Annie Gallup Small Fortune Flyaway Hair
For many years now, this Ann Arbor native has been creating music of both high quality and impressive depth. She regularly captures the mystery of the dual forces that drive us forward; the search for meaningful connection and also our place in the grand scheme of things. Our basic nature runs through her work with a power that seeks to harnesses all our failings and foibles, reminding us that there will always be the beginnings of a new day tomorrow.
Across some sixteen solo releases since her debut appeared back in 1994, Gallup has sought to find beauty in the fragile, in the uncertainty and the apprehension, and in our search for community and the quest for love in its many guises. She also performs in the duo Hat Check Girl with her husband Peter Gallway in addition to working closely with theatre and poetry groups in her prose and lyrical adaptations.
The opening song The Sky At Night sums up her creative muse perfectly as she reflects ‘We were a match made of matchsticks and sulphur, We burned our own house all the way down to the ground, And then built it again in a thunderstorm with a key and a kite, There’s nothing in this world big as the sky at night.’ Gallup is gifted with this innate ability to capture the essence of relationships in such lyrical imagery while placing everything in the context of the universe as a whole. And you know that you’re in the presence of timeless music and musings.
Elsewhere the atmospheric rhythm on Memory freezes moments in a relationship where choices are made and consequences ensue. The spoken word delivery wrapped in soft, spectral sounds with saxophone and synthesizer provided by Harvey Jones - ‘Memory is fluid. It’s not absolute. What you see as true shifts every time you think back through it.’
Younger days are captured in the autobiographical Harvey Moved To Queens and on the wickedly wry She Lived With Her Mother ‘As a minor poet, You know how to impress, You script the scene, She slips off her dress, It works on the page, In life it’s a mess, You’re a disappointing lover, And a lousy guest.’
Gallup’s observational skills are finely honed and on Like Audrey Hepburn she muses ‘Everybody at this party has something to prove, Some are howling, or crying wolf and some are cryptically aloof, And somebody turned the music up, no one can hear a thing, but what they’re saying is loud and clear in the push and posturing.’ Superbly delivered and keenly considered.
The predatory male that stalks the city on Killing Time is someone that everybody has had experience of ‘It was killing time and I was easy prey. I thought that love meant “sit! Stay!” But he was wired to hunt, to catch what runs, to chase the one that got away.’
So much to enjoy here and the music was produced, performed, and recorded by Annie Gallup, Harvey Jones and Peter Gallway. All songs are by Annie Gallup and she plays guitars, keyboards and pedal steel, with husband Peter Gallway contributing on bass, percussion and keyboards, while Harvey Jones provides synthesizer, saxophone and other instruments. It is the haunting vocal of Gallup that defines the overall delivery of the songs however, at one moment vulnerable and sad, at another, ironic and cutting. The songs also are available in long-form video that can be found on Gallup’s website and her creative talents stretch to a series of attractive images to accompany these contemporary folk songs of great insight. As always, a very interesting album from a consummate artist.
Paul McGee
Our Man in The Field Gold On The Horizon In The Field
London based, but Teeside raised, Alexander Ellis (the main man behind the band moniker) took a big chance and travelled to Portland, Oregon to the studio of producer Tucker Martine (The Jayhawks, Roseanne Cash, k.d.lang, Jim White etc) during a break in the pandemic, to record this second album. Martine had shown a lot of interest in the demos, and Ellis decided it was a gamble worth taking. Miraculously, they managed to record the whole album with the personnel all present in the studio, unlike most other projects at the time which by necessity were recorded remotely, with tracks flying over and back through the ether. The result is nothing short of wonderful.
Joining Ellis in the studio were two long term members of the band, pedal steel player Henry Senior and percussionist Greg Bishop. Senior’s pedal steel playing is all over most of the tracks, adding to the lushness of the production directed by Martine. The opening track, Feel Good, a depiction of addiction, features that steel, along with brass, electric and acoustic guitars, and the layers of backing vocals that are predominant throughout most of the album. Ellis has a distinctive tenor voice, sometimes ascending into a falsetto, and the exuberant choral style vocals chosen by Martine are an unexpected delight.
