Dawn Landes The Liberated Woman's Songbook Fun Machine
A week after her peer and fellow singer-songwriter Aoife O'Donovan released her album, ALL MY FRIENDS, which was inspired by the writings of suffragette Carrie Chapman Catt, comes a similarly themed project from Dawn Landes, titled THE LIBERATED WOMAN'S SONGBOOK. The inspiration for the album was a book by the same name, which Landes came across in a thrift store and read during lockdown. Her commitment to reconstructing music from the book was further fuelled by the 2022 Supreme Court overturning of the Roe v Wade ruling, which stated controversially that the right to abortion was not "deeply rooted in this Nation's history or tradition."
The selected songs for the album, each with its own historical significance, span two centuries. The traditional Which Side Are You On, for instance, dates back to 1830, while the album's closing track Liberation, Now! was written by Betty Friedan in 1970 on the occasion of the Women's Strike for Equality, a significant event that celebrated the 50th Anniversary of the passing of the 19th Amendment which granted women the right to vote.
Landes, alongside Josh Kaufman (Bonny Light Horseman, Bob Weir, Cassandra Jenkins), who also produced the album, performed the material at the Newport Folk Festival in 2023. Further performances are scheduled for this year, including a show in London on 7th September at the Barbican, featuring Peggy Seeger.
Landes's interpretation of the folk songs is enthralling. She remains true to many of the songs' folk sensibilities, injecting a degree of vibrancy while not distracting from the core messages. One Hundred Years and The Housewife's Lament are prime examples. Both were written in the mid-19th Century, yet Landes's musical treatment and lyrical content give them a present-day feel.
The Factory Girl, first recorded in 1906 by Alan Lomax's father, John, and Mill Mother's Lament reflect the album's tender heart. The former speaks of the desperate working conditions of mill workers, and the latter is an ode to Ella May Wiggens, one of those mill workers who lost her life fighting for better conditions for her co-workers.
Despite its sombre theme, this uplifting album gives a modern spin to the essential songwriting of its time. Landes has taken stock of those deep-hearted songs and fashioned a thought-provoking and very listenable album indeed.
Declan Culliton
Caitlin Cannon Beggar Going for the Bronze
My introduction to Caitlin Cannon was her album, THE TRASHCAN ALBUM back in 2020. One of my favourites of that year, it was a no-holds-barred and deeply autobiographical project, with the writer re-opening wounds not yet fully healed. Despite its subject matter, it was an easy listen, often fun-filled and self-deprecating. It was also an insight into an extremely competent songwriter with the vocal capacity to match.
Since then, Cannon has recorded and toured with Side Pony, a project she formed with Alice Wallace. That adventure led to an introduction to producer and multi-instrumentalist Misa Arriaga (Kacy Musgraves, Willie Nelson), who produced this four-track EP and also Cannon's full-length album, LOVE ADDICT, due for release later this year. The players Cannon surrounded herself with are equally impressive, including some of Nashville's finest in Lilly Mae Rische (fiddle, guitar, backing vocals), Ryan Anderson Keith (keys), Tommy Perkinson and Hershel Van Dyke (drums), Noah Bellamy (electric guitar) and Grand Ole Opry regular, Eddy Dunlap (pedal steel). Misa Arriaga played acoustic guitar, keys, bass and backing vocals and the string sections were played by Nat Smith and Matt Combs.
The tracks, which fall into the mid-paced category, showcase Cannon's flair for easy-to-access melody. The opener, The Alchemist, is particularly striking in that regard, drenched in vocal and lyrical emotion. The title track considers the artist's dilemma of possibly risking humiliation to achieve their deserved goals, and Amarillo and Little Rock was derived from a hasty exit out of town (and the ensuing speeding ticket), fleeing and attempting to leave behind personal anguish.
She bookends the collection with the brutally poignant and moving Waiting, telling the tale and expressing her love for her incarcerated brother, to whom she has directed, and to date without success, her unwavering support of many years to effect his release.
Despite the solemn content of the material BEGGAR, is best described as 'easy listening country,' not to be confused with the dreaded formulaic 'pop country.' Released on the Going for the Bronze label (also the title of a song from THE TRASHCAN ALBUM), none of these tracks will feature on her ten-track album later this year. If there's any justice, and these tracks are a taster of what to expect from that album - and with industry support - Cannon should be turning bronze to gold in the future.
