Sturgill Simpson 'High Top Mountain -Thirty Tigers

Count Simpson among a handful of like-minded acts like Dave Gleason, Moot Davis, Mike Stinson, Tillford Sellars, Daniel Romano and veteran torch bearer Marty Stuart who want to play, write and perform classic country music in a way that the powers that be neither want or seem to accept anymore.

These 12 original songs are steeped in the sound of the past but are given a jolt of today's energy that takes them out of pastiche or parody and into something more relevant. Yes I have heard the arguments that country music must change to survive, but I question when the survival throws the baby out with the bath water. I have never met a Taylor Swift fan who has discovered real country music through Swift’s tunes. It reminds me of the excuses given that line-dancing would expand the country audience, which is something that I never found to be the case.

Back to the music that Sturgill Simpson has recorded on his debut album; pedal steel is well to the fore,  and when it is played by Robbie Turner you know you're in safe hands. Add the piano of Hargus "Pig" Robbins and the other fine players and you understand these guys know exactly what they need to deliver. Recorded at Hillbilly Central and Falling Rock studios and produced by Dave Cobb, who has helmed a wide range of music as producer, guitarist and bassist. Here Cobb has given the songs what they need; warmth, clarity and energy. There are subtle uses of Mellotron strings on some tracks to give them a touch of countrypolitan. Speaking of which; whatever happened to the great Mike Ireland who explored that sound some years back?

The songs are all written about the concerns of being a working musician, the working man and someone who is working out relationships and reasons to be who he is. The title of the opening song kind of sums the album up in many ways Life ain't Fair and the WorldiIs Mean. A song like Old King Coal considers the life of a miner. Sitting Here without You is classic heartbreak. And so it goes across this eminently playable album. 

Sturgill Simpson comes from a small town in Kentucky and the album is named for a cemetery where many of his family are buried,  but as the cover illustration indicates this is not in any way a depressing collection.  Rather, there is a positivity and colour to the performance that rings of integrity. He has a voice that echoes other classic country singers (not least Waylon Jennings) but one that will be become as distinctive as his heroes given time.

Sam Baker 'Say Grace' - Self-Release

After a break that allowed him the time to paint,  Sam Baker is back with his first album following The Mercy Trilogy, his first three albums and you are immediately back in an intimate place with just you and Baker. His voice is totally recognizable rarely  raising  itself above that of a poetic recitation which makes you listen to what it says. You're not going to be distracted by any vocal acrobatics that's for sure! It's the words, the voice and some very subtle playing. Piano and acoustic guitar are the key instruments and with some laid back percussion, accordion, cello and some barbed guitar for dynamics along with some vocal accompaniment. All of which give the songs their context, their continuity and their colour.

Baker's fourteen news songs will please his many fans,  but will do little to sway those who don't quite get his voice. The human voice is a wonderful instrument and the subtlest inflection can speak volumes,  but we tend to live in a world where the voice is expected to be a high flying trapeze act, there only to amaze with it's showmanship.  Baker’s voice is one that uses words well, words that are chosen for their place in the song, which are thought through and convey a story that is full of humanity and grace.

Like life,  Baker has said that this album is "the same but different". There are still the same emotions of anger and beauty, humour and humanity. Though the songs are more about people who have little in the way of material wealth, that wealth proves to be spiritual and simple. They convey too the times when the darkest hour comes before the dawn but in Baker's world you learn that despite events in his life that could easily have turned him bitter and resentful,  he has instead taught himself to be  grateful for every breath. If you understand that,  then you will appreciate Say Grace's understated and singular artistry. 

New American Farmers 'Brand New Day' - Big Barncat

These Americana farmers are essentially the duo of Nicole Storto and Paul Michael Knowles, both formally of the band Mars, Arizona. They now plough a furrow of harmony laden melodic roots music that is very easy to like. On this, their debut, album,  they are joined by a number of players who fill out the sound. There's a former latter day Byrd in Gene Parsons playing banjo and the trumpet of Ara Anderson alongside the accomplished pedal steel of Dave Zirbel. Add to that a strong rhythm section and you have something to be happy to encounter on any day, brand new or otherwise.

