Juliet Lloyd Carnival Self-Release
It’s been seventeen years since the last full-length album from Juliet Lloyd. The frustrations and obstacles of trying to survive as an independent artist became too challenging for the Washington, DC artist, resulting in a ten-year break from the industry. A divorce in 2019 and the following pandemic drew her back to songwriting to come to terms with those traumatic times as she explains, ‘I’ve always been envious of writers who say they write songs because they have to…… I had never really felt that way until this album.’
Unsurprisingly, the album’s ten songs contain large doses of anger, self-deprecation, and regret. Lloyd wasn’t under time pressure to write and record the album. Having gathered and documented her thoughts, she recorded the tracks over fifteen months, working closely with producer Todd Wright, who, together with co-write credits on three of the songs, also contributed guitars, bass, synths and drums.
The opening track, Wallflower, is an admission of Lloyd’s introverted personality and a fitting introduction given much of what is to follow and, in particular, the psychological and emotional abuse she endured. The full-on rocker Pretty and the sedate Sorry Now are two samples; the former recalls a controlling relationship and the guilt it gave rise to, and the latter deals with the dilemmas and sorrows in dealing with a marriage breakup. Turning a blind eye to and not speaking out about control and maltreatment is addressed in Search Your Soul, and Call Your Wife treads a similar path. The title track considers the aftermath of relationships and moving on from the initial highs and subsequent lows of those affairs.
A full-blooded affair that revisits emotional wreckage, CARNIVAL spans the rock, soul, and roots genres. Its theme may be bleak, but the quality of the songwriting and Lloyd’s vocals translate into a powerfully emotive performance from start to finish.
Declan Culliton
Lolly Lee Self-Titled Admiral Bean
This debut album from Birmingham, Alabama resident Lolly Lee is a nice surprise in terms of the accomplished production and overall atmosphere created. Lee has been a member of various bands over her career but it has taken her until now, in her sixties, to record the eleven songs included here. The sound is a mixture of traditional country with a roots rock flavour running through the tracks and the results are both loose and yet filled with razor-sharp interplay.
She created the album with Anthony Crawford in the role as producer and his experience of playing with Neil Young serves him well at the controls. He is a multi-instrumentalist and excels across a range of guitars, mandolin, lap steel, violin, organ, bass, drums, percussion and backing vocals. Crawford also adds his wife Savana on backing vocals in the studio, while she also lends her talents as a graphic artist on the album artwork. Lee herself plays mandolin and acoustic/electric guitar and takes lead vocals.
Satellite kicks things off with a fine groove and includes some nice guitar touches in a positive message about embracing life ‘step into the light, welcome to your life.’ Another song that rocks is the excellent Ave Maria Grotto with the driving rhythm capturing the sense of an out-of-control situation. The slow burn of Happy Now has echoes of Lucinda Williams in the ironic vocal delivery ‘Takes a righteous man to kindly keep on his disguise, I’m not flinching nor dropping my defences, Love has been eclipsed by unintended consequences.’
Great Crusade is another song that impresses with a light percussive tempo and some nice fuzz guitar ‘Gentlemen start your engines, we’ve got souls to save, Make it a great crusade.’ The sweet melody on Used To Live Here is a look back at younger days and is one of the standout moments, while the country feel of Free State Of Winston and Sweet Alabama Home are fine examples of the rural influences that define Lee ‘And we hope you come and see us if you can, Sure would like to get to know ya, Show you a good time, Don’t plan to stay too long, But you can come on by.’
Fortuna’s Ink is a clever look at the contrasting luck involved in pinning hopes on fate and fortune ‘What did you really think, When the deal is sealed with disappearing ink.’ Traditional country reappears on Some Kind Of Wonderful and respect for the simple things that life gives us. Whisper is a song to a loved one and an addictive bright sound that contains some fine interplay and harmony vocals. Shot At the Devil is another standout song with a real dynamic in the playing ‘They say all things come to an end, That heaven and hell run tabs on sin.’ A very enjoyable album and one that will brings the listener real rewards.
Paul McGee
Tristan Israel Band Snake Hollow Self Release
A fourth album release from Massachusetts songwriter Tristan Israel. There is a restrained finesse to the songs and the musicianship across the fifteen tracks is very impressive. Highlighting the talents of Nancy Jephcote on violin, plus producer Paul Thurlow on multiple instruments, there is a quiet confidence on display throughout, and the journey is certainly worth the time invested.
