Angela Perley and the Howlin’ Moons - Vital Music

Fronting her three piece band ,Perley plays it rough and ready with rootsy rock pumped full of power chords, fuzzed guitar and the spirit in the sky. Here the quartet are joined in the studio by guest backing vocalists, keyboard players and a steel guitar player to round out the sound. Production by Jerry DePizzo and Mike Landolt keeps it real and ready to kick ass. There are reminders all over the place in Perley’s voice and the overall sound to a selection of like-minded influences which means that while there is nothing specifically new in the soundscape they deliver, it is one that pleases nonetheless.

The ten original songs tell of people and places like Athens, George Stone and of attitude, with Howlin’ At The Moon, Bad Reputation and Down and Drunk. There are quieter moments like Rock and Roller that has insomnia as part of its theme. The Ohio-based band deliver some roughed-up roadhouse rock that engages you from the off. Milk in the Fridge is a paean to a youthful hedonistic lifestyle that doesn’t need to settle down but rather wants to live for and in the moment which is delivered with Stones-style raunch. Likewise Hurricane is a little more rock than country roll which makes this album the ideal candidate for a noisy party where the music is just on the right side of rootsy and hasn’t fallen into a bad hair metal day or night, but is still raucous enough to have the neighbours banging on the wall. Everyone can howl at the moon!

Susan Cattaneo 'Haunted Heart' - Jersey Girl

This New Jersey Girl has releases several albums before this current collection. Her songs fall into a folk/pop/country genre and are a blend of the upbeat and the more circumspect. Abide speaks of how the “the world’s wicked ways abide”,  an honest truth. The word wicked appears again in Lorelei where “something wicked grows within”. But lest you feel that there is an oppression hanging over the album, Cattaneo feels she is “worth the whiskey” and that “she feels like dancing”. 

Producer Lorne Entress, who has worked previously with Cattaneo,  has assembled a fine studio band to give these songs their verve. Between the participants a lot of instruments are featured to give the songs added textures.

A recent life or death experience had a profound effect on Cattaneo’s writing and she notes this changed the direction of her songwriting from the more country style song she had written for others. A big fan of Wille Nelson, she wanted some of his musical dexterity and indeed wrote Queen of the Dancehall as a female take on Nelson’s Red Headed Stranger. Writing from a female perspective is an important part of her work and she tries to tell it from a position of strength and understanding. 

The fourteen songs here do just that and veer between a more traditional view like the steel drenched album closer How a Cowboy Says Goodbye through the more contemporary mode of Lies Between Lovers which to these ears has an echo of Because The Night. Between these two songs Cattaneo explores aspects of aspects of Americana in a way that would be familiar to fans of Mary Chapin Carpenter. Similarly,  Cattaneo has her own voice and is a strong writer. There are times when the downbeat lyrical direction is at odds with the musical setting which, on occasion, might be a bit tougher. But overall Haunted Heart works, as it has confidence in and commitment to its largely contemplative songs. That in itself doesn’t always happen, so take it to heart, haunted or otherwise.

Laurie Lewis 'One Evening In May' - Spruce and Maple

This is a live album recorded back in May last year with Laurie’s friends Tom Rozum and Nina Gerber. Though known as a bluegrass patriot,  Lewis opens the album with one of my favourite songs Ring Of Fire. This features some taunt electric guitar that suits the songs well. That doesn’t quite set the tone for the album as the next few songs have acoustic instrumentation spiced up with some tasty interjections from Gerber’s electric guitar. The trio are also joined by some friends adding harmony vocals and fiddle.

The end result is like being in the room with the musicians, as there is little added in post-production and that allows the spirit of the evening to be captured as it happened. There are some great songs from Lewis like Barstow, though I found myself drawn to the folkier deliveries like Sailing Boat, En Voz Baja, Kisses (a humourous song listed the many kissers that Lewis has encountered in life) and the rockier songs like I’m Missing You Tonight. The bluegrass orientated material like The Crooked Miles fits in the overall set and as it’s a genre that Lewis is most associated with this will doubtless please her longtime fans. Her crystal clear voice is highlighted on the unaccompanied opening of Trees and it is a worthy instrument capable of delivering the variety of emotions that her songs have, from the uplifting to the more weary considerations of separation and situation.

