John Blek Until The Rivers Run Dry We Are Rats

For his eighth studio album, Cork’s John Blek returned to work with his previous collaborator Brian Casey in his Wavefield Recordings studio in Clonakilty, where they jointly produced this 10 track project. Luxuriating in the fact that he no longer had to stay home and record and play  everything solo in his home studio (as was the case with his 2021 lockdown album, GROUNDED), Blek has gone the whole hog this time and given this album a truly lush production. He has moved quite a distance from his original image as a finger-style solo acoustic guitar folkie, but at the heart of the sound is still his song craft and the catchy melodies he wraps around those songs.

One half of the album comprises unashamedly romantic songs, to which the wall of sound production style lends itself perfectly. Opener St. John’s Eve continues the theme and sentiment of Long Strand (from 2021’s ON ETHER & AIR), ‘stayed out the whole night through/up on the hill with you’, but this time with Cathy Davey’s backing vocals, and a big strings sound courtesy of Colm Mac Con Iomaire (The Frames). Along with theses two contributors on all the tracks, Blek also calls again on jazz pianist Kit Downes, Davy Ryan on drums and programmed drums, and Chris McCarthy on bass. Co-producer Brian Casey plays guitars, Hammond organ and Mellotron. The track which also gives the album its name, ‘Til The Rivers Run Dry, is another big love song with a big production, and one of the standouts. His proposal of marriage to his muse is the inspiration for the touching Once In A While (21/07), while in Lyric & Air, he again declares his love, ‘I can’t get you out of my head/but why would I want to?’ The quintet of romance is completed by Lovelorn, where he declares that ‘I’d take a life for you/and bury the bodies too’- who could ask for more passion and commitment?

By contrast, on the other five songs, Blek explores the uncertainty of life, the anxiety and fear that can stalk our lives, especially post-pandemic. On Restless Sea, he returns to his familiar metaphors of birds and the sea. Raven’s Cry evokes bleakness and self doubt with the refrain ‘I am the raven’s cry/Hollow, dissatisfied/Empty as the earth beneath the snow/I am hollow’. Most dramatic of all is Come Undone, where the gothic, eerie atmosphere induces the feeling of being drawn into a bad dream. Chilling stuff.

The prominent use of programmed drums and Mellotron contribute to the move towards electronica that has always been present on Blek’s previous albums, but there’s a conscious move to a more chamber pop feel on this one. Perhaps some fans will miss the predominance of his English folk influenced finger style guitar playing here, but this could well be Blek’s most commercial sound to date. Being the musical chameleon that he has shown himself to be in the past, who knows what he will do next? I will be watching with interest.

Review by Eilís Boland

Margo Cilker Valley of Hearts’s Delight Loose

With the release of her debut album on hold mid-pandemic in 2020 and her freedom of movement restricted, Margo Cilker’s thoughts turned to her birthplace of Santa Clara Valley in California, previously named the Valley of Heart’s Delight, due to its extensive fruit orchards and lush lands during the first half of the 20th century. Holed up in Enterprise, Oregon (population 1940), and with her husband Forrest Van Tuyl’s days occupied working at a cattle ranch, her writing focused primarily on her years at the Santa Clara Valley, her family history in the region, long-lost teenage friends and the location’s evolution from agriculture to its current state as a commuter belt for those working for the high-tech companies now located in Silicon Valley. 

Having sent the songs to Sera Cahoone, the producer who had overseen Cilker’s debut album, POHORYLLE, her concentration shifted to promoting and touring that debut album as travel restrictions lifted and the world gradually returned to some degree of normality. Finally released in 2021, that album was greeted with open arms both in The US and in Europe, resulting in an extensive touring schedule on both sides of the pond. Equally impressed by the songs that would become VALLEY OF HEART’S DELIGHT, Cahoone booked studio time at the same studio in Vancouver, Washington, where she had previously recorded with Cilker. Over two days and with the same players that featured on POHORYLLE, they completed the eleven-track recording. Also joining in the recording were Paul Brainard (Richmond Fontaine) on pedal steel, Annie Staninec (Mary Gauthier) on fiddle and Caleb Klauder (Foghorn Stringband) on mandolin.

