Reviews by Declan Culliton

Jason Wilber Reaction Time Wilber Tone

Jason Wilber is best known as John Prine’s trusted side kick and guitarist of the past two decades which often overshadows his impressive solo musical output. Reaction Time is his tenth album despite spending much of the past twenty years on the road touring with Prine or in the studio recording with him and the many collaborators that have featured on Prine’s albums over the years.

It’s also Wilber’s first full studio album of self-penned songs in eight years, following his covers album Echoes (2016) and Live And Otherwise Volume recorded seven years ago.

When considering Wilber’s music I’m reminded of both Rodney Crowell and Nick Lowe for a number of reasons. His output, and no more so than here, is a blend of both these artists mixing Americana with British Roots and Soul music to perfection. Equally similar to Lowe and to a lesser degree Crowell, his back catalogue includes many top-notch albums that should have and probably would have been better recognised had he concentrated on a solo career without the diversions as a band member and session player. His 1998 debut album Lost In Your Hometown was Americana before the term was conceived and Behind The Midway released two years later was equally impressive. 

The title and opening track of Reaction Time sets the benchmark for what is to follow, a slick breezy guitar intro, pounding drums and controlled vocals combining to give the song an early REM feel. Love Me Now heads down a slightly funkier path, Jealousy and Envy kicks in with a Rolling Stones’ Miss You riff, perfectly paced and infectious. Something Somewhere and Shame On You bring to mind much of what his fellow Nashville resident Jason Isbell is writing these days, both artists possibly inspired to some degree by John Prine, the latter song a flowing piece of music that connects on first listen. I’d Love Another Saturday Night, is the liveliest song on the album and possibly a good choice for "the single". It’s a topic that has been written about by endless of musicians over the decades yet Wilber’s effort sounds refreshingly crisp and original. Heaven, the most traditional country track on the album finds Iris DeMent adding harmony vocals and Allie Summers on violin. A gorgeous song conjuring up heavenly scenes and images of old farm houses, dusty paths, country cooking and simple living, it closes the album in style.

As can be expected the playing is elegant and faultless throughout with Wilber joined by bass player Glenn Myers, percussionists Ben Lumsdaine and Devon Ashley, Chris Erbacher adds pedal steel.

This latest album is another welcomed diversion from the day job by Wilber and one that will undoubtedly continue to be revisited by me in the coming months. 

Rachel Baiman Shame Freedirt

When considering current female singer songwriters who also excel as fiddle and banjo players the names Gillian Welch, Rhiannon Giddens, Abigail Washburn, Alison Brown and more recently Kaia Kater immediately spring to mind. Well it’s time to add Rachel Baiman to the list and near the top at that. The 27-year-old Nashville resident and multi-instrumentalist has most certainly hit the ground running with her debut solo album Shame.

Baiman  is a member of 10 String Symphony, a duo with Christian Sedelmyer, both five string banjo players whose 2015 album Weight Of The World featured on NPR’s listings of newest and most promising voices in Americana on it’s release. For her debut solo album Baiman engaged Andrew Marlin of Mandolin Orange as producer resulting in a less stripped down and fuller sound than that of 10 String Symphony. It hardly needs noting that the quality of the playing is dazzling, from Baimans banjo and fiddle to the guitar and keyboard input by singer songwriter and session player Josh Oliver and bass player by Marlin. 

Raised in Chicago, both her parents were political activists, her father a radical economist and her mother a social worker, she is the co-founder of Folk Fights Back, a political organisation who perform benefit concerts and events in response to the current political administration in the States. Not surprisingly a number of the tracks visit and question social issues, religion, politics, racism, inequality and abusive relationships. 

Getting straight down to business by questioning religion on the opener and title track Baiman probes "Well old white men write books about faith and healing love, And old white men look happily onto others from above, In the name of sweet religion they would lay their claims on me, And ask me to be grateful for triumphant jubilee." Acknowledging both the joy and responsibility of love and relationships Something To Lose simply drifts along with Baimans banjo perfectly placed in the background. 

Echoes of Gillian Welch surface particularly on I Could Have Been Your Lover Too and Wicked Spell, written by Michael Bowman alongside eight self-written songs by Baiman. Fittingly the other song covered on the album is Never Tire Of The Road written by Andy Irvine, chronicling the struggles of the underprivileged and left behind. 

The greatest accolade I can suggest in respect of Shame is that much of the material is everything you would hope for in a Gillian Welch album and praise hardly comes higher than that. 

Carter Sampson Queen Of Oklahoma and Other Songs CRS

Carter Sampson’s 2016 album Wilder Side was hailed as one of the finest releases of that year at Lonesome Highway and her performances at The Kilkenny Roots Festival earlier this year confirmed her status as yet another outstanding artist that had remained under our radar despite having released four previous albums.

It’s also fair to say that despite Wilder Side deservedly receiving rave reviews in Europe her back catalogue equals the high standard of that album as evidenced by Queen Of Oklahoma and Other Songs which gathers material from all four earlier albums. Released to coincide with her European tour earlier this year its sixty minutes feature fourteen tracks in total.

Mockingbird Song, released in 2011, is represented by five tracks including the zappy opener Be My Wildwood Flower followed by her signature tune Queen Of Oklahoma. Jesse James, Sanctuary and Better Ways also feature from this album which truthfully should take pride of place in any serious collectors’ catalogue. Much fuller, rockier, rousing and less country than Wilder Side, think Kathleen Edwards and you’re on the right page.

I Am Yours and Wild Bird are included from her acoustic EP Thirty Three recorded in 2014, both delightfully melodic country folk.  A fuller version of Wild Bird features on Wilder Side. Six tracks are presented from Good For The Meantime, released in 2009, the aching love song Let’s Get Back and the snappy Payne County Line are particularly impressive. Annie is the only inclusion from her debut acoustic album Fly Over The Moon recorded in 2004.

The album is a welcomed roadmap of Sampson’s career as a young songwriter to the present day. Weaving seamlessly between folk and country it’s indicative of a self-assured and extremely talented artist who without doubt will have lots more to offer going forward.

Chris Jamison Mindless Heart Self Release

The cover of Mindless Heart features a non-descript hand drawn red heart depicting I Love You which, not being familiar with Jamison’s previous albums, drew expectations of an acoustic based album of love songs and the like. However, this assumption transpired to be miles off the mark. Currently based in Ashville North Carolina, this the sixth studio album recorded by the Texan and it’s a cracker. A splendid mixture of country, soul and blues across eleven tracks it features an impeccable group of Texan players who joined Jamison at Whiteroom Studios in Austin Texas for the recording which was co-produced by Jamison and Sebastian Cure.

The title track showcases Jamison’s exquisite vocal, intoxicatingly soulful on a track that is thankfully uncluttered, a feature that repeats on All In Good Time and Lovers Lane both also benefiting from a less is more approach. Wanderin’ adds some funk bordering on reggae to the mix and Blue Cadillac laments the passing of Hank Williams.

The pedal steel guitar playing by Simon Page on Wanderin’ and Blue Highway manages to exquisitely enhance Jamison’s self-assured vocal delivery. Deadstring Brothers and Israel Nash spring to mind as references on both tracks whereas on some of the lighter moments on the album comparisons could be made with Josh Rouse.

Prinz Grizzley Come On In Shedmusic

Honky Tonk, pedal steel guitar and country waltzes are not exactly what you might expect from an Austrian artist but Prinz Grizzley, the brainchild of Chris Comper, manages to combine all three as if they were in his bloodstream in his debut album Come On In. 

Comper made a considerable impression with his live shows to packed houses at The Kilkenny Roots Festival early this year and Come On In (to be released in Europe this September) is further testimony that Americana and Country Music of the highest quality exists and survives beyond the U.S.A.

Comper formed the Indie Rock band Golden Reef in 2001, recorded two mini-albums and four full albums but despite positive recognition in the Austrian music press they failed to light a fire. A further diversion saw Comper form Grizzley & The Kids who released an album titled Temporizer in 2014, aimed more at the commercial pop market. 

However this album recorded between November 2015 and February 2016, finally found Comper hitting his sweet spot, writing and performing music from the heart, eleven self-composed and cohesive songs that work remarkably well together.

There’s so much to love about the album, not least the absolutely stunning Walls, the standout track on the album. Think Ryan Adam’s Jacksonville City Nights period, gorgeous layers of vocal, harmonies, searing guitar and wicked pedal steel combining to create a sound that you do not want to end. Tell Me Why, a stripped back heartbreaker closes the album, a lament to love slipping away, melodic country folk, its recipe out of the Neil Young cookbook.

The opening track Wide Open Country sets the scene for much of what is to follow, harmonica joined within twenty seconds by weeping pedal steel and Comper’s vocals dipping and soaring between chorus and verse. I May Be Late is no nonsense honky tonk featuring the standards – bars, wasted relationship, and unrequited love- all brought to life by lashings of twangy guitar and pedal steel.

Produced by Comper and Oliver Varga at Green Hill Studios in Rohrbach Austria, Come On is a joy from start to finish, nothing new or ground breaking, simply good lived in music that hits the spot from an unexpected source. High praise also for the wonderful no frills yet striking artwork and packaging. Well worth checking out.

Front Country Other Love Songs Organic

Front Country made quite an impression on the writer when they performed a rousing set at The Station Inn in Nashville last September on the opening night of The Americana Music Association Festival. The quality of the playing, energy, vocal harmonies and full on performance brought the house down, even though they played the graveyard shift from 12am to 1am after a long day of music and festivities. Difficult to categorise, contemporary Bluegrass or more accurately Soulgrass might best describe their sound, a direction that many young bands have travelled to get a foot in the door of an extremely crowded market. What raises Front Country above the parapet is the input of lead singer Melody Walker whose gutsy soulful vocals take centre stage much like that of Brittany Howard as part of Alabama Shakes. On receiving the album I wondered how the high quality of their live act would transfer to my living room via the studio and it’s fair to say that it does capture their dynamics particularly well.

Brought together as a professional outfit having won open mic contests at both The Rockygrass and Telluride Festival in Colorados  the band consist of Adam Roszkiewicz  ( mandolin, banjo, vocals), Jacob Groopman (guitar, mandolin, vocals), Jeremy Darrow (bass), Leif Karlstrom ( five string violin) and Melody Walker (vocals, guitar and percussion).

Of the twelve tracks on the album eight are written by Walker, two instrumentals composed by Roszkiewicz with the two remaining songs being covers of David Olney’s Millionaire, a song they felt compelled to include given the political climate when the album was being recorded and The Carter Family’s Storms Are On The Ocean. The playing from start to finish is flawless, particularly on the instrumentals T.H.A.T.S and Sometimes It Does where Karlstrom’s violin work simply soars above Roszkiewicz‘s clever banjo picking. Good Side is performed a Capella with Roszkiewicz and Groopman resplendently accompanying Walker opening vocals.

Front Country have managed to cherry pick old timey and  soul with a dusting of FM rock to present a body of work that is sure to appeal to a wide audience and deservedly so. 

Reviews by Eilis Boland

Furnace Mountain Shadow Of Plenty Self Release

An absolute joy from start to finish, this sixth album from well established Virginian old time string band Furnace Mountain cements their reputation as one of the foremost exponents of the music, bar none.

Superbly produced by their own Danny Nicely, who also plays mandolin and guitar throughout, the vocal duties are ably shared by the other three members. 

Rooted in the traditional Appalachian folk tradition, the timeless quality of the music is exemplified by the title track, Shadow Of Plenty. The pure harmony vocals of Morgan Morrison and Aimee Curl evoke the vision of a pastoral idyll, but by the end of the song, one is left with a foreboding that the bounteous façade is overhung by a dark cloud.

David Van Deventer ain’t called Fiddlin’ Dave for nothing – he’s a demon on his instrument! He also writes much of the music and sometimes the lyrics. His vocal style and indeed his playing is reminiscent of the late fiddle maestro John Hartford – particularly evident on his songs Ramblin’ Jack and The Last Song. The ironically named Inchworm Set showcases the skills of the whole band, where Dave’s fiddling interweaves with bouzouki (unusually) and mandolin, backed up by bass, and all at breakneck speed.

While most of the album relies on original material, there are a few covers, the most memorable of which is the oft-covered love song, Ewan McColl’s First Time Ever I Saw Your Face. Here Aimee and Morgan blend their voices in a delicate near-perfect rendition of this beautiful song- a version I would like to think Peggy Seeger herself would approve of.

The sleeve is beautifully illustrated and there’s no need for a lyric sheet here - the well honed vocals are true and clear.

Red Herring Here To Distract You Self Release

This is the third offering (and second studio recording) from the Dutch folk roots string band, who are regulars on the folk club and festival scene in mainland Europe. The standard of musicianship throughout this self-produced recording is superb, and each of the four band members is an accomplished multi-instrumentalist. Their influences are wide – there are obvious bluegrass, folk, jazz and celtic elements to many of their songs and instrumentals.

The fiddle chops of Joram Peeters and his versatility of tune writing is showcased in the instrumental set of three tunes Pigs Upon A Ninja. It moves from a Scandinavian influenced tune into a gypsy jazz number, and then, in the uplifting final funky tune, one is deliciously blasted by the uileann pipes (yes, you heard me correctly) of guest Michael Boere. 

The Beaten Track was co-written by Arthur Deighton in the aftermath of the loss of his sister, and he sings it sensitively, with sweet banjo contributed by guest Floris De Vries.

Dougie MacLean’s ballad on the pain of emigration, Garden Valley (familiar to Irish audiences from the singing of Cara Dillon) is still topical and the lead vocals are taken by bassist Loes van Schaijk, with Floris de Vries on dobro.

Loes also writes and sings the opening song, No Hearts Won – its beautiful tune is a winner, but as on many of the songs here, it is let down by clumsy lyrics. Joram Peeters’ talent in composing tunes is again overshadowed by the lyrics in the sublime country blues of A Loved Man’s Lonely Blues, and the less said about the attempt at humour in his Rather Die Alone, the better!

Joram redeems himself  though on the delightful jazz-inflected instrumental WhatsApp Doc which he cowrote with Arthur Deighton, featuring both of them on duelling mandolins and more tasty banjo from Floris De Vries. There are also covers of two bluegrass standards – Uphill Climb from the pen of Chris Jones and Don Reno’s Barefoot Nellie.

This release is accompanied by a beautifully produced booklet, with notes on each track and quirky, attractive artwork. An interesting album, though probably not for the bluegrass purist. The services of an independent producer could help to iron out the blips next time around.

Martin Harley & Daniel Kimbro Static In The Wires Del Mundo 

From the opening chords of this album, one is thrown straight into the country blues of the Deep South … but the surprise is that Martin Harley is an Englishman! He has previously fallen under my radar– but I am very pleased to make his acquaintance now.

A phenomenal guitarist, particularly an exponent of lap slide, Martin is also a talented songwriter with a strong distinctive voice. Martin’s musical compadre may be familiar to you already – Daniel Kimbro has been the bass player with the Jerry Douglas Band for the past four years. A Tennessean with a bluegrass background, Daniel has collaborated with many well regarded fellow Americana musicians, and just recently played on the Transatlantic Sessions first American tour.

Although regarded as a bassist, Daniel also contributes piano and guitar here, as well as coproducing with Martin Harley on this Nashville studio recording. The two have been friends and collaborators since they were introduced by mutual friend Sam Lewis a few years ago, and this is their second recording together.

In a recording of superb songs, it’s almost impossible to highlight one above the others. Gold is a particularly delicious slice of sultry down home folky blues, that of a contented man who has found the peace he’s been searching for.

There are jazz and soul inflections throughout, and Daniel’s sometime boss, Flux himself, guests on dobro on Feet Don’t Fail Me. The lyrics are never clichéd – themes range from escaping from ‘one horse towns’ and ‘mean old cities’, and thankfully there aren’t many broken hearts to contend with.

This is a match made in heaven, with Martin Harley’s guitar work and songwriting matched by the musical innovation of Daniel Kimbro. Not to be missed.

Cormac O Caoimh Shiny Silvery Things Self Release

Corkman Cormac O Caoimh releases his fourth album, well produced and recorded in his native city, with a host of local musicians aiding and abetting. All twelve songs are originals, with O Caoimh taking the lead vocals, and Aoife Regan contributing backing vocals on all songs.

Almost all of the songs have a predominantly 80s pop rock feel – think Paul Heaton/Prefab Sprout meets Paddy McAloon, but without the latter’s cynical insight, perhaps. There’s lots of melodic guitar work from O Caoimh, and pleasant piano and keyboard contributions from Cormac O’Connor.

Deviation from the 80s sound is really only hinted at in a few of the songs – In The Hollow Of An Old Oak surprises with it’s swamp rock feel; there’s a welcome funky bass backbeat and saxophone let loose in A Parked Car; and the title track itself strays into jazz pop territory.

The lyrics stand up well on their own. At times cryptic, any of them could be read aloud as works of spoken word. The cover is complemented with photos of – yes, shiny silvery things.

Reviews by Declan Culliton

David Corley Zero Moon Wolfe Island

Less than three years ago David Corley was virtually unknown in the music world. Zero Moon is his second full album following a whirlwind two-year period which saw his debut album Available Light make a considerable industry impact, particularly in Europe, and a tour that almost ended tragically when a heart attack on stage in Groningen, Netherlands resulted in a long period of hospitalisation and subsequent recuperation. While recovering Corley recorded the seven-track mini album Lights Out, much of the material a reflection on his near-death experience. Having not entered a recording studio until he reached his early fifties Zero Moon is a continuation of the creative purple patch that Corley is currently enjoying.

Much of his latest album is bleak, desolate, searching and questioning, and all the better for it. The striking artwork (created by Kevin and Cynthia Kehoe) is monochromatic and stark, as are the barely legible hand-written lyrics by Corley himself, the only hint of colour featuring in the track listing and emblem on the rear cover. Equally dark, cold and edgy are many of the lyrics that feature on the eleven tracks.

I often wonder if the classic Rolling Stones album Exile On Main Street were to be released today which of the numerous sub-categories would it be pigeon holed in, alt-country/Americana/indie rock or possibly country rock. Back in the day it was simply a ‘rock’ album, no more no less. David Corley’s music, for me, fits hand in glove into that simple one word categorisation and particularly on this new album. 

It’s a long player in the true sense, you’ll need to set aside the best part of an hour to play it start to finish and three of the tracks (Zero Moon, Desert Moon and Burning Chrome), each one memorable, contribute to about a third of the album.

Recorded at The Post Office Studio, Wolfe Island, Ontario and produced by Corley’s right-hand man Hugh Christopher Brown, the sound throughout is beautifully loose, flowing and sounding very much like a live recording.  The aforementioned Zero Moon and Desert Mission (inspired by Cormac Mc McCarthy’s novel Blood Meridian) thankfully were not edited to the too often customary four minutes but instead were allowed to drift, ebb and flow giving the impression that things were going so well in the studio that the only direction was – keep on playing and see where we end up. His studio band are the same musicians that featured on Available Light and Lights Out. Chris Brown playing keyboards as well as production duties, Gregor Beresford (Barenaked Ladies, Suzanne Jarvie) on drums and Tony Scherr (Norah Jones, B.B.King, Al Di Meola, Ani DiFranco) playing bass. Sarah McDermott and Kate Fenner contribute backing vocals. Notwithstanding the quality of the musicians employed the most potent instrument is Corley’s voice, broken, whiskey torn, raspy and growling, perfectly suited to the subject matter that often concerns dark and painful landscapes. As with his previous recordings we are given a glimpse of Corley’s personal life, trials, suffering, frustration and distress. A door opened momentarily but never left open for too long, leaving the listener with only a brief opportunity to observe the contents.  His lyrics continue to be beautifully abstract at times "Then pirates arrive, knives in their teeth, and dancing girls are filling the streets"(Zero Moon). "Mean beings wring their hands and hang their heads in darkness while our imagination founders on the rocks"(Vision Pilgrim). Whirl recalls his recent health issues in no uncertain terms "I’ll just whirl and hope that the wind don’t die, just in case – you know who to notify, my next of kin."

Down With The Universe which featured on Lights Out is given a second outing and Take Me Down Some and Splendid Now both echo early 70’s Stones. A Lifetime Of Mornings tips its hat in the direction of Leonard Cohen, delivered semi-spoken.

Given the stature  of Corley’s output on this album and his previous work, one is left wondering where his industry standing would be had his career kicked off a few decades ago, though possibly it was the life and near death experiences that were the catalyst, inspiration and motivation for the wonderful body of work he has delivered in the past few years.

An album of the year contender for this writer, hands down.

Emily Barker Sweet Kind of Blue Self Release

Having developed a quite British sound from her work with The Red Halo Band spanning nine years  and with over fifty unrecorded songs of varying  styles already in the slow burner, Australian born Emily Barker decided to experiment with a change of producer for her next project. While recording The Applewood Road (2016) album in Nashville -with Amy Speace and Amber Rubarth- she struck gold when a recommendation by sound engineer Chris Mara resulted in an introduction to Matt Ross-Sprang. Having produced a couple of the finest albums released in the past two years in Margo Price’s Midwest Farmers Daughter and Jason Isbell’s Something More, together with having worked at Sun Studios for eleven years, Ross-Sprang could not have been a better pair of ears to consider Barker's war chest of material.

On hearing a selection of Barkers songs Ross-Sprang wisely identified a core soul and blues tread in many of them and recommended Barker went on a musical diet of Ann Peebles, Dan Penn, music to her ears having grown up as a lover of Aretha Franklin and all things soul.

Never one to do things in half measures, fast forward to June of that year and Barker found herself at the hallowed ground of Sam Phillips Recording Service in Memphis surrounded by the tightest bunch of local session players you could imagine in David Cousar on guitar (Al Green), Rick Steff on keyboards (Lucero, Dexy Midnight Runners), Dave Smith on bass (Norah Jones, John Mayall) and Steve Potts on drums (Neil Young). Susan Marshall and Barker herself were on hand to contribute backing vocals. Recorded and mixed in seven days the resulting album is a collection of ten songs soaked in emotion and melody that work wonderfully together ranging from hard boiled soul and blues but also leaving plenty of room for the melodic ballads that Barker has a particular gift for penning.

Three of the songs included are co-writes with UK singer-songwriter Boo Hewerdine, the heart wrenching and quite beautiful ballad – a tribute to Sister Rosetta Tharpe - Sister Goodbye, the equally moving Over My Shoulder and the upbeat Motown sounding More!, featuring saxophone and trumpet by Jim Spake and Marc Franklin.  No.5 Hurricane, co-written with Eric Palmqwist sees Barker visiting a style closer to her previous work with The Red Halo Band, an achingly gorgeous new love/old love song. 

 A hugely talented and focused artist, never standing on her laurels and always stretching her musical parameters, Sweet Kind of Blue is indeed a triumph and a delightful diversion for Barker.

John Murry A Short History Of Decay TV 

Much as I dislike rolling out the ‘difficult second album’ cliché, it could hardly hold more relevance than A Short History Of Decay, the sophomore album by John Murry. His debut The Graceless Age was considered by many in the industry as a masterpiece, a road map detailing a lifetime of emotional, physical and mental turmoil. Autism, mental health issues, institutionalism, rejection and drug addiction all contributed to an album that appeared to play out as cold turkey, exorcism and closure. 

Murry’s state of mind and health seemed to be in a good place and even if sales of The Graceless Age did not necessarily provide a retirement fund it presented him with a touring platform, a regular though possibly cult following, the confidence, motivation and platform to further his career.  His well-documented loathing at the prospect of residing in California resulted in a relocation to Kilkenny, where he was welcomed with open arms by the art appreciative community, and he appeared to be in a good place mentally, physically and emotionally. 

However, stability was short lived and over a few turbulent years further challenges presented themselves including the sudden death of Murry’s mentor and guiding light Tim Mooney, who had produced the previous album, and an acrimonious marriage break-up, both of which threatened to re-open scars barely healed and seriously challenge the vulnerable artist. Left without a regular touring band, no record label and limited income Murry continued to his perform raw, emotional live gigs sometimes with guest musicians, more often solo. He released the EP John Murry Is Dead in 2016 but the prospect of a second full album seemed to be drifting away.  

An encounter with Michael Timmons of Cowboy Junkies fame followed, (Murry opened for them at a show in Glasgow), a friendship developed and Timmons greatly encouraged Murry to consider recreating, in the studio, the raw passion, emotion and honesty that pours from every inch of his body during his live performances. After a few false starts a recording session lasting five days was lined up at Timmon’s studio in Toronto with Peter Timmons (brother of Michael) on drums, Josh Finlayson (Lee Harvey Osmond) on bass and Cait O’ Riordan contributing backing vocals and most likely also moral support - having performed on stage previously with Murry. All guitar and keyboards were handled by Murry with Timmons, always the master of atmosphere, providing the structure, guidance and most importantly the discipline necessary to get the album down over the short period with the emphasis always on Murry’s vocal and his parables. The sound is more often than not paired to the bone, toned down, forthright and at times delightfully shambolic. Gone are the layering, multi instrumentation and sound effects that adorned The Graceless Age, Timmons simply and cleverly provided Murry with a blank canvas to express himself and set about creating an unobtrusive musical backdrop that never gets in the way of the vocals.

Most importantly Murry, with more than a helping hand from Timmons, did not attempt to create The Graceless Age Act 2, what would be the point and ironically the only track on the album that might have fitted snuggly on his debut is a remodelling of the Afghan Whigs What Jail Is Like.

The album is named after a book title by French philosopher Emil Cioran and the tracks One Day (You’ll Die) and Countess Lola’s Blues (All In This Together) both consider mortality - a subject which Murry appears enthralled by – though it’s difficult to decipher whether irony outpoints rancour, which can sometimes the case with Murry’s song writing.

"All I Do Is Fix Whatever I Broke the Day Before" admits Murry on Under A Darker Moon, testament to his chaotic behaviour. It’s a driving song with layered, echoed vocals and screeching guitars with more than a nod in the direction of Velvet Underground. As with much of the album it takes on another dimension when heard on headphones where the production and mix really hit home. Defacing Sunday Bulletins is equally turbulent, fuzzy guitar glancing over the shoulder of Finlayson’s thumping bass lines. 

In many ways it should be celebrated that this release has seen the light of day given Murry’s wayfaring existence. A slow burner without doubt and one that even the most astute ear may require a number of visits to get fully on board but a more than laudable successor to The Graceless Age. Highly recommended. 

Sophia Marshall Bye Bye Self Release

Due for release in late August Bye Bye follows Sophia Marshall’s five track EP The Paper Thin, released in 2015 and is further testimony to the vocal and song writing talents of the former member of boy/girl duet The HaveNots.

Marshall’s industry internship has included support act to Peter Bruntnell, Frazey Ford, Tift Merritt, Be Good Tanya’s, The Sadies and Sam Outlaw and it’s not difficult to identify certain influences gathered along that journey, most particularly in her capacity to fashion uncomplicated compositions using the basic tools, simple language and abundant hooks. 

Boasting a beautifully unadulterated and natural voice, which sounds all the better for Marshall’s tendency, unlike many UK Americana artists, not to adopt a West Coast accent but to use her own natural pronunciation to full effect. 

The album brings to mind the work of fellow UK artist Thea Gilmore in many ways, mixing powerful hard edged catchy songs like the title track and Losing You (co-written with Liam Dullaghan) with the more acoustic Sarah’s Room and surreal Beauty Sleep.

Catch Me shifts in the direction of Jesse Sykes with lots of twang and boldness, Hey Al, Woah! (great title!) is equally edgy while the atmospheric two-minute closer Drunken Sailor is delivered vocals only with Marshall given a helping hand by Jay Hardy (Hardy Band) and some cleverly plotted over dubbed vocals.

While titles such as Bye Bye, Losing You and Missing Pieces suggest looming despair and hardship, the subjects are dealt with in a positive, upbeat and assured manner suggesting an artist that is marching forward ready to embrace anything that comes her way. Most impressive and perhaps a door opener for Miss Marshall.

Suzanne Jarvie One Take Only Dirt Road

I have to admit arriving a bit late to the party when it comes to Suzanne Jarvie. She played Ireland in September 2016 in support of her album Spiral Road album but I was abroad at the time and did not get to see her show. Having been really impressed by her performance in Kilkenny recently supporting David Corley, I welcomed the opportunity to review her mini album One Take Only released in 2016 as a stop gap between her debut album and it’s successor In The Clear, due to be completed later this year.

Jarvie is yet another impressive female singer songwriter to emerge from Canada in recent years following the path taken by Sarah Harmer, Oh Susanna and Lindi Ortega. Born in Honk Kong and raised in Toronto, a lawyer by profession and the mother of four children, music was primarily a hobby for her from a very young age. However, a near tragic accident whereby one of her sons fell down a spiral staircase and his subsequent recovery was the trigger for her debut album Spiral Road. The album made a favourable impression particularly in Europe where it reached No.7 in the Euro/Americana charts.

This mini-album includes six tracks in total, two originals and four cover versions. Produced by Hugh Christopher Brown, Jarvie is joined by her daughter Sara Jarvie Clark on backing vocals and violin on Believing, a track which featured on the TV series Nashville. The covers versions included are Dylan’s Senor, Sweet Carolina from Ryan Adams and Hills of Home written by Ralph Stanley. However, it’s the two original songs that shine most brightly, the stripped to the bones opener You Shall Not Pass  and closer Shadow of the Sultan both of which feature  angelic vocals that above all seem to be delivered by an artists that actually loves what she is doing.

