Justin Moses Fall Like Rain Mountain Fever
Time for “Mr Sierra Hull” to step out from the shadows of his equally talented wife, with the release of his first solo album. Justin Moses is still not a household name within bluegrass/country /americana circles, but he will be very soon if this album gets the justification it deserves.
A virtuoso player on banjo, mandolin, guitar, dobro and fiddle, here he shows that he can also write great tunes and songs and sing strikingly. He even produced this album - one that is already in my top ten for 2021!
He’s joined here by some of the top players in the business, including Bryan Sutton (guitar), Jerry Douglas (dobro), Barry Bales (bass), Stuart Duncan (fiddle) as well as, of course Sierra on mandolin. He wrote the four instrumentals, all of which are strong, catchy uptempo tunes, probably destined for incorporation into the cannon of bluegrass standards. On the frantic Taxland, his and Sierra’s mandolins weave in and out of each other like butterflies on acid, Bryan Sutton manages to get a few words in on guitar and guest Michael Cleveland completes it by jumping in on his runaway soaring fiddle. Wise And Born takes the tempo down a little and is a tribute to Justin’s beloved Weissenborn lap steel guitar.
Peter Cooper and Thomm Jutz contribute as co-writers with Justin on two of the songs here, one of which, Walking to Lebanon, is a haunting anti-war plea.The effervescent elder statesman of bluegrass, Del McCoury, takes lead vocals on the Dennis Linde penned My Baby’s Gone and injects it with his trademark tongue-in-cheek sensibility, underpinned by Justin on banjo and Jason Carter’s fiddle interjections. Guest Dan Tyminski sings lead on another Thomm Jutz tune (this time written with Charley Stefl), the wonderfully dramatic Between The Lightning And The Thunder. A highlight among highlights is the title track, the cover of the Eric Clapton song is given a whole new life by Justin’s vocals and the uptempo instrumentation.
I must also mention the attractive graphic design by Wendi Blair - something that many of the other bluegrass labels could do with emulating. Did I mention that I love this record?
Review by Eilís Boland
Spencer Burton Coyote Still
From the opening song Things I Can’t Do it is easy to be captivated by Burton’s music. There is a pleasing mix of steel guitar and keyboards, a strong hook, compelling lead and backing vocals, on a paean to being unable to do things without a partner’s input. This is followed by another heartfelt look at love in Memories We Won’t Soon Forget, which again features prominent steel and lead guitar. Throughout the album, the band musically deliver a sense of positivity that encompasses what directions these songs take him. It is closely aligned to Americana overall but brings in within that umbrella, a wealth of other influences which all give the album a warmth and clarity. The use of fiddle, guitar and steel help to align the music with some of the more interesting contemporaneous elements of country music’s past and future. The song Nothing’s Changed even features legendary steel player Lloyd Green.
Titles like Further, with its consideration of a perhaps different sense of spirit is reflected in the lines “the people all pray to go there, Lord I pray for rain just to wash it all away, go back to a better day”. These are the kind of thoughtful themes that Burton writes throughout the album. Other impressive songs are Memory Lane and Horseback, which uses a dobro and chorus vocals well to set its scene, while adding a sense of history - as he does at times throughout, Lonesome Dove, Hard Times and Human Touch.
Lyrically Burton has stated that he takes things as they come in life by “rolling with the punches.” The music is in itself filled with a sense of place, people and a nature based spirituality. He has readjusted his lifestyle after becoming a father, to further go with the flow and create his music around a desire to find growth and the need to evolve as a person and family man. Something that is perhaps universal and allows the interpretation of these songs to be very much up to the listener.
Burton is another fine example of the way the Canadian music scene continues to produce interesting and rewarding releases. Burton was previously a member of Attack In Black, a punk orientated band that also featured Daniel Romano. He was raised in Ontario and travelled the country playing music. He has released his first solo albums under the name of Grey Kingdom and has since a further five albums under his own name.