Declan Culliton
Ann Savoy Another Heart Smithsonian Folkways
Musician, author and record producer Ann Savoy wears many hats. Alongside her solo career, she is a member of the Savoy Doucet Band, (which also includes her husband, Marc Savoy) and the all-female band, The Magnolia Sisters. Savoy and her husband are joined by their sons in The Savoy Family Band, and she can also add her project, Ann Savoy and her Sleepless Knights, to her canon. Her production credits include the Grammy-nominated album, EVANGELINE MADE: A TRIBUTE TO CAJUN MUSIC, which included contributions from John Fogerty, Nick Lowe and Linda Ronstadt. In the literary world, she compiled and edited Cajun Music: A Reflection of a People, reflecting her dedication to Cajun music as a historian and musician.
ANOTHER HEART, which includes original compositions and cover versions, is a musical travelogue of Savoy’s influences from her younger days and from her introduction to Cajun music by Marc Savoy, whom she first met at the National Folk Festival in Washington, D.C., in 1975. Produced by Dirk Powell, who also played numerous instruments, the studio band included Savoy’s family members and guest contributions from Rhiannon Giddens and Sonny Landreth.
Nods to the music that was closest to Savoy’s heart on her travels to the U.K. as a young woman include Sandy Denny’s Who Knows Where The Time Goes, Donovan’s Lord Of The Reedy River and The Kinks’ swinging 60s classic Waterloo Sunset. Closer to home and from CLOUDS, an album that set Savoy’s sights on her musical path, Joni Mitchell’s The Angel is also included. Her original songs are the raunchy album opener Cajun Love Song, the sorrowful Triste Samedi (A Sad Saturday/ A Hurricane Song) composed in memory of a catastrophic Louisiana storm and the tale of youthful yearning, Gabie’s New Year’s Eve Lament.
The Richard Thompson-written A Heart Needs A Home, which was also included on Savoy’s 2006 duets album with Linda Ronstadt, ADIEU FALSE HEART, features Kelli Jones on harmony vocals, and Rhiannon Giddens adds her vocals to Savoy’s reworking of Springsteen’s Stolen Car.
Songs that refer to various periods and moments in the writer’s life journey, ANOTHER HEART may primarily be a personalised and inward-looking undertaking by Savoy. However, its charm and character make it quite something to savour for the listener.
Declan Culliton
David Murphy Cuimhne Ghlinn: Explorations in Irish Music for Pedal Steel Guitar Rollercoaster
Cork-based multi-instrumentalist, producer and hired hand David Murphy has played pedal steel guitar on stage and in the studio with numerous artists and bands, including John Blek, The Delines, The Lost Brothers, Arborist and Freeman's Country Carvery. Murphy's approach to the pedal steel guitar is far from traditional; he infuses his country and psychedelic chords with the ambient and expressive sound of an instrument that has contributed to numerous music genres outside its 'country' domain, creating a unique and intriguing musical experience.
His ambitious debut solo album, CUIMHNE GHLINN: EXPLORATION IN IRISH MUSIC for PEDAL STEEL, mirrors Seán Ó Riada 1960's pioneering projects, which introduced modern and classical styles to traditional Irish music. Similarly, Murphy deconstructs and recreates ancient traditional Irish harp pieces employing pedal steel as the dominant instrument on the album's eight instrumental tracks. Accompanying musicians are a cast of talented players, including Peter Broderick (strings), Steve Wickham (fiddle), Laura McFadden (cello), Aisling Urwin (harp), Alannah Thornburgh (harp), Rory McCarthy (piano), Mark McCausland (guitar), Anthony Ruby (uilleann pipes), and Cory Gray (trumpet).
From the opening piece Aisling Gheal, to An Speic Seoigeach, which bookends the album, the pedal steel guitar, with its unique tonal qualities, effectively captures the deep melancholy and sombre nature of the compositions. Cití na g Cumann, the traditional Irish waltz and first single from the album, bewitchingly marries pedal steel with gentle strings and piano, further enhancing the emotional depth of the music.