Jean Shephard Country Music: Pure and Simple HumpHead

Jean Shepard, who passed away in September 2016, was a member of the Grand Ole Opry for sixty years and one of the most iconic female honky tonk singers in the history of country music. Often overshadowed by artists such as Kitty Wells and Loretta Lynn she made her debut in the country music charts as a teenager in 1953 with A Dear John Letter. Released as a duet with Ferlin Husky it charted at No.1 in the country charts and remained there for six weeks. Totally uncompromising, Shephard was an unapologetic champion of traditional country music, a principal that in many ways may have limited her career opportunities at certain times. Uniquely and unlike the majority of female country singers, she launched her career as a solo artist whereas her peers generally performed as family groups, band members or duets. For ever a risk taker many of her early releases were quite daring for the times with titles such as Then He Touched Me, Many Happy Hangovers To You, Don’t Fall In Love With A Married Man and My Arms Stay Open Late. Her debut album Songs Of A Love Affair, considered to be the first concept country album to be recorded, was released in 1956 when she was only 23 years old. The album featured some of the industry’s finest including Buck Owens, Tommy Collins, Bill Woods and Clarence Lee and consisted of twelve original songs with Shepard having an input into the song writing.

Shepard signed to Capital Records in 1952 and this double album collects no fewer than fifty songs released on that label between 1964 and 1978. Interestingly the tracking is not in any chronological order kicking off with A Real Good Women (1968) and closing with I’ll Take The Dog (1966). The real winner is the consistency of her incredible voice throughout and her staunch insistence in ‘keeping it country’ and avoiding any pop crossover regardless of the pressures from Music Row.  Shepard survived many industry and personal difficulties, most particularly the tragic death of her husband Hawkshaw Hawkins, who perished in the plane crash that also claimed the life of Patsy Cline yet she continued to perform until twelve months prior to her death from Parkinson’s Disease.

 This delightful collection of songs is an absolute vindication of Shepard’s insistence of keeping country music simple, pure, and unadulterated and far outshines the majority  the hybrid product currently masquerading as country on Country Music Radio.   

Erin McLendon Making It Up As We Go Self Release

Ticking all the boxes for what passes today as radio friendly pop country this is the second release from Music City resident Erin Mc Lendon following her 2015 recording Fire & Wine which was nominated as an album of the year by IMEA (International Music and Entertainment Association). 

Originally hailing from Durham North Carolina, Mc Lendon graduated with A Bachelor of Music degree in Commercial Voice, a qualification that involved particular emphasis on the business side of the music industry. Her musical inspirations include a diverse range of artists from The Beatles to Tina Turner in the more popular genre but also soul queen Aretha Franklin and country icons Brad Paisley and Reba McEntire.

Opener When God Made a Woman is particularly radio friendly, densely layered, lots of hooks and a gospel like closing chorus. Don’t Believe My Eyes Anymore takes a swipe at the insincerity of dating sites and Honolulu Love is a stripped back ukulele lead song dealing with young love.

The title track suggests a random care free artist taking things as they come. However, the album gives the impression of an artist with her finger firmly on the pulse and more than aware of her market and the type of product that opens doors. McLendon is one of so many young female artists that are products of the America’s Got Talent formula sound but to her credit Making It Up As We Go has the songs, the sound and the self assured vocal delivery to position her ahead of a lot of her contemporaries.

Jeffrey Halford and The Healers Lo Fi Dreams Floating

The title of the album is a reflection on Jeffrey Halford’s efforts to make a recording with a particularly warm sound reminiscent of some of the classic recordings of the 1950’s and 60’s. Co-produced by Adam Rossi and Halford and using vintage equipment including Sears Silvertone, Danelectro and Harmony guitars, the album without doubt does succeed in nailing the intended stripped-down sound. 

Texas-born but spending much of his childhood in various parts of California, Halfords childhood was never conventional as his nomadic parents moved from location to location, sometimes by choice and other times by necessity. Heavy exposure to classic AM Radio and artists such as The Doors, Marvin Gaye and Howlin’ Wolf sowed the seeds for a musical career that kicked off by playing street corners in San Francisco, forming rockabilly band The Snappers and for the past two and a half decades touring and recording with his current outfit The Healers.

Lo Fi Dreams is his eight release and represents everything roots music stands for, mixing blues, country, soul, rock and roll and most particularly attitude in abundance.

Elvis Shot The Television is a funky recollection of a bored and wired Elvis misbehaving, opener Two Jacksons is a slick, smooth tale of an encounter with an attractive sales assistant. Halford lets loose and cranks it up a notch or two on Bird of Youth before slowing things down with the atmospheric and amusing Sweet Annette which recollects a visit to a remote diner.

Reviews by Paul McGee

Eileen Kozloff Just Words MoosiCowlia

The sleeve says to file under Americana/Country and who am I to argue? However, on listening to these songs the sound has more in common with traditional Folk music to these ears.

The opening track, Always Wrong From The Start, sounds like a Mark Knopfler riff with John Kelly playing very fluid electric guitar melody.  The pedal steel on Coming Back To You has Rob Pastore turning in some fine backing runs. Guitar Man sounds like a Neil Young tribute complete with harmonica part from Hank Woji, who also produced the album and chipped in with acoustic guitar parts on a number of tracks. The violin of Jeff Duncan comes to the fore on 5,775 to dramatic effect in setting an atmosphere for the acoustic guitar work of Eileen Kozloff .

And so, the rest of the project unfolds across the 11 songs included here. Autoharp dominates the arrangement on To The River I’ll Go and there is a distinctly Folky feel to the traditional sound of No More War Anymore and the sweet strum of Asunder and Take Me Back. 

Eileen Kozloff is a multi-instrumentalist who has been actively involved in the autoharp world for many years. She is best known for her unique "pick-less" style of diatonic autoharp and for her clear vocals.

She has released two critically acclaimed CD’s with her former band, Well Tempered String Band and is now performing as a solo artist having released Solitary Rider (2006) and Hearts And Souls Entwined (2007). Both recordings were released under the Moosicowlia Label and this third release builds on the positive critical reaction she has been receiving. 

The Furious Seasons Look West Stone Garden

This band is based in L.A. and has released four previous albums as a 5-piece. This project is an acoustic affair with David Steinhart and Paul Nelson on acoustic guitar and vocals and Jeff Steinhart on stand-up bass. 

The vocal harmonies are beautifully mixed with some excellent playing and the understated nature of the production leaves plenty of room for the talents of these players. Lyrically the songs address relationship issues in all their different guises. 

Long Shot speaks of working through difficult times and What’s Coming Next laments over a past relationship now ended. Best Plans deals with the loss of a business while The Tape charts the life of an older family member who lived through hard times. Summer Flame is a memory of young days and innocent beginnings.

The final song is superbly crafted and tells of 4 friends who shared close birthdays but sadly only one now remains alive. There is the suggestion of a drink problem in the lines; “Just this one”; Became early hours, I put another day to waste, I wish I’d never got the taste, You can believe that you’re not to blame? and Hey denial - have you met shame?"

Excellent stuff indeed and there is a nice warmth to the production, with the easy, fluid playing an understated joy. A gentle record to suit the mood on a lazy Sunday morning over a hot coffee and the hint of Spring in the air. 

Harrow Fair Call To Arms Roaring Girl

This duo is Miranda Mulholland (Great Lake Swimmers, Belle Starr) and Andrew Penner (Sunparlour Players). Miranda has built a strong reputation as a sought-after session musician and has played and toured with many top-line acts over the years, while Andrew Penner has been involved in Canadian Country music for many years now.

This release slots into the interesting & quirky world of the Handsome Family or the Civil Wars as a reference point. The playing and the production is innovative and edgy with songs like Call To Arms, Bite The Way and Hangnail challenging the listener with a dynamic that excites.

Recorded in Toronto and produced by Andrew Penner, the superb arrangements highlight the many talents of these two musicians who impress greatly. How Cold has a traditional folk feel with a modern treatment while Emmaline highlights the fine vocal of Miranda and the haunting, understated violin parts. It all comes together on the final track, Been There Ways with a haunting delivery from both musicians and an arrangement that leaves you wanting just one more song.

Well worth checking this one out and it just gets better and better with repeated plays.

The Fretless Bird’s Nest Self Release

The Fretless is a Canadian group of four musicians who play instrumental music on string instruments. They are made up of Karrnnel Sawitsky on Fiddle & Viola; Trent Freeman on Fiddle & Viola; Ivonne Hernandez on Fiddle & Viola and Eric Wright on Cello.

In 2012 they released their debut album, Waterbound, which was awarded Instrumental Album of the Year at the Western Canadian Music Awards. The Canadian Folk Music Awards saw the group win both Ensemble of the year and Instrumental Group of the Year. 

This new release sees the group take the traditional airs of past compositions and apply a current interpretation which keeps the music alive and vibrant. There are nine songs across 36 minutes and the dynamic in the playing is constantly shifting in order to hold the attention of the listener. Ronim Road/Bella Coola are two original pieces that sound steeped in the Irish tradition of jigs and reels, while Maybe Molly is an infectious jaunt across the sunny fields of a summer’s day. Hidden View is a more reflective arrangement, as is the closing track 38 & Gone.

Musically, the goals of the group are to expand the many folk genres they visit. All four members have come from very different traditional and contemporary backgrounds but are influenced to push traditional music as far as possible.

Jon and Roy The Road Ahead Is Golden Self Release

There is a nice groove and a low-fi appeal to this release from duo Jon Middleton and Roy Vizer who have released this new album – their 7th in a career that has seen them develop from an initial meeting at University. Hailing from Victoria, BC the vocals/guitar/harmonica of Middleton are perfectly in synch with the understated drums/percussion playing of Vizer. In the gentle song arrangements lie a hidden depth where on repeated listens the melody lines come through and the play Louis Sadava on bass is supported by co-producer Stephen Franke who plays Wurlitzer and piano. Roots/Folk music to calm the soul and tracks like Breakdown, How The Story Goes, Nothing But Everything, Every Night and Windowlinger in the mind and boast of a fine release that is worth checking out.

Annie Gallup Lucy Remembers Her Father Gallway Bay

Annie’s website describes this latest release as twelve new songs that are meditations on fragility, mortality, family, survival, and love. Who am I to disagree? Along with her close collaborator Peter Gallway, Annie Gallup has been releasing music of real depth and quality for many years now and she deserves due recognition for the musical vision and scope that is brought to the table. Visceral and challenging but never trite, her muse is worth the surfboard ride across the waves to a quiet destination. This release feels deeply personal, like eavesdropping on a conversation that you should not be listening to, but all the more compelling for the experience.  Hers’ is a singular talent, reflective and yearning for something just beyond our reach. Songs that deal with the past and the fragility of relationships are laid bare. Being Her Child, Lucy Remembers Her Father andBluebird explore the complexities of the family dynamic. Other tracks look into relationships, devious and needy; Loyalty, Strange Boy, He Will Never Love Me. Luminary looks at estrangement and unresolved love with a curiosity while Story is a spoken word reflection on the pointless search for meaning in all the grief we encounter. Very impressive and rewarding but not for the faint-hearted.  

Rachel Sage The Tide MPRESS

This 4-track EP adds to the impressive catalogue of music created by Rachel Sage over a career that has seen her release a body of work that stands tall against many of her peers. Her accomplished and comprehensive catalogue captures a voice and music that hints at greatness and this current project sees the proceeds donated to one of the world's leading international refugee assistance organizations. Songwriters come & go but this lady is a real keeper – sublime composition and melody combine to create a powerful result. These are protest songs and reflect on the need for both empathy and acceptance in the World right now. The title track speaks about compassion and the need for everyman on our various journeys. Disarm Distrust is written for the victims of the recent Orlando shootings and Tomorrow speaks of euphemisms and hope.

Oh Susanna A Girl in Teen City Stella

This is a paean to the past from an artist who has taken a look through life’s infinite telescope to chart the path that she negotiated in order to arrive at a signpost that reads ‘What Next’? Produced by the talented Jim Bryson who contributes on guitar, keyboards & vocals, the 12 songs that cover almost 50 minutes read like a ‘dear diary’ exercise in exhuming a past that sits very much in the present tense. My Boyfriend, Getting Ready, Walked All the Way Home, Tickets On The Weekend and My Old Vancouver give a sense of what is at play here. Quality playing and production, allied with a strong song-writing talent make this as strong as her past releases and an artist well worth exploring further. 

Ted Russell Kamp Flying Solo PoMo

This accomplished artist has been a favourite of Lonesome Highway across his seven critically-acclaimed albums that nail the country / roots / Americana flag firmly to his mast. For this release, he has taken 12 songs and played them in a largely acoustic setting with six songs recorded at shows or radio stations and six as brand new songs recorded at his home studio, The Den. From the mandolin rhythm of Old Folks Blues to the soulful groove of If I Had A Dollar; the reflective acoustic strum of When She Flies and the bluesy beat and feel of Lookin’ For Someone, it is evident that all is well in the world of this talented artist and he has produced another work of creative depth as a solo performer.    

Worry Dolls Go Get Gone Self Release

After two EP releases (2011 & 2015) this duo decided to change their focus and relocated to Nashville in order to record this debut album. The ten tracks are a mixture of gentle, stripped back acoustic Folk and some up-tempo arrangements played with a quiet confidence and a focus to deliver work of an enduring quality.

Duo Zoe Nicol and Rosie Jones team up with producer Neilson Hubbard who has worked with artists such as Gretchen Peters, Kim Richey, Ben Glover and Amy Speace. Together they create some fine moments and the uncluttered arrangements allow the sweet melodies and hypnotic harmonies to flourish. She Don’t Live Here, Things Always Work Out and Someday Soon are three highlights and the experienced studio musicians add greatly to a relaxed feel and a gentle mood that soothes across the listening experience.  

Son of the Velvet Rat Dorado Fluff & Gravy

Don’t be put off by the very strange band name. Son of the Velvet Rat is the project of Austrian Songwriter Georg Altziebler and his wife Heike Binder. He plays a variety of instruments and she adds organ and accordion. They live in Joshua Tree and the California desert runs through the sparse mood of the ten songs shared here. Victoria Williams is among the notable musicians who add their talents to this project and the impression is one of ragged savoir-faire or, as producer Joe Henry says on the liner notes; songs that hint at bankable redemption. Fragile vocals counter the sweet melody lines of songs like Love’s the Devil’s Foe, Starlite Motel and Sweet Angela, while the loose feel of the recording, completed over a few days, is always to the fore. Moody and magnetic. 

Reviews by Stephen Rapid

Dan Stevens Runnin’ The Backroads Gatorbone

This is a man who sounds comfortable in his own skin. By his own admission an old hippie who takes the values that accompanied that profession and has moderated them as time goes by. Stevens does this with a modicum of humour and happiness with lines like “I still love my darling wife, but now it takes a pill” (Another Sad Country Tale). The opening song Crush Hour Traffic is about a working man getting home through traffic - traffic often miss-referred to as “rush hour” which he felt need a new, more apt descriptor. 

What Stevens does is not particularly new, musically outstanding or littered with contemporary clutter; rather it is a solid, satisfying, rounded take on one person’s life perspective that covers environmental issues (Blair Mountain), how a 60’s radical was reduced to selling cookies (Jerry Rubin);his drinking habits of yore (I Drink Gin) or the way established religious groups spend more time to destroy each other rather than saving souls (When Jesus Sang His Songs For Us).

Stevens has written all the 13 songs on the album which includes a fold out poster with the packaging that has an explanatory note on each of the songs and why they were written. Stevens co-produced the album and had a bunch of musicians around him who round out the songs to give them added depth and texture. The instruments involved include Irish Flute, Pedal Steel, Concertina, Clawhammer banjo, fiddle, accordion, harmonica and guitar, which makes for variety in both overall sound and tempo. Runnin’ The Backroads is roots music that takes on the view, goes for the scenic route with very little thought of ever getting to a big city Music Row. It’s all the better for that.

Bill Booth Some Distant Shore Wheeling

Born in Maine but now residing in Norway Bill Booth has a long musical and recording history that goes back to the mid-Eighties. He has been compared to Tom Russell and Tom Pacheco with a touch of Mark Knopfler and those comparisons are fair enough as far as they may help to delineate the overall territory that Booth inhabits musically. The music has a Celtic influence in both lyric and musical content. It is folk in form but with other influences, like roots rock, around the edges.

The opening song is a tale of Dublin born Arthur O’Neill who led a group of the Irish Brigade know colloquially as Wild Geese (as is the song). Booth notes that these songs were inspired by tales of Ireland, Scotland and England that he had heard back in his home state of Maine. So, Cliffs Of Dover is about emigration with a loved one from Aberdeen to Nova Scotia. This slow-paced ballad has an appealing setting based around Uilleann pipes which emphasize the melodic structure and Booth’s warm singing voice and interesting lyrics. Not all songs deal with purely times gone by and City Of Rubble is a powerful lament against war. Wars which turn cities and lives to rubble; from Berlin in 1945 to recent destruction in places like Fallujah. 

Several of the albums songs hit a similar melodic mark that soon finds them rewarding repeated listening. No doubt that his experience and years give his voice some grit and gravitas. Booth has produced the album with an even hand and the music is largely understated but effective in allowing Booth to tell these tales. Musicians include Bill Troiani who was a member of the Tom Russell Band in the past alongside Paul McKernan’sdistinctive pipe playing and drummer Alexander Pettesen and Eddy Lyshaug accordion contributions. All can be heard on the driving instrumental Skerry Reel. Molly McKeen salutes a fiddle playing colleen with a foot tapping momentum. 

Bill Booth is a new name to me but an artist deserving of some wider recognition and a performer who would likely do well on these shores with some decent exposure. Booth is a craftsman who has learned his trade through the years.

Mark Sinnis One Red Rose Among The Dying Leaves 9th Recordings

Sunnis, somewhat demonstratively calls his music “Cemetery & Western.” A mix of roots-rock country fusion that has hints of Johnny Cash, Elvis, rockabilly and on the title track a Celtic influence, with tin whistle and pipes, which offers something of a graveside sliver of hope on some dark days. Sinnis’ has a big voice and a big band behind it. The 825 has some eight players, several who are multi-instrumentalists. This gives the songs a wide range of sounds from the aforementioned Celtic tone to a more south of the border touches like on the guitar tango twang of Why Should I Cry Over You.  While In Tupelo is a tribute to the Memphis King. Sitting At The Heartbreak Saloon is a throwback to some classic 50’s country and tear-stained beers. He changes his vocal delivery to match the mood and the era in which the song’s structure is sonically set.

That theme of rejection and dejection is further explored on the vibrant, horn and twang guitar laced Tough Love (Is All She’s Got) - an explanation of the reasons behind a failed marriage. In truth, a fondness for some classic country and country rock pervades many of the tracks. Something that Sinnis and George Grant’s production emphasises while also remaining on the right side of these influences and not outweighing the need to make the music relevant to who they are now. Even though the closing song is about listening to a radio station 1050 WHN back in the day. 

Sinnis has a wide vocal range that serves his self-written songs well, giving these songs the kind of gravity that they need to make them reflect the way that his life took a down turn that ended with a divorce, but never sounds maudlin when it doesn’t want to. As the title suggests this music looks for the positive, for the rose among the dying leaves. In the end Sinnis has found that flower and hope.

Tim Grimm and the Family Band A Stranger In This Time Cavalier

Singer/songwriter Tim Grimm has been around for some time delivering his folk songs to live and listening audiences around the world. With more than 10 albums to his name he has been refining his music to bring it to the point where it is now. Grimm has been compared to such classic inspirations as John Prine and Guy Clark and on this album, I’d suggest that with songs like Gonna Be Great there is something of a passing resemblance in the direction of Lenoard Cohen’s delivery too. Not that in the long term it does much for an artist to be saddled with comparisons to artists of such stature without it sounding that they are somehow in their shadow.

Tim Grimm is following his own path and on this release, he is joined by three members of his family. Jan Lucas on vocals and harmonica, Connor on bass and Jackson Grimm on all things stringed. Additional guests include Hannah Linn on percussion and Diderik Van Wassenaer on fiddle. All in all, an accomplished team who bring life to the songs and their performance. But it is Grimm’s voice and songs that are the focus of the album and songs like Thirteen Years fit the classic storytelling mode of folk and country. It is a clearly observed tale of local family history that brings in logging and the use of the wood to create a guitar from a fallen tree.

The apple didn’t fall far from that deeply rooted tree it seems with a number of songs here being written by Jan Lucas and Jackson Grimm. Black Snake is a dark tale that is at times reminiscent of some of Sam Baker’s song writing. A song that looks at how progress has again infringed upon a small community’s lifestyle “the beast they call progress eats money and gasoline.” The songs have some hard electric guitar tones to underscore this sense of anger. Their Finding Home is a gentler evocation of trying to follow your heart and the road home.

Darlin’ Cory is traditional song done with an old-time expression of the ages. Banjo and fiddle are central to giving the song its off kilter sense of foreboding. As the title suggest these are songs of people looking at a changing world and trying to make sense of it in song. It can safely be said that Grimm and his family have given food for thought in something of a feast of words and music.

Sam Baker Land Of Doubt Self Release

Anyone who has followed Baker’s progress across his albums will have an idea of what to expect from a new album. Knowing his personal story and how he, at times, struggles with the making of his music following the injuries he received in a terrorist attack on a train he was travelling in. However, at this point that is water under his bridge as Sam Baker knows how to get the best out of Sam Baker. This is slow and nuanced reflection of a man looking at a land riddled with doubt and distrust.

For this album Baker has called in renowned producer Neilson Hubbard to helm the production and they have also brought in Will Kimbrough and Dan Mitchell along with string players David Henry and Eamon McLoughlin to add much to these restrained sonic landscapes. The album is a mix of Baker’s poetic songs and a number of instrumental interludes. These are songs put on a musical canvas in an abstracted way but with a subtle sense of beauty.

A song like Margaret is a gentle observation of how love can change a person and in turn those around them. The Feast Of St. Valentine also ponders a day when love is celebrated. The lines take a soft focus look at how a particular day may slowly evolve - “what is not to like, this kind of day, first it snows, then it rains like hell.” By way of contrast Leave asks one who has squandered a trust to go. For those who do not know Bakershis soft, almost spoken delivery may be disconcerting  to listeners used to more overblown delivery that would do nothing for the delicacy of these songs. It is however Baker’s distinctive voice that is essential to making these songs what they are.

Land Of Doubt stands with Baker’s best and emphasises his singular vision for his musical endeavours and the musical team around him have further enhanced the placement of these songs in a (not) popular (enough) consciousness. It is an album that can leave little doubt about its worth for those who understand its underlying message of love and beauty.

Pete Sinjin The Heart And The Compass Hootenanny Arts

The title refers to Sinjin’s combining the two together to guide him through his life. Allowing that his heart is his moral compass and it leads him to explore the direction that his life and music may take him. His music is a combination of solid singer/songwriter observation that translates into melodic and multifarious views of everyday existence. Songs like Radio Tears and Stolen Afternoon, 1951 are reflections of some intimate moments that however fleeting have made an impression. Both feature notable vocal contributions from fellow singer/songwriter Michaela Anne. While another couple of tracks Breathing The Same Air and Goodbye Knoxville kick things up a notch with a solid beat and add to the overall mix of moods on the album. The Letters, sounds like it would fit right in with the science that developed on Lower Broadway back in the 90s.

Sinjin started his musical journey playing some more robust punk rock before he evolved his muse and reaches back to some of the classic rock and soul music he listened to growing up in Pennsylvania. To help him realise where he is currently, he brought Bryce Goggin in to co-produce the album with him. Then he put together a set of players that included bass, drums, violin, mandolin, pedal steel and electric guitar along with some harmony vocalists to deliver a sound that has warmth, space and spontaneity.

The essence of the songs is a wry look at love in all its aspects from Desperate Kind Of Love to That’s My Heart. Songs that are sometimes explicit in their thought process while others are more veiled. Overall though Sinjin delivers them with a committed and centred vocal that makes the album a very listenable and likeable experience. This is Americana with a strong country/folk-rock overtone that has enough among it’s 11 tracks to warrant placing Sinjin on the radar and wondering where his compass will take him next.

Michael Hearne Red River Dreams Howling

Hearne is a native of Dallas, Texas who now lives in New Mexico. He has been involved in the music business since the 70s and is both a writer/performer and promoter. He delivers what is essentially a gentle, genuine take on country, folk and Americana. He takes his classic influences and delivers them through a velvet voice and some introspective songs. This album mixes a number of co-writes (often with his friend Shake Russell) with some well know material like Gram Parsons’ Return Of The Grievous Angel, Michael Martin Murphy’s Drunken Lady Of The Morning and Gordon Lightfoot’s Early Morning Rain.

Hearne is credited as co-producer also (with Don Richards) and they also form the core of the band. Both playing multiple instruments throughout the album where they are joined by a number of local players who add drums, piano and pedal steel to fill out the songs. Hearne’s own songs fit easily beside the aforementioned songs with titles like Blue Enough, The Highway Is A Friend Of Mine - a song that is directly related to a life travelling and playing. The nostalgic Back In The Day and the reflective and instructive Lesson To Be Learned From Love.

All of these songs are not far from the template of the early Eagles with a strong country undercurrent and warm harmonies. The have a pleasant, undemanding demeanour that sits comfortably - a peaceful easy feeling perhaps might best sum them up. It is the music of a man who is at peace with himself and his music and wishes only to find an audience who are equally at home with music that reflects on a wilder past but one that has settled down and fits like a well-worn pair of jeans.

While Hearne’s take on the better-known songs may not replace them in most people’s memories they still work in their own right and as reminders of when you first became acquainted with the original versions. Hearne’s music ability should not be overlooked either as his playing throughout contributes much to the album’s completeness. This is old school and proud of it and there are many who will applauded it sentiments.

Gerry Spehar I Hold Gravity Self Release

The inner sleeve of this album contains a sleeve note that is a dedication to his lost long-time love, his wife - Susan Nancy Miller. As a result, the songs have an edge, a sense of loss and longing. The opening song Dirt (co-written with Susan and Bobby Allison) refers to “it all comes down to dirt” and has an edge that suits that sentiment. There are other co-writes here with Susan as well as several written by Spehar solo. He employs the band I See Hawks in L.A. throughout the album along with a number of other guests who between them, play a wide range of instruments.

The title track is a pure and direct love song that is sung with obvious emotion. Holy Moses Doughboy tells of a World War 1 veteran who returned from the conflict to deal with the inner conflicts of isolation. The music uses martial drumming and trumpet to add to the overall soundscape. Closer to (everyone’s) home is Mr & Mrs Jones, about the need to compete with the titular couple idea of perfection. It has a groove with Hammond organ that somewhat lessens the pithy observations. How To Get To Heaven From L.A. has a Guy Clark feel (and Spehar has a similar vocal approach with sounding like the great man). The closing song, a Spehar original again, is Into The Mystic, a song that is about the open range and an open heart that asks “where are you going, why would you leave.”

Gary Spehar was a member of the Spehar Brothers Band who quit the live circuit when he had a family to raise. This is his return to the fray - even if the mood is more considered by personal loss. It is a labour of love in more senses than one but one delivered with conviction. Spehar is a songwriter who makes his points with some skill and produces an album that is musically rewarding for the listener as it must have been for him to make it.

Reviews By Stephen Rapid

Amanda Anne Platt & The Honeycutters Self-Titled Organic

After four albums, as front person with the Honeycutters Amanda Anne Platt has taken the step to release this latest album under her own name. The Honeycutters are still there adding the kind of musical support that only a band that has shared stages, studios and small vans can. There is no doubting Platt’s central role here as lead vocalist, songwriter and producer (along with Tim Surrett). She does all three with skill and a steadfast vision. The thirteen songs here are Platt’s observations on life and the many tribulations faced getting through it. These are real and recognisable relationships observed with the eye of a writer who understand the balances of the good and the bad and is well capable of putting them in a succinct voice that is sympathetic yet unyielding. Perhaps summed up by the line “If you have a heart, now and then you’re gonna have a little heartache.” 

The music is framed in a way that shows its roots in traditional country storytelling yet is aware of many other musical tangents that fit easily into the overall picture. The Honeycutters; Matthew Smith, Rick Cooper, Josh Milligan and recent addition Evan Martin are satisfying throughout, playing with an understanding and awareness of what makes the song work. This is a band who have found their place and now need a wider audience to understand that too. Platt may not have the recognition (or sales) of some of her contemporaries but that in no way takes away from strength of the music that is on this album.

The quality of the songs here is obvious but Birthday Song, Late Summer’s Child, The Good Guys and The Things We Call Home all have an immediacy that picks them out on first listen. The other songs soon also make their presence felt and underscore what a talent Platt is. She has proven herself to be in this for the long haul and an artist who is gaining in craft and ability with each release. Strongly making the point in moving from the band name, to putting hers out front, is may seem a risk after working under the band name until now, but it is a necessary step for the future.

Slaid Cleaves Ghost On The Car Radio Candy House

By now Slaid Cleaves has earned his place in the pantheon of songwriters who have proved their skill and craftsmanship as storytellers par excellence. This is thoroughly emphasised by this latest album which is among, if not, his best album to date. There’s no reason to expect that he won’t continue to equal and surpass this too. Production and guitar duties are handled by Scrappy Jud Newcomb who seems an ideal choice to bring these folk-rock songs to life. It is simply a case of everything working together in a way that makes it hard to single out any particular song, although there are some obvious choices to recommend, which are mentioned below.