Ellis sees himself as an observer of people and a teller of their stories (and it’s important to know that he was an actor in a former life!) and therefore the songs are not autobiographical, or so he claims. They deal with a range of subjects, but almost always encompass a deep look into human emotions. Glad To See You was prompted by the experience of a particular hospital doctor and nurses during the peak trauma of the pandemic. Last Dance unexpectedly opens with uplifting twin fiddles, only to reveal itself as an exploration of the dissolution of a relationship, also the subject of the country-rock styled, How Long. The protagonist rejects the idea of a higher power in L’Etranger, ‘I’ll put my faith in hope/because hope is all I need’ and he’s also holding out for something better in Silver Linings. The latter gifts the album with its title, ‘you can keep all your silver linings … I see gold on the horizon’. Another standout track, and one of the few with a positive outlook is Go Easy, which offers encouragement to a lover or a friend. One of the endearing aspects of the album is that Ellis sings throughout in his own Teeside accent.
Also helping Ellis to find that gold were a bunch of musicians brought in by Martine, among them Jenny Conlee (The Decemberists) on accordion and Hammond, and Luke Ydstie on upright bass, who both contributed to those huge backing vocals, along with the aforementioned musicians. They were further swelled by the arrival from Sweden of the Dimpker brothers, Adam and Martin.
Rumour has it that there are lots of new songs already written and the plan is to return to the same producer for the next album. I, for one, predict that the future is gold for Our Man In The Field.
Review by Eilís Boland
Kayla Ray The World's Weight Real AF
YESTERDAY & ME, released independently by Waco, Texas-born Kayla Ray, was my Lonesome Highway Album of the Year in 2018. An introduction to a stunning vocalist with the skillset to write copybook country songs, that album, which I still regularly return to, had me scratching my head as to why a label had not captured Ray to support and promote her talents. Fast forward six years, and Ray's latest album has the support of Real AF Records, an imprint of Average Joes Entertainment and a label founded by fellow singer-songwriter Bryan Martin.
Ray's living years have been steeped in country music. Touring in her teens with the legendary Texas music family The Gimbles and tour-managing fellow Texan singer-songwriter Jason Eady in her early twenties gave her the insight and tools to kickstart her self-managed career. She never lets the grass grow under her feet, and her workload, alongside touring and recording, also includes regular live streams on social media; check out Room 402 -The Home of Kayla Ray's Family & Friends on Facebook. She is also completing a Master's Degree in mental health at the University of Oklahoma and has created a therapy course in music for Texas inmates.
Recorded at Castle Row Studios in Oklahoma City, the production on THE WORLD’S WEIGHT was helmed by Giovanni Carnuccio III. Undoubtedly, Ray was influenced by his previous work with her peers and friends, Jason Eady, Zach Aaron, and Courtney Patton. Giovanni's expertise spans multiple genres, from country to jazz, psych-rock to trip-hop. However, on this recording, he adheres to the optimal template, placing the spotlight on Kayla's impeccable vocal phrasing, which is complemented by note perfect instrumentation.
I approached the album with some trepidation, wondering if it could match the standard of YESTERDAY & ME. Two plays in, and the answer is a resounding 'thumbs up.' The songs and vocals are every bit as strong, if not stronger. The icing on the cake is the pin-sharp production that works hand in glove with those vocals and the tales within the songs.
A master of pining love stories and tears in your beer tales, the woozy slow burners Like To Drink Alone, The Least You Could Do and Until My Dying Breath tick those particular boxes. Infusing country with a jazzy backbeat behind her edgy vocal twang, The Place I Fell In Love With You gives a nod to Glen Campbell. The lyrics' gentle on my mind' feature and a short ten-second insertion from the song of the same name is included. Jason Eady shares the writing credit on the ballad The Highest Point In Seven Counties and the title track, which it's easy to imagine Connie Smith topping the charts in the 1960s, is a co-write with Joshua Barnard.
A talent that continues to develop, THE WORLD'S WEIGHT is a triumphant move forward and one that more than lives up to the promise of Kayla Ray's previous work and – if there is any justice – should transport her work and heavenly country voice to a wider audience. This would be my first 10/10 of 2024 if we awarded points in our reviews.
