The New Madrids 'Through the Heart of Town' - Self-Release

Drawing from the irresistible Stones countrified swagger and such catholic roots influences as The Band, Byrds and later bands like Whiskeytown and Drive-by Truckers gives the New Madrids their musical seasoning. This five piece have a bedrock rhythm section topped with guitars, keyboards, mandolin and pedal steel before adding additional guest textures that include brass, violin and guest vocals; one of which, recorded in Austin, is Brennen Leigh. 

This combination allows for some soul-tinged country rock on a set of original songs written by the band members Ian Hutchison and Donny McElligott. The latter’s steel and brass song Shake has a nice retrained yet soulful delivery on a song that sees a relationship hitting the rocks. It is matched in tone by Hutchison’s similarly minded Shine a Light. Hutchison has a voice that is well up to the task of delivering these songs with an authority that gives them their depth and believability. Throughout the album there is a nice mix of rockers and mid-tempo reflection. Mountain of Trouble is a song about standing up and overcoming whatever difficulties life has a habit of throwing your way. There is a positivity in the delivery that sometimes belies the downward nature of some of the song’s themes. Alaska starts out slow and acoustically before reaching the chorus where Brennen Leigh joins in a nice blend of voices that underpin the essential sense of desperation that make this an album highlight.

As debut release go this is a great start for any band and though this is following  a well trodden path,  the destination is always going to be worth the trip. The New Madrids is another name to add to a growing list of UK bands finding their own space and place. They should be on your musical map if you like your roots/rock music to have some muscle.

Jon Pardi 'Write You a Song' - Capitol/Humphead

This is the debut album from newcomer Jon Pardi and it sounds as country as possible, while still angling for mainstream radio play. Pardi co-writes the majority of the songs and also co-produces the album, so one can assume this is a pretty fair representation of what he wants to do. He has employed some notable players in guitarists Keith Gattis, and J.T. Corenflos, steel players Dan Dugmore and Robbie Turner as well as fiddler Joe Spivey. They, among others, give the album a flavour of the traditional whilst at the same time aiming for a sound that fits in the more rock/pop radio sounds of many of Pardi’s contemporaries.

Some of the songs fall into line with current themes, the most obvious being Up All Night with its mention of trucks, midnight swims and dirt roads. It also has one of the most insistent choruses and a catchy riff that took it to the upper echelons of the singles chart. Drink, a long-time country staple, is celebrated and also lamented in Empty Beer Cans, When I’ve Been Drinkin’ and Trash a Hotel Room. That other universal topic, love, permeates these songs of missing, losing and hoping for better days. Young and romantically inclined, the songs don’t have the feel of an oolder artist, but a lot of the songs have a kick and energy that should find favour with Pardi’s peers.

Jon Pardi is balancing the sound that he loves with a need to hit the mark at his label and with the radio programmers who control the airwaves,  and while he may not please everyone by being quite neither one thing the other, he’s made a album that engages and entertains. Interesting to see how long he’ll stick around and where he goes next.

Martin Lorentzson 'Together' - Self-Release

Eight songs in 30 minutes and enough quality to hint at greater success ahead for this Swedish singer-songwriter. With two previous, self-released CD’s, Together represents a step forward in that it was created while working with seven separate song-writers.

Produced by Carl Granberg, the overall sound is based in a folk/roots genre, but there are many nice soundscape touches in the arrangements to keep everything interesting and flowing in a positive direction. Some very nice harmony vocals by an unidentified female voice add a certain mystery and the restrained playing creates an atmospheric mood to the experience. Less is More.

Jenai Huff 'Grace and Elbow Grease' - Self-Release

A 6 track release from singer-songwriter Jenai Huff which  follows on from her debut Transitions which appeared in 2012. The playing on this short set of songs is beautifully restrained and both Ben Wisch and Kevin Barry, on a variety of instruments, raise the performance level with understated accompaniment. The songs cover such topics as murder, personal relationships and rebirth, letting go of dreams and the temptation of strong attraction. Face your fears and do it anyway could be a motto for Jenai Huff as she sets down a marker for the future with strong song arrangements and a warm production

Eastwick 'Beyond Reason'

This new release from Swedish band Eastwick comes with a strong country music sound. Up-tempo songs with a positive message of love couple with political statements about questioning our authority figures. So, we get titles such as Wrong Will be Right and Out With the Old which speak of the need to push ahead with change. Personal growth and reflection are covered in songs I Will Stand and Part of the Deal.