The ringing 12 string electric guitar, for instance, signals the openness of the musical direction. One that rings true and has a certain weight and texture that allows the songs to breath in their own space. Cleaves has an immediately identifiable vocal presence; a perfect vehicle to tell this tales of makers, misfits, miscreants and the misunderstood.

Drunken Barber’s Hand a co-write with his friend and fellow songwriter Rod Picot (whose own version appeared on his most recent album Fortune) is an observation that the world going to hell in a handcart. Picott also wrote three other songs here with Cleaves. There are other co-conspirators too with four other co-writes sitting alongside his four solo credits. This makes for a varied lyrical overview from the straight-up country saw-dusted memories of The Old Guard through to the tenderness of To Be Held. There are number of different moods and tempos that give the album a listenability that holds the attention from opening track to last.

Kudos also to Cleaves’ fellow players who, under Newcomb’s seasoned guidance, deliver an understated but statuesque performance that is solid and supportive. All of Cleaves albums have been good and this one is no exception and undoubtably one of tyhe best. Slaid Cleaves music works very musc in the nowand as such as it can illuminate the human condition with insight and a soupçon of humour. Long may he haunt the airwaves and the ear canals.

Jade Jackson Gilded Anti-

The debut album from Jackson is a reflection of her no-bullshit nature. She worked in her parent’s small-town California restaurant and there fostered the beginnings of her song writing experience. She has teamed up with Social Distortion’s frontman Mike Ness to produce the album. A perfect pairing as Ness' two country-orientated solo albums are a themsleves a perfect blend of both his punk and country sensibilities. Here the music has a little less of the harder edged punk sound but is still imbedded with its attitude. Jackson had seen Social Distortion headline a show she had attended on her own and was immediately taken with their performance to the point she then knew what she wanted to do in a life-shifting experience.

But that doesn’t exclude any tenderness or more reflective moments like Finish Line (“My skin’s a lot thicker than you’d think it’d be”). There is some up-tempo twang too with songs like Troubled End, detailing a dangerous relationship. On the other side of embrace is Motorcycle wherein our protagonist rides off alone in the sunset on her motorcycle noting “my motorcycle only seats one.” Over the eleven songs Jackson shows a present-day notion of what relationships can offer a person in a society as it exists now rather than 10, 20 or 50 years ago.

Jackson wrote all the songs, one with Ness and two others with her band members. Mention should be made of their contribution and Ness’ decision to use her road band of Andrew Rebel, Jake Vukovich and Tyler Miller in the studio. There they are joined by Sara Watkins on fiddle for several tracks alongside, on one track, Greg Leisz on pedal steel and a guitar solo from Ness on another. Focal point though is her telling vocal delivery that conveys a number of hard fought emotions. The end result is immediately satisfying blending the likes of Lucinda Williams and Rosie Flores with some harder left field rock/blues influences in something that is both familiar and yet distinctive in its execution. While many of her Nashville contemporaries proclaim a “rebel attitude” it is more often than not tempered by a certain need to achieve, or at least aim for, wider radio exposure. Here Jade Jackson makes the album she wants to and the end result is raw and ready; indeed, gilded and gratifying.

The Whiskey Charmers The Valley Sweet Apple Pie

In truth, something of a vehicle for Carrie Shepard who is the singer and chief songwriter with this band. Her partner in this musical venture is guitarist Lawrence Daversa. Together with a selection of players they deliver a solid slice of Americana. From their base in Detroit they dispense their desert tones that sounds like they might orientate closer to the Mexican rather than the Canadian border. Indeed, the opening song is called Desert. They produced the album themselves (their second) and it a concise, clear sound that is centred around Daversa’s guitar and Shepard’s voice, both of which are compelling elements of the Whiskey Charmers appeal. Daversa bring different guitar sounds to the songs as appropriate but in each case, underlines his importance to defining their music. Equally Shepard has a vocal dexterity that allows her voice a certain enduring smokey whiskey charm.

The album credits the orchestra pit with a selection of additional instruments from Flugelhorn to bagpipes however none of these are distracting or to the fore in the mix. Songs like Melody (with soft pedal steel) contrast with the more percussion driven tracks like the title track or Dirty Little Blues which in turn give way to the twangier guitar-toned somas like Meet Me There. Overall there is an air of brooding restraint and darkness to the songs that set an overall mood to the album that is suitable to some late night noir listening. As with a lot of Americana albums the overall direction here provides nothing that is outside of the parameters of such a wide-ranging form. Rather its appeal is in its execution and the strength of the songs themselves. All the elements here are blended to produce an album of lasting quality. One to be shared.

Shoot Lucy The Soothing Sounds Of Smack Me

Second outing from this Minnesota based power poppy/roots inclined six piece. Formed in 1996 this is their second album release. It is a lot of fun. The band is led by Dave Bernston who is their song writer and lead singer. He can write songs with the humorous consideration of another’s partner on the opening Disproportionately Hot Girlfriend, to the more serious consideration of how a domestic fallout can have an effect, often unintentional, on those around the bickering and belligerence in Not Their War.

I’m Blind features some nice pedal steel from guest Adam Ollendorff. Elsewhere guitarist David Nahan plays some lap steel to add that roots feel. They appear to have two drummers which gives a strong rhythmic foundation. They are Scott Skaja and Steve Schultz. The line-up is completed by Chris Berg on bass and Jennifer Urbach on Hammond organ and backing vocals. All bring these songs to life. There is a little of the Rembrandts about them but with a perhaps broader sound base.

The album features 8 songs and all are underpinned by a strong melodic sensibility and Bernston’s vibrant vocal. Lost considers the advice of other, most likely, unwanted with lines like “you should really go to church” and “you should really quit that horrible band.” While Won’t Go That Far is the response of a potential girlfriend to his abilities in terms of his mode of transport or guitar playing ability leading her to put limits on their intimacy potential.

The soothing sounds on offer here may not send you to sleep but they will have you tapping your feet, (occasionally) singing along and enjoying this collection of songs that sound like they came from another time and place and the more welcome for it.

Mike Younger Little Folks Like You And Me Self Release

This Canadian singer/songwriter cut his teeth travelling around his native country and busking before he got the attention of a music publisher which led to his 1999 debut album Somethin’ In The Air. The album was produced by Rodney Crowell. For his next album, he worked with noted producer Jim Dickinson. That album has never seen the light of day but may yet emerge. From that you can surmise that Younger has some noted talent.

For this album, he has worked with producer Bob Britt. The album was recorded in 2013 and released last year. It is never-the-less timeless roots music that has a Band-ish overall feel in a soulful, rhythm and blues and country feel. Recording with a keyboard, bass, drums, guitar and backing vocal line up he has made a rich and rewarding album. However, as with a number of albums, it is initially one song that immediately draws you in and back to the album. That is true with this album and that song is Poisoned Rivers which has an impassioned vocal over a simple backing of percussion, harmonica and dobro. It is a rejection of ill-considered industry fracking and deregulation. A stripped back song that stands with the little folks who seem to count for less and less these days. He offers a similar worldview in the self-explanatory What Kind Of World. Elsewhere the songs have a full sound that has its antecedents in late 60s rock.

All songs are enhanced by Younger’s voice which is one that has character and clarity. The direction of the music is not something that the listener will not have encountered before by several artists but in effect originality is not really what is on offer here, rather it is the work of an honest craftsman. There is a vibe in the groove of the songs that often clocks in above the 4 minutes with a couple passing the 5 minute mark. This all sets the tone for the type of album that it is. One that will appeal to the listener who appreciates the looseness of spirit and the tightness of the playing.

Jamie Wyatt Felony Blues Forty Below

We are told that the title is a nod to those country artists who have spent time incarcerated and have used the experience in their musical endeavours. The LA based singer is a part of the revitalised California country contingent. A singer with an attitude that belies her age Wyatt had a record deal when she was 17 but for a variety of reasons developed a drug problem that resulted in her robbing her dealer and the serving an eight month jail sentence. All of which makes for a good background story but counts for little if the music falls short. Thankfully this 7-track mini-album delivers much and promises more. It seems that the jail time has given her a need to get back to the music; free of rehab and confinement. She had family roots in California with a distant relative playing in Bakersfield. Her own music veers more towards that location than the Music Row affiliations of Nashville. Even with the production values being polished and persuasive bryond their budget.

The songs draw from experience and Drew Allsbrook’s production gives them a clean and concise musical setting that is contemporary country with steel and fiddle prominent on the mix alongside the harmony vocals and solid rhythm. Wishing Well looks at the possibilities open to improve your life situation. Stone Hotel and Wasco are both prison experience inspired songs. While From Outer Space breaks that confinement and features some otherworldly steel guitar from John Schreffler Jr. (who has also played with Shooter Jennings). Ted Russell Kamp and Gabe Wincher also add their undoubted talents. Another rising star California country scene, Sam Outlaw sings a tender love ballad with Wyatt on Your Loving Saves Me, which itself offers another shot at redemption. Misery And Gin (which was produced by Mike Clink) was written by John Durrill and recorded by a performer who Wyatt had an obvious affinity with - Merle Haggard.

She has a smooth, crystal clear voice that is reminiscent of some traditional singers of the past and has also has been compared to Linda Ronstadt, which has some truth, but shouldn’t take away from her own approach and assiduousness. Felony Blues stands in good company with a wide range of outstanding female artists emerging from the fringes who are making their mark.

The Brother Brothers Tugboats Self Release

Brothers Adam and David Moss have covered a lot of ground prior to working together; the former has played and toured with Session Americana as well as Ana Egge amongst others. David Moss has previously released solo albums Bag of Bones and Songs For Willoughby after a spell playing with a number of artists like The Broken Stars and Satellite Ballet. Here together, the Brooklyn based twin brothers, explore their folk roots and exquisite sibling harmonies. They bring together not only a shared history but also the experiences they gained playing in a variety of different musical settings.

The EP has six tracks and the production was handled by Andrew Sarlo and it is simple direct and highly effective. Although there is no mention on the packaging I’m assuming that these are all original songs from the Moss brothers, other than Columbus Stockade Blues, a song that was written in the late ’20s. Some of the songs take a more melancholy timbre like Come Back Darling, while Notary Public is more upbeat and humorous if still dealing with a failing relationship. The closing Cairo, Illinois is also a gentle evocation of having to find one’s way in this life and look towards something that one can call home. The instrumentation is often just cello and fiddle, sometimes guitar but always enhanced by the brother’s vocal harmonies and interaction. You can place these brothers alongside many of the greats. A folk equivalent of the Cactus Blossoms more country take but equally as attractive.

Reviews by Paul McGee

Hometown Marie Wild Side Self Release

Authentic Country Rock from this Swedish band who really impress on this 4-track EP. They sound like the real deal and come out of the traps with the driving Like We Used To, which features a laid-back groove and some fine vocals. Unfortunately, there are very few details available about the band, although Facebook tells me that the four band members are named; Oskar, Simon, Gabriel and Accel. 

Cannot say who plays what, but the sound is really tight and could be any of the current crop of American Country bands that are breaking through Stateside. A previous EP in 2014 was called The Wanderer and they have a few more tracks on You Tube that are worth checking out.  

To add to my confusion, they are clearly a 4-piece but on the cover of the EP they are pictured as a 5-piece? Self sabotage – I would doubt it, but they could do with a decent media team working on their behalf.

Yours Tonight is a fine example of the band in full flight, while Run To You pears things back to a slow burn with some tasty guitar parts. The final song, Wild Side, is just made for Country FM and has hit record written all over it. More please.

Winter Mountain I Swear I Flew Astral Fox

Winter Mountain is the stage name of singer songwriter Joseph Francis (Vocals, Guitars, Bass, Piano, Harmonica). He is based in Cornwall, UK and his folk-rock sound impressed Cara Dillon and her husband/producer Sam Lakeman who decided to sign Francis to their Charcoal Records label after watching a performance in Donegal, Ireland. 

Winter Mountain released a debut album in 2013 as a duo, with Martin Smyth, an Irish musician who introduced Francis to Donegal and that meeting with Dillon and Lakeman. Smyth left in 2015 and now Winter Mountain is carried on the impressive talents of Francis. His is a sweet vocal and a gentle playing style, perfectly complimented by the coterie of studio musicians who contribute to this project. 

Produced by Joe Francis who also wrote all the ten songs featured here; tracks like Sunlight, Good Roads, Things That I’ve Done Wrong, Dragonfly and Before The Flood highlight an emerging talent that is deserving of great praise for this confident release.

Eric Ambel Lakeside At The Helm

I was first introduced to the music of Eric Ambel back in 1989 when he released a cracking solo record called Roscoe’s Gang (still have it on vinyl). As a one-time member of the Del Lords, he went on to greater fame as a producer and worked with artists like Nils Lofgren, The Brandos, Steve Earle, The Bottle Rockets, Joan Jett, Blue Mountain, Freedy Johnston and many others. 

He has spent recent years in various roles, either as a producer, sideman or sought-after collaborator. Lakeside is his latest song collection and follows on from Knucklehead (2004) and Loud n’ Lonesome (1994). The title of the new release is in honour of the Lakeside Lounge, the bar and music venue which Ambel co-owned and operated in New York’s East Village from 1996 until 2012.  

There are a number of different styles running through the 10 tracks here with a nod back to the days of Cash and Orbison on Let’s Play With Fire while Massive Confusion channels a Rockpile sound.  Don’t Make Me Break You Down has a slow brooding beat that places a mean guitar on top of a languid drum shuffle.  A cover of Look At Miss Ohio (Welch/Rawlings) is very well placed here with a slow pace that highlights an arresting guitar break to great effect. 

There is no doubting the wonderful paying talents of Eric Ambel and with the sweet melody of Buyback Blues followed by the instrumental, Crying In My Sleep, this collection draws to a very satisfactory close. Welcome back to an experienced and expansive artist.  

Hat Fitz Cara After the Rain Self Release

Nine songs over 32 minutes from this Australia-based duo that is made up of Hat Fitz; a wild man of the blues scene and Cara Robinson, who has a background in soul music having worked with artists such as Jamiroquai and Corinne Bailey-Rae. This is Roots music with a Bonnie Raitt meets Little Feat groove running through songs like Going Home and Doing It Again.

Cara sings with a clear, confident and sassy delivery and also contributes on vintage drums and washboard. There is a loose, ramshackle feel to tracks like After the Rain and Tank Man and the guitar & mandolin playing of Hat Fitz is very much to the fore. The album was inspired by true events in their lives, past and present and this is release number four in a career that has seen Beauty And The Beast (2010), Wiley Ways (2012) and Do Tell (2014) precede this current collection. Worth checking out.

Stephen Fearing Every Soul’s a Sailor Self Release

Stephen Fearing was born in Vancouver, British Columbia and grew up in Dublin, Ireland where his schoolmates included future members of U2. In the years since, he has developed into one of the finest songwriters in Canada and has built an international audience for his music.

This is his 10th release, including a live record, and all songs are written by Stephen Fearing with two co-writes. The studio musicians include John Dymond on bass, Gary Craig on drums & percussion, David Travers on horns and Rose Cousins on harmony vocals for 2 tracks. It all works like a charm with songs of real colour and personality. 

Lyrically there is a diverse mix of subjects from the know yourself message in the opening Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is, to the loneliness of constant life in motion, Red Lights In The Rain. The message in Blowhard Nation is one of cynical electioneering and the boulevard of broken dreams for the electorate.  Throughout, Fearing comes across as an accomplished artist who is in command of every aspect of this project. Love The Deal speaks of embracing the challenges of life and forgiving our imperfections and Carousel deals with facing disappointment and counsels to "get back on that horse and ride again."

Another strong release from this talented singer-songwriter and one that adds to his reputation as a contemporary artist worthy of greater attention.

Lowri Evans & Lee Mason A Little Bit Of Everything Shimi

Six albums and Four EP’s into a career that has seen Lowri Evans and Lee Mason arrive at a juncture where they celebrate ten years of playing together. This is a live studio recording with no other musicians present to assist with the sound; a brave move but one that bears much fruit. This duo is really talented with Lowri singing like an angel and playing acoustic guitar while Lee Mason also sings and plays acoustic and electric guitars, plus bass. 

The 12 songs featured here include three Welsh language folk songs and a version of Nobody Knows You When You’re Down & Out (Jimmie Cox). The other songs are all written by Lowri and selected from her back catalogue, apart from one Welch song (Can Walter), written by Meic Stevens. 

The songs are gentle vignettes of life with relationships examined, feelings explored and love lost & found. The harmony vocals are a joy throughout and the lovely understated playing on tracks like Seventeen, Corner Of My Eye, Maria’s and Everyone Is From Somewhere Else stand as fine examples of the artistic craft on display. Warmly recommended.  

The Buffalo Skinners Cease Your Dreaming Self Release

The Buffalo Skinners are a song-writing collective based in Sheffield. This release contains 13 songs across almost 50 minutes and includes the talents of Kieran Thorpe on Fender Rhodes Keyboard, piano & mandolin; James Nicholls on Violin; Peter Seccombe on various Guitars; Miles Stapleton on Drums and Robbie Thompson on Bass, acoustic & electric guitars. 

Over the past six years their first two albums, a self-titled debut in 2011 and The Other Nine To Five in 2014, have established them as a band to watch and they have gained much media attention.

This third album is produced by the critically acclaimed Colin Elliot (Richard Hawley, Kylie Minogue) and contains a bright airy feel to the arrangements. The band are a mix of many styles with a folk/roots feel to the arrangements and their shared vocal harmonies certainly impress. A touchstone would be early skiffle or the loose sound of jug band ensembles, with violin featuring high up in the mix. 

The celebratory swing to songs like We Get Along, Shoes, Monkey On Your Back, Sam’s Chop House and If You Won’t Love Me, Somebody Else Will, display plenty of talent and serve up tunes that make the listening experience worthwhile.

Lowlands and Friends Play Townes Van Zandt’s Last Set Harbour Song 

In December 1996 the late, great Townes Van Zandt played his last gig and this 14-track tribute to the talents of this singer-songwriter recreates that last set list, played at the Borderline in London. The project took the best part of a year to complete, recorded at various venues, and involving quite a list of musicians who all wanted to contribute.

Italian band, Lowlands are a Roots band who were formed in Pavia, by British born singer-songwriter Edward Abbiati and they have released 5 albums and 4 EPs since their debut in 2008. They anchor this project, along with other Italian musicians from their extended musical family and they are also joined by the likes of Sid Griffin, Chris Cacavas, Rod Picott, Antonio Gramentieri, The Lucky Strikes, Cheap Wine, Kevin Russell and Stiv Cantarelli just some of the artists involved. The liner notes name check a further fourteen players so you get the clear message that this was indeed a labour of love.

If you are a collector who must have everything in the catalogue of such great artists then the completionist in you will just have to purchase this release as a necessity. As with any such project the relative worth of the different tracks is entirely the subjective experience of the listener. Some of the songs fare better than others and the arrangements veer into new territory as the different artists decide to place their own individual stamp on the versions recorded here.

There are also a few cover versions included with two Lightning Hopkins numbers (My Starter Won’t Start, Short Haired Woman Blues), the Rolling Stones (Dead Flowers) and Elvis Presley (Ballad Of The Three Shrimps).

All the old favourites are here with Pancho & Lefty, Waiting Around To Die, Sanitarium Blues, Loretta and Tecumseh Valley all given strong workouts. There is narration by Barry Marshall-Everitt before each track and the idea to recreate this event has to be applauded. Some may wish to approach with caution while others may prefer to purchase some of the original material and hear it straight from the artist’s lips.

I Draw Slow Turn Your Face To The Sun Compass

This is their fourth release and I Draw Slow go largely unnoticed in their homeland, despite the fact that this album was entirely crowd funded from their loyal fan base. Much of their activity is focused on the American market and they are about to embark on their 14th tour of the United States, where they are very well received and revered. We should embrace their success in the Irish media wholeheartedly, as they carry a flag for all that is good in Irish Roots music.

The album was written by Louise and Dave Holden and features wonderful vocals by this brother and sister duo, with Dave also playing guitar/mandolin, Konrad Liddy on double bass, Adrian Hart on fiddle and Colin Derham on clawhammer banjo. 

The harmony vocals of Dave and Louise are a key component to the signature sound of this very fine band and with the interplay of banjo/fiddle and mandolin, rooted by the double bass pulse; the music merges with the sense of their Irish background and the best of Appalachian/Bluegrass music. 

 Recorded in a live setting, which helps the organic spontaneity of the ensemble, the sibling harmonies can be quite addictive and the singing here is so beautifully realised that the seamless rhythm folds around the melody in a very compelling fashion.

My Portion, Garage Flowers and Apocalypso are immediately entertaining with relationship stories of a very different hue – from addictive dependency, through the vain attempts to keep a relationship fresh and into an enduring love affair that lasts beyond time. 

The reflective Don’t Wake The Children, to a simple and sweet acoustic strum and gentle fiddle, pleads for time between a couple outside of family duties that weigh heavily on any relationship. Carolina is a similar acoustic arrangement that deals with leaving home fields for the promise of far-off adventures. Twin Sisters is an infectious tune that brings a distinctly Irish arrangement to what is a barn dance jig.

I Draw Slow seem to possess a strong work ethic and spend quite a bit of their time out on the road, quietly building their support base. They play with an energy and spontaneity that is infectious and clearly enjoy the creative compulsion to make music that lifts the spirit and lingers in the memory. Timeless.

Reviews by Declan Culliton

Andrew Combs Canyons Of My Mind Loose 

Nashville can often be a contradiction in musical terms. The home of what is marketed today as "country music" is essentially controlled by Music Row and its influence on country music radio, dictating a style of music that could not be further from what many of us consider to be traditional country music. However, take the short trip over the Cumberland River and out to East Nashville and you will find a cooperative of musicians who for the past number of years have been representing and playing a different brand of music altogether, mixing country with folk and fortunately also making industry breakthroughs in recent years. Often influenced by hoovering up their parents record collections their impact has been gradual but noteworthy. Caitlin Rose unlocked the door a few years back with her 2013 album The Stand In, Sturgill Simpson and Margo Price simply kicked the door in with their 2016 recordings which both deservedly made inroads in the Billboard Charts. 

Andrew Combs is probably the next most likely candidate from the East Nashville musical community to follow in their footsteps. His second album All These Dreams (2015) established him as an intelligent, reflective singer songwriter with obvious comparisons being made to Nilsson and Glen Campbell. Canyons of My Mind finds the Nashville resident taking a large leap into areas not often visited by country artists. The song writing is equally impressive as his earlier work, visiting lost love (Hazel, Lauralee, What It Means To You), environmental (Dirty Rain) and political issues (Bourgeois King, Blood Hunters) but with arrangements that are much more adventurous, aggressive and in some cases mind-blowing. The swashbuckling anti-Trump anthem Bourgeois King ("feed us fiction, fabrication, make this country great again") introduces strings into a wonderful mix that you simply do not want to end. Heart Of Wonder, which opens the album, features screeching guitars, incessant piano and even a woozy sax finale. Dirty Rain, showcasing his incredibly gentle vocal range, finds Combs deeply concerned environmentally about our children’s future "nothing shines like it did before."

Combs writing has always been inspired, thoughtful and confessional and having recently wed his long-term girlfriend a number of the songs catalogue previous relationships and what might have been, possibly by way of exorcism as he enters this new phase of his life.

If there is any justice Combs should expand his fan base considerably with Canyons Of My Mind which represents the best of both worlds with beautiful Nilsson like ballads and more experimental material entering Tim Buckley territory. He certainly has the potential to be one of the standout Americana artists of his generation. Here’s hoping.

Jason Eady Self Titled Old Guitar 

An artist releasing a self-titled album mid-career is often making a statement or revealing a body of work more personal and reflective than their previous output. The sixth release from Texas resident Jason Eady is a departure from his previous recordings in that it is acoustic in total with the exception of pedal steel guitar.  It’s also a body of work that in a just world should further the reputation of an artist whose recordings to date are up there with the finest outputs of country music in the true sense over the past decade. Sturgill Simpson and Chris Stapleton may be hoovering up the awards and accolades, and more power to them, but Eady’s music is truer to the tradition of country music of outlaws Haggard, Jennings and Nelson than most other singer songwriters of his generation.

His latest album is so much more personal and reflective than his previous work. Exit the drinking, womanising and honky tonking and enter the concerned parent, loving husband and possibly reformed hell raiser as Eady pours his heart out over the twelve tracks on the album. Always an intelligent wordsmith, Eady has reached the age of forty and the album reflects midlife reconciliation rather than midlife crisis. More suited to the back porch than the barroom and clocking in just over thirty minutes the album includes what could be described as three spiritual tracks, the opener Barabbas, Rain and a cover of the Channing Wilson/Patrick Davis song Black Jesus. No Genie in This Bottle enters George Jones territory with its anti-drinking sentiment. Not Too Loud is a beautiful song written for his daughter as he considers the passing years from her childhood to womanhood. 40 Years closes the album with Eady delivering a semi spoken reflection of his arrival at middle age. Waiting To Shine (the longest track on the album at 4.21, coincidentally or not five of the other tracks are between 3.11 and 3.13 long) finds the writer on the road again and searching for the elusive words to pen another song ("Words are like diamonds, the best ones are the hardest to find, buried in the bottom on a hole, waiting to shine"). 

Eady once again employed Kevin Welch to produce the album which was recorded at The Blueroom Studio in Nashville, a venue used previously by Welch to record acoustic albums. Vince Gill, Tammy Rogers of The Steeldrivers both joined Eady in the studio with Courtney Patton (Eady's wife) contributing, beautifully it has to be said, backing vocals. Fellow Texan and pedal steel supremo Lloyd Maines input is telling on pedal steel, dobro and slide guitar. 

Eady already has a back catalogue behind him that sets him apart as a writer and story teller and which to date has not rewarded him with the recognition he deserves. It may require a song or two of his to be recorded by a ‘name’ in Nashville to introduce him to a wider audience. The sooner that happens the better.

Steve Gardner Bathed in Comfort Self Released

The story behind Yorkshire born Steve Gardiner’s debut album is worthy to be written about in its own right. A totally amateur musician, Gardner had written a few songs over the years without ever having performed them in a live setting with a backing band. He attended a Chuck Prophet show in London and having been blown away by the performance he started to contemplate how his handful of songs would sound rocked up with professional help.

Being aware that Chuck Prophet took on production duties together with recording and touring killer albums he audaciously e-mailed Prophet to ask if he would be prepared to give his four songs the kiss of life. To his surprise the challenge was accepted and in 2015 he found himself in San Francisco with Prophet and his backing band The Mission Express having booked a week in the studio to record a four track EP. To maximise the use of the studio time the four tracks ended up been increased to six with two late additions (in fact two versions of the same song), a country and a rocked up offering of The Day The Aliens Saved The World.  Encouraged by Prophet to consider writing  some more material to record a complete album Gardner did just that and returned to the same studio some months later with the balance of the album. Strongest tracks on the album are the instantly catchy What Would I Do, the opener Rosalie with slick banjo picking by James Deprato and both versions of the aforementioned Aliens, the ‘rock’ version recalling Jona Lewie’s You’ll Always Find Me In The Kitchen at Parties.

The packaging and artwork are particularly impressive and wouldn’t  any artist, whether amateur or professional, just love to credit his band as including Chuck Prophet, Stephanie Finch, Vicente Rodriquez

Lauren Alaina Road Less Travelled Humphead

Voted American Country’s New Artist of The Year in 2012, Georgia born Lauren Alaina is a product of the American Idol TV series having achieved runner up spot in the tenth season. Road Less Travelled is her second album following the release of her debut album Wildflower in 2011 which entered the Billboard 200 Charts at number 5 selling 70,000 copies on the first week of its release.

Sticking very much to the roadmap of the commercial pop/country crossover genre,  Alaina’s output compares favourably with her peers Rae Lynn, Little Big Town and Lady Antebellum.With a career very much in the ascendancy Alaina is currently on tour with Martina Mc Bride having supported Alan Jackson on his 2016 Still Keeping It Country tour. The twelve tracks featured are co-writes with Alaina working with some of the strongest songwriters in Nashville including fellow female country singer songwriters Emily Weisband, Emily Shackleton and Lindsey Lee.

The album is typical of what is been marketed in Nashville as country even though many of the tracks are devoid of any elements which qualify as country in the traditional sense. That said as a pop album it is undeniably strong if a tad over produced. Alaina possess a powerful and heavenly vocal and songs such as Doin’ Fine, Think Outside The Boy, Crashin’ The Boys Club, Queen of Hearts and the title track   are a clear indication of her ability to pen catchy radio friendly storytelling songs while  dealing with personal issues honestly such as parental break ups, growing up pains and  peer pressures.

Don’t expect to hear much pedal steel guitar or country fiddles and purist country fans will hardly embrace Road Less Travelled whereas lovers of radio friendly country pop will lap it up. A very talented young lady doing what she does remarkably well.

