Iron & Wine Light Verse Sub Pop
Unlike many of his peers who found both the time and the inspiration to write during the two years of COVID-19 and lockdowns, Sam Beam’s experience of that period was quite the opposite. Without any desire to write and record a ‘pandemic’ album and unable to kickstart his creative verve, this form of writer’s block lasted for over two years.
The pathway back to writing the material for LIGHT VERSE came about when Beam, together with his close friend and producer Matt Ross-Spang, embarked on a recording session of four Lori McKenna songs, which would be released as Beam’s 2022 EP, LORI. Following that recording, Beam set off on a short solo tour titled ‘Back To Basics’ and then a more extensive tour with Andrew Bird, before finishing writing the ten songs for this album. Produced by Beam and mixed by Dave Way (John Way, Macy Gray, Fiona Apple, Michael Jackson), it features a twenty-four-piece orchestra on a number of tracks, adding depth and richness to the album and bringing to mind the arrangements on Al Stewart’s classic 1974 recording, PAST, PRESENT & FUTURE.
If Beam’s 2017 record BEAST EPIC was a commentary on ageing and the passage of time, LIGHT VERSE finds him in a more buoyant and self-assured frame of mind, possibly tinged with relief having survived the pandemic and recovered his mojo.
He invited Fiona Apple to add her voice on All In Good Time, and their vocal marriage, awash with dramatic strings, works spectacularly well. Tears That Don’t Matter is the record’s longest track, a few seconds short of seven minutes. With ‘streams of consciousness’ type lyrics and spectacular orchestration, it is a spellbinding delight. With whispered vocals, You Never Know is a gentle opener to the album. It is very much in keeping with Beam’s trademark sound, and its calmness and gentle melody is repeated on the reflective Taken By Surprise. The melodic and radio-friendly Sweet Talk is possibly the most upbeat and optimistic song recorded by Beam.
A departure from his previous recordings, LIGHT VERSE is an excellent serving of indie folk. It does require a few listens to connect fully, but that time invested reaps rich rewards.
Declan Culliton
Kelsey Waldon There’s Always a Song Oh Boy
The winner of the Ameripolitan Outlaw Female award earlier this year and featured in the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s American Current: State of The Music 2024, Kentucky-born Kelsey Waldon is finally getting the recognition she richly deserves.
Coinciding with those honours, Kelsey has released her third album on the Oh Boy label, having been the first artist in fifteen years to be signed to John Prine’s label in 2019. The album plays out like a road map to the music closest to Kelsey’s heart, from her childhood to the present day, with bluegrass, gospel, and old-time country very much to the fore.
Kelsey was joined by several guests on the eight tracks that feature. Her fellow Kentuckian S.G. Goodman got on board for the call-and-response song Hello Stranger. It’s a more animated rendition of the version previously recorded by Hazel Dickens and Alice Gerrard in 1973. The Hazel Dickens association is also visited on Pretty Bird, with Kelsey’s old mountain style a capella inspired by Hazel’s similar recording of the poem she wrote in 1973. An unaccompanied presentation of the traditional folk ballad Keep Your Garden Clean also features. Isaac Gibson of 49 Winchester added his vocal on a Porter and Dolly style duet of Ralph Stanley’s I Only Exist. Kelsey’s longtime Nashville friend, Margo Price, came on board on the blazing gospel tune Travelling The Highway Home. Amanda Shires lent a hand in the fiddle-driven reworking of Bill Monroes’ Uncle Pen, and the hymn Your Lone Journey, immortalised by Doc Watson, is beautifully interpreted. The last of the eight songs is the bluegrass traditional song I’ve Endured. Credited to the Appalachian folk singer and banjo player Ola Belle Reed, Kelsey’s harmonised countryfied version transforms the song into a mid-paced honky tonk gem.
Having displayed her capacity in the past to write meaningful country songs, this treasure chest of songs is a celebration of the music that pointed Kelsey Waldon on her career path. Joined by her friends who have travelled an identical road, it’s a joyous compilation of classic musicianship and vocals from one of the absolute purest country singers of recent years. Kelsey’s hit the bullseye dead centre with this album, but don’t just take my word and check it out yourself.
Declan Culliton
Jenny Tolman Broke Down In Jennyville Sessions Old Sol
The latest album from Jenny Tolman is an acoustic reworking of some songs previously recorded and a number of new songs by the Nashville-born artist.
