Teni Rane Goldenrod Self Release
This debut album from Chattanooga native Teni Rane runs for thirteen songs and is quite a generous debut in terms of quality and length. The forty-four minutes of contemporary Folk-oriented music drifts along quite seamlessly on a current of sweet melody and the songs have a strong sense of nature running through the themes. The beauty in the surrounding areas of Chattanooga has no doubt influenced the lyrics in part and it is not called “the scenic city” without good reason. The Appalachian mountains and the Tennessee river that frame the city create a balance, and the tug of nature reflects the urge to live in the moment as much as possible.
Whereas change is inevitable in life, the hope that it will bring positive experiences is what drives us to try and control our outcomes, even if this is not always possible. Despite the environment, we are all prone to experience disappointment and feelings of vulnerability. These sentiments are expressed on a number of songs as Rane seeks answers to the big questions of what really defines us and what is important at the end of our daily struggles as we engage the world. It was WB Yeats who said that “Peace comes dropping slow” and there is much introspection on this album that seeks to resolve the conflict of foolish ego and selfless acceptance.
One of the standout songs Here To Stay reflects that ‘I’m not afraid to hold on to my dreams, But man, sometimes it’s hard to own my scars.’ On another highlight, the wistful Cold Wind (Ghost), Rane offers ‘The ghost of my past, I try to be her friend, She’s trying to keep me away from pain; I’m trying to keep me on the mend.’ Another song Small Steps councils to keep moving forward and to trust yourself ‘With all these small steps, they take big courage, I’m learning not to apologise.’ As a code of living, these are sentiments that we can all relate to. Equally Don’t Look Down tackles similar territory and places the focus on self-acceptance.
Nature and the power of it’s beauty is wrapped in songs like Goldenrod and Passerine, with Firefly looking at the fleeting moments that pass too quickly as, for example, a few weeks in summer see the demise of the process of metamorphosis. Another highlight is So Beautiful and the song arrangement has a real edge in the playing and a message to know when to let go ‘Why my need to grasp, For a season that won’t last?’ The cover version of Killing the Blues (Rowland Salley), is sweetly melodic with some lovely cello, but it lacks the poignancy of the definitive version by Chris Smither. Cinnamon reflects upon relationships and exactly who does the leaving; tables can turn in the complexity of feelings and emotion.
There is a very attractive quality to the vocal tone of Teni Rane, not unlike Natalie Merchant in part, and the assembled musicians do full justice to these interesting songs. The players are Teni Rane (vocals, acoustic guitar, guitalele), Dave Eggar (cello, piano), Phil Faconto (various guitars, ukulele), Jonathan Schumaker (bass), and Roger Gustaffson (bass, stell guitar). This is a very rewarding album and one that comes highly recommended.
Paul McGee
Chris Robeson Euphoriphobia Self Release
Austin, Texas is home to Chris Robeson and this debut album has been quite a number of years in the creation. The thirteen songs run for close on forty minutes and the entire listening experience is very rewarding. There are ten co-writes on the album and six of these are shared with Gabriel Rhodes, fellow musician and producer. Gabe is a multi-instrumentalist and also composes for film. There is an obvious synergy between the two artists which comes through in the rich variety on the album and the excellent production.
Robeson writes mainly from a personal perspective and he visits topics such as depression, drug abuse, suicide and the urge to accumulate wealth as a sign of success in these songs. His candour is offset by an inclination to try and laugh at the absurdity of certain life challenges and situations. The circumstances that we find ourselves surrounded by can dictate our responses, we can sink under or we can try and rise above, in order to gain both a new perspective and a way forward that provides solace and strength.
Lonesome harmonica blends into sitar and a slow melody opens the album with I’m Built To Fall Apart, a song that absorbs the blows of daily living and councils on being resolute enough to carry on regardless ‘I'm rolling down the hill, Smiling at my bruises and drinking my fill.’ It’s a message that repeats on other songs and the consideration that melancholy can lead to greater self-awareness is part of Home In the Rain ‘I've got a heart full of love and a fistful of rage, I bury 'em deep till they break like beasts from the cage.’ Facing your fears and weaknesses is the way through to the other side.