Overall this is a 15 song set that enhances the reputation of all involved and a fine souvenir for all those lucky enough to have caught Laurie Lewis playing live on any evening in a small and friendly venue.

Reviews by Stephen Rapid

Karen Jonas ‘Oklahoma Lottery’ - Self-Release

A number of things hit you straight off with this album. First, Jonas can really sing. Second, she has written some great songs. Third, she is supported by a subtle and solidly inventive band.

Often when you listen to an album the lyrics tend to wash over you at first,  but here you pay attention from track one. Suicide Sal takes on the Bonnie and Clyde saga and shows how Jonas can weave a story using elements of a true story. The song’s title comes from one of Bonnie Parker’s prison poems. The title track is another song rooted in historical fact as well as fiction. Inspired by  John Steinbeck’s The Grapes Of Wrath, it deals with the hardship of dustbowl migration. The singer inhabits these songs as though she’s carrying the thoughts, indeed even wearing the clothes of the characters.Jonas can even kick up a couple of notches as she does with Money which is a song that muses on what money can actually provide.

The songs never tip over into anything that loses control. The tight and talented band includes Tim Bray’s evocative guitar over the sterling rhythm section of Claude Arthur and Brian Barbe. Jay Sterling added the textures of lap steel and piano, while Jonas herself plays acoustic guitar throughout. The album was recorded by Jeff Covert in Fredericksburg, Virginia and shows again that some vital music is coming from places outside those associated with this style of music.

The ten songs all bear repeated plays and reveal their many layers. Jonas’ vocal is full of personality, hints of pain and of passion that can be both sultry and spirited. But she never over-sings, as often is the case, revealing only as much as she wants to and allowing the listener to imagine the deeper crevices of the character’s motivations. 

You can add Karen Jonas to such notables as Eilen Jewell and Zoe Muth. These women are all singer/songwriters who front great bands and make music that is special and definitely worthy of attention. This is music with heart and soul, music that is made because the artist needs to make it  - for herself as much as anyone.

There are elements of honky-tonk, jazz in its Americana overtones. It was recorded quickly in a live setup in the studio with Jonas allowing all of the participants to have a say in the direction the music took. This explains the organic and instinctive interactive feeling that the music has and why there is an energy and rawness in the music that’s appealing on a number of levels.

The final song, White Trash Romance, is a tongue twisting tale of  a relationship that has humour as well as narrative. It is just one of ten great songs on an outstanding debut release that promises much for the future for Jonas and for those who still seek the truth in music.

Paul Burch ‘Fevers’ - Plowboy

You can always rely on Paul Burch to deliver rewarding music. Since his debut release Pan American Flash, he has been mining a rich seam of Americana from honky tonk, blues, rock ’n’ roll to soul inspired sounds and also taking in a love for a good Buddy along the way.

Fevers is produced by Burch with his old friend Fats Kaplan. This is Burch’s tenth release that has included a collaboration with the Waco Brothers (Great Chicago Fire) as well as an album based on a book Jim The Boy by Tony Early (Last Of My Kind) and the aforementioned set of Buddy Holly covers (Words Of Love). This album’s lineup includes such regulars as Dennis Crouch, Jen Gunderman, George Bradfute, Chris Scruggs, Richard Bennett, Kelly Hogan and Kristi Rose as well as Kaplin on fiddle and steel. Burch himself plays upright bass, drums on a number of cuts, and guitar on the majority. He is the constant while the other musicians are varied on the different cuts. The musicians are used as required to suit a particular song and this adds to the variety and tone throughout. 

