Tyler Childers Rustin' In The Rain Hickman Holler / RCA
Given his current high profile as one of the leading lights in country music to have emerged in the past half-decade, Tyler Childers can, and indeed does, do whatever he pleases. Often refreshingly outspoken - remember his outburst at The AmericanaFest Honours & Awards Show in 2018, when his acceptance speech on being awarded the Emerging Artist of The Year included a scathing attack on the Americana genre. Not afraid to speak bluntly about social issues, his 2020 record, LONG VIOLENT HISTORY, addressed issues such as racism, police brutality and civil unrest and he voiced his misgivings around religion on his 2022 album, CAN I TAKE MY HOUNDS TO HEAVEN?
RUSTIN’ IN THE RAIN, finds the Lawrence Country, Kentucky artist in a more relaxed mood. It’s a seven-track album that lasts less than thirty minutes and includes two covers, both songs often included in his live shows, Kris Kristofferson’s Help Me Make It Through The Night, and fellow Kentuckian, S.G Goodman’s Space and Time. Also included are a couple of classic country love tunes, the knockout Phone Calls and Emails - surely the first country song to include ‘emails’ in the lyrics - and the equally impressive In Your Love. The YouTube official video of the latter features a relationship between two males, further commendable evidence of Childers’ unwillingness to ‘play safe’ with his art. Also featured are two honky tonk barroom type romps with the title track and Percheron Mules and the hymn-like Luke 2:8-10.
The overall feeling you’re left with is one of an artist simply treading water and having a good time recording with his terrific backing band, The Food Stamps, alongside Erin Rae, Margo Price, S.G. Goodman, Ronnie McCoury, Jason Carter and Alan Bartram, all of whom contribute backing vocals. It may be more like an appetiser than a main course but, having said that, it’s still of a quality considerably higher than anything else being recorded under the genuine ‘country’ genre at present.
Review by Declan Culliton
Van Plating Orange Blossom Child Self-Release
Florida has been a hotbed for artists touching on all genres in popular music, with the traditional country singer Mel Tillis to the more experimental country of Gram Parsons, and from bluesman Gabriel Brown to the more mainstream rock legend Tom Petty. A native of Florida, Van Plating’s third solo album, ORANGE BLOSSOM CHILD, taps into all these genres with a project that found her digging deeply into her family history and life in rural Florida.
She’s out of the traps in full tilt with the opener and title track, stinging guitars, a driving rhythm, and fiery vocals tip their hat in the direction of Tom Petty. Equally catchy is The Heron, which features guest vocals from Elizabeth Cook, who also left rural Florida to pursue her artistic career. An instantly arresting song with a theme of homesickness and longing, The Heron borrows a chorus riff from Guns N’ Roses’ Paradise City. In fact, Cook is only one of over thirty contributors that Van Plating called upon, with The Damn Quails, Reckless Kelly and Ottoman Turks all credited.
The hymn-like Jesus Saved Me On The Radio is a slow-burning delight and she pulls no punches calling out the philanderer on the countryish Big Time Small Shot. Driven by a raging fiddle and thumping drums, there’s no happy ending in sight either on They’re Gonna Kill You Anyway. The previously mentioned Reckless Kelly provide backing vocals on the album’s standout track The Hard Way, with Van Plating’s uplifting vocal - a common thread across the album’s eleven tracks - imparting the song’s emotion to perfection.
An album that is very much 90s country in its production and instrumentation and one that explores Van Plating’s heritage, both memorable and heartrending, it’s loaded with tracks that draw the listener in and hold their attention.
Review by Declan Culliton
Scott Southworth Comin’ Round To Honky Tonk Again Flaming Tortuga
There is no doubting Southworth’s commitment to delivering country music in its most traditional and hardcore form. That he may not be as “cool” as some of his contemporaries is a wry look at some of the other recent contenders for the honky-tonk crown. In the opening title track he lists some of those he both admires and respects in the list he reels off of the newer and more established names who have acquired something of the ‘cool’ factor such as Dale Watson, Tyler Childers, Sturgill Simpson, Charlie Crockett, Jessie Daniels, Dallas Moore and Nikki Lane. But in truth he stands alongside them in music and talent and he rightly declares that “I hope you like your country real as I ain’t here to reinvent the wheel.”
From then on he evokes some of the best delivering songs that would have easily have been hits over twenty years ago but today hardly get a look in at radio. There are tracks that would easily fit an Alan Jackson album at his finest. Southworth can deliver with the best of them on equal terms both in his writing and his undoubtably fit-for-purpose vocals. There is some outright humour in Granny Used To Honky Tonk a song featuring the aforementioned Dallas More who co-wrote the song with Southworth. One of a number that have been co-written but all having that classic feel that makes you think they have been around for quite a while.
