Madison Galloway Moon & Mercury Purple Bee
From the small town of Fergus, Ontario, the impressive roots rock debut album from the talented Madison Galloway has recently been released to an unsuspecting world. This young Canadian woman is going places in the music world, if talent means anything (and that’s a debate for another day!).
It’s hard to believe that at 19 years old she wrote, coproduced and performed all the material on this record. Indeed by that age (the album was recorded in 2019) she was already somewhat of a road warrior, having spent many days gigging solo, as a duo and with her whole band throughout Ontario, including playing some substantial festivals.
On the twelve originals and one cover she amply demonstrates her powerful and versatile vocal skills, her mature songwriting, her accomplished guitar and harmonica playing and, above all, her passion and enthusiasm. There’s lots of electric guitar and rock drumming, with a strong blues flavour running through, but she mixes it up with the addition of traditional Indian instruments like sitar, tanpura and tabla, to particularly good effect on the instrumental Coffee Stains. Citing Led Zeppelin as an early influence, it’s easy to hear the influence of Plant and Page seeping through.
However, this artist is already showing she can forge her own sound. She wears her heart on her sleeve too - songs like Bye Bye demonstrate her worry for ongoing effect of environmental damage on insects and birds, while Season of Treason is a plea for peace. Co-produced by Ron Hawkins in Escarpment Sound studios in Ontario, and funded by crowdfunding, Madison also did the artwork and design of the album. Worth checking out.
Review by Eilís Boland
David Latto Show Me How To Feel Self Release
This 5-track EP highlights a welcome return for this Scottish singer, songwriter and producer. Latto had stepped away from the music industry to take a break, gain some perspective and store away the implied pressure brought about by writing block. Here, we are treated to his honeyed vocals and songs that reflect his journey in living over the last few years.
The title track is about communicating with no walls, just showing real emotions and not shutting down. Blood & Whisky is about coming home to reconnect with an old friend, shortening the distances and feeling that bond of friendship. Better Way is concerned with relationship woes and trying to find happier times. Haunt Me looks at old emotions, remembering a past feeling and wanting to have it back again. So, these songs clearly come from a very personal space and are authentic in their delivery as a result.
The EP was produced by Iain Hutchison at GloWorm Recording Studios in Glasgow and Latto is joined by John Mather on electric guitars and pedal steel, Lewis Gordon on bass, Phil Wilkinson on drums and augmented by producer Iain Hutchison on keyboards. A special mention also for Mally Smith who contributes superbly on backing vocals, a talented songwriter from Boston who now lives in Edinburgh and adds lots of sweet textures behind Latto’s acoustic guitar and lead vocal.
Everything comes together on the final track, Losing You, a song about waking up to the realisation that a relationship is slipping away. The band really shine on an arrangement that builds nicely to a strong climax, great guitar sounds and a driving rhythm. Welcome back!
Review by Paul McGee
My Darling Clementine Country Darkness Vol.2 Fretsore
The second instalment - and hopefully not the last - of Michael Weston King and Lou Dalgleish’s appraisal of the Elvis Costello songbook, follows the splendid first chapter which was released in 2019. As in the case of its predecessor, they have delved deeply into his extensive back catalogue to discover songs that may not always have been the obvious candidates for a country makeover.
They initially pinpointed twenty-five songs for consideration. Their objective was to select songs that best suited their trademark conversational type delivery as a duo. Working once more with Elvis Costello’s long time keyboard player Steve Nieve, they reduced their selections to the twelve songs that best suited revamping. Four songs were then selected to make up this mini album. Nieve then recorded his keyboards solo input remotely, as the foundations for the songs, which were fleshed out by the duo under the guidance of Mercury nominated producer Colin Elliot. Having co-produced and played on all Richard Hawley’s albums, Elliot was well suited to craft the rich sound that populates My Darling Clementine’s own albums. Elliot also contributes guitar, alongside Shez Sheridan and Dean Beresford on bass and drums.
This album’s title is drawn from Costello’s 2004 album THE DELIVERY MAN - hopefully the title song will feature in a future volume. That album is Costello’s most rhinestone stimulated album of original material. Either Side Of The Same Town, taken from that album, is given a more full-bodied treatment than the original version and sounds all the better for it. It’s particularly suited to the My Darling Clementine model and a tear jerker with shared vocals, harmonies and heavenly piano combining beautifully.
The prolific songwriter and Godfather of Americana Jim Lauderdale, was a feature in the acoustic string band that recorded SECRET, PROFANE & SUGARCANE with Costello in Nashville back in 2009. I Lost You was co-written by Lauderdale and Costello and is taken from NATIONAL RANSOM, which was recorded in Nashville the following year. It is tailor made as a male/female duet and reads as a typical self written song from Weston King and Dalgleish, both in lyrical content and delivery.
