The Faux Paws Backburner Great Bear
I can honestly say that I have never come across a harder to classify band than the Faux Paws, who I was lucky enough to run into at IBMA last year. This five track EP is a perfect introduction to that eclectic sound, crossing the genres from stringband to jazz to folk to bluegrass and old time … and back again. Most unusual of all is the pairing of tenor saxophone with fiddle and guitar and, in their hands, it works (trust me!)
Brothers Noah (fiddle) and Andrew (guitar) VanNorstrand hail from upstate NY, where they honed their chops in a contra danceband with their mother, while Chris Miller (sax and banjo) comes from a jazz and Cajun background. Their dynamism is evident from the off in the opening and title track, an upbeat song (vocals by Noah) about love lost, then won, featuring guitar breaks and then some absolute shredding on fiddle, followed by an ascending key change to boot. Birdy Thirty is a slightly less frenetic but more funky, jazz-influenced instrumental, led by saxophone with some nice interplay and harmonising with the acoustic guitar and mandolin. Salish Sea is a beautiful slow paced instrumental, with the all feel of a sea shanty, led by Noah’s fiddle, musically very reminiscent of Scottish tunes. Then it’s back to breathtaking speed with the two instrumentals Sailing To Denver/Red Top, where the tenor sax again interacts dynamically with the fiddle in particular, both taking the tunes to dizzying musical heights. The tongue-in-cheek Good Song closes out this gem of a recording, with three part harmonies in a jazz-driven ditty.
Unfortunately I missed the Faux Paws’s showcases at IBMA 2023 (not even I can be in two places at once!) but I look forward to seeing them live somewhere in the future. I urge you to check them out and see why I was so pleasantly surprised.
Eilís Boland
Abby Posner Second Chances Blackbird
Modern day Renaissance woman Abby Posner often writes to order. The Californian multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter and producer has successfully turned her hand to writing for film, TV and adverts, as well as touring with her band, The Myth. This second solo album, however, was fuelled by real life - the break-up of a serious relationship. Known for constantly crossing musical genres, the pain of that break up erupts through the twelve songs here, whether the sonar landscape is folk, indie-pop, Americana or the blues.
Posner freely admits that she has always used music as a therapeutic tool to help her work through life’s vicissitudes and she certainly lays her soul bare on SECOND CHANCES. The opener Slowly finds her pleading with her ex-partner, still hopeful that they can make a go of it, ‘we can make it through/when you are ready to try’, folky acoustic guitar and mandolin bestowing a lightness on the sentiment. Darker, though, is the musical palette of We’ve Come So Far, and If You Wanna Love ‘you gotta let it go’ is given a bluesy rock treatment. She thinks about giving it all up and moving back to her home town in Moving Back To Denver, and she’s still wrestling with the pain of it all on At Any Cost. Pedal steel player Devon Teran joins her on the latter, as well as contributing gorgeous steel to the Californian country rock sound of Night Train and The One Good Thing. Posner herself produced, mixed and plays guitar, bass, drums, keys, mandolin and banjo, as well as taking all the lead vocals. Her band join her on three of the tracks, recorded live in the studio.
As an openly queer woman, Posner recently said she is particularly proud of The Starting Line, which is an anthem of encourgement to all to be proud to march to the beat of their own drum. Quiet on Sunset is another standout track, where she’s still holding out hope, the heavy electronic folk of synths and bass clashing with the organic banjo and drums, mirroring the clash of needs within a relationship.
There is no happy ending for Abby Posner on this album, but I for one will be looking out for the next chapter, hoping for her second chance.
Eilís Boland
Sarah Gayle Meech Easin’ On Good Timin’ Woman
The title of Sarah Gayle Meech’s latest album is a statement of resolve and rebirth from the Nashville-based artist. Very much at the core of Music City’s classic country resurgence, the Longview, Washington-born artist’s legendary four-hour residencies at Robert’s Western World on Broadway, alongside Joshua Hedley’s equally impressive shows at that venue, are part of the fabric that draws so many, both local and tourists, to that honky tonk institution. Given the endless talent in Nashville, earning that entitlement is no mean feat and confirmation of her skillset as a songwriter, musician and entertainer.
Fuelled by a challenging period when Sarah had to overcome the trauma of a divorce and the death of a close friend, the album considers those trying and devastating times, puts some closure on them and ultimately rejoices in newfound love and the power of survival. She bravely and openly tackles the problematic subject matter, giving the listener a no-holds-barred tour of life’s complexities.