‘What do I do with the middle, between the coffee and the wine?’ Cilker asks on the open-hearted With The Middle. Awash with mournful pedal steel, it displays a personal unguardedness and vulnerability not evident previously in her writing. Crazy Or Died recalls lost friends and family, and in particular a close friend now homeless and lost in a haze of substance abuse and mental illness. She gets deeply into a groove that recalls the full sound of The Band on the altogether more upbeat Keep It On A Burner and I Remember Carolina. The former is a reminder of life’s often underappreciated and simple pleasures. Having left home in her late teens, the latter song fondly remembers Cilker’s nomadic lifestyle that followed, together with some childhood journeys. Less frenzied but equally impressive are the introspective ballads Beggar For Your Love and Santa Rosa. Also included is a raucous and playful cover of Ben Walden’s Steelhead Trout, before Cilker signs off with the acoustic, All Tied Together. A consideration of connections to the past and life choices taken along the way, it’s a fitting closing statement to an album with very few, if any, wasted lines.

It is a novel situation to have a second album fully written prior to the release of a debut record, but VALLEY OF HEART’S DELIGHT is more than a fitting heir to its predecessor. Combining Cilker’s crystal clear pronunciation and ‘reckoning of the soul’ lyrics, it is further substantiation of the emergence in recent years of an artist whose talents continue to blossom.

Review by Declan Culliton

Jobi Riccio Whiplash Yep Roc

‘I think most people’s late teens and early 20’s is a really difficult, confusing, and isolating time. Whiplash, the song and album, is a reflection on that’ explains Jobi Riccio, reflecting on her debut full-length album.  

The Morrison, Colorado-born singer songwriter’s album gives the listener an insight into those personal endeavours, passing from adolescence to womanhood. Her 2019 EP, STRAWBERRY WINE, found Riccio dipping her toes into the classic country music she grew up with. If that album was the introduction to a songwriter, vocalist and guitar player of immense potential, this eleven-track record is the work of an artist who has matured beyond recognition over those short few years. In this project, Riccio confronts her sexuality and character formation full-on and with no holds barred, exorcizing some past hurdles and moving forward confidently and with her head held high.

Riccio received the 2019 Lee Villiare Scholarship from the Berkeley College of Music. She was also awarded the Newport Folk Festival John Prine Fellowship earlier this year, so it’s no surprise that Yep Roc bought into that talent and signed her to their iconic label.

‘I’ve squeezed these hips into someone else’s jeans and I have said I’m sorry when I didn’t need to be,’ she notes with regret and a degree of defiance on Sweet. It’s a high-octane and fiercely intense song and the album’s standout track for me. Riccio’s ballads are every bit as measured and no more so than on the simply gorgeous love song, For Me It’s You. Also in the low gears are the opener Summer and Kinder To Myself. The former is a bittersweet affair of unforeseen rejection and the latter is a statement of intent and rebirth. The cleverly expressed title track, Whiplash, mulls over the writer’s rollercoaster and emotional voyage from adolescence to adulthood.

Combining themes of joy and sadness, WHIPLASH addresses Riccio’s life journey in a frank, confident, and unequivocal manner. A compelling blend of indie-folk and country, it hits the bullseye on all counts. Expressive songwriting, razor-sharp playing, and crystal-clear vocals all add up to a hugely impressive album and delightfully accessible listen.

Review by Declan Culliton

Victoria Bailey A Cowgirl Rides On Rock Ridge

Surrounded by music growing up, her father was a drummer in a rock band and her mother was a lover of both folk and rock, Orange County singer, songwriter, and guitarist, Victoria Bailey’s teens were spent surrounded by the sounds of The Allman Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Cat Stevens, James Taylor and Sheryl Crow. Her inroads and passion for traditional country music came only in her late teens from playing country music bars and various music venues in L.A.  She may be a relatively latecomer to the genre and may not have the Appalachian heritage of some of her peers. However, her debut solo album, JESUS, RED WINE & PATSY CLINE, from 2020, totally embraced both the 50s and 60s Bakersfield sound of her native California.  Her latest record, A COWGIRL RIDES ON, finds her switching her attention to the old-timey, gospel, and bluegrass sound of former years.