I can’t vouch for these earlier albums having not heard them, but COYOTE is recommended and given the overall quality exhibited would be worthy of investigation. Meantime get to know Burton through his free-spirited nature that his coyote offers.
Review By Stephen Rapid.
Catherine Britt Home Truths Beverley Hillbilly
There is a solidly country feel to this new album from Australian award-winning singer/songwriter Catherine Britt. She opens the album with a sound that has a foot in the past but is striding forward into the future. The opening track sums up that ethos with I Am A Country Song - “it’s like they wrote those songs about my life … I am a country song”. On this outing Britt has either written or co-written all the material and sings it with a gusto and conviction that comes from believing in her material.
That theme is also echoed in Country Fan where Britt acknowledges the lasting support that country fans must give to an artist that they have faith in. This is a duet with another traditional Australian country stalwart Lee Kernaghan. Fav’rit Song addresses the music genre’s power again. Elsewhere she sings of the reality of her and others lives and loves in Home Truths, while in Gonna Be Mumma she relates that “Sorry world, I’m gonna be a mumma today.” That is soon emphasised again with the next selection Mother. Here the tables are reversed and she makes an apology for the way she sometimes behaved with her own mother, giving a perspective of womanhood from two different viewpoints. More closely focused is Me wherein Britt realises the sometimes perilous nature of seeking fame and fortune and instead wants to be true to herself.
The production was handled by Britt and Michel Muchow and the assembled band supports these songs bringing their A game to the music and features fiddle, pedal steel and keyboards. Muchow plays guitar, mandolin and banjo along with Duncan Toombs. There are also contributions from a bedrock rhythm section with on target keyboard and backing vocals to round out the sound.
Topping this is Britt’s vital vocal delivery, which moves from reflective to robust as the song requires. Along with Kernaghan there is a contribution from our old friend Jim Lauderdale. His very distinctive harmony vocal features on Hard To Love to great effect. The final trio of tracks includes a standout vocal and performance on the catchy Original Sin. New Dawn and Long Way Around close out an album that is the equal of many of the stronger female artists working Stateside. I imagine fans of Sunny Sweeney would also enjoy this album. That’s a home truth.
Review By Stephen Rapid.
Gordon Barry All The Live Long Year Self Release
Some sixteen minutes and four songs. A signpost on the road that points to a longer journey to be enjoyed and other days to be spent in good company.
The opener, Old Fashioned Morphine, (Jolie Holland), is a slow tempo step into the swampy Blues of Wexford, via Louisiana, which name checks author William S. Burroughs and is a Faustian tale of earthly pleasures. My Name Is Never has a languid pedal steel melody running through the song with a subdued piano and guitar strum spinning out a tale of the restless drifter, always leaving town and never for settling down.
Next along the path is Ghost Of a River and a plucked banjo sound that echoes the lonely atmosphere of the song, all early morning spectres in the mist on the fields and a singular look at isolation. Final song, Roll With the Punches, is an autobiographical look at going out on your own and learning from the hard lessons of life. Again, the slow tempo and atmospheric melody of pedal steel mixed with strummed guitar, subtle keyboards and a gentle cello, mirrors the quiet talent that this artist possesses.
The arrangements were embellished at various locations by local Irish musicians, including Christian Best (Drums), Conor Brady (Guitar) & Cian Boylan (Piano, Keyboards). Gordon released his debut album, The Best Way To Kill a Monster, back in 2017 and was also a graduate with distinction at the Steve Earle school of song- writing in New York that same year.
This is another great example of the rich talent that exists within the Irish music extended family and brings a tantalising taste of what has yet to come. More please!
Review by Paul McGee
Broke Fuse & Friends Why Should I Be Blue? Self Release
These eight songs are written by Jay Moonah, also known as Broke Fuse, a one-man blues/roots band from Toronto. He has many years’ experience in the music industry, playing in different bands and forming a duo with guitarist Mike McKenna (McKenna Moonah Blues Duo). They later formed the rockabilly band, Mike McKenna's Rockin' Redcoats.
