Michelle Rivers Chasing Somewhere Self Release
It’s more customary for budding singer songwriters and artists to abandon their rural homelands and head to Nashville to follow their dreams rather than the route chosen by Michelle Rivers. Growing up in Leipers Fork, Tennessee, music surrounded her as a child, mainly because her singer songwriter and multi-instrumentalist father, David Piland, had a home studio that was regularly frequented by Nashville songwriters. Michelle studied music at Belmont University in Nashville but was somewhat overawed by the competitive edge in the industry there and transferred to Baylor University in Waco Texas. Having completed college and seeking a slower-paced lifestyle, Rivers relocated to a small town in northwest Montana. Inspired by the surrounding countryside and the calmer way of life, she recorded her debut album BREATHING ON EMBERS in 2016.
There’s a lot on offer, both in quantity and quality, on her latest album CHASING SOMEWHERE. Kicking in at three minutes short of an hour and with fifteen tracks, it suggests an artist very happy in her own skin. The album also leaves an impression of an artist that served her musical apprenticeship in the company of some stellar writers and players.
The modern bluegrass album opener Going West is awash with fiddle, banjo and mandolin, all placed effectively behind River’s vocals. The standout tracks are Last Cowboy, with its nod in the direction of Nanci Griffith, and the border ballad Gone, which features Al Perkins on aching pedal steel. Buy Myself A Job is an honest reflection on the indeterminate life of so many artists (‘This kind of life, you gotta love it or leave it. If you’ve got a gift from above, you better use it’). Set In My Ways was locked in my memory bank after two spins. Beautifully melodic, it mirrors Mary Chapin Carpenter at her best.
As well as Rivers’ honeyed country voice and clever writing, there’s so much else to savour on this album. She’s backed by a bunch of killer players including Grammy winner Barry Bales on upright bass, CMA musician of the year Jenee Fleenor on fiddle and the previously noted Al Perkins on pedal steel, all of whom inject life into a bunch of highly listenable songs.
A new artist to me, Michelle Rivers is one that I’ll be keeping a watchful eye out for going forward.
Review by Declan Culliton
Kelsey Waldon No Regular Dog Oh Boy
Born and raised in the small town of Monkey’s Eyebrow, Kentucky, country singer songwriter Kelsey Waldon currently resides in East Nashville, where she is very much central to that burgeoning community of like-minded and hugely gifted female artists. A pointer towards Waldon’s mastery was evident in 2019 when she was signed to the late John Prine’s Oh Boy Records label, the first signing to the label in eighteen years. NO REGULAR DOG is her second recording for the label, following on from the release of WHITE NOISE/WHITE LINES in 2019.
Possessing a vocal that is as country and natural as it gets, Waldon’s writing has traditionally been from the heart, detailing personal struggle and adversity, rather than formulaic Music Row conveyor belt ditties. Her albums have been like diary entries, giving consideration to what she was dealing with at that given time, both mentally and financially, and in essence, surviving in an industry and city that takes no prisoners. I’VE GOT A WAY, released on her independent label Monkey’s Eyebrows in 2016, reflected on many of those obstacles. Tracks like Dirty Old Town, False King and the Gosdin Brothers’ There Must Be Someone, spoke of isolation, shady industry types, and the constant stereotyping that female artists have to endure.
Fast forward six years and NO REGULAR DOG finds her in an altogether more chilled and untroubled frame of mind. She’s even written a love song - a first if I’m not mistaken - titled Simple As Love, a further pointer to her present well-being. She calls to mind the passing of her close friend John Prine on Season’s Ending, the first song she wrote following his death, and the fiddle-driven waltz You Can’t Ever Tell earned its title from an often-used expression by her father. The semi-autobiographical and hugely melodic Sweet Little Girl tells of the struggles of seeking out the proper life choices and she reiterates her present mind space on the perky Peace Alone. Truthfully, there isn’t a weak track or moment across the eleven tracks that feature on the album and, in a year that continues to gift us with excellent albums, it’s up there with the best that I’ve heard this year.