Urban Desert Cabaret Shadow of a Ghost Pumpkin

Urban Desert Cabaret is the vehicle used by  Joe City Garcia to produce and record his take on music and stories inspired by a life time of experiences in New Mexico, Los Angeles and California. His earlier career had included indulgences in psychedelia rock, Tex-Mex and punk rock having played in a number of bands in California including Joe City and The Nightcrawlers, The Crawlers and Dream Army. Having side stepped the music industry for a number of years Garcia was reinvigorated by his involvement in the Joshua Tree Music and Art scene and relaunched his career playing open mic nights in pubs and coffee houses in Los Angeles. 

The name of the project originates from a monthly event in 2013 organised by Garcia and his wife Joanna Fodczuk, a Polish abstract artist, which essentially was a meeting group for singers, songwriters, poets, artists and painters. Garcia vocal delivery is reminiscent of late career Guy Clark and indeed Terry Allen, his gravely delivery more often than not semi spoken.

Stand out tracks Go Away and Delta Bar both feature some delightful violin playing by Bobby Furgo, whose claim to fame includes being part of Leonard Cohens touring band in the early 90’s. UK famed folk singer songwriter Kirsty Mc Gee contributes backing vocals on Wouldn’t You Agree and the particularly impressive title track Shadow of a Ghost. Gar Robertson, who co-produced the album with Garcia, plays pedal and lap steel, electric and bass guitar. Danny Frankel plays drums and percussion.

Kelly’s Lot Bittersweet Self Release

Kelly’s Lot have been playing and recording (Bittersweet is their eleventh release) in Los Angeles since the mid 90’s. They consist of singer songwriter Kelly Zirbes and her band Perry Robertson and Rob Zucca on guitars, Matt McFadden on bass, Sebastian Sheehan on drums, Bill Johnston on sax, Dave Welch on trumpet, Bobby Orgel on keyboards and Frank Hinojosa on harp. 

Bittersweet, containing a hefty fourteen tracks, finds Zirbes stretching her musical parameters to deliver folky ballads, funky country, rocking blues and some full on, in fact very full on, rockers. Consistent throughout all the genres represented is the wonderful vocal delivery by Zirbes who also delivers a moving a capella on the hymn like Proud.

Come Home is a stripped back love ballad, featuring only Zirbes vocal and acoustic guitar courtesy of Perry Robertson. Mr.Chairman turns the heat up, a bluesy detour with a nice sax break by Johnston. Thorn, a dreamy country ballad, features aching pedal steel throughout by guest player Doug Pettibone (Lucinda Williams, Tift Merritt, and Tim Easton). Sleep explores darker territories, very effectively it has to be said. 

The title track Bittersweet is a heartfelt recognition for many Vietnam War veterans, lamenting their often lack of recognition and acknowledgement when returning from the frontline. Opening and closing with acoustic guitar and a whistling intro by Zirbes of ‘When Johnny Comes Marching Home’ it also features neat harmonica playing by Hinojosa.

Love Is Hard To Catch, with its sultry almost spoken delivery and kicking in at over six minutes, enters Marianne Faithfull territory as does the equally impressive On Fire with its thundering chorus.

Rick Monroe Gypsy Soul MRG

First things first. Rick Monroe ticks all the boxes for inclusion  in what is currently defined as country music in Nashville. Big arena sound, formula ballads, heavy production and slick guitar riffs. Think Eric Church, Zac Brown etc. Don’t expect any pedal steel or banjo. The Florida born Nashville resident six track mini album Gypsy Soul should without doubt  introduce Monroe to a wider audience given that it’s likely to be well received by Country Music Radio and credit to the young man as it is very good indeed in this genre.  Twelve years have passed since the release of his debut EP Against the Grain in 2005 and in that period Monroe has gained a reputation as a relentless touring artist visiting every US State except Oregon and playing support to Eric Church, Dierks Bently, Dwight Yoakam and The Charlie Daniels Band. His 2016 schedule included 120 shows and 100,000 miles of travelling.

The opening track This Side of You is a slick, sultry, come on song and is typical of what is to follow. The title Track Gypsy Soul, possibly autobiographical, follows a similar path, neat riffs, backing vocals and solo guitar breaks. Production duties were undertaken by Sean Giovanni on five of the tracks with JD Shuff credited with the remaining song.

Monroe has the songs, the image and the work ethic to join the elite modern country artists that play to large stadiums of fans on tours like Country 2 Country. Gypsy Soul could very well be his passport.

Norrie McCulloch Bare Along The Branches Self Release 

It only seems like yesterday when I put pen to paper to review Norrie McCulloch’s second album, These Mountain Blues, recorded less than twelve months ago. Not one to let the grass grow under his feet Bare Among The Branches is the third album in three years for the prolific songwriter from Glasgow. 

The Son Volt influences so evident on These Mountain Blues remain but this outing is possibly more adventurous with the two opening tracks Shutter and Little Boat giving the thumbs up to early Van Morrison and Frozen River offering a more traditional country leanings with the inclusion of some slick mandolin playing by Iain Thompson. Around The Bend is an impressive ballad and very much true to form for McCulloch and the album closes with Beggars Wood a seven-minute journey through the passage of time beautifully articulated and enhanced by some distinctive guitar playing throughout.

Studio colleagues are his regulars, Dave McGowan (Teenage Fanclub, Belle & Sebastian), Stuart Rea and Marco Rea (The Wellgreen) together with Iain Thompson of The Bella Hardy Band on mandolin and Iain Sloan of Wynntown Marshals adding pedal and backing vocals. 

McCulloch’s work sits comfortably at the crossroads between folk and country and Bare Among The Branches is further evidence of a proficient and maturing artist, very much part of the wealth of UK talent currently representing the Americana genre. 

Cory Goodrich Wildwood Flower Self Release

Cory Goodrich is certainly no stranger to country music having won Jeff Awards for her portrayal of June Carter Cash in the Johnny Cash Revue Ring of Fire and her role as Mother in Ragtime. Together with her acting career she is also a singer songwriter and children’s music composer with two award winning albums, Hush and Wiggly Toes to her credit.

Wildwood Flower, her latest work, is a collection of folk and country songs, covers and originals, all featuring Goodrich playing autoharp, an instrument she was introduced to while researching for her role as June Carter for the stage play. The cover versions chosen are standards and include Ring of Fire, Shenandoah, Will The Circle Be Unbroken and all work comfortably together with a number of self-penned additions by Goodrich of which C’est Plus Facile Sans Toi (It’s Easier Without You) and Home To You particularly impress.  

Goodrich, together with being an accomplished musician, is blessed with a controlled vocal range which captures the intended old timey atmosphere throughout the recordings.

The title of the album is a Maud Irving poem, immortalised in song by The Carter Family and given an interesting makeover by Goodrich.

Production duties were undertaken by musician, actor and former musical director at Goodman Theatre Malcolm Ruhl, who together with Goodrich also contributes autoharp and backing vocals.

Reviews by Paul McGee

 

Ordinary Elephant Before I Go Berkalin

This acoustic folk duo is Crystal Hariu-Damore on guitar and vocals with husband Peter Damore on banjo, guitar and vocals. They have been performing together since 2011 and their debut release, Dusty Words & Cardboard Boxes appeared in 2013 and was well received at the time, This follow-up is a very strong statement of intent for the future. The harmony vocals are sweetly compelling in the 13 tracks and there is a hint of Natalie Merchant in Crystal’s phrasing.

Songs like Another Day and Can I Count on You? refer to the trials and tribulations of commitment and the routine of married life. Railroad Man is a fine tribute to a father and the values with which he was raised. Best of You speaks of not letting life get on top of our hopes and dreams and of turning hard times into positive experiences. Leaving Kerrville and Lady in the Elevator are two songs written from personal experience, one a near-fatal and life-changing road accident; the other a conversation in a hospital lift with a woman who was saying goodbye to her departing husband: ‘Too many machines sing their song around his bed; Too many words that she never said…’ . The Things He Saw is a powerful song that deals with Alzheimer’s in a moving and poignant lyric and highlights Ordinary Elephant’s great song craft and playing abilities.

Today Crystal and Peter call the road home, living full-time in a van and travel trailer with their dogs, exploring the country and creating music of real depth and dignity. Someone mentioned Rawlings and Welch in a review as a comparison and this is not wide of the mark when it comes to authentic, honest and heart-felt stories and character songs. This is a highly recommended release and the duo are ably supported by the subtle and understated playing of Jon Gaga on upright bass, Jason Crosby, fiddle & piano, Sharon Gilchrist on mandolin with Jono Manson, tenor guitar, David Berkeley, backing vocals and Mark Clark, brushes. 

Jennifer Cutting’s Ocean Orchestra Waves Sun Sign

Ocean Orchestra is a Celtic fusion band that reside on the American East Coast and comprise mostly of Jennifer Cutting on electronic keyboard and accordion, Lisa Moscatiello on vocals and whistle, Andrew Dodds on fiddle, Zan McLeod on bouzouki, mandolin, and electric guitar, Tim Carey on highland bagpipes, Steve Winick on vocals, Rico Petruccelli on electric bass and Robbie Magruder on drums. 

They are quite a fluid troupe and play in different ensembles and formats. Indeed, there is an impressive array of guest musicians and performers on this new release and all bring a rich tapestry to the overall results. The key inspiration comes from the creative talents of Cutting who is composer/arranger of considerable depth. She holds both Bachelor's and Master's degrees in music and is the artistic director behind this project, her third release.

I am reminded of Steeleye Span when listening to the 12 tracks here, nine written by Cutting, with the inclusion of three traditional airs. The eclectic mix of accordion, fiddle, bouzouki, flute, whistle, piccolo and highland bagpipes lead a celebratory sound that is vibrant and pleasant on the ear. Lark in the Clear Air is particularly striking with the strong vocals of Polly Bolton subtly supported by Troy Donockley on whistle and Jennifer Cutting on an antique pedal-powered reed organ. Crane and Tower is another stand-out, with a damning lyric against unchecked urban development at the expense of the countryside: “Build for Jesus, build for glory/Dwarf the acre where we stand/Profits in the sky, Hosanna/Build it anywhere you can”. Powerful.

Leaves of Autumn is a gentle ballad with the Celtic harp of Sue Richards adding a poignant mood to the wistful vocal of Lisa Moscatiello. Everything Glows is a really terrific example of fusing music from India with the unique sound of the bagpipes. It is a great workout, fuelled by Bollywood Shouters, the fine drum/bass combo of Steve Loecher and Rio Petruccelli and layered with tablas, bansuri, flute, fiddle and rich guitar/keyboard lines. She is a fine song which sees a welcome appearance of the great Clive Gregson on guitar, slide and harmony vocals to complement the lead vocal of Lisa Moscatiello.  

The sleeve notes say: File under ‘Folk-Rock/Celtic/World’, so not really in our usual or sought remit but a perfect description for this global mix of traditional tunes and musical influences.

Dave Vargo Burning Through Self Release

This excellent musician graduated from Berklee College of Music in Boston and went on to forge a very successful career as a touring artist and session player. He has worked with a number headline artists including Whitney Houston, Phoebe Snow and Vonda Shepard, but his talents as a songwriter have only been given the spotlight on this, his debut release as a solo performer. 

The eleven songs are written by Dave and co-produced with drummer Tim Pannella. Erik Romero plays bass and keys with Kim Boyko on backing vocas. The arrangements are all very impressive with fluid playing and a bright feel to the melody and rhythm. The commercial sound is perfectly captured on the opening song Come Take Me Home and the fluid guitar playing of Finding My Way to You, which captures a Hootie & the Blowfish vibe. 

Too Young To Be Broken slows things down with gentle acoustic guitar and a lyric about broken dreams and disillusionment. Waiting runs along similar reflective lines with a wistful look back at the past and regrets over choices made. The expressive vocals of Varo are perfectly complimented by the support cast and Don’t Think Twice is a fine example of the band in full unison and playing with a relaxed and loose tempo. Final track, Pieces of my Heart, is an up-tempo ending to what is a very strong debut release and one that comes highly recommended.  

Bill Jackson The Wayside Ballads Vol. 2 Laughing Outlaw

This release follows on from Volume 1, which was launched in 2015 and was an electric record, due to the group of songs chosen. This follow-up is a more acoustic approach with production by Thomm Jutz (Mary Gauthier, Nanci Griffith, Otis Gibbs etc.) in Nashville. 

The 11 new songs are mainly co-written by brothers Bill and Ross Jackson and the band is comprised of Pete Fidler on Dobro, Sierra Hull on mandolin, Justin Moses on banjo and fiddle, Daniel Kimbro on upright bass and Lynn Williams on drums and percussion. Bill Jackson plays acoustic guitar and sings, while producer Thomm Jutz contributes acoustic guitar, keyboards and backing vocals. Recorded ‘live’ in the studio and benefiting from an organic acoustic sound, the playing is understated, warm and welcoming. 

Songwriters occupy a crowded marketplace, but what can set them apart is a fine line between originality and simply being a copyist. The songs on this release are very authentic and have a feel of being around before. 

Story songs such as Gippsland Boy, Three China Ducks, Rollin’ Into Rosine, Time Will Judge and Pink Jesus ring true to life and carry the experiences and interpretations of everyman. Halfway House of the Broken and Every Day’s Drinkin’ Day  are two poignant songs that conjure up the  lives of the marginalised.The interplay between the musicians is a real joy and the entire project is dotted with little surprises and gentle grooves. This is roots music that will appeal to fans of folk and country ballads.

Bill Jackson’s previous releases include Diggin’ the Roots (2006), Steel & Bone (2008), Jerilderie (2011) which have been all well received in the media. He is a talented artist who is well worth checking out. 

Jeff Plankenhorn Soul Slide Lounge Side

Plank is a versatile musician who has been playing a variety of guitars for many years in Nashville and Austin, appearing on numerous records and releasing a batch of solo albums that have gained him an impressive reputation. This new release sees Brannen Temple on drums, Yoggie on bass, Dave Scher on guitar, piano, organ, Rami Jaffe on mellotron & Hammond organ, Peter Adams on clavichord, Hammond organ and Wurlitzer.  Ruthie Foster and Malford Milligan share both lead and background vocals and Miles Zuniga plays electric and acoustic guitars, piano and also sings backing vocals, completing an impressive line-up of players. There are other guests involved, namely his band associates in The Resentments and the overall impression is one of admiration for the musical depth and the range of skills on display.

Plank marries soulful vocals, with a touch of southern soul, a touch of funk coupled with country which all blend into an intoxicating sound.  However, it is the extraordinary guitar sound that carries the tunes from the opening Lose My Mind, through the slow blues of Trouble Find Me and on into the full throttle work-out of Like Flowers which sees Ruthie Foster singing her heart out.

Plank has played on records by Joe Ely, Ray Wylie, Slaid Cleaves, Eliza Gilkyson, Jimmy Lafave and many more.  All his experiences have led to standing dates with collaborative Austin bands, The Apostles of Manchaca, The Purgatory Players, and The Resentments. His Plank guitar is a creation that is stand-up lap steel guitar, which he picks with one hand and uses a slide with the other. The sound is down n’ dirty with plenty of emotive force and edge to the solos and riffs that he produces. Think Bonnie Raitt meets John Hiatt and Sonny Landreth and you have an idea of the quality and groove on offer here.

Dirty Floor is a stand-out with some really tasty guitar parts on top of a driving rhythm and Vagabond Moonlight is a slow country strum, while Mockingbird Blues is an acoustic blues. Headstrong is like a workout from the heady days of The Band and Live Today talks of making the most of the moment and forgetting the worries of tomorrow. This is a very fine release, most worthy of your attention.

Reviews by Stephen Rapid

The Mavericks Brand New Day Mono Mundo

This is the first album of original songs from the reactivated Mavericks since leaving Big Machine Music Group and it finds that the Mavs are pretty much business as usual. The core team of Raul Malo, Eddie Perez, Jerry Dale McFadden and Paul Deakin are joined by the Fantastic Four, which includes long-time associate Michael Guerra on accordion, guitar and percussion as well as the brass section and current bassist. So, there’s nothing here that strays too far from what might be expected - and loved - from the band.

Per usual, the musicianship is without question and the focal point of Malo’s vocal prowess is well to the fore. The 10 songs have been written by Malo, mostly with co-writer Alan Miller. There is one solo credit and one on which guitarist Perez joins in. The themes are, as they have been of late, of affairs of the heart and in most cases the songs affirm love and life. I Think Of You, I Will Be Yours, I Wish You Well and the title track attest to the generous state of the heart. The more acerbic older songs such as From Hell to Paradise seem likely to remain in the past. This would seem to be one of the reasons that the Mavericks are often tagged as a good time party band which has both positive and negative effects, depending on which side of the fence you are on.

For any long time Mavericks fan though, Brand New Day offers a brand new way to get acquainted with the band with their trademark sound firmly to the fore. It is an album that many are already placing alongside the best of their earlier incarnation and it will give the Mavericks the impetus to carrying doing what they do best, hopefully making some new fans along the way too.

 Sam Outlaw Tenderheart Six Shooter

Following on from the success of his last Ry and Joachim Cooder-produced album, Sam Outlaw has followed up with an album that reinforces his trademark sound. His sound is focused around his distinctive vocal style and his neo-LA (So-Cal) country stylings. As the title implies, there is a new tenderness to some of the songs, especially as he and his wife now have a son. This makes the process of being a working musician, of being on the road, a lot more difficult, yet the call to carrying on making music is strong. In order to do that successfully there is a need to tour behind a new album and Tenderheart is that album and a fine one it is too. Prior to releasing Angeleno, Outlaw had self-released a vinyl album and  an EP. For both his last and the new album he has rerecorded some of those earlier songs, and on this album Diamond Ring, Two Broken Hearts and She’s Playing Hard To Get (Rid Of) have been chosen beside 10 new songs.

The production this time out is by Outlaw himself and Martin Pradler. and here he works again with Molly Jenson, Daniel Rhine, Jeremy Long, Brad Lindsay, all of  whom contributed to the debut release Nobody Loves Sam Outlaw. Jenson and Long also appeared on the Angeleno album and this brings continuity to the context of his music. Outlaw is steeped in the music that emanates from Los Angeles. It is a broad spectrum of the country music that has always differed from that being produced in Nashville, but this is less Bakersfield and more Burbank. There is a nod to the border again with familiar mariachi moments that allow for a broad palate and musical expression. 

The songs are much enhanced by Long’s steel guitar and the equally sympathetic playing of all. Outlaw looks at love, loss, friendship and forgiveness. Everyone’s Looking For A Home is a universal statement of the wish to belong, to have a home, to find some peace in a crazy world. The title track is about finding that special relationship. Yet it’s not all on the upside as a song like Trouble asserts; it is an album highlight and is delivered with a kick that is welcome. She’s Playing Hard To Get (Rid Of) looks at a relationship that has it’s warmth and is sung with a empathy that is easy to fall for. Two Broken Hearts is about lovers meeting and making their way in the world.

This is Outlaw doing what he does best and it is the next step in what has already been an interesting and individual musical journey, that has seen Outlaw gaining both critical respect and audience acclaim in a relatively short time. While Tenderheart may not be as well received as Angeleno in some quarters, to these ears, and after repeated listening. it is at least it’s equal.

Jim Keaveny Put It Together Self Release

The spirited troubadour returns with a brand new set of songs, most are solo writes and two are co-writes. There is a storyteller at work here who engages the listener with a loose amalgam of styles that  fall under the roots label. The album is co-produced by Keaveny and Bill Palmer who is also a player here and they are joined by a bunch of players who sound like they’re having fun and getting the groove right. The songs have a certain spontaneity totally in keeping with lifestyle of a wandering spirit, a man who looks at life with a wry smile and an open heart. 

There is also a border feel to some of the songs with the addition of guitarrón, trumpet and accordion. There are some great vocal harmonies behind Keaveny’s engaging voice and lyrics. This feels something like a conversation in a warm sunny place with a music drifting in on the wind. Given it was recorded in Santa Fe in New Mexico that may be an intention. Those who heard his last album (or previous releases) will know what to expect and newcomers are likely to be equally enchanted. This is not chart bound music, nor is it intended to be.

There is a strong folk/country axis to the overall sound with pedal and loop steel, keyboards, electric and acoustic guitars and a solid rhythm section that are right behind the songs. There is also enough change of pace and texture to keep the album interesting. Most of the songs are over the 3 minute mark and several clock in over 5. The album opens with What I ain’t Got which is a précis of the things in his life that he has to hand. Is It You? opens with trumpet and a lyric about the person he has in his life. It is one of the album standouts in that it sums better than words what  Jim Keaveny is all about. The Grand Forks is an atmospheric song that mixes backing vocals with trumpet to create a Calexico styled instrumental piece. Also check out Blown Away, the heartfelt plea Please don’t Underestimate my Love, which is delivered in a soft and understated way. Limbo and Grim/The Mariachi Mantra builds from Alex McMahon’s pedal steel through to Eric Ortiz’s trumpet to create a soundscape that plays like the end credits of a modern day western.

Keaveny has put it together here in more ways than one and it underlines him as a fringe figure who continues to make music that recalls much but is very much owned by his attitude and his auspicious endeavours to be heard.

Christopher Rees The Nashville Songs Red Eye

From the first notes of this album you welcome the return of this distinctive Welsh wonder. As the title indicates, this set of songs were written with a number of co-writes including Rick Brantley, Mando Saenz, Sandy Cherryholmes, Amy Speace and others. However the recording, production and mixing was done by Rees at his studio in Wales and it features Rees’ notable attention to detail and a sound that brings his multi-instrumental abilities well to the fore. He plays everything here other than drums (Dan Tilbury) and pedal steel guitar (Aaron Goldstein - a talented player who has worked with Daniel Romano and The Cowboy Junkies). Another vital asset here is Rees’ dynamic and individualistic vocal, which is central to the album’s success. 

A listen to Something about Nashville will confirm that accomplisment to any listener. The song is about being separated from a partner who once shared the city together but is now not there. In the song A Place Upon My Face Rees’ writes that “I want my face to be a reflection of where I’ve been and where I come from.” In many ways his albums also offer the same sort of illumination. Each album is about a musical adventure and inspiration as well as a diary of where he was when he recorded it in terms of inspiration and application. Even though they are largely recorded back in his studio in Wales they draw from the experiences and the relationships he has made along the way. These are both personal and musical. 

Rees is an artist whose compulsion to make music as a necessary expression and fundamental need is evident. There is little doubt that the path of any independent artist is not a particularly easy one, but when the results are as good as this is, then it is one that needs to be encouraged and applauded. But if the end result was below standard then it would be easy to suggest that, as is sometimes the case, the continued release of albums may be something of a fool’s errand. That is not true of Christopher Rees, who has consistently proved his worth and the worthiness of his endeavours. The Nashville Songs is his latest album and long may he continue to do what he does so well.

Ed Dupas Tennessee Night Road Trip

The sleeve note from Dupas explains something of the genesis of this album - how a trip to Nashville and a stay in a remote writer’s cabin helped to inspire several of the songs featured here - songs born out of longing and some inner turmoil (I can’t let you go, I watch your picture on the wall, and I wait for it to fall - Do It For Me). Overall the mood is not upbeat, even though the music is. Dupas looks at his life, his hopes and his past and uses that to create this music and in doing so expresses something that many will have experienced themselves.

The album was produced, engineered and mixed by Michael Crittenden, who is also a part of the players who have brought these songs to life. Full credit to them and their individual talents. The album is a worthy successor to Dupas’ debut A Good American Life and underlines his talent as a writer, singer and performer. It has the feel and energy of such wonderful albums as Bob Woodruff’s 1994 album Dreams & Saturday Night which was produced at a time when a country album could rock while remaining true in spirit to the core music without becoming a parody of overblown heavy metal, as is often the case these days.

Mention should be made of the contribution of Drew Howard on pedal steel which does much to flavour the music’s roots orientation. Crittendon’s B3 and banjo also add to that overall texture. Dupas himself plays acoustic and electric guitars which complement his grounded and graceful vocal performance. He is joined on a number of these songs by vocalists Tara Cleveland, Judy Banker and Cole Hanson and all add a counterpoint and harmony behind the emotion evident in Dupas’s delivery. Too Big to Fail, Anthem and Everything is in Bloom are all examples that immediately stand out and show why Ed Dupas is an artist who well warrants investigation and interest. These songs have insight and inhabit a space that, if nothing else, shows that Dupas’ need to make music is a true one. That is something to be deemed as a worthy endeavour. 

Malcolm Holcombe Pretty Little Troubles Singular

There is little doubt that Holcombe has his detractors as well as his admirers. His grit and gravel sandpaper voice is not to everyone’s taste, but those that do fall under his spell seem to be growing and he is certainly been prolific of late with a number of albums to his credit over the last few years. This time out noted artist in his own right Darrell Scott has taken on the production duties. Holcombe’s bluesy tales, his own pretty little troubles, are as often about the world around him and how it is being eroded (Yours No More, Good Ole Days, Damn Weeds) as about his own life and times (Crippled Point O’ View, Outta Luck), some of the songs encompass both.

However these tales of woe are given a musical setting that always make them never less than interesting with a wide range of instruments adding substance and sustenance to the hardworn nature of the music. Many of the instruments are played by Scott himself but with major contributions from Jelly Roll Johnson, Joey Miskulin, Verlon Thompson and Denis Crouch. Mike McGoldrick brings a distinctly Celtic flavour to The Eyes O’ Josephine with Uillean pipes, which makes that song an immediate standout. Yet in the end it is Holcombe’s voice which is the most prominent feature of the tracks and the success of the album will largely depend on your liking for that particular vocal inflection.

For those that do like this sound, Pretty Little Troubles is a compelling album that employs all the skills of its participants to best advantage which makes it a highpoint of Holcombe recorded output. His pretty little troubles have produced some nuanced and balanced personal and unique representations of the blues that are as effective as many of the more applauded practitioners of that often ignored genre. Malcom Holcombe continues to do it his own way. Singular indeed. 

Angaleena Presley Wrangled Mining Light

For her second album Presley takes a particular stand for her take on traditional country music and against some prevailing attitudes on the role of the women gagged. Add to that a the album’s title and you get the impression that Presley wants to break free. She does this by expanding her parameters while remaining within the country corral. 

The songs also tell something of the tale with titles like Dreams Don’t Come True, Country, Outlaw, Mama I Tried and Motel Bible. The album’s overall tone is her largely contemporary takeon  a musical form she loves. The steel and baritone guitar on Only Blood takes things right back. This duet with Morgane Stapleton was co-written by Presley and Chris Stapleton and is a sweetly sung song of revenge and that “she’s been talking to Jesus and he said that only blood is strong enough to wash away your sins.” There is a distant distored male voice and some discordant sound that adds an air of disquiet to the song. Country heads the opposite direction with a rap vocal from co-writer Yelawolf that wipes the floor with some of mainstream country’s rap aspirations and mixes the two approaches with success. 

The songs are a mix of those written solo and co-writes. Dreams Don’t Come True with her Pistol Annies bandmates Ashley Monroe and Miranda Lambert. There are two co-writes with writers who had obviously played a major influence on her in terms of attitude and writing aspirations. They are Guy Clark in Cheer Up Little Darling (which uses Spanish guitar under Clark’s spoken advice over that intro) and Wanda Jackson (and Vanessa Olavarez) for Good Girl Down. Co-producer Oran Thornton also has a couple of writing credits (Mama I Tried and Motel Bible - the latter also with Trevor Thornton). Her own Outlaw makes the point that she doesn’t want to be a renegade or outlaw, that she would like to be a straight shooter on the hit parade, a place she has been with The Pistol Annies. However one gets the feeling that Presley would want to do that her own way rather than as any sort of record company puppet.

There is a whole bunch of attitude at work here that makes for an album that has both variety and velocity which in turn make it a step forward for Presley. However hse may still find her music sitting outside the tightly controlled focus of country radio’s current thinking - sad to say. 

The Reverend Payton’s Big Damn Band Front Porch Sessions Family Owned

The big voiced Reverend is back with his band on these stripped back acoustic blues and country blues outings. So stripped back,in fact, that the Big Damn Band here is just two people; Breezy Paton on washboard and Maxwell Senteney on drums. However a lot of the performance are just Payton alone or predominately him. It was recorded on vintage equipment in order to capture a certain timeless quality that is not exactly retro but rather realistic.

Payton went in to lay down some old songs and some new songs in a live-in-the-studio format while capturing the looseness the title indicates. The results are going to please any of those who have witnessed the band’s live performances. It also stands up as a pure listening experience as it captures the spirit of the songs and the lineage that they convey, When My Baby Left Me by Furry Lewis being a good example. As is  the Reverend’s taken on the songs from the 1900 Let Your Light Shine, an infectious spiritual reading.

Between the covers and the originals there is not a lot of distance, which is to say the new songs capture the spirit of older ones. It is about intimacy and illumination, but also it is about Payton’s big and booming voice and his growing skills on his guitar on his Dobro. Not an album to please everyone, especially those with one foot in the honky-tonk, but for anyone who likes their music honest. 

Reviews by Paul McGee

Aaron Watson Vaquero Big Label

Sixteen songs and over 60 minutes of new music from this independent Texan who continues to blaze an impressive trail in celebration of his artistic talents and entrepreneurial vision. This represents CD release number 13 and highlights a career spanning 18 years that includes countless live performances across America and into Europe in recent years.

His last release, The Underdog, acted as a statement of defiance against the music machine of Nashville, where his style of Texas Outlaw Country is not given much official recognition. However, this was not the first time that the big record labels came calling for Watson’s signature on a contract; only to be turned down at every point of asking. Instead, The Underdog made history when it made Watson the first independent male artist to debut at number one on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart with a self-released, independently distributed and promoted album.