Many of the musicians collaborated remotely on this album, with all songs written by Moonah, apart from the instrumental co-write, The Runner Duck.
The sound is quite superb, despite the recording challenges, with Moonah’s home acting as the nerve centre for remote contributions from ten musician friends. Moonah handles vocals, harmonica, bass, rhythm guitar, programming, banjolele, piano, steel string uke and percussion across the tracks - so this is very much a self-produced affair from all aspects.
There are strings on Night Before which mingle with bass and vocal and the sweet melody of cello and violin sits against the plucked rhythm of the banjolele with interesting effect. The duet with Sandra Bouza on You Know It’s True is a slice of fun with the back and forth in the lyrics over a cheating partner, while the dynamic between harmonica and lead guitar (Alex Matthew) on Blow the Blues Away is an exciting interchange.
Whisky Bottles is a Blues masterclass with Mike McKenna excelling on slide guitar while the tension in the rhythm is slowly played out with harmonica, percussion and a hoarse vocal setting the scene. The acoustic title track finishes the album and sums up the mood with a jaunty arrangement built around ukulele, harmonica and guitar. An interesting mix of Roots based blues and folk tunes that are energising and engaging.
Review by Paul McGee
Nikki O’Neill World Is Waiting Blackbird
This is a 7-track Ep that runs for some 25 minutes and delivers a bluesy rock sound. The album kicks off with That’s How You Lose Her, highlighting the soulful vocals of O’Neill and the Hammond organ swell of Jon Gold, along with Joshua Pessar on lead guitar. The following track, A Man For All Seasons, is a slower affair that displays some fine ensemble playing, highlighted by the slide guitar of Joshua Pessar.
A Place At the Table has an easy groove and a wish for an eternal life, filled with family and friends, the bass playing of Rob Fresco providing the melody line for the rest of the band. Doug Organ plays Wurlitzer, piano and Hammond organ on the tracks and is joined by Rich Lackowski on drums and percussion, anchoring the songs in an understated playing style that is both solid and effective. The title track has O’Neill taking lead guitar duties and turning in a nicely paced solo. She also plays acoustic and rhythm guitar in addition to vocal duties.
All I Wanna Be Is Yours and You’re the Only One Who Gets Me have a more commercial, radio-friendly sound, not a million miles away from a Sheryl Crow styled workout. Final track, Take Back What I Said, has an acoustic arrangement that again showcases the expressive vocals of O’Neill as she asks for forgiveness and a chance to win her man back again. As far as debut albums go, this is an enjoyable drive through the landscape with the windows down and some good music on the stereo.
Review by Paul McGee
Various Artists The Next Waltz (Volume 3) The Next Waltz
The Next Waltz initiative was started by Texan singer songwriter and producer Bruce Robison, to allow him to collaborate with various fellow Texan artists at The Bunker, his analog studio in Lockhart. The success of the project was borne out by the previous Volume 2 peaking at No.1 on the Americana Radio charts in 2020. That recording featured emerging Lone Star State artists such as Carson McHone, James Steinle and John Baumann alongside more established acts like Carrie Rodriguez and Robison’s wife, Kelly Willis.
The formula is similar this time around with Dan Dyer, Flatland Cavalry and Texas supergroup The Panhandlers included, together with the time-honoured Jack Ingram, well established David Ramirez and Charley Crockett, who is growing in stature with each subsequent album he releases. Crockett’s contribution is a cracking remake of the Billy Swan smash hit I Can Help. As was the case on the previous volumes, Robison and his wife Kelly Willis feature, on this occasion they harmonise divinely on Tennessee Blues. The swamp soulsters Shinyribs raise the roof with the funky Bitch Better Have My Money, which morphs mid song into The Doobie Brothers Without Love Where Would You Be Now. A touch of folky jazz comes courtesy of Robert Ellis with I Must Be In A Good Place and Jack Ingram dreams of bars, cold beer and muscle cars on Times Like These.