Declan Culliton
Bonny Light Horseman Keep Me on Your Mind/See You Free Jagjaguwar
The foundations of the third studio album from Bonny Light Horseman, the unique collaboration of Anais Mitchell, Eric D. Johnson and Josh Kaufman, was initiated in the century-old pub, Levis, in Ballydehob, Co. Cork. The innovative idea of recording in a small rural pub was the brainchild of Mitchell, whose vision was to connect with the pub’s history of community and ancestry and stimulate the trio’s creative writing juices. This unconventional approach certainly paid off, as the album offers the listener no fewer than twenty tracks without anything approaching a filler.
Described as ‘an ode to the blessed mess of our humanity’, the album is a poignant testament to the trio’s collective talents. Despite their busy schedules, the album was written over three months in 2023, with the sketch recordings for over half the songs taken from Levis pub and the final recordings completed at New York’s Dreamland Recording Studios, where their previous two albums were also mastered.
The album opens with a gentle plea in Keep Me on Your Mind and closes with words of hope in Set You Free, presenting a treasure chest of modern folk contributions. The trio shares lead vocals, harmonies, and instrumental contributions, and additional musical support comes from a number of their regular collaborators. JT Bates plays drums, Cameron Ralston plays bass, Mike Lewis plays bass and saxophone, and Annie Nero sings harmonies and adds upright bass.
With so much on offer, it’s difficult to select the record’s highlights. With its striking guitar break, the crescendo-building When I Was Younger is certainly one, and the call-and-response Old Dutch is another. The gentle rolling ballad Singing to the Mandolin and the old-time trad-sounding Hare and Hound also stand out.
The highest praise I can offer is that the songs instantly connect on first listen, like ones you have encountered before, and are stored in your memory bank. With their laid-back and gloriously loose manner, Bonny Light Horseman has the admirable knack of making the art of writing and recording seem effortless. This collection once again provides an insight into their individual and collective talents.
Declan Culliton
Noelle & The Deserters High Desert Dream Speakeasy Studios SF
Raised in Taos, New Mexico, in previous lives, Noelle Fiore was a founding member of the bands Sweet Chariot and Magic Trick. Alongside fronting Noelle & The Deserters, she is also a member of the Shannon Shaw Band. HIGH DESERT DREAMS is the debut full-length album from her latest venture and is a combination of traditional honky tonk and border-influenced country. The Deserters are Graham Norwood (guitar), Alicia Vanden Heuvel (bass), David Cuetter (pedal steel) and Jerry Fiore (drums). Others who contributed to the album’s rich and bustling sound were Anna Hillburg (trumpet), Joel Robinbow (piano, organ), Jacob Aranda (mandolin, violin), Paige Anderson (banjo) and Russell Tillitt (organ).
The ten tracks seamlessly transport the listener from California across the border to Mexico. The opener, Born in the Morning, brings to mind early Emmylou Harris and her Hot Band, complete with excellent guitar and pedal steel breaks. Love lost and won features strongly, as you’d expect from a country album. The haunting Now I’ve Got You leaves you in no doubt as to who is calling the shots, and the witty Our Loves Got A Cold has shades of Loretta Lynn at her most plainspoken. The modern country rocker Canyon is a delight and eyebrow-raising territory boasting an irresistible riff and a tragic storyline. The mandolin-led Taos, complete with expressive trumpet, is a fond recollection of real life in the New Mexico mountain town. Some Men celebrates the sound of textbook California country rock.
With an increasing number of albums being released, hopefully, this is one that won’t be overlooked. Noelle’s edgy country vocals, together with knockout playing from a host of seasoned contributors and strong material, all add up to a sterling modern country album.
The Press Release for HIGH DESERT DREAM reads ‘Noelle & The Deserters bring South-Western honky tonk from the high deserts of New Mexico to the golden hills of California.’ That just about sums up this gem to perfection.
Declan Culliton
Shane Smith & The Saints Norther Amplified Media Services
Austin, Texas, five-piece red dirt country band Shane Smith & The Saints fourth studio album comes at a time when their profile has never been higher. Headlining at Red Rocks Amphitheatre, support act to Willie Nelson, and bookings at The Ryman are pointers toward a band getting its deserved dues thirteen years after its formation. An appearance in the Western TV drama Yellowstone, following several of their songs featured in that series, brought their dynamic sound to a vast audience, and they are finally reading the rewards.