The album opens with Cluck Old Hen a cover song that has an old-timey folk feel but one with a sonic edge that signals that Paul Burch is no mere copyist but an artist weaving the strands of American music into an honest song. Couldn’t Get a Witness has the feel of a Bo Diddley classic. The pure honky-tonk of Straight Tears, No Chaser goes right back to his days in Tootsie’s on Lower Broadway. The sound moves slightly further South with Sagrada.  Saturday Night Jamboree wafts in from the airwaves of a forgotten radio barn dance and is marinated with a joyous swing and some compulsive fiddle and steel. That all these songs (bar Ocean Of Tears and I’m Going To Memphis) are from the pen of Burch only adds to your knowing that this man has a deep understanding of a wide range of music. In other hands this range might be too diverse to have a single vision, but Burch is the lynchpin here. His voice is distinctive and dynamic and his personality and positivity shine through. This is the sound of someone who cares more for performance than perfection, but in saying that, Fevers is close to achieving that perfection. It is the synergy between all those involved that is captured here and this makes it so ultimately rewarding.

Paul Burch has dedicated himself to music as producer, player, writer, singer and student. He remains one of Nashville undiscovered talents,  but with albums like this he deserves to heard by many more listeners than he previously.

Sturgill Simpson ‘Metamodern Sounds In Country Music’ - Loose

This second album from Sturgill Simpson lives up to the promise of his debut. Producer Dave Cobb is again behind the desk and together  they have explored the fringes of traditional country music. This doesn’t mean that Simpson has strayed into the county-pop, southern rock and rap infused territory that seems the sound de jour in Nashville right now. Instead this is something more visionary and mildly lysergic. It was recorded quickly with his road band came off the road after a series of live dates. It is sharp, tight and most definitely countrified.

At the heart of this is the voice and songs of Simpson. The voice has the ring of authenticity, of someone steeped in the music he and his family grew up listening to. His phrasing may suggest some classic country singers but he is very quickly developing an individuality which makes him as distinctive as some of the singers he most admires. His need to move on and develop his music so that he is not repeating himself at this stage in his career is crucial to his progress. This second album is fundamentally coming from a similar place as High Top Mountain. There is a reflection of lives lived, emotion in turmoil, induced visionary experience but with a heart grounded in love.

The opening song, Turtles on The Way Down,  is accompanied by a video that is a visual equivalent of the sound. The lyrics here talk of “alien reptiles” and equally spacey drugs as well as Jesus, Buddha and the devil. That’s just the first song - not too many tan lines or tailgates here folks. So we have a tight country band, a strong singer, an off beat set of lyrics set in a world that is somewhat out of this world. From then on we take in a Life of Sin, Living The Dream, the Long White Line of life through to the final testament that It Ain’t All Flowers. Amen to that. The band here may not include such former A-teamers as Hargus “Pig” Robbins, who graced the debut, but they do an equally good job of making the album a strongsonic experience. Laur Joamets on guitars, Kevin Black on bass and Miles Miller on drums are joined by keyboard player Mike Webb and producer Dave Cobb. Together with Simpson on acoustic guitar they deliver the goods in an organic and unforced way.

The are two outside songs among the ten tracks here (there’s an acoustic hidden track at the end). Buford Abner’s trucking song Long White Line and a version of the band When in Rome’s The Promise and both fit perfectly on the album, showing that Simpson can easily deliver a credible and creative take on a song he loves just as he does in his live set. The Promise is a sad ballad played straight and is a perfect act of contrition that serves to show the emotional depth and soulfulness of Sturgill’s vision. This definitely connects with Ray Charles’ Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music, another album from another time but one that also had it’s own vision. Comparisons abound with Simpson’s voice but there is as much bluegrass influence in it as there is straight country. A certain soulfillness also plays it’s part in shaping such a powerful vehicle.

There are moments of the elemental in the sound - like at the end of Long White Line and especially on the (official) closer It Ain’t All Flowers where the full flavour of psychedelic sonics are unleashed musically and vocally and thus ending the album the same way it started with a “what the hell was that!” question that will have you coming back to the album to experience it’s many pleasures a metaphysical pain killer.