Elsewhere, songs like Wanderin’ and A Better Song reference the life of the travelling minstrel and the urge to create music for both survival and personal redemption. Both Fistful Of Cash and Fool’s Gold are reflections on the race for shiny things and material greed. The skewed sense that happiness lies in external pleasures lies at the centre of much misery that pervades our modern times. Feel the Good Things Too is a plea to look for the positive and to not get caught up in negative thinking ‘You gotta turn away from the voices, That say you're not allowed to win, Cuz you prove them right every time you choose to lose.’
Right Back Down visits self doubt along the journey ‘Somewhere through the haze and the waste, There's a dream that I'm trying hard to reach, But all my ghosts keep showing their faces and laughing At who I'm trying to be.’ Everything Goes is about the impermanence of life and all that we experience ‘Yea we're alive for just the moment, And we love for just a moment.’ The song Take Me Too is a reflection on friends that have died by suicide and how fragile this web of life can be ‘Still feel your loving, Still feel the loss, Still telling stories about you like you ain't gone.’ The final song I’m Comin’ Home (If You’d Let Me) is a plea to a higher power and a belief in something beyond this mortal coil ‘And I lay myself down at the end of my history, through the lines of your hands, A lifetime of blessings drawn out for this unworthy man.’
Chris Robeson (acoustic guitar, lead vocals) and Gabriel Rhodes (electric, acoustic guitars, steel guitar, mandolin, sitar, erhu, piano, keyboards, flute, horns, percussion, backing vocals), lead the creative process with great elan and skill. They are joined by Matt Slagle (bass), Josh Flowers (upright bass, strings), Guy Forsyth (harmonica, saw, backing vocals), John Chipman (drums, percussion, foley sounds, backing vocals), Oliver Steck (harmonica, trumpet), Shawn Pander (backing vocals, dog bark) and Ilya Janos Kolozs (percussion). An impressive debut album that really leaves a mark. Highly recommended.
Paul McGee
Helen Rose Rugged Elegance Self Release
Across nine songs and thirty-four minutes this songwriter leaves a very strong musical statement and invites repeated visits to the exciting playing and production on her second release. Helen Rose sings with both attitude and aplomb. Her fine vocal tone jumps out of the songs and King Of This Town has a dynamic delivery with a strong hint of Lucinda Williams, all revved up and ready to roar into your town looking for trouble. The tension in the arrangement is edgy with harmonica, guitar and driving drums delivering a real groove.
The laid back Where Is My Home is in contrast, and the use of strings add to the sweet melody and a wish to feel grounded. Equally, The Drakes, a song about ocean adventure, delivers a reflective vocal and restrained playing in the melody lines. Wolf Tones is a rocker that exudes plenty of soul and angst in the interplay of harmonica and electric guitar motifs, a sense of unease straining at the arrangement throughout. There is a lovely plaintive quality on Demons and the country sound of pedal steel of Greg Leisz wraps the shared vocals of Rose and guest Tyler James Kelly.
The title track is a nice blues romp with superb piano and guitar interplay, while Get Me Out Of This City is a plea to break away from urban living into a rural environment where it’s possible to breathe clean air. Raspberry Plain is a song about finding love while out riding horses on the open plains and the gentle acoustic strum of This Ship has a message of love and for living in the now ‘We are only here for so long… Feel your feet on the ground.’
The album was produced by Jonah Tolchin who also contributes on guitar, and he is joined by Carey Frank on piano, Greg Leitz on lap and pedal steel, Nic Coolidge on bass and Kevin Clifford on drums. String arrangements are by Andrew Jocelyn with backing vocals courtesy of Marley Monroe and Valerie Pinkston. Most worthy of your time and a strong declaration of eve better things to come.
