddle and backing vocals, Nataya Nolan also sings backing vocals, and Joe Nolan contributes all lead vocals, guitars and harmonica..

Daffodil speaks of a romance that looks to endure, as if born into existence in the days of youth, and Anna makes an appearance in the lyric, casting doubt on her actual role in these songs; perhaps she is a muse to the writer? The Maze is a reflective look at the faults that we all have and the weaknesses that are manifest in our characters as we grow ‘I’m caught in the maze, Everything’s going wrong, Would you show me the way.’   

The final track is When They Call Your Name and is Dylanesque in structure and delivery. Colourful imagery in the lyrics and obscure couplets to blur the true meaning ‘So many things we must come to accept, So many things we will never know, So take a death grip on the season my love, Cuz someday one of us will let go, We’re suspended on this mystery beam of light, That defies all time and space, But tell me who’s the master of you and I, When will they call our names?’ It strikes me as a song about mortality above all, our place in the grant design and the fragility of love.

This album is going to feature in many favourite lists at the year end, and for me it’s yet another example of the wonderful talent that lies beneath the glare of the mainstream. A songwriter of great expression and certainly one that will continue to delight all listeners.

Paul McGee

Annie Keating Band Live Self Release

This live album is currently being released on all social media platforms and in all formats, to capture the superb dynamic of Annie Keating with her stellar band of musicians when she tours in Europe. The band are based in the UK and join up with Annie whenever she can make the trip to foreign shores for semi-regular appearances and visits.

Featuring Annie Keating (vocals, acoustic guitar), Joe Coombs (electric, slide guitar), Jamie Dawson (drums, percussion), and Scott Warman (electric, acoustic double bass); the eleven tracks chosen span five albums in the storied career of this very talented musician, singer, and songwriter. Her number of studio recordings since a debut in 2004 total nine albums, added to with a variety of EPs and singles. THE BELMOT album from 2008 is the most represented here with four tracks, followed by the more recent BRISTOL COUNTY TIDES from 2021 with three tracks; the former, something of a breakthrough album, while the latter was written during the Covid lockdown.

Annie’s last studio album was Hard Frost from 2023 and two songs are included in the set. The sound is quite superb and the electricity of the performance does not suffer in the excellent production and mixing of Simon Allen, who recorded shows at the Little Rabbit Barn in Essex over two nights. The quality of the musicianship is top drawer and the warm atmosphere certainly helps to elevate the performance on these songs. The guitars soar in the delivery, the rhythm section locks everything down tight and the vocal performance from Annie is terrific. She has lost none of her power or range over the 25 years in playing numerous shows across America and Europe, with her personality shining through at every turn.

Portents of doom on the opener Storm Warning has the band playing fluently from the off, urgent guitar in the dynamic, and the superb guitar of Joe Coombs a highlight. On the gentler For the Taking there is a more acoustic approach with the lyrical playing of Joe Coombs again a key feature on a song about living in the moment. There is such clarity in the recording, and the cool groove on Third Street captures the comings and goings on a local neighbourhood street. There is a great understanding among these musicians, elevated by the sense of independent attitude in Annie’s vocal, like a mix of Bonnie Raitt and Joan Jett at the microphone.

The softer side of her fine vocal tone is highlighted on the song Belmont that captures youthful memories of learning guitar for the first time with close friends in the city districts ‘ My Daddy couldn’t understand why I’d waste my time playing guitar, he said “change your clothes, go get a lob, don’t be such a goddam bleeding heart.”’ Little did he know that the seed had already been sown and that tree was only going to grow strong on one singular path. Back to the rocking side of Annie on the addictive On the Road By Ten and the life of a road-warrior ‘ I’ve been burning the candle at both ends, Out until dawn and on the road by ten.’ A code of living tough, always focusing on the next tour stop and the next show.

Marigold reflects upon getting out of your own way and looking for stimulation in trying to keep a body from overthinking things ‘Maybe it’s time for no more sad songs, I’ll leave them in the past where they belong, I cut my hair and painted it gold.’ Again, some great band interplay elevated by more inspired electric guitar.  Finding connection is partly uncovered on Kindred Spirit and the recognition of something in common between two people on a chance meeting ‘Born into that kind of blue, That couldn’t help but shape you, I know, I know, because I was too.’ It’s a slow burn arrangement with the playing on the cutting edge of restrained energy.

Both Looking For Trouble and Lovesick Blues are more recent songs, taken from the Hard Frost album and the former would not  be out of place on any Mary Gauthier album; the latter more a slice of electric blues and both voicing relationship issues and longing. Coney Island is a tribute to her impressions of just being young and free, while the final song It Already Hurts When You Leave is an appropriate way to finish the set with a yearning for more and an acceptance that everything comes to a conclusion. As live albums go, this certainly ticks all the boxes in the dynamic, but it also delivers a consistently high quality in the performance, the personality, and the recording. If you wanted an introduction to the music of this terrific musician, then this is a perfect place to start that journey.

Paul McGee

Dar Williams Hummingbird Highway Righteous Babe

The thirteenth album from New York-born singer, songwriter, teacher, and playwright Dar Williams finds her in a typically expressive mood as she contemplates the unrelenting pace and variations of modern living.

Williams’ characters are often complex, dealing with their own struggles and insecurities, and two songs particularly stand out in this collection. In a reversal of typical roles, the title track finds a young child attempting to support her troubled parent. Similarly, the quite stunning, both lyrically and musically, Secret Mountain tells of the internal struggles of a monk endeavouring to remain faithful to his vocation. The album closer, Olive Tree, considers the precarious times we live in and recalls the planting of an olive grove by scientists from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1913, as well as the optimism that this implied. 

Despite the troubled times and uncertainty that often surface, Williams also includes some light-hearted and breezy moments. Tu Sais Le Printemps (‘I'll throw this new dress on, the sun's coming through. I'll walk to the square for you’) is a reminder that better times invariably lie ahead, and also included is the Richard Thompson-written I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight. Equally impressive and inspired by her friend Maryland US representative, Jamie Raskin, Williams composed the ‘state song’ Maryland, Maryland. Sounding like a traditional old-timey folk song that has been around forever, Put the Coins on His Eyes features backing vocals by Daisy Mayhem.

Produced by Ken Rich (Ani DiFranco, The Gutter Twins) and Dave Chalfant, HUMMINGBIRD HIGHWAY is another fine chapter in Dar Williams' attempt to make sense of the world we currently live in, and it should be given the fullest attention, from start to finish, that it richly deserves.

Declan Culliton

Dylan Earl Level-Headed Even Smile Gar Hole

Country crooner, storyteller and all-around entertainer, Dylan Earl’s fourth album ticks all the boxes that sets the Louisiana-born artist apart from the majority of regular country singer-songwriters. Like many of his peers, he can craft fine songs and lend his trembling, twangy voice to them, but there’s also a brutal honesty to his writing as he reports on a decade-long career and the inherent struggles that come with it. The icing on the cake is the injection of humour built into much of his work.

That self-deprecating wit raises its head two tracks in on Earl’s latest album. Get in the Truck may have a George Jones sound to it, but that’s as glamorous as it gets. No doubt autobiographical, it recounts times when driving and sleeping in his van was the norm, as he moved from town to town to perform. Visiting a similar territory, the title track is a ‘note to himself’ to keep on keeping on, despite the burdens that often dominate his chosen career.

Earl spent his youth in Arkansas, and he recalls the highs and lows of learning his trade there on the brooding Little Rock Bottom, as well as the Jimmy Driftwood-written melancholic old-timey country ballad, White River Valley. The simple pleasures of life, despite the world crashing down on top of him, is the backstory to the tongue-in-cheek Lawn Chair.

Earl is in fine voice in his latest album; his baritone vocals have a genuine outlaw country timbre, and he has gathered some fine players to turn out his most accomplished album to date. Among them were Grady Drugg on guitar, Grant D’Aubin and Chris Wood on bass, Hamilton Belk on dobro and pedal steel, and Dick Darden on drums and percussion. Fellow troubadours Willie Carlisle and Jess Harp added backing vocals on White River Valley. Closing the record is a cover of labour organiser and folk singer Utah Phillips’ Rock Me To Sleep, with lyrics that could apply to so many artists struggling to get by (‘I’m tired of your big operators, I’m tired of your music machine. I’m tired of playing for nickels and dimes, and the times are always so lean’).

Steering clear of the standard avenues, and in a similar vein to Robbie Fulks, Dylan Earl approaches country music from the back door. He’s never going to be a pro-forma country artist; that’s what makes his work so innovative and enjoyable, and he has certainly achieved that once more with this record. 

Declan Culliton

The Third Mind Right Now Yep Roc

‘Everything about this record is intuitive, it’s five musicians walking a tightrope, improvising in dialogue with each other and finding the songs in real time,’ explains Dave Alvin, describing the third studio album by The Third Mind, the band he co-founded with bass player Victor Krummenacher in 2018. Alongside those two veterans, the band consists of guitarist and pedal steel player David Immerglück (Counting Crows, John Hiatt, Monks of Doom, Camper Van Beethoven), drummer Michael Jerome (Richard Thompson, Better Than Ezra, John Cale), and the final piece of the supergroup line-up and jigsaw, vocalist Jesse Sykes.

The recording format for RIGHT NOW followed a similar pattern to their previous albums, selecting a number of songs they consider classics and spending a few days in the studio reworking them instinctively. This time around, they spent four days at 64 Sound Recording Studio in Los Angeles, marking their third time in a recording studio. They recorded a seven-track album, comprising six covers and one original song written by Alvin and Sykes, titled "Before We Say Goodbye." Guesting on piano was multi-instrumentalist Willie Aron alongside the band’s five core members.

The traditional murder ballad Pretty Polly is transformed from Ralph Stanley’s racy, three-and-a-half-minute old-timey version into an eight-minute reconstruction that wholeheartedly matches the song's grisly subject matter. Darkness, Darkness retains the folky intro of The Youngbloods’ 1969 recording before morphing mid-song into a whirlwind jam of crashing drums and spacey guitar breaks. Shake Sugaree, written by Elizabeth Cotton and Brenda Evans in the mid-1960s, has been covered by several artists, including Bob Dylan, Fred Neil, and Rhiannon Giddens. The playful song, written about a simple dance party, is given a makeover not unlike those renditions but embellished with a side of psychedelia. 

Richard Fariña, the New York-born folk singer who died tragically in a motorcycle accident at the age of twenty-nine, is represented by the inclusion of Reno, Nevada. Alvin joins Sykes on lead vocals on a straightforward electric blues arrangement of the song. The previously referenced original inclusion, Before We Say Goodbye, has Sykes' stamp firmly on it. Haunting and beautifully melodic, it recalls her writing and collaborations with her band, The Sweet Hereafter. They breathe new life into their edgy reworking of the Mike Bloomfield, Paul Butterfield, and Nick Gravenities-written Reap What You Sow, and bookend the album with their most relaxed inclusion. Dismantling the saxophonist Ferrell Lee Sanders (aka Pharoah Sanders) and Leon Thomas penned jazz song The Creator Has A Master Plan, they refashion it into a bluesy eight-minute romp. Sykes' sleek vocals contrast Thomas’s warbling vocal delivery on his original cut, adding another dimension to a classic song. 

What initially kicked off as a one-off experiment by Alvin and Krummenacher continues to grow legs. Few, if any, are presently doing anything approaching the spontaneous and unrehearsed psychedelic rock that The Third Mind excel in. Long may that last.

Declan Culliton

Dallas Burrow The Way The West Was Won Forty Below

An impressive statement of growth and development from the singer/songwriter on his fourth album. There is an undoubted debt to the likes of Marty Robbins in his gunfighter ballads era. While in recent times, there have been a number of performers who are inspired by and often live the real-life experiences of ranching, rodeo, and roustabouting, Burrow's songs, as the title indicates, deal with something more legendary and mythical in some ways. Like the occasional well-realised western-themed television series rooted in the past, Burrow’s titles, such as Justice In The West or the title song, tell tales of frontier towns and the wider lawless territories. 

This is, in the main, an album of acoustic-based arrangements that are deft and decisive, produced by Lloyd Maines with his usual understanding and production values. Pat Manske is the supportive engineer (and long-time cohort of Maines) and is also present throughout, providing the percussion and drum parts. Maines brings his multi-instrumentalist talents to each track, playing dobro, banjo, bass, acoustic and baritone guitar as well as steel guitar. The fiddle is also prominently used and played by either Katie Shore or Brian Beken. Added to that, when you include Bukka Allen on accordion and on one track the trumpet of Kullen Fox and the harmonica of Terri Hendrix, you have the ideal posse to chase these songs to their final destination.

That is in no way to diminish the major contribution of Burrows himself. His assured and captivating vocals, acoustic guitar and his incisive songwriting - on all but two of the thirteen songs (Streets Of Dodge is by Fred Horton and Brian Mintz, while Indian Song was written by Mike Burrow)  - are a demonstration of a growing ability and assuredness in his craft. There are many highlights on the album, and the vocal guests are well chosen from the opening pairing with like-minded influence Ray Wylie Hubbard on Read ‘Em And Weep. A song that easily would fit into Hubbard’s lyrical ethos. The next track, Colorado Bound, features another stalwart addition in the person of Kelly Willis, who offers a well-observed gender balance in duet form. Banjo and fiddle are to the forefront of Disappearing Ink, a song about a man and his roguish ways. The accordion works well to enhance the atmosphere in the unfaithful women murder ballad Black Rock Desert Blues, “If you’d quit your messing around, I wouldn’t have had to strike you down.” Of course, this is told from one person’s point of view, a person who may well have been just as guilty in his lifestyle. 

The overall theme is revealed in the interesting story song Justice In The West, which tells the story of a man who becomes a lawman in lawless times. Killing was a way of life for such individuals in those times. The aforementioned Streets Of Dodge outlines a man who has already lost everything when he finds the woman of his affections has formed a new alliance. The consequences of this are being “shot to the sand” and moving on with nothing after losing his loving bride. The use of the trumpet is certainly scene-setting for Tornado, a tale of a black cowboy and his horse, told from the horse’s viewpoint. There is another fine vocal pairing for the title track when Jim Lauderdale adds his distinctive voice. This is perhaps one of the real standouts here, with its twangy guitar (courtesy of Maines) and strong, expressive lyrics. This quartet of songs forms, in many ways, the heart and soul of the album. Delivered with a production and the finely-honed arrangements that feel as if they could have been played in a similar fashion back then in the 1860s.

The remaining five tracks also have their merits and make for a well-rounded and rewarding album. Especially When the Cowboy Rides, offering a justification for his ever-wandering and moving-on lifestyle. Fiddle is again effective with the steel guitar instrumentation. The album ends, fittingly, with Cowboy’s Prayer, which begins with a more stripped-back arrangement that slowly builds up with the addition of fiddle and accordion, also highlighting Burrow’s convincing vocal delivery. The result is one that not only is the standout in Burrow’s catalogue to date but also very much a strong contender as one of the year’s best.

Stephen Rapid

Mason Jennings Magnifier Loosegrove

A very stripped down album from the prolific Mason Jennings who delivers eight acoustic songs played on guitar and piano. It’s the twentieth album in the career of this fine songwriter and his debut album first announced him back in 1997. Based in Minneapolis Jennings has developed a musical partnership with Stone Gossard of Pearl Jam fame. Gossard has produced a number of previous albums for Jennings and they also play in a side project together called Painted Shield that has released three albums to date.

The album starts with Joy In the Face Of It All and Jennings is celebrating mother nature and the quiet constancy that it represents in terms of hope. Dreams and living in the light of each day are also part of Jennings being able to ‘Laugh in the face of it all.’ It’s a homespun philosophy of fear nothing. Feathers, Blood, and Bone channels a sense of mystery and asks that any hidden force makes itself known to assist in the struggles that life presents. There is so much that we take on good faith and in the hope that things will work out over time.

The song Don’t Change is a prayer to the enduring power of love and the relationship with his wife that brings such a sense of solace and security. Castles is much about childhood and the freedom to dream, in spite of what the reality of the world may have been enduring ‘Children take their sorrow and turn it into light.’ Blood Red Sun is something of a departure in that it tracks the life of an outlaw on the run. Perhaps it’s written as a metaphor for the way in which we try to hide away from the consequences of our actions as a society. The use of snare drum adds a heavy beat as the stark reality of a reckoning beckons; it could be the reality of global warming in the image of a blood red sun?

Changing the mood is Little Yellow Flowers even if it places the singer by the sea feeling lonely over the absence of a girl from his past. Fingerstyle acoustic guitar and piano ease the pain felt . Our World Is Ending (And She Don’t Care) is a loss of hope in the way the earth is turning, expectations dashed and dreams lost. Perhaps the planet has given up on humankind, maybe it’s a loved one that is running low on faith for the future, or it could well be our belief in a deity above who has turned her back on us and our incessant squabbling – God depicted as a woman?

It’s always nice to have different interpretations on song meanings, whether they were written as simple fragments of thought or indeed deeper meaning vignettes on life. The final song is Seasons and again there is a sense of drifting aimless ‘I feel numb and overwhelmed, afraid of what’s in store.’ In trying to save our planet maybe the song cycle returns to the opening track and we realise that we have to indeed ‘strive for joy in the face of it all.’ An intriguing and insightful album, gentle yet strong in the vulnerability displayed. Certainly worthy of your time and delivering great songcraft.

Paul McGee

Robert Scheffler Truce Self Release

New York City is home to this singer songwriter who makes a welcome return to the music industry after a long hiatus. It was as part of original band A Million Pieces that saw Scheffler earn his spurs as a regular musician on the local scene. Two album releases later, he was given the opportunity of working as a research editor and writer for a national magazine and this turned into a full time career, given the better prospects of earning a steady living wage.

However, the pull of music never quite went away completely and over the years Scheffler found himself drawn back to the urge to write songs again. For this album he decided to compose the basic songs at his home space, playing instruments that he felt competent on, with guitars, keyboards and ukulele featuring. He then brought the songs to Scott Anthony (Beastie Boys, The Feelies) at Storybook Studios in New Jersey. Together they added what was required to finish the songs and the results are to be found in the eleven tracks included on this new album.

The sound is very bright and welcoming and the song arrangements come alive in the speakers, with great instrument separation in the mix. Scheffler has a superb voice, strong and warm in the delivery and perfect as a focal point for the impressive musicianship that supports the songs. It’s very much in the Americana genre with strident choruses and great guitar breaks, balanced by more reflective songs that look to explore the challenges and joys to be found in relationships and in trying to navigate the twists and turns of living.

The ukulele and keyboard accordion on I Don’t Love You Like I Should is an admission that there can always be room for growth in any relationship and learning to communicate openly is the key to success ‘Have me do what you would, For me to love you like I should.’ The addictive rhythm of Punch Line is more in keeping with the overall sound of the album with a driving beat and chiming guitar delivering with impressive style.

Where Do I Know You From? captures that experience we have all had of meeting a contact that we just can’t remember ‘Like circling a parking lot, looking for empty spaces.’ It’s a fun track with a great groove. The title song Truce is a slower affair that captures feelings of the past wrapped up in a relationship memory ‘The man I see reflected in a store window frame, I’ve given up trying to reclaim, As time keeps on ticking out its arbitrary game, Answers fail, So the question is the same, Why’d you do it?’ Excellent in every way.

Carry On Without Me, Basher, Hang On, Skyline and Blue Sky Mess play out at a pace that is really engaging and celebratory in the melodic thrust. The more sedate All In Good Time and the questioning Excuse the Mess ask more of relationship challenges and what will become accepted communication between a couple. It all comes together on final track We’re All Waiting where the troubles of the past are seen as nothing more than a shadow along the way to the bright side of the road. This is an excellent album to mark the return of a very talented artist and it’s a strong indicator for greater things to come.

Paul McGee

Rob Wheeler Leave Tomorrow Absolute

Every one of the eleven songs featured on this album grabs the attention from the first moment and the overall impression is one of respect for the creative process involved. This is a third album for Rob Wheeler and it is delivered with a confidence and a swagger that shines a light on his undoubted talent. There is a vibrancy in the song arrangements, the melodies, the ensemble playing, and in the message of living for today. The album title is the opening track and it sets off with a fine melodic theme about moving away to start anew “We got everything we need in the back seat of my car.” Striking out for the horizon is a pipe dream for many and a fine star to wish upon what just might prove possible.

Rob recorded the album in Nashville and the studio musicians really do justice to these songs. Indeed, the track My Nashville Song has sound effects of an airline landing as he flies into the music city. Any intimidation that Rob felt in bringing his music to such a renowned place is not evident and he clearly revels in the fact that he made the album there. Pedal steel dove-tails with electric guitar and the song arrangement is excellent in portraying the story; a proud mum back in England and the memory of old teachers who told Rob that he would never succeed.

I Am Not Afraid To Fall has a big production sound with a driving rhythm section pulsing through the tempo on a song about baring your vulnerabilities in relationships. Things slow a little on Whisper and the prominent violin lifts the melody on a love song that looks for reassurance in a relationship and ultimately a feeling of peace. Equally the acoustic leanings on When You Can’t Let Go bring a feeling of being overwhelmed by love and the vulnerable state it induces. Harmony vocal on this track is courtesy of Marla Cannon-Goodman.

Why Whisky Why reflects “I try to be cool but I drink like a fool, And I always want to buy another round … Why did I have to get so damn drunk, that the worst of me shone through.” Something About Your Eyes has a slow build with the musicians locked into the easy groove and a message that time can heal a broken heart. Another song that circles around the whirlpool of love is Goodbye Summer and the push/pull of emotions, just like the changing seasons. Elsewhere, Warning reminds me of the American singer Richard Marx who had a successful run of hits in the 1980s and 1990s with a big sound and production. Things start to wind down with Throw A Little Light My Way and the soulful vocal delivery is complimented by soaring violins, before Mount Juliet closes everything down on a song of longing and finally coming home.

Paul McGee

Tuxis Giant You Won’t Remember This Worry Bead

A Boston band named after a deserted island close to Connecticut where a giant is once fabled to have lived. The band formed in 2015 and this is their fifth full album, which was recorded at Wit’s End in Wilmington, Vermont. The thirteen tracks were all written by founder Matt O’Connor and the project was entirely arranged and self-produced by the band, which is comprised of Matt O’Connor (vocals, guitar), Eleanor Elektra (guitar, vocals, accordion, harmonica, synthesizer), Fenn Macon (bass), James Steinberg (drums, synthesizer).

Their sound is very soothing and drifts along a gentle dream-like state with impressions of daily life, and wry observations of what can strike as surreal in the ordinariness of things. Matt O’Connor has an interesting way of looking at the world and his perspectives sit snugly into the cathartic release that the music brings. This is guitar based short songs that hit a mark and then leave quietly, their reflections staying with you.

Highlights such as Huey, Reasons, Heart Surgery and What’s Going On In Your Mind bring a sense of quiet calm, despite the song content, and it’s the laconic approach to the lyrics, coupled with minimalist arrangements that creates an atmosphere of feeling suspended.  Is this indie-folk? It’s stripped down approach is very effective and the one song where the tempo gets to speed up is the almost-Punk rush of Language I Can Understand on a song in search of connection.

Reference of antidepressants changes the idyllic charm on opening track Simple Days, and the role that faith plays is questioned in Holy Water where icons, of themselves, don’t ensure that good luck prevails. Days is another song about connection where routine turns into after-work downtime and a chance to feel human. What matters and of importance is something that is left open to interpretation of Trying To Be Numb where the pursuit of hedonistic highs is selfish and the expense of others.

Heart Surgery recalls the trauma of surgery on O’Connor’s Mom and the minutiae that remains as memories while in the hospital waiting room and hanging on a positive outcome ‘like my dad cracking jokes, and my brother glued to his phone.’ The funeral scene that is painted on Family Funeral is again taken up with the strange observations taken from extreme emotional fallout‘ ‘weirdly, the sun's out. radio plays "Twist & Shout." laughing echoes from the kitchen like a well.’ The karaoke bar in Huey has the couple singing songs by Huey Lewis and the News while bonding over the lasting power of love. This album, is a real lucky bag of treats across thirteen songs that bring much to enjoy and you will find plenty to bring you back to this interesting band.

Paul McGee

Ollella Antifragile Self Release

What an interesting album. It is always a welcome surprise to be given music that pushes the listening boundaries into new spaces, and Ollella certainly takes her colourful song arrangements and infuses them with plenty to inspire and stimulate. Her real name is Ellie Barber and she is a Seattle native who became involved in music from a young age. She is classically trained on cello and her approach to improvisational song structures is to be applauded.

Her debut album BACK BACK BACK appeared in 2023 and with this follow-up, all twelve songs are written by Ellie Barber, with production courtesy of Jordan Cunningham, who also contributes to the song arrangements on guitar, and ‘sound samples.’ Ollella likes to use a variety of clever recording techniques across these tracks, like the interesting backward loops on Blank, a song about relating, that sounds almost avant-garde, and yet is simple in the melody. She uses violin on one track, baritone sax and trumpet on two others, with trumpet/fluegelhorn also featuring, in addition to keyboard sounds on three tracks, courtesy of Charles Wicklander.  It somehow pulls together into a very unique listening experience, strangely addictive and inventive at every turn. I hear Kate Bush in some of the inner-meanderings, the spirit of Sinead O’Connor in other places, and the experimentation of Bjork threaded throughout.

Is it contemporary folk, perhaps alternative-indie-folk? Or maybe it’s just refreshingly unique music that defies any attempt to shackle it into a specific genre. Creative bass throughout from Nate Sharp is ably supported by Sean Lane on drums, with one track featuring Emily Silks. The songs appear to be largely concerning relationships in different guises. In the absence of a lyric sheet, one can only form interpretations and assume certain perspectives, but What Should We Do, Optimist and Too Good follow lines of communications that take different relationship sides and directions, while other songs like Path Unknown and Spinning In Place hint at the troubled state of our planet and the relationship that we hold with it.   

Margery is not a person that the singer is very aligned with in life, and the superb jazz-tinged Mothers and Colors seems to be a meditation on the role played by female energy in balancing the distorted leaning of this World. Main vocals, cello & tenor guitar are by Ellie Barber/Ollella and her use of cello particularly is very creative and innovative. Supporting musicians across selective tracks are Kate Dinsmore on harmonies, with Willem de Koch (horn arrangements), Carrie Jennings, Noah Pettibon, and Isabel Dammann all featuring on wind instruments and violin.

Full marks to the creative drive of Ollella, which is at play across these interesting song structures; the key words being ‘creative play’ in the vision. Hypnotic and intriguing, music to be enjoyed and shared.   

Paul McGee

New Album Reviews

Shawn Camp The Ghost Of Sis Draper Skeeter Bit/Truly Handmade

This is essentially a live in the studio album, recorded on one day in August 2024. It is a set of songs where the character of Sis Draper runs through the tunes. They have a related storyline that intertwines a number of people who have a relationship with her on different levels, a character who should be familiar to those acquainted with the related songs released by Guy Clark. Camp and Clark wrote almost all of these songs together, with one coming from Clark’s pen alone (New Cut Road) and another where they are joined by Clark’s longtime playing companion, Verlon Thompson. They were written over a number of years and are performed in appropriate acoustic folk and bluegrass arrangements.

Camp heard Draper play at an impressionable age and acknowledges that the subsequent songs were a mix of some truth and some imagination. Whatever the inspiration, the results are rewarding for not only fans of Clark, Camp and those of the bluegrass persuasion, but for all those who like a good story in song. Camp has developed into a vocalist of some character and effectiveness, as witnessed throughout the album. That it is of a timeless quality is not a surprise, given that on the sessions that day you had Tim Crouch on fiddle, upright bassist Mike Bub, Jimmy Stewart on dobro, mandolin player Chris Henry and Cory Walker on banjo. Camp is the guitarist throughout. They were joined by Thompson on harmony vocals on one track, the one he co-wrote, Old Hillbilly Hand-Me-Down. Naturally it is Camp who oversteered the production details, which is simple and direct but entirely fruitful. As well as the ghost of Sis Draper, the spirit of Guy Clark also looms large over this release.

There are a number of tracks that stay in the memory even after numerous plays, that seem to connect a little more than others. The first of these is Magnolia Wind. The Civil War ballad of wounding and amputation is told in a convincing way, involving the need for something to take the mind off what the hacksaw blade was about to do in Solider’s Joy 1864. The tale Grandpa’s Rovin’ Ear outlines how Guy Clark had a mind for the fiddle playing of Sis Draper. Her demise is detailed over a mournful melody in The Death Of Sis Draper, again Camp’s vocal is central to the song. Similar in tone and alignment is Hello Dayin’ Day which, I think, shows my preference for the slower ballads over the faster material. Others may well hold the opposite view. 