Many of the players Sarah has shared and continues to share Nashville stages with added their weight to the album. Pedal steel maestros Eddie Lange and Tommy Hannum’s playing is faultless. Chris Brush was on drums on all the tracks, and co-producer Shawn Byrne added numerous instruments, including guitars, mandolin, and banjo. The orchestration on the countrypolitan tracks Time For A Change, Love Me, and Stars is credited to multi-instrumentalist Billy Contreras.
The heartbreaker There He Goes is a throwback to 60s pop/country ballads that became household-known tunes for Tammy Wynette. The brutally confessional Trouble With Me speaks of the grinding reality of vulnerability and compulsion. Uncertainty and moving ahead are vented on the powerfully emotive Forget About Me and Something To Live For, a response to the former song and a plea for new pastures in the future.
Personal disarray and recovery are often the drivers of excellence in music, and no more so than in the country genre. EASIN’ ON is a prime example, and Sarah Gayle Meech, the recipient of Best Female Outlaw at The Ameripolitan Music Awards back in 2015, has delivered, alongside a collection of musicians firing on all cylinders, a wholly heartfelt country gem.
Declan Culliton
Emily Nenni Drive & Cry New West
One of the most exciting artists to emerge in the outlaw scene in recent years, both on record and in the live setting, Nashville-based Emily Nenni continues to go from strength to strength. Her 2022 album, ON THE RANCH, featured highly in our favourite albums of that year, and her storming live set at American Legion during Americana Fest last year was a highlight of our annual trip to Nashville. Far from an overnight success, Nenni’s steady rise has come about by hard graft to present her classic honky tonk vocal style and clever songwriting to a growing audience. Moving to Nashville at twenty-one, she cut her teeth playing for tips downtown at Robert’s Western World and Santa’s Pub and independently recorded her debut album, HELL OF A WOMAN in 2017 and her EP, LONG GAME, three years later. A pointer towards her ongoing rising star will be her debut at the Grand Ole Opry scheduled for this month.
Nenni’s talent, hard work and extreme enthusiasm have paid rewards, and those talents have fully blossomed with DRIVE & CRY. Released on the New West label, it maintains a consistent ambience of old-school and modern country throughout. More adventurous in production and arrangement than her previous records, hats off for that to producer and Deslondes member John James Tourville, who, together with Matt Ross-Spang, oversaw the final mix. Collectively, in the studio, they recreated the energy and dynamism of Nenni’s stage shows.
The majority of 2022’s ON THE RANCH was written during lockdown at a ranch farm in Colorado. Eleven of the twelve tracks this time around were written over three weeks at Nenni’s current home in Nashville, resulting in a noticeable interconnection between the songs. ‘I’m making changes, moving on from phases, onto new stages I will run. I sure as hell ain’t ever one and done,’ Nenni announces on the track Changes, the first song written for the album. That defiance and self-confidence are always close to the surface and no more so than on the swampy country funk track I Don’t Have To Like You (‘I’m a grown-ass woman and I don’t trust a word you coo’). We Sure Could Two Step, awash with fiddles and pedal steel, is a dance hall anthem, and Nenni’s vocals are firmly on the traditional country pedal on the lively title track and the opener, Get To Know Ya. Lay Of The Land and I Can’t Pretend It Never Happened find her spiralling off in a calmer direction, although equally impressively and also included is Terry Allen’s Amarillo Highway. This song is regularly featured in Nenni’s live sets. The musical chemistry of players very much on the same page is outstanding throughout, and the plainspoken I Don’t Need You finds them at the top of their game.
Fiercely devoted to vintage country, DRIVE & CRY is a slick helping, lyrically and instrumentally, of that sound from start to finish. Hopefully, it will catapult Emmi Nenni to the top of the queue, alongside Kelsey Waldon and Sierra Ferrell, of women who are brushing aside industry demands and recording some of the finest ‘country’ albums of recent years.
I may hear a better country album this year, but I doubt I will.
Declan Culliton
Charley Crockett $10 Cowboy Son Of Davy/Thirty Tigers
'When I was out there on those street corners learning to stand behind this guitar, ten dollars was a whole lot of money,' Charley Crockett recalls in the title track of his latest record. $10 COWBOY—his seventh in the past four years—is, in many ways, a personal account of his steady rise from street busker to internationally acclaimed country artist, and that opening track is one of several on the record that recount that campaign.
Delivered in his composed, semi-spoken style, Crockett's self-titled 'Gulf and Western' sound is a unique fusion of country and western, R'n'B, soul, and blues, and this record is a testament to that. His deep-rooted admiration for acts from Buddy Holly to Waylon Jennings and Jerry Reed to Henson Cargill also shines through on the twelve-track, forty-minute record, adding to its allure.