Tolman’s 2020 debut album, THERE GOES THE NEIGHBOURHOOD, was a cleverly written concept affair, with a collection of songs that introduced an artist with a keen eye for often humorous small-town tales and titbits and with a sweet country vocal to underscore her tales. MARRIED IN A HONKY TONK followed two years later with further songs crafted from her fictional small-town Jennyville. Co-written with her husband, Grammy-nominated producer Dave Brainard (Jamey Johnson, Brandy Clark, Sunny Sweeney), it followed the formula of its predecessor with catchy songs and sharp lyrics.
Her new record is an interesting diversion from those two earlier releases. Stripped back and acoustic, it presents the listener with nine well-constructed songs. Tolman’s gorgeous vocals - the quality of her voice alone is worth your attention - without the embellishments of a full studio band, give depth to the songs. The humour of her previous two albums is also toned down; for me, the songs benefit from this approach.
Particularly noteworthy is her reworking of There Goes The Neighbourhood, which has echoes of Bobby Gentry. The tearjerker So Pretty and the sassy High Class White Trash also stand out; both have a Brandy Clark style about them. World’s A Small Town and Ain’t No Good for Me are simply vintage country songs, and the gentle album closer Until The End showcases Tolman’s striking vocal range.
With largely minimalistic acoustic backings, BROKE DOWN IN JENNYVILLE SESSIONS is a testament to the angelic pureness of Tolman’s voice and her ability, alongside Dave Brainard, to create thought-provoking songs from everyday observations. A delightfully accessible listen and possibly a pointer toward a change in direction for Tolman going forward, it’s most certainly a winner for me.
Declan Culliton
Madison Hughes Goodbye To Neverland Self-Release
Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida-born Madison Hughes' recording career to date has primarily been cover songs. Her versions of Morgan Wallen's I Deserve I Drink, Bob Dylan's Knocking on Heaven's Door, and Springsteen's Dancing in the Dark collectively earned her multi-million streams. It could be argued that the latter two were 'safe choices,' but they offered Hughes the opportunity to showcase the angelic pureness of her vocals.
GOODBYE TO NEVERLAND is a six-track mini album that sees Hughes venturing into a variety of musical styles, mainly through material co-written with New Jersey songwriter Rich Deans. It follows their full-on bluesy co-write 'Hate That You Love Me,' released as a single in March of this year. While that song is not included on this album - presumably it will be part of her full-length record due for release later this year - it sets the stage for an artist who is not afraid to experiment and grow both lyrically and vocally.
Among the standout tracks on this record are 'If My Heart Was A Train,' reminiscent of mid-career Shelby Lynne, and the title track, a well-constructed country ballad. These songs showcase her knack for easy-to-access melodies but she also delves into a high-octane vibe with the Carlene Carter 90s-styled rootsy gems' Ring The Doctor' and 'Nowhere Fast,' and the pedal steel-drenched country rocker, 'Too Far To Reach.' The inclusion of the aforementioned 'Dancing in the Dark' is a testament to her versatility, but it's the original material that truly shines.
Currently based in East Nashville, Hughes has broadened her musical horizons with an album that marks her as out a maturing artist with endless potential. In an overcrowded marketplace, let's hope she gets the opportunity to establish herself going forward.
Declan Culliton
The HawtThorns Zero Gravity Red Parlor
It's been a fascinating journey to witness the rise of The HawtThorns, a Nashville-based duo. KP Hawthorn, a former member of the California trio Calico, and her husband, Johnny, with a diverse background in solo work, session work, and production, have crafted a style that beautifully blends West Coast influences with a unique, swampy vibe.
ZERO GRAVITY, their third album in five years, is a testament to their musical evolution. Recorded live to tape at The Wood Brothers' The Nashville Studio and co-produced by the duo and Ted Pecchio, the album showcases KP's mellow vocals and Johnny's slick guitar hooks and solos on eleven tracks that captivate their raw energy and authenticity.