This is the first album in some time that has Camp’s solo name on the cover. His earlier albums were more in the traditional country mode, even though there were pointers to his later more acoustic direction and that of his role in bluegrass band, The Earls Of Leicester. His self-titled debut 1993 major label release featured a number of his co-written songs and such players as James Burton and Paul Franklin. He himself played acoustic guitar and fiddle. The follow-up album was not released as planned, as the label wanted him to shift direction, but came out some years later. It was titled 1994, the year it was made, and interestingly features a co-write with Guy Clark entitled Stop, Look And Listen (Cow Catcher Blues) Again it had Burton contributing some guitar and Al Perkins on steel. Later came  LUCKY SILVER DOLLAR (1999) and FIREBALL (2006). So now we have this differently focused album that again underscores the wide ranging talents of Shawn Camp.

Stephen Rapid

KP Hawthorn ’Til The Glitter End Self Release

The debut release from the female singer of the husband-wife duo The HawThorns is a varied and fully realised collection of songs. Produced by Hawthorn herself, this album features eight songs mostly co-written by herself with a number of co-writers, the majority with Manda Mosher and several where Jamie Wyatt joins them. The final track is Going To California, notably written by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant. The sound is contemporary California roots music with quite a wide base to work from. There are a lot of guitars, ranging from ringing Rickenbackers to indie rock overtones.

Fool’s Gold, which is the first track, opens with a twangy guitar riff and Hawthorn’s clear and stalwart vocal that welcomes us to Gold Rush country even if, in the end it is fool’s gold. Then we’re taking the High Road, “the only road I know” which features a feeling guitar break from a similarly minded fellow artist, Rosie Flores (both are involved in the California roots scene). The next track is a stand out with a memorial chorus and strong vocal, it was co-written with Ted Kamp. A father who was never around may have something to do with the motivation of the next song, The Runaway Cowgirl, it has a strength of feeling like the believable tale of finding one’s way despite the odds that may arise, but where two people can perhaps find a path. 

The uptempo and rockin’ San Andrea Shake has another good guitar riff to drive it along at pace. As a contrast the introspection of Break Your Heart offers a new possibility to someone coming out of a badly-ended relationship to “come to me when the heartbreak’s over and your feelings for her all fade away.” There is another warning of heartbreak given in Lone Ranger, which has some more pleasing twelve string guitar to make that feeling more acceptable in the circumstances. KP and Johnny Hawthorn both share the lead vocals on the ode to traveling back to the aforementioned state in the closing Going To California. 

They both are the focal point of the album, with KP adding guitar, mandolin, keyboards and percussion, and Johnny electric guitar and backing vocals. The rhythm section is held down by Ted Pecchio and Chris Benelli. Sav Madigan joins them to add fiddle to the final song. The result makes for a cohesive listen and a showcase for the talents of KP and is, for the long-time participant in the California roots revival scene, an impressive enough release that promises more for future recording solo or with The HawThorns.

Stephen Rapid

Jeffery Broussard Bayou Moonlight Fairgrounds

Zydeco music is a specific genre that has origins in the Louisiana region of the southeastern United States. It’s geography is highlighted by a diverse landscape that includes swamps, bayous, and the Mississippi river. The Creole population in the State has developed its own indigenous culture over the centuries, reflected in their literature, art, music, architecture, and cuisine. Baton Rouge and New Orleans are known for their diverse cultural heritage and it is the music of the French, Spanish, African and Afro-Caribbean immigrants that has created the hot bed that fuses African American Creole traditions with blues, Dixieland jazz, R&B, gospel, and Cajun influences that is manifest widely throughout the state.

The essence of Zydeco is defined by the sound of the accordion and the washboard, or frottoir, a corrugated metal rubboard worn over the shoulders and played with spoons or thimbles. Jeffery Broussard is a renowned Zydeco musician, following a long line of artists such as Clifton Chenier, Buckwheat Zydeco and Queen Ida Guillory. It is a music that is rich in both heritage and tradition, while the cultural time capsule continues to be celebrated and renewed. Broussard is a multi-instrumentalist and he came to prominence in bands like Zydeco Force and The Creole Cowboys.

This new album is a collaboration between Jeffery Broussard, members of New Orleans’ TBC Brass Band, and a swing-band rhythm section. The album was produced by Romain Beauxis at Marigny Studio in New Orleans, recorded by Mack Major and mixed by Chris Butcher. There are fourteen tracks and a healthy mix of old standards are included, given a fresh coat of paint, and played in a celebratory style that is the calling card of this exciting music.

The lead vocals and accordion are superbly delivered by Jeffery Broussard and he is joined by producer Romain Beauxis on acoustic guitar, with Zach Wiggins (keyboards), Spike Perkins (bass), Hannah Davis (drums), Gary Francois (frottoir), and a horn section of Paul Chéenne (saxophone),  JU9CEY (trombone), and David McKissick (trumpet) completing the ensemble that came together to create such invigorating music. Opening track Whatever jumps out of the speakers with real swagger and intent, the full band playing comfortably in the pocket and Broussard suggesting that you ‘Sit back, and relax, pour yourself a cup of coffee, or whatever.’ It’s such a heady rush of R&B, Jazz and funky groove, all mixed into a gumbo of joyous sound.

Sam Cooke’s soul masterpiece A Change Is Going to Come is given a great rendition, and the excellent skills of Jamie Lynn Fontenot (guitar, vocal, fiddle) and K.C. Jones (vocals, guitar, percussion) highlight the great dancefloor swing of It’s Alright. The superb vocal talents of Anjelika “Jelly” Joseph light-up the excellent Richest Man, while Aww Baby is a standout, with warm organ swells, horn section and the pulsing rhythm that supports the accordion of Broussard. Elsewhere, Hello Baby (Rosie Ledet), No Good Woman (Rocking Sidney), and the Cajun standard Madeline are given due reverence in the colourful arrangements and Anna Moss features on Hello Baby – she is a vocalist and multi-instrumentalist from the Ozarks.

Cajun French is an integral part of a number of the songs and Ho Ye Yaille is a fine song in the tradition of the local culture. The blues of I’m Coming Home has a great trade-off between accordion and piano (plus a nod to Sam Cook’s Bring It On Home To Me), as they play across the melody, and the addictive swing of Roaches is impossible to ignore when it comes to foot-tapping brilliance.

Swing falls directly into this same space with the superb interplay casting a spell on this instrumental knees-up fun. The gospel soul of Falling In Love With Jesus has a real passionate vocal delivery from Broussard and the final (repeated) track Madeline is such an inspiring sound, with special significance, given that Broussard’s father also played the Cajun standard with his band, The Lawtell Playboys.

Is there a more inclusive music to be part of, given these days of genre defining myopia? Where the essence is one of joyous celebration, dance and rising spirits? It is the most fun that I’ve had over fifty plus minutes of this year to date, and I highly recommend this album to one and all.

Paul McGee

Billy Dodge Moody Ephemera Self Release

This Boston singer songwriter has been releasing music since a 2014 debut DAWN BREAKS OVER MYSTIC and following a second album release in 2018 titles WILDWOOD, he drew breath before showcasing CONDITION in 2022 which continued his career progression.

Fast forward to today and Moody has released the first in a series of EPs that will eventually form a complete album, This is something of a go-to strategy these days of increasing media traffic in an attempt to keep your name relevant on social platforms on a semi-regular basis. There are four songs included on this first EP and the title gives a hint of what is to be enjoyed, in the definition of the title as a passing feeling enjoyed for a short time.

The essence of these songs is Moody trying to come to terms with the randomness of life and looking for meaning in all the chaos. Having lost a close friend to a sudden heart attack at an early age, a defining moment in the adolescence of Moody; it is something that has taken him many years to confront and try to capture in a song. The results are evident on Meaning To Disaster and the question of what lies waiting for us after we have passed along the conveyor belt of life. No-one knows and nobody can offer insight beyond the thin veil we pass through as we try and bring some sense to the reality of a sudden disaster.

Another song Nobody has a similar theme in looking beyond the veneer that we all construct in order to navigate the hurdles and the challenge of daily routine, ‘Nobody knows how tight it gets at the end of the rope.’ Made To Decide is a song with simple acoustic guitar and a reflection that life is never comfortable in the decisions that we need to take ‘Check the till and wage your bet, Hedge your guilt against regret, What’s the lesser evil of the two.’ Time is certainly a continuum, and we step carefully and lightly along its fragile path.

The song that wraps everything together is Suddenly and the fallacy that we are in control. Certainty is not something to rely upon, and the random nature of living takes precedent. We never really can tell what will happen. Sweet harmony vocals and harmonica paint some bright colours along with string sounds to soothe the spirit in the dilemmas that arise in these times.

Moody delivers on lead vocals, guitar, and keyboards, alongside Jon Chapman on drums, Sam Bouve on bass, Parker Goessling on guitar, and Tyler Simko on keyboards. Additional vocals are courtesy of Hannah Foxman. It’s a very impressive EP and it leaves me very interested in the next instalment from this talented artist.

Paul McGee

Her Mountain Majesty Above the Water Self Release

This debut album from Seattle band Her Mountain Majesty was recorded over a four day period at Bear Creek Studios in Woodinville, Washington. It is eleven songs that run over some fifty minutes of great energy and variety. The abiding feeling I get is that of listening to a reincarnation of Lone Justice, the roots-rock four-piece that shone during the 1980s. The superb vocals of Andi Lee Scher are the perfect foil for the incendiary guitar work of Jarett Samples and the songs play out with a passion in the delivery. The rhythm section comprises Doug Indrick (drums and percussion), and Greg Olson (bass), with both players holding down the song arrangements with rock solid timing and tempo.

Don’t Love You Anymore (Dogs) starts the album in a wash of guitar reverb and the vocal of Scher front and centre on a song that reflects upon broken trust and love gone cold as a result of an abusive relationship  ‘I haven’t seen myself in years, Staring at these bloodshot eyes, Through hard earned tears.’ The title track Above the Water follows and questions the price to be paid in displaying a positive persona to the outside world while feelings of drowning are flooding internally ‘When I corner the beast, And I turn on the light, I can see it’s just me, Too scared to fight, So I try to take flight, But I keep smashing into windows, Like a sparrow in the night.’

The presence of Katrina Burrows (harmonies, keyboards, piano, violin) brings added quality to the melodies and her playing is augmented by Mara Rafferty (cello), with cameos from Sarah Brunner and Erika Lundahl on harmony vocals. The slower Build A House In the Forest gives prominence to Burrows on violin as Scher sings of intended domestic bliss in a new relationship and committing to a future that takes joy from simple daily chores. Also, the song Medicine has Scher looking to ride that wave of passion that being in love brings ‘Your love’s a drug, I can’t get enough, Adrenaline keeps reeling me in, Against my better judgment.’

Too Hard To Love returns to challenges of self-worth and trying to reconcile how to remain steady in opening up to relationships, ‘Cuz I think too much, And I cling too much, Am I too hard to love?’ The gentle Made Up My Mind reflects upon the need to be true to yourself and keep going forward in the pursuit of positive outcomes, while the message on You Can’t Save Me (Church) is about looking to nature as your guide when self-doubt comes calling, ‘The mountains are my church, And the ocean is my steeple,’ and the band are in full flow as the rocking beat and guitar histrionics of Samples deliver a real tour de force.

The acoustic Echoes eases things down and the message of looking to nature for quiet calm is reflected in the expressive piano and violin accompaniment. Relief is a confessional song about keeping feelings hidden inside and having the urge to keep looking for something undefined ‘It’s easy always pleasing, I just slip away, pretend I’m okay, But I’m tired of being wired this way.’ The final song Bread is another acoustic song that reflects upon losses suffered in a broken relationship and learning to live with the pain of the experience. This is a confident debut album that tackles some personal demons and issues, while delivering plenty of high points in the resolve. Following on from an earlier EP in 2022, this represents a big stride forward for this interesting band.

Paul McGee

The Riflebirds Of Portland Windmills On the Moon Regional

This band existed all too briefly as The Riflebirds back in 1989 when their debut album was recorded; only to break up shortly after.  This new release jumps us forward to 2024 and the reformation of the original band, who together with original producer Marvin Etzioni (Lone Justice), entered the studio to record the ten songs included here.

The sound is very much that of contemporary Folk and the use of the Sonic Boom Room in Venice, CA proves to be an inspired choice. The engineering and mixing by Kevin Jarvis, who also plays drums and percussion, is very much aligned to the gently sweet song arrangements, leaving lots of space in the arrangements to enjoy. The early songs Sometime Somewhere and She’s Not Here reflect upon relationships that are either in the past or offer mere solace in terms of future possibilities.

Mournful Bride offers a change of pace and the use of horns is a backdrop to a cool light jazz arrangement with a seductive vocal delivery. There is a fine groove on Reach Out (Touch the Divine) but the inclusion of an old song Penguin is something of a weak spot, surmising on the migration of aquatic flightless birds ‘Was it hard for you to do? Was it cold for you too?’ Hmm…

Better, is the atmospheric It Doesn’t Matter Much To Me with a pulsing bass line and a bluesy arrangement, complete with horns arranged by David Ralicke, highlighting The Mermaids on backing vocals. The jangle pop of You Win is something of an earworm, complete with handclaps and breezy guitar rhythm. Kate Oser sings lead vocal on all these songs and her clear delivery is very prominent in the mix, a highlight being The Last Day Of Your Love with the relaxed arrangement giving lots of room for the regret-laden lyric. Where Does the River Lead? is a song that reflects the need to find direction and foster a sense of hope. The title track is based around NYC and a feeling that the changing seasons can bring new beginnings ‘What could all those towers of glass prophesize?’

Lee Oser co-wrote all the songs, with Marvin Etzioni and his multi-instrumental skills prominent on guitars, keyboards, piano and bass. He is accompanied by Kevin Kraft (guitars) and Kevin Jarvis (drums, percussion) on an album that is quietly engaging while not changing gears too often across a listening experience that is pleasing and relaxed.

Paul McGee

Revere Rivers I Was Born Of Water Regional

This is a debut album from a keyboard player who learned his trade in the environs of New Orleans. As could be expected, there is a healthy mix of Rhythm and Blues, the use of a horn section, and a soulful vocal style that instantly appeals.

The opening A Girl Named Happiness has a sweet slice of restrained power in the arrangement and delivery, as Rivers tells of his contentment in life these days. However, the following song Lofty Politics is a frustrated look at the state of political hypocrisy in his divided USA, the lack of empathy and care leading to misconnection everywhere. One of the highlights is Where’d the Time Go? and a loving message to his child and the early years of parenthood “Remember that we loved you, That all people have value, And do the best you can, Wake up and start again.” The soulful vocal and muted horns adding perfectly to the warm keyboard sounds.

The power of love is what fuels Love Is Greater while the slow blues of She Said, The Revolution’s Here is another example of the classy production, courtesy of Marvin Etzioni (Lone Justice), who also contributes on guitar, bass, drums, mandolin, and slide guitar. A number of the songs remind me of Hiss Golden Messenger in the overall sound and vocal delivery - no bad thing. The more commercial 1st Sweet Kiss sounds like something off an old Stax sampler, while Chuggin’ Down the Tracks is a swinging swampy jazz work-out that carries a great rhythm.

Revere Rivers plays piano, Wurlitzer, Hammond organ, and drums, with guest musicians also featuring on selected tracks. The horns are arranged, performed and recorded by David Ralicke and all songs are written by Rivers, including one co-write. The aspiration on Looking For A Brighter Day finds hope for tomorrow amid all the desolation, while The Mountains Are Calling delivers more of that sweet bluesy sound that dominates the album, as the pain fades into blue skies. The final song is No Regrets Now which sums up the entire recording, and speaks of lazy days and nights with the message that “Only love is real.” As debut albums go, this is very impressive and certainly announces a serious talent into the musical community.   

Paul McGee

JD Hinton So Close, So Far Self Release

An artist who favours the EP format when it comes to regular music activities, with six separate releases over the last three years. A debut album appeared in 2014 titled ECHO PARK but since then the emphasis has been more around ‘a little and often’ in terms of regular output.

This new EP delivers a further five songs that highlight Hinton’s impressive voice and the full production sound certainly resonates. The opening track Rain Rain Rain is a fine example, with the Americana rocker referencing Noah’s Ark and the end of days. The next song is Don’t Dig My Grave Yet and is a warning not to write off this protagonist too early and the urge for revenge is definitely circling in the air.

The love song Let’s Do Now (I’m Here, You’re Here) features Kathryn Shorr on harmonies and is about living in the moment, the easy acoustic arrangement complimenting the excellent vocals. The movie references in Where Do I Sign has a connection to JD Hinton who also enjoys acting roles in television and films ‘I want a chef, I want a per diem, I want my fans where I can see ‘em, Where do I sign? When do I start?’

In previous years, Hinton also developed a reputation as a disc jockey on a highly rated R&B radio station in Los Angeles and his ability to write a sweet melody and a strong lyric are evident here. The final song is I Have To Dream and the singer looks to hope as the greatest power to get us through hard times ‘Some days are better, Than they seem, Some days are better, Because you dream.’ It would appear that JD Hinton has already achieved a number of his life’s dreams and his music is a very strong statement of his talents.

Paul McGee

John Jenkins Restless Hearts Self Release

An experienced maven in the art of songwriting and communicating emotion in his music, with a deft touch that pulls on the heartstrings of our sensitivities. His back catalogue began in 2016 with the release of TRAINS, and he followed this in 2017 with WINDOW SHOPPING IN NASHVILLE. In 2019 Jenkins formed the James Street Band and released LOOKING FOR THAT AMERICAN DREAM, and into 2020 GROWING OLD (Songs From My Porch) appeared. TUEBROOK was released in 2023, a very personal album concerning his formative years in Liverpool, followed in 2024 by THE REASON AND OTHER SONGS. WEARY also appeared that same year, a six-song EP issued to whet the appetite, before this 2025 release RESTLESS HEARTS. Quite an impressive back catalogue and John Jenkins is not only prolific but also superbly talented at capturing the human condition in all its guises. I certainly need to add to my personal collection of his music and Jenkins never fails to deliver when it comes to insightful and inspiring music.

This time out we have twelve songs to enjoy and the jaunty opener Cruel Wind sings about regrets and not being able to hide from the mistakes of the past, even as the musicians kick up a very inviting storm in the ensemble playing. Indeed, this track is a marker for what is to come with the craftsmanship of Mikey Kenney (fiddle), Scott Poley (dobro/pedal steel), Chris Howard (piano), Phil Chisnall (resonator guitar), Pippa Murdie (mandolin, cello, and backing vocals), and Jon Lawton (various guitars and bass) excelling at every turn.

John Jenkins has a very warm vocal tone and he sings almost like he’s sharing an intimate secret  between friends; quietly reflective in the delivery and perfectly captured on the track The Disappearance and the tale of a wife who is no longer traceable, giving all concerned pause for thought as to why she felt compelled to leave. Again, on Too Many Roads the band deliver an engaging melody and tempo on a song about hard times and the choices made in order to try and get ahead.

Pippa Murdie shares lead vocal on Colorado In the Spring and it is a highlight among many great moments on the album, with the atmospheric pedal steel of Scott Poley and the superb fiddle of Mikey Kenney really lifting the arrangement. There is an echo on some songs that reminds me of the Waterboys circa their Fisherman’s Blues album, and tracks like I Didn’t Really Want To Change the World and Cruel World fit into that spontaneous celebratory sound of the ensemble in full flight..

Sound Of Thunder is the longest track included here and is a reflective look at a life lived and the frustrations that haunt in memories of the past; the acoustic strum of guitars blending with piano, dobro and pedal steel in another standout moment. The emigrant tale on Brooklyn is nicely observed and delivered, with The Not Knowing also occupying similar space of displacement and looking for escape of sorts ‘Such a long long way to where he thinks he’s going, Such a long long way from where he thinks he’s been.’   

Spent the Night In Austin is a story song about youthful travels that capture a feeling that no matter where you go, you can never get away from your inner reflections and thoughts. Never Needed Much looks into the solitary life of a character who resisted change in his habits and lived a simple life. The straight up Country swing of The Man Who Breaks Your Heart is a refreshing twirl on a dancefloor and Farthings Wood closes proceedings with a quiet acoustic guitar strum and a love song that soothes the spirit. A terrific album, right up there with his best, and John Jenkins goes from strength to strength in all that he turns his many talents toward.

Paul McGee

New Album Reviews

Charley Crockett Dollar A Day Lone Star Rider

There’s no denying the work ethic that sees Charley Crockett being as prolific as he is, as both as a recording and touring artist. This new collection of fifteen songs is the work of Crockett and Shooter Jennings (they also worked together on the recently released last album LONESOME DRIFTER - this is the second album in a trilogy) and showcases the different musical scenarios that Crockett and his sometime co-writers care to place these songs into. The opening title song is a simple tale of a working cowboy and his hard work and low-pay, and this is done as a voice and acoustic guitar folk tune. The album then moves from that base to full band workouts that simply expand Crockett’s established pattern and by now well established and elucidating vocals. When you add a little more grease to the skittle you can see how this pairing are developing the songs, and at times pushing at the boundaries of what is expected of him. He does this in the overall context of the record, so it all seems to be fit for purpose.

There are themes that have been explored in the past such as those with a Texas cowboy feel (appropriate given his label’s name too), some that tell his own back story and others that understand how peoples’ lives are often at the whim of others who do not have their best interests at heart. Of the former, Lone Star, El Paso To Denver, Santa Fe Ring, Ballad Of The Lonesome Drifter and All Round Cowboy all, to one degree or another, touch on the lives and relationships of those whose lives are not easy, but are often not without their good moments too. Equally, the instrumental Age Of The Ram (Theme) seems to underline the cinematic nature that has existed in his music through his many releases.

Woman In A Bar is about such an encounter and has steel guitar and piano used prominently. Then there is that funky guitar in Lone Star that hints at something different, at another genre and a different time. There is something of being close the border in Die With My Dreams On, with its trumpet interlude and its ambition to keep on dreaming. The role of the drifting musician who is in need of hard cash finds the protagonist look for some as outlined in Tennessee Quick Cash.

We get a little more uptempo and down home funky when he feels a little wrecked overall in Destroyed, the album’s penultimate track. The final song Alamosa ties together several of these strands and closes out the album in a summation of where Charley Crockett is right now. It will be noted as one of his best and part of a continuing trail on which this lonesome drifter is traveling. Only he may not be quite so lonesome no more, given all the fans he has gained earning his ‘dollar a day’ these days.

Stephen Rapid

Wesley Hanna Magnolia Self Release

Some more Texas country music that veers towards the traditional rather than some the more recent raucous, rock-fuelled releases. The album has steel guitar, fiddle, banjo, dobro and guitar. The crew here included the legendary Scrappy Jud Newcomb, Lloyd Maines, Cody Braun and Stacie Hanna on upright bass. The lead vocals by Hanna are a primary asset, without having, right now, that totally distinctive feel that makes a singer immediately identifiable. However they work as they should in context here and give the necessary tenor throughout. The material overall is an expression of some real life situations, locations and memories.

We start out with some Gulf Prairie Blues, which offers a number of ways, not all them great, that one could pay one’s dues. Then Life In Three Quarter Time is a duet with Courtney Patton that works well with the two voices telling of two people making their way from slightly different perspectives and outlooks. It is an early highlight on the album and one worth going back to. An abandoned home leaves the a man “dreaming of how things used to be” and relying on reviving that past on his guitar on This Old Guitar.

There are roots of a different sort at the heart of Thomas B. O’Hara a song that starts in a Dublin bar and ends with dreams of drinking whiskey back in the Ireland of yore, it is a song that remind me of the late Charlie Robinson and his similarly named song with a similar ethos that was John O’Reilly. It certainly works as an uplifting spirit and becomes a different song with the end section which is rowdy and resonant. The title song mourns the loss of a small town ethos that has been overrun by developers and city escapers. Something that often overwhelms a once tight nit community. Wonder if the right path was taken in life is where we find ourselves in The Right Thing. Is he supposed “an outlaw or supposed to be a saint … meant to be a poet or a burn-out corporate slave?” It is another highlight with a baritone and steel guitar bridge that is both effective and embellishing.

Catching up and then wondering how a person actually is what Harvey’s Landfall, a more serious song, contemplates and decides that he may be “not sure I’m ready to move on.” While having a bit of fun is more what Behind The Pine Curtain offers. A deeper attachment is what Forever Kind Of Love outlines, taking the road less traveled but finding the right place to be in the end. The album closes with a second version of the title song, this time given the suffix Charlies Version. This is a longer and more acoustic take with mandolin taking the lead.

This album find Hanna following up and building from BRAND NEW LOVE POTION, his previous album, which also included several of the musicians he works with here including Newcomb and Maines as well as Pat Manske who produced both album here, including parts of this album with Newcomb as co-producer. It is a solid album overall with some strong highlights which indicate that Hanna has is taking his place in Texas country music and the location of the small city of Magnolia, which is close to Houston, the the album cover denotes it is 43 miles away while Fort Worth is 205 miles away. A big State with enough room for everyone’s music.

Stephen Rapid

Brent Amaker And The Rodeo Vaquero Rodeo Corps

That this image conscious combo name Devo as a major influence on their work is not surprising or unapparent in their visuals or overall attitude. However, they combine this concept with a music that is maybe quickly described as a marriage of mariachi and Johnny Cash. They deliver a set of songs that are pretty compelling in their own right. Amaker has a deep baritone voice and an understanding of classic country metaphors which they turn into songs like Left My Heart In Tulsa, Tequila Cerveza and I Need Love, with the resounding ring of fiery trumpets and solid beat driving everything along, but they also eschew the electronic instrumentation often employed by Devo for some good old western soundscapes. For a direct comparison, see their online version of Devo’s Gut Feeling (also featured on their last album PHILAPHOBIA) and the differences of approach soon emerge. Their version of Kraftwerk’s Pocket Calculator further emphasises their more individual musical arrangements. 

Online, the current band is listed as frontman and conceptualist Amaker, Ryan Leyva on lead guitar, Jordon Gomes playing bass, Ben Strehle on guitar and vocals with Bryan Crawford on drums and vocals. Trumpets also abound on the recordings (but not always live, on the evidence of their video appearances) to add that extra layer of texture and theatre. Musically there is an appeal to these rhythmic and undeniably catchy songs. They are all short, with the longest song here clocking in just over three and a half minutes, so nothing has the chance to outstay its welcome, something that is true of a great many of the classic country songs. Similarly the themes are largely relationship based with a lyrical take that, in keeping with the band’s approach, are not a little offbeat in style, while retaining a sense of that particular genre, as in Murdered In The Streets, Broken Promises or You’re No Good. 

The use of the backing vocals on choruses behind Amaker’s forceful but monochromatic delivery works in a way that offers a similar kind of arrangement throughout VAQUERO, something that will not appeal to everyone across the board equally. It may appear to lack the kind of authenticity within the format of Americana that seems to hold some kind of sway, but Brent Amaker and The Rodeo are doing things a little differently, which places them in the outer limits of the mainstream. It is a sound I immediately found engaging, with more than enough pointers to a previous tradition. This is far more entertaining than many whose musical cross-pollination tends to ignore the context of the form to a point where it is trying to restructure it as expanding borders, rather than eliminating them.

This album puts the band in a category with those who are exploring something more individual like Slim Cessna’s Auto Club or, from way back in the day, Wall Of Voodoo (who incidentally, had a guitarist Marc Moreland, who also played a Flying V guitar) and others who represent the more underground nature of country, not unlike those cowboys and aliens comics and movies, something to love or hate. I am throwing my hat in the ring with former. 

Stephen Rapid

The Hens Hen Sounds Topless

This Austin-based band are yet another outfit who are playing largely original material on their new album, one that will appeal to those who like it played straight and true. They are currently a six piece band who have had a number of players pass through the band since its inception in 2015. They were founded by Dave Aaronoff, who had spent time in Boston playing with various bands before moving to the Texas town, and who soon found a number of like-minded musicians to further their collective vision. Heather Rae Johnson, who plays the fiddle and is a featured vocalist, guitarist Tom Umberger and bassist Ricky Rees, still form the core of the band, which is joined here by Brother Ethan Shaw (who has played with numerous acts including The Derailers) on pedal steel and banjo. This is a tight knit unit who hit everything right. They remind me a little, at times, of Rosie Flores and San Francisco band Red Meat.