We described that debut album at Lonesome Highway as ‘one of the year’s most impressive and dazzling country albums’ and it’s fair to say that Victoria’s latest offering falls very much into that same category.  JESUS, RED WINE & PATSY CLINE was an introduction to a silver-voiced vocalist with the skillset to pen catchy, immediately accessible and often playful songs. Victoria’s follow-up project reveals an artist maturing as a songwriter, with one foot in the present and one foot in the past.

On the opening and title track, a co-write with producer and one-time Dwight Yoakam sideman, Brian Whelan, Bailey announces, ‘She’s a drifter miles from it all, with no one around her or a place to call home.’ The song was inspired by the travel memoirs that Melissa Chapman recorded in her book, Distant Skies, which documented her horseback journey from the East to the West coast of America in the 70s. The song is a two-dimensional tale mirroring Victoria’s personal and professional journey.

Recorded live in L.A. under the watchful eye of Brian Whelan, the musicianship of the four players that contributed is wonderful, not surprising given their collective pedigrees. Whelan played guitar and backing vocals, Ted Russell Kamp was on upright bass, pedal steel and dobro is credited to Jeremy Lond, and Philip Glenn played fiddle, mandolin and banjo. The icing on the cake are the backing vocals and harmonies from Leeann Skoda.

The sonic terrain broadly reflects Victoria’s love of gospel and bluegrass, with tracks like Snake Trails, Down From The Mountain, and Sweet By And By, all sounding like resurrected treasures from the past. She also includes the traditional song Waiting At The Gate, previously recorded by Ricky Scaggs. It’s not all old-school country either, Forever, You & I is a carefully measured and tender breakup song and the album’s stand-out track for me. Equally searching is the song Sabina, which tells of the reckless adventures of a woman who openly challenges traditional gender roles.

If Victoria Bailey’s debut solo album was a pointer towards a self-assured artist with the potential to establish herself as a leading light among the younger breed of breakthrough country artists, A COWGIRL RIDES ON finds her continuing to move swiftly in that direction.

Review by Declan Culliton

Jim Lauderdale The Long and Lonesome Letting Go Sky Crunch

Just when the very unlikely scenario of Jim Lauderdale not releasing an album in 2023 seemed to becoming a reality, up pops this little gem. With thirty-five albums already in his back catalogue, and at least one album released each year, Lauderdale continues his genre-hopping voyage with THE LONG and LONESOME LETTING GO. If his 2022 record, GAME CHANGER, was his most traditional country recording in quite a while, he has returned to his love of bluegrass this time around and hooked up with the Nashville- based Po’ Ramblin’ Boys, for this album. Lauderdale has released full-on bluegrass records in the past, most notably his 1999 collaboration with the legendary Ralph Stanley and The Clinch Mountain Boys, I FEEL LIKE SINGING TODAY. If that project was a case of working with an artist that Lauderdale had admired for many years, the shoe is on the other foot on this occasion with Lauderdale taking on the role of master to a young bunch of artists who have been enthusiasts of his for many years.

The initial connection was made at MerleFest in North Carolina a few years ago when the Po’ Ramblin’ Boys invited Lauderdale to join them in their set and following a number of hook ups at various festivals, a commitment was made to record together. The twelve-track album is a combination of six co-writes by Lauderdale and Po’ Ramblin’ Boys guitarist Josh Rinkel, and co-writes between Lauderdale and bluegrass household names Becky Buller, Joe Newberry, and Jimmy Richey. Also credited as co-writers are rising bluegrass star Alex Leach and singer songwriter, Logan Ledger. The title track and first single to be released from the album was co-written with Bob Minner and features guest vocalist Del McCoury.