Recorded at Dave’s Room Studio in Los Angeles, Waldon called on Shooter Jennings to oversee the production duties. In a similar vein to his work on Jaime Wyatt’s NEON CROSS (2020) and Brandi Carlisle’s IN THESE SILENT DAYS, he affects an exquisite balance between Waldon’s delightful drawl and the supporting musicians. Those players included her regular touring band members Brett Resnick (pedal steel), Alec Newman (bass) and Nate Felty (drums). Jennings played piano, organ and synths, and Doug Pettibone and Aubrey Richmond guested on guitar and fiddle.
Waldon, very much to her credit, has steadfastly remained unapologetically country, unlike other artists that switch genres, either by way of experimentation or external pressures. Using her art as a mechanism to make sense of her personal predicaments and the modern world, lyrically she treads a similar path to her idol and fellow Kentuckian, Loretta Lynn. As the music market seems to be slowly but surely opening its doors once more to real country music, Waldon is up there at the head of the queue.
‘A prisoner of my mental cages, my own worst enemy…… Nothin’ worth doing don’t come without a price, better hold on tight, it’s gonna be a long ride,’ Waldon muses on the title track. She’s most certainly riding tall in the saddle on NO REGULAR DOG, confirming her status as a pedigree country artist and joining her fellow Kentuckian’s Sturgill Simpson and Tyler Childers, as one of the most vital artists to emerge from that southeastern State in decades.
Review by Declan Culliton
The Sadies Colder Streams Yep Roc
With sixteen releases since their debut album PRECIOUS MOMENTS in 1998, Canadian band The Sadies have created a sound very much of their own. Landing somewhere between country twang, surf pop, and 60s garage and psychedelia, their reputation as one of the consistently exciting live acts in roots music is universal.
COLDER STREAMS is the final recording with founding member Dallas Good, who passed away tragically at the age of forty-eight, from heart failure in February of this year. Dallas was vocalist and guitarist with the band alongside his multi-instrumentalist brother Travis, who adds vocals together with fiddle, banjo, mandolin, and guitars. The other band members are Sean Dean on bass and drummer Mike Belitsky.
Always willing to collaborate and invite others on board, their albums and live shows have found them working alongside a host of like-minded artists, from Blue Rodeo to John Doe, and Neko Case to Kelly Hogan. For the recording of COLDER STREAMS, they invited Richard Reed Parry of Arcade Fire fame, Jon Spencer (Jon Spencer Blues Explosion), and Michael Dubue (Socalled, Mika Posen, The Acorn) along to the party while also recruiting the Good parents, Margaret and Bruce, on backing vocals and autoharp respectively. The production duties were handled by Reed Parry and he flawlessly recreates the band’s trademark live sound in the studio.
They’re in particularly fine form on Message To Belial and More Alone, complete with trademark harmonies and twangy guitars. The former recalls The Byrds, the latter a slice of 60s psychedelic power pop. By contrast, they slip down the gears on the more mellow All The Good and You Should Be Worried, before turning the heat full on again with the hook-filled Better Yet and Ginger Moon. They sign off with the ‘spaghetti western meets acid trip’ instrumental End Credits. It’s a fitting finale to an album loaded with killer tracks that match, if not surpass, their best work.
Prior to his passing Dallas Good, somewhat tongue in cheek, proclaimed ‘COLDER STREAMS is by, far, the best record that has ever been made by anyone, ever.’ It’s such a tragedy that Dallas isn’t around to savour and tour the album.
COLDER STREAMS is a musical journey that you really need to hop on to. Simply exquisite.