Rural charm is an appropriate description for these songs and inspiration is taken from all that surrounds us in the natural world. The title song paints a rural paradise in the region where Tristan Israel resides and Going Back Home is another song that captures that feeling of missing simple pleasures. The fluent craft of Jephcote is evident on the next two songs, House Always Wins and Virginia, the former looks at the luck that can never last as you try to outrun fate, the latter urges a journey back to home ground and new beginnings.
Astrolabe is a song that features the astronomical instrument that is used to chart the stars and again the violin of Jephote lifts the arrangement towards the heavens. The love expressed in Looking At the Moonlight is balanced with the message on When I Die and the classy interplay on a song that demonstrates a jazzy-blues influence. The Crow is a song that reflects upon the Kafka novel, The Metamorphosis and the transformation from a human form to insect; not your typical song by any stretch of the imagination.
Bend In the Road is a lovely acoustic blues about the crossroads that life puts before us and the violin again steals the show on the song arrangement. No Steal is a song of positivity and a message to keep on going despite the hurdles, while the cool atmosphere created on Galicia captures that unique Spanish sense of community in the melody. There is a song to the elegance of the monarch butterfly on Monarch On Milkweed Leaving Aquinnah and the gospel blues of On Our Way brings everything to a very enjoyable conclusion. An album that engages and delivers on many levels.
Paul McGee
Jennifer Castle Camelot Paradise Of Bachelors
The mythical imagery of Camelot dates back to medieval times where legends were formed and their ripples find echo on this elegant release from Canadian artist Jennifer Castle. The age of chivalry and honour has resonance here in the questions posed and the doubts reflected in connection with relationships in these modern times, together with the element of trust that masks honest feelings.
The title tracks asks ‘and if I’m not mistaken, These hearts can handle breaking, I think I’ve tried to save us, I hope I’m not forsaken.’ Again on the song Trust we have the lines ‘lovers scorned show their horns, nostrils flared charge towards you, who should I trust?’ If the issue is to look for solace through the affection of others then the wait could be long and painful.
The resolve to live in the present is captured on Full Moon In Leo and the lines ‘’better like what you got going right here and now, I don’t cast my eyes down some future scenario, I pledge my allegiance to this moment between us, can you feel me?’ And yet the doubt remains and the disconnect is captured on Blowing Kisses in the lines ‘and don’t get it twisted, my heart’s still in it, my dedication’s a star, and it shines on our differences.’
On the song Some Friends we have Castle reflecting ‘you tried to make me feel so small, but nobody’s perfect, you had to be right, so I guess that I’m wrong, but I didn’t deserve it.’ With hopes that it’s not too late to turn things around, Castle asks that we invest in fate and the need to place our bets on Lucky Number Eight. Belief in some higher power is running through Mary Miracle and the acoustic strum of Earthsong is a gentle whisper to see the world around us and to escape our ‘landlocked modernity.’ The production and the superb musicianship sparkles and the whole experience is one of looking into the inner world of Jennifer Castle and her perspective on relations in our age of mass media and resigned isolation.
Paul McGee
Paul Kelly Fever Longing Still Kelly
When it comes to a real pedigree and thoroughbred status look no further than Paul Kelly and his brightly coloured career. Starting out in the 1980s, his prowess has never been in doubt and his songwriting has evolved over the decades to the point where he stands as an artist of real insight and integrity. Every Paul Kelly album is worth investigation, if only for the song craft involved, let along the superbly judged arrangements and song melodies. When you have written songs for nigh on four decades your experience and elegance in communication is bound to shine through. If you hold this ability to wrap observations with an eloquence, then the reflections are an integral part of life as we witness all of the wins and losses.
Opening with the superb groove of Houndstooth Dress and the edgy guitar of Dan Kelly (his nephew), the atmosphere of desire and lust is perfectly captured. The mellow tones of Love Has Made A Fool Of Me follows and the soulful delivery is wrapped in the excellent Farfisa organ sound and sweet harmony vocals from Vika and Linda Bull. Taught By Experts is a great slice of pop brilliance that echoes Elvis Costello and Nick Lowe in the driving beat and song arrangement. The big sound on Hello Melancholy, Hello Joy is augmented by the great harmonies of Vika and Linda (again), and a brass section that includes saxophone, trumpet and trombone, with all horns arranged by Roscoe James Irwin.
