StevieRay Latham Surburbia N.O.I.S.
Five tracks on this E.P. from an artist who has been slowly building a support base in England and beyond. He released his debut, MODERN ATTITUDES, in 2014 and followed this with the impressive WINTER IN LONDON in 2016. More recently he has been travelling across the four continents and exploring a greater sonic palette by experimenting with synth sounds and field recordings.
A stand out track is News and the refrain “Is This Living, Is This Living Now…?” Questioning the need to stay stuck in a routine job in order to support the financial commitments of surviving life in a city. Stay Young is an acoustic arrangement with soft vocal layering and a plea to keep a sense of spirit alive, instead of getting weighed down by the daily commitments and stresses that can become larger than life.
Eastern Fountain is an instrumental track which sets a reflective mood among the various sounds that merge together – traffic and a waterfall blend with wind chimes and layers of synths. Suburbs is a look at our lives in expanding urban populations and is wrapped in a superb guitar melody line that echoes throughout. Sweetest Thing has a restrained rhythm and dreamy vocal that reminds me of long days spent in Summer sun. Some hints of Bombay Bicycle Club and Peter Bruntnell but this artist has retained a unique sound, all his own; always interesting and not afraid to move in this latest direction.
Review by Paul McGee
Wildwood Kin Self-Titled Sony Music
This represents the second release from this trio of family members who grew up in Devon and released their first EP in 2015. Since then they were signed to Sony Music on the strength of their live performance and the release of their debut album, TURNING TIDES (2017), saw them gaining widespread critical and media acclaim.
Subsequent singles followed, plus a second EP of cover songs, before this new release found its way into the light. The sound is very full, with plenty of positive affirmations across the ten songs that speak of empowerment in living, spirituality, dealing with love and loss, all delivered with soaring, uplifting harmonies and melodies. Most of the tracks are co-writes, which is a departure for the group as they previously wrote their material solely as a trio. Ed Harcourt lends his talents to Never Alone and Gabrielle Aplin worked on Wake Up Sleeper with the band.
The message of love and support on All On Me is also repeated on Never Alone, a very personal song that was written in honour of a sibling who suffered from depression and sadly ended in taking his own life. Out of such crippling sadness comes a hope that others will never feel on their own and will reach out for help.
Wake Up Sleeper and Breathe are songs that urge taking stock, starting over and staying open to change, but it is the superb Beauty In Your Brokenness and its message of believing in yourself that leaves the greatest impression of healing and looking forward. A call to empowerment is the theme of Time Has Come and wanting change is the message in Headed For The Water and How I Feel.
The production by Ian Grimble (Travis, Manic Street Preachers, Texas, Daughter, Seth Lukeman) is very bright with plenty of space, a sound that the band wanted to highlight. The three-part vocal harmonies are a real strong point and the big drum sound of cousin Meghann Loney is matched by the talents of the Key sisters, Emillie (acoustic, electric guitars) and Bethany (bouzouki, synthesiser, piano, shaker, pump organ). It’s all delivered in a rousing style that stirs up a range of different sounds and given the gap in the market for a female trio delivering strong contemporary music, a clear path of continued growth lies ahead for these ladies of high energy and a positive, healing message in the music.
Review by Paul McGee
The Equatorial Group Falling Sands Self Release
Delicate soundscapes delivered with restrained panache by the Equatorial Group, an ensemble of five musicians who come from Eastbourne in Essex and make magical music on their second self-release. Featuring Helen Weeks (vocals, acoustic guitar and pedal steel), Dave Davies (guitar and vocals), Andy Tourle (bass and vocals), Mike Tourle (drums) and Teresa Fox (keyboards and vocals), The Equatorial Group paint a gentle landscape of subtle harmonies and beautifully crafted tunes that linger long in the memory.
In 2018 they released APRICITY, their debut, and the songs here are every bit as good. It all washes by in such reverie that you tend to forget that this is a relatively unknown band from a seaside town who have captured a special sound – the perfect example being the sweetly seductive Rancho with warm keyboards, subtle pedal steel and jangling guitar wrapped around a lovely melody.