Different Finger appeared on Costello’s 1981 release TRUST. It seemed somewhat out of place, sandwiched between a collection of songs that were composed on a diet of cider, gin, various powders, hangovers and near exhaustion. Though it received mixed reviews at the time, it also includes some of Costello’s strongest song writing, flitting between power pop, soul and roots. Different Finger is classic 'tears in your beer’ honky tonk. However, it is short of two minutes long and came across as a teaser on the album, as if he’d knocked it together in the pub between recording breaks. It’s fleshed out here and given an extra minute and a half. While remaining true to the original, the inclusion of accordion and Spanish guitar reinvigorates a song that otherwise may have remained unfinished and throwaway.
Still Too Soon To Know was one of the more placid inclusions on Costello’s 1994 BRUTAL YOUTH, an album that found the writer at his most cranky, bitter and with quite a lot to get off his chest. It also offered some killer songs and none less than this composition, which is slowed down by Dalgleish and King, giving it an altogether more atmospheric identity.
The striking aspects of COUNTRY DARKNESS VOL.1 & 2 are twofold: They provide the listener the opportunity to enjoy some beautifully arranged songs and a richly textured sound, delivered by two voices that combine flawlessly; the albums also invite the Elvis Costello admirers to re-evaluate some of his material, when played back to back with these two thoroughly satisfying mini albums. Hopefully Vol.3 is already under starters orders and the icing on the cake would be concert dates by My Darling Clementine with Steve Nieve accompanying them on piano in the future.
Review by Declan Culliton
Mark Olson & Ingunn Ringvold Magdalen Accepts The Invitation Fiesta Red
The third collaboration between Mark Olson and his Armenian wife Ingunn Ringvold is a continuation of their idiosyncratic musical journey that began with GOODBYE LIZELLE in 2015 and SPOKESWOMAN OF THE BRIGHT SUN two years later. Interestingly but hardly surprisingly, this time around the album is credited to both, given Ringvold’s increasing input into the three albums.
Olson may be best known for his pioneering work with The Jayhawks, who for many were their first introduction to Alt-Country or what eventually morphed into Americana. Their first three albums, with Olson sharing song writing duties with Gary Louris, were ground breaking, before they moved slightly more mainstream after Olson had departed the band.
In many ways his projects have been more interesting since then. His albums with The Original Harmony Creekdippers, alongside his then wife Victoria Williams, were home-made, charming and childlike, the other end of the scale from his work with The Jayhawks. Two solo albums followed. THE SALVATION BLUES (2007) was a catalogue of striking tales of a person in limbo, depressed and unsure of what the future promised.
This latest album finds Olson and Ringvold in spirited form. It’s not unlike their two previous albums, following a similar pattern of personal songs and reflections on the couple’s relationship and their travels, both physical and intellectual. The mixing and mastering were handled by John Schreiner at Thermometer Shelter Studios near Death Valley National Park in California. The originals had been recorded by the duo on a Nagra field recorder.
Themes visited on the tracks include re-birth and continuity on the soothing Black Locust and imaginativeness on the breezy and poppy April In Your Cloud Garden. Excelsior Park recalls an amusement park on Lake Minnetonka, which was strictly out of bounds for Olson during his childhood. Silent Mary, possibly the album’s stand out track, was conceived when Olson was researching some old horror movie classical soundtracks. Elmira’s Fountain got its title from a meeting place in Vanadzor, Armenia, a meeting point for the couple with their host named Elmira, prior to days sight seeing and swimming in the cold waters of Lake Sevon.
Olson and Ringvold continue to write and record from the heart, without any external pressures or markets in mind. Impossible to categorise, the instrumentation adopted by Ringvold includes mellotron, chamberlin, tambourine and Qanun whereas Olson sticks to acoustic and electric guitars and occasionally dulcimer. Their somewhat eccentric sound, landing somewhere between pop and psychedelic folk, would have been at home in the mid 1960’s when experimentation was at large and prior to record companies channelling bands down a particular road and discouraging anything left of centre. In the meantime, the couple have their core followers, who will be well pleased and captivated with this delightful update on their trials and travels.
Review by Declan Culliton
Zach Aaron Fill Dirt Wanted Self Release
The cover of Texan Zach Aaron's third studio recording is a cartoon sketch of an open grave with his name etched on the headstone. A makeshift sign is embedded in the grave reading FILL DIRT WANTED, the title of his third album. Signs with that caption are popular in Aaron’s hometown of Cleveland, given its lowland profile and they gave him the bones for the song that also ended up as the title of the album.