Mid-tempo inclusions like Good At Losing and Hard Luck And Circumstances poignantly communicate the thorny travels of the struggling artist. The former is beautifully adorned by strings, amplifying the despondency in its tale, and the latter features a backing choir and pedal steel for a similar effect. The essence of going against the flow also blooms in I Ain't Done Losing Yet and Solitary Road. Less personal and with a wider lens, America plays out like an open letter from a drifter ('America, how are ya?I hope you're doin' fine. America, I love ya and I fear you sometimes').
If those songs were a glance over the shoulder at often arduous times, Crockett fast forwards to the present with Lead The Way ('I've been told many times throughout the years that the road I was on would lead me nowhere….. I found a place where your dreams come true').
Recorded live at Arlyn Studios in Austin, Texas, Crockett and his regular band members, Kullen Fox, Nathan Fleming, and Mario Valdez, recreate the essence of his live shows. A host of session players, including Kullen Fox, Nathan Fleming, and Mario Valdez also contributed. A string quartet also performed on a number of the tracks.
An artist who knows what he's good at, Crockett's creative fire continues to burn on this latest offering, which perfectly represents the shifting colours of country music.
Declan Culliton
Heather Little By Now Need To Know
Right from the opening song Five Deer County you are completely hooked by this beautiful, authentic album of heartland songs and roots music of the highest quality. It has been far too long since Heather Little produced new music and her debut album dates back to 2013’s WINGS LIKE THESE. That album included eight songs and in 28 short minutes she announced herself to a music media that was largely unaware of her talents. In 2021 she recorded a live session at the Old Quarter Acoustic Café in Galveston and of the ten songs she performed, four feature as tracks on this second studio album that confirms her status as a songwriter par excellence.
The entire project is a joy from start to finish with a deft touch displayed throughout by producers Brian Brinkerhoff and Frank Swart. Initial recordings were at the Need To Know studios in California and there is an impressive, and long, list of musicians and guest singers that help bring the project to such a successful fruition. All thirteen songs are written by Heather Little, including one co-write with Miranda Lambert, the hit Gunpowder and Lead, which appeared back in 2007 on Lambert’s second album, CRAZY EX-GIRLFRIEND. It was a big success back then and it is included here also and probably the most commercial track on the album.
There is a knowing maturity to these songs of love and loss, poignant observations of days past and rueful regret at missed opportunities that could have shaped dreams of a life once imagined. Despite the sense of sadness that runs through the lyrics there is a hard found optimism also present, as if the protagonist has not yet thrown in the towel and is still in the fight. There is no doubt that the songs come from a very personal space and that the nature of much of the content is autobiographical. Even in the character songs, there is a thread running through that conjures self- reflection. In the interpretation of the song content it’s possible to find different layers and meanings in the writing; always the sign of a seasoned and sophisticated storyteller.
I hear the sound of Bonnie Raitt in the vocal delivery on Bones and in the sense of regret which informs the song. Patty Griffin appears on the poignant This Life Without You and the reality of death is captured in words that resonate ‘If we had it to do over, Would anything have changed your mind, Is there something we all missed that would have saved you, Or did you need this all along to be alright.’ Elsewhere songs like Razor Wire and Hands Like Mine shimmer and echo in the distance as love leaves and reflection follows ‘ You ought to know all the times you couldn’t find your truth, I was looking for you’ and the equally piercing ‘The whole damn time there should have been a sign, They don’t make a ring for hands like mine.’
These are songs of great depth and the performance is so honest in the delivery that they leave an impression that stays long after the album ends. Hitting all the parts of heartfelt emotion, using what is understood between all who try for that special place of comfort. Love gained and dreams lost in the trying. Five Deer County refers to the lone star state of Texas and the city of San Saba, the place where her man wants to live free in his Airstream travel trailer, outside the city and on the range ‘All by himself, Living the dream, In a five deer county and an old Airstream.’ Letting go is sometimes the only answer.
The song Better By Now looks at a relationship where the couple stay together and the price paid for their growing distance ‘I’ve wasted a lot of love being wrong, I learn too late and I stay too long.’ Landfall is a beautiful song that tracks the dissolution of a relationship through the metaphor of a hurricane and it hits hard ‘Our storm is making landfall tonight.’ Family challenges and strained relationships are captured on Transistor Radio and My Father’s Roof and there is a sense of the autobiographical in the sentiments expressed. Disappointment and the realisation of damaging affairs are tackled on Saint Christopher and Sunset Inn, ‘You take a sinner for a saint, They’re all winners every time until they ain’t’ and the telling lines ‘A little better looks like love, When it’s really just one step above, The pain you’ve always known.’