Up For the Ride has hit song written all over it and the full sound and harmonies across many of the tracks are perfectly balanced by the excellent playing, with both cello and fiddle featuring prominently. The quiet resignation of Right Here is balanced by the optimistic wish for love on Closer. With these five musicians on top of their game the strength of this release is self-evident

Mason Summit 'Absentee' - Self-Release

A debut release by a young performer, aged seventeen, from Los Angeles. Mason Summit has a maturity beyond his years and has attracted some very experienced musicians to fill out the sound and complement his pleasant voice.

The twelve songs here have a light touch in their arrangement, with excellent playing from all those involved. Mason Summit contributes various guitars, organ, dulcimer and vibes, harmonica and pan flute. This is Folk Rock and introspective for such a young voice, perhaps the result of losing his father in 2008?

Early Roddy Frame and Aztec Camera come to mind as this young talent mixes strong melody with a confidence to succeed. Fools in April and Walk on Water are strong songs while the teen tempo of Jésus behind the Ice Cream Cart has hit written across it. Drain ends the set in reflective mood and points to a positive future for this performer

The Jamie Freeman Agreement '100 Miles From Town' - Union Music Store.

A full band release from English songwriter Jamie Freeman displays all the music sensibilities of a veteran performer. The dynamic in the thirteen songs is both tasty and tight with a fine production performance by the Freeman himself.

The players on the recording include regular band members Abigail Downs, Jessica Spengler, Jonathan Hirsch and Joe Ellis who are augmented by members of Larkin Poe, BJ Cole, Brandy Zdan and Richard Smith among others. The harmony vocals of Rachel Davies are particularly arresting on a number of the songs.

There is much to recommend here and the poignancy of Message from Limbo is balanced against the anger of Never Be The Same Again, as different as they are impressive. The up-tempo rock sound of Scrabble in Afghanistan stands up against the country groove of Two Sugar Baby and it all works beautifully. Recommended listening.

Sofia Ekberg 'All the Small Details' - Self-Release

An acoustic collection of six songs, this is the debut release from Sofia Ekberg, a Swedish singer/songwriter. Her sweet vocal carries the songs along in an easy style while a strong  folk influence comes through in the storytelling narrative of songs.

These songs cover topics such as Alzheimer’s (All the Small Details); divorce and the childhood questions and insecurities that result  (Let it Slip Away). Self- awareness and growth is referenced in Happy Feet and Fire in my Heart and there are two songs in her native tongue, which pose a challenge, but you can still enjoying the melody and arrangements.

The playing is light and restrained and the best song is reserved until last with Goodnight Sally, a lullaby for adults who need comfort and reassurance against the uncertainty of life.

Dan Krikorian 'Bloom'

This is an excellent release from Californian-based singer-songwriter Dan Krikorian. This is Krikorian’s fourth album and the songs are loosely based around author Daniel Wallace’s novel Big Fish which was later turned into a film, directed by Tim Burton. Krikorian fell in love with the story of Big Fish and was taken by the sense of adventure that the main character, Edward Bloom, possessed. Bloom wished for an extraordinary life, one worth living and took many risks to find it. The ten songs here are based around the need for growth and realising the need to build a life with meaning. Georgia Reign is a standout song and the beautiful violin and harmonies on Wedding Day are a pure joy.  The quality of playing is very strong throughout and the overall feel is one of quiet confidence. Sunday and Joe Purdy linger in the memory with fine melody and quiet, spacious arrangements. Highly recommended.

Loveflowers 'Bridge or Barrier'

This Swedish trio release their second collection of folk/roots songs and the arrangements are both catchy and easy on the ear. With a predominantly acoustic sound, the double bass/guitar combination can begin to sound a little predictable across the 12 tracks and some more colour would have been nice. One exception is  Like a Brick of Stone that boasts some nice touches with fiddle, accordion and bells adding quite a rich depth to the arrangement.  The sparse feel of Paradise Train is a moment of nice reflection with some fine guitar atmospherics and Waterfall has some nice harmony vocals

Abi Moore 'Amoeba and Stone' - Honest Records

This is the third release from Lincolnshire lady, Abi Moore. She sings of mermaids and the seduction of the deep on the title track. A tribute is paid to Johnny Cash with Nickajack Cave, a place Johnny Cash visited in 1968, intending to commit suicide. Instead, he had a spiritual awakening that inspired him to stop his drug abuse.