A brave and pioneering undertaking by David Murphy and a landmark in ambient Irish traditional music, CUIMHNE GHLINN's haunting musical sketches take the listener on a moody and other-worldly musical trail. It's also a recording that is very much at the heart of the current resurgence of classical, traditional, and folk music both at home and abroad.
Declan Culliton
Ted Russell Kamp California Son KZZ
Originally a jazz-schooled New Yorker, Ted Russell Kamp is very much a ‘go-to’ bass player in California, having played on numerous recordings and stages with Jessi Colter, Whitey Morgan, Sam Morrow and Waylon Jennings.
Kamp has also been bass player in Shooter Jennings’ band for many years. Alongside that parallel career as a hired gun, Kamp has recorded fourteen solo albums, including his latest and most autobiographical, CALIFORNIA SON. In the tradition of his adopted state and in keeping with his previous recordings, the album criss-crosses between country, rock and folk. Self-produced, Kamp contributed vocals, bass, electric and acoustic guitars, dobro, Hammond, Wurlitzer and percussion.
Like the opening chapter in a book, CALIFORNIA SON kicks off with the title track, fondly cataloguing Russell Kamps’ pilgrimage to what has become his home for the past two and a half decades. His many like-minded friends and peers join him across the twelve tracks. The gently rolling Shine On features I SEE HAWKS IN L.A players Paul Lacques (who has sadly passed away since) and Rob Waller, and Russell Kamp’s regular collaborator John Schreffler is credited on four tracks.
Other highlights are the barroom rocker The Upside to the Downside and the stripped-back bluesy Hangin’ On Blues. Roll Until the Sun Comes Up nails the vintage California early 70s vibe, and the hell-raiser Hard To Hold gives the thumbs up to headstrong and maverick women.
Russell Kamp has invariably kept the engine of the late 60s and early 70s West Coast music genre running. CALIFORNIA SON maintains that consistent ambience with this heartfelt testimonial, which travels in a number of directions but never strays outside the California state borders.
Declan Culliton
Robby Hecht Not A Number Tone Tree
Singer-songwriter Robby Hecht may not be a household name, but his music, both self-recorded and with over sixty songs recorded by others, can boast a staggering twenty-five million streams to date.
NOT A NUMBER found Hecht teaming up with multi-instrumentalist and recording artist Anthony da Costa, who produced the album and is credited with numerous instrumental contributions. Also adding to the quality of the album are vocal contributions from a host of Hecht's Nashville neighbours, including Caroline Spence, Jill Andrews, Katie Pruitt, and Lydia Luce, who are very much on the Lonesome Highway radar.
The overriding theme of the twelve songs is personal introspection, with issues such as mental illness, marriage, relationship breakdown, and personal struggle dominant. Fittingly, the vocal and musical delivery is gentle, restrained, and unrushed, allowing the messages within the songs to take pride of place.
Metaphorically, Someone To Dance With addresses the basic human need for companionship rather than isolation and loneliness,’ a theme that most people, if honest, can relate to. If I Knew You Now and I Can't Save You Anymore, strike a similar melancholic and questioning chord, grappling with lost love that could have prospered. The title track, written at a time of grave uncertainty at the height of the pandemic, considers the many people suffering and dying alone ('I hope you know you're not a number and if you go, you'll be remembered'). Dead Weight, co-written with Caroline Spence, details the artist's anxiety about surviving and providing for a partner or family in their precarious career. On a lighter note, Old Radio recalls the writer's connection to music from a young age and how that draw led to his chosen vocation despite the hurdles and undesirable consequences expressed elsewhere in the album.
The candour in Hecht's songwriting and vocal expression possesses the prowess to draw the listener in and hold their attention. Not afraid to lay bare his vulnerabilities, Hecht achieves that with this soul-stirring twelve-track album.
Declan Culliton
Elliott Brood Country Six Shooter
It's nearly twenty years since I first saw Elliott Brood perform live. I recall being bowled over by their brand of alt-country, as it was christened at that time. Alongside their own material, they included a Neil Young cover from his album ZUMA (the exact one escapes me) and, for my ears, they were the optimum blend of melody and edginess. Fast forward two decades and a dozen albums later, and those characteristics remain, although their brand has been updated in some quarters from 'alt-country' to 'death country.'