The duo supply the songs and Knowles the production. The one cover likely to get some attention is their take on ELO’s Can't Get it Out Of my Head which has the feel of a John Lennon take on a Paul McCartney song. It would likely get radio play on this side of the world if playlist were more unrestricted. New American Farmers are doing nothing new or that hasn't been done before,  but they are doing it well and this sort of melodic song performance now seems to have become the domain of Americana where it was once fairly mainstream.

This album is one that a great many who miss a sense of harmony, melody and easy to listen to (rather than easy-listening) music, will like. A song like Open Arms is something I'm sure Dublin band Pugwash would admire. But this pair also know how to contrast the softer songs with something more uptempo and downright introspective like Hypocrite. The closing track Sunday Market , which has animal and ambient sounds before a lone trumpet plays us out  finishes what is a varied and vibrant album that both Storto and Knowles can be happy with.

New American Farmers are a name to add to that list of interesting and inviting bands that play in California and bring us some of the various musical sources which make up the musical heritage of that state through the decades. This Brand New Day starts well.

The Band Perry 'Pioneer' - Republic Nashville

These three siblings have been singing together from an early age and it certainly shows in the tight harmonies that are very evident in many of the twelve songs here. This recording is the second full release from the Perry family, following a string of successful singles over the last four years.

Playing on the same pitch as Taylor Swift they veer close to the edge of Pop music aimed at a teenage fan base, rather than a true country direction. It is a commercial decision to focus on big production hits and a lot of the song content talks to the problems of young romance. The opening song Better Dig Two is a strong arrangement and the closing song End of Time highlights what a fine singer Kimberly is. She can certainly hold a tune and has a decent vocal range but the songs are just a little too lame for me in the lyric department; witness the line ‘We’d walk on grass that’s greener and the dishes would be cleaner’ as just one example of lazy writing. We also get ‘Your daddy is a pistol and you are a son of a gun’ – I rest my case. Points for effort but must try harder…

Joanna Mosca 'Let It All Begin' - Dolce Diva

This six song EP from NYC resident Joanna Mosca is a pleasant listen without challenging the established country music genre to any great degree. There are a number of references to driving and the old cliché of leaving town, or a lover, crop up.

The final track Where Does Love Go is a duet with Lonestar’s Ritchie McDonald and is perhaps the standout performance here. Let It All Begin is also a well- produced number with a nice guitar part and the opening Dream on Savannah is very catchy. However, there is a feeling of having heard it all before under the names of other female artists that have covered similar ground.

Joanna has a pleasant voice and an interesting background in acting. She was under the tutelage of Sir Anthony Hopkins at one point and I am sure that she does not lack stage confidence. However, stronger song content would serve her well on the next release.

Old Man Markley 'Down Side Up'- Fat Wreck

This is the second full release from a bluegrass band that started out in Los Angeles back in 2007. Gigging live around the local music scene has honed the energetic sound that is part of the trademark of Old Man Markley. Think Mumford & Sons or Flogging Molly and the vocals of Annie De Temple are reminiscent of Kirsty MacColl.

There are thirteen songs here and I cannot help feeling that the set would have gained somewhat from a certain amount of trimming. The playing is earnest and the energy is high but the overall feel is one of repetition with the individual songs drifting by in a mix of banjo, fiddle, guitar and autoharp. The drumming is very prominent in the production and this does not always allow the colour of the other instruments to shine.

Seven musicians do make a wide sound but variety is somewhat lacking on repeated listens. I am sure that in a live setting, the band can really whip up a storm, but on disc the dearth of sufficient originality in the song arrangements is all too evident to these ears.