Joseph Huber ‘The Hanging Road’ - Muddy Roots

When I read that this was a one band production I was slightly dubious. In the past these have been somewhat sterile affairs but the truth is this is a pretty punky affair. The former .357 String Band member’s music comes from the streets and bars of America and Huber know how to keep the edge and energy in his music. The songs are equally rough edged tales of hard won victories and down hearted defeats. Huber is a multi-instrumentalist know for some fast and furious banjo playing but here he plays everything that’s required. That included guitar, banjo,piano, drums, bass and fiddle. The songs, all Huber compositions, mix string band, folk, insurgent country, cajun and roots elements but each is complete in itself. Sadness stands along side the upbeat and highlight the skill that Huber has brought to his third solo album, something crafted by hand and heart, something that feels right.

A song like Wanchee & Manteo clocks in 0ver 5 minuets and has the feel of a Townes Van Zandt’s song. High praise but one that is warranted with the quality of storytelling on offer.The final track The Unpromised Land is even longer at over 7 minuets 40. A wordy song that tells of exploration and of naming distant shores and giving demands for unpromised lands. It is simple and direct in delivery with the seasoned voice of Huber sounding ageless and aged. The song builds to a haunting piano centre that has a powerful overall effect that underlines the hand craft involved and manages to fit its length without seeming forced.

The songs flow together with songs like Coming Down From You and Goin’ Far On Little (Just A Little Too Long) containing genuine memorial hooks that will make them live favourites and capable of reaching wider audiences without ever compromising on the integrity that Huber and his music has. However having said that you won’t be hearing those or any other songs here on radio rotation any time soon. This is the sound of an off the radar roots music that is real and heavy with the patina of human hope and hubris. Take a trip down the hanging road.

Elliott Murphy ‘Intime’ Self-Release

The latest release from the Paris based singer-songwriter which will be welcome to his long-time fans. Over the last few years Murphy has released numerous albums since his acclaimed debut Aquashow. The songs on this five track ep were written in his Paris apartment while looking across the street at a vacant apartment. Benedict’s Blues opens the set which was produced by Murphy’s son Gaspard. Murphy is joined here by excellent long time guitarist Olivier Durand who can be heard to good effect throughout especially on that opening song. Laurent Pardo plays bass and Alan Fartas is the drummer. This tight musical unit is the perfect one to back Murphy’s distinctive voice and song structures.

The words, as always, veer towards the poetic and the pictorial, often telling stories in non-linear classic Dylanesque rhymes that makes perfect sense in context.Sweet Honky Tonk talks of missing New York in general and a bagel in particular. Land of Nod, as befits the title, is taken a gentler pace. Things get a little more uptempo with The Land That Time Forgot and the final track is Every Little Star, wherein destiny is pondered as a question of “would you rather be happy or be right”. I’d rather be happy and this small slice of Murphy does that. It keeps you satisfied until the next full album comes along. Murphy’s website lists all the albums he has so far released http://www.elliottmurphy.com/discography.html  and also supplies some unreleased versions of his songs, for both newcomers and long time fans.

Bradford Lee Folk and The Bluegrass Playboys ‘Somewhere Far Away’ - Five Of Diamonds

Folk is former member of band Open Road and now fronts this new band. As the band name suggests, Folk is a thoroughbred bluegrass exponent,  but as the playboy part of the name hints, the music comes from a time in the past where bluegrass and country music were less separate than they often appear now.

The instrumentation here is fiddle, banjo, upright bass, mandolin and guitar but it is Folk’s singing and writing that gives the album it’s distinctive flavour. He has written the majority of the 8 songs. He is a stylist in the mode of such greats as Jimmy Martin and Del McCoury and when he sings, at the end of the album, a song like the more folk-styled Soil and Clay you are immediately drawn into the heart of melancholy and sadness of this haunting song. 

There are various bluegrass songs from the uptempo opener Foolish Game of Love through to the more reflective Trains Don’t Lie. These and the other songs all show the strengths of the band which manage to highlight what an instinctive singer Folk is and how his songs have a depth that is more Americana in flavour than one can sometimes expect in bluegrass songwriting.

There is a darkness on occasion here that often relates back to earlier times which gives a different tone to some of the more standardised traditional repertoire that one can come across with some new bands.This is a very promising start to Folk’s journey as he balances the varied musical strands that exist within his music. 