The Panhandlers (William Clark Green, Josh Abbott, John Baumann, and Cleto Cordero) offer an upbeat Texan country gem titled This Flatland Life and Cody Canada contributes the thoughtful ballad Wonder If The World Can. Five piece Flatland Cavalry’s War With My Mind is classic Texas country and David Ramirez struts his stuff with the gently shuffling One Man Guy. Last, but certainly not least, is Dan Dyer, whose Maiden’s Prayer is a timeless throwback to the classic Texan country singers of yesteryear.
In a similar vein to the previous Vol. 1 & 2, this album gives due recognition to the unlimited talent that Texas continues to offer to lovers of Americana and country music. It’s also most likely to encourage the listener to explore the back catalogues of this stellar collective of artists.
Review by Declan Culliton
Son Of The Velvet Rat Solitary Company Fluff & Gravy
By now a significant part of the Joshua Tree music community, folk noir act Son Of The Velvet Rat are husband and wife team Georg Altziebler and Heike Binder. Leaving behind their hometown of Graz in Austria, the couple emigrated to America, finally setting up home in Joshua Tree in California’s Mojave Desert in 2013.
They can boast ten previous albums prior to the release of SOLITARY COMPANY and have also released two compilation albums, MONKEY YEARS (2010) and MONKEY YEARS 2 (2020). This latest album was recorded locally at Red Barn studio, the home of co-producer Gar Robertson, with whom they had previously worked on their 2017 recording DORADO.
Unsurprisingly, much of the material is stimulated by the desert landscapes that surrounds them. Altziebler’s vocals (described by Lucinda Williams as ‘great sexy-gravelly voice’) vary from semi spoken on the both Alicia and When The Lights Go Down, to falsetto on the epic title track. The latter is strikingly evocative and embellished by layered vocals and soaring strings. The melodic The Only Child echoes Donovan’s Hurdy Gurdy Man. Beautiful Disarray is chunky no nonsense rock and roll. The delicate love song 11 & 9 reflects on devotion versus materialism, as a couple consider gambling all their money on a roulette table.
There has always been a cinematic aspect to the music of SOTVR and never more so than on SOLITARY COMPANY. With lyrical content that enhance the mystery behind the songs, this striking album will particularly appeal to fans of Howe Gelb and Bonnie Prince Billy.
Review by Declan Culliton
Fruit Bats The Pet Parade Merge
Front man of indie folk band Fruit Bats, Eric D. Johnson’s diary is seldom empty. Over the past decade he has enjoyed collaborations with The Shins, Vetiver and more recently as a member, alongside Anais Mitchell and Josh Kaufman, of Grammy nominated supergroup Bonnie Light Horseman.
His involvement with Fruit Bats dates back to their foundation in 1997 and has resulted in eight previous albums, albeit with numerous personnel changes. Their ninth recording THE PET PARADE takes its title from an annual event witnessed by Johnson while growing up in La Grange, Illinois, whereby residents dressed up and showed off their various pets. It’s also the name of the album’s opening track which kicks in at a lengthy six and three-quarter minutes and is a fine introduction to the ten tracks that follow.
The album was produced by Josh Kaufman (The Hold Steady, The National, Bob Weir) who, together with all the contributing musicians, recorded their respective pieces in their homes at various locations across America. Those players include drummers Joe Rosso and Matt Barrick (Fleet Foxes), pianist Thomas Bartlett (Sufjan Stevens), fiddler Jim Becker (Iron & Wire, Califone), together with Johnson and Kaukman. Despite the recording obstacles due to Covid -19, the album offers a free and easy style that flows throughout.
Stand out tracks are the urgent Holy Rose, which is a commentary on the 2017 Tubbs Fire in Sonoma County, California and the poignant and addictively tuneful On The Avalon Stairs. Johnson leans sonically more towards power pop on The Balcony and presents a beautifully paced love ballad on Here For Now, For You.
Fruit Bats have consistently gifted the listener with instantly arresting music for over two decades and THE PET PARADE is a welcome addition to their catalogue.
Review by Declan Culliton