Crowdis Bridge 'The Seasons & the Rhymes - Self-Release

This traditional bluegrass band hail from Nova Scotia in Canada and this is their debut release. Across eleven songs this trio, with support from a further three guest musicians, play with an enthusiasm and spirit that displays their passion for the music. The region of Nova Scotia is a rich territory for traditional music and there is a high degree of competition among the various bands who are trying to get their music heard.

The CD opens with a fine workout called Edge of Town which has fiddle and mandolin playing off each other in a brightly arranged melody and tempo. The following tracks occupy a similar groove with Little Green Houses skipping along like an old pickup truck along a dirt road. Amy’s Song ends proceedings with a flourish and hints at better days to come.

The vocals of Ellen Furey should feature more as they bring a welcome addition to the songs and the need to move towards a more individual style becomes evident. There is a sense of repeating much of what has been done before in this genre. The tunes do tend to run into each other a little as the arrangements repeat and the sound of mandolin and fiddle high in the mix can become somewhat predictable.

Scott Cook 'One More Time Around' - Self-Release

Born in Edmonton, Alberta this Canadian singer/songwriter has now released four recordings since 2007 when he started to play professionally. Scott Cook espouses the hippie dream by living in his van while he tours extensively with his musical message. He is a politically sensitive humanist who sings of weighty and worthy topics.

There are ten pages of narrative in the lyric booklet before we get to the song lyrics and it is true to say that Scott wears his heart on his proverbial sleeve. He also gives the relevant guitar chords to all of his songs on the recording and quotes from such heavyweights as Walt Whitman, Gertrude Stein, Kurt Vonnegut, Noam Chomsky and Martin Luther King.

You can also access a wonderful website courtesy of Scott Cook online and the free film service available at www.freedocumentaries.org is highly recommended to any inquisitive mind.

So, a veritable lucky bag of different flavours and surprises await the listener over these love songs and personal philosophies on life and living. Call it folk, roots or country music, all tracks are beautifully stripped down and played at a very intimate level that invites the listener in. I am pleased to have discovered this artist of real substance.

Steve Mayone/Kristina Stykos 'The Cousins Project' – Thunder Ridge

This pair of singer/songwriters has been making music for a number of years.  Each artist had released four separate recordings over the past decade when they recently met at a music festival. Both realised that they were related as second cousins and this realisation brought the pair to record together.

It is an interesting recording and the different song-writing styles provide a good balance for each of the artists. Stykos has a very distinctive voice and her material has a tendency towards the darker side of the creative muse. She has penned five of the songs here with Mayone writing a further three while the duo collaborate on the balance of five songs; thirteen songs that span 50 minutes and all very democratic.

The playing is excellent and the mix of guitar, mandolin, fiddle and banjo can make for a heady cocktail on some of the song arrangements. Highly recommended.

Alias Means 'Light Matter' - Self-Release

Mr Means has a distinctive voice, obvious from the opening song on this album, with  a slightly nasal quality that is something many a good country singer has. Delicate Mind unleashes the sound of a strident guitar and swirling organ which leads to Sleeves, a twang filled tale of regret. And so it is on the remainder of Light Matter a blend of country rock, unfrontness and obscure tales. But the way that Alias Means sings his songs allows for no mumbled phrases here. A sense of some Dylanesque surrealism is mixed with some straight down the line observation. His voice is such that it takes centre stage in the mix and gives this roots rock its character and cause. 

Means is the writer and producer of these ten songs that utilise his six players to full advantage. These are experienced players who have worked with the likes of I See Hawks in La, Glen Campbell and other such notables in and around California. So these are experienced players who get into the spirit of Means' music. Marty Rifkin's pedal steel gives the songs a good helping of their country music credentials. Means himself a part of the LA country circuit who pens a mean song; you get drawn in while your feet tap and your ears listen and you soon like what you're hearing.

Rather than the current mode of crowd funding, the press release tells us that a part of the money to make the album came from Means’ skill at a loved hobby - gambling. He won and lost, playing the casino circuit, but obviously from the reality of the album he made more than he lost. However,  this not a route that Lonesome Highway would recommend to aspiring music makers. 