That song tells the tale of a lost soul, drifting and locked in self-imposed limbo (‘running from a memory of a man I once was’). It’s one of twelve tracks on an album that intrigues and amuses in equal measures.
The album is a catalogue of tales firmly rooted in the classic and vintage Texan song writing style - a musical travel memoir of Aaron’s observations on relationships, homelessness, life and death. Like many of his peers, there are nods in the direction of the departed Guy Clark and Townes Van Zant. The song writing styles of Sam Baker and Hayes Caryll also surface on some of the songs.
Dayton Train was written tongue in cheek about a railway junction that delayed car drivers travelling to and from work. Complete with false start and neat guitar picking, it races along at pace and is a clever exercise in wordplay. Composed after the passing of a close friend from cancer, Shelter of The Storm is sweet and melancholic. The song is a co-write with another gifted singer songwriter Kayla Ray, whose 2018 recording YESTERDAY & ME was one of the most loved albums of that year at Lonesome Highway.
Southeast Texas Trinity River Bottom Blues is delivered semi spoken and typifies Aaron’s ability to both charm and stimulate at the same time. The slow rolling groove of the country ballad Hold The Line also impresses, all the better for the understated backing vocals courtesy of Lauren January.
A new artist to me, Aaron’s latest album stopped me in my tracks on first play and has been on constant play since then. I expect it will make a similar impression on any other Texan singer songwriter enthusiasts.
Review by Declan Culliton
Eleven Hundred Springs Here ‘Tis State Fair
An institution in the Dallas country music scene, Eleven Hundred Springs have been keeping folks on the dancefloor for two decades now. Their personnel may have changed since day one, but their unyielding devotion to traditional Texan country music has remained steadfast. The band was founded by singer and guitarist Matt Hillyer and bass player Steven Berg in 1998, both having been members of rockabilly band Lone Star Trio. The music of classic country artists Merle Haggard, Hank Williams and George Jones were their primary influences. The duo remain at the helm of the band and those influences are still resolute. The twenty years plus on the road and in the studio has produced thirteen albums prior to this release.
HERE ’TIS follows the release of THE FINER THINGS IN LIFE two years ago and follows a similar template of well-constructed and well-delivered country songs.
All Jokes Aside has nods in the direction of their fellow Texan Rodney Crowell, both in the melody and vocal delivery. It’s an upbeat effort with fiddle and pedal steel breaks in true Texan country style. Let’s Move Out To The Country offers twangy rhythm guitar alongside the fiddle and pedal steel, more Buck Owens than Hank.
The Song You’ll Never Hear could qualify as a classic George Jones cover of yesteryear or possibly a Jim Lauderdale classic of more recent times. Let Me Be Your Man is toe tapping Western Swing, ageless and frenetic, tailor made for the Saturday night dancehall. Loneliness, break up and heartbreak have been done to death by country songwriters over the years, sometimes to spectacular effect, other times less impressively. Eleven Hundred Spring’s tear jerker is the opening track This Morning It Was Too Late and it qualifies as one of the more memorable offerings and also the most sombre track on the album.
Eleven Hundred Springs have established themselves as the premier country band in Dallas over the past two decades. The greatest compliment I can pay them and this album, is that every song on the album sounds like it’s a cover version of a song rooted in your distant memory whose author you can’t seem to quite recall. I can only imagine how impressive this six piece band would be on stage. File beside Mike and The Moonpies as Texan dancehall music at its best.
Review by Declan Culliton
Paul J Bolger Self-Titled Wolfe Island
Film maker, animator and author Paul J Bolger resurrected his musical career two years ago with the release of the four track EP aptly titled THE START OF IT. This recording followed a break of over twenty years since his debut album THE MOSS HOUSE. That album also included a video for each song, directed by Bolger.
An invitation to support American singer songwriter David Corley on the Waterford date of his Irish tour was a pivotal factor in the emergence of this recording. Corley’s producer Hugh Christopher Brown was part of his touring band and Bolger’s encounter with him developed into a casual friendship. Brown is the leading light at Wolfe Island Records in Ontario and his encouragement was the stimulus that Bolger required to consider developing material he had already written, or partly written and to record a full album.
A trip to Canada to consult on a film offered Bolger the opportunity to visit Wolfe Island and its quaint recording studio. The structure is a renovated cedar shake cabin which previously functioned as Post Office and has been the recording home of the vibrant musical community on Wolfe Island and visitors who are drawn to the island to record at the studio. A number of members of that musical community appear on the album including Hadley Mc Call Thackston, Sarah McDermott and Kate Fenner on backing vocals. Stephen Stanley also adds backing vocals on the opening track Swim and Joey Wright plays electric guitar on a number of selections. Hugh Christopher Brown produced the album and plays keyboards on all tracks. Lisburn resident and ace drummer Michael Mormecha also features.