With this impressive lineup of writers and players, does the end product stand up to Lauderdale’s high standard? Not surprisingly, the answer is a resounding ‘yes.’ Without attempting to reinvent the wheel, Lauderdale and the players deliver an album that visits familiar country and bluegrass themes. We hear of love lost on She’s On A Different Train and That Was When We Were Together and on the flip side of the coin, She’s The Light relishes in love gained. That old devil, temptation, is to the fore on I’m Only So Good At Being Good and Darkness The Other Side Of Light and they sign off in fine style with the closer, Drop The Hammer Down.

It's fair to say that Lauderdale has rarely put a foot wrong in his extensive back catalogue and THE LONG and LONESOME LETTING GO is another album that can sit proudly side by side with his previous excursions down the bluegrass trail. 

Review by Declan Culliton

Graham Parker & The Goldtops Last Chance To Learn The Twist Stir

Very much the ‘angry young man’ in the mid to late 70s, Graham Parker’s recent work has found him in a more playful and relaxed mood. That’s not to say that he does not still approach social issues head on but, as the title of his latest album suggests, he has mellowed somewhat since his early recording years.

LAST CHANCE TO LEARN THE TWIST is his second album with his backing band, The Goldtops, following on from 2018’s CLOUD SYMBOLS. A super group of sorts, the band includes Parker’s long-time contributor Martin Belmont on guitar, Simon Edwards on bass, Jim Russell on drums, and Geraint Watkins on keyboards. Parker’s soulful signature sound frequently included a horn section and the Easy Access Orchestra takes the honours here with some smooth playing.

In fine voice and following his trademark template of blending soul, blues, and roots, Parker delivers a healthy thirteen tracks on the album, from the confessional We Did Nothing, a reflection on inactivity surrounding climate change, to the more light-hearted and friskier, The Music Of The Devil. He goes full-on reggae with Them Bugs and the autobiographical Sun Valley is a radio-friendly affair, all the better for dazzling backing vocals from the vocal duo, The Lady Bugs. He reels back the years with Wicked Wit, it’s a horn-filled and ageless delight and the laid-back Last Stretch Of The Road looks back on missed opportunities and mortality.

 It may be forty-seven years since Graham Parker broke into the new wave scene with his debut album, HOWLING WIND, followed in the same year with HEAT TREATMENT, but his latest offering includes quite a number of songs that would slot proudly into either of those collections. Swaddled in warm and rich arrangements, it’s also a reflection of an artist and his players having a really good time.

‘The music of the devil was our salvation,’ Parker confesses on the aforementioned THE MUSIC OF THE DEVIL and this record bears witness to a master craftsman who can still concoct and deliver an intoxicating mix of soulful and catchy tunes.

Review by Declan Culliton

Bobbo Byrnes October Self Release

Recorded over just two days, and using iconic studios located in Berlin (Hansa Studios) and Dublin (Windmill Lane Studios) for inspiration, the very talented Bobbo Byrnes delivers an album of great depth. Over nine songs Byrnes excels on acoustic guitar, mandolin, e-bow and vocals and both the playing and production is clean and creative. A cover version of Bowie’s Heroes is interesting and the strident playing on The Sea is very impressive. The title song October is a lovely instrumental and Too Many Miles shows off his superb guitar playing. You may already be aware of Bobbo  Byrnes as a founding member of one of Orange County’s leading americana rock bands, The Fallen Stars, with his wife Tracey. An excellent album that engages and warms the spirit.

Review by Paul McGee

Rupert Wates Elegie Bite

Yet another example of the flawless music that flows from the expressive guitar and voice of this artist. A resident of New York city for the last sixteen years, Wates was born in London and it’s his roots and influences from traditional English Folk music that are most apparent on this twelfth album release since 2005.

The eleven songs are all written by Wates and his rich vocal is complimented beautifully by his sublime guitar playing. He favours Lowden acoustic guitars and the fluid fingerstyle performance is a real joy throughout thirty-three minutes of sweetly contemplative and soothing songs. Wates is joined by Trifon Dimitrov on double bass for a number of songs and they blend seamlessly together. There is something of the ancient bard in the delivery of these songs, almost reaching back to a time of medieval tales, and the comforting combination of music and voice certainly sets the mind to rest. Song titles like Guinevere and Lady Of the Glades reference the work of English writer Sir Thomas Mallory and the poet John Keats. Elsewhere, there are nods to the inspiration provided by poets such as Tennyson and Coleridge on the songs, Across the Water and The Storm.