 Though I'm occasionally reminded of other artists, usually from a few decades ago, there's nothing particularly retro about the music that Means is making. This music that must count for a lot as it was made after he suffered and recovered from a life threatening injury that convinced him he should make make this album. A "life's too short" epiphany suggests that Light Matter came from some rather heavy experiences, but the end result has an airiness and aspiring attitude that makes it an easy listen but, thankfully, not easy listening music. There is a spirit behind this music that is catching and pretty soon you’re right there with Alias and equally thankful that he got to do this. 

The Handsome Family 'Wilderness' - Loose

The Handsomes are one of the most unique and identifiable duos in the Americana network. In some senses this new album deserves the term as Rennie Sparks’ lyrics focus on the little creatures that crawl, walk or fly over American soil. The tunes feature one word titles Flies, Frogs, Owls, Spider, Woodpecker and Wildebeast. Those of us who hold this band dear know that Rennie is an intriguing and original writer of lyrics and prose. Her husband Brett is the other half of the equation, the main singer and chief instrumentalist. He is also the producer and recorder of the songs, something that he takes great pains with. He very much wants to get what he hears in his head down on tape. 

At this point he has transcended any specific musical references and combines his wide influences into something that is now it's own thing. They use the occasional guest to bring something to a particular song though Brett can usually easily achieve on his own. Rennie adds vocals to several songs and the two voices blend well coming from opposite ranges; his sonorous and hers airy. She also plays banjo on a couple of songs.

This is an album that works and should be heard as a whole. They may not be any singular song that stand out, but in context this can be counted among the strongest albums they have yet produced. It is one that also highlights Rennie's skill as an illustrator. Her colourful world of  "wee beasties" grace the cover and lyric booklet and are a perfect introduction to the equally vivid songs within. These seem simple on the surface buton  close examination they open you to a vision of an underworld the equal of any Victorian explorers sketch book. They reveal hidden corners and the lives of specific creatures that rarely would be the subject of song. The husband and wife team are indeed intrepid explores themselves and while there is no major departure in terms of sound from what would be recognised as the Handsome Family sound they have not been afraid to add to its sum total and continued development.

Wilderness has always a place that has its own particular beauty and this example can be said to no less intriguing. I can think of no other musical entity that would make such a attractive proposition on such an commonplace set of species with such uncommon relish. Long may they roam.

Various Artists 'Nashville, Series I, Volume I' - Big Machine

This soap opera has finished it's run on a dramatic turn and what's left in its wake is this first volume of soundtrack albums. The show itself managed to feature some interesting acts like Lindi Ortega, but this album is about the songs of the main characters. Some appeared in more stripped down or live versions in the show but here are full studio productions. Overall it is better than expected,  but with T-Bone Bennett in overall charge I would expect a certain level of sound quality. The diversity of the songs also reflects the show’s characters different musical standpoints and story lines. Gun For a Mouth is deliberately more rocking as that fits the plot. 

Ho Hey is sung at a sound check by the two daughters of one of the show leading characters - an established country singer. That supposedly spontaneous moment is here a very   produced song. The real life sisters Maisy and Lennon Stella however have their charm. Upstart newcomer Juliette Barnes in fact is supposed to be the one changing the sound of country and has some of the better songs. We Are Water is a strong song but then it's written by Patty Griffin and features Buddy Miller on guitar. One thing that is notable is that all the characters sing very well and could easily extend their careers in the real music industry if they chose to. 

Rayna Jaymes( played by Connie Britton) sings Lucinda Williams' Bitter Memory but gives it a pop gloss that the writer would have been unlikely to do. The indie wild card singer Avery Barkley (Jonathan Jackson) who's music is hi-jacked by a big name producer -  a recurrent theme - sings the ballad Let There Be Lonely which is not how he is portrayed in the overall series.

Clare Bowen, who plays the interesting singer/writer Scarlett O'Connor has an interesting twang to her voice and her duet with Gunnar Scott (Sam Palladio) is again listed as the Studio version while the live rendition was actually more affecting.