Review by Declan Culliton
Greensky Bluegrass Stress Dreams Big Blue Zoo
If you’re new to Idaho’s Greensky Bluegrass, think of them as a rock ‘n’ roll band, using bluegrass instruments in a non-traditional way. Together for over 20 years, touring relentlessly throughout the US, the abrupt onset of the pandemic allowed them ample relaxation time to individually prepare their eighth studio album, until they got the chance to meet up in person in the studio. The result is a double album of thirteen original songs, each averaging over 5 minutes long, as befits a jam band whose stock-in-trade is taking their material on the road and improvising. No strangers to darkness in their material, this album finds them, like everyone of us, searching for meaning in the current upheaval, and they ultimately find consolation through resilience.
Paul Hoffman (mandolin) expresses his frustration at being forced to stay off the road in his song Until I Sing, with the refrain ‘And I feel worthless, without a purpose, until I can sing for you’. Equally in Screams, he ‘needs your screams in my ears, something real I can feel’, expressing the frustrations of lockdown and the absence of their relentless touring schedule. Worry For You is closer to bluegrass in its sound and expresses Hoffman’s socially driven concerns for the violent protests in his country.
Because there are no drums, Mike Devol on bass keeps the rhythm faithful, along with mandolin chops from Hoffman. Devol, who up until now had never written any songs, to the bands’ surprise brought four impressive songs to the project. His eight minute epic, the title track Stress Dreams, emerged from bad dreams he was having at the time, partly due to touring stress but also because he was a new father, and the sleep disruption that can cause. From interesting mandolin chord progressions and harmonising dobro, the music ebbs and flows dramatically, backed up with some fine piano playing from regular collaborator Holly Bowling.
Anders Beck, whose dobro and reso-guitar playing takes the place of a rock band’s lead guitar solos, contributes Monument, where he explores the shock of the pandemic (‘you can build a castle but it crumbles to a cave’) but ultimately he reckons we’ll be okay (‘and look at all we’ve learned, from lessons never wanted’). Guitarist Dave Bruzza brings the interesting, languid Streetlight, where he mourns the dissolution of his marriage, ‘love ain’t a diamond you find in the rough, love is just love, barely enough’. And he gets to play the only drums on the record!
The album finishes with two upbeat and hopeful tracks: Hoffman’s Grow Together is a love song to his wife, renewing their love after the recent birth of their daughter; and Mike Devol’s Reasons To Stay is also a touching love song. The heavy duty vinyl double album has a gatefold sleeve and ample photos, information and a lyric sheet, just like in the old days. Recommended.
Review by Eilís Boland
Julie Jurgens Appointed Tasks Butterbean
This album was created during the constraints of Covid lockdown which limited any real opportunity for musicians to meet and gather in a live setting. Instead, Jurgens retreated to her basement studio in Chicago and worked on the twelve tracks that make up this release. She grew up in rural Illinois and her challenging childhood experiences have found their way into the fabric of these songs. The confessional nature of her song-writing is a worthy attempt to put to rest a lot of the lingering ghosts of those times and her songs touch upon issues such as loss, trauma, neglect, and abuse. However, there is also love, perseverance and the strength of will to survive and rise above all the challenges faced.
Produced by her partner, Charlie Crane, the album is a mixture of light and shade as different musical influences colour the songs. There are the horn sounds on opening track, Once Was Mine, and the up-tempo arrangement of Thief , with nice harmonica and a pulsing drum beat behind the jangling guitars. Similarly, the bright sound of Bottle In the Way is very catchy with some warm organ and sax sounds. The understated pedal steel on the title track, Appointed Tasks, is very nicely interwoven into the gentle melody and sweet vocal tone of Jurgens.
A Whole has a nice acoustic swing and a love letter to the uncertainty of relationships and the urge to just keep working at the messy parts. Left Behind looks at childhood keepsakes and the price paid for unhappy memories, again highlighted by some sweetly sad pedal steel parts.
A highlight is the intensely personal song, Object. It speaks of a trauma suffered and the lyrics capture a stark reminder, ‘You said you loved me in the cold light of dawn, But I am not a person -- just an object to be acted upon.’ The following song, Hero, is equally powerful – a tribute to her mother and a fine arrangement with accordion, harmonica and pedal steel intertwined in the melody - ‘ She was my mother, And she was a girl, She was a poet, Lost to the world.’