Here Comes The Night takes the night time’s affinity to cover the protagonist’s pain to be disguised by its very nature. So that he can use that time of the day to hit the bars that might help him deal with a departed partner and his resulting loneliness. That search for a lost love is the subject of the considered again in Getting Over You Again wherein there is a pattern of repeated failure. A strong vocal from Southworth shows his range and understanding of how to deliver a song. Another song is about a woman who “gets under his skin” in the most prominent way as she is the Women On My New Tattoo.
He also considers the universality of the three chords and the truth that allows that, in the right hands, the genre to be something that can and does exists outside of the States with Country No Matter What County. A conduit, in many songs that relate to degrees of heartache (and its aftermath), fit right into the honky tonk ferment of alcohol is present, front and centre, with both Drinking For Two and When The Bottle Goes Dry.
It can’t help to add that old favourite, that may no longer allowed in modern pop country realm, is the discovery of an unfaithful partner and their subsequent demise, along with the cheating partner, that is Riding Sparky Tonight. Though it is seldom delivered in such an upbeat musical setting as this tale of a man ultimate acquaintance with the electric chair.
Later we are in the realm of something much more relaxing and that is the oft referred to pastime of fishing (especially in country songs) which is what Just Fishing is all about.
Production is credited to Buddy Hyatt and it was recorded in Nashville with such celebrated and names from the credits of 90s albums such as Lonnie Wilson, Steve Hinson, Joe Spivey, Brent Mason and Dan Tyminski alongside other fine players. It is a labour of love for all concerned and is the essence of ongoing immersion in the joys of honky tonk - whoever you might be from.
Review by Stephen Rapid.
Ross Cooper Lightening Heart Self Release
It’s clear from this project that Ross Cooper is a man who has both authenticity and aptitude. A second-generation rodeo cowboy, his passion is for that music and the story songs that he writes. He is not an ‘all hat - no cattle’ kind of guy, as he makes clear in the upbeat twang setting of Everybody Wants To Be A Cowboy. He notes in that song that everybody wants the look but they don’t want the work involved with being the real thing. As a result, he has the right to both the hat and the embroidered suit as a sign of his affiliations. He is inspired by the great Texas songwriters and also the spirit of Lubbock embodied by the inspiration of storywriters like Joe Ely.
Locations are a part of his existence, at least in the songs away. Chicago is a positive reminiscence of that city while, maybe not so memorable, is the city that is the subject of Life’s Too Short To Live In Dallas. The title track, in common with a number of tracks here, takes a more reflective, gentler musical approach, that relies on some understated but emphatic ensemble playing. It is also a song that relates to a physical condition that causes him to suffer arrhythmia at often inopportune moments - such as being onstage. It is a condition he has come to terms with but undoubtedly one which affects his outlook. Sleeping With A Stranger is about a man feeling unworthy of the love of a partner that is creating a disconnect between them. Waiting For Me has an alluring melody and chorus, and is a song of hope to find that special person he wants in his life. That sense of positivity runs throughout the album’s thirteen tracks. The final song, Welcome You Back, closes the release on a high note. It’s a memorable song that has the best of all the elements coming together from the album, leaving you wanting to hear “the best he can be” again and to be welcomed back when he returns with the next step in his musical journey.
Cooper handles the production alongside Kevin Harper and Josh Serrato, who also engineered the recording, while the former added violin along with a solid group of additional musicians on guitar, bass, drums, keyboards and pedal steel. It changed what had originally been a more acoustic based idea to a more accomplished and rounded concept that allowed Copper to expand his musical vision. One that incorporated his cowboy-related experiences with something wider and more considered, allowing him to draw on all parts of his ability to tell stories based on his own life and that of others. It is a forward move from his previous album and its overall benevolent nature makes you want to get to know the man and his music more.
Review by Stephen Rapid.
Josh Travis Few Of Days & Full Of Trouble Self Release
This is the debut full-length album from the Pennsylvanian songwriter. Within it, Travis faces his own issues of loss, love and his own personal faith. The opening track Secondhand Smoke sets up the general mood, It is a solid band sound that builds on its folk roots with a striking chorus about living and loving the best life you can under difficult conditions. It also marks Travis as another writer with something to say. The ten tracks are the mark of a thoughtful writer, who penned all the material here.