Reviews by Paul McGee

Brigitte DeMeyer 'Savannah Road' - Self-Release

This is recording number six on a continuing journey that has seen Brigitte DeMeyer develop a growing reputation as a performing artist both across America and Europe. She displays a wonderfully natural feel for soul-steeped, blues-infused roots music and on this release has been delving deeper into southern musical territory. 

DeMeyer has a strong partnership with guitarist/songwriter Will Kimbrough, with whom she has toured and collaborated since 2010. The songs she has been writing, primarily with Kimbrough are a rich blend of fingerpicking, blues inflection and acoustic soul. The songs stem from DeMeyer and Kimbrough’s musical chemistry, and are brought further to life with her sultry vocal delivery that reminds me of a Bonnie Raitt/Mavis Staples groove, combined with Kimbrough’s strong playing. Soulful, sweet and with more than a little honey on the side.

Frankétienne & Mark Mulholland 'Chaophonies' - Self-Release

This is a project that has been supported by a variety of enterprises in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Mark Mulholland was born in Glasgow and has been travelling and playing music around Europe and North America for more than two decades. Now living in Port-au-Prince he joins with Haitian poet, dramatist, painter and actor, Frankétienne. Mark composed music for a selection of texts by Frankétienne, and the pair combine this spoken word and music gumbo into a compelling listen. The language is entirely foreign, but the power of the performance, the passion and persuasion of the delivery draws the listener deeper into a world of intrigue and imagination.

Several other musicians appear on the recording, including Haitian percussionist Zikiki, Belgian double bassist Hannes d’Hoine and violinist Buni Lenski, French accordionist Olaf Hund and Scottish cellist Nicola Geddes. There is a ghost-like quality to the arrangements and the freedom afforded the players allows for some fine passages of acoustic and percussive riffing, while keeping interest firmly focused  on the delivery of the poet, Frankétienne. Well worth checking out

Kathy Kallick 'Cut to the Chase' - Self-Release

This West Coast Bluegrass artist has released 17 recordings over a long and distinguished career. Here Kathy delivers thirteen tracks that she describes as ‘story songs’. Several were written in collaboration with English singer-songwriter Clive Gregson and while the flavours of bluegrass and acoustic Americana are never absent, there are also lots of new elements present.

Pedal steel guitar blends seamlessly with mandolin and fiddle on a number of songs to deliver a high standard of musicianship and an impressive maturity that is appealing. Feet on the Ground and Not as Lonesome as Me, are two songs that showcase this fine interplay between musicians and my advance copy does not tell me who plays what; just that seventeen different musicians join Kathy at various points along this musical map. This is an impressive and strong release.

West My Friend 'When the Ink Dries' - Self-Release

Canadian folk music has been gaining increasing attention in recent years with a number of acts surfacing who promote an organic style of playing. West My Friend is a fine example of this genre, with the quartet delivering a strong release on these twelve tracks.

Guitar, mandolin, accordion and bass form a potent mix with additional piano, percussion and pump organ showing up in just the right measure on various songs. The arrangements are full of colour and personality with the clear vocal delivery of all four band members forming into a strong unit.

West My Friend released their first full-length album, Place, in 2011 and it received multiple award nominations. This second release ranges in scope from intimate moments to the use of strings, trumpet, flugelhorn and brass arrangements that showcase the musicianship and multi-instrumental abilities of this promising young band.

Wyatt Easterling 'Goodbye Hello' - Self-Release

A veteran of the music business stretching back to the 1980’s, Wyatt Easterling has experienced many different roles, including producer, record executive, songwriter, singer, and session musician. His second solo album, Where This River Goes was released by High Horse Records in May 2009, which saw a return to the recording studio after many years and now we have Goodbye Hello, the results of a Nashville studio collaboration with record producer Bill McDermott.

The eleven songs on this recording are very well written and the vocal delivery reminds me, in part, of James Taylor. The songs display a fine balance of sympathetic playing and understated delivery and are based around life changes, personal relationships and upheavals with both endings and new beginnings and a few cul-de-sacs along the way.