The band, led by songwriter Shane Smith, is a powerhouse of talent with Dustin Schaefer on guitar, Bennett Brown on fiddle, Chase Satterwhite on bass, and Zach Stover on drums. Their latest offering, NORTHER, is a thirteen-track album that spans fifty-two minutes. It's a high-energy, exhilarating collection of songs packed with infectious melodies and hooks. If you're new to the band, this album is the perfect introduction to their unique sound.
The fiddle-lead and first single from the album, The Grey Between, draws the listener in on first listen, and the album's opener, Book of Joe, also incorporates excellent fiddle playing alongside a dramatic backdrop of guitars and backing vocals. Indeed, other fiddle-driven songs ($1000 Dollar Horses, Fire In The Sky, Field Of Heather) emphasise the Celtic influences of the band. The powerful Hummingbird is all the better for a killer guitar solo. They do occasionally take a breather. The gospel-styled ballad All the Way features vocals, piano and little else, and Everything And More is a mid-paced love tune.
Renowned for their charged and rip-roaring live shows - up to two hundred and forty each year - the band has replicated that energy in the studio with NORTHER. Credit to Shane Smith and Beau Bedford (War and Treaty, Sunny Sweeney, Paul Cathan, Logan Ledger) for their precision production in that regard.
It's been five years since their last album, HAIL MARY, but it's been worth the wait. This one will undoubtedly be their best seller and continue their hard-earned upward spiral. It's also a breathtaking, memorable record, and you're strongly advised to get your hands on it. These guys have finally arrived big time, so why not join the party?
Declan Culliton
Jesse Daniel Countin’ The Miles Lightning Rod
This may be the time when the hard work pays off. As with Jesse Daniel’s previous albums, this is a solid tribute to traditional country but delivered as a living, breathing subject matter. What sets this apart from his last recordings is that this time out he has produced and arranged the album himself after working with the likes of Tommy Detamore in the past. He has listened and learned and feels comfortable now calling the shots. The resulting album shows not only that but an artist maturing on all fronts, especially as a song-writer and singer. The album was recorded in Arlyn Studios in Austin, Texas. There, he was able to call on the services of a number of talented musicians, such as members of George Strait’s Road band, which included the late Gene Elders on fiddle, on one track, pianist Ronnie Huckaby, as well as bassist Kevin Smith. Other players included drummer Kris Schoen, lead guitarist John Carroll, steel player Caleb Melo, fiddler Jason Roberts and the harmonica came from Ted Roddy, all players who understand country music’s fundamental attributes.
There are also some vibrant additional vocal contributions with his partner, bandmate and manager Jodi Lyford, which perfectly balances the two tracks she prominently features on. Fellow artist Jon Randall lends his voice to three tracks, and on Tomorrow’s Good Old Days, he is joined by Ben Haggard on a track that would have been very suitable for Ben’s father, Merle, too. But it is Daniel who is front and centre and delivering the most assured performance, vocals, of his career to date.
From the opening bars of the first track Comin’ Apart At The Seams, the insistent beat with the steel and twanging guitar set you up for the journey that is to come. Listening to this particular track, I thought he sounded not unlike Chuck Mead in his BR549 days. He sets out his credentials on the next track, That’s My Kind Of Country, a sound deep down in his soul and about knowing the difference between right and wrong. Again, the upbeat tempo is just right for the many hardwood floors prominent in Austin and Texas. The title track continues down the highway and benefits from a strong, memorable melody. He imbues this material with energy and commitment that relates to his punk days and the Bakersfield sound, which is very much to the fore.
His ability to talk of the location of hard times is the subject of Ol Montana, which has a reflective tone mixing Telecaster and dobro on a tale of a man who, on seeing his partner being unfaithful and then, after fortifying his anger, takes his father’s pistol to exact his retribution. It doesn’t end well for anyone. Sitting and hoping for comfort from the heartbreak songs playing on a jukebox also throws up some other not so welcome thoughts. That song, Restless, is about recognising how difficult it is to change to the point of wondering if anyone will miss him when he’s gone. Lonesome Blues is a lament for days and nights spent neglecting possibilities in pursuit of something else that inevitably brings on the similar likely possibility that he may end up alone. These themes, redolent in the world of hard country, are naturally apparent throughout the album.