Overall, there is a sense of hard-won reality in many of the topics for the material. The Only Good In Me is full of the need for acceptance which sits alongside the nefarious needs that also arise. A particular standout is Poor Johnny, which has touches of Townes van Zandt mixed with Chris Knight and openly sees the potential of Travis growth as an artist. With rock-edged guitar, it details the tale of desperation leading to poor choices and bad results.
Taking a more rural tack is The Beat Up Paint, the story of an old horse that is folky in delivery with harmonica playing its part in setting the tone of this slow-paced ballad of inevitability, but making the best of what is on offer for a run-down life. The music perfectly illustrates the song’s approach to the overlooked life of a much-loved animal. There are more acoustic moments too, such as the Opequon, a song that paints a picture again of the heartfelt memories of a life lived with friends and loved ones and the sadness of an early loss.
There are also songs, Change Of Heart and Picture Of You, that look at the need for love and its possible redemption. The description of a group of friends on a road trip and the things they got up is described in a Hot Week In August, it fairly motors along at an up-tempo pace. Chains is a description of the things that can hold a person back and the realisation of that fate. It features a strong guitar break that underscores that sentiment. The title track again picks up the tempo and marries the acoustic and electric sides of the album and again points out the overall commitment of the assembled players.
Travis produced the album with Al Torrence (who is also receiving praise for his similar duties in the new Charles Wesley Godwin album). The pair have put together a great sound and an album that has some writing to match, topped by Travis’ purposeful vocals and evolving growth as a writer since he released his debut EP several years ago. He has used the time well and this debut identifies a talent that should be marked out as one to watch out for with his future output.
Review by Stephen Rapid
Jon Byrd All Your Mistakes Self Release
It is a pleasure to hear again the mature life-worn voice of Jon Byrd back with a full-length album. He is again accompanied by his comrade and pedal steel maestro Paul Niehaus. The album was produced with depth and skill by Joe V. McMahan, who has brought more than a hint of earlier times with the assembled players and the use of arranged strings which add an additional layer to the material, they were performed and recorded by Chris Carmichael. Alongside the above-mentioned you can add the skills of bassist Chris Donahue, percussionist Bryan Owings, Steve Conn’s keyboards and Andrea Zone on fiddle as well as McMahan own contributions on acoustic and electric guitar. Zonn also joins Shannon Wright and Amelia White on harmony vocals. Byrd adds his acoustic guitar but also self-deprecatingly describes himself as the “worst person in the band.” A comment which belies the fact the obvious focal point here is Byrd’s vocal contribution as the backing behind it. But the end results made him feel like “a million dollars.”
Golden Colorado is first up, a track written by Byrd and singer/songwriter Stephen Simmons, a song about the gold rush. There is a sense of pessimism at the heart of the relationship dissolution detailed in an openly descriptive way in (It Won’t Be Long) And I’ll Be Hating You, written by the legendary Johnny Paycheck with Aubrey Mayhew and Billy Merrin. That is also the subject matter in Why Must You Think Of Leaving about a liaison that asks that question of a partner he believes is really of the opposite viewpoint. It is a subtle soundscape with Niehaus’ steel adding to that overall mood. It was co-written with Shannon Wright and a version also appeared on his recent EP ME & PAUL. Byrd shares the writing on several of the tracks as well as including a number of songs written by others including (Now And Then) A Fool Such As I, Tom Paxton’s Woman Sensuous Woman, Ian Tyson’s Four Strong Winds. All are fitting to his vocal essence and the overall arrangements which standout throughout.
Miss Kitty’s Place is a reminiscence of the return to a location that in the past had offered some late-night solace but now, on return, a lot of things have been long closed and gone. I’ll Be Her Only One is a love song that is a wish to return to a happier and earlier time when he will again be the sole object of her desire. The interplay between the pedal steel and violin gives the backbone to the delivery. The old standard (Now And Then) A Fool Such As I closes out the album and is a throwback to his recent and regular performances with just himself and Niehaus, who plays in the older Hawaiian steel guitar style. It is a sparse but effective rendition that captures the spirit of the song’s sense of resignation.
Byrd and his team mates have produced the best album of his career with ALL YOUR MISTAKES. It’s an album that undoubtedly will be enjoyed by punters at his regular live shows in Dee’s Country Cocktail Lounge, those who are acquainted with his previous work, or those who are interested in country-styled songs with use an arranged string section.
Review by Stephen Rapid.
