Keegan McInroe Dusty Passports and Empty Beds Self Release
Fort Wort, Texas is home to this musician who has six previous releases since a debut appeared back in 2008. The nine songs included are a mix of contemporary country and americana sounds and the musicians who recorded the album are Clint Kirby (drums), Aden Bubeck (bass), Patrick Smith (bass), Matt Tedder (guitar), Gary Grammer (harmonica), Chris Watson (piano, organ, keys), Jeff Dazey (saxophone), Dirt Stinnett (fiddle, mandolin, gut string), Hannah Owens (vocal), and Morris Holdahl (vocal).
McInroe plays guitar and sings lead vocal in addition to writing all of the songs, apart from one cover version that is included in the form of the John Prine classic Lonesome Friends Of Science. The songs came together over the Covid lockdown when McInroe found himself at his mother’s home in Dublin, Texas where he was able to experience an extended break from the life of a musician and the touring commitments involved. The death of John Prine clearly left quite a mark on McInroe as he name checks the legendary songwriter on the title track, along with other notable names who also died during the pandemic.
Another song is dedicated to the country troubadour and John’s Songs resonates in the words ‘Now he's got to shake God's hand, And I've got you, And we still got all the songs he left to help us through.’ The easy groove of Ey Brother references the changes that were manifest during the lockdown with much uncertainty in the air – guitar and saxophone blending in the melody. The traditional country sound of Thanksgiving Night has some nice interplay between fiddle and guitar as McInroe misses the rituals of the past and ends up eating in a diner on such a landmark day. There is a honky-tonk feel on the track Only To Be Songs with some tasty piano runs and harmonica playing over the beat.
Eat, Drink and Be Merry is a slow melody that captures the sense of living in the moment and putting worry aside ‘With some food in your belly, and a roof overhead, And some clean water flowing, and a dance in your step, Have a party, have the best time.’ The final song is Traveller’s Wind and the urge to be back out on the road is as strong as ever ‘But still this lonesome road’s my home, And I'm as restless as I've been, Never too long in one place, Til I'm moving on again’ – the life of a working musician perfectly captured. Co-produced by McInroe and Grant Wilborn at 7013 studios in Fort Worth the album is a solid statement of a talented artist and the fine musicians do everything required to support the sweet vocal performance.
Paul McGee
The Fugitives No Help Coming Fallen Tree
A Folk-Roots band that is based in Vancouver and has been creating music since their formation in 2007, with the group essentially made up of duo Adrian Glynn (vocals, guitars, bass, balalaika, piano, percussion), and Brendan McLeod(vocals, guitars, ukulele, banjo), who create the music and write the songs. They are joined by Carly Frey (vocals, violin) from The Coal Porters and Chris Suen (vocals, banjo, ukulele) from Viper Central.
This sixth release has a central theme around climate change and although the title No Help Coming suggests that we are all beyond saving, the sentiment is more that of waking up to the fact that the only solution to our earth’s problems lies solely with all of us, as a species. On this album the collective are joined by Sally Zori (drums, percussion) on three songs and Cole George (drums, percussion) on six others. Producer Tom Dobrzanski contributes on Hammond B3 organ and the project was recorded at Monarch Studios in Vancouver.
The vocal harmonies are very engaging and impressive across the songs and highlights like Wing and a Prayer, Edge Of the Sea and the title track are laced with a lightness that belies the serious nature of the topic. The slow dynamic on Advice is a change of pace and the song arrangement is very memorable with the words resonating ‘You’re the church where my kids speak in tongues, You are the man who owns the man with the gun.’ Elsewhere we have enduring message of hope on Not Burning Out and the words ‘In a way I can see it now, only thing that matters is the way you love, Edge of the heavens is a world of doubt, I’ll be here when the lights go out.’ An impressive album that will be enjoyed for the excellent musicianship and timely message delivered in a colourful fashion.
Paul McGee
The Felice Brothers Valley Of Abandoned Songs Million Stars
The thirteen songs recorded for The Felice Brothers’ latest record consist of previously written material by Ian Felice from sessions for the band’s 2019 album, UNDRESS and ASYLUM ON THE HILL, which arrived somewhat unannounced and was released only on Bandcamp at the end of 2023. Initially intended to be only released online, that changed when Ian Felice shared a collection of the songs with Conor Oberst, who, impressed by what he heard, offered to release the material as the first project from his new label, Million Stars. The common denominator is that all the material was recorded live in a one-room church built in 1873 and acquired and renovated by Ian Felice, located in Harlemville, New York.