The three-piece Canadian band consists of multi-instrumentalists Mark Sasso and Casey Laforet and percussionist Stephen Pitkin. Their latest record, COUNTRY, follows TOWN AND COUNTRY from earlier this year and TOWN, which they released in 2023.
The new album plays out like a guided tour of the band's interpretation of country music and the specific forms within the genre that inspires them. The opener, Wind and Rain, is a raging fix of cowpunk that recalls the classic sounds emanating from California in the early 80s. They follow that with a countrified and hugely impressive re-working of The Stones' Out Of Time, which sticks to the West Coast sound of the opener although somewhat more laid back. It's one of two covers on the eight-track album; the other is a true-to-the-original take on Rodney Crowell's Bluebird Wine. Their fellow countryman Neil Young's magic often surfaces on their recordings, and the ballad Long Since Lost, with its whistling intro, ticks that box this time. They nod their heads toward Lynyrd Skynyrd with the rampant Southern rocker Postcard Pretty, which signs out under the two-minute mark. They Never Want To Sing Along is a more relaxed love song, with weeping pedal steel and slick guitar breaks emphasising the poignancy of the tune.
COUNTRY is an impressive addition to a back catalogue of albums by Elliot BROOD that should be on the radar of all serious followers of textbook roots music. Lyrically poetic with drifting melodies and razor-sharp playing, they capture country music's often-shifting colours with this extremely easy-on-the-ear recording.
Declan Culliton
The Paper Kites At the Roadhouse Nettwerk
This album recently came across my radar and represents the sixth release from an Australian band that impress at every turn. Their easy dynamic is a sweet mix of pure Americana and Country inspired tunes as they explore a rich tapestry of sound across the sixteen tracks included here.
Based in Melbourne, this five piece group comprises Sam Bentley (lead vocals, guitars, harmonica, mandolin), Christina Lacy (backing vocals, pianos, Wurlitzer, Rhodes, guitars), David Powys (backing vocals, guitars, banjo), Samuel Rasmussen (bass), and Josh Bentley (drums). On this album they are joined by The Roadhouse Band that includes the talents of Hannah Cameron (backing vocals, organs, piano, percussion), Chris Panousakis (backing vocals, guitars, percussion), and Matt Dixon (pedal steel, guitars).
This is timeless music. The laid back playing and the sense of space in the arrangements allows the musicians to express their full range in allowing the melodies to find their own course. I hear the Go-Betweens in the silky Maria, Its Time and there is a gentle memory of the great Neal Casal in the vocal tone of Sam Bentley throughout. I Don’t Want To Go That Way is heartbreakingly beautiful in the delivery and typical of a number of special moments on this superb album. There is a subtle production throughout and the honeyed delivery of this music induces a sense of reverie as the songs deliver a sense of being visited by something special.
Darkness At My Door is a wonderful example and echoes The Band in the richly melodic arrangement and groove. The finely tuned pulse that reverberates through the album continues to inspire on Till the Flame Burns Blue as it channels early Van Morrison, the easy glide of the melody and vocal delivery augmented by soulful backing vocals and pedal steel atmospherics. Black and Thunder is another real highlight and has a deep blues groove with the guitar motif connecting with the slow rhythm and keyboard atmospherics. Marietta has a real sense of loneliness in the wistful delivery and the words ‘maybe peace will come in time.’
The album has great feel and atmosphere, with the listening experience one of joy at the real sense of accomplishment in the delivery. It certainly stands as a major statement in the career arc of this band and also points towards a new paradigm in the development of their journey. The ghost of Gram Parsons is in the fine lines of Rolling On Easy while Hurts So Good is classic country pain, sourced from the fires of sweet desire. The country noir of Burning the Night Away drips into the attack of June’s Stolen Car and a Replacements vibe in the carefree delivery.
The band dynamic is something that comes only from years of playing together and the seamless flow in the groove is both enticing and hypnotic, with plenty of nuance in the delivery. The Sweet Sound Of You is yet another highlight and one that arrives perfectly formed in the gentle flow, while Pocketful Of Rain is a meditation on the peaks and troughs of a relationship in all its guises.