The restrained vocal delivery of Helen Weeks has a reflective tone and her ability on pedal steel helps to wrap these songs in a seminal moment of time standing still. This is a fully realised sound all their own, sophisticated and loosely perfect. Freight Train sums all this up so beautifully with a slow melody and the plaintive vocal of Helen adding just enough solace to offer hope, “I’ve seen a lot of world, mistook a lot of love, Wound back the clock on some fights I’ve won.”
Big Mouth is a song that deals with a broken relationship and the moral cowardice of not committing fully. Only One has a similar theme of not continuing in a relationship where one side is selfish and uncaring. There is a great flow to Catch Your Ride with guitar and keyboards sounding in perfect unison. Cups is a typical example of the wistful atmosphere that hangs over these sad songs of love and regret; a song about separation.
The song-writing is shared between Helen and Dave with the ten tracks coming in just shy of the 40-minute mark. Dave Davies really adds great nuance to the arrangements with his incisive playing and the band really are tight in their performance. Relationships again surface on Don’t Let This Lie where the simple communication desired between two people is blurred beyond any real sense of recognition. The longest track is Prague and it sets a conundrum of “What came first, the leaving or the losing, I think this could be the great unravelling.” Again, terrific guitar breaks that lift the dynamic.
Last song, Oh Smile, seems something of a wry observation on life where the broken relationships are summed up in the lines “Oh smile where do you hide, Only see you now in sadness, But where you were there’s lines.”
All songs by Davies and/or Weeks, arranged by The Equatorial Group.
An essential purchase.
Review by Paul McGee
Terry Allen and the Panhandle Mystery Band Just Like Moby Dick Paradise Of Bachelors
Legendary Texas artist Terry Allen makes a welcome return on this, his tenth release in a career that first saw him emerge in the mid-1970’s. He has always been comfortable with different artistic endeavours over his celebrated career and at various times has explored writing for theatre and creating exhibitions of his work in both sculpture and painting. He has also placed many of his visual media creations in galleries and museums and his creative muse has always been fuelled by a curiosity to explore and take chances.
This is his first release since 2013 and what is clear from the outset is the continuing eclectic range of subjects that populate his songs and inhabit his writing. Pirate Jenny is a well-known song from The Threepenny Opera by Kurt Weill, with lyrics by Bertolt Brecht. On this album, Allen imagines her deeds on the open seas and her visits to harbour towns to take revenge on the landlubbers. Her root cause for having such dark actions and urges is surmised as being sexual frustrations and an envy of pretty girls.
There is also an Anti-War trilogy titled American Childhood which tackles the reality of youth enlisting for some blinkered cause they think is noble. In Bad Kiss, the young boy questions his girlfriend’s motives in joining up for war as being fuelled by his poor kissing technique while Civil Defence has all the signs of indoctrination of schoolkids and joining the weekend army, an organized non-military effort to prepare Americans for military attack. Little Puppet Thing has the metaphor of Pinocchio dancing for the master, just as young soldiers do the bidding of the Generals who never fight in the front lines.
We also have a circus coming to town but being attacked by vampires (City of the Vampires) and a tale of the great Houdini’s obsession with his Mother (Houdini Didn’t Like the Spiritualists); after her death he was still lying down next to his mother’s grave and speaking into the earth a year later.
More pertinent to the times in which we live are the songs Abandonitis and Death of the Last Stripper; both looking at the pain of isolation in modern society and how we are fragile souls as unknowing victims of circumstance, bad luck and accidents of birth.
Allen enlists his family with his wife, Jo Harvey Allen co-writing two songs and penning one original herself. Allen has two sons playing on the record, Bukka on accordion, piano and keyboard, while Bale plays djembe on one song. Grandson Kru Allen also has a co-write and gets to sing on the song, City of the Vampires with Shannon McNally. She provides lead vocals on Harmony Two, written by Jo Harvey Allen and also sings on a number of the tracks, either harmony or backing vocals.