Paul McGee
Orphan Colours King Of Alchemy Wolfmoon
This band formed back in 2016 and was drawn from the embers of other bands such as Ahab and Noah and the Whale. An early EP arrived in 2016 and this was followed by a debut album in 2018, ALL ON RED. Covid lockdown slowed the progress of the band with the result that they took a sabbatical until last year. Steven Llewellyn and Fred Abbott then decided to return to the studio and begin work on this follow up album and the wait has certainly been worth it.
Opening with the rocking groove of Temptress this album announces itself in a flurry of guitar driven rhythm and horns, with soulful backing vocals. The production by Llewellyn and Abbott really shows off the great dynamic in the playing and the rest of the album doesn’t disappoint in any way. Free follows on and has another hard driving beat with the big sound, heightened by Abbott on lead guitar and the earthy vocal tones of Llewellyn. The pace relaxes after this fast-lane introduction to everything and Blame It On the Weather is more a mid-tempo arrangement that looks to impart sage advice to a friend who is feeling low with ‘the curse of circumstance.’
The title track follows and Llewellyn delivers a fine vocal performance, at times reminiscent of Stereophonics Kelly Jones, on a song that speaks of never giving up despite the odds. There is some tasty pedal steel on the sweetly melodic Always Spend the Day Running courtesy of Joe Harvey Whyte (The Hanging Stars), and he appears again to great effect on the next track The Vibe. It’s a song that builds with a slow tempo as it speaks of feeling alive and casting off negative feelings. Another track Brighter Days is a soulful slow burn anthem to days gone by and the memories that they hold.
Sex and Violence turns everything up a notch again on a rocking number with twin guitars ringing out their attack. The horn section kicks in to raise the temperature and the driving drum beat carries the song to a satisfying climax. The mellow acoustics on Wave are in complete contrast, with a song that reflects upon a relationship with superb guitar and piano parts lifting the melody. Radio Heart is another slice of Anglicana with a fine vocal from Llewellyn and acoustic guitar mixing with pedal steel in a stylish swoon.
The final track Let You Go is a co-write with English singer songwriter Beth Rowley and she delivers a memorable co-vocal alongside Llewellyn on a song that charts a relationship challenge ‘I’m a liar and a thief, and what I took I know I can’t replace.’ It’s a fine conclusion to a very strong album and one that has much to recommend it.
Paul McGee
Silas J. Dirge Swan Songs Self Release
This album is more sad, slow and understated music from the man who goes by the (perhaps well chosen) name of Dirge. It is, in truth, the nom de plume of Jan Kooiker, a Netherlands-based gothic-folk singer-songwriter who has just released his third album. These songs deal with those characters whose take on life is often blighted by personal failure, as well as those unfortunate events that can easily occur along those dark highways. Dirge is the primary vocalist and writer and plays guitar and harmonium. Here, he is joined by Harald De Ruiter on guitars and backing vocals, Matt Slobodan on drums, bassist and fiddle player Morganeve Swain, Japp Roo on piano and Justin Zandbergen also add backing vocals. All contribute much to the material without ever getting in the way of the simple directness of the songs, yet vocally and instrumentally, making this album a step forward from the previous two releases.
However, as with a lot of music that has such dark overtones, the resulting songs may be morose but have a slow spiritual awakening that is made very clear by the overall attraction that The Saddest Girl holds. It sounds like a song that immediately seems familiar and memorable. Running From Myself has a wordless vocal refrain that gives it an atmosphere that befits the title of someone trying to distance themselves from their existential existence. The traditional folk sounding Under The Old Oak Tree has a sense of resignation.
Sounding not unlike a ballad of the Civil War, Food For Powder unfolds the fact that names and burial places for the subjects of their song are unlikely to be known after the involvement in an unknown hostility. Again, it makes much use of the vocals being used in a choral arrangement. Looking internally, Best Friends I Ever Had refers to the voices in the protagonist’s head that tell him that he’s not mad! There is more country blues feel to the short instrumental Dust Settling.
More illusionary is Dream In A Dream, where things appear to be not what they seem and again there is a fleeting grasp of reality. The music is sparse with Dirge’s, often alluring, vocal over a fiddle and guitar applying the accompaniment. The album closes with When I Went To Heaven which has an understated gospel feel adding to its etherealness.