This album is produced by Chris Burns and was recorded in the Ameripolitan Studios in Austin. It features twelve tracks, the majority from Aaronoff, with one each from Johnson and Umberge. There are some covers that fit right in, including Melba Montgomery’s We Must Have Been Out Of Our Minds, done as you might expect as a duet in the style of its version by the author and George Jones, and Get Behind Me Satan And Push recorded by Billie Jo Spears. Choosing something that seems more recent, Johnson takes on Elvis Costello’s Stranger In The House, a song Costello originally wrote and recorded as duet with George Jones in 1978 for that singer’s MY VERY SPECIAL GUESTS duets album. It allows an interesting twist on a perennial country music theme.

Against these tracks Aaronoff’s (and the other members’) own songs can be seen as up to the task of standing alongside these venerable songs and are written in a similar vein. Much of the original material has some self-deprecating humour at its core. The Key’s Not In The Mailbox is a response to a not unfamiliar set of circumstances and echoes, with a different solution, Harlan Howard’s song of a similar name, and shows a continuation of spirit and attitude. The last two tracks especially are good examples of that, outlining what can transpire for a working or, indeed, under working musician or in fact anyone who has to do a daily routine, usually in a hard scrabble kind of way. The life of a performer, who has passed his best, is outlined and summarised in the title of Umberger’s truthful tale, Washed Up Honky Tonk Troubadour. Johnston’s ode to inhaling a certain substance is there in Smokin’ Mary Jane, a nice late night western swing feel with a strongly featured fiddle and guitar exchange. As with many of the songs, you can dance - indoors or outdoors - to the remembrances conjured by the final track Covid-19, indicating how enjoyable the band would be in a live setting too.

In the end, while The Hens may not be totally free range musically, their combination of a number of country/roots forms are organic and gratifying, as well as played with some skill and feeling.

Stephen Rapid

West Texas Exiles 8000 Days Floating Mesa

The five members of the West Texas Exiles boast excellent Lone Star State pedigrees. The band has three songwriters: former Dirt River Boys co-founder Marco Gutierrez, son of Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Colin Gilmore, and Amarillo-born keyboard player Daniel Davis. Bass player Eric Harrison and his father ran the Lubbock music venue Tokyo Joe’s, and Eric subsequently formed Austin’s noted Studio 601. The fifth member, drummer Trinidad Leal, has played with numerous bands, notably Tex-Mex punk band Los Tornados, Dixie Witch, and Dirty River Boys. 8000 DAYS is their debut full-length album, following the release of an EP, VOLUME 1, in 2023, and a win in the prestigious 2022 International Songwriting Competition (Americana division). Another recognition of their rising star is their weekly residency at Austin’s favourite roots room, The Continental Club.

With all that talent on board, an award recognising their songwriting talents, and this publication's declaration in 2023 as’ one to watch’, having reviewed their EP, would the band be able to live up to that promise? Well, the answer is a definite yes. Pining for the past, the title track is loaded with regret and guilt, with Gutierrez’s vocals ideally suited to the song's backstory.  The stand-out inclusion, Bright Yellow Sun, sounds like a song that you’ve known forever. Its addictive melody, killer harmonies, and rhythm play out like a flashback to The Jayhawks at the top of their game.

One of Texas' finest voices, Kelly Willis, joins the party to duet with Gutierrez in Division, and they turn the heat up with the plain-spoken scorching drum and guitar-driven, Way We Are. Less frantic, Dark Desire is a border-flavoured delight, before they close the album on a twangy note with Already Gone, that fittingly recalls their fellow Texan, the peerless Buddy Holly.

There is a quality and consistency here not often found in debut albums, but don’t just take my word, check it out yourself, you won’t be disappointed.

Declan Culliton

Malin Pettersen Wildflower  Die With Your Boots On

The leading light in the Nordicana genre, Norwegian Malin Pettersen’s music career includes fronting country crossover band Lucky Lips, alongside her solo recordings and performances. Her solo career began with her debut album REFERENCES PT.1 in 2018, earning her a Spellman Award (Norwegian Grammy) and was followed by her mini-album ALONESOME the following year.  Since then, she has released two further albums, WILDHORSE (2020) and TROUBLE FINDING WORDS (2023).

Pettersen describes her latest eleven-track record as ‘a spiritual successor’ to WILDHORSE, and it’s fair to say that it more than lives up to the quality of that album. She travelled to Nashville in 2020 to record that album and recruited big hitters, including pedal steel player in the Grand Ole Opry Band, Eddy Dunlap, and Misa Arriaga (Kacey Musgraves, Lillie Mae, Caitlin Cannon), among others, to play on the recordings. Working closer to home on this occasion, Pettersen self-produced at Amper Ton Studios in Oslo and worked with musicians that she has played with for many years, Øyvind Blomstrøm on bass, Nikolai Grasaasen on guitar and piano, Stian Jørgen Sveen on pedal steel, and Sigmund Vestrheim on drums.

Pettersen’s core sound is textbook Nordicana, a crossover of roots with classic pop, without ever descending into the dreaded country/pop currently dominant in America. Her songwriting is intelligent and profound, matched by her outstanding vocal phrasing and expression. 

Highlights on her latest record include the gently seductive title track, with Pettersen’s crystal clear vocals in front of dreamy pedal steel and stacked harmonies. Picking up the pace, the electric Carolina enters cosmic country territory, and the love song Cargo is a two and a half minutes melodic gem that ends all too quickly. If the groove-driven Number and a Street recalls a failed relationship of yesteryear, the swampy and somewhat cryptic Baptize Me offers a backdrop of longing and desire. The rocker Free is also a standout track with thumping drums, swirling keys harmonising with Pettersen’s spiralling vocals.

Continuing to go from strength to strength, Pettersen has hit the mark with WILDFLOWER, which, for this writer, is the jewel in the crown in her hugely impressive back catalogue.

Declan Culliton

Nate Currin Ghost Town Archaic Cannon

Listening to this album is not for the faint hearted. The fifteen songs clock in at fifty-seven minutes and the abiding theme running through the tracks is one of heartbreak and loss. No doubt that Currin is exorcising his hurt, and the great majority of these explorations track inner reflection and pain, self-doubt and ask where things went wrong with a recent relationship.

It’s an exercise in purging the self and hoping that new beginnings and a deep spirit will survive. There is little respite, with the songs treated as a way to vent, while no doubt saving a fortune on therapy. And what better way to clean the slate than to pour your heart out in song to an audience that will listen? According to the press release, this is Currin’s ninth album. When I go searching I can only find a few prior releases, the earliest dating back to 2010.

This time out the album was produced by Jon Poole in Northern Georgia and at Gray Matters Studios in Nashville by Matthew Odmark (Jars of Clay), and the band comprises Nate Currin (lead vocals, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, harmonica), Matthew Odmark (additional guitars, horn arrangements, additional acoustic guitar, organ, vocals), Jon Poole (drums, keyboards, synthesizers), joined by quite an array of other musicians who contribute across various tracks.

Peyton Parker provides very memorable vocals on four songs, and there are three separate bass players credited in Tom Ryan, Stephen Mason and Matthew Chancey. Additional drums are handled by Aksel Coe, with both Matt Koziol and Cody Preston adding great parts on electric guitars and pedal steel. Charlie Lowell is the keyboards, organ and piano maestro with other players guesting and fiddle, saxophone and trombone feature. The overall sound is varied and dynamic in the mix and the entire project is big in the speakers and worthy of both your time and interest.

Paul McGee

Tekla Waterfield and Jeff Fielder Mother Mind Self Release

This is the fifth release from Seattle-based singer-songwriter Tekla Waterfield and it continues her productive and rewarding partnership with her husband, Jeff Fielder. He is a respected producer and multi-instrumentalist who is also a regular touring musician with artists like Amy Ray, Mark Lanegan (R.I.P.), and Indigo Girls.

Tekla released her debut album THIS NIGHTLIFE IS WEARING ON ME in 2015. This was followed with THE CURTAIN FALLS in 2018, and then two separate projects over 2021, with NEW SKIES and TROUBLE IN TIME adding to her reputation as an artist of some gravitas. Tekla writes all the songs here and her engaging vocal delivery is a central pivot for this album of deeply personal and sensitively delivered reflections on life. The studio musicians who colour the song arrangements and melodies are comprised of a core four piece; Tekla Waterfield (lead vocals and acoustic guitar), Jeff Fielder(electric, acoustic and slide guitars, electric bass, keyboards, percussion, Vocals), David Salonen(upright bass, violin, harmony vocals), and William Sage (drums).

They are joined on selected tracks by additional musicians that include Daniel Walker (piano, B3, Wurlitzer, accordion), and Sietse Van Gorkom (violin and string arrangements), with Eric Eagle (drums) and Elsie Suttie (backing vocal) adding to individual songs. There is also a group vocal performance on the final song Will You Remember Me with the presence of eight voices, including a cameo from Tekla’s young child that is especially charming in its innocence. So, eleven portraits of restrained elegance in the performance and a quality to the songs that resonates within the impressive delivery. Anchoring everything is the warm vocal tones of Tekla.

The first song I Am Alive  is a reminder-to- self that no matter what pressures life brings to your door, you have enough resilience to endure and to realise that you are enough.  Something My Own is  self- assessment of a young life spent constantly on the move and now wanting to put down real roots ‘Is it crazy to want something of my own.’  The song I See You Mama is a tribute to her mother who raised Tekla single-handed and always found a way to bring love and comfort to a growing child. Lately reflects upon depression and has a plea not to abandon someone who is going through a hard time ‘Don’t give up on me.’

I Saw Myself In Her looks to external inspiration found in others as something that can inspire and bring an increased hope, while A Million Times is a sweetly delivered song with some lovely fiddle to soothe the troubles of a sad heart trying to get back home to the source. Keep It Upbeat looks to maintaining a positive perspective and not wallowing in self- pity. The soulful delivery is a perfect vehicle for the nuanced vocal delivery of Tekla, and Slowboat is a blues groove that suggests passing a burden over to someone else to run with, laying your worries down and relaxing in a soothing feeling of being in the moment. Some superbly understated guitar courtesy of Jeff Fielder, who excels throughout with his dextrous touch.

Sad delivers another blues and gets into the feelings of trying to get beyond a crushing sense of post -natal depression which Tekla battled after the birth of her daughter. In her honest approach to laying bare her inner emotions she has to be applauded. This is a really striking track for all these reasons and more. Visions Of A Life is a reflection on what other roads could have been chosen instead of the one that is presently unfolding. Careful what you wish for in the sense of thinking that the other man’s grass is always greener, but it is just as difficult to mow! The lovely sounds of Tekla’s baby introduce the final song Will You Remember Me and questions the way in which a child will recall their parents in later years and in trying to keep their memory alive.

Produced and Mixed by Jeff Fielder, the album is both honest and cathartic, exploring the virtues of parenthood while acknowledging all the pitfalls involved in coming to terms with the reality of it all. This couple are very much a potent energy in the world of contemporary folk and roots music. An album that engages and inspires in many ways and on many fronts.

Paul McGee

Vincent Cross A Place Where Songs Come To Live Self Release

Born in Ireland, Cross emigrated to Australia at a young age, returned again to the Emerald Isle, jumped over to London for a period, and ended up in New York City. Such is the life of many a robust Irishman who took a leap into the great unknown in search of adventure and better options. While his parents made the best of what they found on their travels Down Under, Vincent Cross began absorbing music with each experience, and exploring new paths on his own  journey.

With three prior albums to his name, Cross has now released A PLACE WHERE SONGS COME TO LIVE. So much travel leads to a strong urge for a place to call home and I wonder whether such a ‘place’  either in physical form or as an internal refuge, drives these songs. Opening with Heat Of Hearts this appears true in a track that is looking for a place to return, somewhere to enjoy the flow of life.

Other songs look at the challenges of filial love, with family ties cutting deep, and In the Eyes Of My Father the parent and child divide is captured, on a song that reflects upon the generation gap that manifests over the years. Elsewhere, the returning daughter to look after her sick father on Barefoot With the Blues reflects on the sacrifices that sometimes are made for family loyalty and tradition.

The unspoken, often unacknowledged devotion, of a mother is woven through Momma Can’t Sing the Songs She Loves where parental love is the duty borne above any sense of self-interest. Sibling love is the subject of My Sister Was Like A Mother To Me and Cross speaks of the deep gratitude he holds for his older sister and her commitment during earlier, troubled times.

Wanting to live free and to move forward is a theme on both Horses Are Wild and Goodbyes Are Never Good My Friend where being able to dictate the manner in which you want to live is the key to inner happiness. Water Under the Bridge is a metaphor for a dying romance and being stuck in the same place, while Boombox is a retrospective look to a time when music first began being transportable and how it acts in the role of companion and saviour to so many of us on a daily basis.

The final song The Bright Crystal Fountain is about preparing for death and the inevitable fact that we eventually run out of choices and time. It is a message that love endures and throughout the album this is the central theme; different types of love and the search for a soft landing to call home.

The musicians that perform these fine songs are Mike Robinson on sublime pedal steel,  James Panagakos on bass (five songs) and Stephen Anthony Elkins on bass and harmonies (seven songs), Shane Kerwin on drums, and Vincent Cross on lead vocals, harmonies and guitars. This is an album with so much to recommend it. Get on board.

Paul McGee

New Album Reviews

Hannah White Fine Day The Last Music Co

The winner of both UK Album of the Year and UK Artist of the Year at the AMA Awards in London after the release of her 2023 album SWEET REVOLUTION, Hannah White follows those accolades with her latest ten-track album, FINE DAY.

Joined by a host of contributors that included her husband Keiron Marshall on guitar and banjo, Sarah Jory on pedal steel, Gerry Diver on violin and Mike McGoldrick on whistle, White also invited members of her Nordic friends Lars Hammersland on keyboards, Ole Ludvig Krüger on drums, guitar, banjo & trumpet and Svein Henning Berstad on bass, to contribute.

Difficult to pigeonhole into one genre, without forfeiting any degree of fluency, White crosses from soulful gospel (Hard Hitting Memories) to country-noir (Good Questions) and classic pop (Camberwell) to modern folk (Hyla Karula).

The quality of White’s voice alone is worth your attention, but the caliber of her writing and the subject matter she bravely addresses is equally impressive.  The true story of a devious child molester is articulated and spectacularly presented in the spine-chilling Man Out There (‘I’ll play a game of pretend; I’m your loveable friend to the very end’). The previously mentioned Good Questions challenges the greed and inequity of today’s world, and on a similar theme, the gentle ballad What Do You Take Me For grapples with the concept of individual powerlessness. Despite its name, the title track speaks of loneliness and isolation.  Not to be overwhelmed by downbeat and despairing topics, Glory Overcome tells a tale of growth and fulfilment against all odds, and Hyla Karula rejoices in the simple beauty of nature.

White has never been afraid to lay bare her own vulnerabilities in her writing, but she has widened her lens with this collection of songs. A deeply satisfying listen, with suitable musical arrangements behind White’s vocals, that confronts, head-on, the chaos that surrounds us in these unprecedented times.

Declan Culliton

Forrest VanTuyl Old Trails Proper

Far from romantic or imaginary tales of the Western lifestyle, Forrest VanTuyl's music comes from his experiences and parallel careers as both a singer-songwriter and working cowboy. Growing up on a farm in Western Washington, his early exposure to cowboy songs was singer-songwriter and rodeo champion Chris LeDoux. Another strong influence was noted Canadian artist Ian Tyson.

Dividing his time between being a touring musician performing his shows or playing guitar and bass in his wife Margo Cilker's band, VanTuyl spends the rest of his time on horseback in the remote wilds of Oregon and Washington as a working cowboy. It's an ideal occupation mix, with much of VanTuyl's writing coming from his time spent in the wilderness, both in his day-to-day experiences and gifting him the uninterrupted time and space to consider more personal matters.

Those ups and downs and cold hard facts of that Western lifestyle are laid bare in the title track and The County.  The former is a co-write with Margo Cilker and is delivered semi-spoken in a grainy, well-weathered voice and features splashes of fiddle by Clara Baker. The latter recalls the harsh realities of the cowboy plight ('It's snakey and it's steep, it's rocky and it's deep, so bring all the dogs you can haul. It's six months of winter, Range Rider for dinner, square dancin' at the Liberty Hall'). In contrast, the draw and freedom of that line of work is expressed in 160 Horses. Also co-written with Cilker, who is credited as executive producer, is the tender love song Ez 2 Luv u 

VanTuyl's capacity to turn everyday simple observations into something more insightful is very much to the fore in OLD TRAILS. It's a lovely listening experience that embraces both folk and Western music.

Declan Culliton 

Maia Sharp Tomboy Crooked Crown

Moving from her native California to start a new life in Nashville, following the break-up of a two-decade marriage, may have appeared to be a brave move for singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Maia Sharp. Her 2021 record, MERCY RISING, was written shortly after that move, with her personal circumstances providing her with ample subject matter. Smoothly integrating into the Nashville bohemian music community and environment has found Sharp at her most prolific in recording output for almost two decades, with TOMBOY being her third release in four years, following on from RECKLESS THOUGHTS two years ago.

Sonically, Sharp shifted from her traditional instrumentation on this occasion and finds her experimenting with a more digital sound, primarily using her newfound OP-1 Field mini synth. She also played guitar, saxophone, Mellotron, accordion, piano and added backing vocals and produced the record at her Crooked Crown home studio in Nashville. Essential to the album’s sound was percussionist Eric Darken, whose contributions worked hand in glove with Sharp’s crystal-clear vocals and digital expressions.

Like her peers Mary Gauthier, Amy Speace and Erin Enderlin, Sharp has been working with the Songwriting With Soldiers project and gaining strength from the experience (‘And the things that I thought ranked as a problem just don’t qualify as a problem anymore in the real scheme of things’). Putting challenging times behind her, the latest record finds her in a buoyant, experimental, and retrospective mood. The album’s cover depicts a four-year-old Sharp sporting a variety of impish and tomboy expressions. These snapshots signpost the album’s direction, being one of reflection on a life fully lived to date, one that finds the writer content with her present lot and looking forward to what may follow. The opening and title track revives testing childhood memories (‘A neighbour told my mother once “what a nice young man,” I was mowing the meridian in my t-shirt tan. Just like that, my streak is broken, days with no embarrassing moments. Grown up whispers, nobody understands’). Insecurity also raises its head in the gorgeously melodic Asking for A Friend which includes shared vocals with Terri Clark.

The slow-burning, jazzy, Is That What Love Does considers freedom, whether self-determined or otherwise. Fool In Love Again questions whether that freedom is welcome (‘I’d drop everything, just tell me where and when and I will be a fool, I will be a fool in love again’) or simply a stopgap until the next liaison. The answer to that conundrum may very well lie in the album’s closing track. Featuring Garrison Starr on backing vocals, it’s a cover of U2’s, I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.

Calming and meditative, TOMBOY may be, musically, a slight curveball for Sharp, but it further enhances her lofty reputation as a brilliant songwriter, musician and vocalist.

Declan Culliton

The Pleasures Enemy Of My Enemy Uber Savvy

Album two from the Australian duo who as solo artists pursued slightly different musical paths but here combine those to created a musical middle ground that reflects those different influences. Catherine Britt was a country music performer who had a major label deal and was a recipient of International Artist of the Year at the CMAs, while Lachlan Bryan was a member of successful rock band The Wildes. On this new album, and my first to review, there is much to like and, given the different backgrounds, some very different approaches from their respective solo material. The album was recorded in Melbourne and produced and mixed by Damian Cafarella, who was also the drummer on the recordings, with Britt’s husband Brad Bergan handling bass duties. Renowned steel player Tommy Detamore also adds his skill where required.

The title song opens the album and lets you know that “the enemy of my enemy is my friend.”  It is a funky rhythmic track with shared vocals that lets you know they mean business in this relationship breakdown with a “If I hurt you I could care less… let’s get angry, let’s get even” type of attitude - which the album has in spades. The keyboards are very apparent on track two, Was It Something I Said has that kind of Tom Petty crossover roots rock manner that raises that very question, with each taking a verse from the opposing perspective. 

Things take a decidedly more alt-country turn on the next track, Where The Money Goes, which features a banjo prominently. This is then followed by Step Away, which is even more decidedly country in tone with pedal steel playing an important part in the sound. It asks a potential partner to do just that, as taking things further are likely not to end well. It shows that a full album of these heartbreak duets could also work well - it is an album highlight. This territory is explored again in It’s OK (Knew What You Meant), with Britt expressing some recognition of another’s viewpoint over a simple acoustic led song of trying to find a way forward. When Bryan comes in the band kick in to give the song a deeper resonance. Equally effecting and again taking the more restrained route is The Rules, all of which are laying out a particular more traditional oriented sound.

The remaining tracks are given a more kicking uptempo sound such as in Wild Things, a guitar riff driven song. This May Hurt A Little Bit draws from overall of theme of misunderstanding and the difficulties of making things work as they should or at least as they might have. Love Relapse lets you know that “I can’t do a thing about it because I’m never winning” but that there is a pattern of relapsing into the same mistakes again, all over a solid musical motif and forward pushing beat. Good People follows a similar tack, letting you know who they would like to be. We end on a more soulful note with A Little Blue, a melodic and thoughtful sense of space and place that leaves you in no doubt that the combining of these two talents and voices is one that can move in a number of different directions and that, inevitably, each listener will have their own selected focal point here - but, in the end, wer’e all friends. 

Stephen Rapid

Petunia & The Vipers Callin’ Me Back Self Release

The latest release from this combo will delight existing fans and make new ones of those who may love the mix of hillbilly and swing sounds. It’s a fifteen track record that covers the use of the expanded line up to include a dedicated horn section of players that feature trumpet, tuba, trombone, saxophone, clarinet and French horn. Those acquainted with Petunia’s mostly original songs (there are also two contributions from Devin Champlin and a Jimmie Rogers co-write included) will immediately recognise that they are sung in his distinctive voice and phrasing. 

The title track is a winner that cuts up some dust with the guitar/lapsteel sound of longtime studio regulars Stephen Nikleva and Jimmy Roy, also here from that long-time relationship is drummer Paul Townsend. The upright bassist joining them here is Joseph Lubinsky-Mast. This is the core of the band, to which the additional players add layers of sound and seasoning. This is pretty much where they have been since issuing the first album back after the turn of the century. There have been a half dozen albums under that joint banner, as well as an equal number under Petunia’s own name, all offering a glimpse to the past and a view of an alternative future.

If you have ever liked the likes of Ray Condo, Pokey LaFarge, JD Wilkes, Paul Burch, Big Sandy and other purveyors of a individual mix of folk, blues, swing, rockabilly, New Orleans jazz and traditional Hank Williams Sr influenced country, then this album will likely find you settling into its insidious rhythms and enjoying its rhymes and reasons. However it is the songs, direction and vision of Petunia that are the focus point of everything happening. He is, quite obviously, the master of ceremonies and the heart of his music. Make no mistake - while this may not be seen as the cutting edge of country, it is, in its own way, as innovative as those who are adding hip-hop and pop to try and subvert the genre. Rather this is something that is underscoring its seminal roots. In that light it certainly won’t be for everyone, but for others it will be calling them back to a time and place that feels right. 

This Vancouver based artist has worked for some time with co-producer Steve Loree, who is himself well know for his role in alt-country band Jr. Gone Wild, and he brings something of that spirit to his production here. This album was initially scheduled for release some five years back but, as with a number of projects, it was put on hold until now. For some releases, such a delay might be something of a disaster but, thought it meant things didn’t go as planned back then, the music has such a timeless quality that it didn’t lose any of its essence. The song Billy The Kid tells the story of an Old West legend with a sonic sensibility that fits the theme to a ‘t’, while The Blue Yodel Blues takes a very different approach that channels Jimmie Rodgers and shows off Petunia’s yodelling skills too. Another song that takes the message of the lovelorn and lonely into an orchestral setting that sounds like it should have been a feature of a past cherished musical is the final track Inside Of You. It emotes that “Feeling like a loner when I walk down the street /For feeling like a loner, this song came to me / Now I cry out for all our souls, for all to claim one as their own / An invitation that only goes out to the brave.” It also underlines that Petunia is a songwriter of no small skill.

Petunia has mentioned that he learns from inspirational writers and singers until he begins to feel that a song in that character begins to emerge and then he hones that to the final songs we hear here. It became a less self-conscious process and is now his modus operandi, which he can then bring to the stage. He has been working this way in the studio and stage for many years now. That calling is something we can be grateful for.

Stephen Rapid

Chandler Dozier Bakersfield East Self Release

While much has been made of the resurgence of some exponents of 90s country, my heart and love of country started with Dwight Yoakam in the 80s, ’86 with the release of his debut, in fact. Prior to that there had been brief non-immersive encounters with the L.A. country music experiments of The Byrds and Flying Burrito Brothers. There were some recent artists who delved into the Bakersfield sound, something that the late Billy Block defined as Western Beat and I think that description best fits the music of that time. Singer/songwriters like George Ducas and Moot Davis in the 90s and 2000s referenced that sound and both at one point worked with Yoakam’s producer, Pete Anderson. There have been other more recent aficionados attracted to that sound and beat too, some have moved on and others are still exploring, but it is essential to have new adherents to that distinctive sound.

So now eyes are turned to newcomer Chandler Dozier, who has just released a debut mini-album of six tracks. It leaves one wanting more, as any good introduction should. Five of the songs are originals, while the other is a telling cover of Move It On Over from Hank Williams Sr. Dozier also looks the part - no outlaw long hair and beard, no backward baseball hat, just a clear love for classic country and the ability to deliver it with a fresh outlook that does not hide its influences, but instead perfects them into something that sounds individual and compares favourably with Yoakam’s own recent output.

Dozier is a stylised singer and fine guitar player and is supported by his own players, including Jimmy Lester on drums, bassist Luca Chiappara, Tyler Feehery on pedal steel, David Lukens on piano, fiddler Leah Sawyer and Gideon on dobro, as well as Reed Stutz on backing vocals. Many of these, I would imagine, have helped Dozier find his feet and live sound in sets played in Lower Broadway’s honky-tonks. 

It is hard to pick a song to highlight, as there is not a track you would want to skip over here. The whole thing is pretty much a perfect introduction to a new artist who at 23 is playing, producing and writing like a seasoned veteran. The tag neo-traditionalist is in some ways correct and the one used when Yoakam, Randy Travis and Steve Earle first emerged. There are others who are drawing from similar sources but Dozier, one hopes, is about to build a career on such strong instincts and that is more than a launch pad into different directions. There’s no doubt he could do that and also that his heroes Dwight Yoakam, Buck Owens and Merle Haggard themselves were open to different explorations of the parameters of the music, but all seemed to return to their core values. Dozier has a ways to go yet, but has made a great start.

It’s Not Me It’s You, All Over Again, Dancing With A Memory, Let Me Be and When You Land In Charlotte would fit on any album by his chosen inspirations, but they are all here now on BAKERSFIELD EAST. If you have enjoyed the music that came from that iconic location in the past, I recommend a visit as soon as you can.

Stephen Rapid

Grayson Hugh Save Your Love For Me River Soul

A generous fourteen songs over one hour of music is something that takes a dedicated listener to absorb in these days of short attention spans. Many among the public like to ‘consume’ music as a commodity, wanting nothing more that single sound bites for inclusion on increasingly sanitized play lists. Credit then is due to an artist who is making a celebrated ‘come back’ from years in the background, seemingly disillusioned by the music machine that dictated his career back in the 1980s.

Grayson Hugh has an impressive vocal power and pure tone, with his early career more focused upon a Soul/Blues/Gospel direction, with a select number of his songs featuring in high profile movies such as Thelma and Louise and also Fried Green Tomatoes.

It’s an interesting story; one of a young musical talent who delivers some initial big hitters, only to fade from view, a victim of record label changes and corporate politics. Grayson took a subsequent step away from the barricades and channelled his dream into other directions. However, in 2009 a solo comeback album An American Record was launched, and this was followed in 2015 with Back To the Soul. In between, an occasional EP and some demo releases have surfaced, but for a number of years Grayson taught songwriting at the Berklee College of Music.