The playing is superb throughout with a light touch from Lloyd Maines (acoustic slide guitar, dobro), Charlie Sexton (acoustic and electric guitars), Brian Standefer (cello), Davis McLarty (drums), Richard Bowden (fiddle, mandolin, vocals) and Glen Fukunaga (stand up and bowed bass). Production is deftly handled and delivered by Terry Allen and Charlie Sexton.
Quirky, wry and whimsical, the songs of Terry Allen are never simply layered, but on two of the songs here we get an insight into his current thinking, concerning this issue of mortality and just how long we are given on this earth. Both All That’s Left Is Fare-Thee-Well and the closer, Sailin’ On Through, give insight into the mind-set that looks for meaning in it all, especially as nothing is meant to last…” Half the World is screwed, Other half’s insane”.
This is a record of both darkness and light, frivolity and seriousness but just don’t take any of it too literally or you might just end up like the subject in All These Blues Go Walkin’ By, “Reflections seem to live or die, Just can’t find the reason why”. Well worth your time.
Review by Paul McGee
Meena & The Chris Fillmore Band Elevations CRS
The possessor of a bluesy and soulful voice that recalls both Bonnie Raitt and Samantha Fish, Austrian born Meena Cryle was hooked on American blues and soul music from an early age. A compilation audio tape of 70’s music, given to her by her brother before she entered her teens, was the light switch that energised her and resulted in her forming her first band while still only in her mid-teens. More recent times have found her teaming up with Austria’s guitar virtuoso Chris Fillmore and this ten-track album sounds like it has been in cold storage since 1972.
The seven original songs and three covers feature a blend of country soul, blues and gospel, all impressively delivered by Cryle’s rugged vocal and by outstanding playing. I Got You has a Stonesy vibe - a feature that repeats elsewhere on the album. Way Down is less pacey but equally soulful, more Dusty than Janis. Sweet Loving Mama is a rocking bluesy delight, complete with ripping piano and guitar breaks either side of Cryle’s quivering vocals. Lord Have Mercy is raw blues from the John Lee Hooker songbook and the album closes with a cover of the Bob Dylan/Danny O’Keefe song Well, Well, Well. A song written about the human abuse of the earth back in the mid 80’s, the topic is every bit as much if not more topical at the present time. At over seven minutes long, it gives Fillmore space to include some killer guitar breaks alongside impressive moog synthesizer and of course, the throaty, rasping vocals effortlessly delivered by Cryle.
A potent fusion of blues and soul by two fiercely passionate artists. I can only imagine how splendid their live shows must be.
Review by Declan Culliton
Jason Barie Pieces Billy Blue
A recent visitor to Irish shores as a member of Joe Mullins Radio Ramblers, bluegrass fiddle player Jason Barie has released his first solo record, and a rather splendid one it is. Rather than a predictable collection of the usual bluegrass fiddle standards, Jason treats us to a bunch of his own compositions, and injects new life into some well known songs along with the help of some of the stars of the genre. The fact that he can get Del McCoury and the now retired Paul Williams into the studio to record a duet for the first time is a hint as to how well regarded Jason is in the fraternity. Their version of Hank’s I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry really might make you cry. He also calls in friends from his days with Doyle Lawson:- Darrin Vincent (vocals) and Jason Davis (banjo) on Beyond The Sunset For Me, while Doyle himself contributes mandolin to two instrumentals. However, it’s the seven original instrumentals that really cement this as a masterpiece recording. The Rapido Kid is an uptempo fiddle and banjo duet that he and Joe Mullins also perform in the band’s live set, while the sassy swinging Sassafras features Kristin Scott Benson (banjo), husband Wayne Benson (mandolin) and Josh Swift (Doyle Lawson) on dobro. Becky Buller and Corrina Rose Logston join Jason on the absolutely joyous triple fiddle tune Sarah Jo. Space prevents me from detailing every track and every guest - you will have the pleasure of discovering them for yourself!