That sense of finding a place of solace appears in the ballad When Your Tomorrows In Your Past, which is a sad reflection of what one has missed. Lyford’s striking vocals are a perfect foil for reflecting different viewpoints. A subject that features again in Tomorrow’s Good Ol’ Days, which is a song that considers the time may be close to being too late to make the necessary change. The long road ahead is the life of the Golden State Rambler, one that he hopes will include a loved one who may not see the life on offer as one that has anything other than looking out for number one as its path. Lyford offers her thoughts on a couple who wonders if the other is Steppin’ Out on their relationship. I can see a full duet album on the strength of the two shared tracks in the future. The album ends with another high-octane travel scenario of a man who is going to be living for tonight rather than considering the effect that it might have on his tomorrow. He wants simply to have his request Cut Me Loose heeded. As with all the tracks here, the playing, production and purposefulness are paramount to why the album sound so good. A prime example of what the path of hard county should be.
It seems that this year, so far, is offering some very fine examples of contemporary honk-tonk, with this album is right there up at the top end and very much in contention for the top spot, and we are only six months into the year. It’s going to be exciting, and it's going to be a lot of fun.
Stephen Rapid
David Serby Low Hanging Stars Blackbird
A long contributor to the Californian country music community, Serby has explored different aspects of Los Angeles’ take on roots music over five previous albums bearing his name. Serby possesses a distinctive vocal tone that makes him more identifiable than some of his contemporaries. There is a direct alliance with the music that Dwight Yoakum has produced through the years. There are apparent elements of power pop and other LA styling - such as the 60s keyboard sound on Lonely Motel Days. Elsewhere, the chiming twelve-string guitar also recalls that era. All is well and good in my book. I remember noticing the influence of British beat groups in some of the bands that emerged in 80s, when the neo-psychedelic sounds of the paisley underground mixed with country influences. However, there is less of that particular soundscape in Serby’s current release which is more in tune with his earlier. There has been a break from his last album to these where, as he has noted himself, life in various not exactly life-affirming ways tended to derail his artistic journey. This meant something of a rethink.
In the end, he moved back to the sound of his earlier music while incorporating some of the subjects that were present in his own life. Though some of the material comes from a pre-Covid time, some come from a more recent time. The opening track, Fishtail Cadillac, was written after he took part in the benefit for the much-missed passing of the Palomino Club, which had been central to the LA roots/country scene for a long time. That track was recorded with Yoakum’s one-time bassist Taras Prodaniuk and drummer Scott Babcock. It was inspired by the memories of the venue and the ghosts of the past it conjured. He has a strong sense of location in his work as well as for the people who may struggle to survive in those places. So this album is about his town, the place where he was raised. So, those memories have been used to inspire some of those songs. Trying To Get To Encinitas deals with a time when his life was on a strong and happy footing, but family illness, relationship breakups, and general hardship had a major effect on Serby, and things went askew. It is not directly his own story but had been inspired by that place and an earlier time. It has something of a border feel with accordion and that engaging twelve-string electric guitar sound. It is a song that is central to the album’s disposition and denotation. Despite some anguish and heartbreak in the themes, the music contrasts that with a lively and upbeat attitude, which makes it an engaging listen.
The album was produced by long-time producer Ed Tree, who also provides the electric guitars, along with a close-knit combo of Dale Daniel on drums, bassist Gregory Boaz, Carl Byron on keyboards and accordion, as well as Darice Baily on harmony vocals and piano. A seasoned set of players who do justice to Serby’s songs. Many of these references, in what would be fairly routine fare in honky-tonk music, the difficulties of sustaining relationships and the subsequent loneliness that may ensue. The title track again has a sound that is a part of Serby’s repertoire. It discusses surviving those fleeting moments of fame while trying to survive as a working musician. Another Chance To Dream has the wish to be able to dream of something better and features some fine, understated guitar playing. More forceful is the driving riff that motors She Ain’t Changed At All along, about meeting seven years after a parting and that while the lady in question hasn’t changed at all in terms of her physical presence, she also hasn’t changed in the ways that saw them break up in the first place.