The playing is beautifully restrained throughout and the quality of musicianship is hugely impressive, colouring the melodies and lifting the song arrangements at every turn. It’s very early to be naming one of the albums of the year but this one is going to take some beating. Essential and evocative, haunting and laced with moments of tender insight.
Paul McGee
Dustin Kensrue Desert Dreaming BMG
Not an artist previously known to me but he was a member of the rock band Thrice previously and is also a committed Christian. He has forged his musical path that has led him to spiritual nature found in the desert and it would seem, from some online clips, that his previous work has been leading to this place in his life and music.
The album opens with a duet between Kensrue and Cat Clyde, Death Valley Honeymoon, that is a contemporary contender for a place alongside the classic duets of the past. It has some engaging pedal steel from Abe Levy (who is also used to great effect elsewhere on the album). What is apparent is that Kensrue has a way with a song that is consistent and not without charm, telling tales that relate to an overall sense of place. Treasure In The West is a search for something that is more than the physical. There is, overall, a frame of mind that feels right for the simultaneosuly harsh and yet appealing nature that is apparent in the quietness of the desert.
Lift Your Eyes is one that has an immediacy that is forged from Kensrue’s echoed vocal and twangy guitar. Beneath that are Seth Richardson and James McAllister’s contributions on bass and drums. The desertscape is often a cipher for internal thoughts and feelings that fit its sometimes Lynch-ian soundtracks of echoed guitar and mood-filled sounds. Western Skies tells of double crossings while the upbeat tempo of The Heart of Sedona is a strong call to return to its precincts. More straight countrified is Sage & Lilac, it has a dancefloor shuffle beat that won’t fail to move feet, with its call to stand in the sun and light and feel nature.
In a campfire mood is the tale of a walk around a small western town at night in The Light Of The Moon. Built around upright bass and strummed acoustic guitar, it effectively paints a particular picture and there is a little reminder of Calexico apparent in its border performance. A move that is essential for the protagonist that is fuelled also by the draw of the open road and a new town is Leaving Tonight For Santa Fe. The overall sound here, with strong pedal steel, is another song that has its heart in traditional country themes and essences. The title track is the final one and is an atmospheric slow paced song that relies on a return to the solace and dreams that repeatedly attract the peoples of that arid but inspiring place.
This is one of those albums whose cover promised something that I would enjoy and, in fact, from the first play I was happy to be in the world suggested by the title. I hope that Kensrue continues to explore this direction in the future which ,while it may not be unique, is still worthy of further exploration - certainly based on this particular release. Dream on.
Stephen Rapid
Wesley Dean Music from Crazy Hearts House Of Flames
Until I received this album for possible review, I wasn’t aware of Wesley Dean. From the cover I learned that it was recorded in RCA Studio A in Nashville and that he is a new outlaw affiliated country orientated artist. Dean is an Australian who is well know and successful back in his home country for winning Australian Idol and has released hit singles and albums. He had, in the past, visited the States and Nashville in particular. On that trip he met Justin Cortelyou, an experienced engineer, and for this album has used Cortelyou as his producer. It has turned out to be a very successful partnership. Though it has many of the hallmarks of roots Americana, they have created something of a big and engaging sound that has an immediate impact from first listen.
All the songwriting is credited to ‘W. Carr’, who is in fact Wesley Dean. He dropped the Carr from his name of late when he made the new move. The songs came after a period of self-analysis and doubt as to whether he should continue with his musical career. He made the decision to move his family to Nashville during the pandemic and once that was firmly in place and the decision cemented, he found the songs came over a brief period and then he set about recording them with Cortelyou. A key team of players worked with Dean, who himself featured on acoustic and electric guitar, along with Chris Harrah, and was joined by the power and omnipresence of the rhythm section of Brian Killian (drums) and Adam Beard (bass), the keyboards of Charlie Lowell and the string arrangements and fiddle from Billy Contreras. This adds much of the depth, drama and texture that is apparent here. There is also a forceful use of vocals, with both a choir and assembled backing vocalists (Sarah Buxton and the McCrary Sisters) used through the tracks, to great effect.