This new album has been five years in the making, and whatever the original disappointments and their causes, Grayson Hugh is back with a real statement of his excellence and proof that real talent never dissipates. A song about the onset of Spring opens the album with Cleanin’ the Cobwebs and something of a metaphor for new beginnings and fresh optimism. The next song has the artist playing a local gig in Coggin Hill which is located in Maine, and he’s missing his girl. The country swing in the sound is very appealing ‘This lonesome highway is like a river movin' slow, I've got to move on, all night right through the dawn, still got a long way to go.‘

There are some really superb musicians on the album, with the ensemble playing so beautifully captured in the superb production. The magic is provided by Grayson Hugh (lead vocals/ grand piano/Hammond B3 organ, keyboard accordion, keyboard pedal steel, synthesizer, baritone saxophone, congas, drums, tympani and frottoir),Cindy Cashdollar (dobro/lap steel guitar), Tony Garnier (acoustic upright bass), Pete Kennedy (acoustic, electric, baritone guitars/mandolin/banjo), Gary Oleyar(fiddle/rockabilly electric guitar), Tyger MacNeal (drums), and Polly Messer on harmony vocals. The songs defy genre traps and deliver an eclectic mix, with a leaning towards country/soul as a signpost.

The atmospheric What Are We Waiting For? has a sweet groove in a song about seizing the moment and appreciating all that exists in a relationship. I Had A Dream looks at stealing away and hiding out while on the road, where you never know what may happen, of an afternoon, at the Dixie Comfort Inn. There is an addictive Bayou beat to the superb I’ll Get To It with sage advice to ditch the cheating girl, and both percussion and piano adding to the accordion and brass in colouring the melody.  The superb country fiddle of Gary Oleyar compliments the sweet harmony vocals of Polly Messer on a rhythmic Save Your Love For Me, another song about coming home to your loved one.

On Summertime Return the theme is repeated on a slow reflective song about a returning lover. The Hank Williams classic I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry is given a great bluesy rendition with Polly Mesner trading verses with Grayson in a fine interpretation of such a timeless tune. The gospel feel on Carry Me is a standout moment with the song arrangement building slowly, and there is a Dr John meets Little Feat in the New Orleans groove to Wide Awake. Early Eagles country rock finds a way into the melody on A Whole Lot Of Love, with stellar piano from Grayson. Another country song is The Wrong Side Of Me and a threat that revenge comes to those who cross the line. Hoppin’ On the Housatonic is pure rockabilly with great guitar breaks and a country swing included. The Housatonic is a river and you better come dressed for the occasion once the locals meet to dance it up ‘we gonna be out til the sun is comin’ up, drinks are cold, band is hot, gonna have a good time, ready or not.’

The final song is Way Beyond The World Of You & Me (A Letter To My Love) and it captures the essence of Mother Earth with all its glorious mystery. Grayson then juxtaposes this hymn to nature with the grim reality of city living ‘I wandered lost for days in ten broken cities, in places filled with people without pity, where buildings grew and blotted out the sky, and the only smile I saw was the full moon’s eye.’ So beautifully observed and a very appropriate ending to what is one of my albums of the year. An essential purchase.

Paul McGee

Morgan Wade The Party Is Over (recovered) Sony

Such a well timed look back into the early years of this gifted artist who has battled many of life’s challenges at such a young age. Addiction, a broken home, a double mastectomy in her early 20’s, and the resilience and fortitude to rise above the challenges and break through all barriers of self -doubt.

In March 2022, I was introduced to this new songwriting talent as a part of the C2C weekend in Dublin. She sang a few songs, in the round, with two other female artists, Tiera Kennedy and Priscilla Block. It was an unlikely alliance early in the evening and for me Morgan blew the other ladies offstage with the powerful honesty in the songs she sang and in their delivery. Both of the other performers on that evening have subsequently debuted solo albums in recent years, whereas we find Morgan Wade on her fifth release since 2018. Career momentum is a strong indicator of endurance.

The ten tracks included here are mostly early songs taken from a time when Morgan was in a different place and head-space. Her parents divorced when she was 5 years old and she spent a lot of her youth in the company of her grandparents. After her school years she attended college to study in the health sciences and began writing songs to express her inner thoughts. The influence of peer pressure, while absorbing the full college experience, can spill into a hedonistic lifestyle in trying to find out just who you might be. Throw in struggles with self-identity, and coming out the other end, and you present a challenging road for any young woman.

The songs are from this period in Morgan’s life and they are heartfelt, personal and cathartic. It’s strongly compelling in the listening experience, where the emotion cannot be ignored in both the words and the honesty in the self-analysis that’s at play. Morgan Wade sings from a personal perspective and in seeking the path in her emerging journey that has ultimately led to critical acclaim. We are looking at real star quality here, and she is a welcome addition to the club of acknowledged artists. All those young dreams that Morgan once hoped would come true, are now manifest.

Many of these old songs reflect her experiences at the time, in beginning to explore new boundaries. There are broken hearts, situations that she would not want to find herself in again, plenty of fun times getting high, and trying to reconcile the lessons to be learned in the cold light of day. There is also unrequited love, aimless love and everything in between, until you find yourself in a relationship that endures… notably the result of learning to love yourself first.

Titles such as High In Your Apartment, and Songs I Won’t Remember track the use of artificial highs to attain a place of numbing the pain of untethered emotion ‘We got high in your apartment, You got drunk out in my car, Yeah we’ll lose it all’ and, in the second song ‘So take me out and get me drunk, Teach me things I forgot about love, And sing me songs I won’t remember, Get high, head home.’

Candy From Strangers tells of parental warnings ‘Mama said don’t go taking no candy from strangers, She never told me nothing about no shots from boys in bars, Everybody in this place looks like pure danger.’ In Let Us Down we are given a glimpse into a relationship with a married man ‘It got real old drinking when you’re drinking just to have fun, You don’t look too happy but who am I to judge.’ Again in East Coast there is a failed relationship and the reflection ‘I hope you know I loved you the most, Yeah, but you took the life out of me.’

Songs that speak to the vagaries of youth and the dangers that lay waiting to be revealed, prompting regret and then real work in turning bad experiences into valuable life lessons. Four of the songs included here also appeared on her self released 2018 album PUPPETS WITH MY HEART which she recorded with her band at the time, The Stepbrothers. There is one new song included here and it is the very poignant Hardwood Floor, a most difficult subject matter as it lays bare the stark reality of what lies in the road ahead for Morgan. In March 2024, she chose to undergo a double mastectomy after testing positive for the RAD5ID gene, which, along with a family history of breast cancer, puts her at great risk. She will eventually need to have a hysterectomy and her ovaries removed to prevent ovarian cancer. This song reflects upon the urge for motherhood and the lines “I wanna be quiet closing a nursery door, I wanna hear little feet on a hardwood floor,” a dream that will never come true for her. Entirely heartbreaking.

Morgan Wade has a strong self-regard these days, which is essential in the face of the ever-increasing media attention and scrutiny. Her inner strength has been hard won, but her road has seen her develop into a woman of serious gravitas and someone to be greatly admired. In looking back, she may well have released her most potent album to date, with the confessional vulnerability of her songwriting building a sense of self that looks forward into her very bright future.

Paul McGee

Florence Sommerville Endless Horizon Self Release

This is a very impressive debut album from a singer-songwriter who hails from a small Essex village in England. The twelve songs give the impression that this musician has wisdom beyond her years with her finely honed insights and perspectives, whether gained from personal experience or from observation. There are six co-writes included, with the remaining six songs self-penned. An interesting mix that points towards her song craft developing in the best possible way, by combining personal sentiment with the discipline brought from other writers who can offer experience, nuance, and different shades to these collaborations. There is a temptation to put her into a pop country package because of her young age but that would just be lazy assumption. What you get is a considered songwriter who tips more than a passing hat to the older traditions of country music while placing her own unique stamp upon these song arrangements and melodies.

There is a happy optimism on Cut and Run where the urge is to just get away from the daily routine with a new partner ‘What about it baby if we just ran away, Leave the questions and the answers for another day.’ Independence is the again the theme on Fearless with the bravery of youth reflected in taking risks ‘If there’s chances, I’m takin’ em, If there’s rules, well I’m breakin’ em, They say no, I say yes, I have always been fearless.’ The message on (I’ll Be Your) Best Broken Heart is that the lady is not looking for commitment, just a good time without any ties ‘I’m here for a season, I’m known for loving and leaving, I’ve got a gypsy soul, That’s something that you need to know.’ Summer fling anyone?

There are songs that echo relationship break-ups such as Overton, Broken Pieces, and Silly Little Things. Unrequited love is the topic on other songs such as California and Love Me Then, whereas the impact of addiction in a relationship is something that runs through the lyric on Forget the Water ‘Every time you hit me with that sideways smile, I would take you in like some lost wayward child, Now all I see is a grown man acting foolish, And the fool that used to love you in denial.’ Molasses is yet another song that references being under pressure in a toxic relationship ‘So go and stay gone, Don’t haunt me anymore.’

The joy of growing up in rural England is captured on the excellent Out Where the Love Grows and acknowledgement of the quiet country town memories of her youth ‘When you need reminding of who you are, This place brings you back like a guiding star.’ Boots In the Rain is a song about the joy that music can bring and the need to travel in pursuit of a dream ‘Got a song in my soul, A heart that don’t want to be tamed, And some boots in the rain.’  There are four bonus tracks on the CD version and the two covers are well delivered in Landslide (Fleetwood Mac) and Sweet Child Of Mine (Guns and Roses).  Whiskey In the Morning is another song about the price paid for addiction and the cost involved for others, ‘He’s used to everything spinning, don’t want to know what he’s missing, most days he’s just happy it all goes away.’ An acoustic version of Love Me Then is further confirmation of the fine performances that Florence delivers across all of the songs included.

The sound production is crystal clear and full marks to producer Alan West and engineer Adam Sweet in their vision for the songs. The band is comprised of Florence Sommerville (lead and harmony vocals, guitar), Damon Sawyer (drums), Nick Bayes (bass), Tom Wright and Adam Sweet (acoustic and electric guitars), Tom Berge (electric piano), and John Taylor (harmony vocals). Florence has an impressive vocal range, changing her tone in the delivery, with both power and subtlety used in appropriate measure in her performance. At the tender age of only twenty-one, she has certainly announced herself as a real talent to the various music media platforms. As debut albums go, this one is punching well above its weight and certainly worthy of your attention.

Paul McGee

New Album Reviews

The Pink Stones Thank the Lord… it’s The Pink Stones Normaltown/New West

The front cover of Athens, Georgia band The Pink Stones’ third album features frontman Hunter Pinkston poised in front of a church and casting a shadow that displays a pair of devil horns. The image recalls the religious expression depicted on the album cover from The Louvin Brothers' 1959 SATAN IS REAL. The similarity with those country and gospel singing brothers does not end there either. This eleven-track album, subtitled Eleven New Country Standards, takes its cue from the classic traditional country sounds from the early 1960s to early 1970s, with nods to the Louvin Brothers, Merle Haggard, The Byrds and Gram Parsons.   That’s not to say that The Pink Stones are anything like a tribute band, far from it. Pinkson’s aching vocals are tailor-made for his emotion-filled and sometimes playful lyrics, and the arrangement and instrumentation that support him are top drawer.

‘Heartbreak, regret, unrequited love, that’s our wheelhouse,’ explains Pinkston on the framework of their latest record. He co-produced the album with Henry Barbe (Drive By Truckers, Lee Bains, Deerhunter), added lead and backing vocals, and played electric guitars. New band member Caleb Boese’s standout pedal steel is a highlight across the album, and other studio contributors included Michael Alexander (drums), Adam Wayton (bass) and Neil Golden (keyboards). East Nashville’s rising bluegrass star Wyatt Ellis guests on the gospel-like opening and title track, contributing backing vocals and mandolin.

Easy-going rhythm and melding melancholia are the order of the day in Real Sad Movies, Big Jet Planes and Pile of Memories. The more up-tempo Hometown Hotel is a Porter Wagoner-style tale of small-town infidelity, and love lost is lamented in If I Can’t Win (Without You). That tale of loss and fading love also surfaces in Cold Eye of Leaving. 

More than living up to the early promise of their two previous records, INTRODUCING THE PINK STONES (2021) and YOU KNOW WHO (2023), Hunter Pinkston and his current line-up have raised the bar several notches this time around. Featuring songs that sound like they have been around forever, the album explores and navigates music from a bygone era and, in doing so, is further evidence that the classic traditional country genre continues to enjoy a welcome rebirth. A hugely impressive album.

Declan Culliton

Margo Price Hard Headed Woman Loma Vista

Despite living in Nashville for two decades, Margo Price’s sixth album, HARD HEADED WOMAN, is the first record she has recorded in Music City. Reuniting with Matt Ross-Spang, who produced her first two albums, MIDWEST FARMER’S DAUGHTER (2016) and ALL AMERICAN MADE (2017), and after a couple of records that strayed away from country towards rock, she returns to the outlaw country vibe of those early career albums. Following in the footsteps of similarly strong-willed artists such as Dolly Parton, Waylon Jennings, Loretta Lynn, and Merle Haggard, the recordings took place in the historic RCA Studio A, with Price recruiting a host of Nashville's finest, as well as those from further afield, to join in the sessions. Alongside her husband, Jeremy Ivey, other notable guests included Rodney Crowell, Tyler Childers, Shannon McNally, Russ Pahl, Billy Contreras, and Logan Ledger.

Very much a survivor, Price’s 2022 memoir Maybe We’ll Make It was a brutally honest account of vulnerability, alcohol abuse and personal tragedy. Her backstory is one of country legend, and this latest album, in many ways, is a testimony to survival without, for one minute, blocking out the past.

Putting her cards on the table from the get-go, she opens with a short, fiddle led, hymn type prelude (‘I’m a hard headed woman and I don’t owe ya shit, I ain’t ashamed, I just am what I am. I’ve been high as heaven and stubborn as hell. But I ain’t ashamed I’m just a hard headed woman’). Don’t Let The Bastards Get You Down follows; the title is borrowed from Kris Kristofferson’s sage advice to Sinead O’Connor, and on this occasion, the guidance offered by Price to the increasingly growing numbers struggling to survive in difficult times. Co-written with Rodney Crowell and her husband Jeremy Ivey, Red Eye Flight is a lively account of a once blissful marriage that is falling apart, and on the other side of the coin is the tender Close To You. The open-hearted and autobiographical latter song, also co-written with Jeremy Ivey, tells the tale of undying love with Price’s delicate vocals backed by atmospheric flamenco guitar. Good times and free spirits are recalled in the toe-tapper Wild At Heart and Price is joined by Jesse Welles in the whirlwind Don’t Wake Me Up, which is derived from a childhood poem written by Price, which Jeremy Ivey came upon.

A few well-chosen covers also feature. Price takes George Jones’ slow burner, ‘I Just Don’t Give A Damn,’ breathes new life into it, and transforms it into a full-on soulful belter. At Jessi Colter’s suggestion, Waylon Jennings’ ‘Kissing You Goodbye’ is included and is also revved up and remodelled. Pride of place among the covers goes to the Stephen Knudson-written call and response love ballad, Love Me Like You Used To Do, where Price and Tyler Childers trade lyrics beautifully in an attempt to rekindle a past romance. 

HARD HEADED WOMAN places Margo Price musically where she fits best, as an outspoken country outlaw. An essential role model for other women who operate on the opposite side of the Nashville pop/country music spectrum, let's hope she has returned to her roots and remains here for a while at least. In her own words, ‘country music is my toxic ex and I’m back to kick ass.’ She has done that and more this time around. Welcome back. 

Declan Culliton

Grant-Lee Phillips In the Hour of Dust  Yep Roc

The twelfth solo album by Grant-Lee Phillips was inspired by a painting that he came upon in the Norton Simon Art Museum in Pasadena, California. The title of that artwork from India, dating back to the 1800s, relates to the time of day when the cows are being led indoors and the dust they kick up. In doing so, they signal the end of the day, triggering the preparation of the night lamps. The title takes on an altogether different direction as Phillips, in his own words, is 'trying to find meaning in an age of confusion, feeling your way through the blinding dust of unreality.'

Much of the material is directed at that confusion and unreality that currently surrounds us, and no more so than in America. Particularly, songs like Bullies (‘Like we’re back on the schoolyard again. Oh, the world is full of bullies’) and Little Men (‘Little men who want to rule like Caesar’) call out the vile and seeking of power at any cost, that progress from the school yard to corporate business and politics, with zero empathy or compassion for the ordinary decent people.  The former was composed with pianist and Phillips’ long-time touring partner, Jamie Edwards; the latter considers the underhanded denial of freedom in many forms since the foundation of America.

The contradiction between our advancements in science, which were incomprehensible a few decades ago, and the worrying transfer of decision-making and direction to technology is at the heart of Closer Tonight. The song title 'Did You Make It Through the Night OK?' is borrowed from the Muskogee Nation's traditional morning greeting, which acknowledges the adversity that many of their community have had to endure.

There are also several tender moments. The comforting She Knows Me details the value of support and understanding, and No Mistaking, an ode to Phillips’ long-term wife and fellow artist, Denise Siegel, is an open-hearted expression of love. Optimism and hope are addressed in Dark Ages. Despite its title, the song is a reminder that even the darkest days will pass, and a brighter horizon will emerge (‘Don’t be fooled there are stars behind the clouds…. Don’t despair, there’s more than all of this’).

Phillips’ lyricism, instantly recognisable vocals that encompass both personal and observational themes, and classy arrangements continue to shine brightly on this simply gorgeous collection.

Declan Culliton

Carson McHone Pentimento Merge

Born into an artistic family, her mother, a poetry and short fiction writer, inspired Carson McHone to begin writing poetry and prose at a young age. She started playing guitar and writing songs at the age of sixteen. That swiftly progressed to playing two- and three-hour residencies in two of Austin, Texas, legendary music rooms, The Hole In The Wall and The White Horse. 

Lonesome Highway’s introduction to McHone was her 2019 album CAROUSEL, released on the Loose label. An alt-country/folk genre-hopping project, it highlighted a silver-voiced young artist who also knew how to write great songs. STILL LIFE followed three years later, produced by McHone’s husband, Canadian musical chameleon Daniel Romano, and recorded in their home studio in Southern Ontario.

PENTIMENTO, which translates in painting as ‘the presence or emergence of earlier images, forms, or strokes that have been changed and painted over’, is by far McHone’s most mature and experimental project to date. Deeply personal and tapping into her love of poetry and painting, much of the material was written during lockdown, which proved to be a particularly fruitful period for McHone in both poetry and song composition.

Very much a folk album in the traditional sense, included alongside McHone’s beautifully delivered songs are short spoken interludes, field recordings and snippets of poetry. A benchmark for the album is the British psychedelic folk band of the 1960s, The Incredible String Band, an outfit much loved by McHone. The track September Song from this album was named after that band’s October Song, which featured in their debut self-titled album from 1966. A more contemporary traditional British folk band, The Unthanks, comes to mind in the haunting track, Wake You Well. 

Though primarily written during the COVID lockdown, Triumph Of The Heart dates back to when McHone moved from Texas to her current home in Ontario, and its lyrics featured in one of the first postcards she wrote from there. Opening with a short poetry reading by Romano and following mid-paced vocals by McHone, Fruits Of My Tending explodes mid-song with a lengthy guitar burst by Romano before ending abruptly close to the six-minute mark. Another key inclusion is the opening full song, Winter Breaking. It follows McHone’s short spoken poetry reading intro, and with layered vocals, woozy keys, and handclaps, it is a thunderous inclusion.

Personal, powerful and profound, PENTIMENTO is an extraordinarily mature project from McHone that requires listening in one sitting. It’s also a giant leap forward by an artist who has truly broadened her horizons with this record. 

Declan Culliton 

Joel Plaskett One Real Reveal Self Release

Since the 1990s this Canadian musician/songwriter, based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, has been creating music of a consistently high quality. Whether in a band environment with early groups such as Thrush Hermit and Neuseiland, or fronting his own group The Emergency, Joel Plaskett has been at the cutting edge with his artistic endeavours, spanning different genres of music and always delivering real excellence.

This album escaped the attention of the Lonesome Highway team when it first appeared back in 2024, but through a strange turn of fate, it fell onto our radar recently with the new release of a tribute album to Joel’s talents (also reviewed here). The twelve tracks on this solo album are delivered in a very intimate, stripped down fashion. No other musicians were used on these songs, apart from some Wurlitzer played by Bill Stevenson, with Joel contributing on a selection of guitars, banjo, mandolin and piano. The songs are musings on matters of life and love, with fleeting reflections, sliding door moments, synchronicity, ‘what if’ scenarios and always coloured with an overarching sense of ‘why not’?

The stripped back arrangements were recorded on analogue format and four-track, with spoken word on some tracks and vocals that were double tracked for greater effect on others. Memory is a big factor in these songs and Joel has said that time travelling is part of what music is all about. We see this clearly in the songs here, snippets of reflection and nostalgia, and a nice sense of place and time. Also, where aspirations and dreams can point to a future direction, therein lies the real gold, such as the title track One Real Reveal where the urge is to want more and to strike out for the horizon ‘I’m not so sure it’s gonna set us free, But if you’re walking out the door, Wait for me, I’m hot on your heels.’

In Let Me Go, Jo we have the plea ‘Let me go, Jo, Let me go make my mistakes, The pedal to the metal, Just to know that them’s the brakes.’ There is a sense of wanting to be fully invested in everything that makes life worthwhile. Many of Joel’s songs display a sense of longing in the words and their delivery, which leads the listeners to form their own insights from the meaning. Joel is a consummate wordsmith, and his songs often challenge the listener to meet him at the door that opens into hidden emotions. He is very playful with language, as with the opening to Blind Spots ‘Salacious stories, Curvaceous lady, This spaceship sure feels spacious lately.’ The song suggests lost love and a change of heart.

There are five tracks that run at just two minutes, or less, in length. They are vignettes into feelings expressed, such as I Sell Flowers that poses a question regarding a brief moment with a passing stranger and the transient nature of communication. The song Variations On A Theme plays along similar lines in examining the variety in relationships, and in It’s Almost Over Now we have an old memory mixed with a sense of regret as a romance comes towards an ending. High Summer and Iona are similar songs in that they capture moments now lost in time and that heady feeling of first love is superseded by the realisation that we are not so different in our emotional core after all.

Perhaps it’s just a small part in the play of life and those lines from Shakespeare ring true “All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances, And one man in his time plays many parts.” The weary traveller in Rainy Day Janey asks for temporary respite from the rain on the living room floor of a friend ‘Can I sleep on your floor for the night? I don’t have a pillow but that’s not my going concern, I can roll up my jacket alright, I’ll let myself out in the mornin’ - You won’t even know I was here.’

And maybe it all resolves in the love song Breezy Jane that closes out the album in the knowledge that ‘I was goin’ through the motions, I was stayin’ in my lane, Now I couldn’t care less that I’m standin’ in the rain, Where ya been all my life, Breezy Jane?’ Love indeed conquers all in the final reckoning. This album comes highly recommended, superbly delivered and full of insight, humour and reflection.

Paul McGee

Various Artists Joel Plaskett -Songs From the Gang Turtlemusik

Ever since a debut album launched the solo career of this Canadian singer songwriter back in 1999,   Joel Plaskett has had a creative output that stands tall in terms of quality and style. Whether recording under his band name The Emergency or, as a solo artist, this multi-instrumentalist has amassed an impressive number of album releases, EPs, and compilations, including rarities and popular songs.

He is such a strong artist in his melodic instincts, in the superbly crafted lyrics around the song arrangements, and with his overall sense of having fun and not taking it all too seriously. The albums span a number of genres, to the extent where I would term his output as blending and transcending any such imposed limits. He formed the indie-rock band Thrush Helmet in the early 1990s  and gravitated to Neuseiland towards the end of that decade, a band that fused experimentation with conventional song structures. Joel has been nominated for numerous East Coast Music Awards over his career and he has always applied a pioneering approach to different experimental projects.

In 2009 the album Three was released and it consisted of three discs, each consisting of nine songs, with a total of 27 tracks to enjoy. A lot of the song titles had three repeated words as a play on the theme. Jump forward to 2020, and Joel completed an album titled 44 and yes, you guessed it, the four discs contained eleven songs on each. It was given a release on the last day that he was 44 years old.

And now, we bring everything full circle in 2025 with a celebration to mark Joel Plaskett turning 50 years of age. His management team commissioned SONGS FROM THE GANG as a tribute album, featuring 23 Canadian acts who recorded cover versions of songs chosen from Plaskett’s broad repertoire. The project was not revealed to Joel in advance of its release, and it is a sign of the esteem in which this popular musician is held that so many of his contemporaries willingly took part.

The songs vary widely in their interpretations and cover a full range, from blues to folk, hard rock to country, with some pop leanings included. There are six songs covered from the LA DE DA album (2005), a further four selected from the THREE release (2009), with three songs selected from each of ASHTRAY ROCK (2007) and SCRAPPY HAPPINESS (2012). Everyone will have their own personal favourites of course and the entire project is an unqualified success, with stellar performances from all involved.

Personal highlights for me include the reflective takes on Please Don’t Return by Bahamas, All the Way Down the Line by City and Colour, and Lonely Love courtesy of Mo Kinney. Also, honourable mention for the upbeat You’re Mine by Frank Turner, the playful Come On Teacher by Arkells, and the driving I Love This Town by Sloan. No matter what songs you care to highlight, the entire listening experience is filled with great moments. An engaging and recommended album.

Paul McGee

Charles Wesley Godwin Lonely Mountain Town Big Loud

For someone who is still in his early thirties, this West Virginian artist has achieved quite a lot over a relatively short career to date. Godwin learned to play guitar in his early twenties after calling time on a dream to make American football his professional career. Already, he is the creative source of three fine albums, along with a number of Eps and singles, and his growing reputation continues to draw accolades, fully evidenced on this seven-song release that finds Godwin in reflective mood throughout.

Seth Avett of the Avett Brothers makes an appearance on the cover song Hammer Down which was originally penned by Jason Molina, and the artist ERNEST sings on another song  Dead To Rights. All of the songs have a chilled, mid-tempo feel to them and they highlight the superb vocals of Godwin as he sings of lonely hearts and broken down places, experienced while touring around various American cities and townships. The life of a travelling minstrel, captured in these insights and reflections and some insight of life on the road for a living.

The title track is a song that echoes the loneliness of missing your kin while out on the road ‘This lonely mountain feels empty when there’s people all around.’ Elsewhere, the words on It’s the Little Things, highlight the simple things that we can take for granted, “It’s the little things like the look she gives me in the morning.” On Dead To Rights we are treated to atmospheric pedal steel on a love song that reflects upon the power of attraction “You crashed into me, Like that damn left hook I never got to see.” On the song It’s Her Move the gentle acoustic guitar showcases that endless highway always pulling at the hopes of any sustained relationships. The ensemble playing is very enjoyable as the sense of distance paints an atmospheric picture.

On Then I’m Gone the singer is looking back to a potential life of settling down versus that choice of singing songs for a living from town to town. She Don’t Love Me Anymore is a reflective performance on guitar that echoes regret at the ending of a relationship and admits “been having a hard week, For the last year.” The final song Hammer Down is a wry look at feelings of melancholy and the urge to keep moving, destination unknown “When it's been my ghost and the empty road, I think the stars are just the neon lights.”

Producer, guitarist and bandmate, Al Torrence recorded these songs at his Music Garden Studios in New Brighton, Pennsylvania. Charles Wesley Godwin is supported by his live band, the impressive Alleghany High, with Ben Townsend (banjo, fiddle), Joe Pinchotti (drums), Don Garvin (bass), John Rickard (dobro, pedal steel), joining Al Torrence (guitar, keyboards, mandolin), to deliver in great style on these songs. This mini-album is certainly worth the investment and takes its place in the rising career of James Wesley Godwin with plenty of poise and presence.

Paul McGee

Freight Old Bones Switchyard

This band define their sound as Rural Rock and Country Funk and their base is located in Ithaca, NY.  They were founded in 2020 by JP Payton and their debut album that year was titled HARD WORKER.

There is an impressive array of musicians on this very enjoyable album and contributions are supplied by the following: Bowman Townsend, Jeremy Bussman, Chris Ploss, Wade Fedder, Russ DeLuca (drums), Mike Brando, Mike DuMont (bass), RP Payton (pedal steel, dobro, electric guitar, bass, synthesizer), Liam Lawson, Joe Rian (electric guitar), Cory Holbert (electric guitar, keyboards), Sam Lupowitz (keyboards), Sheila Bertoletti (keyboards, organ), Colleen Countryman (organ, piano), and Loveday Greene (backing vocals).