The album is loosely based on the story of the family heirloom fiddle that Jason inherited, and the superheroes that helped him along his musical journey, a concept that is amusingly illustrated for the album by his brother, Eric.
Review by Eilís Boland
Catherine MacLellan Coyote Self Release
The seventh album from MacLellan is a mature exploration of the ups and downs that are a part of every journey in life. She does this with a clear voice that is filled with a mixture of hope, sadness and experience. It is a captivating mix of folk influences from home and abroad that enhance the songs’ deeper context. She produced the album in her home studio with a select crew of local musicians who add cello, fiddle, bouzouki, bodhran and accordion to the guitars, bass and drums which underpin the music in subtle but effective ways that bring variety and purpose to the recordings.
MacLellan recorded this album after a period if time paying tribute to her father Gene MacLellan, a noted Canadian songwriter who may be best know for his Anne Murray song and international hit Snowbird. She released an album titled If It’s Alright With You as well as a stage show of the same name. Now she has returned with an album that moves her story along in a way that opens up these subjects to a wide audience who will understand the nature of the messages inherent in the songs. Equally if you just listen without getting too involved lyrically you hear some music that feels good at that level.
To accompany a number of these tracks MacLellan has produced some videos to accompany two tracks - Roll With The Wind and Out Of Time are both online. Both are largely about person and place with the focus on MacLellan herself, something that is at the core of these songs. The former was, she wrote, about visiting men who disturbed her quiet life but how she would still welcome them back. The latter was about change and realising the need for that when one gets stuck in some kind of rut that is not beneficial to growth and that the realisation of how time is precious.
There are fourteen sings featured with a running time of over 50 minuets but it is time well spent in MacLellan’s company if you are inclined towards her take on her the music, her location (Prince Edward Island) and her underlying vision. Her voice throughout is resonate and radiates her personality making it something to be savoured.
Review by Stephen Rapid
The Good Graces Prose and Consciousness Self Release
The album opens with a heavy drum beat, harmonica and some ambient sound that features a sample of seagulls blended with wind sounds. This is the introduction to the latest release from The Good Graces, which is essentially a vehicle for Kim Ware, the writer and vocalist for the band. They are essentially a quartet with Jonny Daly on guitar and pedal steel, Lee Kennedy on bass, Pete McDade on drums and Nancy Kaye Hill on backing vocals. There are a number of additional guest players who add harmonica, keyboards, fiddle, banjo, guitar and cello to various tracks. The sound is essentially a rocking blend cutting edge Americana. It was recorded in Atlanta with producer Aaron Hill bringing some additional focus to the project and allowing Ware to concentrate on her material. All but one of the songs, Snow Angels, are penned by Ware who is front and centre throughout.
This, their fourth album, finds Ware writing about relationships in the main. Sit On Your Hands is offered as a means to avoid wandering hands among other means to remain strong. While even getting to a place to meet with a partner is thwarted by the elements for Snow Angels. Her relationship with her father is the subject of His Name Was The Colour I Loved. A uptempo and rigorous remembrance of a much loved person. Spider Lilly highlights Ware’s voice traits in a stripped back acoustic and steel guitar ballad. There is a confessional nature to some of the lyrics but they are often delivered with a touch of insight and humour. Overall the music drives along in a way that keeps things aesthetically alluring and varied.
The album covers some musical options which add to the basic guitars, bass and drums sound to offer a more diverse range - such as the use of synth and pedal steel on Story To Tell as well as the, again ambient electronic washes on the closing Blood Orange Moon Shot. PROSE AND CONSCIOUSNESS has the right approach to taking The Good Graces sound forward into a contemporary space that has the possibility of a broader appeal in a wider consciousness. Ware is a singer and writer to watch as she develops her music for the future.
Review by Stephen Rapid