The opening drum pattern of Mercy, a song with religious overtones of deliverance and redemption with the choir singing “God has mercy”, is a sound that grows and builds to a short but effective guitar and fiddle mid-section. As an album opener, it’s powerful and memorable and sets up expectations for the remainder of the album. The next song Burn This House goes out to those with “crazy hearts”, who have had to endure what life offers to those living on the fringes and who might also have fallen through the cracks. Dean adds convincing harmonica to contribute to the overall energy of the song.
There is a simpler feel to the tale of two friends that is Blood Brothers. It details how the closeness of these two friends is lost over time. It has an impassioned vocal from Dean to further emphasise this, as does the closing abstract sound collage.This is just one song that draws from a heartland experience that could relate to small town America as much as it could to a similar situation in Australia, or anywhere.
In a not dissimilar vein is Gunslinger, where again the guitars add a forcefulness to the sound that in many ways transcends genre into something more universal, with a mass of vocals repeating the title. The title track is more gentle and acoustic, using guitar and keyboards sparingly until the choir weighs in without overwhelming the mood. “Sometimes I think my heart is too crazy for you.” The first version of Tennessee Road is short and soulful and reminds one, to a degree, of Chris Stapleton. Then the longer version of the track continues that theme but with a full keyboard bolstered sound that could have come from a later Springsteen album. It is in this latter part of the album that the sound opens up to something that is broader than an ‘Americana’ label might predict (though that term is now so broad I guess it can accommodate pretty much anything - these tracks included). Doorways has more soulfulness, strings and a touch of 60s psych-soul.
Harmonica opens the next track’s reflection, which is Don’t look Back, about belief and forward looking and thinking. It asks who are you fighting for and is similarly less reliant on the big sound. He is joined by Sarah Buxton on the vocals. A track that may, by its title, have some resonance and placement in the consciousness is Southern Man. Built around a central boogieing guitar riff, the song has an undeniable power as it explains who the southern man here is. It builds to a hypnotic state, with the title repeating throughout. The album closes with Tomorrow which is, by way of contrast, a vocal and acoustic song at heart. It speaks of dreams and hopes for tomorrow. The strings are used effectively and subtly here, and it shows that Dean’s grasp of portraying mixed emotions is at the heart of his musical quest.
This is an album that may be considered to redefine the notions of a genre, but one that, for this listener, manages never to move to a place that seems at odds with its intentions, something that many artists who claim adherence to that style do - for me at least. At the end of the day this man’s crazy heart is beating strong and his music has a similar heartbeat.
Stephen Rapid
Gary Stewart Live At Billy Bob’s Texas Smith
This album from the legendary latter day honky-tonker is part of an ongoing series of releases of shows taped at the largest honk-tonk in Texas. Stewart has been gone 21 years now and this release features many of his best know recorded songs done in a welcoming live setting. It came out originally back in 2003. He had steadfastly stuck to his musical path when many others had abandoned it in the 80s and early 90s. His debut album was released in 1973 and he released a further seventeen or so albums, but by the time of this release his music was not considered viable at radio (still may not be), which may explain why he was not better renowned or rewarded for his work. However many critics lauded his music and albums throughout his career, one that, it seems, included playing piano in Charley Pride’s band. He also released some duet albums with noted songwriter Dean Dillon.
Gary Stewart wrote or co-wrote many of his best songs, including Brand New Whiskey, An Empty Glass (That’s The Way The Day Ends) and Single Again. Other well know songs include Wayne Carson’s She’s Acting Single (I’m Drinking Doubles) and Danny O’Keefe’s Quits. Stewart sings these songs with an ongoing passion and is backed by a solid band whose steel player, harmonica and piano players as well as guitarist do some sterling work, as do the rhythm section. The reaction from the audience is warm and welcoming and they clearly appreciate his stance and legacy. His voice has a certain quality that is recognisable and very much in the mode of the somewhat nasal vibrato-tinged tenor of some honky tonk singers, something that was noted got better with age.
The fifteen tracks, which include slower songs alongside the uptempo numbers, will serve both as an introduction as well as being his only live album, a collection that fans who are aware of his work will enjoy. Though born in Kentucky and he worked and lived for a time in Florida, his music still seems best suited to a Texas audience, one that still appreciated his performance back in 2003. And certainly listening to this recording you can readily appreciate why. As his music is now hard to find, with various reissues now out of print, this may be the easiest way to hear and get to understand why Gary Stewart was so well thought of. The album and many others in the series can be purchased at SmithMusic.com.
Stephen Rapid
The Faux Paws, Abby Posner Music, Emily Nenni, Charley Crockett, Heather Little, Dustin Kensrue, Wesley Dean.