No pressure then on this follow-up, only 2 years later, but Watson comes through with a very self-assured and confident project that does not sag at any time across the many tracks included here. There are love songs (Take You Home Tonight, Be My Girl, Big Love in a Small Town, Rolling Stone), heartland songs about pride in living quiet and honest lives (These Old Boots Have Roots, They Don’t Make ‘Em Like They Used To), story songs such as the tile track which references the solitary life of the old independent ranch hands and the sage advice of years spent riding the rural countryside farms – “He said don't live your life like a sad country song, A fool on a stool is still a fool right or wrong”.

Texas Lullaby examines the simple wish to serve one’s country and make it back alive – a politically tinged song with a small-town twist that makes it all the more honest. Outta Style is a fine band workout and the celebratory groove of the arrangement has radio hit written all over it. Run Wild Horses is a song of passion and desire that really rocks out with guitar and fiddle playing off each other in style. There is some timely social commentary in the song Clear Isabel, which looks at the subject of illegal immigrants and the hope of making a better life across the border.

Amen Amigo has an addictive beat with some excellent fiddle parts as local town fun spills out into the weekend and partying with the boys in tow! The strongest track is The Arrow which gives a life lesson to the sense of living with kindness and love. Diamonds & Daughters is a heart-felt song to his little girl and will long endure as a fan favourite with its sweet sentiment.

Aaron Watson is a very authentic country artist who delivers on all fronts; an insightful and strong song-writer who plays from the belief that he can make a difference in the lives of people who look to music as a means of coping in their daily lives. The abiding message is to live life with a belief and confidence in yourself. This release takes top spot in my country music releases so far, this year.

Stevieray Latham Winter in London At the Helm

This collection of 10 songs was released at the end of 2016 and arrived into our offices for review this month. There is no detail or information on the promo copy I received, but the following was sufficient endorsement ‘mixed and produced by Peter Bruntnell at Domestico Studios in North Devon’. This is the home studio of the multi-talented Mr Bruntnell and any connection with such a revered artist/producer should be sufficient to highlight any young artist to the media.

Steveray Latham released his debut record in 2014 and this follow up is a quiet affair with stripped down arrangements and a vocal that delivers with a sense of reflection and wistful longing. Latham sings these personal songs that have relevance to his years spent living in London. West Hendon Incident deals with a shooting on an estate. Kristina looks at a friend who has issues in communicating in the real world. Never Go Back is a lament to times passed by and the reflection that you can never return. The strings used on This is The Love are gently haunting against a backdrop of a failed relationship while House On The Corner tells of a past girlfriend who has travelled away. Plenty to enjoy here and a strong release from this young talent.

Adriana Spina Let Out the Dark Ragged Road

This singer-songwriter is based in Scotland and her second release, following on from her debut in 2011, is quite an interesting collection of songs. Her band comprise of Stuart MacLeod, who not only produced and mixed the ten songs here, but also weighs in with guitar, bass, keyboards & percussion. Ross McFarlane plays drums and there are backing vocals from Caitlin MacLeod and Francesco Spina (keeping it in the family). Adriana plays acoustic guitar and sings with a sweet voice and clear delivery.

The songs are based around relationships in the main (Home, The Same Drum, Sparkle, Where You Are), affairs & infidelity (The Fall, Hear It From You), the challenge of being away from home and unfilled dreams (Don’t Recognise Me, Two Steps, Disappear) and there is a poignant reflection on the immigrant crisis (See Another Day).

Regret is the abiding theme in the relationship songs with the author cast as the villain in breaking-away and avoiding intimacy. A restless soul looking for a true home should not look back in anger.

A fine collection of contemporary Folk songs that will appeal to many and attract media attention for this new artist.

Scotch Hollow Little Tortuga Self Release.

Scotch Hollow is an acoustic roots band that play in a country-blues style that is both timeless and modern. Mark Verbeck met Carley Martin at College where their mutual love for the blues, traditional country and roots music brought them together. The band line-up is completed by JD Linn on upright bass, Benjamin Scholz on drums, percussion Brody Buster on harmonica and Joel Schuman on piano.

This collection of 11 songs represents their third release, following a debut 5-track EP in 2014 and their debut full length album in 2015. The band produce a fine groove with harmonica and guitar high in the mix. Verbeck produces the project with Linn also acting as producer and sound engineer, so it is very much an in-house affair. The blues playing on the 3 opening songs Hocus Pocus/Kansas City Pepper/Drop in the Bucket is immediate and bright and the pace does not let up throughout.

There are cover versions of Nobody But You (Little Walter), Moaning at Midnight (Howlin' Wolf/Big Willie Dixon) and Keep Your Lamp Trimmed & Burning (Blind Willie Johnson). It is a measure of the playing prowess on display that all three tracks stand very much in their own style with strong performances in the interpretations ... The vocal talents of Carley are very much to the fore throughout this enjoyable release.

Cranford Hollow Color/Sound/Renew/Revive Swampfire

Cranford Hollow describe their sound as a blended mix of Southern Rock, Appalachian Fiddle Music and American Rock and Roll. Well, the evidence on this, their fifth record, is more that of a roots/country sound with the fine violin playing of Eric Matthew Reid colouring the arrangements at every turn. He is ably assisted by John Cranford on guitars, piano and sound manipulation; Jan Reynecke on electric guitar, Randy Looman on drums and Philip Sirmans on bass. Special guest/honorary member John Wilkins also features on guitar and the 8 tracks here are a testament to this excellent band of musicians who blend the influences of the Band and the Allman Brothers into a composite whole that is both addictive and unique in sound. Reid and Cranford handle the vocals with great aplomb and the tired, worldly wise delivery in the voices comes over as fully authentic in the song settings. And You Brutus, Songfield, North and Swing are really strong tracks but the whole project makes for a great listening experience. Good to discover new music such as this and to recommend it to a wider audience.

New Road Stone Walls & Street Lights Self Release

What an unexpected surprise! This collection of 13 tunes is a real joy from start to finish with playing that sweeps the listener along with a real energy and flourish. The band comprise of Rick Epping (harmonica, concertina, 5-string banjo, jaw harp, vocals); Seamie O'Dowd (guitar, mandolin, fiddle, vocals); Leonard Barry (uilleann pipes, whistles) and Andy Morrow (fiddle). The combo playing is just superb and the blend of fiddle, jaw harp & uileann pipes on the song Greasy Coat is a fine example of the great arrangements that deliver little twists along the way to keep the listener fully engaged.

Formed in 2013 and featuring this interesting blend of instruments, New Road are very aptly named and explore roots music that includes Irish traditional, Appalachian old-time, blues and more. An eclectic mix of traditional airs, tunes, jigs, reels, songs, stories are sewn together across a tapestry of melody and rhythm that is both engaging and full of rich colour. Guests include bodhrán legend Johnny “Ringo” McDonagh, Cathy Jordan and Sligo guitarist Shane McGowan. The songs are sung by Rick Epping and include the aforementioned Greasy Coat, Saturday Night My Wife Died and Down In The Old Home Town.

Fellow Pynins Hunter & the Hunted Self Release

This debut release was recorded live in Ashland, Oregon and the band is made up of duo Ian Van Ornum on guitar, mandolin, hurdy gurdy and vocals with Dani Aubert on banjo, bouzouki, vocals, plus voice sung into the banjo. All 10 songs are created by Fellow Pynins and their website describes them as “a tender duo, birthed out of years of travelling, farming, childrearing and touring with a 6-piece orchestra called Patchy Sanders”.

Their songs contain an old-world feel in the words and speak of love stories and the untamed nature of both man and sea. Folk tales and fables that tell of sheep and sugar beets, kings and queens; echoes of a time since passed and one where many may still wish to reside.

Finely tuned harmonies and sympathetic musical arrangements flow easily and the simple strum and intimacy of My Adventures With Jack As Sheepherders is a real joy. Instrumental Henry’s Got Freckles (In The Summertime) is a pleasant jaunt on a buggy in the countryside on a sunny day before Dear Ones unfolds with a salutary tale of death and the depths that could easily fit into an Irish session of traditional singing. The duo did tour Ireland in 2016 as part of a European tour and their music is quaintly appropriate to the sense of a return to simpler ways. A fine release for those who enjoy traditional folk music played with an understated charm.  

Shake Russell Little Bright Band of Light Howlin’ Dog

Thirteen songs in 49 minutes and the project was funded by way of a pre-order campaign. The players who support Shake are Michael Hearne on acoustic guitar & harmony vocal; James Doyle on drums; Jimmy Stadler on piano and guitar (4 tracks, all parts recorded at his home studio) and Don Richmond, who plays a cornucopia of instruments, in addition to production duties.

For more than three decades, this Texas singer-songwriter has been creating his folk-rock compositions, some of which have been recorded by artists such as artists as Waylon Jennings, Jessi Colter, Ricky Skaggs, Clint Black, and Carolyn Dawn Johnson. He has been recording since the 1970’s and has a broad body of work to his name.

Quality playing throughout and a fine way with a lyric make this experienced singer-songwriter one to celebrate and songs like Pure and Shadow Man are reminiscent of JJ Cale in the arrangement and rhythm. Letters, Songs And Photographs is a look back at old memories while The King of the Honky-Tonk Is Gone is a fine tribute to the great George Jones. In early 2016, Shake RusselI was honoured and inducted in the Songwriters Texas Legends Hall of Fame and this latest release gives plenty of reasons as to why such an award was merited.

Jen Gloeckner Vine Spinning Head 

The music industry often works in bazaar and unexpected ways. Not always with the results anticipated or intended. Labels sign artists, distribution deals are struck for product reach and then promotion/PR companies get involved with product air-play, placement and media reviews. It all leads to a big machine spinning its wheels, ever in different directions, and not always aiming the energy at the original targets intended.

In this context, I am contacted by the Jen Gloeckner promotion team who tell me that this artist has just released her third CD and that she is placed, as a reference point, in the category of; Massive Attack, Radiohead, Bjork, Portishead, Julee Cruise, Patsy Cline, Simon and Garfunkel and others.

Well, as Lonesome Highway is focused mainly on Americana, Country, Folk & Roots music, I am interested to understand just how Patsy Cline made it onto this list of artists, but I am prepared to suspend judgement and just listen to the music on its merits…

Some days later I receive a package that contains all three of Jen’s releases; Miles Away (2005), Mouth of Mars (2010) and Vine (2017). Asked to review the latest release, I am curious to track the progression made across all three records and so I settle into a few days of Jen Gloeckner taking up the greater part of my listening time.

The experience is not unpleasant and indeed I am very taken with the singular talents of this Dubuque, Iowa artist who recorded the new release in her bedroom before having the tracks mixed and mastered in Philadelphia.

The latest release Vine is a further jump in creative control and expression as Jen delves further into the use of loops, pulses, rhythms, treatments and voice atmospherics. These are lavish soundscapes and the ambient quality of the tracks is augmented by the sweet vocal delivery and use of Cello, Flute and EBow. The lyrics are not always clear but add to the overall effect of floating along the breeze of life with destination unknown. Song titles such as Blowing Through, Firefly (War Dance), Counting Sheep, Row With The Flow and Breathe give an indication of the musical colour on display here. A very talented artist who is worthy of greater media attention for her creative gifts. Jen Gloeckner is not easily placed in any specific genre, which can only be a positive when everyone is eager to pigeonhole creative talent into various boxes.

I am still looking for Patsy Cline howeve … A small complaint!

Reviews by Declan Culliton

Samantha Crain You Had Me At Goodbye Ramseur Records

Samantha Crain’s last visit to Ireland in 2015 featured an appearance on national television where she performed Big Rock from her then current album Under Branch And Thorn And Tree on The Late Late Show. That album featured highly in Lonesome Highway’s Best of 2015 and was a career best for the Oklahoma resident. Not one to stand on ceremony, Crain freely admitted that after that tour it was back to bread and butter issues with the prospect of working shifts at a pizza parlour to earn cash to finance her next recording and subsequent tour. The result of her toils is You Had Me At Goodbye, the fifth full album by Crain and a worthy successor to its predecessor.

Engaging the same production team of John Vanderslice (The Mountain Goats, Strand of Oaks) and Jacob Winik (The Magnetic Fields, Hot Buttered Rum) and recorded at Tiny Telephone Studio in San Francisco the album finds Crain in a more experimental and relaxed mood than on previous recordings. A recent quote from the young Shawnee Oklahoma resident noted "With this album, I just wanted to have some fun. I’ve spent the majority of my young adulthood taking myself and my music very seriously."’

Well, it is indeed fun but certainly not throwaway. Crain may have felt more carefree than on her previous recordings but her gift as a prolific and passionate songwriter continues to glow as she considers sincerity, self-respect, grieving, mental illness and relationships over the ten songs that make up the album. The album kicks off with the upbeat and hooky Antiseptic Greeting which agonises about the pressure on people to continually put a brave face on, when sometimes it should be ok and acceptable to be in bad form and not under pressure to be expected to mask it. The Loneliest Handsome Man deals with lost friendship and is delivered with an almost sleepwalking vocal and delightful piano and strings. Crain employs her ancestors native Choctaw language on Red Sky, Blue Mountain a melodic and hypnotic song and possibly the stand out track on the album. Grieving and loss are visited on Betty’s Eulogy which deals with a widow’s loss. Interestingly the album includes Crain’s first recorded cover song When The Roses Bloom Again from the Mermaid Avenue Sessions. Its appearance on that album featured music by Jeff Tweedy to lyrics that were discovered in Woody Guthrie’s journals but which had been written by the composer Will D. Cobb.

This album is a slight departure from Crain’s previous work but captures the lyrical beauty that has permeated all her output to date and fits snugly in a back catalogue that should be included in every serious listener’s collection.

Holly Macve Golden Eagle Bella Union

‘I looked at the world with different eyes’ announces Holly Macve in White Bridge, the opening track from her debut album Golden Eagle. In a certain context these words could well describe the direction the twenty one year old Galway born artist has taken her musical inspirations to create a most impressive and individualistic recording.

Possessing a quite unparalleled vocal which dips and soars throughout the ten tracks on the album, Macve excels in the art of storytelling with a maturity well beyond her years. Produced by Paul Gregory of Lanterns On The Lake, the album was written when Macve was, by her own admission, going through a difficult period emotionally. Often the motivation for creativity, her dark moments have delivered some wonderful stark stories depicting lost love (Heartbreak Blues), the comfort of childhood innocence (Sycamore Tree/Timbuktu), isolation (Shell) and loved ones departed (All Of It’s Glory), often delivered with minimal instrumentation and Macve’s  luscious vocal always out front. 

Make no mistake, her warbling, yodelling vocal will not be to everyone’s taste. It is quite distinctive and it did take a few listens to fully connect with but the time invested and particularly with the lyric sheet in hand certainly reaps rich rewards.

While heavily influenced by old time country, one is constantly reminded of Hank Williams, comparisons could also be made with Angel Olsen and no doubt Macve has the talent and potential like Olsen, to make a major industry breakthrough on the strength of Golden Eagle.

Country noir at its finest and highly recommended indeed.

The Black Sorrows Faithful Satellite Rootsy

Listening to Cold Grey Moon, the opening track on The Black Sorrows latest album, you could be forgiven for assuming it was an outtake from Elvis Costello’s 1999 album Painted From Memory, the album he recorded in collaboration with Burt Bacharach. Glorious vocal, horns and strings combine to give the song a full and rich delivery. No coincidence possibly as Costello was instrumental in a process that elevated The Black Sorrows from a covers band to big hitters. Frontman Joe Camilleri had raised the finance to record the band’s first album by playing birthday parties and weddings, the resulting album Sonola was recorded for a mere $1300. Costello happened upon the album when visiting Gaslight Records while playing in Australia and plugged them on the national airwaves and TV, creating a wave of interest in the band.  Costello in fact went on to cover Joe Camilleri’s So Young on his 1987 compilation album Out Of Our Idiot.  

Camilleri has since been at the forefront of Australian music culture for decades and was inducted into The Australian Recording Industry Association Hall of Fame in 2007. Under his stewardship, The Black Sorrows have recorded seventeen albums to date and continue to be one of Australia’s most loved live acts. 

Faithfull Satellite is an album that packs a hefty punch from start to finish with the artists that excited and influenced Camilleri well represented. Costello’s trademark is all over the opening track and is revisited on Love Is On It’s Way, with a reggae beat Watching The Detectives style. It Ain’t Ever Gonna Happen comes across as time honoured Cohen with accompanying backing vocals and Winter Rose recalls a classic Van Morrison sound. Not content with merely paying homage to their peers they also dust down their banjos and fiddles for the country (ish) Fix My Bell and move more up tempo with a classic power pop melody with Carolina.

The album was recorded at Woodstock Studio in Melbourne with production duties shared by Camilleri and keyboard player John Mc All. The twelve songs were written by Camilleri and executive producer Nick Smith.

Conor O’Donnell Come On In Self Release

Conor O’Donnell’s father Al was very much part of the mid 60’s flourishing folk scene in London, rubbing shoulders with household names such as Peggy Seegar, Billy Connolly, Martin Carthy and Ewan Mc Coll. In Dublin he performed alongside The Dubliners and for a brief period  was a member of the traditional folk group Sweeney’s Men. He sadly passed away in 2015 and Come On In, Conor O’ Donnell’s debut album, is dedicated to his late father.

Featuring eleven self-penned songs, the albums stand out track is the haunting ballad Trouble I’m In and embraces the full range of roots music with nods to rockabilly (T Minus 20), country (Trucks A Gonna Roll) and two songs (Bobby Cole and Come On In) that recall the work of Simone Felice.

Recorded at Orphan Recording in Dublin the album was co-produced by Garvan Gallagher who also plays bass and keyboards and guest musician Gavin Glass who contributes keyboards and slide guitar. Also guesting on the album on violin is Leo O’Kelly with regular band members Kieran Mc Evoy (guitar, Duesenberg, vocals) and Sean Devitt (drums, vocals) completing the line up.

Donald Byron Wheatley Moondogs And Madogs Maiden Voyage

A number of the music magazines we subscribe to include in their review sections ‘Rediscovered’ features, reminding us or introducing us to forgotten or little known acts that released quality music back in the day but for some reason did not reach a market or were unappreciated at the time. Listening to  set me thinking that this album may feature in a similar scenario twenty years down the road as an extraordinary recording that did not get its due recognition when released. It’s an excellent album to say the least and exceptional in that the artist has never played onstage to a live audience. 

The title Donald Byron Wheatley conjures up an image of an aristocratic public schooled English gent most likely dressed in tweeds from head to toes and clad in hand made Barker Alderney brogues. In fact nothing could be further from the truth. Wheatley spent his childhood in the family’s travelling business erecting and dismantling helter-skelters at various carnivals and fairgrounds up and down the country. His introduction to music was through his father’s love of the blues, regularly playing Bessie Smith, Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf and eventually progressing to the early classic Dylan recordings. Both his father and grandfather were musical, playing the guitar and accordion but purely as a pass time.

Wheatley had notions of becoming a professional musician in his youngers years and wrote some songs which he intended to include in an album at some stage. However, life moved on with family responsibilities a priority and the idea of stardom soon faded into the background. Some years after his fathers passing and difficult times encountered by some close friends, he felt inspired to write again and with the encouragement of his cousin John Wheatley put the songs down on tape at Reservoir Recording Studio in North London.

The resulting album was produced by Chris Clarke (Danny & The Champions of The World) and John Wheatley (Suburban Discs) and features members The Champions, Chris Clarke, Steve Brookes, Andy Fairclough together with Siobhain Parr and UK pedal steel supremo BJ Cole.

The musical influences on the album are obvious, Wheatley wears his heart on his sleeve in this regard, but the quality of the material from first to twelfth track is staggering. On second listens I was convinced that some of the tracks were cover versions that I had previously heard such was the impact they made.

Opener Life’s A Beach is a semi rap type delivery in the style of Aaron Lee Tasjan and uncharacteristic of what follows. Smoking Gun and Hand Me Down Leopard Skin Hat recall mid 60’s Dylan and Not Tonight Josephine explores similar territory with its Band like driving rhythm, hammond organ solo and layered backing vocals. Nothing is the stand out track on the album, of a standard that would sit comfortably alongside anything on John Lennon’s Imagine.

There’s no doubt that Wheatley could be accused of raiding Dylans piggy band for much of the material but the same could be said of numerous other artists. Fans of the Felice Brothers and The Band will lap this up and rightly so. 

Osborne Jones Only Now Continental Song City

Unapologetically inspired by Gram Parsons, The Flying Burrito Brothers and the classic country sound of the 60’s, you could be forgiven for assuming that Osborne Jones was a Nashville country crooner. They are in fact David-Gwyn Jones and David Osborne, UK born and bred who have assembled a team of musicians to produce an album that delightfully recalls the traditional sound of both Bakersfield and Nashville. Featuring ten tracks, nine of which were written by them and one co-write with Nigel Osborne, the songs are punctuated in no small measure by the stunning playing by Rick Shea who contributes mandolin, acoustic, electric and pedal steel guitar. A renowned artists in his own right, Shea also produced the album which was recorded by Mark Linett (Beach Boys, Los Lobos, Rikki Lee Jones, Randy Newman) at Your Place Or Mine Studios in Glendale, California. Also brought on board for the recording are David Jackson on bass, piano, organ and accordion, Shawn Nourse on drums and Cindy Wasserman and Gia Ciambotti on backing vocals.

The album is a fulfilment of a common love of the classic country sound between two long-time friends and part time musicians and though now residing in different continents they have managed to realise that ambition. As would be expected heartbreak and loving feature in large doses, no better than on Only Now with more than a nod to Elvis  and  Heartbreak and Six Strings and I Still Think She Cares both of which are soaked in pedal steel guitar.

Never intended as a project to attack the Billboard Country Music Charts it achieves precisely what it set out to do in accomplishing their ambition to create a body of well fashioned songs and particularly impressive musicianship which they can justifiably be proud of.

Dave Desmelik Lifeboat Self Release

Lifeboat, similar to the other works in the back catalogue of Dave Desmelik, is not an album to pop in your cd player and start singing along with the choruses after one listen. The Brevard North Carolina resident’s albums fall into a similar category to the work of Jim White, John Dowd, Richard Buckner and possibly Vic Chestnutt, no compromise, from the heart and music that demands a considerable investment of your time to fully appreciate.

It’s his eleventh recording in a career that dates back to the late nineties when he was part of the Arizona band Onus B.Johnson. Not quite a one man show, though Desmelik does contributes vocals, acoustic and electric guitars, cigar box guitar, baritone ukulele, bass, piano, organ, drums and percussion together with recording and mixing duties. The cover artwork also features a sketch by Desmelik.

Despite employing many and varied instruments in the recording the eleven tracks are in the main raw, stripped back yet never fail to atmospherically create vivid imagery for the listener.

The delightful Surgery, Recovery and Love features only three spoken words by Desmelik and is basically an instrumental with the addition of sporadic words by children Holmes, Elena and Vince who, unaware that they are being recorded, reveal their innocent inner thoughts. 

A Strange Realization, the longest track on the album at over nine minutes and one of the highlights, is a dreamy kaleidoscope of sound that could be mistaken as a demo track for an early Pink Floyd album.

Battlefield is a more up-tempo inclusion on an album that often sounds desperate, intense, honest and hurting, yet when penetrated, grabs the listener from the outset and doesn’t let go.

Sophia Marshall The Paper Thin EP Self Release

In a previous life and as a teenager, Leicester born Sophia Marshall’s was part of The Havenots, a duo with Liam Dullaghan whose album Bad Pennies, released in 2004, was possibly a decade ahead of its time and combined luscious boy/girl harmonies in a manner that is certainly more hip today than it was then. The Mastersons, Shovels and Ropes and Whitehorse have perfected the approach and one is left to wonder what impact Bad Pennies would have in the burgeoning Americana scene were it to be released today.

In more recent times, 2015 to be precise, Marshall began concentrating on her solo career and this five track EP, her debut solo release, demonstrates not only her beautifully subtle vocal but also her ability to create songs that contain both melody and depth in equal measures.

Comparisons with Eddie Reader come to mind on both Wasted Days and Living  Things. Her vocals ebb and flow, layered delightfully on the closing track and tour da force The Devil and The Hollow. Produced by her band member and guitarist Andy Jenkinson, the emphasis is always on Marshalls perfectly paced voice.

In her former and current career Marshall has played support to Frazey Ford, Peter Bruntnell, The Sadies, Sam Outlaw and Tift Merrit. On the strength of this recording, given the exposure it deserves, there is little doubt that she has the potential and talent to make a lot of people stand up and take notice.

Reviews by Stephen Rapid

Chilli Willi and The Red Hot Peppers Real Sharp Proper/Last Music

This compilation brings together pretty much everything recorded by Chilli Willi who, essentially, started out life as the duo of Martin Stone and Phil Lithman. The former had a long musical career in bands such as Savoy Brown Blues Band, The Action and Might Baby among many others before becoming a dealer in rare books. Lothian nicknamed ”Snakefinge” had played with Stone in Junior’s Blues Band before moving to San Francisco. On his return he reunited with Stone to form Chilli Willi and play country oriented rock music. Both are now deceased as is their icon graphic designer Barney Bubbles. This compilation is dedicated to all three. Bubbles’s work is featured throughout the package and was one of the reasons I sought them out when they were originally released. 

The first CD in this two disc set opens with the songs originally released as Kings Of The Robot Rhythm. A mix of original songs and a couple of traditional arrangements. Though remastered the overall sound quality is a little thin but none-the-less quite entertaining. For the recording of that album Stone and Lithman were joined by Bob Andrews, Nick Lowe and Billy Rankin from Brinsley Schwarz along with a couple of other London-based players. It is a more acoustic sounding affair with some strong harmonies from the duo. Friday Song was an unreleased single and nit a bad one too. It is reminiscent at times of The Byrds, Flying Burrito Brothers and the more country side of Moby Grape and seems to kick the sound up a notch or two with some good steel and guitar interplay. Their ethos may be summed up, to a degree, by the first song of a series of demos that come up next - Goodbye Nashville (Hello Camden Town). These tracks would make any current band feel happy with their content. Truck Driven’ Girl has banjo, fiddle. What you hear is that these guys can certainly play. Another highlights include Jesse Winchester’s Midnight Bus and a rockin’ version of Choo-Choo Ch’ Boogie. A song that also turns up on the second disc.

That disc starts with the eleven tracks that made up the band’s second album Bongos Over Balham and a slight shift in direction that encompasses some swing ands blues along side the more countrified numbers. The band had now solidified with a rhythm section of Pete Thomas (later of the Attractions) and Paul “Bassman”Riley along with P.C. Bailey and guest Bob Andrews who both added sax and other instruments. Mike Nesmith sideman 'Red' Rhodes also guested on pedal steel guitar. Again the playing singing and self-written songs are all engaging and enjoyable. Highlights include Desert Island Woman, All In A Dream and newer versions of song from the demos Midnight Bus and Truck Driving Woman. All of these were Lithman originals other than the aforementioned Choo-Choo Ch’ Boogie and Midnight Bus. The remainder of the album is taken up with some live tracks either from gigs or radio sessions. The final two tracks were final demo recordings of cover sings. These round out a package that is interesting both musically and in visual terms and for Paul “Bassman” Riley’s informative sleeve notes. Well done to Proper for reissuing this archival project of what was obviously a fun band to witness and remain to listen to. 

Bill Kirchin and Austin de Lone Transatlanticana Proper/Last

Anyone fortunate to catch Bill Kirchin live will be well of his prowess. Equally his albums make for a good listening experience that is full of memorable songs and playing. Nothing different here then for his collaboration with keyboardist Austin de Lone, an American who initially made his name playing with Eggs Over Easy on the burgeoning Pub Rock scene in London. The album was recorded in Austin and in London and it’s well up there with either’s best work. They work well together as they have in the past with either Kirchin or De Lone taking the lead vocal. But some fine guests abound such as Butch Hancock dueting on his own Oxblood. Gurf Morlix on electric guitar, Bobby Black on pedal steel and the rhythm sections of Paul “Bassman” Riley and David Carroll on bass and drummers Malcolm Mills and Rick Richards. Harmonies are added by Caroline de Lone and Louise Kirchin. 

The song are mostly covers including Blackie Farrell’s opener the amusing and arresting Hounds Of Bakersfield through to the blues of Charles E. Calhoun’s Losing Hand. Kirchin and de Lone have distinctive voices that work well in context. The former is, naturally steeped in the sound of Bakersfield while the later showed Kirchin is also adept at playing the blues. Throughout the duo cover a number of musical bases with ease and success. de Lone delivers a soulful and sensitive vocal on Warm And Tender Love. In the main the original songs are from de Lone while the rest are covers that suit the duo well including a version of Bob Dylan’s The Times They Are A Changing.

There is nothing ground breaking or monumental on the album, but that’s largely beside the point, as these are two musicians (and friends) who love to play music and are seasoned players who are putting there heart (and soul) into these songs. They perfectly delineate passion over posturing and the ease that such a long career making notable music brings to such a project. Both Bill Kirchin and Austin de Lone are comrades and old friends and Transatlanticana is a hands across ocean that shoes the true connections that music can make. Incidentally the UK version of the album has two additional tracks.