Protection is a love song to a partner while All Outta Sympathy is a message to someone who has let her down just once too often. Ten well produced songs and a confident voice make this a very pleasant listening experience

David Berkeley 'The Fire in my Head' - Self-Release

The eight songs here are true testament to the maturing talents of this singer/songwriter from New Jersey. David Berkeley has released six recordings since 2002 and his literate, sincere approach to arrangements and melody make him an artist to recognise as a real player of note.

His songs are earnest and intimate and this release was recorded over just a few days in a live studio setting. Spontaneous and brave in concept, the starkness of the arrangements lends a certain intimacy to the songs. Shelter and Song for the Road are particularly appealing as is the track The Well (Wait for the Rain). Check out this interesting artist at www.davidberkeley.com

Harmonious Wail 'Bohemian Tango'

This band, Harmonious Wail, define themselves as a gypsy swinging, torch singing, death-defying love note. All very "bohemian" indeed and the jazz tinged, swing sound recalls the heady days of Django Reinhardt and the Parisian Café Society of the 1930’s.

Tango dates back to the 1890’s in Argentina and Uruguay. The twelve tracks contain a number of tango based rhythms but it is the overall bright and light jazz feel of the numbers that will linger in the memory. A heady mix of mandolin, ukulele, upright bass, piano, melodica, sax and various guitars are topped off with the fine vocals of Maggie Delaney-Potthoff. She also fills out the sound with various percussive instruments including a cardboard box, egg shakers, sand blocks, scissors, a vintage brass lampshade and even a regular tambourine.

Sims Delaney-Potthoff produces the CD, as well as playing a variety of stringed instruments, plus a porch board. By now you have the sense that the song arrangements are very fluid and liquid and the excellent playing is warm and full of invention.

The closest that we ever get to a country sound is the cover versions of Trouble In The Fields (Nanci Griffith) and Tennessee Waltz (Stewart/King).However, it is the Rodgers and Hammerstein cover of My Favourite Things that steals the moment with some fine scat singing from Maggie to heighten the experience.

Famous Motel Cowboy 'Garden City Serenade' - Self-Release

For no particular reason Pure Quill by Pinto Bennett and the Famous Motel Cowboys is one of my all time favourite country albums. It's true, honest and it rocks. Nothing happens on it that pushes boundaries or changes perceptions, but it just gets me in the right places. The band played Whelans in Dublin way back to a bunch of like-minded 'honky-tonk assholes', which is another fond memory of great nights and a great live band.

Now they're back under the more  democratic Famous Motel Cowboys moniker. This is an album where all the participants contribute to the songwriting, playing and lead vocals. While age has not diminished their spirit their playing is more measured and well suited to the material. These are songs that reflect on the past (Old Man In East London) and the way to a future (John Wayne, Babe Ruth and Jesus, Oil In My Lamp). They are delivered with a positivity that is uplifting. Longtime fans will be delighted with this album. This is a well played and sung collection of (mostly) original songs; songs that have been aged in old caskets which make no comprise to ageing and the pain and pleasure that it can bring. This is country music played by a "band with some sand" - real grit for real people.

Pinto Bennett, John Dow. Jim Lemmon, Mark "Sergio" Webb and Rob Matson are the Famous Motel Cowboys. As a band, they never broke beyond the honky-tonks in their heyday,  but that wasn't and still isn't their mission. That mission was to be true to themselves, to be ‘pure quill’. As Phil Kaufman - the road mangler deluxe says in his sleeve notes, they have aged like a fine wine and here are eleven songs that tell stories of believable people (The Ballad of Onis and Mavis) and life's little ups and downs (Love Forsaken, Somewhere Else). As befits the democratic nature of the album the various members take their turn at the lead vocal mic while the other members add their vocals to the background.

The end result is another fine album that has warmth and wisdom and makes a fine companion and a sturdy reminder that the 'old farts' are still out there. While they are never going to be played on mainstream radio, don't let that small fact stop you from enjoying this welcome return of a great band and your chance to check into this venerable motel.