The Felice Brothers have come a long way since their formation in the Hudson Valley in 2006. The current line-up, their longest-lasting and arguably their strongest, features frontman, guitarist, and songwriter Ian Felice, James Felice on piano and backing vocals, Jeske Hume on bass, and Will Lawrence on drums.
The soul-stirring lead single, Crime Scene Queen, inspired by Humphrey Bogart’s character in the movie The Big Sleep, was a pointer toward the quality we could expect from this record, and the remaining material lives up to that standard. Ian Felice possesses the Midas touch as a writer with the gift of delicately handling bleak and mysterious themes and, as is the case on this album, often expressing real-life matters through the eyes of the unfortunate and outcast.
With a charmingly ragged and stripped-back sound, the band leader's unrushed vocal deliveries invite the listener into his tales of simplicity and innocence (Flowers By The Roadside, New York By Moonlight), lost love and regret (Black Is My True Lovers Hair, Stranger’s Arms), and hopefulness in the face of despair (To Be A Papa, Tomorrow Is Just A Dream Away).
An album that sounds like it has been around forever, VALLEY OF THE ABANDONED SONGS is another timeless collection of songs by the Felice Brothers that deserves your fullest attention from start to finish.
Declan Culliton
Kaitlin Butts Roadrunner Soundly
Taking inspiration from a mid-1950s Rodgers & Hammerstein musical may seem like an unusual and daring starting point for a country album, but that's precisely what Kaitlin Butts did for her latest album, ROADRUNNER. The Oklahoma-born and raised artist, now living in Nashville, drew on her love of musicals as the building blocks for the album and, not surprisingly, chose the one closest to her heart. The musical Oklahoma includes many of the hallmarks that raise their head in Butt's songwriting, such as love won and love lost, murder and humour, and she channels them all to create a modern-day country concept album.
More than simply a whim, the songs also reflect Butts' state of mind at the time of writing. She opens with the musical's overture, Oh What A Beautiful Morning, renaming it My New Life Starts Today, a statement of the good place she was at the time of writing and continues to be in. The mood is a departure from the darkness of her last album, WHAT ELSE CAN SHE DO, which dealt with issues she and her mother had encountered at that time. In contrast, Butts is in chipper form this time around, although she does include some darker songs alongside the more upbeat numbers.
The title track is a 'hundred mile an hour' blast and recitation of her touring lifestyle; I'm still determining if I'll hear a song this year whose melody took as long to shake off as a summer cold. A pointer toward her continuing rising star from the shy young artist that we witnessed strumming a guitar and singing solo at Americanafest some years back is the artists that came on board to guest or co-write with her. Vince Gill didn't hesitate when asked to add his vocal to the cowboy ballad Come Rest Your Head, the song's origins came from a woman wearing a tank top that read 'cowboy's pillows' on her chest, as Butts recounted in a recent interview with Lonesome Highway. Other high-profile artists also lent a hand. Sharing writing credits are Natalie Hemby (Other Girls, You Ain't Gotta Die To Be Dead To Me), Courtney Patton (Elsa) and Angaleena Presley (That'll Never Be Me).
The seventeen-track record also includes a couple of well-chosen covers. Bang Bang, previously recorded by Cher and Nancy Sinatra, is given a relaxed makeover. Kesha's Hunt You Down, which is very much a thumbs-up for female empowerment, gets a countrified makeover. Loaded with attitude, You Ain't Gonna Die could have been borrowed from Loretta Lynn's songbook, and it is noticeable how Butts reverses the traditional country trait by having male singers do the spade work as backing vocalists on a number of tracks. She also shows her sweet side by sharing the vocals with her soul mate and husband, fellow singer/musician Cleto Cordero, on People Will Say We're in Love.
The album has Kaitlin Butts’ personality stamped all over it and very much reflects what you experience at her live shows. She's ballsy, witty, rocky, loud and delicate in equal doses. A delightful and profoundly satisfying listen, Butts' career will most likely take a massive step forward with ROADRUNNER. It's tailor-made for her eye-catching live shows and captures everything impressive about her.