The Long Haul Beautiful Lies (10 Tales Of Temptation) Self Release

This UK band are Simon Sparrow and Francois De Ville who are the writers of these songs and who play guitar and pedal steel respectively. They are joined by Matt Windler and Dil Davis. A different set of players to those listed on the press release as can sometimes happen. They play traditionally minded songs that are enhanced by (Nashville based) Eamon McLoughlin’s production. He also adds fiddle, mandolin, cello and viola to the sounds and has brought in some fine guests in Lloyd Maines, John Jarvis and Chris Scruggs. The music was recorded in Brighton as well as Nashville and in Austin. Which gives the album some additional weight behind the duos songs. There are times when a little more grit in Sparrow’s voice would have been welcome but that shouldn’t distract from some solid songwriting and playing. Largely the sound falls into a smooth steel and string enhanced mood that is less honky-tonk overall than a song like the opening ode to the Austin club The Continental might suggest. Though another of De Ville’s songs is also more in the dance floor vein. His Beautiful Lies is also a good song.

Sparrow songs seem take a more melancholic direction that rewards some repeated play. Songs like Waiting And Wishing, Blind and You’re Still Here all have a sense of regret that is matched by the the music and you can see why McLoughlin wanted the steel and strings to form a central part of the song’s core. They provide the right sense of existential heartbreak that is part country, part universal songwriter. The Long haul are another example of how the UK country scene has moved away from jukebox style covers to something far more rewarding and  important to the development of a strong sense of individual identity. Having said that it is unlikely that this band will achieve the kind of recognition that The Shires or Ward Thomas have gained. However the songs here could and the album is a showcase for the songwriting of Sparrow and De Ville as well as McLoughlin’s sympathetic production.

Lil’ Lost Lou Self-Titled Bully Records

Another hands across the ocean production with Lil’ Lost Lou recording parts of the album in the UK and in Nashville. There she got producer Billy Livsey involved and she co-produced the album with Livsey and Sean Kelly (who handled the UK end of things). In Welcome to 1979 Studios they got a bunch of players like Dave Roe, Russ Phal, Stuart Mathis and Livsey himself lending their talents to the recording. The music is a vibrant mix of some rockabilly, country, rock ’n’ roll and punk ingredients. Psyche (an old family name?) wrote all the songs on the album that is focused around her edgy vocals and sassy, untameable attitude. 

The sound of the album is not as trenchant rockabilly as some others have been in the past which, in the end, makes for a more varied result that utilises the various skills on offer to good effect. Grounding it all is the rhythm section of drummer Justin Amaral and bassist Roe - who himself knows a little about attitude having played with a who’s who of interesting singers from Johnny Cash to Dwight Yoakum. Yet Psyche can also manage to keep things sparse yet edgy on a song like Ride A Train with simple stripped back instrumentation and voices. Elsewhere songs like I Kissed Your Man (Jolene), which has the air of an answer song about it. It is a harmonica filled gutsy tale of lust and need. Ramblin’ Woman with is the tale of an unsettled “other” woman who need to keep moving on and making her own way and own rules.

The album is divided into a Side A and a Side B Though there is no immediate difference sound wise between the two. He Put A Hook In Me (Bones, Feathers, Black Book, Rabit Foot) is another songs that has a voodoo rhythm and some midnite mayhem in a song that features some strident female backing vocals to harden its sense of want. More reflective is Red Is The Colour Of My Shame a restrained redemptive rating of ones internal demons that is largely some steel and acoustic guitar behind a telling vocal. Things get hotter again for Brown Boots that quotes from other boots related paeans to getting things done right. The closing song is entitled Song For Bob Dylan and is indeed just that. Questioning to the way that in her mind his words were written about her and for her. “Did you read my mind in a dream sometime” she asks. The song builds from voice and acoustic guitar to a full band finish that acts as a fitting end to this interesting and insurgent artist.

Nathan Bell Love>Fear (48 Hours In Traitorland) Stone Barn

The role of the protest folk-singer seems have gained an even greater relevance in recent (darker) times. Echoing a time when the guitar and harmonica wielding story-teller and oracle of truth was front and centre. Now they work on the fringes. What you see is what you get here with this album. Bell with guitar and harmonica and a bunch of songs that tell it as he sees it. Songs of the working man, the working woman and of lost souls. 

In these songs ordinary people are given a voice by Bell. It is a voice that has some portent and potency. One that is set against his simple but effective guitar playing. Raise Your Fist, is as it sounds, a call to action to make yourself know. It is dedicated to the athletes at the 1968 Olympics who gave the black power salute. While Coal Black Water takes to task those coal companies who abused the land and the miners for profit. One Man Walking is about how an individual can face up to those things in life that he finds difficult to face but makes an individual stand against. Traitorland is a song that set some guidelines for living (and loving). Perhaps the immediate standout though is MIA (Bill In 1975), wherein the turns the acronym into a number of alternatives like Missing In America and Mad In America about a brother who after returning from the Vietnam War went to live in Montreal and lost contact with his family.

Bell stands alongside the likes of Joe Purdy as a man who follows the path laid down by Woody Guthrie and the stripped down harshness and hardness of Springsteen’s Nebraska. This is how Bell would sound live and in fact half the songs here are live recordings and full of life and light. This is a raw recording that follows previous albums like the studio recorded I Don’t Do This For Love, I Do This For Love which was released in 2016. This is a timely release that will hit home for many.

Drew Holcomb And The Neighbors Souvenir Magnolia

The latest release from Holcomb and his band offers some more big sounding music. Produced by Joe Pisapia and Ian Fitchuk in East Nashville it again covers Holcomb and the bands’ genre mixed roots style that is riven with hooks and melodies. Though it is Holcomb’s voice that is front and centre here (it has the kind of timbre that would be familiar to David Gray fans) it is largely a full band effort with the members contributing both to the music and to the writing of the songs. This makes for a cohesive and complete album that has a strong organic feel from a group of musicians who have played a lot of dates together and have that ease with each other that shows in the music.

The writing credit are shared between Holcomb and band members Rich Brinsfield and Nathan Dugger in various combinations. Yet it is Holcomb’s name over the door and he ultimately has the responsibility for the overall direction of positive, passionate and at times fragile and figurative outcome. Souvenir is Holcomb’s tenth release and so he has been working to this point for a long time. And one wonders how much longer before he can achieve the kind of recognition that Nathaniel Ratcliffe and the Night Sweats have gained in recent times.

California an upbeat ode to that State, a place to return to from far away, is as bright as you would expect. While Fight For Love explores the disparate nature of a relationship that requires the titular effort to make it work. Keyboard player and guitarist Dagger’s The Yellow Rose Of Santa Fe has pedal steel to bolster it’s country feel. It is about meeting a woman who is a quiet force of nature, a slow shuffle about time and place. It looks wistfully about what might have been though from a place of positivity with what is. Postcard Memories is another song that considers home and wanted to be there with someone you love and need. It is a restrained ballad that is subtle and effective. The album ends with Wild World that is stripped back to guitar and voice until the piano and bass comes in to give the song a further depth. The song continues the theme of love s redemption that we all try to find our pace in a wild world where love is all that we have got to give away. A souvenir for romantics everywhere.

Euferzine Where Did The Time Go Little Crab Creek

Essentially this is a project of Denise Reagan working with producers Jeff Taylor and John Mock. Both are integral to the music with both performing multi-instrumental duties on Reagan’s co-written songs that sound timeless and traditional. Often with a strong celtic connection and featuring tin whistle, bodhrán, uileann pipes and fiddle. Through the double bass is a prominent and grounding element and in the hands of players like Byron House and Dennis Crouch you would expect no less. Elsewhere musicians of the calibre of Shad Cobb, Thomm Jutz, Kenny Malone, Glen Duncan and Wanda Vick join Taylor and Mock and others in creating an ethereal bedrock for the ethereal and evocative vocals of Reagan and other like Deana Berry, Sierra Hull, Justin Moses and John Thompson on backing vocals.

This is a double CD of some 20 tracks that are solidly rooted in the past and in heritage. Euferzine is the name of Reagan’s grandmother who grew up in the Appalachians in a place with no electricity or running water. Reagan lost her at the age of 13 but had a song impression of the saddest person she have ever encountered. So it is no surprise that this music is imbued with a sense of melancholy and deal, largely, with her family’s 400 year history.

The album runs as an overarching concept that brings together different style of music that have, equally, a simplicity and acoustic energy that finds the songs connecting together as a tangible whole. There is a companion book that goes with this which would doubtless given a greater emphasis to the songs and the soldiers, hunters, preachers, patriots - the men and women who people these songs. Songs that encompass the genealogy of the place and the old-time, front porch, bluegrass. folk, jazz and celtic musical tributaries that contribute to this river of song - one that is worth emerging yourself in.

Carrie Elkin The Penny Collector Self Released

A strong, often beautiful album from Carrie Elkin that has a strongly poetic nature that is bolstered by a strong musical setting that is perfectly attuned to the lyrical content. Themes include loss as her father passed away recently and love as she also recently gave birth to a daughter. That cycle of life that is central to music that has substance and sincerity. The album title is a dedication to her father who collected pennies all his life. 

 The album was produced by Neilson Hubbard and marks her return to solo work after working with Sam Baker and with her husband Danny Schmidt. There are stylistic elements of folk and Ambient Americana at play. The production manages to mix the moments that need to be heard with an undeniable power that picks the music up at the points it need to. the instruments can sweep and soar and also be subdued as the song requires. This give Elkin expressionistic voice the freedom it needs to for a strong emotional empathy perhaps mirrored in titles like Albatross and Lamp Of The Body.

Alongside Neilson playing drums are studio stalwarts Will Kimbrough and Eamon McLoughlin and backing vocalists Danny Schmidt, Robby Hecht and Ryan Culwell. The album was recorded in Nashville although she resides in Austin. This perhaps allows for a certain distance and distillation. Here Elkin’s voice is full of merciful strength and grace. There is power and equally a telling intimacy that brings the songs their heartbreak and joy. This is Elkin’s sixth solo album and easily ranks with her best recordings and arguably her finest to date. One that is indeed collectible.

Reviews by Declan Culliton

Rhiannon Giddens Freedom Highway Nonesuch

It’s both poignant and indeed disturbing that Freedom Highway, the title of Rhiannon Giddens second solo album, was inspired by the Staple Sisters song of the same name, recorded over fifty years ago and motivated by the Civil Rights movement in Alabama at that time. The album was originally to be named At The Purchaser's Option but the prevailing political tensions and developments during the writing process made her reconsider the title.

Giddens debut solo album Tomorrow Is My Turn was released in 2015. Produced by T.Bone Burnett, it featured, in the main, interpretations of material previously written or performed by artists ranging from American blues singer Geeshie Wiley to country legend Dolly Parton together with a quite spectacular rendition of the traditional American folk song Waterboy. Only one song, the closing track Angel City, was penned by Giddens.  While never concerned with concentrating on a particular style the album deservedly received glowing reviews, in the main earned by Gidden’s stunning vocal delivery throughout. 

Freedom Highway on the other hand proves to be a more fiercely personal project, unfolding in documentary style and giving the often faceless and anonymous the opportunity to articulate their struggles, pain, helplessness and abuse. Many of the songs are taken from the female’s perspective, a recurring theme is the mother child relationship with the album visiting the casual and cruel manner by which that relationship was shattered both in former times and indeed to the present day. The inner sleeve of the album features a newspaper cutting from 1797 advertising the sale of a young female slave with the inclusion of her nine-month baby At the Purchasers Option. This proved to be the inspiration and motivation for the opening track of the same name."You can take my body, you can take my bones, you can take my blood but not my soul."

It plays out as an album that Giddens was always going to record and on her own terms.  Her previous solo album and recordings with The Carolina Chocolate Drops were produced by T. Bone Burnett, Joe Henry and Buddy Millar. This time around Giddens avoids the possibility of a more polished and over produced recording by taking control herself in the co-production with multi-instrumentalist Dirk Powell. Produced at Powell’s studio in Breaux Bridge Louisiana, the majority of the songs were recorded in a pre-civil war wooden structure and captures a timeless ambiance. 

The Angels Laid Him Away, a cover of the Mississippi John Hurt original, is stripped back to feature vocal and acoustic guitar and dwells on a mother’s loss at the death of her son. Better Get It Right The First Time, full on country soul, visits similar territory but in the present times, questioning the shooting of a young black man and featuring an unexpected yet entirely compelling rap by Giddens nephew Justin Harrington. Julia, tells the tale of an exchange between a slave girl and her mistress as Union soldiers arrive at their plantation, the mistress pleading with the defiant young slave to dutifully safeguard the family’s trunk of gold. "Mistress, O Mistress, that trunk of gold Is what you got when my children you sold."

Birmingham Sunday, written by Richard Farina and immortalised by Joan Baez, is delivered vocally almost trance like as if Giddens is reliving every last word. Opening with Dirk Powell’s slow piano intro and closing with the addition of an accompanying choir it moved me to the point that I found myself playing it on repeat a number of times prior to continuing with the rest of the album.

Giddens interpretation is at odds with the Staple Singers version on the closing track Freedom Highway. Favouring a less pacey delivery and introducing horns and handclaps, it may stray somewhat from the more gospel sound of the original but lyrically delivers the same message that it did back in the mid 60’s.

Giddens has been in receipt of numerous awards and nominations over the years including a Grammy Award in 2011 with the album Genuine Negro Jig. A late comer to song writing she can justifiably be as proud with this album as any other career highlight to date. 

Kaurna Cronin Southern Loss Self Release

Kaurna Cronin was voted Folk Alliance Australia’s Artist of The Year in 2015 following the release of his last album Glass Fool that year. Southern Loss follows twelve months later and is further recognition of the growing body of talent in the Americana/ Folk genre coming out of Australia in recent years. Artists such as Kaurna Cronin, Emma Swift, Ruby Boots, CW Stoneking and Beth Brown have the ability to follow in the footsteps of fellow Australian's Kasey Chambers, Shane Nicholson and Anne McCue by establishing themselves in a market that is highly competitive.

The album consists of ten tracks written and produced by Cronin and recorded at Mixmasters Studio in Adelaide with the mixing and mastering carried out by Mick Worley. Musicians featured on the album are Cronin’s touring band members Tom Kneebone ( guitar/vocals), Kiah Gossner (Bass) together with session players David Resce ( Drums), Aaron Nash ( Organ/Grand Piano and )Julian Ferraretto ( Strings).Tara Mc Henry, Laura Knowles and Delia Obst all contribute additional vocal harmonies.

The material ranges from the country rocking opener Passion Parade with an addictive laid back riff and harmonies to the gorgeous love ballad Never Get You Off My Mind and the dreamlike 5019. The song writing is strong, solid with tales of love, loss, regret and reflection. Cronin’s high pitched and sometimes fragile vocal is the winner throughout, quite often complemented by well-timed harmonies. 

The Looking Lead Me To The Water Rhizome Man

The Looking is in essence New York City based singer songwriter and producer Todd Carter. His previous album Songs For a Traveler, released in 2013, explored the American songbook from the 19th Century up the 1950’s covering standards such as Black Is The Colour, Old Man River, Blue River and Long Black Veil. Lead Me To the Water. Carter’s inspiration for this current album was the songbooks of the Country music legends Merle Haggard, Ray Price and Townes Van Zandt, whose work he immersed himself. 

Between the recordings of each album Carter produced recordings by Argentinian Bernardo Palombo and French artist Leopold.

Carter, who received degrees in Religion and Philosophy at Indiana University most certainly has an open mind in respect of his musical influences. Together with his research of the great American songbook for his previous album he also cites Syd Barrett, The Circle Jerks, Husker Vu and The Smiths as artists that were very much on his radar. As a result the listener won’t make an immediate connection individually with the music of Haggard, Price or Van Zandt on first spin of the album though further plays expose their influences.

The title track and open track draws the listener straight away thanks in no small measure to some dreamy pedal steel playing by Gerald Menke. The Well, which follows, is a fuller and rockier affair with a killer guitar riff and backing vocals compliments of Sasha Dobson who plays regularly with Nora Jones. Not Your Friend and Where Did You Go have a mid-70’s West Coast Jackson Browne feel, You And Me recalls the sound of Josh Rouse. Burning Doves bookends the album very much in a similar style that the title track opened it, a gentle country rock sound aided once more by Menke’s lovely pedal steel.

The album was produced by Carter and Bill Finizio with all songs written by Carter with the exception of You and Me co-written with Finizio and Where Did You Go which was written with Tim Curtis–Verderosa. It credits thirteen musicians other than Carter and Finizio and is most certainly the work of an artist that has the talent and achieves a sound that could make a major industry breakthrough.

Erika Kulnys Rise Up Self Release

The possessor of a quite extraordinary voice, Rise Up, the seventh studio album by Kulnys, finds the Nova Scotia resident in fine form reflecting on matters worldly as well as closer to home.

The album’s twelve tracks, all penned by Kulnys, are both personal ( Love Me In The Morning, Carolina, Love’s Not Wasted) and political (Rise Up, Roaring For A Revolution), the common bond being the quality of the story telling and that heart stirring  vocal that dips and soars effortlessly throughout.

The aforementioned Roaring For A Revolution, the cream of the crop, bears a healthy relation to Anais Mitchell in style and indeed delivery. Kulnys powerful and soaring vocal is the winner here without doubt, bringing the poignant lyrics and melody to life.

The title track speaks for the repressed and downtrodden "Rise up, Now is the hour Rise up, Take back your power, Rise up, We will not wait, We rise up today."

Equally comfortable singing the blues on I’m On Fire or folk ballads such as Angel On The Road and Honeysuckle the album as a whole reinforces the versatility and rounded talent of an artist well worth checking out. 

Callie Hopper Out of the Shadows Callie Hopper Music 

This is the second album release by the 20-year-old Nashville resident Callie Hopper. As the title would suggest the album features open hearted material  and is a large step forward from her debut album Notes On Love And Such,  which she recorded as a sixteen-year-old. It also reveals the song writing talent of a young lady mature well beyond her years. The material is credited as co-written with producer Ryan Speakman and Chad Alexander, with the exception of Stay which is credited to Hopper alone.

The music in general is quite mainstream, possibly closer to the pop end of the market rather than that wide umbrella we classify as Americana and it’s probably the correct market for her to target. 

Created over a two-year period it is commendable that much of the album was primarily written when Hopper was a teenager and it’s understandable that many of the songs deal with relationships and vulnerability (Stay, So Much, Hold On, This Songs Not For You).

The title and opening track, however, is a wonderful coming of age song with the writer prepared to bare her soul while agonising over how her stories and honesty might be perceived. "If I open up my heart to you, if I show you what’s inside, will you listen to my words, will you feel what I wrote."

Notwithstanding Hoppers ability to pen strong material she also possesses a delightful voice and engaged a strong band of musicians to bring the songs to life including co-writers Alexander on guitars and piano and Speakman on drums percussion and organ. Chad Alexander also shares vocals on Fire and Ice.

Possessing the song writing ability, a gorgeous vocal ability and style, Hopper is more than than well situated to enjoy a successful career and is in the right place both musically and geographically to be noticed and nurtured.  Whether her journey continues down a mainstream route or takes a slight diversion in a more countrified direction will be interesting.

One to watch without doubt.

Jemima James At Longview Farm/When You Get Old Team Love Records

An extraordinary project and album in many ways.  Jemima James, now 65 years old, wrote At Longview Farm in 1979 and it has taken 38 years for it to see the light of day, being finally released by Team Love Records. But the story does not end there as the album has been released as a double which also features When You Get Old ( 65’s not old anymore Jemima!), her recent 2015 recording. James’s life story is intriguing, having dropped out of art school in the early 70’s, she relocated to New York and was employed by Famous Music as a songwriter. The great grandchild of the most famous American  philosopher William James (brother of the author Henry James),  her career  has seen her employed as a writer, performer, cook, pre-school teacher and carer. Her early life also found her working for three years at Long View Farm, cleaning, cooking, milking cows and also serving food to a range of artists including J.Geils Band, Tim Curry, Arlo Guthrie and The Rolling Stones.

She and Michael Mason are also parents to Willy and Sam Mason, both accomplished artists in their own right, both understandably feature on When You Get Old.

What makes the intriguing story complete is  the quality of both albums. Notwithstanding the musical excellence, the packaging, liner notes and photography are delightful. The cover on the earlier album features James with the classic 70’s singer looks, wild hair and sweet impish smile. When You Get Old depicts James in more recent times, still in possession of the impish smile!

It was during her three year stay at Long View Farm that she recorded At Longview Farm. Two tracks in on my first listen had me reaching for the liner notes in full expectation that the track Havana Cigar is a Townes Van Zandt song that had somehow escaped me over the years. The standout track on the album, It is in fact written by James, as are all the other tracks on the album and is of a standard that compares with Van Zandt’s finest. Not trailing far behind in the quality stakes are One More Rodeo, Jackson County and Esperate. The album is most definitely of its time, folk music soaked in country, assured playing throughout and delivered beautifully by James. The work of Linda Ronstadt and Guy Clark come to mind.

When You Get Old was recorded at Old Soul Studio in Catskill, New York in October 2015 and unlike her earlier album includes four well selected cover versions, If I Could Only Fly by Blaze Foley, Tennessee Blues by Bobby Charles, Gillian Welch’s One and Only and If It’s The End written by her son Willy Mason. She also revisits the earlier album with versions of Sensible Shoes and Easy Come Easy Go featuring in the thirteen tracks. The vocals remain as sweet and disciplined as her earlier album with the playing equally accomplished.

Listening to At Longview Farm one has to wonder how many quality recordings are packed away in attics, garages and recording studios that for a variety of reasons never found their way on to the record store shelves and a subtle reminder of the thin line between commercial success and oblivion. 

Various Artists Five Years of Country to Country C2C (2013-2017) Hump Head Records

The Country to Country Festival was first staged in 2013, bringing a wide range of artists annually to London, Glasgow and Dublin. It takes place over a weekend and includes acts that represent traditional country, modern country, crossover pop country, bluegrass and rock music.

In celebration of the continuing success of the festival Hump Head Records have released this double album featuring many of the acts that have appeared at the various venues over the past five years.

Impressively packaged and including a glossy forty-page booklet, the album features forty tracks in total across quite a wide musical range catering for all tastes. Full on rockers Brantley Gilbert (One Hell Of An Amen) and Eric Church (Springsteen) sit side by side with more classic country honky tonkers Dwight Yoakam (Take Hold Of My Hand) and Marty Stuart (Time Don’t Wait). Legendary Nashville household names Reba Mc Entire (Consider Me Gone) and Lee Ann Womack (Last Call) are complimented by their neighbours and a new generation of female singer songwriters in Ashley Monroe (If The Devil Don’t Want Me) and Brandy Clark (Girl Next Door). UK duo’s The Shires (State Lines) and Ward Thomas (Guilty Flowers) represent acts closer to home that have benefitted greatly by the exposure they have been given by appearing at the festival. Multi award winner Chris Stapleton (Tennessee Whiskey) introduces a slice of country blues in to the mix. More modern country is featured with the inclusion of Brad Paisley (The Mona Lisa) and Jennifer Nettles (That Girl). Female singer songwriter Miranda Lambert (Little Wagon), with the capability to excel in all the foregoing strands of country music is also represented.

 The purists may argue that the material is not entirely representative of country music in the true sense (which it does not claim to do, in fairness), but without doubt one of achievements of C2C has been to introduce a younger UK and Irish age group in considerable numbers to country music, both recorded and live, as well as the ‘older grey hairs’ who would traditionally be considered the target audience. 

It’s inevitable that not all tracks on the album will be to everyone’s liking. However, it does present what the music industry considers to represent country music today and with the depth of artists featured should include music to suit most country listeners taste.

Michael Howard Gasoline Dream Self Release

Alaskan born and reared Michael Howard, similar to so many other singer songwriters, had an early career playing punk music prior to settling back in to a career as a folk singer songwriter. Maybe the remoteness of residing in the rural setting of the Last Frontier with its long dark winters made a mark in terms of self-survival as Gasoline Dreams, though primarily folk and some protest songs, also retains the DIY dimension with a number of the tracks being recorded entirely live by Howard. The album was recorded at Tiny Telephone Studios in San Francisco with production and engineering duties carried out by Jacob Winik (Magnetic Fields, Samantha Crain).

In the main it is very much a stripped to the bone affair with the emphasis most definably on the written word and the stories within. Vocal and acoustic guitar dominate  with minimal additional instrumentation courtesy of Kevin Worrell on bass and keys, Andrew Maguire adds percussion.

The songs are heartfelt and personal, written and delivered by an artist with an obvious deep social conscious and a passion for storytelling. With Howard’s distinctive almost spoken vocal the album  may take a few listens to grab you but songs such as opener Meet Me at the Front Line, Hog Butcher Hog Butcher and  the title and closing track are representative of an album that is a Sunday morning rather than a Saturday night listen.

Reviews by Stephen Rapid

Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives Way Out West Superlatone/Humphead

The latest album from this collective is further example of the quartet’s prowess in bringing some hardcore country music to the masses. For Marty, this is a life-long commitment. Way Out West, as the title indicates, is loosely themed with tales of a temporal nature together with the various  temptations and travels in the American West. The album opens with the ambient Desert Prayer (Part 1) which features the voice and drum of Lakota native Everette Helper. That sets the mood for the band instrumental Mojave, one of several on the album. Buddy Mize and Dallas Frazier co-write Lost On The Desert which follows, a simple tale of being adrift in the sun-drenched heat with devilish distractions. It was originally recorded by Johnny Cash and a song that Stuaret remembered when this project was in production. The title track follows. It is a slow paced cautionary tale of a pharmaceutical enhanced entrance into some of the wide-open spaces, in every sense. It is also the story of Big Bill Chisum and a Johnny Cash prison concert.

The Fabulous Superlatives on this occasion welcome bassist and steel guitar player Chris Scruggs to their midst although the former holder of that role Paul Martin, who adds bass and harmony vocals to a couple of songs. Otherwise Stuart is accompanied by his usual top notch team of Kenny Vaughn on guitar and Harry Stinson on drums and vocals. Another factor in the success of the album is producer (and Heartbreaker) Mike Campbell who brings, at times, a broader palate to the sound that not only has elements of his regular musical employment but also of that time in the early 90s when elements of British beat blended neatly with some Bakersfield twang. This is perhaps best exemplified by Whole Lotta Highway (With A Million Miles To Go) a Stuart-penned song of the trucker’s life. Campbell is also a player, adding guitar to the arrangement.

The instrumentals include El Fantasma Del Toro, Quicksand and Torpedo. All are effective in adding to the flavour of the album’s theme and sit as bullet points between the vocal led songs. Air Mail Special is given an up-tempo electric guitar picking workout from Stuart and Vaughn. It is a song written by Charlie Christian, Benny Goodman and James B. Mundy which was later something of a bluegrass standard. Here it is given a vibrant country music makeover that shows the versatility of both the song and the band. On Please Don’t Say Goodbye they use a string arrangement by Kirstin Wilkinson that sees the string quartet playing a role that might otherwise have been taken by pedal steel. It adds much to the songs’ overall mood of hoping against hope. The second version of Desert Prayer is a brief atmospheric unaccompanied vocal choral that leads into Wait For The Morning, a song that is imbued with hope and promise. The album closes with a reprise of the title song where the string quartet is again used to add a filmic quality. 

In the end a thoroughly satisfying and varied album from a band that lives up to its name. It is one of Stuart’s best and certainly a direction we don’t hear too often in these days of rap, rock and EDM influenced pop country we hear so much today. Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives can take a bow for, again, pointing the music in the right direction and doing so in style.

Will T. Massey 30 Years In The Rearview Route 61

A Texas-born roots artist who released his first album proper back in 1991 on MCA. It had offered the world a new talent and was co-produced by Roy Bittan but failed to gain commercial success. Previously he had self-released a cassette albums. Following a period of illness, he got back on track and has subsequently released several albums of which this compilation is an overview of later releases with three tracks taken from the pre-MCA period.

It opens with A Summertime Graveyard recorded in 2016 and which features Massey’s voice and piano accompaniment. It is a good introduction to the slightly world weary but engaging voice and to a credible songwriter. The original version was on the MCA debut as was You Take The Town. The following three tracks were produced by Lloyd Maines and have a loose, relaxed feel that features some fine playing and memorable songs in Mr Johnson’s Store and Long Distance Love. The latter a country ballad sung with Tish Hinojosa.

From Letters In The Wind, an album produced by Stephen Foster, come three tracks including the title track.  Massey has some notable players on the recordings including Will and Charlie Sexton, Bukka Allen and Lloyd Maines. Peace Train is a soft focused plea for hope.

Wayward Lady was released in 2008 and features two tracks here. Massey produced it himself and Rosie Flores, Mike Meadows and Marvin Dynkuis are among the players. The sound is a gentler and more folkish.

The songs from 2016’s The Weathering include Meadows and Maines and finds Massey coming to terms with the cards that life has dealt him. He is a storyteller in the tradition of many of the notables from Texas through the years.

In the Wind is just Massey and Maines on a demo from The Weathering sessions and has a world weariness that is perfectly underlined by the guitar and pedal steel behind his cracked voice. The final three tracks are taken from the cassettes he released in 1987 and 1988. They featured friends from school and fellow local musicians. They are noticeably a little more lo-fi than the preceeding tracks and show his country roots and his obvious potential. They round out a career overview that has not been an easy one in terms of recognition or reward. But one that has produced some songs that deserve to be out in the open. Will T. Massey’s music has drawn from his own life and from that of others and produced a body of work that he can turn to as a testament to the positivity of music.