However, lest you think that this is all too highbrow, let me assure you that there is a deep soul at the centre of this album, one that reflects upon abiding love on (Like) Sunrise  with the lines ‘And she fills my eyes, And she warms my face, Like sunrise.’ Similarly, the song We’ll Go Dancing reflects upon a love that has grown and matured over time, ‘And though we have changed the rules of the game and little remains of the people we were, What we’ve lost has made us strong.’

There is an old wisdom at play in songs like Winter where Wates reflects, ‘When all is done, Or hearts will be calmer my friend’ and the sense that he is always open to new experiences in the book of life is captured on the song If I Ran To You where he asks ‘If I ran to you would you lead me all the way to your door.’ Another impressive addition to a body of work that bears witness to a talent of real substance.

Review by Paul McGee

Ultan Conlon The Starlight Ballroom Darksideout

There is a great sense of consistency around the release of this new album, Ultan’s fifth in a run that started with the 2009 debut, BLESS YOUR HEART. That debut included a song that featured the legendary John Martyn (Really Gone) and it laid down a marker for a career that has seen him share the stage with great artists, including Edie Reader, Jackson Browne, Shelby Lynne and Patty Griffin, among many others. However, apart from supporting such stars, Ultan Conlon has more than earned the right to stand beside any of these artists that helped to open the door for his creative talents to shine through.

Conlon’s origins are firmly rooted in Galway and his writing style is reflected in the influences that he has taken from growing up in such a rich heritage of musicality. The source of his creativity is woven into the traditions of witty discourse and wry observation of the human condition. There is a strong sense of the knowing contemplation of the human condition in these songs, almost like a barometer on the pressure points of these times.

On songs like the excellent All Sewn Up Conlon channels Roy Orbison in his crystal clear vocal delivery and warm tone. A keen observational talent is shown on Susie Gossip, a song that speaks about visiting a graveyard and one of the headstones that catches the attention. A tribute to his mother, Paradise Lane, captures innocent times and the sense of wonder that lingers in the memory of growing up in a small town environment with bigger dreams. The title track conjures memories of the old ballroom days of Irish society in the 1960s when the joy of community was celebrated in the old dancehalls of the local villages around the country. The reality of compromise is captured on Working For the Man as a mantra to getting by and paying your way ‘ there ain’t no way I’m gonna lay in bed and let my head get the better of me.’

There is great sense of nostalgia on The Old Songs that captures that feeling of  time passing by and the joy of freezing happy memories as a moment in time. Relationship challenges are tackled on the standout song Hurts Like Heaven and the second-guessing that goes with any developing commitment, ‘I go rogue and you stay quiet, We drive that love back deep inside, Where our light can’t shine and our love don’t grow.’ Conlon sings in a clear vocal tone that is very engaging and the production by David Garza is at all times in support of the songs with clear separation on the instruments and creative use of strings, played by Dave Curtis, to augment the melodies.

Rivertown channels feeling of growing up and coming to terms with a sense of the mystery that lies beyond. Perhaps the most enlightening song is The Sunday Blues, which speaks about the worry of being caught up in feelings that have no release ‘ Was it something that I said, I wish I didn’t care for anything, These days I long to forget.’ I guess that we can all live our lives worrying about what others may think. Conlon ends the song with the repeated lines ‘Heaven is a sight for sore eyes and blue skies.’  The final song is Don’t Tell Me That You Love Me, Prove It and it is a slow acoustic look the vagaries of love and the search for contentment.

My album contains no musician credits apart from a list of names that contributed - Charlie Reader, Eddi Reader, John Would, Gemma Wilson, Sebastian Steinberg, Aimee Wood and both David Garza and Ultan Conlon. The playing is beautifully understated throughout and the whole project is a real success. At the end of the day this is music in celebration of the life that we all live; the success and failure, the laughter and the tears. In Ultan Conlon’s world, knowing that he makes a difference is reward enough, and these are fine songs that make a lasting imprint.

Review by Paul McGee