Bolger’s music always brings to mind the signature sound that the ‘back to basics’ pub rock scene offered in the mid 1970’s, both in Ireland and the U.K. It blended roots with soul and blues, was entertaining rather than spectacular and fitted the live setting perfectly. It was a short lived era however, a kick to touch from punk rock killed it off, the only trace left behind being a number of the same musicians who traded their shoulder length mops and flares for brutal haircuts and drainpipe trousers, rescued from their grandfather’s wardrobes.
The previously referenced Swim fits that bill perfectly, echoing the early driving sound of Graham Parker. How Many More Tears is equally retro, it’s a soulful affair fleshed out by harmony backing vocals from McCall Thackston and McDermott. I Believe is a stripped back bluesy album closer. Wedding Gown is dark and emotional, with weeping pedal steel by Burke Carroll adding to the ghostly ambience.
Review by Declan Culliton
Joey Allcorn State Of Heartbreak Blue Yodel
The traditional country stalwart returns with a 6 track extended play that’s released on digital and very limited edition CD. It is as good as anything he has previously released on his three full length albums and the standout track is his own Lefty Was Right but nothing here is less that convincing.
Alongside his own songs he includes a cover of the Kris Kristofferson and Shel Silverstein penned Faron Young covered Your Time’s Coming. The other outside song his interpretation of Where Did You Sleep Last Night? also know as In The Pines, a song that has traditional origins but is often attributed to Lead Belly. It was also recorded by Nirvana on MTV Unplugged and is here given a more contemporary arrangement with some raucous guitar that is slightly at odds with the other tracks. However it still fits with the overall mood of the release and hints at a broader canvas to work with in the future.
Allcorn’s vocals, as one would expect, have echoes of ol’ Hank but that’s his vocal style and it perfectly suits these recordings. He has again gathered some notable players around him for the sessions. Stuart Duncan on fiddle, Eddy Dunlap on steel guitar, UK born guitarist Sol Philcox-LittleField (a player who has added his skill to Miranda Lambert) but here shows his understanding of the genre’s roots in the main. The rhythm section of Dave Roe and Shawn McWilliams are solid and dependable - all are players who understand where this music has come from and where it can, equally, go to.
There are those who won’t get the retro sounding honky-tonk infused direction that has been taken here but that is to deny a musical genre heritage that needs to survive against the unappealing cross over pop and (un)hip-hop that pervades the mainstream content on country radio. You won’t hear these songs played there but you should seek them out for a listen. Allcorn is his own man and is producing the music he feels most comfortable with and this release just makes you want to hear his next instalment, but for now I have been playing State Of Heartbreak on repeat - because it is worthy of that.
Review by Stephen Rapid
Cory Grinder and the Playboy Scouts Good Boy Self Release
Previously know as the Cory Grinder Band who released an album titled Cahoots & Other Favourites back in 2018 and have now put out, what seems to be something of an industry standard these days, in this extended play release. It is a five track collection of original songs that are true to the band’s moto of doing duty “for two-step dancers and honky-tonkers everywhere.” This they do with an energy and a fitting melodic sensibility that endorses the collective skills of the band fronted by the mellifluous vocal of Grinder. Stephen ‘Tebbs’ Karney adds pedal steel and harmony vocals, Jason Willis is on upright bass and Brian Roberts completes the line-up on drums. They also add fiddle and lead guitar on occasion. Based in Akron and Cleveland, Ohio they have built up a solid local base as well as playing in major cities like Austin, New Orleans, Nashville and Chicago. I’m sure they would also love to be able to reach out to an audience beyond that too.
On the strength of this they sure deserve to. The key tracks here are I Wouldn’t Count On It and the title song. Both are vibrant slices of modern honky-tonk with fiddle and steel and show off the band’s instrumental and melodic skills with strong guest fiddle and lead guitar contributions behind Grinder’s likeable voice and Karney’s streamlined pedal steel. The song has a solid vocal chorus that is memorable. Good Boy is something of a metaphorical ode to a favoured dog as well as to the places that were associated with the hound that no longer exist and a differing attitude.
The remaining three songs are Sweet Eyes, Until The Next One and (Honky Tonkin’) All I Ever Do all fit the lost, strayed and found love stories that are the essence of honky-tonk songs. Cory Grinder and the Playboy Scouts have been building a solid reputation as a live band performing at times with Dale Watson and Kenny Vaughan. One can easily see how these legendary musicians view the potential in the band. They are promising a new full album later in the year and on the evidence here that would be a welcome release.
Review by Stephen Rapid