Quite a list of players guesting across different songs and the album is packed with inviting hooks and melodies, all sourced from the creative muse of JP Payton (acoustic, electric guitars and lead vocals), who wrote the ten songs, including one co-write. The album was recorded at Sunwood Studios in Trumansburg, NY by Jaime Gartelos.

Big Bright Moon has a traditional country sound with superb pedal steel and a sweet groove that sees the singer returning back home from being too long on the road. The title track Old Bones is in similar territory as the singer reflects upon taking a relationship break and l can sense the longing in the restrained guitar lines, “Old ways die hard, and old ways leave scars.”

Found A Love has a slow rhythm and the fine vocal of Payton compliments the deep guitar melody that winds around the atmospheric and restrained power. Loving Arms has some excellent acoustic guitar picking and the song build up excites as it develops into a fine work out with all the players joining towards a satisfying resolve. It’s followed by the longest track on the album Travesty, with dynamic pedal steel to lift the harmonics and propel the song along with an energy. New Coat has a nice Americana looseness in the arrangement that reminds me of a Son Volt vibe, with dobro mixing into the cool guitar picking and a lazy beat unfurling a sense of freedom in the delivery.

Cry Honey is one part rockabilly, one part rocking beat, that shouldn’t work, but happily knocks it out of the park, and I’m sure that it’s a killer song when played live. Things slow down on Somehow and a nice country love song “‘Baby can you lift me up, I’ve been too far down on love.” The next song is the excellent Skyrocket and again the band excel on a fine vocal duet shared with Loveday Greene and gritty guitar embellishing the warm keyboard swells.

The final song is Too Much and it wraps everything up nicely with a brightly coloured testament of love, complimented by the excellent rhythm section bringing the groove, and the atmospheric guitar sound rising to meet the harmony vocals. A very impressive album and certainly one that will bring many hours of enjoyment and entertainment.

Paul McGee

JP Payton Mtn Blue Switchyard

Not content to focus exclusively on the new album from JP Payton’s band Freight (also reviewed), this talented New York resident has also recorded a solo album of some resonance and depth. Both albums bring plenty of riches in their content, with a band dynamic on one, balanced against the acoustic calm of the other. Payton grew up in Bloomington, Indiana and released a debut EP in 2019, and he writes thought-provoking songs that reflect our daily hopes and fears, with insight and perspective upon what is really important in the enduring play of life.

Thank You So kicks off proceedings with a warm vocal and fingerstyle guitar. It’s a positive affirmation of others and an appreciation for all that we share together. The next song is Little Late and this is a relationship song that asks for some common ground between lovers; in stark contrast to the universal love expressed in the opener. An interesting juxtaposition and one that draws you into the rest of this album.

The song Job Well Done observes the life of a guy who is just trying to get ahead and facing his commitments, while Wheel’s Falling Off has the returning hero trying to find a way back to something once left behind; can you ever replace what now appears lost? Big Bright Moon is a solo acoustic rendition of a song that appears on the latest Freight album Old Bones and it’s another road song about setting your compass home by the light of the moon. Another song Starting Over Again is about recovering from a toxic relationship and getting your mojo back in gear.

Although the songs are simple acoustic guitar and vocal, there is an immediacy and an intimacy that settles like a warm blanket around feelings of a shared knowledge and understanding. The song Need To Know asks whether innocence of youth is completely gone in the propensity as adults to try and learn what it’s supposedly all about, and where everything fits. Living in the moment is more than enough, as evidenced in the lyric ‘And I don’t even need to know what it’s all about, The sun’s setting low and we’re here right now.’

The next two songs also appear on the Old Bones album with Somehow asking for a healing balm and a cure from loves arrows ‘ Bent out of shape and broke down,’ while Travesty has superb guitar picking on a song that deals with raising funds for a headstone to honour a friend that has passed away. Sing Back has a late night feel surrounding the vocal delivery and strummed guitar, the song hinting at a rueful sense of something missed. Love never runs in straight lines.

6th of Jan is a song that captures the Trump supporters march on Washington DC back in 2021, expressing the disbelief that many felt with that turn of events. Again, you can enjoy the superb guitar playing on this track and throughout the album. A second guitar features, with Liam Lawson on nylon strings playing as a counterpoint and a key part of this song. There is also a female vocal on Somehow that is courtesy of the impressive Loveday Greene. The final song is Lights Out and it has an easy melody to soothe the listener “When I close my eyes I’m dreaming, and my heart touches clouds.” Again, twin guitars playing in unison here, and a perfect coda to an album that will bring many admirers to this engaging music.

Paul McGee

New Album Reviews

David Newbould Average Fidelity Vol 1 Blackbird

Produced and recorded in his home studio, Carport Livin’ in East Nashville, AVERAGE FIDELITY VOL.1 follows Canadia David Newbould’s explosive LIVE IN GERMANY from 2024.

The 2020 restrictions during COVID led Newbould to record and release his album POWER UP!, working alongside producer and multi-instrumentalist Scot Sax (Wanderlust, Robert Plant, Aaron Lee Tasjan). If POWER UP! was a two-person effort, he has gone one step further with his latest record, contributing vocals, guitars, bass, piano, organ and drums in what is in every sense of the word a ‘solo’ album. The only outside input came from Tommy Goss who added drums on two tracks, and Julian McClannahan who played fiddle on one track.

 Newbould’s career path has included playing with indie-rock band The Mercenaries in New York City, teaming up with fellow rocker Jon Dee Graham and dobro/ steel guitar wonder Cindy Cashdollar in Austin, Texas, before finally settling in Nashville, where he has worked with fellow axe men Dan Baird and Aaron Lee Tasjan.

AVERAGE FIDELITY VOL.1 includes a number of Newbold’s customary face melters, Fractured Love and I Wanna Quit Drinkin’ (But My Baby Won’t Let Me) are raw, full on, and demand to be played at maximum volume. Elsewhere, he includes a couple of genre-crossing curveballs.  He dips into prog-rock with the super Into The Deep, a co-write with Aaron Lee Tasjan, which brings to mind Todd Rundgren. The country ditty Straight Shot To Bakersfield was triggered by a California tour with L.A.-based honky tonker, Rosy Nolan.

Troubled times and disappointment are at play in Broken Hearts Are Paint, co-written with Newbould’s East Nashville neighbour, Boo Ray. Human vulnerabilities are also the thread that runs through Rainy Day Heart, which charts a relationship falling apart.

A hard-edged album of heartland Americana and rock-tinged songs, despite its DIY creation, it’s a worthy addition to Newbould’s back catalogue, and the good news is that Vol. 2 is likely to be released next year.

A regular visitor to Europe, Newbould is due to play dates in Germany, Belgium, Denmark, Holland, and Sweden in August/September, where no doubt he will be featuring material from this album as well as his back catalogue. Get along to see him if you can, his live shows are simply dynamic.

Declan Culliton

Anna Tivel Animal Poem Fluff & Gravy

A leading light in the folk/singer songwriter genre of the past decade, Anna Tivel’s latest album, ANIMAL POEM, is her seventh studio recording. La Conner, Washington, born but residing in Portland, Oregon, since the age of eighteen, her writing often focuses on the plight of the underprivileged and ordinary people attempting to survive in an increasingly challenging environment. A quite prolific writer, this record is her fourth in five years, following on from BLUE WORLD (2021), OUTSIDERS (2022) and LIVING THING (2024).

Tivel worked with Portland-based producer and multi-instrumentalist Sam Weber for the first time on this recording, and that marriage works seamlessly across the ten tracks. Weber co-produced with Tivel, as well as contributing electric and acoustic guitar.  Recorded live in a circle with all the players present, the other contributors, mostly close friends of Tivel, included Micah Hummel (drums, percussion), Galen Clark (Wurlitzer, organ, piano, Mellotron), Sam Howard (bass), Nicole McCabe (saxophone) and Danny Austin-Manning (percussion).

‘Every album is a snapshot, a momentary study of the way a mind reaches for understanding. I can feel myself reaching in these songs for whatever is right beyond my grasp. Mortality and connection. Suffering and meaning’, explains Tivel, on her latest observations and writings.

At a few seconds short of six minutes, Paradise (Is It In The Mind) is simply stunning and one that had me hitting the repeat button a number of times. Writing from the perspective of an ageing and lonely individual, after a dreamy opening with Tivel’s gentle questioning vocals, the intensity increases mid-song with vocals laced with frustration and a scorching guitar break in front of a hypnotic drum beat. Considering separation and the passage of time is the less frenetic Badlands and the title track reflects on the ever-growing gap between the affluent and the destitute, (‘None of it is really fair, born into the atmosphere breathing gold or stealing when you’re hungry, everyone you come upon, holds a picture in their mind, ask them and they might just show you’).

Tivel’s vocals and tenor guitar deliver the stripped-down ode to a lost friend in HOUGH AVE, 1966, and fond retrospections of past summers emerge in the jazzy White Goose. The sharp contrasts of existing in this messed-up world are echoed in Holy Equation (‘good luck to the lucky few…. gold dust blooming from black gun powder….God bless this whole mess, and God bless my neighbors’)

Every listen opens new doors in ANIMAL POEM, and each song plays out like a meditation on life’s challenges. Attentive listening is the key to maximum return on this hugely impressive record, from an artist who consistently pours her heart and soul into her work. 

Declan Culliton

Emma Swift The Resurrection Game Tiny Ghost

The 2020 debut album, BLONDE ON THE TRACKS, from Australian-born Emma Swift, was a joyful labour of love with a delve into the back catalogue of her beloved Bob Dylan. Swift’s sophomore album was prompted by entirely contrasting circumstances. The core theme of THE RESURRECTION GAME is her journey from despair and hopelessness to rebirth and recovery. The material for the record was written over a two-year period while the Nashville-based artist recovered from mental illness that resulted in a seven-week hospital stay followed by a twelve-month recovery period, assisted by therapy and medication. The songs probe the sagging anguish and remorse of Swift’s trauma while also rejoicing in the love and support that aided her recovery.

The album benefits hugely from the chosen recording process. The simple option would have been for Swift to call on her talented Nashville neighbours and record in any of the numerous studios close to home. Instead, she and her producer Jordan Lehning (Rodney Crowell, Kacey Musgraves, Caitlin Rose) headed to the Isle of Wight in the U.K. where they spent a week recording at the Chale Abbey studio, a large stone barn dating back to the 16th century and located in the grounds of one of the oldest domestic buildings on the island. Accompanied by her studio band of Nashville-based big hitters, including Spencer Cullum (pedal steel), Juan Solorzano (guitar), Eli Beaird (bass), Dom Billet (drums) and with Lehning playing pianos, synths, vibes and glockenspiel, they recorded the album's ten tracks live in that magical setting. By removing Swift and her contributors from their comfort zone of Nashville, whether intentionally or otherwise, the album’s musical direction steers clear of the bulging Americana genre. Instead, its direction takes on an imposing eclectic baroque-pop style that recalls the early careers of Scott Walker and Kate Bush.

The lush arrangements and Swift’s emotion-drenched vocals on the opening track, Nothing And Forever, could have been the perfect soundtrack to the closing episode of Twin Peaks. Equally dramatic is the title track, which recounts a week-long therapy retreat at The Hoffman Institute in California (‘With ash in my hair and dirt in my nails, the eternal story, we love and we fail. Breathing in fire and calling it air, I've come to surrender to what was never there’). At a gentler pace, Catholic Girls Are Easy questions the absurd religious teaching that we are born with sin and the subsequent guilt it can promote (‘I've spent a lifetime praying to folks who were not there. You know they were not there’). Similarly paced, the dreamlike Going Where The Lonely Go is a gorgeous statement of undying love, as is the testimony of rebirth and renewal, No Happy Endings. More sinister is the ghostly and dramatic Signing Off With Love, which references the confessional poet Robert Lowell and avant-garde poet and writer Maggie Nelson.

Swift’s debut album was a pointer towards an artist with a keen eye for reconstructing cover songs, but THE RESURRECTION GAME raises the bar to an entirely different level. It may have taken illness and debilitation to trigger this project, and I certainly didn’t see this coming, but the upshot is a spectacular accomplishment of impeccable song crafting with tailor-made arrangements. 

Declan Culliton

Joshua Josué Beneath The Sand Electric Chololand

The debut album from a man known as El Gringo Mariachi is an uplifting and accomplished blend of heartland twangy rock and the various traditions of music from south of the border - one they have dubbed Chicano rock. Some may view the combination as perhaps just skimming the surface of both. But to these ears it ticks the boxes in many ways. Josué has a natural affinity with his sources and the original material, which he has composed himself or, as with the title track, co-written with Roly Salley and Ben Rice. The exception is Cartas de Amor which was written by Mikel Erentxun Acosta and Jesus Maria Corman. 

The overall sound recording and production from Pat Kearns, in Goat Mountain Recording, has all the muscle and motive it requires to reveal a mastery of the intended purpose of the album. Add to that a studio posse par excellence and you can easily understand why it works so well. You have on board Chris Isaak’s bassist Roly Salley and guitarist Hershel Yatovitz, Dwight Yoakam’s drummer Mitch Marine, Los Lobos saxophonist Steve Berlin, Joel Guzmán on accordion, keyboardist Mark Breiterbach and, finally, Mathew Peluso on pedal steel. An array of these above players and others, including Murry Hammond and Angelynn Pierce, are featured on backing vocals.

However Josué leads from the front on guitar and vocals, handling the dual language lyrics with a depth and well-disposed delivery. The opening track, Restless Heart, has a strong rhythmic pulse with some very appealing twang-laden guitar sounds. Bogart & Me is a travel song about a man and his trusted canine companion moving on down the road ,with Guzman’s accordion upfront and Berlin’s sax making their presence felt. Solitario is sung in Spanish but easily manages to convey its sense of loneliness. Similarly, the title track’s sense of loss and grief is palpable, written during a time of travelling by motorcycle and looking for meaning along the way and finding some of that in the landscape and Latin influenced music. In both he’s trying to forget and trying to find - “I swear I see your face with every border I cross / These Central American highways a place to get lost.”

Following that are another three songs sung in Spanish (including the above mentioned non Josué co-write) and I can only guess at what they are telling us, other than from their musical implications - which are all stalwart in that intention. They contain a sense of romance as well as the recondite. Another highlight is the dynamic Big Train, built around an equally striking guitar motif and the vocal admonishment that there is a “Train as black as night just like my soul.” That may be so but, Josué’s music is full of life and counterbalances any inherent but realistic and restless melancholy and one that has some elevation and Chicano ethos in its soul.

The album closes with another two well realised treatises on the overall atmosphere, in the all night desert walking drama of Plaza Expiatorio, and the more moody She Is Guadalajara that uses the pedal steel effectively to highlight its drifting nature. This will be my, and doubtless many others’, first encounter with this Portland-based artist. It is to be hoped he further hones his approach to his blend, which may not be unique in intention but is delivered with a skill and understanding that will be fruitful in further endeavours, especially if the assembled players can be reunited with Josué’s musical talents.

Stephen Rapid

Pete Droge Fade Away Blue Self Release 

Some may best remember Droge for his 1994 album NECKTIE SECOND, when he was signed to Rick Rubin’s label. The stand-out track for this writer was the song The Fourth of July. It fitted into much that was happening around that time musically. Since then there have been several more albums (and labels and great songs), plus a collaborative band, The Thorns, in 2003. FADE AWAY BLUE is released under his own name, but includes several songs co-written with long-time partner Elaine Summers. They have also put out three albums together in recent times, but now we have this album of more folkish styled songs. Here, under the helm of Droge and Paul Bryan, they are give a rounded reading with a full band which includes the latter on bass and Mellotron. He is joined in the rhythm section by noted drummer Jay Bellerosea nd a host of other players, including single track contributions by Greg Leisz on pedal steel and fiddler Gabe Witcher. Summers adds her harmony vocals throughout, for a warm and relaxed (for the most part) sound.

While I lost contact with Droge after the initial releases (a reminder of a time when if an album was not on a major label it was quite difficult to get hold of an indie artist release, before streaming and downloads) many in his fan base did not and the new album will doubtless appeal to them. It may not be obvious, on a casual listen to some of the slower songs, that he is often talking of an individual’s search for an identity and an understanding of time and place. Dealing with love both present, past and unrequited, this relates to Droge’s search to find his birth mother. It’s a journey that many have taken in the face of, often, bureaucratic obstacles to finding someone who, for one reason or another, may not want to have that contact. In Droge’s case that opportunity was lost when he discovered that his birth mother had recently passed away. Song For Barbara Ann deals with that difficult reality. The people who did raise him is the theme of other songs, such as You Called Me Kid, a fine song that opens the album. Lonely Mother comes from the same thought source but from a different perspective, as does Gypsy Rose which imagines her as a young free spirit. It has been for Droge a journey that has brought him face to face with pain and healing and knowing more about himself, much of which he has translated into song with a tenderness and truth.

Other songs take a more lasting look at the long term relationship with his collaborator and wife, Elaine Summers. Bare Tree is an example of the gratitude that such a longterm relationship has brought to him. The album title is a consideration of a state of mind and body emerging from a period of “the blues”, a term for a depressive situation that he and many others have faced. This album may be very helpful to others who have encountered a similar path, yet even if none of these is immediately evident, the album will engage many on a purely musical level for what it delivers as an album experience. I found that the song Skeleton Crew was the one track that, this time out, stuck in my head. But that’s just me and many will find others. This is an album that is personal yet will also find a wider affinity within an Americana audience at large.

Stephen Rapid

Tobin Kirk Live and Solo at De Groeverij 2024 Self Release

This singer songwriter started his career as a band member in indie-power-pop groups. A move to Nashville sparked a career turn into the area of songwriting but subsequent family commitments saw Tobin taking a step away from the music industry for a number of years.

He has now returned with a focus on making up for lost time, and judging by what I can find on his profile he has released two studio albums and seven singles since 2022 last. An impressive output by any standards and now we are given a live album, recorded in the Netherlands during a residency in De Groeverij, Hoten, Utrecht during 2024.

His photo image is somewhat reminiscent of a young James Joyce with his waxed moustache, glasses and Stetson. Not that his songs are anything approaching the literary depth of this renowned novelist and poet. However, in musical terms, Tobin Kirk presents himself as a talented guitarist and he sings in a clear and confident vocal tone that brings plenty to enjoy. The eight songs included here are selected across his recorded output to date, with four of the tracks appearing on his LESSONS IN LONLEY album from 2022. There are a further two songs included from the Waterworks album in 2024, plus a couple of singles.

The live album is recorded with an impressive production quality and both vocals and acoustic guitar are captured in a bright and engaging style. Tobin sings with great energy and although the songs can sound just a little thin without further instrument augmentation, you are given enough in the mix to want to explore the studio releases in greater detail.

Mostly the songs are concerned with relationship issues and the dynamic between making the heart robust against inevitable hurt, versus opening it up to all the possibilities of true love. Titles such as Lessons In Lonely, Scar Tissue, I Can’t Cry All Day and My Song Is Blue give you all the clues that you need regarding the direction in which these songs are headed. All in all, this is a fine starter before the main course for anyone who is interested to investigate further. Full marks for the talent on display and I look forward to hearing Tobin Kirk when surrounded by his full band in adding greater dimension to these song of the heart.

Paul McGee

Dave Steel Wooden Music Self Release

Another fine example of the hidden gems awaiting discovery in the roots music scene of Australia. There have been many examples of real quality over the decades from “down under” and all have the same common ingredient; a special essence that elevates the music and rises above the mainstream.

Nominated for several ARIA Awards over the years in the Australian music industry, Dave Steel recorded this album in the Huon Valley, Lutruwita (Tasmania).  It was recorded live in the studio with minimal overdubs, and with Ross Smithard on fiddle, Louis Gill on double bass, Tiffany Eckhardt on backing vocals, and Dave Steel on guitars and lead vocals, the ten songs deliver a very impressive album.

The atmospheric Road opens the album with imagery of driving at night, alone with internal thoughts, reflecting on family, and travelling towards some unknown destination. The spontaneous playing on the melody has a free-form folky structure with plenty of space for improvisation. It’s the longest song included here and quite an interesting opening statement. Sea Wind is another long track and the ensemble playing is very addictive with an easy pulse in the rhythm, and the creative fiddle playing of Smithard rising above and creating images of sweet freedom on the ocean wave. Upside is a reflective tune that reminds me of fellow Australian Paul Kelly, with lots of local references to growing up in local neighbourhoods and the experiences that shaped the adult. Like As Not is another jaunt along a dusty country road with a sunny rhythm to enjoy the feeling of being in the moment.

This is the first album from Dave Steel in 20 years, and the power of the new material has me wondering why this veteran of the Australian roots music scene has taken such a long spell away from his solo output. His back catalogue comprises nine previous releases, and Dave is a singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer who was a founding member of Weddings Parties Anything, and has worked as a sideman and session musician with many of Australia’s finest artists.

On Sickle Moon he takes a slow tempo arrangement and embellishes it with an atmospheric vocal performance on singing the blues, the understated playing of Smithard and Gill adding great atmospherics to the song. Go In Peace follows and its mellow flow is a real highlight, and perhaps a tribute to a friend who has passed away ‘ go in peace my brother, all your debts are paid, all your chances taken, all the plans you made.’ This is the type of album where you want to be seated live in the room with a nice glass of wine and the music wrapping around you in the intimacy of the moment.

Hard Times is another slow blues with a less-is-more approach in the playing dynamic. Dripping in atmosphere. Winter is another slice of pure Paul Kelly in the descriptive content of the song ‘there's snow up high on the mountain, an icy wind is cutting me down, I'm up here in a shack by the fire, with a big black dog and a shotgun.‘ Woodsmoke looks at searching out external stimulations while the simple things of nature lie quietly around us as peaceful solutions ‘ we chase the mighty dollar, we talk and fuss and fight, and all the while the world she turns, softly through the night.’

The cover version of a Skip James song Hard Time Killin’ Floor is particularly memorable with the mournful vocal and fiddle bringing fresh spotlight upon the poverty to be found in society, both past and present, from the depression era through to the war torn countries of the 21st century.

It's such a great joy to discover these artists from the other side of the world, making such vital music and contributing to the global creativity of roots music. Final song The Dying Stockman visits the last days of a livestock farmer and is very much in the way of an old dirge from the land. There is clearly a vibrant roots scene in Australia, pioneered in earlier times by the integration of  bush balladeers and the emigrant music of English, Irish and Scottish traditions, among many others. This album, at over 50 minutes of classy songs, echoes this rich past and stands as a ringing endorsement of the creative source. It will bring great joy and reward to all who partake.

Paul McGee

Vince Santoro Exposed Self Release

This excellent album is a debut recording from an experienced drummer and session player to the stars, with the confident and rich sound delivered courtesy of producer and long-time friend George Marinelli.  Over a long career Santoro has played and toured with the likes of Rodney Crowell, Rosanne Cash, Emmy Lou Harris, Carlene Carter, Shania Twain, and Mary Chapin Carpenter. Santoro also played with The Highwaymen (Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, and Waylon Jennings), among many others.

On this solo album of nine tracks, Vince Santoro contributes on lead vocals, drums, guitar, synth bass, and electric bass. He is joined by George Marinelli on electric, acoustic, slide guitar, bass guitar, mandolin, synth bass, keyboards, harmonica, percussion and backing vocals. The duo also have the talented Barbara Santoro on harmony vocals and piano, with single track appearances from Benny Harrison on keyboards, backing vocals, Jim Hoke on horns, and Jonell Mosser, vocals on “I’d Be Dancing.”

Santoro draws on the experience that Marinelli has gained over years of working with many prominent artists like Bruce Hornsby and Bonnie Raitt. The title track Exposed concerns someone who feels out of his depth in a love and a loser in the affairs of the heart ‘I might join the club where shot-down lovers go.’

Another song, I’d Be Dancing follows the joie de vivre of a young girl dancing down the street and elsewhere Rec Room harks back to teenage days when a den in the family home was the centre of the universe for growing adolescents in need of their own space. Another childhood memory is visited on Long Slow Rain and days when time stood still lake fishing in the rain.

For Adeline is a heart-felt tribute to the passing of his mother and captured in the words ‘Seems everyone she knew is in my living room, Together we’re the legacy of love that she left, With casseroles and constant conversation I can smile a busy smile, The fact she’s gone really hasn’t hit me yet.’ On Shade Tree the search for home someplace else is tempered by the fact that it really always existed right on your doorstep ‘Each time I run from town to town, Thinkin’ it’s greener, I leave behind a chance to find, That piece of fertile ground.’

The plight of the homeless is addressed on What’s That Like? And the words hit hard ‘What’s that like … By the fireside, Safe behind 4 walls of stone?, I only know the unforgiving sidewalk that I call home.’ The target on Everything is well chosen and the irony of where the charlatan may hide ‘It’s Everything, every phrase that masquerades as intellect, Every point that you think you made that doesn’t pass the test.’

A Too Familiar Sight is a song about crippling shyness and self-consciousness ‘Why do you watch me from the mirror in my room? You could go anywhere but this is what you choose, Another lonely night – a too familiar sight.’ Perhaps in a previous existence, Vince Santoro suffered the same doubts and fears that all folks encounter when looking for our place in the world. With his CV bursting from the great musical journey his life has embarked upon these days Santoro can only look back with a benign smile at where he has arrived from. An album that brings plenty of interesting moments and one that comes recommended.

Paul McGee

Skydiggers Dreams and Second Chances Self Release

Skydiggers is a Canadian roots rock band from Toronto that was formed by Andy Maize and Josh Finlayson. Since 1990, they have released 19 albums/EPs, and have seen a number of personal changes along the way. Original bandmates Andy Maize and Josh Finlayson remain to this day and this new album continues the legacy and success of the band. Recording took place at the Bathouse, in Bath, Ontario and the home studio of another legendary Canadian band The Tragically Hip.

A great album that is filled with interesting group dynamics. Clearly comfortable in their own internal zone, the musicians deliver such an impressive array of talent across these 14 songs. Being optimistic is the key message of the title track Dreams and Second Chances with the husband asking his wife ‘I believe in dreams and second chances, I believe in holding on to hope, So why don’t you.’

In an increasingly fractured world it’s hard to keep belief in positive outcomes but the Skydiggers seek out that silver lining and on Start Again they sing that ‘What you don't have, You will not need, The past it's gone, That's plain to see,’ perhaps the essential mantra by which to live our lives going forward. Jessy Bell Smith takes lead vocal on Mother’s Pocket and this song about faithless love is wrapped in a traditional country arrangement with the understated instrumentation reflecting the sense of hurt. The compelling rhythm on Snow Blind carries a beat that is reminiscent of a Roy Orbison tune and the lead vocal of Andy Maize is very close to the legendary singer.

The musicians excel throughout with Derrick Brady (bass guitar), Aaron Comeau (electric guitar), Josh Finlayson (acoustic guitar), Michael Johnston(keyboards), and Noel Webb (drums), and the twin vocal leads of Jessy Bell Smith and Andy Maize have plenty of quality to pivot around in the song arrangements.

Walk With the Stars is a dreamscape in which nature is the central essence of the repeated chorus ‘The older the moon, The brighter it shines, We walk with the stars, One night at a time.’ Apparently the song is in tribute to Gord Downie of the Tragically Hip who died in 2017, and the song is a co-write with Jim Cuddy of Blue Rodeo.

Other highlights include the interesting I Love You, Too… Maybe which appears to tackle doubts internalised by a new father on the arrival of a baby into his life. My interpretation may be wide of the mark but lines such as ‘In this room full of people, I feel so all alone, Pushing ahead, Full of doubt’ have me pondering whether all is not well.

Elsewhere we are treated to the slow melody of Quiet Mind and a message to learn from past experience in order to live fully in the present moment. The band play in a restrained and harmonious rhythm on the song, while the vocals add sweet succour.

There is a love breakdown on the songs Broken Year and  One, Maybe Two, Maybe… where the words speak volumes ‘Promises we made but who's keeping score, And I can't remember what we're fighting for.’ The final song is All Good All the Time and it restores faith in the urge to keep going no matter what travails we carry. Turning full circle we find Skydiggers essentially looking at a “glass half full” scenario, despite the forays into darker territory on some of these songs. As always, music to challenge and also stimulate the senses. A Skydiggers album is always worthy of attention and hopefully you will agree that the wait has been worth the time spent.

Paul McGee

New Album Reviews

Seth Mulder & Midnight Run Coming On Strong Rebel

For his first album on the legacy Rebel Records, and his fourth album to date, Seth Mulder chose Dudley Connell and Ken Irwin to co-produce and the result is simply sublime. Connell formed the hugely influential bluegrass band, the Johnson Mountain Boys, in the 70’s and later joined another huge act, The Seldom Scene, with whom he still plays. Irwin co-founded that essential roots music label, Rounder Records, in 1970 and therefore had his finger in many of the pies which went on to influence American folk music right up until the present day. 