That sense of missing a favourite haunt from the past is no longer what it was is dealt with in The Jukebox Is Broken. It again has the accordion, giving it that additional ambience of LA and beyond. Another metaphor is at play in I Bought The Ring, where the symbol of a ring on a finger equates to that of the sparing in a boxing ring. It highlights that Serby knows his way around a lyric and accompanying melody. We return to the plight of the indie musician, which is again outlined in Why Leave Los Angeles? The gigs may be getting scarcer, but it is still the place that he wants to live in despite all the difficulties. The closing track, Is It Lonely In Here, perhaps sums up an overall realisation that he may be a bigger part of his problems than he was willing to accept: “Is it me … or is it lonely in here?
This album finds David Serby reaching for the stars again and, in doing so, creating another rewarding chapter in his personal musical story. It is one that is worth spending time with not only to enjoy this recording but also to applaud the underlying spirit in the creative urge to continue against whatever odds may be out there. Sharing those experiences is good for all concerned.
Stephen Rapid
Jenny Don’t & The Spurs Broken Hearted Blue Fluff & Gravy
This is a garage/western/cowpunk workout from the get-go from Portland, Oregon-based Jenny Connors. She grew up in Washington and formed a punk band called Don’t from where the stage name came from. She formed the first version of the band with Kelly Halliburton, who remained her partner and bassist in the band. Their aesthetic allowed them to play at country venues as well as rockabilly and punk clubs. With the genre’s DIY ethic, they released singles on their own label. The current band evolved with Christopher March on lead guitar and lap steel and drummer Buddy Weeks. Also, on this new album, they are joined for a couple of tracks by pedal steel player Rusty Blake. They also fit the western tag with rhinestones and embroidered flowers adorning their stage outfits. This speaks of an attitude that takes in a certain history while also looking to the future. They have previously issued a number of albums under the name, and a number of different guests have appeared with the band. The last three were years ago (all previous albums are listed on their Bandcamp site).
This twelve-track album continues their musical path and does so with their usual energy and ability. It was recorded in a studio in their hometown by Collin Hegna in what sounds like a fairly off-the-floor situation to capture something of the live sound. The rhythm section holds everything together solidly, allowing Don’t and guitarist March free-rein to grab your attention. And they do it in a way that anyone unacquainted with their work to date may refer back to Rosie Flores’ early albums.
We open with Flying High and a barrage of power chords that are not unlike a New York Dolls song until, of course, Don’t controls the vocals with her feminine delivery. More twangy is Pain In My Heart, wherein the protagonist recognises her ability to treat someone else badly. The other side of the coin is owning up to a different set of rules with her Jealous Heart. Other tracks that explore this examination of the diversity of human feelings, especially from the woman’s perspective, are the more understated Unlucky Love. The title track proclaims she doesn’t want to fall in love, but we get the feeling that it is the required end result at the start. It has a stylistic lead vocal that emotes as the song slides along on the lap steel and guitar runs. The admission of a certain longing is professed in You’re What I Need, with the steel guitar adding extra measure to the arrangement. Once that is found, she needs On More Night to have a little fun with her newly acquired love interest.
The interaction of the band’s playing ability is displayed on the instrumental Sidewinder, and it shows that they can create in that format as much as they can in any other. My Baby’s Gone hits a more 50’s inspired feel with its welcome Bo Diddley beat, which never fails to get the feet tapping. The album finishes with a baritone guitar riff that suggests a noir-western soundtrack may well await.
Don’t wrote all the material on the album, either with bandmates Halliburton, March, or solo. With that and her raucous vocal and guitar skills, she is the apparent leader of the band, but they are right behind her. It makes for one of those combos where the obvious talent and collective vision create something vibrant and vivacious. Jenny Don’t & The Spurs shake, rattle, and roll on down the road, leaving their mark as they go.
Stephen Rapid
Annie Gallup, Our Man In The Field, Kayla Ray, Bonny Light Horseman, Noelle & the Deserters, Shane Smith and the Saints , Jesse Daniel, David Serby, Jenny Don't And The Spurs