Open Door is about rekindling a relationship where poor communication has been the victim of circumstance, with muted trumpet playing behind the acoustic guitar of Jurgens. Final track, No Constellation, is a love song to the future and wrapped in gentle woodwind sounds, ‘So let’s go, there’s a hell of a universe next door, And I’m sure that you are the one, That I’ve been waiting for.’ These twelve songs are very engaging and Julie Jurgens is an interesting talent that is certainly worth your attention.
Review by Paul McGee
Brock Davis A Song Waiting To Be Sung Raintown
This singer-songwriter grew up near Vancouver and now lives in Santa Cruz, California. Having stepped away from the music industry for a number of years, Davis raised a family and was CEO in a high tech start up. He has now returned to his passion for making music and Davis recorded this album at Ronnie’s Place Studio in Nashville, where a number of experienced players joined him in creating this impressive collection of thirteen songs. The musicians harmonise together in perfect unison and whether it’s a rock-based workout like I Can’t Get Close Enough To You or a tender acoustic balled like Your One and Only Life, the ensemble delivers with some style. There are angry songs, like All Free, that rail against the injustice and racial prejudice in society, while I Choose Love, is a slow song that examines a relationship break up that ends in a divorce and regret about where everything turned bad.
There are soulful backing vocals on We Will Rise and they are complimented by the big sound of a Hammond B3 organ. Bullets and Blood looks at the struggles of trying to maintain a gay relationship when the world seems against you at every turn. An excellent song and one that tackles an important issue, despite our protestations that we live in more enlightened times.
Two love songs are played in succession, and Second Time Around has an easy melody, while Bet On Love is more up-tempo and another album highlight. Marking Time and Any Lie also delve into the area of relationships and what it can take to make things work out. Through all these personal songs runs a steady message of hope and optimism above any sense of letting setbacks win the day. The band are superb and the production by Davis is very engaging.
The musicians are Pat McGrath (acoustic guitar, mandolin), Justin Ostrander (electric guitar), Duncan Mullins (bass), Marcus Finnie (drums), Michael Hicks (B3 organ, piano) and both Russ Dahl and Scotty Sanders on pedal steel. The excellent backing vocals are provided by Kyla Jade, Blair Whitlow, Grant Vogelfanger, Matt Dame, Kristin K Smith, and Tania Hancheroff. A strong return for Brock Davis and this album is both enjoyable and absorbing.
Review by Paul McGee
Jo Schornikow Altar Keeled Scales
The area of indie-folk has been one of those side-bars that people like to speak about, but nobody seems willing to define with any degree of certainty. The ambient feel of the music here, swathed in layers of keyboard, synth and reverb is anything but folk music for the new generation and could be viewed more as a glimpse into the electronic world of dream-like inner musings.
Jo Schornikow was based in Melbourne, before moving to Nashville, and her take on personal relationships and dislocation is the dominant theme running through this, her third release. Whether it’s ruminating on the significance of spotting a raven on a drive home and seeing it as a sign of impending doom (Visions); or self-sabotaging a relationship by always giving in to another (Comeback), Schornikow seems to view the world either with rueful nostalgia and/or anxious expectancy. Dark thoughts and imaginings are also captured on Spiders, an unnerving song that carries a menacing undertone.
Lose Yr Love and Patient appear to be similar in theme; about wanting the return of a lover and wishing for a different outcome than what came to pass. In the track, Plaster, she sings ‘Now for every failure, My heart it is my jailor, Sending me back to Australia.’ A tale of unrequited love perhaps?
Two more songs Wrong About You and Semper Tigris deal with the similar regret of letting someone go and wanting to change the situation. The title track, Altar, is a message to an old lover, ‘Never did see the colours start to fade, Though after all it’s just an altar I made, Just candles and sand and smoke rising, It’s still warm but you’re not there anymore.’