Seth Mulder’s musical development has always been about pushing boundaries, yet still being rooted in bluegrass tradition. He credits this partly to his upbringing in North Dakota, which isn’t exactly a hotbed of bluegrass, so the first bluegrass artists he discovered were Del McCoury and Punch Brothers! The diversity of sources and styles on this latest record are also down to the influences of the two producers, who brought a lot of song suggestions to Seth and the band and indeed it is a miracle that they were able to narrow those down to just twelve. Unlike his 2022 album IN DREAMS I GO BACK (a personal favourite that year), there is only one self-penned song on this latest recording, but it is outstanding. Looking Past The Pain (The Cowboy Song) expresses the regret and heartbreak of a cowboy who’s ‘crossing the last frontier’ and ’wondering if you’ll miss me as I wave goodbye from the train’, sung in Seth’s unmistakeable rich tenor, against a driving bluegrass rhythm. He explains that it was inspired by watching the Yellowstone series during Covid, and he himself identifies with the cowboy lifestyle having been immersed in raising horses in his upbringing in N Dakota. This cut, and many of the other album choices, reflect the emotional side of bluegrass music, something that Mulder feels is an essential component of his band’s connection with their audiences.

Traditional bluegrass songs covered include the opening train song Heartbreak Express (written by Speedy Krise, who incidentally is credited with introducing the dobro into bluegrass), Ray Price’s I’ll be There (If You Ever Want Me) and Don Stover’s Old Reuben No.1. But then there’s a grassed up version of Sierra Ferrell’s love song Bells Of Every Chapel, which works really well (by adding backing vocals and more fiddle) and an equally successful grassed up version of Gillian Welch and David Rawlings’ Rock Of Ages. Most unexpected of all is a version of Motörhead’s 1916 anti war song (which I will admit to not being previously familiar with). 

Dudley Connell suggested JP Cormier’s Gilgarry’s Glen,which is another standout and  another emotion-driven ballad, rooted in the collective sadness of emigration from Scotland to the New World, where ‘the folks in the cities have passed us by/they don’t know how they got there and don’t care why’. Throughout the recording, Mulder is supported by the outstanding crew of Tyler Griffith (upright bass), Colton Powers (banjo), Chevy Watson (guitar) and Max Silverstein (fiddle). It should be noted, though, that the new Midnight Run lineup includes only Griffith from that previous band. However, having seen the new guys on their extensive Irish tour this summer, I can confirm that they are bedding in nicely. Completing the package is the excellent art work with a retro radio theme, credited to Mark Larson.

Highly recommended and a definite inclusion in my 2025 favourites.

Eilís Boland

Grayson Jenkins Country Parables Self Release

For this new album the Kentucky born singer/songwriter brings to the fore his personal take on country music, taking it to a position that shows his growth and understanding of his own place, here and now. The production was shared between fellow artist Pony Bradshaw and Jenkins himself. They recorded in Little Rock, Arkansas, among other studios, and the end result is an assured and entertaining listen. A number of the team were local players, including Jesse Aycock on electric, acoustic and pedal steel guitars. They were joined by a name that should by now be well know to our readers in Fats Kaplan on fiddle, mandolin and accordion.

Opening with a song that sets you on a road by its immediate likability, Old Trails is about familiarity and a comfortable sense of locale. It has a strong guitar presence and warming vocal. There is a soulful element to the next track, Hard Heart To Hold, with some subtle keyboards adding to that atmosphere. Those keyboards are by Jason Weinheimer for this track, elsewhere Phillipe Bronchtein takes the credit for the ivories. We are again on the more gentle side of things with Scarecrow, a dreamscape that finds him being not so much lonely as, rather, being alone, waking up in a house that ain’t a home. Another look back at a past that surmises that there are two non-changing elements in life that are, as the song says, Taxes & Time. Aycock plays a dobro here that adds to the track’s sense of downhomeness. 

Producer Bradshaw joins in vocally for the realisation that is central in Good Times Go, again the guitar motifs here are highly effective. Also not forgetting that throughout the album the rhythm section of Aaron Boehler and Paddy Ryan play their part as necessary for each track’s mood. Equally persuasive is From Now On, where again the guitar is forceful without being overplayed. Vocal guest Madelyn Baier adds some sweet harmonies on Calling Out Your Name, which is a sweet love song to his would be ‘river darling’. Country Parables. which is also the final track, has a somewhat more rural workingman feel, and some lyrics that reflect on parables on how to live, whether that is actually how one desires to live.

Nobody’s Stopping You Anyhow, featuring Brit Taylor in a duet that blends the two voices well, is a slow ballad with some subtle playing that is entirely a counterpoint to its message of making your mind up about what the next steps in a relationship should be. This was written by McLaughlin and Allen, as was the other song not solely written by Grayson, though he joined the other two on the writing credits for Grand Slam, which has a gentle border touch with accordion and fiddle.

Grayson Jenkins has undoubtedly honed his art with an album that shows him delivering a step up and a step forward, working with a set of studio players who have done him proud as he has, indeed, done for himself with his songs and vocal ability.

Stephen Rapid

Rodney Crowell Airline Highway New West

Five decades into his career, which has yielded twenty studio albums, Rodney Crowell’s appetite for writing and recording remains unabated. Always a champion of younger artists, whether that is adding his vocal to an emerging songwriter’s album, assisting with a co-write, or taking on complete production duties, his helping hand has been a stamp of his full commitment to his art.

That input from numerous younger artists continues in AIRLINE HIGHWAY. Starting with the production, Crowell handed these duties to a fellow Texan and member of the Nashville-based rock band Shakedown, Tyler Bryant. The recording process kicked off with demos recorded at both of their home studios and was completed when Crowell, Bryant and the selected players headed for the remote Dockside Studio, close to the swamps in Maurice, Louisiana, where the songs were recorded in two or three takes.

 The album travels from the wicked and instantly catchy groove in Rainy Day In California, co-written with Lucas Nelson, who also adds his vocals to the song, to the reflective rolling country love ballad Simple (You Wouldn’t Call It Simple). Rebecca and Megan Lovell from Larkin Poe add vocals and lap steel on Louisiana Sunshine Feeling Okay and Ashley McBryde shares the vocals in her fine co-write with Crowell, Taking Flight. 

Another standout and very much a song of these turbulent times is Heaven Can You Help Us (‘Beware the ones who speak with forked tongues that reek of hatred. Six in ten will most deplore, and of those six, there are two who blindly take their cue from cable news distorted to the core’). It features layered vocals by Crowell and Blackberry Smoke’s Charlie Starr.

The Twenty-One Song Salute (In Memory of GG Shinn and Cléoma Falcon) is a fun-filled rock and roller, and a tribute to two artists who hugely influenced a young Rodney Crowell. Shinn was a vocalist and trumpet player in the Boogie Kings, and Cléoma Falcon is credited as one of the first to record Cajun music. On a lighter note, Sometime Twang gives the ‘thumbs up’ to a high-spirited lover (‘She’s a wildwood flower in a red Corvette, Tanya Tucker meets Cate Blanchett, she’s stacked like dishes in the kitchen sink’) before the album closes on a more serious note with the gentle nostalgic ballad, Maybe Somewhere Down The Road, which recalls a fleeting relationship with a troubled and suicidal woman.

‘My ambition isn’t to be a household name anymore’, confesses Crowell, ‘My ambition is to be satisfied with the work that I do. I’m at a place where it really is all about having fun’. Modest words indeed, given the quality of the songwriting, Crowell’s vocals and the host of contributors on this warm and consoling collection of songs.

Declan Culliton

Hayes Carll We’re Only Human Hwy87/Thirty Tigers

Continuing in the tradition of his fellow Texan songwriters, Guy Clark, Townes Van Zandt and Terry Allen, but often with more emphasis on wicked humour, Hayes Carll's latest album tackles the emotional vulnerabilities and confusion brought about by simply existing in modern life. Co-produced by Carll and Gordi Quist, who also added guitars and vocals, the overriding message from the album’s ten tracks is ‘nobody is perfect, so please stop beating yourself up’, delivered with empathy and goodwill.

The opening lines from the piano-led title track sets that scene (‘Whether you give up or you give it your best, it’s hard not to feel like you’re failing the test… new lessons get learned, pages are turned, and then we forget’). Carll’s skillset to articulate tragedy and devastation with black humour is underlined in Progress of Man (Bitcoin & Cattle). A co-write with Aaron Raitiere, its biting lyrics truly pinpoint the current political landscape, not only in America but increasingly further afield (‘The man on the TV keeps makin’ strange faces, there’s folks flyin’ rockets to faraway places. The world’s gettin’ turned on by assholes and racists and it’s all for the progress of man’). There’s a ragtime feel to the punchy and sing-along Good People (Thank Me), which is also a co-write with Raitiere. Without being overly dewy-eyed, its simple message is ‘life is too short, chill out and love your neighbour.’ 

The confessional I Got Away With It should be recognisable to most. It addresses lessons learned in recalling bad decisions and behaviour that fortunately didn’t end in tears. Without coincidence, it’s followed by an admission of guilt and commitment to redress in Making Amends, it’s a beautiful ballad with tearful pedal steel by Geoff Queen, giving the song even more authenticity. 

Bookending the album is the gospel-like May I Never, complete with choir-like harmonies from Carll’s like-minded friends Gordy Quist, Shovels & Rope, Darrell Scott, Nicole Atkins, Ed Jurdi, Ray Wylie Hubbard and Kelley Mickwee. It’s an appropriate final chapter to a deeply satisfying listen, which not only addresses its author’s journey, but also is directed towards ordinary folk who can, from time to time, feel unnecessarily weighed down by guilt and self-doubt. 

A worthy companion to the impressive back catalogue of an artist who seldom wastes a word in his writing.

Declan Culliton

T. Hardy Morris Artificial Tears Normaltown

Founding member of the alt-country and now defunct Athens, Georgia band Dead Confederate, Nashville-based T. Hardy Morris is also a member of supergroup Diamond Rugs alongside John McCauley and Robbie Crowell of Deer Tick, Ian Saint Pe of Black Lips, Steve Berlin of Los Lobos, and Bryan Dufresne of Six Finger Satellite. His solo career has previously yielded four solo albums, ARTIFICIAL TEARS being his fifth. This new record follows his 2021 album THE DIGITAL AGE OF ROME, written during COVID and exploring the condition of the modern world without rose-tinted glasses. ARTIFICIAL TEARS is a continuation of sorts but with a more personal and nostalgic slant, as Morris attempts to process the ups and downs of a twenty-year career as an artist in the contemporary world.

The final recording process was unconventional, but ideally suited to the content and messages within the songs. Carl Broemel of My Morning Jacket fame was engaged as co-producer with Morris; he also contributed the majority of the instrumentation, including guitars, bass, piano, pedal steel, saxophone and background vocals. Having commenced studio sessions in Nashville, Morris felt that the recordings did not fit the raw sound that he was striving for on many of the songs. In a brave move, they reconvened at Broemel’s house, revisited the original demos recorded on a Teac four-track machine, and finished the recording that way. The result is a suite of melodic rock tunes that can be filed under the Americana genre.

From down-to-earth and straightforward recollections to more streams of consciousness, the twelve tracks swing from optimism to scepticism. Opening brightly with a jaunty dose of power pop, Write It In The Sky recalls simpler times (‘When all the world was young, we held it like an egg.  We never dropped a crumb… we swore we’d keep it safe’). Those carefree days also feature in Juvenile Years before the writer’s thoughts turn to less starry-eyed issues. Breakneck Speed is a reminder of the painful low that can follow a short-term high, and given that, Don’t Kill Your Time (To Shine) is a ‘live in the moment’ message, a sentiment that also plays out in Low Hopes. With chunky guitar and bathed in sweet pedal steel, Fight Forever (‘Rather fight forever than give up the ghost’) calls for belief in oneself regardless of oppression and distress. Morris signs off on an equally resolute note with the short but to-the-point, Trouble Will.

Morris has created something quite lovely and highly listenable here. Undoubtedly, it will strike a chord with many whose artistic career path can be unpredictable and unrewarding at times, but like Morris, they continue to forge ahead wholeheartedly.

Declan Culliton

TJ Rosenthal Self-Titled Self Release

Based in New York, this singer songwriter was inspired to follow a path into country music through his admiration for artists such as Tyler Childers, Charley Crockett and Red Clay Strays, all of whom are prepared to strike out for an independent approach in managing their respective careers. He was also influenced by some of the old traditionalists such as Merle Haggard and Dwight Yoakam and being prepared to mix tried and trusted traditions with new ways of thinking never did any harm.

TJ Rosenthal recorded this debut album across two separate recording studios, with both Brick and G Calz based in New Jersey. He mastered the songs in Sterling Sound, Nashville and the time spent has certainly proven worthwhile. Production, mixing and mastering can vary as links in an important chain, and too often there has been a disconnect between original intentions and the final product. As the old saying goes “There is many a slip, between cup and lip.” Happily, in this case, everything worked out to deliver a very engaging eleven songs and the variety included adds nicely to the final listening experience.

The musicians on the album are TJ Rosenthal (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, lap steel, bass), G Calz (bass, drums), McKenna Daley (lead vocal on “Don’t Wanna Fight Anymore,” and backing vocals), Jerry Mac (lead guitar), and Jon Lijoi (trumpet on Bad Habits). All songs on were written by TJ Rosenthal except for Ain’t That Lonely Yet, which was written by Kostas and James House and recorded by Yoakam.

These are songs about the everyday, and concern everyman, our routines and our strengths and weaknesses, as we negotiate the various challenges of modern life. Both Gonna Need You and I Saw Your Message are songs that cover the need to be aware of the increasing malaise of anger and frustration in our society, the impact of increasing taxes and a reduced empathy. The urge to retreat to simpler times is the topic in songs like Ain’t No Place Left and the attraction of living off the grid seems preferable to enduring the lack of real community. Living post-Covid is examined on songs like Sunday Morning and Clear Your Head where habits have changed and a positive mental attitude is the key to healthy living.

Younger times are revisited on songs Way Out In the Country and I Was Down In Virginia where the pursuit of innocent dreams and desires masked the reality of how life unfolds; with the premature passing of a friend the subject of the former song, while the latter song reflects upon two separate lives that were being lived independently before an initial connection down the line. Who knows what the future holds.

Bad Habits is a great song and plays out at quite a pace, the shuffle beat driving a song about the joy of partying, despite our troubled Covid times ‘Bad decisions are the only ones to make, I keep plenty on repeat, or so it seems.’ The message on Don’t Wanna Fight Anymore is one of looking for the family to hold sway and for any difficult times to be overcome along the path we all walk. The final song is a cover of the Dwight Yoakam hit Ain’t That Lonely Yet and a statement of resilience against the inevitable pain of heartbreak and what lies beyond.

The mood of the album is very much that of having a good time in the studio and letting the quality of the musicianship and the songs speak for themselves. A release that bodes very well for what will follow down the road for TJ Rosenthal.

Paul McGee

Barbara Lynch Where Did You Go Self Release

This is a new name to me and the songwriting of Barbara Lynch is quite a revelation. Her meditative vignettes of a variety characters paint portraits that are akin to short plays or creative flash fiction.

Barbara grew up on a small farm and her passion for music began from a very young age with the influence of her mother’s love for different musical genres, including blues and jazz.  Her professional career took off back in 1992, and a few albums were released, before she stepped away in 2008 from increased activity. She now lives in Toronto and this new album was produced, recorded, and mixed by Michael Timmins (Cowboy Junkies) at The Hangar. It’s such a welcome return to the music spotlight for Barbara and her life experience gained over the time away brings a real maturity to these new songs.

All nine songs were written and arranged by Barbara Lynch and she contributes on lead vocals, acoustic guitar, and piano. She is joined by Shelley Coopersmith on both fiddle and viola, with Clela Errington providing harmonica and backing vocals, along with Brian Stillar. A small cast of players but how perfect for this intimate and timeless music. There is such a great atmosphere created in the arrangements and the interpretative playing.

Georgia Brown decides to escape her dutiful roles as mother and wife, leaving her difficult husband and the hard rural life that she had been reared to expect. The characters in We Go Back include a couple confined in a nursing home as old age descends, perhaps wishing they were being cared for by a close friend or family member. Tom Ryan leaves no doubt as to the story line, with the wife packing her suitcase and leaving the family farm for new beginnings. Dance With Me is a song that looks at the frustration of unrequited love as the guy leaves the girl behind, in search of his dreams.

Again, spurned love is the subject on Kate where the husband leaves for another woman ‘And the night is dark and lonely, And the rain is fallin' hard, But I saw him with his pretty girl, All dressed up and goin' downtown.’ The homeless woman on Rita Doyle is damaged from childhood challenges and incidents, with no hope of a normal life, wanting to leave this painful existence and waiting for the birds to come and fly her away.

My True Love reflects the simple attraction between kids growing up and making practical, rather than heart-driven decisions regarding life’s path ‘Well he failed grade ten, three times in a row, But he's still the smartest guy that I know, He can sing like an angel and dance like the devil, Cook in the kitchen better than my mother, Get everybody laughin' when there's nothin' to laugh about.’

Songs of regret, lost chances, embattled hope and grim, repetitive realities; but there are also glimmers of hope among the embers of expectation. Barbara Lynch stands in the space of a female Tom Waits in capturing insights into the poignancy of hard lives, and crosses borne with dignity and resolve. The Good Guys Might Not Win is played on piano and it’s a song that looks at our predilection towards greed and self-absorption to the detriment of others in society ‘It was like the man said, life is a crazy patchwork quilt, Well we took everything, there wasn't enough for you, He said I'm not a bettin' man but it sure seems to me, The good guys might not win.’

The final song is Worry No More with simple acoustic guitar and fiddle setting a plaintive atmosphere around a melody that echoes ‘ Well I look way down the river, And what do you think I see? I see a band of angels, And they're comin' after me.’ This album is really one that should find a place in every discerning music collectors home.

Paul McGee

The Bluest Sky Homegrown Self Release

This band is the brainchild of Chuck Melchin, previously the creative source behind The Bean Pickers Union, a collective that has been active since 2007. Their sound was taken straight from classic Americana, and Melchin, who is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, decided to form this new project The Bluest Sky, with a debut album release, back in 2023. A further album issued last year, titled RAINDANCER, and now this 6-song EP follows.

The assembled musicians are Dave Westner (bass, drums), Chuck Melchin (acoustic and electric guitars, vocals), Andy Santospago (lead guitar), Mike Giordano (electric guitar), Lynne Taylor (vocals). All songs are written by Chuck Melchin and he also handles all production, with mixing and mastering by Dave Westner.

Opening with Pretty Girl From Mobile, a song of distant admiration for a young girl expressing her freedom, the lead guitar attack of Santospago and the rhythm guitar of Melchin is very much along the lines of the Black Crows in the delivery. Pressure Drop follows and the upbeat rhythm wraps a song about survival and feeling blessed to have beaten the odds in a road accident. Giordano on lead guitar powers this song along with great finesse.

Cordelia is a song that hints at a troubled relationship and a past that is best forgotten ‘There ain’t no compromising on my family tree, We never substitute affection, For a chunk of green.’ Again, the tight band dynamic is excellent and the changes in tempo allow Santospago room to create some nice guitar lines. Interstate 84 is a song about a truck stop hooker turning tricks for the long distance lorry drivers who stop by.

Perhaps the standout is The Bridge with a slow rhythm line and some nice banjo and mandolin mixed into the guitar melodies, ‘Time keeps pulling all of us along, Every day’s a choice between right and wrong.’ The final song is Tears For Appalachia and Lynne Taylor takes the lead vocal to great effect on a sad tale of nature claiming lives in a local hurricane ‘She swore she’d rise out of it, Said she’s leave it all behind, Tears of Appalachia, It’s starting to unwind.’ This is a very enjoyable EP of well-produced songs and leaves you wanting the band to get back into the studio to deliver an extended album next time around.

Paul McGee

Blue Rose Blue Moon Self Release

This band is comprised of musical duo Marcus Gebauer and Jori Griffith, and they are based in Chicago. This debut album is the result of a chance meeting at a party that led to both musicians ultimately giving up their day jobs and focusing on their dream to follow a full time career in music. The duo describe their sound as “new country with an old soul” and the twelve songs here are quite varied in their reach.

The opening track If I Had A Rose has a big production sound, programmed handclaps and a commercial arrangement that is aimed at a broad appeal. There are enough elements in the mix to carry the song, with banjo, pedal steel and sweet harmony vocals, but somewhat compromised by the overly busy mastering. However, the next song makes better inroads with Let Me Love You showing a different side to the band, a more rootsy arrangement with some nice edge in the playing. Jori has a fine voice and carries the song with ease as the musicians kick into higher gear and the track builds.

The title song Blue Moon rocks along in a style that is reminiscent of Jewel or Sheryl Crow in the presentation, while the change in tempo on Let’s See A Band is welcome in the laid-back melody on a love song that highlights nice fiddle and understated keys, dovetailing with the easy vocal delivery. Another mid-tempo reflection is Remember When and the acoustic arrangement with guitars and pedal steel is very effective with the overall musing on lost love; one of the stronger songs included, along with the mellow arrangement on Dandelions.

Another song Slow is a nod to younger days and the thrill of exploring new relationship dynamics. Tracks like I’m So Tired, Somethin’ Good and Life Is Short point more in the direction of mass commercial reach which will certainly open the band’s sound up to wider markets. Equally Just Like Sheryl harks back to the influences on a young Jori Griffith growing up and getting inspired by her favourite female artists. The final song Sometimes is a slow melody on piano and acoustic guitar and a song that reflects upon the true essence of love. The build in the arrangement is well delivered with keyboard swells lifting the music and Jori delivering a very effective vocal.

Jori Griffith and Marcus Gebauer provide lead vocals and guitars, with Packy Lundholm (electric guitar, pedal steel), Jared Rabin (fiddle, electric guitar), Ben Johnson (piano, organ), Andrew Vogt and Nicholas Kapche (bass), and Reuben Garza and Eric Matteson (drums) contributing to the project. Production, mixing and mastering was handled by Noam Wallenburg at Rax Trax Studios in Chicago. All songs on the album were written by Jori Griffith and Marcus Gebauer apart from the opening  If I Had a Rose, written by Adam Wright and previously performed by Kelly Willis and Bruce Robison.

As a debut album, this is a very positive statement of the talents on display and there is plenty here for Jori Griffith and Marcus Gebauer to build upon into the future.

Paul McGee

New Album Reviews

Eve Adams American Dust Basin Rock

Singer-songwriter Eve Adams' writing has been described in the past as 'equal parts violence and romance,' and in keeping with that portrayal, her fourth album, AMERICAN DUST, is a fearless and profoundly emotional affair.

Like many other artists inspired by the vast desert landscapes of the American West, Adams' latest record was drawn from the open spaces and surreal landscapes of the high desert. The writing is all the more credible given that Adams relocated from the city to the desert's remoteness a few years ago, in search of a more serene quality of life. That dramatic change of scenery is addressed in the opening track, Nowhere Now ('Washed the ashes and dust off of Los Angeles, now she's clean and unafraid'). Explaining the album's thrust, the song reads like the preface to a novel, and Adams's wispy, almost childlike vocals, set against an evocative backbeat of percussion, are stunning. That sonic landscape and sense of isolation and aloneness are repeated in Strangers, before things take a murderous and macabre turn in Dirty Thirties and the dark, Bonnie and Clyde-type murder ballad, Ricochet, which inevitably ends in bloodshed. Equally, there's little joy, well-being or happy ending in the break-up song, Ask Me, though a glimmer of hope for a lasting relationship does raise its head in Get Your Hopes Up.

Adam's intense vocal performance perfectly matches the vulnerability and sadness in much of the material. Multi-instrumentalist Bryce Cloghesy (a member of the Canadian music collective Crack Cloud) produced the album and contributed the bulk of the instrumentation; his piano and guitar work are stunning. Also adding their skills were Gamaliel Traynor on cello and Oliver Hamilton on violin.

A dark sentiment is embodied in AMERICAN DUST, confronting issues often avoided. Adam's tackles isolation, sacrifice, and unfulfilled dreams head-on in a collection of intense songs. It's far from a Saturday night listen and does require repeated listens to be fully appreciated. However, that investment of time is well rewarded, particularly for lovers of gothic folk-noir.

Declan Culliton 

Case Oats Last Missouri Exit Merge

Recorded over three days in the gloomy basement of a house in Chicago, LAST MISSOURI EXIT is the debut album of five-piece outfit, Case Oats. The band members are Casey Gomez Walker (lead vocals, acoustic guitar), Spencer Tweedy (drums), Max Subar (guitar, pedal steel), Scott Daniel (fiddle) and Jason Ashworth.

The album’s title stems from a signpost located before the Illinois and Missouri border, spotted by Gomez Walker, as she drove from her hometown to relocate to Chicago. Defining both a new chapter in her life and the transition from childhood to an independent adult, the title and the album’s central thrust is that of Gomez Walker’s ‘coming of age.’ The production duties were shared by Gomez Walker, Ashworth, Subar and Tweedy, the latter’s previous experience of recording in Wilco’s loft studio no doubt proving helpful.

A graduate in creative writing, Gomez Walker revisits her teenage years, not wearing tinted glasses and without any degree of comfort, in Seventeen (‘think about how much you didn’t know, racing cars on the drive home. Close your eyes trying to find help, aren’t you glad you didn’t kill yourself?’) and Kentucky Cave. The latter is a twangy affair telling a tale of a close acquaintance who has a mental illness. Darker still and based on an actual event, Bitter Root Lake tells of a couple who steal a plane only to crash into a lake, killing one of them. In A Bungalow considers the tug between homesickness and leaving the nest seeking new adventures (‘there’s nothing wrong with missing your friends or your parents’ house, dad asleep on the couch’).

Genre hopping from quirky country to soulful indie-folk, think David Berman or a youthful Alynda Segarra, Gomez Walker’s almost childlike vocals could not be better suited to her confessional and pin-sharp writings. Added to this, by also recording live, there is a charming innocence to the record. From the countryfied opener Buick Door, which delves into family life in small-town Midwestern life, to the jaunty closer, Bluff, they don’t put a foot wrong. A standout debut record that I’ll be revisiting regularly in the coming weeks and months.

Declan Culliton

Kathleen Edwards Billionaire Dualtone

Few songwriters can match Kathleen Edwards’ capacity to write so articulately and credibly about emotionally raw terrain, as well as observational matters. Her deliberations on failed romances have been particularly impassioned and have repeatedly found her at her most fluent. Old Times Sake from BACK TO ME (2005), Asking For Flowers from the album of the same name in 2008, Change The Sheets from VOYAGEUR (2012), and Hard On Everyone from TOTAL FREEDOM (2020) are just a selection of eye raising songs, written from the heart and detailing the end of emotionally abusive liaisons.

Having stepped back from the music industry in 2014 due to burnout and disillusionment, Edwards took refuge in the ironically named Quitters, a coffee shop in Sittsville, Ottawa. Following a request from Maren Morris in 2017 to write a song for Morris’ album GIRL, Edwards’ creative mojo returned, and she began writing material for what was to become her 2020 release, TOTAL FREEDOM.

Fast forward five years, and she is well and truly back in the game with BILLIONAIRE. Produced by Jason Isbell and Gena Johnson, a host of celebrated players, alongside Isbell and Johnson, who collectively contributed guitars, keys and background vocals, joined the recordings. The contributors included Anna Butterss (bass), Annie Clements (bass), Chad Gamble (drums and percussion), Jen Gunderman (piano, celeste, Hammond B3 organ, Wurlitzer) and Shelby Lynne and Allison Moorer (background vocals).

Now settled in sunny Florida, one might have expected a ‘happy’ album rejoicing in newly found contentment and well-being. Conversely, this is far from the case, and the writing and the guitar and keyboard-driven tempo across much of the album hark back to her earlier recordings, FAILER and BACK TO ME. She’s spitting fire and at her rockiest from the onset in Save Your Soul (‘Line your pockets with gold, line your pockets. Who's going to save your soul, when your money's no good at all’).  She visits that ‘break-up’ theme in the dynamic and high-powered Say, Goodbye, Tell No One that follows (‘I was always good to you, you can get blisters from your favourite shoes…. Here’s the truth wrapped up in a lie, I never cared and I never tried, I don't miss you and I never cried’).