There is over an hour of inspiring and inventive music to explore here and the deeply gratifying feeling of being on a surf board above the waves persists throughout. Without doubt, one of the highlights of the year and a talisman for the potential that continues to guide this band on the path forward. A very special album and an essential purchase.
Paul McGee
The Old 97s American Primitive ATO
Right from the get-go you know that this band are back with a bang. Since the release of their debut album back in 1994 they have never failed to impress, with a sound labelled both cowpunk and alt-country. They have always had country overtones and high-energy undertones (or perhaps something of the Undertones). Some might rightly wonder if they are still capable of making the music as they once did 30 years in. This album dispels any doubts and is a hit to these ears, from first song to last.
It was produced, engineered and mixed by Tucker Martine who has done his best to capture that ‘lightning in a bottle’ sound that sometimes evades bands in the studios. Martine has undoubtedly achieved that balance between primitive and polish. They went into the studio without any pre-production with the producer, so that may help explain some of the elements of the recording that makes it sound instinctive rather than overthought. That their line up is unchanged since their inception speaks of shared objectives and mutual respect. Occasionally members of the band have released solo albums and side projects, but the sound and ideals of the Old 97s still lies in this band. One reason perhaps for their longevity is that they have credited the majority of their material to the whole band, something that can avoid the conflict that can exist when one or two members take the writing credits (and more significantly perhaps the royalties).
Joining the band for the recording were Peter Buck (guitar and mandolin on a couple of tracks), Scott McCaughey played piano on one song, Richard Hewett added additional drums to one cut, pianist Annie Crawford and Jeff Tripp (who plays some notable flamenco guitar on the final track Estuviera Cayendo). But it is Rhett Miller, Murry Hammond, Ken Bethea and Philip Peeples who play the crucial roles, bringing the band through their noted live genesis as well as in the studio. They reveal themselves to be at the top of their game here, with Miller delivering very impressive lead vocals and the others all adding backing vocals and harmonies. He draws on literary as well as literate observation for inspiration. One song though, Honeypie, is more obviously of a closer family source, wherein he declares “She likes it when I call her honeypie / she likes it when I call her pretty baby / but the one thing she don’t like is when I call her my old lady” This adds a rounded perspective to some of the more introspective lyrics, as with the opening three track salvo of rock prowess that begins with Falling Down. That song offers this couplet as a way of signifying and dealing with an uncertain future “You’ve got to dance as if the world’s on fire around you / because it is” and that is a truth that will resonate for many. Across the thirteen tracks they exhibit a deftness with arrangements that underscore their ability to combine melody and mighty riffs. The open trio of songs would not be out of place in any punk club or rock arena.
Stepping back a little in terms of tempo, they detail a roadmap that Where The Roads Goes has taken them and may still continue to take them. I can’t remember the last time that whistling was a central feature of a song but it is in By The End Of The Night. It is a standout for this reason, as well a for being a memorable song. And so it goes with Masterpiece, Magic and Incantation - the latter opens with acoustic and vocals harmonies and effectively maintains that pace to give the lyrics their clarity to outline a break-up to be “an invitation to rejoin the human race” and to be free and find another person. Western Stars has some twang to motivate it. And especially cowpunk in feel is Chased The Setting Sun, something that the protagonist has done and wants to be told when he is done. Moller uses some falsetto in his vocal that is a testament to his undiminished skill in that areaWestern Stars has some twang to motivate it. And especially cowpunk in feel is Chased The Setting Sun, something that the protagonist has done and wants to be told when he is done. Moller uses some falsetto in his vocal that is a testament to his undiminished skill in that area.
We close as we began with the penultimate full throttle song that decries This World, short and not that sweet. AMERICAN PRIMITIVE is the latest outing from a band that I have followed (from afar) and never been disappointed with, in their recorded music. This is arguably, and justifiably, one of their best and long may they continue. It is the war cry, rather than any sign of a possible wreck of the Old 97’s.
Stephen Rapid
Dawn Landes, Caitlin Cannon, Ted Russell Kamp Music, Robby Hecht, Elliott BROOD, The Paper Kites, Old 97's.