A bus stop outside a graveyard in Nashville passed many times by KP was the inspiration behind the racy opener Nothing But A Shadow. Elsewhere, rock-tinged tracks like Trouble and Hands On A Clock make a large splash and sit comfortably alongside the intimate ballads Save This One and Flying. However, stealing the show is the album's title track. A tour de force combining joy and sadness, it finds KP in exceptionally splendid voice supported by heavenly harmonies and swirling guitars. They sign off with the album's one cover version, a rousing delivery of The Everly Brothers When Will I Be Loved, which features Alice Wallace as guest vocalist.
The creative partnership between KP and Johnny Hawthorn marches on with this album. From a band that is now a robust pillar in the East Nashville music scene, ZERO GRAVITY is not a radical departure from their previous recordings; it is more a testimony to a duo that has found its musical sweet spot and continues to explore it.
Declan Culliton
Hannah Connolly Shadowboxing Self Release
Jon O’Brien’s Music Box Studios in Idyllwild, California was home for the release of this second album from Hannah Connolly. The mountain town, with the presence of nature all around, provided the perfect environment for this impressive step-up from the more acoustic and restrained debut album FROM WHERE YOU ARE which appeared in 2020.
Connolly is an experienced singer-songwriter at this juncture of her career and her ability to capture an emotion or a feeling in a song is very impressive. Her debut dealt with some personal matters and the album had a softer quality to the arrangements and the reflective musings. This time out there is a bigger production sound on the album and a greater sense of stretching out into new territory sonically. The songs continue to resonate when it comes to matters of the heart and perhaps the more contemplative aspects of the debut are now replaced by a new-found optimism in the future.
The opening song Reno has an appealing dreamy texture with the beautiful vocals of Connolly high in the mix and the pedal steel surfing the melody in a love song about missing your partner. The following song Stuck In Place raises the tempo and the guitar parts drive a song that sings about making things work, day at a time, living for the now and ‘Let it be what it is.’ The pace continues with tracks like Tired Of Trying, the rock groove of pushing through a busy life highlighting an aggressive tone in the vocal delivery.
Other songs like Bags Are Packed and Party Is Over are more acoustic based and consider the strength to be found in the love of another and wanting to be in the centre of the shared experience. Another song, Worth the Wait is focused on the pain of separation brought about by busy touring schedules and Brothers In the Same Dream looks to let go of past resentments and forgiving another for wrongs done. It shows a considered acceptance of others in the mellow delivery by Connolly, always an engaging vocalist with her soprano timbre.
The title song Shadowboxing is very much a country standard with pedal steel tickling the sweet melody as Connolly reflects upon feeling apart and outside of her external life with ‘A head full of dreams, And a heart full of love.’ The funky rhythm on Golden is very bright in the delivery as it looks at the challenges of daily routine and facing changes as part of the journey. Rushing By ends the album with a slow acoustic reflection on grief and getting beyond that sense of dislocation that we all grapple with. However, love will endure if the bond is strong and ‘It’s not the life that we chose but we’re getting by, The only thing I need now is your hand in mine.’ A fitting sentiment on which to conclude the album.
Connolly co-wrote all the tracks with Jordan Ruiz who also plays guitar, bass piano, pedal steel and drums across the ten songs. He also sings backing vocals along with other core studio players Eric Cannata (guitar, bass, piano, synth), Ben Greenberg (guitar, Wurlitzer, xylophone), and Jon O’Brien (organ, mellotron, bass, keys, percussion). They are joined on various tracks by Dan Bailey and Adam Schreiber who share drums and percussion, Via Mardot on theremin, slide guitar, marxophone and strings. The album was produced by Eric Cannata and Jon O’Brien with the live feel of playing in the studio very much a part of what delivers a work of great personality and layered with plenty of memorable moments.
Paul McGee
Sean Eamon With A Lean Self Release
A country/alt.country singer and songwriter based in Butte, Montana who is just releasing his third album recorded in his hometown. It was produced by Eamon and Justin Ringsak, who also plays bass and trumpet on the album. The assembled crew also includes Garrett Smith on trombone and harmony vocals - which adds an interesting soupçon of the flavour of New Orleans and Mexico to the overall sound. Drummer Mike Babineaux and the organ playing of Frankee Angel are also on board, which leaves the estimable talents of much sought after electric guitar and pedal steel maestro Eric Heywood to round out the musical talent. Eamon himself plays acoustic guitar and, naturally, handles the lead vocals in what is a distinctive style, which may not be to everyone’s taste but is instinctive and effective.