The emotionally-charged Need A Ride is a close relation to and equally as hypnotic as Goodnight California from ASKING FOR FLOWERS, and those romantic entanglement anxieties raise their head again in the mid-tempo album closer, Pine. Despite its standard reference to financial possession, the album’s title and track of the same name refer to the pursuit of the simple things in life that bring long-term happiness and contentment, rather than any monetary declaration.   

Disheartened and drained after the release of VOYAGEUR and before taking time out from the industry in 2014, Edwards expressed her frame of mind as ‘No one cares, I’m just not good enough.’ Fortunately, those negative thoughts are a thing of the past, and BILLIONAIRE is yet another jewel in the crown by one of the most vital artists of the past two decades. Old-school alt-country at its best and essential listening.

Declan Culliton

Nowhere Brothers Till The End Of Nowhere Timezone

The backstory to Italian-born Roberto Fiorelli and Nicola Ventolini's musical venture is quite unique. Their connection began two decades ago, fuelled by their mutual love of music and travel, the latter often involving the exploration of remote desert lands. That friendship resulted in the formation of Nowhere Brothers and the recording of their debut album DOWN LIFE BOULEVARD in 2017. That album, recorded over two days in Phoenix, Arizona, celebrated the couple's nomadic lifestyle and was skeletal, lo-fi and gripping.

Their latest ten-track project's inspiration stems from a similar background. Once again, taking the open landscapes of the American West and its inhabitants as their mainspring, TILL THE END OF NOWHERE is loaded with a ghostly atmosphere.

Abandoning the stripped-back direction of their debut album, they adopted a fuller sound this time. The opening track, Mestizo, with a thumping drumbeat up front, is written from the perspective of a mixed-heritage truck driver whose only solace from his work is the realisation that the roads he travels were once the home of his people. 

Tragic love is the backstory in the rampant Barstow, which has a rootsy Rolling Stones vibe to it and features killer backing vocals by Dajla Jakomin. The funky gospel crossover Fever also features Jakomin in full voice, and Saviour's Howl recalls the classic border sounds of Calexico. Returning to the shape of their debut album, the most stripped-back track on the album, Blackeye follows the survival of a cowboy who refuses to abandon his now infertile land. Mesmerised rejoices in the freedom and thrills of cruising the dusty and open roads on motorbikes. 

An international affair, written and produced by two Italians, recorded at BA Audiolabs in Laupheim, Germany, and brought into being by the landscapes and natives of the American west, TILL THE END OF NOWHERE casts its spell far and wide. The songwriting is timeless, often harking back to previous eras as well as the modern day, and the songs are executed stylishly. Hopefully, this album won't be overlooked, and Nowhere Brothers will continue to record spirited projects like this one.

Declan Culliton

Kevin Holm-Hudson Travellers Rest Self Release

A Professor of Music Theory and Composition at the College of Fine Arts in University of Kentucky, a published author, and an active songwriter and performer. Kevin Holm-Hudson is clearly a very talented individual with much to offer in the space of creative flow. With three prior albums to his name MESSAGE FROM THE MARGINS (2021), THE TREMBLING AIR (2022), and MILKWEED (2023), you could say that he is on a golden streak with no sign of slowing down. A Christmas record arrived in 2024, and there has been a further single which saw the light in early 2025.

This new album has fourteen tracks and the credits highlight Kevin Holm-Hudson on vocals, acoustic guitar, keyboards, bass, electric guitar, slide guitar, and mandolin. He also wrote all the songs and is joined by Dr. Jim Gleason on electric guitar, and pedal steel guitar, who also produced and mastered the album. Toby Holm-Hudson plays bass on six songs, David Chapman provides drums, and percussion, with Ahmed Ibrahim also playing percussion on one track, and the Woke Ridge Boys providing vocals on another. The album was recorded at The Blue Room, Claustro Phonic Sound, and Gnome Hollow Studios.

There is a theme of travel on the album with both What the Heart Wants and Hotel Breakfast Lounge songs that view the need to be away from routine and creating lasting and new memories.  The celebration of friendship is captured on Hello Old Friend while the title song Travellers Rest is about looking back on life as it winds down and being pleased with the years that were lived. A similar reflection is covered on Time In This World.

Chances not taken and dreams unfilled form the essence of Last Of the Local Legends and there is unrequited love running through the teenage angst of Invisible Boy. The music machine in Nashville is dissected on Thrashville with the words ‘Get yourself a cowboy hat, it won’t do you any harm, Nobody could know you never set foot on a farm.’  The sentiment of Melancholy Man is one of wanting a real friend and of putting away all illusions of how we define, and lie, to ourselves.

The ties that bind are covered in songs such as Home and Picnic where the memory of lives entwined are both celebrated and remembered. The latter song also threads an anti-war message into the fabric and the damage left by serving a cause. The positive sentiment captured on both A Radical Thought and Light Of Peace is well received in these troubled times and perhaps there remains some hope for us finding a solution to the conundrum of seeking out peaceful living.

There are carnival sounds to accompany final song Goodnight Waltz and it’s as if our visit to the fair has come to an end; it’s time to say goodbye to our youthful dreams and to embrace the chance to make a difference in the years we are still given. This is a very enjoyable listen and the songwriting is excellent. Great production also and a keen sense of the enjoyment experienced by the musicians make this an album to celebrate.

Paul McGee

Crys Matthews Reclamation Self Release

Music has always walked hand-in-hand with the fight for social justice in society and it has often stood as the champion of the repressed and the downtrodden. From the early days of Woodie Guthrie and his socialist Folk songs against fascism, all the way through to Dylan and Springsteen, the power of the song has been to the fore of human struggle and the simple symbol of a guitar given the elevation as a machine that delivers truth.

Crys Matthews is based in Nashville and her upbringing has been one of a preachers daughter with a sense of what really matters in living your truth. As a gay, black woman Matthews has had to face bigotry in many different guises and she has stared it down at every turn. On the song Suit and Tie she sings ‘This world is a mess, and it's getting worse as days go by, uncivil unrest about who's a girl and who's a guy, But this heart beating in my chest knows the truth I can't deny: I might look good in a dress, but I feel better in a suit and tie.’

Another song that hits the mark is Like Jesus Would and the words ‘In my hometown, there's a church on every block, sanctified folks who'd much rather pray for you than talk, They cherry-pick the good Word and hold on to the bad parts, so they can wilfully ignore every lesson Jesus taught.’ This reflection is typical of the incisive observation that runs through the songs of Matthews and the humanism that shines through her words is to be applauded.

In Cancel Culture she nails it right down to the core ‘There's a whole lot in our culture we could cancel if we tried: instead of banning abortions, we could trust women to decide; every size and shape of body could be normalized; and every type of mental illness could finally be destigmatized. No more squeezing and contorting into boxes we don't fit. No more saying that we're fine when we're not but scared to admit it.’ Wow, talk about speaking truth to power!

In Her House is a strong tale referencing domestic violence against women, and the superb I Want It All is a standout track with a beautiful rising melody and a love song for all to enjoy ‘You're not too much, for me. There isn't any inch of you that I don't wanna see.’ Another love song is Red and visits the pain of sweet separation ‘ I'm having a hard time lately. It feels like I'm going crazy, from missing your touch. I miss you so much.’

The musicians include Megan McCormick (electric guitar, acoustic guitar), Ellen Angelico (electric guitar, mandolin, banjo), Jen Gunderman (Wurlitzer), Ryan Madora (bass), Michael Majett (bass), Megan Coleman (drums), Larissa Maestro (strings), Heather Mae, Kyshona and Shannon LaBrie on featured vocals and Melody Walker, Chris Housman, Nickie Conley on backing vocals.

Sister’s Keeper is a song in support of women’s rights and the power is in the delivery from passionate vocals and the assembled musicians. My Skin really sums up everything in the words ‘I don't want your thoughts and prayers, and I don't want your tears, I just want to be able to live my life without fear.’ Trying to search for balance and meaning in this crazy world can be self-defeating and it is something of a small miracle how minority groups continue the fight to push through. This is an album of real gravitas and with seventeen songs running over one hour of listening pleasure, it is an essential purchase.

Paul McGee

Ashley E. Norton The Red Guitar Self Release

Ramona in California is currently home to Ashley E. Norton and she was given the honour “Citizen Of The Year” in 2023 for her role in growing Ramona’s music scene with the foundation of the Ramona Music Alliance. She grew up in Arizona and after moving to Nashville she began to embrace the songwriter nights that were doing the rounds in many of the venues. Over time, she decided to focus on all-female songwriter get-togethers, in attempts to represent women in the greater scheme of  things within that local music scene. This continued into a monthly Songbirds Of Ramona Ranch series residency at Ramona Ranch Winery.

Norton also founded the all-female group called Lady Psychiatrist Booth, now performing as Dolly’s Revenge, and known as a high energy San Diego band. When we reviewed Norton’s debut solo album towards the end of last year, we spoke about the eleven songs highlighting “the broad talent of this artist.” Well, on this four-song EP she certainly proves the point by taking on a fascinating project to highlight the incredible story of Paul Weisner and the great risks that he took as housemaster of Het Loo Palace, home to the Dutch Monarchy. During the second world war the palace was converted into a hospital for wounded German soldiers during their occupancy of Holland, and Paul Weisner concealed a radio transceiver that was used to help the Dutch resistance stay a step ahead of the hated Nazi occupiers.

The fact that the radio transmitter was hidden inside an unassuming red guitar is the link to the key song The Red Guitar. Performed solo acoustic by Norton the resonance of the story is captured superbly in the words ‘A trojan horse, all the lives it saved.’ The risk of death was ever-present and yet the daughter of Paul Weisner recalls vividly the memories and the circumstances that surrounded the presence of the iconic red guitar. It was the carrier of much more than melodic tunes and it saved countless lives and gave hope to the Dutch Underground.

The other three tracks on the EP are acoustic versions of songs that appeared on Ashley’s solo album, Every Woman I Know, or on previous Lady Psychiatrist Booth output, with both That Girl and Love You In the Dark giving strong affirmation of the roles that women play in the shaping of our societies. Whether in the role of supporting, striking out for independence, or providing safe haven, their celebration of positive affirmation is to be acknowledged. For the last five years, Norton has been writing a new song every week and posting it to Patreon for just $5 a month. The sign of a prolific artist at the very top of her game. This EP does everything to continue her interesting upward direction.

Paul McGee

Nero Simon and the Sunsetters Pura Vida Self Release

“Pura Vida” is a phrase that is commonly heard in Costa Rica. The translation is “pure life” but the true essence references a way of life and a state of mind. This album is the third release from the band since the debut TREASURE CHEST appeared in 2022 and they have their roots in Atlanta, Georgia.

The musicians are Nero Simon (vocals, guitar), Mary Ann Ooten (vocals), Stephen Flores (guitar, backing Vocals), Marcus Durham (bass, backing vocals), Michael Hester (synths, backing vocals), Sam Ross (drums), and Jeff Gaines (saxophone). Their sound is very bright and breezy, and perfectly highlighted in the standout track Campeche, a state in Mexico, with the vibrant guitar sound very reminiscent of a compulsive Santana groove.

Elsewhere, Nero Simon and Mary Ann Ooten share harmonies, and their vocals entwine naturally together on songs like Cruisin’ and Forever (Redux), with the rich production really lifting the arrangements in their delivery. A cover version of Love the One You’re With is included and the iconic Stephen Stills song is given a fresh coat of paint with the celebratory sound and tight harmonies laying a perfect path for the guitar parts to soar. The album is a nice fusion of Americana and Rock, mixed in a blender and producing the perfect cocktail for a drive down an East coast American highway on a summer’s day. Excellent from start to finish.

Paul McGee

Madison Hughes All That I Am Self Release

Jacksonville, Florida is home to this artist who first appeared on our radar back in 2024 with the release of her debut EP, a 6-track insight into her burgeoning talent. This time out Hughes has employed the services of Lera Lynn and Tom Lombardo on production and the ten songs are very impressively delivered.

Her vocal range is very powerful and she knows when to hold back in the song arrangements in order to allow sufficient space for the excellent ensemble playing from the studio musicians to shine alongside her in the bright production. There are no credits regarding who plays what on the album and this is an increasing frustration for music reviewers in our ’brave new world’ of downloads and streaming services. Suffice to say that the greater the information provided, then the better the review potential.

Songs of love and loss come and go, with So Close To Forever wiping down the rain on the windshield of romance, banjo and pedal steel lifting the melody; Waiting On You trawls similar waters where the wish for calm is disturbed by the ripples of doubt over what can be gained from a one-sided relationship. On Gypsy Wings we find sage advice given to fly free in the world and find your own path ‘Chase that shooting star so far that you’re never coming back again.’

Mystery Highway is a highlight here with it’s slow build and atmospheric groove, the message that travel without purpose is destined to lead to a cul-de-sac and a sense of dislocation. The pop country sound of So Real and All That I Am is perhaps forgivable, given the reality of having to find a mass audience by whatever means, while the understated duet with Brent Cobb on Nobody Knows Your Love wipes away any doubt and returns full faith in the vision of this talented new singer songwriter.

Paul McGee

New Album Reviews

Grace Morrison Saltwater Country Self Release

Proud New Englander Grace Morrison has reached a stage in her life where she is ready to embrace her small town upbringing in this, her fifth solo album. With her hard won life experiences, she wears her heart on her sleeve in a fitting homage to Wareham, Massachusetts, known as ‘The Gateway to Cape Cod’. Having been described as ‘too pop for folk, and too folk for country’, she is happy to settle on her own description of her music as ‘Saltwater Country’, which has more than a smattering of 90’s country about it, thanks to local producer Jon Evans (Tori Amos, Sarah McLachlan). The difference though, between Morrison’s work and most 90s country/pop is the authenticity that’s evident here, with all of the songs written or co-written by her, often focussing on what’s really going on after all the tourists have gone home after Labor Day.

Her rootedness is evident in the opening cut, Cranberry Blossoms, an homage to her grandfather and her father-in-law, whose cure for a broken heart was ‘a hard day’s work in the bog’ (where she  toiled for a summer job, harvesting the cranberry crop). The title track reflects the loyalty of the locals to the town where they grew up, ‘we like tradition, we like everything as it was’, where everyone knows everyone else (a blessing or a curse?). Co-written with Jackson Emmer, Just a Kid on Parkwood Drive finds the 12 year old Morrison dreaming of making it in the music business and pleading ‘will someone please notice I exist?’. She yearns for the innocence of teen friendship in You and Me Talking, but by the time of the love song I Wanna Tell You Something, her self worth has been realised, ‘I’ve learned how to embrace all my features’. 

Morrison doesn’t shy away from the darker side of life. The sinister Poor Man’s Daughter hints at how poverty drives risky behaviour, and Smoke Stain also explores the seamy underbelly. Only A Man is a harrowing picture of domestic abuse, told from the viewpoint of a boy who encourages his mother to escape, telling her ‘you don’t have to take it’ … you can ‘cross the invisible lines that make you stay’. It’s a co-write with legendary musician Jeff Plankenhorn, who also contributes lap steel and dobro on most tracks.  Gloria reminds us of the overwhelming presence of the sea and fishing in a life on the coast - it’s a sea shanty that finds a fisherman lamenting his love-hate relationship with a woman on the shore.

On a lighter note, Who’s Raising Who is one for all those parents who start out with great intentions (‘organic fruit cut in pieces’) only to be subjugated by the power of the toddler who ‘went on hunger strike for cake’! The album closes with the upbeat On My Way To Massachusetts,  a rootsy anthem to home, complete with The Plank’s lap steel licks. The whole package is cleverly designed with appealing childhood photos of Grace Morrison and her family and friends. One to check out.

Eilís Boland 

Travis Roberts Rebel Rose New West

Born in South Korea, where his military family were stationed, Travis Robert’s early years included a few more moves before his family settled in Amarillo, Texas. Now twenty-five years old, he has lived a full life to date and much of it on the wrong side of the tracks. As a teenager, his music of choice were country artists George Strait and Waylon Jennings, but his introduction to Steve Earle’s COPPERHEAD ROAD by his mother was a game-changer. Unfortunately, he followed the same path that early career Steve Earle travelled, and alcohol and substance abuse eventually led to an extended time spent in a treatment centre. Finally clean, Roberts moved in with his grandmother, got his act together and began writing and recording material, much of which found its way onto this debut album, REBEL ROSE.

Sobriety has moderated Robert’s behaviour, and he has channelled all his kick ass attitude into his art. This album is more early-career Earle than Strait or Jennings, with a hefty dose of punk on the side.  The production duties are credited to fellow Texan-based artists Dalton Domino, PH Naffah (The Refreshments, Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers) and Jeff Lusby-Breault (Mercy Fall). It was recorded, in the main, live in the studio with his band The Willing Few, replicating the intensity and energy of their live shows.

Full-throttle inclusions are Bellmarie, which recalls a wild-child former friend and work colleague, and the explosive Minefields, whose backstory is a hell-raising, doomed relationship. Also included are a number of other tracks that reminisce about out-of-control friends and lovers, fictional or real. The title track Rebel Rose tells of a tragic fellow substance abuser (‘You’ve been the black sheep all your life, sevenfold records and switchblade knives. Always on the rougher side ‘til it finally got rough on you’) and the tempo lightens temporarily on Kudza, which reminisces on an out-of-control girlfriend and doffs its cap in the direction of Jason Isbell. The pick of the crop, Hereford Blues, a co-write between Roberts and Ray Wylie Hubbard, is a full-blooded head banger, and Ink Ain’t Dry is a bass-driven power pop gem.

The prayer-like and acoustically presented All My Friends, written from first-hand experience, ponders on the fine line between survival and self-destruction, before Robert’s signs off on a note of optimism and realism in Fake Magnolias.  With a vocals and piano intro, it explodes spectacularly mid-song, closing the album on a celebratory note. 

Turning the tables on the emotional wreckage which he soldiered through during his teen years, Roberts never attempts to gloss over the pain and recklessness he has endured, in REBEL ROSE. With songs that are directed towards self-examination and written with brutal honesty, the album is a statement by an artist who, rather than eclipse the past, has conquered his demons and has moved forward with renewed optimism.

Declan Culliton

Tyler Childers Snipe Hunter Hickman Holler/RCA

Never one to be accused of playing his cards close to his chest, across thirteen tracks and fifty-four minutes, Tyler Childers' latest album is a rollercoaster of modern country edging towards indie-rock, as well as more traditional country and gospel. The crossover between genres is hardly surprising given that Childers handed the production duties to Rick Rubin, which immediately implied experimentation with a capital E.

Is the result of the union between Childers and Rubin going to divide opinion? Most probably it will, but given the quantity and indeed, in many cases, quality of material on offer here and the variations in style, there are inclusions to satisfy the more traditional country buffs, as well as those prepared to embrace the more unconventional tracks.

Childers is spitting fire in the opener, Eatin' Big Time. The snarly vocals, bordering on out of control, and rambling lyrics suggest sarcasm soaked in black humour, while flagging his current prosperity ('Eatin' big time, ain't she pretty? Just rollin' in the shade. Eatin' big time in the holler, ain't it lovely, ain't it great'). The plain-speaking country tune, Cuttin' Teeth, follows that bombastic introduction. It's an 'easy on the ear' autobiographical affair, in contrast to the opening track, both in its delivery and lyrical content. 

The dissimilarity between those two opening tracks continues across the album. In the country corner are the stunning countrypolitan Oneida and Nose On The Grindstone, the latter has been included in his setlists for a number of years and is as good a country ballad as Childers has ever written. On the rockier side are Watch Out, Snipe Hunt and Dirty Ought Trill, all three listenable rather than spectacular, and the tongue-in-cheek ditty Bitin' List is aimed at his detractors ('If there ever comes a time I get rabies, you're on my biting list). On a more earnest note, Tirtha Yatra ('I wanna go to India, put faces to paper, put visuals to words that I've read. Get a better understandin' of the culture that's surroundin') reflects Childers' ongoing fascination with Hinduism. On another serious note, he celebrates his recent sobriety in Getting To The Bottom.

It should hardly come as a surprise that Childers continues his explorations into various musical forms with this album. His three previous releases, LONG VIOLENT HISTORY, CAN I TAKE MY HOUNDS TO HEAVEN?, and RUSTIN' IN THE RAIN were all, in their own way, variations on modern and traditional country. Rubin's production on SNIPE HUNTER may or may not sit easily with many, but, for this writer, I can find little to fault it. I'll leave the final words to Childers, who describes it as 'an album that reflects a period of artistic and personal liberation, embracing both reverence for tradition and curiosity for the unknown.'

Declan Culliton

Minor Gold Way To The Sun Calm Palms

The buzz-phrase ‘Cosmic Americana’ is bandied around recklessly these days, often referring to acts whose output bears few or no credentials to qualify for the description. Not so the Canadian/Australian duo Minor Gold. With their breezy, sun-filled, harmonised sound, Tracy McNeil and Dan Parsons are most worthy of that label.

WAY TO THE SUN is the follow-up to their self-titled debut record from 2023. That album, written during lockdown while they lived in a van in Queensland, combined Laurel Canyon-style country rock with country/folk ballads that evoked the classic Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings style. Recorded at Ultimate Hair Farm Studio in Glendale, California, and produced by Dan Horne (Mapache, Cass McCombs, Beachwood Sparks, Circles Around the Sun), the template that worked so well is repeated on this ten-track record. 

The Welch/Rawlings symmetry is to the fore in Moonlight Silver Highway. At the tender heart of the album, it confronts the pain of consigning things to the past and turning over a new leaf. Escapism of an altogether different type, the title track embraces the opportunity to cast off the shackles and abandon the real world (‘I want the big, big, sky, a little contraband, let the time just slide out of my hands’). Pretty Peggy raises the tempo a few notches. It’s a playful account of a one-way romantic chase that’s always going to end in tears. A song of its time, Handstand pleads for relief from oppression and domination. Closing on a positive note, the adage that ‘love conquers all’ is expressed in the album’s final two tracks, Lighter Shade Of Blue and The One Who Loves You.

Dan Horne’s production and the playing are top-notch throughout, but the real winners are the harmony vocals by McNeil and Parsons; at present, few are doing this any better. If Minor Gold’s debut record was a snapshot of a band with potential, they have raised the bar by some distance with WAY TO THE SUN. A joy to behold from start to finish.

Declan Culliton

Sunny Sweeney Rhinestone Requiem Aunt Daddy

If country artists traditionally use the template of broken hearts that still bear the scars, Sunny Sweeney has routinely taken that blueprint one step further. Diamonds and Divorce Decrees, the well-chosen first single from Sweeney's latest album ('I'm stuck between I do and I’ll never do that again, between happy ever after and the cold hard bitter end') may be laced with clever wordplay and black humour. Still, it’s also a true reflection of her stormy relationships over the past two decades and her strength of character to overcome them. Sweeney’s last album from 2022, MARRIED ALONE, was written shortly after her second divorce and, by her own admission, RHINSTONE REQUIEM is the first of her six albums written when she does not have relationship problems.

That change in personal circumstances didn’t rule out Sweeney revisiting those troubled times, while dusting herself down and striding forward resolutely and unscathed. The aforementioned Diamonds and Divorce Decrees, as good a country song as Sweeney has ever written and recorded, is a case in point (‘Where’s the dotted line? Show me where to sign, Momma’s on the loose again’). She shares writing credits on that song with Buddy Owens and Galen Griffen; the trio also composed the equally full-on As Long As There’s A Honky Tonk.

Traveling On is one of three co-writes with her fellow Texan artist and close friend, Brennen Leigh. Taking things down a couple of notches, it tells of an unhealthy and controlling relationship. The other two are Waiting For A Reason To Stay, which is a ‘cheerio’ to a less-than-well-suited partner, and Houston Belongs To Me also focuses on a ‘break-up’ theme. Turning the heat up again, Erin Enderlin, another artist and close friend, gets a writing credit on the honky tonkers I Drink Well With Others and Is Tonight the Night (I Make You a Memory).

Sweeney has always had a knack for selecting cover songs and making them her own. On this album, she opens with a killer version of Douglas Van Arsdale & Michael Charles Clark’s Find It Where I Can, possibly even outdoing Waylon Jennings and James Garner’s 1983 effort. Another cover, Last Hard Bible, remains faithful to the original recording by Kasey Chambers.

Despite industry trends and no doubt industry pressure, Sunny Sweeney has continued to be country through and through since her debut album HEARTBREAKER’S HALL OF FAME in 2006. Injecting her customary groove and wicked humour in RHINSTONE REQUIEM, it reaffirms her as one of, if not the finest, country vocalists of her time. With pin-sharp production, fine playing and full of swing and twang, this is how honky tonk country should be done.

Suzy Thompson Suzy Sings Sibel Self Release

This is an inspired choice by roots artist Suzy Thompson in bringing the music of a sadly overlooked singer songwriter to our collective attention. Paul Sibel was active as a singer songwriter in the 1970s and he was much feted by his contemporaries at that time. His star shone brightly for only a brief time however as his inability to conquer paralysing stage fright stopped him from touring. He only released two albums of his songs, WOODSMOKE AND ORANGES (1970), and JACK KNIFE GYPSEY (1971). He retired from music in the 1980s and passed away in April 2022.

In 2004, a compilation album was issued with a total of 22 songs included, and it’s well worth adding to your collection if you gravitate towards insightful and “portrait” songsmiths. Suzy does a wonderful job of interpreting the songs chosen here and she is backed by a stellar group of musicians. The sound is very much rooted in country and blues traditions, with the folk sensibilities of Suzy’s background always nearby. Her prowess on fiddle and guitar are perfect companions for her crystal clear vocals and the very engaging manner in which she can perform these gentle songs of life and love.

Opening song is the poignant Bride 1945 and a story of young love turned into something akin to defeat into the adult years ‘She was so young then, he wasn’t much older, He loved her some then, he was a soldier, They planned a future, what’s a girl to dream about, A home in the suburbs, if they could learn to do without.’ The lap steel of Cindy Cashdollar is a highlight on this story song of failed dreams.

The traditional country sound of Nashville Again has superb interplay between dobro, mandolin and national guitar on a song of lost love and broken promise. Uncle Dudley is a tribute to an uncle who was larger than life and made a deep impression on a young child while still impressionable about the ways of the world. One of Paul Sibel’s most famous songs is Louise, famously covered by both Bonnie Raitt and Linda Ronstadt in turn; it’s the sad tale of a working girl who finally succumbs to her lifestyle ‘Men brought Louise ten cent trinkets, Their intentions were easily traced, And everybody knew at times she cried, Ah but women like Louise, well, they get by.’

The playing is a joy throughout with the ensemble sparking off each other, whether on the Old Time sound of The Ballad Of Honest Sam, or the murder/suicide tale on You Don’t Need A Gun. The light jazz feel of Any Day Woman has kazoo and fiddle in an interesting duet, with the upright bass of Mark Schatz providing a fine rhythmic bedrock. The final song is Long Afternoons with a light acoustic touch on a love song in recollection of sunny days spent ‘His secrets and stories, we shared in our room, I remember them well, and the long afternoons.’ This is an album that brings lots to recommend it and it will leave the listener wanting to explore further the craft of both Paul Sibel and Suzy Thompson.

Paul McGee

Chrissy Johnson Shake Where You’re Steady Self Release

Based in Chicago, Chrissy Johnson writes her songs from the heart and this is her second album since her debut Arms In July first appeared in 2016. Both of her albums have been produced by Steve Dawson at the Kernel Sound Emporium and his influence is very much highlighted across the impressive sound and the overall project. Dawson is a multi-instrumentalist and plays all the instruments here with the exception of Chrissy on acoustic guitar and vocals, Chris Greene on saxophone and horn arrangements, and John Moore Jr. playing trumpet on one track.

On the album cover, Chrissy is photographed on sand dunes, with the sea as a backdrop, and a lavender plant in her hands. The properties of lavender are quoted as beneficial for anxiety, depression, stress, and the sweet aroma is helpful in promoting increased relaxation and sleep. The songs of Chrissy are personal in theme and you can understand the decision to engage a beach scene in promoting the positive aspects of music as a healing force.

The first track is Greatest Abandon and a song about remaining open and being selfless in love. It is followed by a great rhythm and blues pulse on Anything, with the horn section adding real atmosphere and groove. The soulful Strange Fire is a highlight with the smooth saxophone of Chris Greene mixed high in the melody and the song is an acknowledgment to keep enduring through life’s challenges. On It Takes Imagination To Survive we are given a look into an aspect of desire in its purest form, attraction mixed with self-doubt in a heady cocktail.