Dex Romweber Duo 'Images 13' - Bloodshot

The latest album from the brother/sister duo of Dex and Sara Romweber continues their exploration of the less trodden paths of blues, rockabilly, surf and country; hardcore Americana twisted roots music. There are some surprises here, not least their version of The Who's So Sad About Us from the early A Quick One album. The other covers here are all interesting and varied within the framework that is the band’s guitar and drums template. There's Jackie De Shannon and Eddie Cochran's partner Sharon Sheeley's We'll Be Together Again written following Cochran’s death. One Side Love Affair was previously recorded by Johnny Burnette and the closing instrumental Weird (Aurora Borealis) features the ethereal sound of the musical saw played by Melissa Swingle of the band Trailer Bride.

These sit alongside compositions from Dexter such as Roll On, Long Battle Coming and Baby I Know What It's Like To Be Alone which prove Dex is equally adapt as a writer as he is a singer and guitar player. But again, this is a duo and Sara Romweber holds up her end with some strident drumming that is an essential part of the package. This is music that is both primal and propulsive, built around bare-bones raunchy rock 'n' roll played with conviction. Something Dex has been doing since his days with Flat Duo Jets.

This is the third album from the duo and will not surprise anyone familiar with the previous albums. It is however a varied listen from the ‘60s British Invasion sound of So Sad About Us to the cooler instrumental sounds of Prelude in G Minor, the surf inspired Blackout! or the atmospheric Weird which sits easily along side the chugging beat of the 50's oriented rock-croon of I Don't Want To Listen. There is always a need for rock to return to its roots. Images 13's twelve songs are never half-hearted but are instead are filled with blood and sweat. You can provide the tears. 

Dierks Bentley 'Riser' - Capitol Nashville

If you look at the covers of Modern Day Drifter and Riser you will see the face of a man who has grown up; one who has seen birth as well as death and is at a point where he is assessing his life to date. Bentley’s career means that he is still a drifter but he is a man now with a home and a family. He loves the road and he loves his family life and he now has to balance the two, knowing that each has it's place even if each has an effect on the other.

Production sounds and mainstream country radio also put their demands on the music. Bentley has made no secret of his love for bluegrass music and just sitting and learning in the Station Inn,  but these are different times and country music is now, for many, an offshoot of hard and southern rock. More Hank Jr than Hank Sr. It makes you wonder what this younger audience would make of Jason and The Scorchers.

Much of this news direction leaves me cold but recently albums by the likes of Gary Allen and this new album from Bentley seem to have got the balance better. Don't get me wrong; I come from a rock background so when I listen to country music I want to hear, for the most part, country music as I recognise it, not watered down big hair-metal. But I keep an open mind and listen.

On this album Bentley works with Ross Copperman and he delivers a powerful sound and a set of songs that suit Bentley and where he is right now. Some of the songs seem like they're chasing radio's current obsessions like Pretty Girls. Yet that is a song co-written by Bentley, Jessi Alexander and Jon Randall. Here on Earth, on the other hand, talks about the reality of life on earth in which  there are no answers a lot of the time,  and hope and faith are crucial to survival.

Other songs like Drunk on a Plane and Bourbon In Kentucky are forged in the fire of the honky-tonk's cure-all pain relief delivered from the bottom of a glass. OK, they don't sound like pure honky-tonk, but offer instead an update on what was a country music staple theme, but in a contemporary way. The sound is delivered by a set of fine players including Dan Dugmore, Mickey Raphael, Bryan Sutton and electric guitarists Jedd Hughes, Kenny Greenberg and Charlie Worsham among others while the background vocalists include Kacey Musgraves and Chris Stapelton, all players who all understand the past and the future.

Dierks Bentley is to be congratulated for gathering all the various music influences that he has grown up with into a mature album. Back Porch updates the bluegrass sounds of Bentley’s Up On The Ridge album by adding some stinging guitar to the banjo sounds. The album closes with a quieter, more acoustic sounding Hurt Somebod,y a song about a heartbreak where the singer hopes the lady in question will end up having a relationship, even it will end up hurting him. There is much on Riser that comes from the heart and delivers it with a sound that is a development of the music Bentley has made from the start which makes an album that is about him at this time and about the fans who have grown with him.