Tony Zamora & Tremoloco Curanda - Volume 1 Slo Poke
If you have a hankering for that Tex Mex border sound and some authentic Spanish language vocals, accordion and Cajun fiddle, then this is the right place for you. Amalgamated together as Tremoloco describe their music on their website as ‘Cantina Music.’ It’s an encompassing blend of Texas Mexican Roots Americana that also includes some straight country and even a bit of Celtic (Dixie Overland Highway) and folk and more, resulting in an enjoyable musical stew that will suit many tastes.
They are fronted by Tony Zamora, who is the songwriter and co-producer of the album, along with band member Cougar Estrada. Both are adept on a number of instruments and they are joined by third member Roberto Rodriquez on accordion and vocals. However, it doesn’t stop there, with a further 17 players guesting on tracks recorded in sessions around Texas locations such as Austin, Houston, El Paso, and well as locations in California. So, it would seem that this has been put together over a period of time. With a number of albums already under their belt they are accomplished and seasoned musicians. They have had several different players in their ranks in the past, including our friend Rick Shea, but they often tour as a four/five piece with Willy Golden on upright steel and Jeff Paul Ross on guitar, both of whom were involved in this recording.
A hard riff sets up the drug-related tale of Mezcal, it has a business-like guitar break that has some clout. There are some penny-whistle contributions in the aforementioned Dixie Overland Highway which seems to relate, in part, to the demise of Bonny and Clyde. This is in contrast to other tracks in terms of sound and accentuates the diversity of the music here, and so it goes over the twelve tracks on the album. The Man Who Never Cries is a pure country duet between Zamora and Hannah Underwood, alongside the emphatic steel guitar of Marty Muse. The accordion is central to Más Que Nada, which has a mix of English and Spanish lyrics to enforce the mood of the fate of migrants and those who have been a part of the territory for longer than most. Harmonica opens the slow-burning unfolding tale of One Hand. The Tex Mex disposition returns with the cautionary Sunday Sinners - It has another fine guitar break and some strong harmony vocals. Things pick up a notch with Monterrey which can’t fail to make you want to dance.
What follows is a more reflective by wondering how and whether a person may be remembered in the future.100 Years features the pedal steel again to add to its atmospheric melancholy. Place is as important as time and the album closes with songs that underscore this. Firstly the Spanish language heritage of Mexicano and El Paso which sound traditional in approach and uses voices strongly on the chorus. Finally, Curandera closes the album in a cinematic and evocative formula.
Many of the tracks run past the four-minute mark but never seem overlong and throughout you are aware of the inherent talent of all those involved. Bands like The Mavericks, and in the past the Texas Tornados, as well as countless bands from the region have popularised this cross-border sound and cultural links, to these you can add the name of Tremoloco who, though new to me, made a strong impression with the sound and vision.
Review by Stephen Rapid
Mike Spine and the Underground All Star Band Guided By Love Self Release
This new release is laced with very good songs and falls into the Americana music camp. Spine is from Seattle, Washington and has released eleven albums over his career. The best place to discover him is on the 2018 compilation; FORAGE & GLEAN, Volumes I&II. The two volumes contain 32 songs and represent an anthology of Spine’s best songwriting and recording across the last two decades. This new album is worthwhile and contains gems like Pancho and Lefty, Part Two – an imagined follow-up to the classic Townes Van Zandt song. Other songs that resonate are Bloodless Eyes and Some Shows, which looks at the many situations in which musicians are expected to perform. Not easy to keep body and soul together as a travelling minstrel but Mike Spine is a road warrior and worthy of your time.
Review by Paul McGee
Loveflowers Golden Leaves Self Release
This Swedish americana band release a mini album with six songs that provides ample proof of their impressive sound. The band formed in 2006 and has released a number of prior albums over the years. They play live on a regular basis in Sweden and have travelled to America also in search of a wider audience. Michael Greiffe (drums, percussion, backing vocals), Leif Thörner (lead vocals, guitar, slide guitar), and Yvonne Greiffe (lead vocals, percussion, backing vocals) comprise the original trio and they are joined by Mattis Johansson (upright bass), and Robert Ljungberg (pedal steel, lap steel, guitar and mandolin) on these engaging songs. Return My Heart is a highlight with the slow tempo building an atmosphere of regret (think Cowboy Junkies). Frozen Tears and Return My Heart are also fine examples of the songcraft on display and the closing Final Dance is memorable with a restrained groove and a message of hope for reconciliation.
Review by Paul McGee
Tyler Childers, Van Plating, Jon Byrd, Scott Southworth, Ross Cooper, Josh Travis, tremoloco1.bandcamp.com , MIKE SPINE