The album closes with Nothing in this World will Ever Break My Heart Again. It worked well in the show and is here a more measured studio version. Burnett's production brings out the drama of the song and Hayden Panettiere gives a very strong vocal performing a song of isolation and grim resolution. Nothing In This World Will Ever Break My Heart Again was written by Sarah Buxton and Kate York. It is a song that begs for attention but the version sung in the last episode in the Bluebird Cafe was a more emotional rendition, particularly given it's context in the story line.

Life imitating art, or art imitating life?  An accurate portrayal of Music City?  To a degree, but then it is like most such series set in a particular industry as much about the linear story line as it is about the reality of the subject. This show is as much about the people, politics and place as it is about one of its major industries. But then it was never meant to be a documentary, rather it is entertainment for outsiders, but with just enough of a glimpse of the inner workings of Music City to make it seem real.

Michael and The Lonesome Playboys 'Bottle Cap Sky' - Blackwater

Opening song Walk Through Fire suggests a street-wise roots rocker, but next up the steel guitar sounds straight out of a 50's honky-tonk.  From there the album swings between the two in fine style. This is the second album for singer/songwriter Michael Ublandi under this heading. He has combined his love of Hank Williams and Buck Owens with his equal appreciation of the likes of the Rolling Stones, Creedence Clearwater Revival and The Clash.

This is passionate, literate lamenting. Songs  such as The Outlaw Kind, Heart Full of Tears, Lonesome When You’re Gone and Another Side To Every Story are testament to a man who has lived and loved and lost and needs to tell those tales so others can appreciate their loves and heartbreaks. He can also spin a story like J.W. Price the Texas Oil Man with equal skill and sincerity. Ublandi has written the 15 songs on the album and he and his tight band deliver these songs, capturing a raw and very real sound that combines an essence of roots music.

Ublandi has a straight up, world weary but hopeful voice that gives these songs their heart and soul. Bottle Cap Sky continues in the mode of Last of The Honky Tonk,s his previous album with the Playboys, a band that includes California country pedal steel player Gary Brandin. Ublandi has also a series of solo albums under his belt that show a man dedicated to getting his gritty music across. Michael and The Lonesome Playboys don't play the kind of music that country radio likes and that must say something about the true heart of this music. Bottle Cap Sky is for those who would like Springsteen, Steve Earle or any rough-edged bar band who live for their chance to play music that has meaning in their lives.

The Wynntown Marshals 'The Long Haul' - Wynntown

This band fits the description that was in vogue a little while back "alt-country". They slide between the Gram Parsons/Rolling Stones axis that many bands who would fit that category tend to draw inspiration from. Not just those influences exclusively of course, but they are often the starting point. They are based in Edinburgh and recorded this album in their rehearsal space. It is testament to what a band can do with well rehearsed, thought out songs and a little time to get it right - or as right as time and budget and current experience allows.

The four members of the band are joined by some guests but they are a largely self-contained. They bring a certain rootsy swagger to their self written songs but can also add a delicate touch to songs like Curtain Call where vocalist Keith Benzie sings about perseverance and making hard choices in a restrained song that adds cello and violin to good effect. The final song Change Of Heart has Dolly Varden's Diane Christiansen adding a balanced harmony vocal to that age old situation of a couple who "… are at our best when we're not together, but we can't bear to be apart". That's what they mean, in one context, about being together for the long haul.

Elsewhere, the band  play a full sound that makes good use of Iain Sloan's guitar and pedal steel skills. The latter adds much to the Americana feel of many of the songs. The solid rhythm section of Murdoch MacLeod and Kenny McCabe provide the bedrock that gives the band its momentum and base. The Wynntown Marshals are the equal of many bands who come from the country whose music inspires them, but without any specific location. They are continuing in the path of bands like Brinsley Schwarz, Cochise or Quiver as much as drawing from the more high profile artists like Neil Young, The Byrds or latter day exponents like Uncle Tupelo and Son Volt. They have their sound down and are learning how best to bring it to a wider audience. They are doing in their own way, in their own time, because they know what they are in it for the long haul.