Declan Culliton
Jim Lauderdale My Favorite Place Sky Crunch
The title of Jim Lauderdale's thirty-seventh album may refer to his adopted home, Nashville, or may be a nod to his present-day touring and backing band, The Game Changers. Either way, it's business as usual for the artist known as ‘Mr. Americana’, a respectful accolade given that Lauderdale has represented every genre in American music throughout his career.
The Game Changers, Jim Lauderdale's present-day touring and backing band, play a significant role on his latest album. Comprising Frank Rische on guitar, Lille Mae Rische on backing vocals, Craig Smith on guitar, Jay Weaver on bass, and Dave Racine on drums, they perfectly complement Lauderdale's soulful country music. Their collaboration was evident in Lauderdale's 2022 album, GAME CHANGER, and continues to shine in MY FAVORITE PLACE. The album also features Music City big-hitters like Tommy Detamore, Steve Hinson, and Micah Hulscher, adding depth and variety to the music.
Lauderdale's output is staggering. He has released an album every year since the turn of the century, except 2005, and yet his output never seems repetitive or forced. This album finds him in a relaxed mood, and no more so than on the tracks Mrs Green and The Laughing Tree. Both are Tom T. Hall-type story ballads; the former, written by Bob Minner, is a tale of unrequited love, the latter a love-letter, tender-hearted ballad. Both are delivered impressively in 'crooner' style. The piano-led Baby Steps sounds like a restrained Jerry Lee Lewis offering, and Sweethearts Remember is a jazzy, swinging affair. The album is bookended by What's Important After All, sage advice from a craftsman who always has a few tricks up his sleeve.
It's business as usual, a characteristic Jim Lauderdale album, extremely easy on the ears and with a cast of players whose playing ebbs and flows behind his distinctive country vocals.
Declan Culliton
Silverada Self-Titled Prairie Rose
‘Back in the day, all we wanted to do was play the Broken Spoke,’ says Mike Harmeier, recalling the early aspirations of Mike and The Moonpies, the band he formed in his early twenties. That dream did come true and, over the band’s seventeen-year history, they graced that hometown honky tonk stage many times before heading off to play bigger venues, festivals and eventually The Ryman and The Grand Ole Opry, with their rootsy brand of Texas country.
This self-titled album finds the band relaunched under the name Silverada, following eight previous albums by Mike and The Moonpies. Silverada is band leader Mike Harmeier (vocals, guitars and keys), Taylor Englert (drums, percussion), Omar Oyoque (bass), Zachary Moulton (pedal steel, dobro), and Catlin Rutherford (guitar). Hailed in many quarters, including Lonesome Highway, as one of the most dynamic live bands of recent years, and despite gaining a dedicated cult-like following, Mike and The Moonpies’ commercial success hardly reached the level they deserved. The band’s name was a tongue-in-cheek decision made by Harmeier, not for once thinking that their fame would spread beyond the dusty local bars where they first played.
Whatever the reasoning behind the name change, lovers of their previous albums need not be alarmed; this ten-track collection cements their reputation as ambassadors of powerhouse Texas country music. Although somewhat sonically experimental at times, it’s not a vast departure from their previous work either, crisscrossing some full-on rockers and reflective ballads.
The inspiration for the songs came from an unusual source. Harmeier holed up in his home office and dived into a number of random books that he had bought at a charity shop. Whatever the background, the stories in the songs are rich in detail and content, with the writer revisiting observations collected from endless hours and miles on the road, together with matters closer to home. The former surfaces on Load Out, Anywhere But Here, and Radio Wave (‘One foot on the gas and one foot in the grave’), the latter emerges on Hell Bent For Leather, Stubborn Son and the stand-out track, Stay By My Side. With echoes of Willie Nelson, it plays out like the writer’s life story as he attempts to balance life on tour and home life (‘I get homesick at home and sick on the road’). Interestingly, the previously noted Radio Wave includes a thought-provoking dig at the music industry’s genre-creating hype (‘Americana is a myth, I told ya’)
As in their previous work, razor-sharp guitar licks and large doses of dreamy pedal steel complement Harmeier’s vocals. The band’s name may be different, but their collective qualities ring true. Let’s hope Silverada’s fanfare surpasses the previous band’s hardcore following. Based on the collection, that is more than deserved.
Declan Culliton
Grant Langston Alabama Self Release
This album comes with a cautionary back story as, prior to its original release date ,Langston found his music had been pirated and put online under someone else’s name. Hopefully that has now be sorted and he can rightfully claim these songs. It was recorded in a number of studios in California with one session engineered by the renowned Ted Russell Kamp - who contributed some occasional trumpet and trombone. He is joined on the different tracks by a number of musicians from the locality. Langston himself played guitars, bass and Wurlitzer as well as contributing the fine lead vocals.