The musicians are all talented players and the ensemble deliver an easy listen, with lots of light touches and gentle solos. That Day Will Come (advice in love) and Teach Me How to Say Goodbye (the death of a parent) are two mature arrangements that blend together well and Help Me Find My Way sings of finding hope when feeling lost. A fine project that comes recommended.

Ruth Trimble 'Things I Want to Say' - Self-Release

This Belfast singer songwriter is a real talent and a welcome addition to the local Irish music scene. A multi- instrumentalist, Ruth Trimble displays a natural flair for musical arrangement and melody in the twelve songs on this, her debut release.

She has been gaining an increasing reputation by working hard on the live circuit and recently tours with Kevin Montgomery, Kimmie Rhodes and Beth Nielsen Chapman has seen her sharpen her already impressive skills with songwriters of this calibre.

The title track is dedicated to a close friend, Will Owsley, who passed away and is particularly poignant as he plays on two of the songs included here. Tonight is a song that channels the passion of wanting someone who is just out of reach, while Let You Go speaks of having to walk away from a relationship that has run its course.

Production credits are exclusively down to Ruth and the sound is very impressive, with plenty of space in the song arrangements with room for the lovely melodies to breathe and linger. More impressive is the fact that she plays almost every instrument on this collection and displays a maturity well beyond her years.

Awaken My Soul is quite beautiful with a restrained tempo and fine guitar colouring. Equally, Goodbye is a love song that tugs at the most stubborn heart-strings. We are given songs to new life in the world, Fighter & Judah, which somehow balances the book of life and loss.

We have been given a unique, local talent and one that will undoubtedly grow with greater exposure. Watch this space…!

Reviews by Sandy Harsch

Jace Everet 'Terra Rosa' - Haywood Group Productions

JaceEverett’s new album is an absolute knockout, from its gorgeous cover (designed by Lonesome’s own Stephen Rapid) to the strongest music Jace has ever come up with, which, considering his previous track record is a bold statement, but absolutely deserved.

His inspiration is Biblical stories and parables. Unfortunately I have a very literal mind and overlook metaphors and wouldn’t know a parable if it bit me in the butt, but I love the songs here.

The actual music is bold, powerful and effective, and the words match the music perfectly. The production is superb, by Jace and Brad Jones and unlike much of my listening there is nothing I would like to tweak or eliminate.

When you like an album as much as I like this one it is hard to choose favourites but Pennsylvania where Dan Cohen’s mandolin becomes a narrative voice alongside Jace’s vocals, Lloyd’s Summer Vacation with its sly, discordant humour and its music which evokes both Procul Harum and the Animals and the apocalyptic No Place to Hide are currently my top picks, but they change daily.

Jace has always been a strong singer, using his voice to amplify the pictures his words draw, but his control and use of his voice, particularly his haunting falsetto in parts of Love cut Me Down, is absolutely stunning.

Terra Rosa is a really impressive album, but it is also really enjoyable – you can even whistle it – that I’d recommend to anyone who loves music

The Sweet Lowdown 'May' - Self-Release

Nominated for a Canadian Folk Music Award as Vocal Group of the year in 2013, the Sweet Lowdown are three very accomplished musicians; Shanti Bremner on banjo, Amanda Blied on guitar and Miriam Sonstenes on fiddle. While this is the first of their CDs to come my way it seems to be their third album overall.

 Lead vocal are traded amongst all three, though Amanda Blied takes the lion’s share. There are four instrumentals on the album, my favourite being Shanti Bremner’s  Lucknow, inspired by a trip to India for a wedding and it is an amazing evocation of India from 3 instruments normally associated with folk/bluegrass. 

While there are two covers of traditional songs (Sail away Ladies and a high-energy Reuben’s Train) the rest are written by the band  and touch on love, the environment, friendship and memory as well as ‘a lullaby for hard times’, the lovely Hushabye.

The album is very well made and packaged – something not to be taken for granted with independent CDs – and really enjoyable. Enjoyable enough so that I look forward to seeing the band live and looking out their earlier music