Sean Eamon has a couple of previous albums to his credit but this time he is seeking recognition further afield. The nine self-written songs here are realised in such a way as to warrant that closer attention. We open with If Love Was A Fighter, which quotes Muhammad Ali in the opening verse and uses the analogy to describe a relationship with love. It has the brass and steel adding another sonic layer that is appealing to its solid beat. Next we’re told that the protagonist would never have been a lucky guy! He is always On Trial in so far as he’s so far in front he’s always behind. Again it features an arrangement that adds a difference overall with the brass and steel embellishments. More introspective is Getting Down Early, another tale of a loser who can’t quite get it together, with the steel adding a mournfulness to the mood. “Getting down early and waking up late is my name” and he’s therefore missing out on life in many ways.
The losses in life continue with Every Teardrop, and you can guess the reason why he is in that particular state. It has to be said that lyrically there is no let up in this self examination of a life that looks for love but ends in emotional ruin. However, as with so much of the mores of traditional country themes, you sympathise with this ‘tear in the beer’ set of tales of woe and feel perfectly comforted by the way the music reveals this in such a appealing fashion. Who’s The Fool? Is self explanatory, while Hanging Under sees a man sitting at the bar and waiting for another round to see if that one eases his aches.
In the same sense of self-pity and perhaps looking for a way to change his life, it might just happen if he could just change All The Things I Have Broken. The foot-tapping tempo of You Don’t Love Me Anymore professes love, despite the fact that she doesn’t love him anymore, at least not the way she used to. Fittingly in some ways, the final track sums up the overall sense of downbeat delusion in the sadness of Waiting For It To End.
Obviously this doesn’t fit the positive nature of the new bright and shiny sheen of today’s country pop leanings, but rather offers a look into the lives of those who can’t seem to get a break in love or life. That musically it is delivered with such overall empathy for the central characters seemingly endless miasma makes it, like all good blues and country music, the perfect companion for either those trodding a similar path or those that simply appreciate an age old tradition of listening to musicians who know how to get this across in such an engaging way. One can only hope, though, that Sean Eamon is not writing just from experience but rather from something of an observational and creative perspective. Either way, lend an ear to this leaning tower of trouble.
Stephen Rapid
Monte Warden and the Dangerous Few Jackpot Break A Leg
I have been a fan of Monte Warden and his fellow bandmates who formed The Wagoneers in the 80s. At that time the only country bands, as such, that I was aware of were mainstream groups like Alabama and Diamond Rio, neither of whom floated my boat. So here was a young band, who played live and played on their albums and who looked western cool, with the right amount of reverence for the past while looking to the future. However they didn’t make it too far past the first two albums. There is a third album recorded around that time that has never been released, and after they played the Austin City Music awards in 2011 were back in the studio to record another unreleased album.
Monte Warden was the main songwriter and with his next three solo albums that was also the case, in the main, though there were also many co-writes. One of his partners in the process was Mas Palermo, who was also on board in Warden’s next combo, the Loan Sharks. He is still a part of the team playing with Warden in the dates that are done as The Wagoneers, as founding member drummer Tom Lewis is pursuing other musical directions. So overviews blame Warden for moving away from the purer country sound of the debut, still a classic album, STOUT & HIGH.
In order to keep momentum and offer an alternative to the retro rock, rockabilly and country of the those bands and dates, Warden’s wife Brandi suggested that he try another direction as well, that was jazz done in a lounge combo, often late-night, laid back crooner style. This is where the heart of this album and the band that performs with him, The Dangerous Few, lies. A part of that team is again Mas Palermo as well as Wagoneer Brent Wilson, moving from lead guitar to bass. Two crucial players are trumpeter Erik Telford and pianist Nick Litterski. They are the ones that give the album much of its specific style.
Once again, the songs which are a perfect fit for that overall mood are written by the husband and wife pairing, as well as a couple of additional writers on three other tracks. This is the second album in this genre, as it follows on from the self titled debut album from The Dangerous Few, but this time out finds them more self-assured in this direction. This is not my natural habitat and I can’t deny that I wouldn’t love to hear another album in the country/rockabilly mode of previous line-ups.