What we have here is a mix of country roots and some more Alabama oriented Southern sounds. It is a combination that works well and Langston’s self written songs tell their own tales of cheating, traveling, seeking and inevitably some drinking, but with a little wryness that suggests that it not be taken too seriously (even if it was made that way). Its aim is to please and it does so with a sway of choruses that are easy to catch. Langston, however, delivers these with a certain amount of grittiness and determination too.
Based now in California, he grew up in Alabama under the influence of his father’s listening habit of classic country radio, but less of the habitual honk-tonk Saturday night sinning syndrome. Here he learned to play and to love music for its healing and restorative elements. However, the next few years saw him as a sideman in a number of rock bands. Eventually he connected with the music that was prevalent in his youth and wanted to return to that. He has now matured with that music and continues to put his own slant on those varied influences.
The opening song Country Or Bust is an uptempo journey from city to a dream of something more rural. It sounds a reversal of what many did in the past even if the song is rooted in that past. How Much Do You Want? immediately appeals with its California country drive and gains from the trumpet break that makes it an album highlight in its ode to steadfastness. That sense of seeking to rely on trusted things and people is where This Old Truck comes, with its strong chorus and Langston varying his vocal stance as the tracks require. The longest song is the 60s vibe of This Heavy Load, clocking in at over five minutes, thematically it would be appreciated by fans of The Band or those bands who were influenced by them.
The rockin’ vibe is also present in Pure Grain Guarantee and glides along with keyboards and guitar and some soulfulness, and Langston is joined on the choruses by The Hawthorns. There’s twang afoot with As Is Sale, Sing Along and the opening track, all with their concise references to the reliable Bakersfield sound. The latter opens acoustically and is more in the heartland country sound with some telling lyrics of a sad and strained relationship between a father and son, as the son recounts his father’s life and death story - but with a tenderness that may have been absent during their time together. Not a unique story by any means but one delivered with an understated passion.
There is a solid beat that underscores the fast-paced Keep It Coming, a song that celebrates love and does so with some aplomb and introduces some banjo in the fade out to spice things up. It possibly sits at odds with a song like Corporate Hack, when the diversity of having two roles in life don’t always gel to anyone’s satisfaction. The fiddle infused story Jailbird is at odds with its musical outlook but, given that the inmate is thinking of the day he might be free, it is an appropriate realisation of that feeling.
There seems to be something of a resurgence of the particular sound and attitude that has come to represent the more outward looking assimilation of influences that come to determine California country right now, with some of these who might be considered veterans of that scene releasing albums that will do much to keep that important scene in people’s minds and hopefully giving some wider exposure to others emerging too.
Stephen Rapid
Matt Hillyer Bright Skyline State Fair
This new album from Matt Hillyer picks up from where his last release GLORIETA left off in 2023, offering again a smorgasbord of what would be some Austin approved country roots amalgamations. Again it is produced by John Pedigo who worked on the previous album. There are some Austin stalwarts involved including noted pedal steel practitioner Lloyd Maines, bassist Kevin Smith (currently stroking their four strings for Willie Nelson), Heather Stalling on fiddle, drummer Arjuna Contreras and additional bass player James Driscoll. Hillyer still has a way with words that, on occasion, are co-writes with the likes of Max Stalling and Mando Saenz - both well know songwriters in their own right.
Hillyer fronted Eleven Hundred Springs in the past and through numerous albums as a band. Since then he has been able to write songs for himself rather than for the band as an entity in itself. Part of his musical heritage was rockabilly, alongside traditional country influences. Both are touchstones here along with some classic rock ’n’ roll moves. This album has a pretty open outlook and is not without moments of humour, based on real life observations, not least Moving Away which details his relief, and that iofseveral other neighbours, when a somewhat arduous family decided to change location. The frustration is abated somewhat by the ability to see some humour in the episode.