Northern Rivers celebrates the individuality of a woman who moved down to southern Australia and made a mark in Kelly’s life, and destined to leave when the time was right in her mind ‘whatever she does, to herself she’s true, The more I know her, the less I do.’ Double Business Bound is a slow song that reflects upon a life lived and the journey taken ‘trouble before and behind me, and my clock is winding down.’ Let’s Work It Out In Bed has a co-vocal shared by Kelly and Reb Fountain on a song that suggests that any arguments or falling outs can be reconciled between the sheets, the horn section again featuring strongly in the bright arrangement.
All Those Smiling Faces is a look back at a family photo album and the stories held within each and every frame. Lives lived and loves lost, caught up in a stream of impressions and memories. The love song Harpoon To the Heart is a bright up-tempo tribute to the power of attraction and the metaphor of Moby Dick being chased by Ahab is not lost. Alice Keath shares lead vocals on Back To the Future and another relationship song about what keeps us together over the good and the bad times. Insomnia is the theme of Eight Hours Sleep and Jess Hitchcock provides beautiful and haunting backing vocals together with the double bass of Bill McDonald excelling also.
Throughout the album we are served with superbly judged music from long-time band members of Kelly down the years. The rhythm section of Paul Luscombe (drums) and Bill McDonald (bass) is always in the pocket and turning everything over at a nicely balanced pace. The guitar work of both Dan Kelly and Ashley Naylor is a real treat also and the variety of keyboards provided by Cameron Bruce adds great colour and nuance.
The final song Going To the River With Dad is a vignette that recalls a childhood memory of an early morning fishing trip with his father. It captures the magic of the moment in the telling and is a prime example of the song-craft at play here. ‘He’s long gone, I’ve passed his span, But myself against him I’m still measuring, Aiming for the mark of a man, Sometimes hitting it, sometimes missing.’ Poignant and powerful in the delivery. As a national icon Paul Kelly has endeared himself to many admirers in Australia and beyond. His music has developed from his early bands the Dots, the Coloured Girls, and the Messengers and encompasses all that is good in folk, rock and contemporary roots music. A talent of the highest order and you simply applaud the craft of the man. Another cracker!
Paul McGee
Ashley E Norton Call Of the Void Self Release
This solo album from Ashley E. Norton was recorded in Nashville by producer and multi-instrumentalist Johnny Garcia. The songs are a mixture of Country, Folk, Rock and Blues and are all written by Norton, including a few co-writes and a cover of the classic Led Zeppelin song Going To California.
Garcia plays all the instruments on the songs, except for acoustic guitar added by Norton and cello violin from Jimmy Mattingly. Opening song Americana To Me is a comment on the music industry need to place everything into neat boxes ‘It’s country when you think it isn’t, rock when it’s just easy listening, blues when you ain’t sad enough, folk when you don’t sing for love, gospel that don’t quite fit in.’
Every Woman I Know is a look at the struggle and constraints put upon the female of the species and the quiet power that is often supressed by social demands that stops women from standing in their own power. A song for everywoman in these misogynistic days. As a contrast Baby Blue Jean is in complete contrast to the sentiment of the previous track and a song that celebrates the pulling power of a rodeo cowboy. The title track Call Of the Void speaks of saving yourself against the irresistible force of love’s passion and falling for attraction of another.
The cover of the classic Led Zeppelin song Going To California has a heartfelt vocal and it’s a nice take on the original while The Fortune Teller is a slow song that captures the smoke and mirrors of personal relationships. The song I Only Think About You When I’m Drinking has a nice blues arrangement and looks at love lost and Modern Martyr has a more commercial sound with observations on self-inflected suffering in order to remain true to oneself.
I Wish is a song that wishes bad times on an ex-lover and the slow country sound includes the words ‘So this shooting star I’m wishing upon, is just for your good day to go a little bit wrong.’ The song It Doesn’t Matter is yet another reflection on the vagaries of relationships gone wrong and trying to find common ground. The final song is Songbirds In the Stars and it is a happy jaunt on a country melody that includes mandolin and fiddle and highlights the broad talent of this artist.
Paul McGee
Furlined Kill Devil Hills Self Release
With two previous albums released in 2009 and 2012 before the band went into hiatus, this third outing is the result of founding members Neil Crossley and Tegan Everett deciding to reform. The duo stepped away back in 2015, but they are now back together and this new album is certainly well worth their initial instincts to get involved.
The eleven songs are very well produced and the playing by the studio musicians is of a high standard as they cover a number of different musical styles. Crossley takes all lead vocals and plays guitar, with Everett providing cello. The melodies are very immediate and the elegant arrangements make an early impression, which is always a positive sign.