Only Now speaks of a healing process ‘I see the error of my ways, I was not always afraid, I’ve done the best that I can,’ hoping to take the life lessons of the past and using them as an ally into the future. There is a fine sense of flow to the song In The Meantime with Steve Dawson excelling in the mix of bass lines, keyboards and incisive guitar parts, while Soldier Of Reverie is focused upon the positive aspects of a relationship that can work ‘Take my hand and lead me through your front door.’

The album title is included in the lyrics on Falling and the song celebrates that feeling of being in love for the first time when it’s all consuming. There is some really tasty acoustic guitar courtesy of Steve Dawson with his skilled feel. The final song Pretty Little Heart brings the album to a conclusion with a positive outlook for the joys of connection,

Paul McGee

The Border Band Magdalene Self Release

This is a re-release of an album which has been out of print for many years. Quite why this has taken place remains something of a mystery as there is little information regarding the decision to reissue. The original tracks have not been revisited in terms of modern studio enhancement techniques, leaving the impression that it’s a project that is frozen in time. Almost as if you wandered into an old music store and found the original CD hidden in the bargain basement, awaiting discovery and a rebirth of sorts.

The creative source behind the band is Melvin Litton and he describes the music as a brand of “rawhide rock ‘n country blues.” He wrote all the songs with the exception of one that was created by Rodger Holden. The band members, when the album was originally created, were Melvin Litton (vocals and rhythm guitar), Rodger Holden (lead electric and acoustic guitars), Dave Melody (drums and percussion), and Doc Nelson (electric bass, organ, and guitar fills). There were also two guest musicians, with Calvin Bennett (standup bass and backing vocals), and Cody Bennett (fiddle and violin).

The superb production across seventy-plus minutes of listening is a reminder that real quality never sounds old, and the fourteen songs were recorded and mixed in impressive style by Colin Mahoney. The excellence of the music is a testament to the musicians who played on the original sessions. This timeless quality could well be the reason why Litton has now decided to revisit the original record. The credits on the gatefold sleeve mention a new bass player in Andy Gribble, so it would appear that the band is still currently performing, despite the fact that they were originally retired by Litton back in 2016.

The Border Band released a total of five albums over the period of years 201 – 2015, and the solo career of Melvin Litton then took over as he continued to express his talents as “The Gothic Cowboy.”  These songs are full of character and personality, with great hooks and a dynamic rhythm running through the strong melodies. There is definitely a strong influence of The Band that features in the central thrust of the songs. That sense of space in the arrangements that allows all players to express themselves without constraint. Marvellous in the delivery, magnificent in the tight playing..

Melvin can sound a little like Willie Nelson in part and the lead guitar has echoes of Mark Knopfler throughout. The fiddle/violin is particularly effective also. Song titles such as Yellow Rose Hotel, Spanish Guns and Aztec Gold give a flavour of the content across the album with a strong Tex-Mex sway, coupled with Spanish influences from along the border towns of the US-Mexico divide. Songs refer to the plight of the Red Indian nation (Wounded Knee), also the slaughter of Buffalo herds (Prairie Ballad), with a collection of bandits, drifters, gamblers, and thieves that pepper these songs of character and colour.

El Nino is a fine rockabilly workout by the band and Joaquin Murrieta tells of a caballero horseman who rode the Badlands. Old time country love song Rocky Mountain Woman is a balm against the grim reality of life in mining towns as portrayed on Cold Ohio City. The Tejano rhythm and percussion speaks of gypsy ways on Slow Me Down and this relationship song is one of the highlights on this very enjoyable album.

The album cover, a painting by Melvin Litton, may cause some comment in the depiction of Mary Magdalene, not as a witness to Jesus’ crucifixion, burial and resurrection, or as a loyal disciple; but more shown in the guise of a love interest, or prostitute, in the naked image portrayal. Twenty-two years have elapsed since the original album recording, and new perspectives may court controversy.

Paul McGee

Cimarron 615 Self-Titled Blue Élan

This is the second album in just a few years from a four-piece band who have their roots very much in the country-rock sound of 70s California. The fame enjoyed by legendary band Poco dates back to that time and two former members of the band are now a dynamic duo in Cimarron 615, with Jack Sundrud on bass and vocals, joined by Rick Lonow on drums, percussion, vocals. The other two band members are Michael Webb on piano, Hammond organ, accordion, mandolin, vocals, and Ronnie Guilbeau on guitar and vocals.

These songs are very enjoyable and full of great dynamic in the execution, with the experienced players pulling out all of their party tricks across the twelve tracks included here. The harmony vocals are everything that you would expect from musicians who were part of such an iconic genre of music all those decades back, but we are also given a wider palette of colour with songs like Free In America featuring accordion and bringing a cool Tex-Mex vibe, and the funky groove of I Know Better very much channelling a sweet memory of early Little Feat.

There are straight-out rockers such as opener Time Keeps Slipping Away with its great guitar and keyboard sound; plus the deep guitar riff on Make It Right Or Make It Wrong. The harmonica sounds of Paco Shipp on The Truth sets a fine atmosphere, before the tempo picks up with the vocal delivery reminiscent of Don Henley in his pomp. The rhythm section of Lonow and Sundrud really drive the beat on this arrangement.

A standout is the track Night At the Rodeo and a song that reflects on a lost romance, with atmospheric pedal steel, courtesy of Mike Daley, duetting with the electric guitar of Guilbeau to great effect. The impressive production is very much highlighted on the song I’m Listening when everything comes together in an engaging and impressive band performance, with vocals and music dovetailing to great effect. Butte La Rose is another key track with a swampy Louisiana kick and the fiddle of Aubrey Richmond complimenting the accordion of Michael Webb, while the guitar of Guilbeau cuts through the melody. This album is a sweet gumbo of heady sounds and I really enjoyed the listening experience.

Paul McGee

New Album Review

Brent Cobb Ain’t Rocked In A While Ol’Buddy/ Thirty Tigers

Disciples of small-town Georgia singer-songwriter Brent Cobb would hardly have seen this coming. If his previous six albums have been peppered with songs that incorporated country, soul, gospel, and blues, he has gone full-on rock with this ten-track record, which revisits the classic rock bands that he listened to growing up. Recorded live to tape with his touring band The Fixin’s at The Black Palace in Springfield, Missouri, the record is best described as simply ‘piercing rock and roll.’ 

The album opens with a ninety-second prayer like  track titled Beyond Measure. It features only Cobb’s vocals and piano as he expresses his gratitude for his love-filled life. He signs off, joined by The Fixin’s, with a grungy reprise of the same song.

It may be that Cobb is following the direction taken by Neil Young when he and Crazy Horse cranked up the guitars and went all ‘hell for leather.’ The swampy Do It All The Time, the thumping Even If It’s Broke, and the title track (which recalls early Black Sabbath) all sound like Cobb and his band are having the time of their lives. It’s not all full throttle either, In Our Hands is a return to more familiar ground from his previous work. 

‘I feel like sometimes when people come to our shows, there might be a disconnect, people might view me as just a singer-songwriter,’ explains Cobb. This record may well be a one-off diversion for Cobb, potentially alienating some of his supporters. However, the bottom line is that it is loaded with memorable songs laced with cutthroat energy and a pointer towards an artist who has no intention of being pigeonholed into any one genre. 

Declan Culliton

Ashley Monroe Tennessee Lightning Mountainrose Sparrow

A member of the supergroup Pistol Annies alongside Miranda Lambert and Angaleena Presley, Ashley Monroe's latest solo album, TENNESSEE LIGHTNING, is her sixth solo recording since her debut album, SATISFIED, in 2009. Her career has found her crisscrossing genres from traditional country to countrypolitan and bluegrass to pop/country. 

Her superb 2013 album LIKE A ROSE,on the Warner Brothers label was, for this writer, a career high point. Her most ‘country’ record, it was produced by Vince Gill and highlighted Monroe’s credentials as a superb vocalist and songwriter.  Her subsequent record, the Grammy-nominated THE BLADE from 2015, followed a similar path; further releases, although consistently strong, have tended to move more towards the mainstream, possibly influenced by the industry.

Diagnosed with a rare form of blood cancer, Waldenström macroglobulinemia, in 2021, Monroe’s career was on hold while she underwent intense treatment and, thankfully, she is now in remission. Understandably, a celebratory and uplifting theme is at large throughout this album, which includes support and contributions from many of her friends and peers (‘When I finally went into remission, I could feel the life and the music start flowing in my veins again. It was like a flood, just this rush of inspiration.’) Those contributors include Marty Stuart, T Bone-Burnett, Shelby Lynne, Brittney Spencer, Karen Fairchild, Waylon Payne, Brenden Benson, and Amand Hutton.

Co-produced by Monroe with Grammy-winning producer/engineer Gena Johnson (John Prine, Jason Isbell), the seventeen-track record shifts from the other-worldly opener I’m Gonna Run to the hip-hoppy Bitter Swisher Sweet and from the swampy pop Recovery to the gentle Leonard Cohen written ballad, That’s No Way To Say Goodbye. Marty Stuart’s guitar lick opens The Touch, one of a number of heartfelt love songs, alongside Amen Love and the piano-led There You Are, which feature. Hot Rod Pipe Dream is an upbeat, power-pop track that instantly hits the spot, and the slow-burning, soulful Risen Road has a similar impact. Fittingly, the album bookends with the psalm Jesus Hold My Hand which includes supporting vocals by Amand Hutton.

Celebrating resilience and survival, Ashley Munroe pours her heart out from start to finish on this album. She is in fine voice throughout and, as you might expect, the messiahship is of the highest order. To satisfy diehards like myself, she may at some stage revert to a more ‘old school’ rather than ‘modern’ country sound. But in the meantime, it’s heartening to have her back to full health and recording terrific music once more.

Declan Culliton

The Last Revel Gone For Good Hassle House/Thirty Tigers

Minneapolis-based three-piece Indie folk/bluegrass band The Last Revel consists of banjoist/multi-instrumentalist Ryan Acker, guitarist Lee Henke, and fiddler Vinnie Donatelle, with all three members contributing vocals. Very much a democracy, each member also shares the songwriting credits.

Formed in 2011, they had clocked up over two hundred shows each year up to 2019, when they paused to draw breath and recalibrate. That interlude only lasted until they reformed in 2021, and ironically, they discovered that their profile had increased after Covid, with many new fans finding their music during lockdown.

Produced by the lead singer in Trampled By Turtles, Dave Simonett, THE LAST REVEL is the band’s sixth album. It essentially recounts the highs and lows of a touring artist over its ten tracks. Songs that explore the darker side of life include Solid Gone, which addresses the endless hours spent behind the wheel and its inherent risks, and Wait Up, written by Donatelle after the death of two close friends, that speaks of the challenges of grappling with and moving on from tragedy. The fickleness and unpredictability of our day-to-day existence are also addressed in Porcelain.  

More upbeat topics also emerge. Everlasting love and devotion are the messages behind Until Death and Simple Wheel. The simple but often underappreciated beauty of the nature that surrounds us was the inspiration behind Tall Grass.

A breezy affair, GONE FOR GOOD is a blueprint for what The Last Revel does best. Well-constructed songs that tackle real-life issues head-on, along with slick instrumental interplay and harmonies that complement each other, combine to create a thoroughly enjoyable listening experience. 

Declan Culliton

Cody Jinks In My Blood Late August

A genuine torch carrier for outlaw country, Cody Jinks' latest album, IN MY BLOOD, is his eleventh studio recording. All released independently, and more recently on his own label, Late August, the Texan can boast of five billion streams across various platforms, making him the most successful independent country artist by some margin. His studio output is prolific, despite his hectic touring schedule. His 2024 work yielded three albums, CHANGE THE GAME, BACKSIDE OF 30 and his tribute record CODY JINKS SINGS LEFTY FRIZZELL. Never one to let the grass grow under his feet, the latter was recorded during COVID when touring was not an option. He is currently headlining his “Hippies and Cowboys” tour, which is due to headline at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado, Asbury Park in New Jersey, The Met in Philadelphia, and Pier 17 in New York.

If CHANGE THE GAME was the last album recorded during his ‘drinking days, ’Jinks describes his latest project as ‘most certainly a celebration of survival.’ IN MY BLOOD was written from an altogether sober standpoint - labelled by Jinks as ‘written by the new me’- with much of the material reflecting on the past with brutal honesty. The title of the album is a simple statement of what drives Jinks on and rationalises the twenty-two hours often spent on a tour bus for the privilege of a two-hour show. The track of the same name is a co-write with Charlie Starr, the lead vocalist and guitarist of Blackberry Smoke, a close friend and fellow road warrior.  

The opening track and statement Better Than The Bottle (‘Some living's been done and we pulled back on the throttle. Still a vice or two, but they're better than the bottle’) reflects on newfound sobriety and sets the scene for the confessional songs that follow. The loss of control and pull that is the curse of addiction is the message in the driving anthem-like See That Man and the brutally honest Monster speaks of the ongoing fight to remain sober (‘I know he likes to show up when I think he’s finally gone, preying on my weakness like he did before’).  

Others calls out and applauds the loyal fan base Jinks has grown over the past decade and a half, and the continuing motivation their support has generated (‘And only god knows where I'll be, out here singin' for the others like me’). Other standout inclusions are the blissed-out Something Wicked That Way and the Pettyesque Lost Highway, before he signs off with the slow-burning and reflective hymn-like When Time Didn’t Fly.

A profoundly personal project, in keeping with his extensive back catalogue, IN MY BLOOD is a full-blooded and intoxicating affair that blends outlaw country with southern rock without ever descending into predictability.  The smooth chemistry between Jinks’ baritone, gravelly vocals, supported by grungy guitar riffs, keyboards, pedal steel and percussion, is a joy to behold on an album that equals, if not surpasses, his best work to date.

Declan Culliton

Rah Rah Rabbit Chasin’ Rabbit, Catchin’ Squirrels Blackbird

A long time part of the Californian cosmic country crew, Rah Rah Rabbit are led by singer/songwriter Laura Anne Lacey. The band here mix their country with some folk and broader Americana elements to create something that fits the overall feeling set by the name and album title, in that it mixes a certain sassy humour with some more serious issues. For instance, the song Liquor Store Chicken includes the self-explanatory lines “I got home at night to an empty house / everything was missing including my spouse”, before returning to the alluring finger lickin’ pleasure at hand by way of compensation. The album title comes from another song that is perhaps a little more philosophical: When You Get It is about seeking one thing but having to be satisfied with something else, even it is the “same dang thing.” It has a stop start beat with some swirling sonics of fiddle and guitar. 

Produced by Joe Napolitano, a noted exponent of the art and by Dave “Mustang” Lang and Jillinda Palmer, all of whom form a part of the assembled studio team, alongside a number of other local musicians such as Andy Creighton on guitar and Kevin Milner on pedal steel. Drummer Nolan Le Vine and harmonica player Sugar Mill Slim also make their presence felt, as do the contributors on banjo, mandolin and violin. It is a varied and entertaining set from the singalong jauntiness of Checkered & Blue with a strong vocal ensemble, to a more blues/rock mood in Windy Feet that has a more southern feel with slide guitar, Hammond B3, piano and a grooving rhythm section.

All of this highlights how the band can draw from a number of sources, while maintaining a coherence that is set by the production arrangements and by Lacy’s vocal delivery and songwriting which, as mentioned, fits between resignation and the more wayward chasing of rabbits and other possibilities. The nine songs here build that basis such as A Man I Once Knew which is more a considered look at a failed association. But a song like Mountains has a more uptempo craziness about it, with a strong guitar break and some driving fiddle included, as she looks at getting over someone. The layered vocal chorus of This Winter works in a different way, showing the versatility of the overall deliveries.

Another name to add to the variety of roots exponents working in California who are doing their music in their own way and with an overall individuality that helps it to stand out and doing it without taking themselves too seriously.

Stephen Rapid

Jesse Lovelock & The Velvet Voices Self -Titled Self Release

First and foremost this is something of an accomplishment in that it is a detailed and loving creation of a mainstream strand of country from decades ago. Not an entirely forgotten one however as there have been other forays of late into what became known as the Countrypoliton/Nashville sound, even if this is not entirely rooted in that particular sound but one that can also predate its pop crossover nature at times. Aside from those artists who were associated back in the day, I remember Mike Ireland’s albums from 1998 and 2002 that touched on the traditional themes of country music but added the sound of strings to balance the sense of pain with sweetness, something that a string quartet or orchestra could provide (depending on the recording budget). 

Here Lovelock has used the pedal steel and strong female vocal accompaniment to add a similar aura of melancholy throughout. As producer and an undoubted master in the studio, he has made sure that it simply sounds right. The principal players, aside from Lovelock, are Ashley Rose and Sandy Cruz on background (but very important) vocals, pedal steel maestro Reggie Duncan and fiddle/violin player Mark Lewis - a man with an extensive CV that includes playing with icons like Merle Haggard, Porter Wagoner, Bill Anderson, Dolly Parton and Jean Shepard among others, a list that certainly underscores his ability to understand the aims and purpose of this recording.

As a largely hard-core honky-tonk enthusiast myself, the very notion of this sound may seem like the antithesis of the sound that appeals to me. In some ways it is (and may seem so to others who may simply not want to take the time to listen), yet it contains the same sense of authenticity and ambition that so much of the music I like contains. The final recitation on life and death In The Afterlife, which closes the album, may however be a step too far for some. Yet it is again rendered in a way that means it could easily have been included on an album released decades ago. In the end it is not only about a careful, meticulous recreation, but also allows a contemporary look into a seemingly simpler time that may or may not have actually existed, but is coloured by a nostalgia that it might have.

Top that with a towering vocal performance from Lovelock that is nuanced and stylised, but full of passion and precision. The songs are all written by Lovelock and deal in the main with those aforementioned reflections on love, loss, heartbreak and the seeking of redemption. There are two covers - one is the opening song Misty Blue, a song written by Bob Montgomery and recorded many times, but perhaps it is the Eddie Arnold version that serves as the template here. The other cover is She Even Woke Me To Say Goodbye, which was recorded by Jerry Lee Lewis and written by Doug Gilmore and Mickey Newbury. Both show that Lovelock has been listening carefully to a lot of music from the appropriate sources.

Singing The Blues has soulful steel and guitar to underscore its sense of forfeiture. It is, of course, only one of many songs that deal in similar sensitivities, which perhaps means that many of the tracks have a similar sentiment overall and might be considered somewhat samey. However, after a lot of listening, it is that disposition that allows a deeper immersion in the resonance on offer. For example, Crazy Love shows Lovelock’s vocal ability at its best. The piano is also a fixture on many of the songs. You simply think that you are listening to a little known covers album from the late 50s, produced by the likes of Owen Bradley in Nashville.

Now, if that is something that would engage you then you need to seek this album out as it is not, at this point, available to be downloaded or streamed other than on Soundcloud. This will, likely, divide those who see no point in engaging in such a project and certainly, as with other more recent artists looking to convincingly recreate a particular sound and era, remain a format that will sit well outside the mainstream, even if that has been gaining a more pleasing country leaning of late.

But for those who ‘get it’, this is undoubtedly going to be one to savour and an ‘album of the year’ contender for this writer. It has done exactly what it set out to do, which was to make a great immersive album, period (for any period). 

[The single Misty Blue currently available to listen to on Spotify]

Stephen Rapid

Red Sky July Misty Morning Self Release

Red Sky July are a British alternative country band, consisting of husband and wife team Ally McErlaine (ex-Texas) and Shelly Poole (ex-Alisha's Attic). They were the original duo that formed this band back in 2009 and this is their fourth album, filled with creative song arrangements and tight harmonies and presenting a vibrant blend of Alt-Folk, Country and Americana sounds.

Completing the trio is impressive vocalist Haley Glennie-Smith, who replaced Charity Hair (The Alice Band and The Ailerons) back in 2015 and the last album release was The Truth and the Lie some years back in 2016. The British Country Music Association voted that release as UK Album of the Year, and, indeed, the band was also honoured as Group of the Year. So, why the gap in momentum of some nine years? Clearly their new sound had to evolve and I understand that a few attempts to complete a new album were scrapped both pre-and-post Covid years. All I can say is that the wait has certainly been worth it as the new album is both engaging and very impressive in all aspects.

Stones and Brambles is a gentle Folk song with sweet harmony vocals that sing about loyalty and having someone else’s welfare as the central focus ‘I will carry the whole of your weight over the stones and brambles.’ We should all be so lucky to find such a friend. Spectral vocals carry the song.

King Of Better Things follows and sings about leaving for better opportunities to share with someone beside you all the way; again a song of faith and a promise to stand beside your friends. Solace in friendship. Celebratory sounds drifting high on layered melodies.

I Found Angels is reflective and has a haunting vocal balance between both Shelly and Haley with ghostly guitar sounds in the background echoing a sense of disquiet. Ally takes the lead vocal on Utah, the highlight song here with Jo Hammill joining on co-vocal and singing about changes we experience in a father-daughter relationship ‘You’re not the same person that you left home as, You don’t need a flashlight to see that.’ As the dialogue continues ‘Sorry Daddy, I’m ready for a new start.’

Platform 5 has a lovely sense of English traditional Folk in the arrangement and gentle guitar supports the lead harmony vocals that dovetail around the understated melody. Haunting and subtle touches of magical moments on another key song. Two Magicians follows a similar theme and the simple melody is in support of the dual vocals of Shelly and Haley on a song that seems to be about challenging relationships that travel into the mystic and follow trysts gone wrong.

The title track is a feast of electronic effects on guitar and keyboard that wrap the dramatic vocals of the trio and deliver quite a compelling cadence in the performance. Stars Turn Cold continues in the same fashion ‘I look for silver linings but they are hard to find, After the sun burns out you’ll still be on my mind.’ Chances lost and roads not taken. Some sweet guitar on this track to heighten the sense of regret.

Pool Party is another floating sonic song that drifts by on memories; a rueful look back at relationships not meant to last beyond their summer fling. The final song is Cut Me Down and it again tackles relationship challenges, and brings this very enjoyable album to a fine conclusion. Highly recommended and definitely an album to hope that it doesn’t take quite so long for the next instalment. Until then, there is always the back-catalogue.

Paul McGee

Jesse Daniel Edwards Self-Titled Cavity Search

One man at his piano; do not disturb; these are songs of rueful insight and reflective observation. The thought process in stripping down songs to their bare essence gives so much appreciation into the vulnerability of the artist and the willingness to be laid open. The songs included here are of the heart and the healing process brought about by the catharsis of deep emotion. Lyrical and sweet longing wrapped in a prayer for redemption.

Cuyamaca is a region of eastern San Diego County, California and it was home to Jesse Edwards as he grew into his teenage years, before deciding to explore outside influences in travelling the USA and beyond. While in Nashville, he was mentored by Al Bunetta, then manager of John Prine, who encouraged the musical talents of Edwards. Now, with four previous albums to his name, Jesse delivers a real gem, and a certainty to feature in my best-of lists as the year unfolds. Recorded live on 2-track tape by Scott McEwen, and produced by Denny Swofford, at Memphis Magnetic Recording Co., this new, self-titled release marks a new chapter in Edwards' evolving artistic journey, offering an intimate, raw portrayal of his musical and emotional world. .

Previous albums include WE, THE PRODUCT(2022), and the song So Passes the Light From Your Eye is included here. AMERICAN DREAMING appeared in 2023, and Coat You Left Behind is featured, plus three tracks from VIOLENSIA, also a 2023 release, I’m So Happy (I Think That I may Cry), Nobody’s Got Me, and Everything Makes You Sick forming part of the ten song opus. CLAP TRAP VENUS was the last album, released in 2024, and the excellent Wrong About God is taken from this record. The remaining four songs are universally superb and point to the prolific talents of Jesse Edwards.

All ten songs are piano-only versions of songs written by Edwards and the opening I’m So Happy (I Think I Might Cry) is a wry look at how we mask our real emotions under the surface. This House Comes With A Ghost is structured so expertly and captures memories in, and of, a home place ‘Broken hearted love affairs, and bittersweet farewells.’ The song Everything Makes You Sick is about learning the lessons of past experiences ‘A stolen kiss that dies, unreturned.’ The visual imagery in the lyrics throughout the album is so keenly honed.

Remember How To Love is an attempt to rekindle love’s bright flame from times gone by in a relationship ‘If I could remember how to love you, maybe you’d remember how to smile.’ So poignant and precise. Wrong About God is a painful look back at a challenging time ‘I was a Chaplin in the army, But I got tired of lying to dead men.’ The loss of a close friend also shattered his belief in a higher presence and this song is a realisation to look within for the divine.

Secret Of Love is a love song to a special person, and the admiration held for her open arms and open heart ‘She’s a glass of wine in a paper cup.’ The other side of love is the subject of Nobody’s Got Me and the loneliness of being an outlier in society with those inner voices telling that you’re not good enough. There is more emotional turbulence on Omaha and a plea to remember the good times that can lie buried under the baggage of relationship woes.

Left Your Coat Behind is a highlight among many great songs and it examines the passage of time, misconnections, communication breakdown and other feelings that sting  ‘The clock on the wall is screaming at the clock in the hall, and I know I’m running out of time.’ The final track So Passes the Light From the Eye tackles change, in life, in our perspectives, the impermanence of everything and in our visions of death. All so elegantly captured and delivered with a knowing wisdom. Last year Jesse created a digital project titled Demos and it was a collection of eighteen songs played on either guitar or piano in a stripped down acoustic atmosphere, highlighting the superb craft of this singer songwriter. A number of EPs have also been released, along with the current trend for regular digital singles; the latest project is titled Requiem Mass, a five-track EP that has just launched. I urge you to check out the music of this talented artist. You will not be disappointed.

Paul McGee

Lukas Nelson American Romance Sony

Pedigree counts for a lot and it goes a long way when deciding how to represent the talent inherited from others and the rewards of a life well lived. When you grow up under the influence of music legends like Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings then the baton passes down through both the genes and the experiences gained in living their unique qualities up close and personal.

Two sons come together to collaborate on this debut solo album. Two talents in their own right who have been proving their worth in different ways over the past decades. One is the producer Shooter Jennings, son of Waylon, and respected artist and songwriter. The other is Lukas Nelson, son of Willie, an accomplished musician who founded POTR the live touring band over a number of years to Neil Young, as well as releasing a string of excellent studio albums in their own name.

The opening song here is Ain’t Done and it carries an important message in that our lives are always unfolding, never predictable and always subject to change.  Following track Pretty Much is a testament to the love felt by Lukas for his wife and her youthful, spontaneous ways. A true partnership of travellers in time.  Another song Make You Happy reflects upon enduring love, it could be love for a parent, a sibling, or a true friend - whatever the source, it’s a celebration of being there for one another.

The traditional country arrangement of Outsmarted is a look back at mistakes made as a youthful renegade. Standout song Disappearing Light addresses the question of mortality and the passing of time, it’s a duet with Stephen Wilson Jr. and it is superbly delivered.

Born Runnin’ Outta Time is the perfect companion in looking at how time goes by and the fast pace of the song is reflected in the dash towards some kind of reconciliation. It’s such a clever song with all the signs of the writing skills of the father – the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree after all.

All God Did is a wonderful take-down of our attempts to make sense of this temporary ride on the wheel of life. Despite all efforts to choose a path to supposed enlightenment, all we can do is wonder at the mystery of it all. The true meaning is in the daily kindness that we show to each other and the simple ways in which we express our empathy.

Montana is a lovely slice of pure country and perhaps a memory of that other Rocky Mountain High  tribute to nature and all the gifts it brings. Sierra Ferrell pops up on Friend In the End and her vocal joins with Lukas in a celebration of being in the moment and soaking in that atmosphere that true friendship brings. The Lie engages in the way that we live our lives under the reign of popular opinion the weight of social media, and the race to win some seemingly irreplaceable prize.

The album title American Romance is a song to grapple with as it suggests a scenario of a wild romance, juxtaposed against an affair where there are no winners ‘We sit in the car alone, Now’s the time for stealing home, Feel a little joy before, The many sides advance.’ The final track is an acoustic reflection of love and You Were It suggests that relationships are never quite equal and that Lukas carries a perspective gained from experience ‘ You were sly, You were fast, Built to last, And you lasted ‘til the end.’ Life lessons, love lessons, perspective for the journey. As Lukas embarks upon a solo career, this is a very encouraging start and an album that has much to reflect upon. Both satisfying and substantive.

Paul McGee