Matt Hannah Dreamland Gamine

Influenced by the likes of Steve Earle, Townes van Zandt and Lucinda Williams, Hannah has just released his second album. While there are elements of the aforementioned artists (as well as others) it should be judged on its own merits. This Minneapolis based singer/songwriter has his band around him as he dispenses his folk/roots music with a solid, satisfying demeanour. All the songs are written by Hannah and are supported by the players who use bass, drums, guitar, keyboards and pedal steel. Matt Patrick who plays guitar and keyboards on the album also produced with a warm and generous sound. His overall ethos may be summed up by the lines from Banks Of The Mississippi: “We came here from New York City, worn out feeling bad, these were some of the worst years, and the best I ever had.” His reflections cover the good and the bad.

Many of the songs are taken at a slower pace but on occasion they kick the beat up and are driven with a harder energy on such songs as Set Free and Gone. There is an overall feeling to the album that sits well together as a set of songs that move with ease around each other. The assembled players all get behind the mood of each lyric to highlight its essence. Often understated the music retains the essential nature of guitar and voice yet adds much to the overall presence in a way that is effective and enjoyable. Hannah songs are melodic and memorable and Dreamland highlights a talent that, in his own space and time, may be under recognised but is never-the-less worthy of greater attention.

Bill Scorzari Through These Waves Self Release

A voice for the ages that has been left to rust and crack in all the right places. One of those voices that is full of resonance and raspy righteousness, if not of great range; so more Kristofferson than Caruso then. Yet it is a voice utterly perfect here. Scorzari’s songs are often about seeking a kindred soul and in that finding solace. There is a poetic grace that makes them worth listening to and reading. In Holy Man, he writes “I questioned the wrong, I questioned the right … I got no answers to my questions, why?” Despite this, Scorzari songs look towards the light and navigate the waves that are sent his way.

This is an album full of atmosphere and allocation. Scorzari has, with producer Jonah Tolchin, assembled a select crew of seasoned players who bring much to the recording without ever taking centre stage away from the song itself. To name a few of those involved may be a disservice but those who will be familiar to many include Joachim Cooder, Will Kimbrough, Chris Scruggs, Laur Joamets, Eamon McLoughlin and Kim Richey. Alongside Scorzari and Tolchin there are 14 players listed in the credits. All bring something important to the process and make an album that has depth and diversity.

There are 12 songs here, all recorded in a thirteen-day period, in the Bomb Shelter studio in Nashville. They were written over a period of a few years but represent a writer who is crafting songs worthy of exploration both lyrically and in musical terms. There have been comparisons to Sam Baker and that is understandable yet Scorzari is as unique in his telling of tales. There is a sense of profoundness in the way these songs unfold in a compelling and truthful way. Scorzari has made previous albums but this release finds him at the top of his game. However, there is also the sense that there is more to come and that Through These Waves finds him discovering his sense of purpose and need.

Miss Tess Baby, We All Know Rights

A feisty singer and accomplished songwriter who performs original songs that straddle various aspects of Americana. A Maryland native now located in Nashville she and her band The Talkbacks have built up a strong reputation for their live shows. In the studio, she has with co-producers Dan Knobler and Thomas Bryan Eaton put together a selection of players to bring these songs to life. Utilising keyboards, guitar, fiddle, pedal steel, upright bass and drums, as required to suit the needs of the individual songs, she has made the best album of her career to date.

Miss Tess possess a sultry and silver-tongued voice that swings and sashays across these country, blues, jazzy and rockabilly sounds. As timeless as a well-stocked jukebox but equally contemporary in outlook. There seems nothing contrived about her love for these classic forms that she uses as the basis for her fiery songs. The eleven songs are all written or co-written by Tess and include the sax savaged I Can’t Help Myself that should have graced a 50s-teenage rampage movie. Equally invigorating and upfront is Shotgun Wedding with its pointed urgency and unequivocal message. However, as Do You Want My Love proves, she can be subtle and sensual as much as she can enliven and energise.

Throughout, the players get in some telling licks that both highlight their individual skills as well as giving the songs that added zest. Miss Tess is part of a wave of women who are exploring roots music but doing so under their own terms and in their own way. Baby, We All Know lets you know that Miss Tess understands and delivers on a promise of an authentic take on a musical heritage that lives and breathes and continues to get people up on their feet as well as listening. There’s not a track here that feels out of place and that shows that Miss Tess loves what she does. You should too.

Manitoba Hal Live In Ghent Hal’s Kitchen

Some may feel that a double CD of 24 tracks recorded live and featuring just voice and guitar might be a little too much. However, be that as it may, and it largely depends on just how much you enjoy the big voice of Manitoba Hal and his acoustic guitar (or ukulele) skills. Hal Brolund (for it is he) has numerous other albums to his credit prior to this live set. He has a baritone voice that is totally suited to these songs that range from classic blues songs by names like Robert Johnson, Bukka White and Mississippi John Hurt or later exponents like Bo Diddley, to the theme of the Wire; Way Down In The Hole and the closing show version of B.B. King’s The Thrill Is Gone.

The authors of the songs are uncredited but there are a mix of classics and originals. There’s Baby Please Don’t Go, St. James Infirmary, Ain’t No Grave and Evangeline Blues, sitting alongside more humourous outings like Taste Likes Chicken. There are songs like Turn Out The Lights which he dedicates to all those in love in the audience. All highlight Brolund’s big personality and obvious love of performing live. He also has the chops to entertain and hold the audience and tells some tales between songs that are all part of the show and who he is.

Some of the songs run over the five-minute length and are best exemplified by a strong version of the music voodoo of Ellas McDaniel’s Who Do You Love. Over the course of the evening Manitoba Hal entertains this live audience and while it’s an obvious souvenir for anyone who attended the event it stands up well as an example of his skill and talent in its own right. For lovers of the blues (and more) by a man who himself loves the blues.

Reviews By Paul McGee

Chris Murphy The Tinker’s Dream Teahouse

What do you get when you mix some Reels, a few Jigs, a couple of traditional airs and a waltz? Well, you get a damn fine example of what is commonly called World Music or indeed, Roots Music. The strong well of Irish traditional themes is a central influence throughout, but the array of instruments used outside of this strict idiom makes for a collection that celebrates all types of indigenous, native music.

From the giddy opening of Connemara Ponies, which comes bursting out of the speakers, to the more reflective Union of the Seven Brothers; the 12 tracks included here spin off in different directions like a flock of birds looking for the open sky.  Guitars mix with mandolin & fiddle; bodhran & Bass duel with uilleann pipes & accordion, while flutes, whistles and violin vie with piano and violin to make a joyous sound and lift the spirits ever higher.

The celebratory nature of this music is perfectly captured in the production and arrangements. recorded in Los Angeles and produced by Chris Murphy and Joshua Cutsinger, the sound is very liquid in feel and reflects the wealth of experience gained over the years by Chris in absorbing the eclectic sounds of all kinds of traditional music.

It is impossible to keep still when this music is playing and it is the perfect party CD. Wicklow is a great dance tune as is Cape Horn with the guitar, fiddle and whistle interplay. Small Wonder has a refrain that stays with you, while Thistlewood Bridge will have you skipping around the floor.

Throughout, the dextrous playing of Chris Murphy is a delight and the overall sense of fun and living for the moment makes this an essential purchase for lovers of all things traditional.

My Politic Anchor Self Release

Well now, this is impressive. Sounds like everything that new Country music should embrace; a lot of the old with a healthy sprinkling of the new.

My Politic is an indie/americana trio hailing from Nashville, Tennessee. Originally formed in 2007, this troupe deliver a nine-song set of laid-back, melodic songs that just keep getting better on repeated plays.

Tight harmonies, interesting lyrics and a musical identity that brings to mind the best of Americana/Roots musical artists, I have no doubt that this release will be figuring in my favourites of the year.

Nick Pankey and Kaston Guffey recorded their first album in 2008 and over the next five years they released a further four albums. A move to Nashville in 2013 led to meeting their newest member Wilson Conroy, who has added further colours to their sound.

This is the sixth album and the song-writing is of the highest order with reflective musings on the human condition (God Vs Evolution), youthful hope (Before It’s Too Late), Love in all its complex forms (Ways of Love and Heartless), drug addiction (Nobody to Blame), marital breakdown (The Truth), temptation and human failings (Ain’t No Saint) and the need for a solid base in life (Anchor). This is highly recommended.

Little Diamonds New Orleans Bound Self Release

Luks LeBlanc has a classic country delivery and his vocal is reminiscent of a young Bob Dylan meets Randy Travis. The 12 tracks on this CD are well produced and recorded with plenty of variety in the arrangements. According to media research, Little Diamonds is a combination of Cajun, folk, Americana, Appalachian rockabilly, gospel, and Dixie-land, however to my ears it is simply acoustic folk.

LeBlanc is a self-taught musician, who plays multiple instruments and has just released this second album. On the cover, he is seen hitching towards New Orleans and on the inside, he is pictured in a bar with some bikini-girls in a cosy huddle – hardly the image of ‘having arrived’; or perhaps his sights are just set very low…?

In any event, the music is very good, despite the off-putting album sleeve. The easy song arrangements feature LeBlanc on guitar, piano, harmonica & and banjo. He is joined by lap steel, saxophone, violin, drums and bass on various tracks and he is definitely a talent to watch over the coming years.

Too Early Gone and Duluth Grandma are fine examples of the song-writing talent on display and Drive Away highlights his easy guitar proficiency and style. Understated and peppered with simple sentiment; a song collection that will bring rewards to those who like music that quietly grows on the senses.

Runaway Horse Beautiful Blue Self Release      

This EP of 5 songs marks the debut of Mari Tirsa and her band, Runaway Horse. Daniel Barrett produces and also plays guitar, bass, percussion and backing vocals. Rick Richards plays drums.

Holy Water speaks about not giving up and standing on your own ground, on your own terms. The Well is a reminder that the reserves we have can always be called upon, whatever the adversity faced. Once reflects on the spiritual journey that results in the realisation that ‘everything is in me’. Beautiful Blue is soothing and Arrive considers whether we have already been given all the gifts that we need for a fulfilled existence.

A fine collection of songs that are light in touch and gentle on the mind as we seek to find the personal treasure within.

Backtrack Blues Band Way Back Home Harpo 

The Backtrack Blues Band hails from the Tampa Bay region of Florida and has been performing original blues music since 1980. They have performed with many blues legends over their career and this album was selected as one of the world's top 50 blues albums for 2016.

Think early Chicago blues and you have a good idea of what is on offer with Sonny Charles on harmonica and vocals, Kid Royal on lead guitar and vocals, Little Johnny Walter on rhythm guitar, Joe Bencomo on drums, and Stick Davis on bass.

If Paul Butterfield got together with Fabulous Thunderbirds, then you have some idea of the musical storm created here. It is heady stuff with impressive performances throughout. It may not be the country blues of the original rural folks who created the genre but it certainly swings with a New Orleans vibe on Shoot My Rooster and some mean and dirty licks on Your Funeral, My Trial by Sonny Boy Williamson - great song title and the title of a Nick Cave album.

There really isn’t a weak track on this collection of 10 stellar workouts and there is no doubt that this is a band to see live and just boogie the night away. Sonny Charles writes 6 of the songs here and the cover of Baby Please Don’t Go, is a real treat.

Proceedings are brought to a close with Help Me Just This Time, which really sums up this band who are more than a sum of its’ parts with all members playing with a loose abandon that just rocks the blues.

Jude Johnstone A Woman’s Work BoJak

What a consummate artist this lady is…

Across a career littered with plaudits for her song-writing talents and her regular supply of hit songs for other artists, her body of work has gone largely unnoticed by the general listening public. Perhaps this will be the release to push that tipping point?

Never Leave Amsterdam reflects on a love affair abroad that cannot survive the need to return to a child at home. The title song, with sublime cello and piano, speaks of the price of love and the embers of a failed relationship. People Holding Hands could be a Randy Newman classic with a diatribe from the protagonist against the fuzzy logic of love’s desire, complete with jazz-tinged trumpet. The Woman Before Me is a song that served Trisha Yearwood very well some years back and Jude sings it with an understated sadness that really brings out the true meaning of the lyric.

Little Boy Blue is just a gorgeous example of the talent on display here; a song that touches on the need in all of us to find comfort in the wake of personal vulnerability in a relationship. What Do I Do Now speaks of the vulnerability we all expose ourselves to in trying to be honest in our search for happiness. Road To Rathfriland is a song that reflects on love lost and the need to endure. I’ll Cry Tomorrow is a song about a fractured relationship that points to a new tomorrow and Turn Me Into Water is a Gospel/Soul lament for a resigned feeling of lost trust. The album ends with Before You, which is a beautiful affirmation of love in all its’ ragged glory.

This lady is one of the great songwriters and is deserving of every attention that can be directed to her door. A must buy for any record collection.

Reviews by Declan Culliton

Tom Baxendale In The City a Short Time Ago Backwater

Tom Baxendale is a Sheffield based singer songwriter, former front man of UK Americana band Rainy Day Club and lead guitarist with The Payroll Union. In The City a Short Time Ago is his debut solo album and it is a solo effort in every sense of the word with all the material written, performed and produced by him and recorded in his home studio.

Before even playing the album you get a sense of what’s to come with the dark, blurry album artwork and song titles such as All My Nightmares, Leave Me Be, Better Than You and Red Rag. Whether a reflection of Bexendale’s state of mind at the time or the artist creating and capturing a particular atmosphere, it’s fair to say that the album succeeds. Probably best described as psychedelic folk, comparisons to both Kurt Vile and Vic Chestnut come to mind, though Baxendale vocals are strained at times.

Opening with the lively All My Nightmares and closing with the wistful and introspective Every Dream the mood on the album swings from the somewhat countrified Honey and the reflective and positive An Old Hand to the driving Stranglers-like vibe of Straight Face.

In The City a Short Time Ago is a body of work that does take a few listens to penetrate but is well worth the time invested. Wonderfully atmospheric, achingly painful at times and the work of a very talented young song writer.

Riddle & The Stars New Coastline Self Release

Riddle & The Stars are a three piece band made up of Australian Ben Riddle and Californians Bobbo and Tracy Byrnes. Whereas their debut album This Is Happening was recorded in California during a three week visit by Riddle, New Coastline, the bands second album, was created by way of Skype communications between Australia and America and songs being exchanged and developed over the internet.

Nine of the ten tracks included on the album were collectively written by them with John Prine’s Mexican Home also featuring. Their sound is quite laid back Americana probably best described as landing somewhere between The Jayhawks and Crowded House. Particularly impressive are the vocal harmonies throughout with all three contributing. 

Standout tracks are the catchy opener Running Back To You, the country tinged When We Ride with Tracy Byrnes taking the lead vocal and the closing track When The Weight is Gone.

Eliza Mary Doyle It Ain’t What It Seems Self Release

Eliza Mary Doyle is a distinguished banjo player and vocalist from Saskatchewan whose fifteen-year career to date has seen her work with a variety of acts as a professional session player together with sharing the stage as a member of bands such as Swift Current and The Cracker Cats.

It Ain’t What It Seems features eleven tracks in total, ten penned by Doyle together with Anne Louise Genest’s Wish I Felt This Good Without The Whisky.

Doyle has recounted  how an extended stay in Nashville, following her car giving up on her, led to playing local bars and encountering various musicians in the Music City and was a motivator in the release of the album. 

Abandoning much of the good time feel of her previous work It Ain’t What It Seems has a more reflective and personal theme to it with the writer visiting dark places suggesting regret and world weariness in equal quantities, topics often to be found in traditional bluegrass. 

The album certainly succeeds in achieving an old time ageless feel with Doyle’s fragile vocal and banjo picking the winners. Opener Nothing to Lose kicks the album off in fine style, Doyle’s picking complimented by searing pedal steel. Say Darlin’ Say is achingly stripped back to the bare bone featuring only vocal, banjo and harmony. Wish I Felt This Good Without The Whisky is the most upbeat offering fleshed out by some slick fiddle playing alongside Doyle’s standout banjo playing.

Accompanying Doyle’s banjo, acoustic guitar and dobro on the album are Paula Mc Guigan on upright bass, Lucas Geotz on pedal steel and drums, Liza Holder on acoustic guitar and Dustin Olmsted on electric and acoustic guitar.

Deni Bonet Bright Shiny Object Zip 

NYC resident Deni Bonet is a classically trained violinist with a CV that any artist would be proud of having performed over the years with household names such as R.E.M., Warren Zevon, Cyndi Lauper and Sarah Mc Lachlan. She has also toured in her own right  in support of Patti Smith, The Tubes, Marshall Crenshaw and Robyn Hitchcock.

A singer songwriter as well as a violin virtuoso, she originally performed as a member of the NPR radio show Mountain Stage before moving on to pursue her solo career.

Bright Shiny Objects is a brave departure from her previous albums with Bonet favouring an all instrumental recording unlike her earlier career work. Being a sucker for electric violin I was immediately struck by both the sheer power, atmosphere and indeed stunning instrumentation created over the thirteen tracks on the album.  A few tracks into the album and I was reminded of artists such as Eddie Jobson in full flow in his Roxy Music days, Steve Wickham with his Waterboys hat on and more recently Lillie Mae’s appearances with Jack White.

Difficult to categorise without doubt but none the less effective for all that, the listener is treated to the uplifting and stormy Red Dog, the delightfully dreamy Magic Wand, which lives up to its title and the jazzy Nuages which conjures up scenes of sunny Parisian afternoons, martinis and untipped Gitanes. The aptly named BBC2 could have been plucked from The Old Grey Whistle Test archives on the same TV channel in the mid 70’s. 

Its thirteen tracks (eleven co-writes together with the cover songs Edgar Winters' Frankenstein and Nuages written by Django Reinhardt) effortlessly swing from rock to  folk, power pop and jazz capturing the imagination and drawing you in from the opening track Light This Candle to the extent that the absence of vocals goes unnoticed and in many ways is welcomed.

Produced by Paul Bevan (John Wesley Harding, The Soft Boys, Morheeba, Hardcore Nation) Bright Shiny Objects is refreshing, melodic, timeless and highly recommended indeed.

Courtney Chambers Tales of The Aftermath Royal Daughter 

With understandable comparisons to Stevie Nicks Tales of The Aftermath is the Californian’s latest release eight years after her last album Bigger and Brighter. She founded her own independent record label, Royal Daughter, in 2001 and Tales Of The Aftermath is her fourth album appearing on the label. Together with her work as a singer, songwriter and guitarist she is also a member of the Heart tribute band Dog 'N' Butterfly and is guitarist and backing vocalist in country band Jasmine Fields.

Despite the comparison with Stevie Nicks, possibly suggesting an AOR recording, Chambers is not afraid to leave her comfort zone with  both the opening track Fool In Me and Young Lovers being delivered vocally with classic  phrasing and discipline more akin to Amy Winehouse. Love And Music is instantly catchy with a thumping bass line, very radio friendly and the beautiful ballad Heart of This Man recalls Tori Amos at her most melodic. The Bitter End rocks out with a divine driving drum and rhythm guitar beat up front and the album closes with the stripped back ballad Winter.

Produced (wonderfully it has to be said) and mixed by Sean Hoffman (American Music Club, Bedroom Walls), vocals and lead guitar are handled by Chambers with guitars, keys, bass and percussion performed by Hoffman. The line-up is completed by drummers Joey Galvan and George Sluppick

Caroline Reese & The Drifting Fifth Tenderfoot Self Release

Tenderfoot is the debut album by Caroline Reese and The Drifting Fifth and follows two solo releases Indian River (2010) and Slow Code (2013) by the young Pennsylvanian singer-songwriter and musician. Recorded at The Headroom Philadelphia, the album is produced by Reese and her guitarist Mark Watter and was mixed by Matt Poirier at Miner Street Recordings in Philadelphia, the studio chosen in recent years for recordings by accomplished alternative artists including Sharon Van Etten, Kurt Vile, The War on Drugs, Strand of Oaks, Marissa Nadler and Joan Osborne. 

Formed in 2013, Reese and Drifting Fifth have supported Grammy Winner Chris Stapleton and Brandy Carlile on tour and Reese in her solo career has opened for John Hiatt, Cord Lund, The Secret Sisters and Ray Wylie Hubbard. Tenderfoot features Reese on vocals, rhythm guitar, banjo and keyboards. Mark Watter plays guitars, Karl Germanovick plays bass and John Macko adds drums.

Comparisons could be made with Lydia Loveless’s latest offering Real, closer to alt-rock than alt-country, a direction which quite a number of artists including Lera Lynn, Elizabeth Cook and Hurrah For The Riff Raff appear to be heading.

It kicks off and is bookended by two laid back acoustic songs, the opener Unlocked featuring vocal, acoustic guitar and harmonica and the final track I Can’t Love You. However, much of the album is more up-tempo including Airshow of which Reese says "the lyrics were inspired by a World War 11 re-enactment that takes place in my hometown each year and a Rainer Maria Rilke quote that I heard songwriter Ray Wylie Hubbard quote to his audience." New Tricks and the first single to be released from the album Snake Eyes maintain a similar driving pace. Angel Fire is stripped back with Reese on banjo and acoustic guitar combined with an aching vocal delivery. Beast, co-written with Watter, is possibly the stand out track, beginning with a great twangy melody but changing direction mid-stream to a more grungy finale compliments of some super fuzzy guitar work.

The eleven tracks most certainly showcase Reese’s crafty song writing ability, mixing honesty, helplessness and an attempt to understand and accept the unpredictability of relationships. It’s a fine offering that hopefully won’t be ignored, well worth checking out

Glenn Alexander Glenn Alexander & Shadowland Rainbow’s Revenge

Composer, guitarist, saxophonist and singer Glenn Alexander has been recording since the mid 80’s and has enjoyed a career that found the Kansas resident  performing or recording with Bruce Springsteen, Levon Helm, Elvis Costello, Southside Johnny & The Asbury Dukes and Tom Scott to name a few. 

Born in small town Maize Kansas to humble beginnings, Alexander was the first member of his family to graduate or indeed attend college. He earned the first ever guitar scholarship offered by Wichita State College and within three years had received a BA and as a result of his mentor taking a sabbatical, was promoted to the role of full time professor, managing the guitar department and tutoring thirty guitar majors. A relocation to New York with aspirations of making the big time followed, as did the subsequent  abject poverty as the stardom did not quite materialise. A teaching career in New York proceeded together with touring as a band member with various artists, solo performances and recording whether as a session player, collaborating or indeed his own projects. The one consistent feature is the exceptional guitar playing whether it be jazz, blues or soul orientated.

Shadowland is a project that features Alexander on guitar and vocals with a stunning backing band of Oria (backing vocals), Greg Novick (bass), Tom Seguso (drums) and a horn section of Chris Anderson, John Isley and Neal Pawley. Shadowland is in fact the name of a roadhouse in Wichita Kansas that claims to have staged the first electric guitar appearance in 1932.

The result is a blues drenched soul album, driven by Alexanders stunning guitar work and raspy vocals with blazing horns, thumping bass and drums a plenty.

Come Back Baby and Blues For You and Me could be lifted from the Van Morrison songbook and though Alexander rocks out The Odds Are Good the benchmark is most definitely Van the Man and Southside Johnny and The Asbury Dukes (Southside Johnny in fact contributes blue harp on Get A Life). 

All in all a rousing and upbeat blues drenched package, I expect they would de spectacular in a live setting!

Doghouse Roses Lost Is Not Losing Yellowroom 

Doghouse Roses are Glasgow duo Paul Tasker and Iona Mac Donald. Lost Is Not Losing is their third release and recalls the UK folk sound of the 60’s with Mac Donald’s haunting vocal and Tasker’s accomplished guitar playing drawing obvious comparisons to the work of artists such as Sandy Denny and Bert Jansch. 

The eleven tracks on the album include four written by Mac Donald, six by Tasker and one co-write by Tasker and Sara Reith. Recorded at La Chunky Towers Glasgow, the album does indeed bring to mind the work of Denny and Jansch but could also be compared, particularly in the song writing, with the work of our own Mary Coughlan. 

The opening track Pour sets the tone for what is to follow in the main with Mac Donald’s honeyed vocal telling the tale of love gone wrong and over indulgence on the bottle. Feed The Monster follows a similar path and is one of a number of politically motivated songs on the album. Similarly Weather The Storm, though more up-tempo in delivery, follows a similar ethical theme with a plea and for an inclusive and caring society. Fairground tells the story of an ageing prostitute and the album closes on a high note with Days of Grass And Sun, possibly the strongest track on the album, bright, breezy and summery. The album was mixed and mastered by Slovenian Dejan Lapanja who also contributes lead guitar on Diesel Engine.

With the combination of Mac Donald’s gifted vocals, flawless guitar work by Tasker and a collection of well-structured songs Lost Is Not Losing is well worth checking out.

Reviews By Stephen Rapid

Jim Lauderdale This Changes Everything Sky Crunch

Not noted for lengthy periods between releases Jim Lauderdale is nothing if not prolific. As an independent artist, he can release records when he wants to. This has on occasion led to the comment that a tighter rein on the output may make for a stronger album. However, This Changes Everything dispels that theory to a large degree. Rather it is the context that Lauderdale places his songs that make them more appealing to some sections than to others. Which is why those who favour his more overtly traditional country outings have taken to this Texas recorded album.

Produced by Tommy Detamore - a musician steeped in the traditional aspects of Texas country - it also features a selection of Austin’s finest players, from Detamore himself, alongside such respected players as Bobby Flores, Hank Singer, Floyd Domino, Tom Lewis, Kevin Smith and others. Singers like Sunny Sweeny, Brennen Leigh and Noel McKay all add background vocals. These are a set of Lauderdale penned co-writes with the likes Frank Dycus, Bruce Robison, Odie Blackmon and Hayes Carll. Add to that that Mr. Lauderdale is in top vocal form here. The end result over time will be seen as one of his very finest releases.

Some of the songs featured here have had previous incarnations. George Strait recorded We Really Shouldn’t Be Doing This while All The Rage In Paris which was cut by The Derailers in their heyday. But, Lauderdale makes these songs his own here and they are enriched by the talented players and the Texas environment they have been recorded in. The pedal steel, Telecaster twang and fiddle are well to the fore as one might expect with a Detamore production. And while, in strict commercial terms this is unlikely to change everything, it underlines the strengths and integrity that Jim Lauderdale brings to his musical output.  

Levi Cuss Night Thief Self Release

This album was originally released in 2014 but is being given a European release now to coincide with a tour. Cuss is a Canadian roots artist based in Alberta who, for this album, worked with fellow Canadian artist Steve Dawson as producer. They recorded this album in Henhouse Studio in Nashville with a rhythm section and a keyboard player. Dawson handled all the stringed instruments requirements. Using his inherent playing and production skills he is able bring depth and focus the songs such Pills where the sweet pedal steel enriches a song about a drugs and his girl who “liked her oxy better than she liked me.” There’s one cover, which is a Canned Heat style boogie-fried version of JJ Cale’s Bringing It Back.

Between those points Cuss uses his solidly lived-in voice and life experienced songs that have encompassed his personal battle with drink and drugs as well as incarceration. Cuss’ lyrics reflect this former lifestyle and the type of people who tend to inhabit the locations with a certain lowlife lassitude. Tecumseh is a dark story of those moments of a sudden bold rush that may lead to regretted violence … and possible matrimony - the title being the lady of his affections. There are eleven self-penned tales of those who have taken the less fortunate path in life. Some have made it, others not.

Levi Cuss wears a baseball cap and has a beard on the album cover so fits the current “look”for some of the the non-mainstream artists at the moment. But Cuss knows about hard work as he found employment as a manual labourer to put himself in the position to make and finance this album. It followed his one previous album and as this album was originally released in 2014 leaves him about due for a new one thoiugh he touring in the UK and Europe later in the year. He normally tours locally but these European dates should expose him to a wider audience who will appreciate his varied and vibrant hard folk, blues and roots music.

Karen Jonas Country Songs At The Helm

This second album from the very talented Ms Jonas arrived at the tail end of the year and escaped the best of lists but is well worthy of a place up there with the best. It is another example of an artist sticking to their guns (at this point) and playing their individual take on country songs at a time when a number of other of her contemporary artists have moved to a much broader palette of sounds. Jonas was born in Virginia, in Fredericksburg and recorded there with her own musicians. These players include Tim Bray on electric guitar, Jay Starling on lap steel and keyboards with Eddie Dickerson on fiddle over a solid rhythm section of bassist Jordan Medas and drummers Jack O’Dell and Jason Cizdiel. There is no production credit as it was recorded live in the studio, something that gives the sound a spontaneity and an undeniable energy if, in the long term, that doesn’t allow for some development of the overall sound.

Jonas has written all the songs and they show an understanding for the traditional themes of country music while putting a personal and perceptive viewpoint on relationships - good and bad. Add to this a voice that is redolent of your favourite country singers while being both passionate and poignant. Jonas is building from the experience of her excellent debut Oklahoma Lottery and the performances that followed its release. There are 10 songs here and not a bad one among them. They are solidly ‘country’ yet have a certain popish quality at times that makes them eminently listenable.