The natural pointers would include the classic crooners, maybe something of the Dean Martin oeuvre as well as, at times, on the slower material, Michael Buble. However, as mentioned, not being that deep into this particular groove, I would suggest that Dwight Yoakam’s take on the Kinks’ Tired Of Waiting offers a fairly solid hint of what to expect from an artists coming to the arrangement from a similar perspective. But these days it’s simple enough to just find a streaming service that will give you a chance to make up your own mind.
Warden is never-the-less in top form vocally throughout and, as he has done in the past, assimilates this path with a sense of belonging. The playing is superb and songs like Silhouette, which opens the album really hit the target. There is a lot of fun in the current single Waxahachie Hooch Coo, which you could easily hear on numerous TV movie soundtracks, especially the myriad of those that reference an earlier era. It would also appear that their live gigs are well attended and provide a lot of enjoyment for all concerned.
There is a hint of a Jim Webb mood in Lovesong Every Day ,which offers an upfront sentiment that underscores a personal love story. Most tracks adhere to the jazz remit, but there are deviations, like the call and response routine of the equal positivity of Steadfast Love, the track which closes the album. I took to the album more that I had perhaps expected, with certain songs like those mentioned above and the title track - which have a touch of ‘south of the border’ to them that helps their immediacy, outside of those with that are more imbedded in the overall ambience. But it works and hits the required prize.
Stephen Rapid
Al Staehely Somewhere In West Texas Quatro Valley
Along with his brother John, Al Staehely joined the band Spirit in the early 70s. He played bass, sang lead and wrote songs while his brother replaced Randy California as lead guitarist. When that stint ended, they recorded and toured under the name The Staehely Brothers. But in 1980 he utilised his law degree to become a music industry lawyer as his day job, while continuing to play and record by night. Around that time he released his debut album in Europe only, at the time, however it eventually was made available in the US as AL STAEHELY & 10K HOURS. In more recent times he wrote a bunch of songs during the pandemic and in the area he was staying he knew some top class musicians in Fran Christina on drums and bassist Chris Maresh and guitarist and producer Scrappy Jud Newcomb - all seasoned players with venerable histories of playing with well known artists.
They located a small studio in Marfa, Texas and found an immediate connection when they began to play and record. They laid down twelve tracks of relaxed, fun driven, roots music that is as easy to listen to as it was, by all accounts, to record. The material is all composed by Staehely ,other than What’s So Hard About Love by Cam King and Freddie KRC and Phil Lee’s Night In The Box. I notice an affinity between Lee’s own work and what was on offer here. There is humour and undoubted heart in the album’s varied roots sound, that displays the inherent collective instinctive talent of all involved, with Newcomb as the lead player standing out for that very reason. Not that anyone is showing off, rather they are just giving the songs the best possible reading.
The album opens with Something Good Is Gonna Happen, a song that has a positive outlook on life even when that might not immediately be the case. The video that accompanies the song online reflects that, with a hint of the mischief that might ensue. Staehely’s songs hit the old story of love lost, strayed or found in unexpected places. What’s Wrong With You For Loving Me, What’s So Hard About Love and Time Is A Lover all fit that brief, the latter in some ways mirrorring some of the work he has recorded playing with Spirit and others. It is the overall writing theme too on other tracks here - you get the general idea from those titles. Emily is about kinship that doesn’t always run that smoothly - even if the music does. Long Legged Woman goes global as he tries to escape the subject of the song.
Most songs are delivered with a sturdy beat and dynamic, while others like Love Trance taken at a more reasoned slower groove, with Staehely well able to vocally stay front and centre, as he does on the other more danceable material. He has a voice that, without becoming gravel, has a seasoned, well-worn quality. Mercy Of The Moon has a tenderness that is subtly conveyed, showing that the foursome can move from one pace to another, which adds a welcome diversity across the album as a whole. The closing track is essentially stripped back to just bass guitar and voice and asks you to Be Still - and listen to your heart. That is all well served by Newcomb’s production and ease with the assembled players and, no doubt, also to the high desert location that they recorded the album in. The aforementioned Night In The Box, also recorded by Phil Lee, is a cautionary tale that should be heeded.
Staehely’s other occupation has kept him busy with many different clients but this, however ,may be his true love, something that he has turned to time and again through the years. It probably shows that, in his case, for his musical endeavours time is a lover, especially somewhere in West Texas - and beyond.
Stephen Rapid