Underhill Rose 'Something Real' - Self-Release

This trio hails from North Carolina and they have funded this album via fan donations, which is becoming an increasingly familiar route for independent artists to get albums made and manufactured. The fans who contributed will be well pleased with how Underhill Rose have used the money. The harmony filled music includes bluegrass, country and folk-pop with touches of blues and soul broadening the band’s palette. The overriding feel is acoustic based,  voice-led music which expands and adapts as the songs require.

The songs are all self-written, mainly by Eleanor Underhill and Salley Williamson, with a couple of contributions by third trio member Rose Reed. All are well up to standard. Lead vocal is generally taken by the song's writer while the others supply close harmony, handling the task with individuality. They also play include a series of guests who help deliver a captivating sound. Black Lillies frontman Cruz Contreras is the album’s producer who has given the album a warm, bright, fluid sound.

The songs run from the country style heartache of Unused to You with  pedal steel giving it a sense of loss to the solidarity of hometown and friends which is the theme of They Got My Back. The sentiment of I Wanna Love You is self-evident though many of the other songs tend to look at the harder side of relationships. Never Gonna Work Out and Drives Me to Drinking are two paeans to personal pain. Underhill's banjo playing is often the key instrument which gives an old-time, bluegrass feel to a sound that is  also influenced by the drums, electric guitar, accordion, keyboards and trumpet. This instrumentation give the songs a wider texture and context as required.

Underhill Rose are the kind of band that have an immediate appeal. The vocals and harmonies are strong, the songs distinct and the overall sound that would informs you of the band’s intentions. The trio have produced something real, intrigiing and tangible, something that has a transcendant quality. On Never Gonna Work Out, which features the trio playing all the instruments and adding their fine voices, they show how well this band would work in a live setting too.

They obviously enjoyed the experience and the chances are that you will too. 

Patty Griffin 'American Kid' - New West/Sony

With a career that began in the mid-90s Patty Griffin's music had many settings from stripped back acoustic to full on rock. For her 7th studio album Griffin has gathered a team of players par excellence to render these songs straight and true. She has co-produced the album with Craig Ross and they utilise the players to great effect. But with the likes of Cody and Luther Dickinson, Doug Lancio, Byron House and Ross himself involved you are assured that the playing is fully in tune with the songs and with their singer. Griffin has rarely sounded better on a set of songs that return to people, places and to the past. The album is dedicated to her father Lawrence Griffin and is in his honour.

This seems like a natural step after her sojourn in Band of Joy with Robert Plant. The latter appears in a supportive role on three songs. Supportive as the central focus here is Griffin's expressive and emotive voice. Her version of Lefty Frizzell's of Mom & Dad's Waltz is delivered with true passion and serves as a pivotal link to a past and a future. The remainder of the songs are written by Griffin and illustrate a writer who, over time, has found a way to concisely used language to illuminate and be introspective.

Two of the songs take a distinct but largely understated sense of Irishness. Irish Boy and Get Ready Marie, the latter has a sly humour in its closing lines, which are taken from the male perspective, "… I had a good hunch, when she kissed me a bunch, she could do other things like a rabbit." The cover and lyric book features a lot of pictures of young solders and their sense of being and displacement are echoed in songs like Gonna Miss You When Your Gone. Not wanting to be removed from your place of upbringing at life's end is the theme of Don't Let Me Die In Florida. A request that her father made that was honoured at his passing.

Not that the album is in any way depressive. The opposite in fact. American Kid is Americana at its best and arguably the finest album that Griffin has so far released. It is one that will be returned to often and will no doubt be as rewarding on future plays as it is now. It marks Patty Griffin as a mature, mindful and mischievous presence who stands at the peak of her powers alongside a handful of very talented artists who have grown gracefully and for that we must show our gratitude in a world that is increasingly superficial. 

Review by Stephen Rapid