The music of Silas J Dirge may be something of a required listening experience in terms of mass appeal, but it is never-the-less, within its own parameters, a rewarding listen with an overall adroitness that will appeal to those drawn to the attraction of its gothic nature and subsequently sparse delivery. It is, as the swan depicted on the cover, delivered with a bare-bones but musically effective context.
Stephen Rapid
Andrew Combs Dream Pictures Loose
Recently, the number of albums produced in home studios is at an all-time high. With the correct equipment, a sound-proofed room, and the proper recording levels, the creation of self-produced home recordings has become affordable for many. For some, it has also resulted in records that have avoided over-production, with the potential to draw the listener into the story within the song without the distraction of the supporting instrumentation. A prime example of this is Nashville-based artist Andrew Combs' latest and sixth album, DREAM PICTURES, which was recorded at his close friend Dom Billett's home studio in East Nashville.
Co-produced by Combs and Billett, they also played all the instruments except for some pedal steel contributions from Spencer Cullum. The album follows a similar pattern to Combs' 2022 release, SUNDAYS, composed by him during the pandemic and while recovering from a personal illness. It also features a more stripped-back sound than on his earlier studio albums, CANYONS OF MY MIND (2017) and IDEAL MIND (2019).
Written late at night when his wife and children were tucked up in bed, the twelve tracks, delivered with whispered vocals and set essentially to minimalistic backings, transport the listener to Comb's inner thoughts of contentment and acceptance. The album draws a comparison, for me, with Paul McCartney's debut record from 1970, McCARTNEY, possibly because of its simplicity and honesty.
Eventide, directed to his wife ('You are my back against the wall, you are my hands when I'm falling'), is a tender and intimate love song, equalled in quality by the thoughtful Your Eyes And Me. Less joyful but similarly notable are The Sea In Me, I'm Fine and Table For Blue, with their emphasis on anguish and isolation. Mary Gold is a simply gorgeous, upbeat, poppy affair with trippy keyboards and swirling pedal steel.
DREAM PICTURES is an exciting gateway into the mind of a hugely masterful songwriter and artist. It plays out like a project that Combs fashioned for himself rather than being market-aware in any way. However, in doing so he has transported the listener into his twilight world with this hypnotic and breathtaking collection of songs.
Declan Culliton
Red Clay Strays Made By These Moments RCA
Nominated as the Emerging Act of the Year at this year's Americana Music Awards, Alabama's Red Clay Strays' career is most certainly on an upward trajectory. The past year has seen them supporting Eric Church, Dierks Bentley, and Old Crow Medicine Show and also making their Grand Ole Opry debut.
Formed in Mobile, Alabama in 2016, the five-piece band is fronted by Brendan Coleman (lead vocals, guitar, keys) alongside Drew Nix (electric guitar, vocals, harmonica), Zach Rishel (electric guitar), Andrew Bishop (bass) and John Hall (drums). MADE BY THESE MOMENTS follows their self-released 2022 album MOMENT OF TRUTH, and was produced by Dave Cobb, with the recording taking place at his Georgia Mae studio in Savannah, Georgia. With the material road tested by their hectic touring schedule and with Cobb's Midas touch, they hardly put a foot wrong on the eleven-track album. There is little original or groundbreaking on offer, simply rock music with a particular Southern sound and well-written material.
What makes Red Clay Strays stand out among the many Southern Rock and Outlaw bands? Well, Coleman's exceptional vocals are great, for starters. He can hit notes, both high and low, well outside most others’ range and has a vocal quiver that compares favourably with that of Chris Robinson. Alongside Coleman's healthy lung capacity, they also write dynamic material that's melodic and contains meaningful lyrics.
The album opens with a couple of rockers, Disaster and Wasting Time, before putting a foot on the brakes with the mournful Wanna Be Loved, evidence that they're equally comfortable with the face-melters as they are with rock ballads. Ramblin' is a cross between Dr Feelgood at their most manic and the full-on blues of Z.Z.Top. That blend of raucous (Devil In My Ear) and sensitive (Drowning, God Does) is deployed significantly across the album.