All these songs of regret and self-searching could be simple musings on the human condition – or, if taken as personal, probably one of the most naked break-up album released in recent times. If one was this unlucky in love, then it’s time to enter a Buddhist monastery and contemplate the true purpose of it all. Life is messy but you have to love yourself first.
Review by Paul McGee
Mapache Roscoe’s Dream Innovative Leisure
When you name your band after a raccoon and your third album proper is based around the concept of a dog’s dreams; then you better be able to come up with some plausible excuses and/or serious reasons. There is definitely a quirky side to this band that is comprised of Clay Finch and Sam Blasucci. Born and raised in Glendale, California, this duo major in sweetly arresting harmonies and a sound that falls into the basket of cosmic, West Coast folky pop music. Their sound is generally light and breezy and an expression of their individuality and willingness to explore different influences.
The album is populated with random sounds, like a dog’s bark, a seal’s cry or a deck of cards being shuffled. There are also three songs in Spanish and a strong sense of early Crosby, Stills and Nash in the closely woven harmonies. Songs like Polishing A Band, The Garden and Light My Fire drip with the imagery of Californian sunshine on a bright summer’s day. “Farmer” Dave Scher (Beachwood Sparks), contributes some tasty pedal steel on a few tracks also, Tell Him, Love Can’t Hold Me and Tend Your Garden.
There is a great fuzz-guitar sound on Pearl To the Swine and the acoustic guitar interplay between Finch and Blasucci is both intuitive and inventive at all turns. The cover version of Bo Diddley classic, Diana, is a really inviting rockabilly workout and very bright in the delivery, with some very creative electric guitar. Equally, on the short instrumental, Far Out Of Earshot and the gentle, Feel So Young, you can almost see the musicians gently jamming on a beach porch, strumming quietly in the soft breeze and enjoying the moment.
The eighteen tracks run to fifty-one minutes, making this a somewhat challenging listen in one sitting. It definitely could have done with some prudent trimming but overall, this is a strong album with plenty to enjoy among the wide variety of sweet sounds.
Review by Paul McGee
Loes van Schaijk All I Ever Really Seem To Say Self Release
Originally from the Netherlands, this singer-songwriter, now based in Prague, releases her debut solo album. Loes van Schaijk has previously been part of groups such as Waterflow, Red Herring, and Lucy & the Man. In more recent times she has played with a new project, the folk trio, Loes and the Acoustic Engineers. She also performs as a duo with Honza Bartošek, a member of the same band. Loes plays guitar, bass, and bódhran and sings in both a sweet and adept vocal tone. Her music spans both bluegrass and folk in style and there are also touches of a more traditional sound on songs like Oh My Lovely/The Gun Sermon.
There is a really bright flow to these songs and the inclusion of guitar, mandolin and violin (Ondra Kozák), dobro (Radek Vankát), banjo (Petr Brandejs), bouzouki (Arthur Deighton), all augment the melodies with superb musicianship. Additional violin and whistles are provided by Joram Peeters and bandmate, Honza Bartošek, contributes violin and harmony vocals on a number of songs also.
Further Away is a song about Alzheimer’s disease and the upset it causes when someone so physically close can still be so distant. Madison is a lovely instrumental with the dual acoustic guitars of Loes, and the talented Ondra Kozák, intertwining superbly. The folk sound of The Wind and the Water is very engaging and there is a great tempo to the guitar rhythms on Simon Says, reminding me of early Ani DiFranco as an influence. There is a fine bluegrass swing to The Cactus Connection, with the twin dueling of banjo and fiddle really sparking the tune. The album was recorded at Studio Ataman in the Czech Republic and production duties were shared by Loes van Schaijk and Ondra Kozák. Plenty here to appeal to music lovers and some superb musicianship to enjoy.
Review by Paul McGee