In other songs he gives us some unrestrained love songs that detail his deep admiration for a particular partner. It Would Take A Miracle (“to take me away from you”), If I Had Everything I Want (“you’d be at the top of my list”) and If I Didn’t Have You (“I probably wouldn’t be here”), which has a swinging sound with fiddle and upright bass. There is some deep baritone guitar at the opening of Did She Ever Want To Live Like This, a song that wonders how anyone could have stuck with a situation that never seems to change and what could have ensued in a different situation, something that makes him think that despite her saying with some obvious affection that “Baby, don’t think so much,” … having the realisation that in fact “lately I’ve been thinking maybe I don’t think enough.” The arrangement of the song is restrained enough to make the sentiment seem that much more real.
The opening track What Are You Doing Now? simply asks that proposition of an ex who has moved on and is full of regret for not making it work. It is delivered with some harmonies that help to give the uptempo song its place at the head of the album as a pointer to the goods on offer, fiddle and guitar helping it to flow. Another direction is taken with the ballad format of the pitiable thoughts of Even An Angel - forgiveness can only go so far and that “even an angel gets the blues.”
The title track looks to a more positive future, while Green Eyes describes a femme fatale. There a touch of a late night lounge with the jazz influenced guitar and slow paced mood on Honey Do Blues. Overall the sentiment of the closing tracks rings true across the board, recognising that what we face is A Daily Fight. It closes out what is an enjoyable, upbeat collection of songs that are an affirmation of the long running skills that Matt Hillyer has brought to his music from the start. This album has the hallmarks of those skills, not only as a songwriter and singer as well as a top notch guitarist, but someone who is still learning and loving what he does as he continues to look to the next song, the next one that feels right - so that the future is looking bright.
Stephen Rapid
Dave Alvin & Jimmie Dale Gilmore Texicali Yep Roc
Two veteran performers, ostensibly from different corners of the roots field who, in truth, as evidenced on DOWNEY TO LUBBOCK their previous album together, are well matched. More especially also when they are working again with Alvin’s road band, The Guilty Ones. That previous album was named after their individual home towns and this time out the title reflects the two states that the pair call home. There is a strong relationship readily apparent between the two comrades that sees them as equals. Gilmore has a decade on Alvin in terms of physical age, but both are matched in their understanding of the fertile ground they are ploughing together.
The songs are a mix of covers chosen to reflect the way they now can look back on their lives with a lot of miles, and physical issues under their belts. This gives the music both a timely perspective and a present one. From Alvin’s more blues/roots background there are songs by Brownie McGee (Betty And Dupree) and Blind Willie McTell (Broke Down Engine) which sees Gilmore going from his more hillbilly to a bluesman. It has a hint of that boogie blues so prevalent in the 60s. Indeed Blind Owl is given something of an understated On The Road Again pulse as it is a tribute to one of the original, though now deceased, Canned Heat singers, Al Wilson - known by this titular moniker. It is for him and other lost players. There is a co-write Southwest Chief, a song co-written with the late singer songwriter Bill Morrissey, that offers something of an accolade for lost times and friends; it is a gentle and warm reading. There are also a couple of songs that relate to Gilmore’s own back catalogue ,like the fifty year ago penned Trying To Be Free and Borderland. The latter opens the album and it reminds us of what a pleasure it is to hear that distinctive and care-worn voice again. As the song surmises ,it is “so good to be home in the borderlands … between the dawn and the dream” - and in that space between. It is the sound of a band settling in rather than showing off, even though there are plenty of moments of prodigious playing all over. Alvin co-wrote the touching song Death Of The Last Stripper with husband and wife, and fellow Austinites, Terry Allen and Jo Harvey Allen. It is a tender and sympathetic ballad that, perhaps more than anywhere on the album, combines the two voices in a perfect alliance.
When you put that together with a set of players as sympathetic and aligned as the rhythm section of drummer Lisa Pankratz and bassist Brad Fordham, who are joined by keyboardist Bukka Allen and Chris Miller on guitar, there is something both comfortable and rewarding about the way everything integrates into a whole that, throughout, creates a blend of age and alliance, something that goes beyond trend and easily drawn boundaries. There is a reggae-inspired feel to the sound of Roll Around that also underscores the nature of the project. Another fine song that covers the distance is Down The 285, wherein the former Blaster and former Flatlander travel the distance together on a shared road.
The extended closing song We’re Still here is full of humourous attitudinal asides that basically lets us know that no matter what you might hear “we’re still here.” That is something that everyone can and should be thankful for, as this is an album to enjoy from many angles. It’s also an acknowledgement of the wisdom of age and the fact that we all hope that the road can, indeed, go on forever - and, doubtlessly, their music will.
Stephen Rapid