By exploring the properties of music from bygone eras, Red Clay Strays continue to create their own dynamic with this album. It may not be original, but it’s head and shoulders above the numerous bands following a similar path.
Declan Culliton
49 Winchester Leavin’ This Holler New West
From playing high school shows over a decade ago to more recently supporting Luke Combs in front of twenty thousand people and headlining their own tour, the title of Castlewood, Virginia (pop.2,045) band 49 Winchester’s 2022 album FORTUNE FAVORS THE BRAVE certainly rings true. Taking their name from a street in their small mountain hometown, what started as a group of friends jamming after school has, through hard work and dedication, leapfrogged them to a level where they have been hailed as ‘Country Music’s Buzziest of Buzz Bands’ by Rolling Stone.
Fronted by vocalist and guitar slinger Isaac Gibson, the other band members are Bus Shelton (guitars), Chase Chafin (bass), Noah Patrick (steel guitar), Justin Louthian (drums) and Tim Hall (keys).
Avoiding the often-overloaded and predictable Southern Rock path, the band has built on the promise of their debut album with ten tracks that blend modern soulful country and outlaw. Much of the writing is no-nonsense and thought-provoking, doffing their hats to their small-town heritage and their journey as they spread their wings and make their way in a crowded marketplace. The title track sets out their stall, and Make It Count, with a heartland rock feel and driving rhythm, recalls the ingrained drive and ambition from their humble beginnings. It features a slick guitar break, as does the tongue-in-cheek Hillbilly Happy, which also includes some killer pedal steel by Patrick. Not surprisingly, attraction, infatuation and romantic connections get an airing, with Fast Asleep and Yearnin’ For You ticking those boxes. The former includes input from the Czech National Symphony Orchestra. Travelling Band delves into the highs and lows of the highway miles, and the album’s highlight, Tulsa, crackles with energy.
Gibson's unique voice shifts comfortably between the earthy, soulful country songs and the country rockers on LEAVIN’ THE HOLLER. He’s joined by a crew of road-hardened players, firing on all cylinders from start to finish, on a body of work that’s likely to herald the band’s continuing rise in the modern country industry.
Declan Culliton
Amy Annelle The Toll Self-Release
Even if you are not familiar with the work of folk artist Amy Annelle, if you watched the Golden Globe-winning film Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, you would have heard her stunning version of Townes Van Zandt’s Buckskin Stallion Blues. Chicago-born Annelle, currently living in Texas, having spent a number of years as a nomadic artist, has previously recorded under her name and also the byname, The Places, and has worked with noted fellow artists Michael Hurley and Bill Callahan.
As the album title suggests, the twelve tracks, though handled delicately, explore challenging themes. Recovering from a lengthy period of illness, Annelle recorded the album at her simple home studio surrounded by friends and fellow artists like Cooper McBean of The Devil Makes Three, who co-produced the album with Annelle and contributed guitars, bass, banjo, and accordion.
The ghosts of bygone times emerge in Pull Tabs and Broken Glass, which features Jolie Holland on harmony vocals, and East Texas Son plays out like an ode to a character from former times. Matters of the heart raise their head on Why Did He Take His Love Away, which speaks of unfaithfulness and abandonment, and I Loved A Lad has a similar narrative of broken dreams. Both have a timeless feel, enhanced by well-paced strings in the mixes. Bleak times experienced by the writer are recalled in Down And Out In Denver, and the illusion of marital bliss is challenged in Common Law Marriage. The title track bookends the album, and the closing lyrics, ‘I have no answer to the questions that burn in the dark night of your soul. I am but a weary traveller, with no coin to pay the toll,’ suggests a ‘work in progress’ rather than complete healing.
With songs that appear to reference periods in the author’s life, Annelle’s writing is timeless, considered, and often captivating. THE TOLL may explore emotionally raw terrain and is not an album to listen to when in a less-than-jovial mood. But with its charming mix of old-school and contemporary folk, it is both a thought-provoking and compelling listen.
Declan Culliton