There are a number of slower songs like Why Don’t You Stay or The Garden which contrast with the big beat stance the Bakersfield (and Dwight Yoakam) referencing title song or the brush off of Keep Your Hands To Yourself or the twanging Ophelia. A song where guitarist Tim Bray shines. Country Songs shows the continuing promise of Karen Jonas - her song writing and singing and one can only hope that it creates a platform that will allow her a producer and more time in the studio next time out. But this album lives up to the promise of her debut release and places her alongside the likes of Zoe Muth and Eilen Jewell. Good company to be in. 

Adrian & Meredith More Than A Little Vertigo

This album reminded me of some of the earlier recordings of Paul Burch in the overall sound style. It is the duo’s first album together though Meredith Krygowski played with Adrian (Krygowski) on his 2014 release Roam. It is an amalgam of various roots styles that fits under the Americana banner. The album is ably produced by Mark Robertson (the upright bassist and producer for The Legendary Shack Shakers) who gives the recording a punkish patina while holding the songs together to give a cohesive overview. There is a little of the Shack-Shakers/Dirt Daubers in the mix too.

Alongside the duo are a set of players whose names will be familiar to many such as Paul Niehaus of Lambchop and Calexico fame. Then there’s Fats Kaplan on tenor banjo and JD Wilkes on harmonica with Robertson himself joining the rhythm section. Meredith is the band’s more than able fiddle player and Adrian its guitar player. The latter is also the main songwriter penning all the songs including one with Niehaus. The sole cover is the traditional Greasy Coat and Kitchen Girl. The album was cut live to tape and that approach is inherent in the overall feel of the engaging results.

The duo handle all their vocals mainly with Adrian taking the lead vocals but on some tracks Meredith is the lead, otherwise she provides duet and harmony vocals. The song Birthday Cakes opens with a solid drum beat before Adrian’s nasal vocal takes up the story and Meredith joins him over the solid beat with pedal steel and fiddle enhancing the sound that resonates in a number of ways that suggest the duo’s influences. Beat is a bedrock for many of the songs as illustrated by the floor stomp of More Than A Little. The use of a trombone allies it to an earlier time while sounding very contemporary in its context. Suffic it say that the Krygowski’s make a noise that is nourishing and more than a little natty.

The Grahams and Friends Live In The Studio Three Sirens

The husband and wife duo revisit the songs that they recorded for their previous album and for the film soundtrack Rattle The Hocks. That release came to Europe through the Sony Music Group but this one sees them independent again. Somemay be familiar with some the songs from other releases, such as the opening song Glory Bound, the title song from their previous album. The version here features the Watkins Family (including Sara and Sean Watkins). The hymn-like Lay Me Down comes from the soundtrack and is an outstanding vocal from Alyssa Graham, as is the version of Alejandro Escovedo’s Broken Bottle. The slower songs also include The Lonely Ones which features the Milk Carton Kids on harmony vocals or Tender Annabelle a duet with guest with John Fulbright and a strong vocal chorus. These stand out well alongside the up-tempo nature of the songs like Griggstown, Kansas City with New Orleans style brass. There is also a related cover (in terms of sound) of the classic City Of New Orleans. Mama opens with the voice of Douglas Graham before Alyssa accompanied by David Garza and Suzanna Choffel join in. Another strong emotional delivery and highlight from Alyssa is on the song Blow Wind Blow.

There are a host of musicians featured on the album who help differentiate the songs from the previous versions on the last album - though some are taken from the deluxe edition of Glory Bound. They include Luther and Cody Dickinson (the former was also director of the Rattle The Hocks movie), Alvin Youngblood Hart, The Norman Sisters, Mark Rubin and others. It is a shame that the duo is not getting the backing that they received when with a major label and this single CD has been released to tie in with some dates in the UK. However, if you didn’t pick up on them with Glory Bound then this collection of 14 songs will help fill a gap until the next album sees the light of day.  

Alt-Country in the UK.

Ags Connolly Nothin’ Unexpected At The Helm

This is the third release from Connolly and follows on from How About Now? and a limited edition album, whose title pretty much explains its content, Traditional - 12 Cowboy Songs. Born in Oxfordshire in England but could easily have been Oxford, Mississippi in that there is an authenticity to the music that largely negates its origin. The album was produced by Dean Owens himself a recording artist both solo and as a member of The Felsons, an Edinburgh based alt-country band from the mid to late 90’s. He is the perfect person to helm this project with an understanding of both traditional and contemporary country music.

Connolly has a voice that is well-suited to the self-written songs that detail the upside and downside of life and its often-complicated relationships. There’s is a sense of depth that feels well-worn and wearied, but hopeful. Something that is borne out by the captivating opener I Hope You’re Unhappy. From then on, the album is a consistent run through of Connelly’s tales of regret, reason and refuge. Louden Wainwright’s I Suppose is the only cover and it is a testament to Connelly that he makes it fit right in. There is a strong melancholy to songs like Fifteen Years and When The Loner Gets Lonely. Both are stripped back arrangements featuring just guitar and fiddle or guitar and accordion (the latter played by ace Mavericks sideman Michael Guerra) -a song that could have easily fit on the Cowboy Songs album. Mention should be made here of the other players involved who include London-born fiddler Eamon McLoughlin (formally of the Greencards and now a player on the Grand Ole Opry), the man on all stringed things - Stuart Nisbet, Kev McGuire on stand-up bass, Jim McDermott’s steady drumming and Andy May on piano. All of whom, along with Connelly and Owens, serve these songs well and deliver an album that stands up with the best - no matter where it may have been recorded; it is the heart involved that matters most.

Guerra’s contribution adds a ‘border’ feeling to many of the songs that is not dissimilar to the feel that UK expat Wes McGhee brought to his Texas influenced music through the years. Ads Connelly can be justifiably proud of the way he and the other players have brought his songs to life with such authenticity and assiduousness. Would that Connelly (or My Darling Clementine and many others for that matter) were getting the kind of exposure that The Shires are currently receiving. But in the end, it’s the music that matters and here it matters.

Daniel Meade Shooting Stars And Tiny Tears From The Top

The versatile and talented Scotsman is back with a new solo album that is pretty much the definition of solo. He is releasing the album on his own label and looking after every aspect of the project from the cover design, the manufacturing and the promo. That’s as well as writing, producing and playing everything on the album. Its genesis came from an idea to write each song in an hour and then record the song with four hours. A self set limitation to see what he could come up with. He also didn’t read the lyrics but improvised them as he recorded them. Some in first takes, others took a little longer, but each take was individual in terms of arrangement and lyrics. The theme was to take conversations with his girlfriend as his inspiration. Initially it was something he was just going to for her but he was happy with the outcome and decided to make it available on a wider scale. 

The album proves again that Meade is a distinctive singer and a songwriter who can write songs that have strong hooks as well as an all-round musical vision - as is witnessed on the album. Several of the songs are instantly likeable (to this writer) like Sometimes Falling, Sometimes Flying, Your Voice At Night, Throwing Pebbles (Round My Head) and Today Doesn’t Matter. There are heartfelt ballads and other more up-tempo songs that are played in a style not unfamiliar to Meade’s fans or of his previous recorded output. His early country, acoustic country blues, folk and old-time influences are all present. Given that it was recorded in his kitchen, there is a lo-fi quality which, however, suits the overall nature of the project.

Meade hopes to be back with a full Flying Mules album later in the year but this is a pretty good listen in the meantime. Daniel Meade deserves all the attention he can get for his commitment to his music and again confirms his position as one of the shining lights of UK roots music.

The Most Ugly Child Copper And Lace Self Release

This Nottingham based 6-piece band are fronted by the male/female vocal interplay of Daniel Wright and Stevie-Leigh Goodison. These are songs in the template set by many of the classic country male and female duet partnerships; offering mighty support are the remaining band members, including rhythm section Matt Cutler and Max Johnson, alongside Nicole J Terry on fiddle and Big Jim Widdop on pedal steel and dobro. They also bring in the Blidworth Brass Band as well as Daniel Meade, Lloyd Reid and Henry Slim from the Flying Mules. The end result is a solid take on country music as it was (and should be).

The writing is also strong with songs from Meade (What Might Have Been), Townes van Zandt (Lungs) sitting alongside the original  songs, mainly from Wright, with a couple by Goodison. The songs in the main are looking at the love and loss that relationships are fraught with. Songs Like Another Lesson In Pain, Today, You Said Goodbye and Long Gone Woman Blues all consider aspects of failure and a need to forget its effects. While other titles like Queen Of The Honky Tonk offer more of a ray of hope for the lonely, while the acoustic album-closer My Pony is perhaps metaphor for life. All this means a good variety in terms pace and style that makes for a very satisfying album.

This is undeniably country music with a contemporary edge and attitude. Rather being retro in outlook it takes in obvious favourites as well as more diverse influences to produce an album that is as well-packaged as it is played. They may be the ugliest child in the town but they come from pretty good stock.

The Lucky Strikes The Motion And The Moving On Harbour Song

This Essex-based band deliver a new album that rocks as much as it rolls with its roots and blues energies. The five-piece band employ fiddle, banjo and pedal steel as much as they do sax, keyboards and loud guitars. The steel laced Lilac And Soil is a downbeat ballad while  Michael is a a song about a friend going through band times. While Carry Me Lord is another tale of searching and seeking with a spiritual context and that allows the dobro and voices to deliver its message. Gone, Gone is a gentle reflection of another man who slowly drifted away that has a folk feel that is reflective way to close the album. There is a sense of looking for meaning - for motion and moving on in fact. The authorship of the songs is not listed on the sleeve but I assume that they are all original songs by the band’s singers Boulter and David Giles. Songs that need time to reveal themselves to the listener.

The band’s main singer and writer Matthew Boulter also release albums under the MC Boulter name but here he meshes with his bandmates to produce a sound that has been likened to the Waterboys, Tom Waits and Crazy Horse. A pretty disparate bunch to be sure, which just goes to show how The Lucky Strikes are going to mean different things to different listeners and how their sound touches a number of bases while remaining a consistent entity. The Lucky Strikes are following where the individual songs take them. This may mean that some listeners will lose interest in the way the band have chosen to deliver their songs. Others will be happy to go on the journey with the band and find for themselves what it has to offer. Something which is individual, interesting and a little intense.

Reviews By Declan Culliton

Jen Lane This Life of Mine Self Release

One of the rewards of receiving a bunch of albums to review is selecting at random an artist that was previously unknown to me and uncovering a gem. This was certainly the case with Jen Lane’s This Life of Mine, an album that stopped me in my tracks at first listen and has been visiting my cd player on a number of occasions ever since.

I’m somewhat embarrassed to admit that the Canadian singer songwriter escaped under my radar to date despite having recorded four previous albums. The song writing, musicianship and production on the album are top drawer in no small measure a credit to John Macarthur Ellis who produced the album together with contributing no fewer than twelve instruments, his superb pedal steel work probably the standout. Ellis has won numerous awards over the years including seven BC Country Music Awards and a number of Canadian Country Music Awards, well deserved on the basis of the flawless production on this album.

The album was recorded at Bottega Studio in Kelowna located in a thirteen-acre estate which is also a working farm and parklands, the landscape cited by Lane as an inspiration to her and the musicians who feature on the album. Equally inspirational was the loss of her grandfather just before recording commenced resulting on a reflection on his life and indeed her own and hence the album’s title.

Eleven tracks feature in total, all written by Lane with the exception of the Big Star song Thirteen which is given a refreshing laid back treatment. Moving On, released as a single, summarises much of the albums theme, all about accepting things as they are and letting go. 1st Day of Spring bounces along with a ragtime feel, My Man is Linda Ronstadt style late 70’s country rock and the tour da force is the final and title track which closes the album in a defiant and positive way.

Without a doubt had this album been recorded in the late 70’s it would be receiving rave reviews and selling by the cartload. If you, like myself, are unfamiliar with Lane’s music I strongly recommend you correct this and no better place to start than here.

Jeremiah Johnson Band Blues Heart Attack Self Release

Sixth album release from the St. Louis Mississippi born Johnson, his bass player Jeff Girardier and drummer Benet Schaeffer. Don’t expect any surprises, Blues Heart Attack is Johnson doing what he does best, straight down the middle ripping blues with a bit of southern rock on the side, often delivered at a blistering pace and fleshed out by Frank Bauer adding sax and keyboards courtesy of Nathen Hershey.

Currently residing in Houston Texas readers unfamiliar with Johnson could do worse than seek out the 2014 documentary Ride The Blues, directed by Australian Gary Glenn which features concert footage of Johnson together with interviews about the artist’s career path to date.

Mind Reader, the opening track, is closer to ZZ Top than Buddy Guy and kicks the album off in fine style. Room of Fools which follows showcases both the gritty and fullsome vocals of Johnson together with his thrilling guitar work. The title track Blues Heart Attack abandons the full-on rocking sound of much of the album and settles for a jazzier feel. Summertime (how many blues artists have written a song with the title Summertime!) floats along with the emphasis on Johnson’s vocal and recalling a young Van Morrison. Similarly Talk Too Much brings to mind early career John Mayall. Southern Drawl, a killer song by the way, not surprisingly is pure apologetic southern rock name checking Johnny Cash along the way. Here We Go Again slows thing down a mite and features both stunning guitar and sax solos.

All twelve tracks were written by Johnson and recorded at Sawhorse Studio in St. Louis and produced by Jason Mc Intire. For lovers of Rory Gallagher, Buddy Guy and the like.

The Honeydogs Love & Cannibalism Simon Records

It’s hard to fathom that The Honeydogs have existed in one form or another for over 25 years at this stage. Originally formed in the early 90’s by the Levy brothers Adam and Noah together with bass player Trent Norton, they were considered back in the day by Billboard to be Alt-Country’s next big thing, notwithstanding the fact that their output was and remains to be much more far reaching that anything alternative or even country for that matter. Adam Levy sums up their early influences simply as "liking Bowie and Jobim as much as the Flying Burrito Brothers and Merle Haggard." Such was there impact in the 90’s that they toured with both Aimee Mann and INXS.

Their line up in recent years is that of a seven-piece unit. Adam Levy (who released the solo album Naubinway earlier this year, a tribute to his son who passed away in tragic circumstances and reviewed by Lonesome Highway) on guitar, piano, keyboards, Trent Norton on bass and vocals, Ryan Paul Plewachi on guitar and vocals, Peter Anderson on drums, Peter J. Sands on keyboards with Matt Darling and Steve Kung on trombone and trumpet.

Love & Cannibalism, following on from their 2012 release What Comes After, finds them in outstanding form, most definitely a sum of their parts and an album that could not be more suited to the car CD player at high volume.  Their style would simply have been classified as ‘rock’ in the 70’s landing somewhere between the guitar driven sound of Thin Lizzy and the slick, clever power pop output of XTC and Squeeze. The addition of a horn section gives them a fuller and richer soul feel bringing to mind Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes on the track Ordinary Legs in particular.

Recorded over a five-day period at The Pearl Studio in Minneapolis and produced by John Fields (Jonas Brothers, Pink, Miley Cyrus, Busted) the eleven-track album has no fillers from the driving opening track Vermillion Billows (Shouldn’t Take It So Hard) with its thumping bass line through the Tom Petty sounding Look Through The Sun and closing with the funky sounding Little Sister.

The album is pure fun, with stunning chord changes, riffs and guitar solos, thumping bass lines and luscious horns a plenty. An album that should find its way into your record collection.

Richard Shindell Careless Continental Song City

Recorded over a three-year period in New York and his current residence Buenos Aires, Careless is a collection of eleven songs by a singer songwriter who has recorded a considerable body of work dating back to his debut album Sparrow Point released in 1992.

Recognised somewhat as a perfectionist Careless certainly reflects the meticulous input by Shindell over the three-year period with possibly the strongest album of his career, more electric that much of his earlier work and songs and stories that catch the listener’s attention on first play.

Shindell is yet another songwriter that has remained on the fringes without a major industry breakthrough and it is such a shame that an album of this quality may not reach the numbers it’s quality certainly merits.

Stray Cow Blues, which opens the album, is straight down the middle bluesy and rootsy and probably not a pointer of what is to follow. The title track which features next is beautifully paced, atmospheric and delivered with a hoarsy vocal drawl in a style reminiscent of Willard Grant Conspiracy’s Robert Fisher.

Infrared is simple, poppy, sixties sounding and sing along with a wonderful harmony vocal courtesy of Sara Milonovich, who also contributes violin on a number of other tracks on the album. Milonovich is one of a number of accomplished musicians that feature including Larry Campbell, Joe Bonadio, Jerry Marotta and Lucy Kaplansky.

All Wide Open tells of a father/daughter reconciliation, Before You Go is dreamlike and hypnotic and the closing track and only cover on the album is The Dome (written by Jeff Wilkinson and Brian Martin) featuring only vocal, bowed electric guitar and keyboards, all performed by Shindell.

All in all a great album, well worth investigating.

Proudfoot Flowers of London Self Release

Not to be confused with the Dublin soul/funk band of the same name, Flowers of London is the second album release by the North London four piece consisting of Michael Proudfoot on vocals and guitar, Duncan Kerr on electric and acoustic guitar, Wayne Worrill on bass and Joe Malone on drums and percussion. If their 2009 album Lincolnshire, produced by pedal steel supremo B.J.Cole, had its inspiration firmly in country music, Flowers of London’s influences are much closer to home in particular in the Brit pop sound of the 60’s combined with the post-punk output of the late 70’s. Not surprising given songwriter and TV Producer Proudfoot’s unapologetic love of the 60’s Beat Boom sound and Kerr’s former life as a veteran of the mid 70’s pub rock scene with the band Plummet Airlines.

Recorded at Alchemy Studios in London the album often recreates the pub rock sound mastered by Brinsley Schwarz in the mid 70’s and brought to a wider audience by Graham Parker and The Rumour. Proudfoot does not reach the stirring and spikey vocal ability of Parker, few do, but the album in spots does create material that would fit snugly in Parker’s early output, particularly on Pathfinders, Come On Come On and Lorraine. The arrangements work to a tee particularly on these tracks with a driving rhythm section and standout guitar playing by Kerr.

Not all twelve tracks on the album shine but the ones that do simply glow.

Norrie Mc Culloch These Mountain Blues Black Dust 

Scotland has seen some notable Americana acts emerge in recent years, albeit artists that may have remained somewhat under the radar. The Wynntown Marshals from Edinburgh and Glasgow’s Daniel Meade immediately spring to mind. Norrie McCulloch is another fine artist from Glasgow that turned quite a number of heads with his debut album Old Lovers Junkyard recorded in 2014. His latest album These Mountain Blues treads a similar path musically yet reveals a greater maturity and confidence that its predecessor.

Recorded live over a three day period at The Tolbooth, a 15th Century historic structure in Stirling, the ten tracks are a collection of great songs, all written by Mc Culloch, that work together as a unit.

The benchmark in terms of delivery and content could be Jay Farrar’s Son Volt at his most phlegmatic. Mc Culloch manages to deliver, with an unhurried and assured sense throughout, an album that has traces of many of the qualities that also stand out in Farrar’s work.

Contributing on the album are some of Glasgow’s finest, including Dave Mc Gowan (Belle & Sebastian, Teenage Fanclub) on upright bass, piano and pedal steel, Marco Rea (The Wellgreens, Euros Child) on bass, piano and vocal and Stuart Kidd (The Wellgreens, Pearlfishers, BMX Bandits) on drums and vocal. Despite having such fine players available the album also includes some gems with stripped back instrumentation, in particular Black Dust with Mc Culloch’s vocal and harmonica up front and closing track Hearts Got To Be In The Right Place with delightful harmonies and piano playing.

The title track is intoxicating with Mc Cullocks vocal and Mc Gowan’s silky piano to the fore as is the beautiful When She Is Crying Too enriched by Mc Gowan’s tranquil pedal steel

Further evidence that quality Americana, a classification this album certainly merits, is often closer to home than you think.

The Rifters Architect of a Fire Howlin Dog

Formed in 2002 in New Mexico The Rifters are a three-piece made up of ex-Hired Hands members Jim Bradley and Don Richmond together with Rod Taylor of The Rounders.

Their sound is best described by themselves when they recorded their self-titled debut album in 2004. “It’s music that comes from where we come from – both from the high desert and mountain landscape of our home and from the background and experiences of our lives – sort of a laid-back high-energy gentle giant old blue-buffalo-grama-grassy, cowboy, folky, shake-a-leg with a smile sort of thing.’’

Architect of Fire is a twelve-track recording of songs all written by the band members who combine impressive harmonies with slick instrumentation featuring guitar, mandolin, pedal steel, violin and more.

Pick of the crop are two Leonard Cohen sounding songs, the title track and I Can Live With That together with Charlie’s Lament which would not be out of place on an early career Guy Clark album.

The album’s cover depicts the three members casually sitting around a campfire, a fitting location for playing and indeed listening to the mixture of country and bluegrass covered on the album.

Henry Senior Jnr. Plates of Meat Maiden Voyage 

This is the debut album by Henry Senior Jr, pedal steel player and member of Danny & The Champions of The World. Not surprisingly the recording features all the members of The Champions and was recorded at Reservoir Studios in North London under the watchful eye of producer and bass player Chris Clarke.

When considering the pedal steel guitar in the UK the obvious benchmark is the talented BJ Cole who, as can be expected, was one of the inspirations that lead to this recording.

Often considered to be an instrument rarely heard outside The Music City, Senior’s intention was to "use the pedal steel outside its traditional context" and he succeeds hands down with his ability to weave together jazz, blues, reggae and even ragtime. A theme visited in a similar vein by Jon Rauhouse, who plays steel in Neko Case’s band, and has recorded a number of experimental albums, Senior has also succeeded in producing a quite unique sound. The pedal steel never attempts to dominate but instead works hand in glove alongside bass, keys, drums and horns that recalls the late 60’s golden era of jazz fusion.

The title track and Better Left Unsaid are wonderful blends of soul, jazz and rhythm and blues. Goodbye Bowler Hat glides along, perfectly paced and with a dreamy reggae backbeat conjuring up scenes of sun, sand and surf. An experimental album combining pedal steel and powered by an excellent band of musicians that hits the spot from start to finish.

Reviews by Paul McGee

Jack Tempchin One More Song Bluélan

Jack Tempchin is an American musician and singer-songwriter, best known for writing songs with the Eagles. The classic, Peaceful Easy Feeling, being the most recognised. He also had a hand in writing Already Gone, along with others, including a number of songs with Glen Frey for his solo work. As you would expect with such a pedigree, Tempchin has a way with a melody and there are plenty of examples of his stellar song-writing skills on this, his ninth solo release.

He sings in an easy, laid-back vocal style that is unhurried and smooth, perfectly fitting into the acoustic based songs that are included here. He speaks of returning to his roots with simple musical arrangements and that is what he delivers with a late-night, by the fire, conspiratorial feel to the entire project.

Slow Dancing, Old River and Around Midnight set the gentle pace and sound before the sweet strum of Circle Ties That Bind brings the listener forward into the next phase of the recording.

So Long My Friend is a snapshot of the life that Tempchin has most likely lived with plenty of colour in the images and a philosophy of keeping on moving, living life one day at a time. Still Looking For a Way to Say Goodbye is a lament to lost love and the haunted memories of regret “Was there something you said that I did not hear; How do we lose the ones we hold so dear”. It is the stand-out track in this collection.

The very clever, I Got Her Where She Wants Me To Be, is a fine tune and highlights the song-craft on display. Song For You is one of empathy for life’s knocks and struggles while Tumbleweed is a slow reflection on trying to love a free spirit who cannot be tied down. The closing track, One More Song, would sit quite easily into any Eagles record with a perfect chorus that sums up the raison-d’etre of this skilled artist; “One More Song For the Times to Come”.

Esquela Canis Majoris Self Release

The Spanish word Esquela apparently means ‘notice’ or ‘announcement’ and that is precisely what happens here. This is the third release from a very versatile group of musicians, Esquela, comprised of a five-piece indie-roots-Americana band featuring vocalist Rebecca Frame, lead guitarist Brian Shafer, Chico Finn on bass/vocals, Todd Russell on drums and Matt Woodin on guitar.

Guest Musicians on the project include producer Eric “Roscoe” Ambel on guitar/vocals, Brian Mangini on keyboards, Matthew Polashek on saxophone, Mark Spencer on Pedal Steel and Tom White on Banjo/Tin Whistle/Fiddle.

The song arrangements are very bright and the harmonies are full of fun and spark. Their sound is up-tempo and driven by the strong vocals of Rebecca Frame which carry the fine playing through the 10 songs included here. A pleasing contrast is the world-weary delivery of Chico Finn on songs like Sorry, a salutary plea for forgiveness from a lover to his partner.

Pine Tar tells of a famous baseball game in 1983, played between the New York Yankees and the Kansas City Royals that was abandoned on a technicality just as the Royals were winning. Heated protests followed and the debate raged until the game was replayed 24 days later.

This band has a quirky, independent streak to their music and topics such as corporate greed (Too Big to Fail) and racial inequality against the Irish (Need Not Apply) are balanced against parasitic females who crave wealthy husbands to keep them in a pampered life of luxury (Gold Digger). Best of all is a song called Animals that celebrates the joys of our four-legged friends and is a real joy.

This is a recommended release that will impress and bring a smile…

Steve Hussey & Jake Eddy The Miller Girl Merf 

Steve Hussey is a singer/songwriter and producer from Washington, West Virginia and has been playing professionally for almost 20 years in various bands.

This project is based around 10 love songs that are all written by Hussey and deal with the various aspects and challenges that are the stuff relationships are made of.

From the Bluegrass vibe of tracks like Looking For Love and Little Shove to the more modern Americana sound of Master Your Mind and Chalk It Up, there is plenty to keep the attention and attract the listener. Joined by Bluegrass prodigy Jake Eddy on banjo, this is a very enjoyable journey through song arrangements that span all aspects of traditional Roots/Folk influences.

The other musicians include Jeff Martin on drums, Ben Probus on fiddle, Anders Bush on bass and Ron Wallace on backing vocals and the songs are brought to life around the acoustic guitar of Hussey and the banjo of Eddy.

The title song, Miller Girl, is a view of local, rural life and fancying the neighbouring farmer’s daughter while Long List of Goodbyes is a clever take on moving on from heartbreak to the next opportunity. Better Day is a nice song that stays in the memory and the stripped back nature of the arrangements is simple and laced with easy tempos such as, I Pick You, a sweet tribute to love and all the positives of finding the ‘right one’… A very enjoyable release.

Sharon Goldman Kol Isha (A Woman’s Voice) Self Release

This New York based singer-songwriter has been producing music of real quality since early 2000 and has received much praise for her literary gifts as both writer and performer.

Kol Isha is based in traditional Jewish communities, where women are not supposed to sing publicly in front of men. Across 13 songs (Eliza Gilkyson's Rose of Sharon is the one cover), Goldman takes us on a spiritual journey that visits her Jewish upbringing and influences, including the dogma of orthodox religion, balanced against a modern all-embracing spirituality, that is more inclusive and empowering.

Memory mixes with myth and there is a strong imagery running through songs like Jerusalem, Lilith, Pillar of Salt and The Sabbath Queen. A modern feminist perspective reflects on the traditional roles expected of women and the biblical and ancient Hebrew references are coupled with insight that draws inspiration from an ongoing search for her own truth.

The project is co-produced by Goldman and the excellent Stephen Murphy (various guitars) and engineered by Mark Dann who plays Bass on one track. With the subtle skills of Cheryl Prashker on percussion, Craig Akin on upright bass and Laura Wolfe on harmonium and violin, the arrangements are understated with plenty of room for the players to express their individual talents. Abbie Gardner guests on dobro and harmony vocals, with Brian Prunka on oud and Amy Soucy on background vocals.

Goldman has a number of previous releases and plays an active role in song-writing communities. Her Folk inflected music is both powerful and enduring.

Katie Garibaldi Rooted Clarity Living Dream 

This talented artist has been on our radar for some years now and her song-writing skills continue to hone themselves into a very pleasant listening experience. With four previous releases to her name, including the excellent Follow Your Heart (2014), this San Francisco artist produces a 5-song suite that shines brightly. All songs are written by Katie and production duties are shared with Kevin Blair, who also contributes on electric guitar and acoustic bass.

Delightful is a song that speaks of believing in yourself and not letting anybody put you down or knock your self-belief. I Am, has a sweet melody and the strings, mixed with fiddle & mandolin, are just perfect for a song that lends support to a friend/lover who is going through a difficult time. In My Wildest Dreams is a rites-of-passage song where illusion shatters and love does not always stay around - ‘In my wildest dreams; Love Stays’…

On My Own speaks of leaving that little hometown and going out into the big bad world. A coming of age anthem for the hopeful dreamers whose ‘memories sit and watch you leave.’ Bird in a Cage ends the record with a plea to fly free from those who impose limits on our lives. Self- doubt and self-imposed chains are there to be outgrown and the plea to ‘fly away’ leaves an image of someone who has already taken to the skies and knows that there really are no limits.

Katie is blessed with a clear and pure vocal delivery and her excellent band assist in making these 5 songs a really enjoyable listen. Tim Fellow (Drums, Percussion), Arturo Garza (Keyboards), JP Shafer (Fiddle, Mandolin), Nathan Lowry (Violin) and Emily Nelson (Cello) join Katie and Kevin Blair in making this sweetly soaring music that comes highly recommended.