The title track is in tribute to a community based in the North Carolina area where Crossley lived for a number of years and the song From Montclair To Tupelo speaks of growing into maturity and leaving home for a college education. Both Cinnamon Gum and Two Of a Kind are relationship songs that reflect upon the need for freedom and allowing space for people to grow.
The slow swoon of You Will Never Believe Your Eyes highlights the rich vocal tone of Crossley and the sweet cello of Everett to great effect, and on Dreaming Of Houses the hazy days of family outings are captured through the memory of a son who is taking time to sit with his ageing father. Equally on The Admin Of Life we get a peek into the life of perhaps, a working parent and the challenge in negotiating responsibility on a daily basis ‘ I wish that I can could save you from this fear and worrying… The upsets, the overdrafts, frozen credit lines, You’ve had a bellyful of the admin of life.’
Final track Princeton In the Distance is an up-tempo arrangement with the band stretching out to provide a nice dynamic in the delivery on an optimistic song about navigating towards a positive future. A worthy return for this band and there is much to admire in these songs.
Paul McGee
March To August Songs Inspired By Witness Self Release
Contemporary folk, mixed with bluegrass and roots leanings, combine to define the sound of March To August, who are the duo Derrick and Jodi Mears. On this new release they drew inspiration from a novel written by Karen Heese. It is titled "Witness" and it is the story of a small Vermont town during the years of prohibition.
The songs include instrumentals such as Leonora’s Dance and the three interval pieces titled Scribbler which introduce the character of journalist Reynard Alexander who reports on the arrival of the Ku Klux Klan into the township and surrounding areas. Only the River is a story song about an unexpected pregnancy and the fate that falls upon a young girl who tries to hide away her secret. The song features twice on the album, with Jade Ayers taking lead vocals on one version and Derrick Mears providing a different emphasis on a separate take.
Every Girl is a song about trying to break out from stereotypes and the predetermined life that awaits young girls in small rural environs. I hear Lyle Lovett in the vocal delivery and elsewhere there are traces of Randy Travis in the timbe of Derrick Mears. Viola is a standout song with the local storeowner regretting decisions taken in joining the KKK ‘I realise that hatred is the wrong side of this fight.’ A real highlight on the album.
The instruments used on the songs are limited to acoustic guitars, bass and banjo, with the clear production highlighting the excellent playing and simple arrangements. Clergyman John Reeves is exposed in all his hypocrisy on Johnny ‘Preaching salvation on Sunday and on Monday living in sin.’ The track Running Booze is another story song and looks at the life of a female bootlegger and the secrets she keeps.
The up-tempo Hell Bound looks at mistakes made in a life where there is no comfort or peace in looking for absolution. Another song that reflects upon the life of Rev John Reeves is Perfect Son and his failings that trace back to adolescence. The entire listening experience is very enjoyable and the album is a fine shop window for the creative talents of this musical duo.
Paul McGee
Sam Lewis Superposition Loversity
There are a number of influences present on this new album from Nashville resident Sam Lewis. He has been releasing music since his debut album appeared in 2012 and this collection of nine songs represents his fifth solo record. During Covid, and on the back of a cancelled tour, Lewis met with his music buddies when safety allowed, and this spontaneous approach on a semi-regular basis has yielded these songs of different hues.
The production techniques include disparate sounds, from the distorted rhythm on Bad Man which includes kazoo and eerie synth, to the shimmering slow reverie of Come On. There is an interesting blues-based cover of the Dire Straits song Walk Of Life which shouldn’t really work but which fits into the overall feel of the project. It has a slow beat and the menacing guitar courtesy of producer Ethan Ballinger gives the lyrics a new perspective.
Sappy Ending has a melodic bass line and is a love song that resonates, while Smile is another look at relationship joys with the lyric ‘It won’t be long before you realise, It’s all for you if you ever wondered why.’ Sinking Ship has a fun lyric and offbeat sounds that swirl around the percussion.
While We’re Still Here brings a sweet melody that feels like a spring breeze as Lewis sings in his honeyed vocal style, while on What Does It Mean the inventive percussion and guitar/synth sounds give a nicely contorted musical gumbo. On What I Need we are given a nice slow tempo and a reflective relationship song that brings the album to a comforting conclusion. The atmospheric playing on the tracks is very much a feature and the easy interplay of the musicians is impressive.
Paul McGee