New Album Reviews

Hannah White Fine Day The Last Music Co

The winner of both UK Album of the Year and UK Artist of the Year at the AMA Awards in London after the release of her 2023 album SWEET REVOLUTION, Hannah White follows those accolades with her latest ten-track album, FINE DAY.

Joined by a host of contributors that included her husband Keiron Marshall on guitar and banjo, Sarah Jory on pedal steel, Gerry Diver on violin and Mike McGoldrick on whistle, White also invited members of her Nordic friends Lars Hammersland on keyboards, Ole Ludvig Krüger on drums, guitar, banjo & trumpet and Svein Henning Berstad on bass, to contribute.

Difficult to pigeonhole into one genre, without forfeiting any degree of fluency, White crosses from soulful gospel (Hard Hitting Memories) to country-noir (Good Questions) and classic pop (Camberwell) to modern folk (Hyla Karula).

The quality of White’s voice alone is worth your attention, but the caliber of her writing and the subject matter she bravely addresses is equally impressive.  The true story of a devious child molester is articulated and spectacularly presented in the spine-chilling Man Out There (‘I’ll play a game of pretend; I’m your loveable friend to the very end’). The previously mentioned Good Questions challenges the greed and inequity of today’s world, and on a similar theme, the gentle ballad What Do You Take Me For grapples with the concept of individual powerlessness. Despite its name, the title track speaks of loneliness and isolation.  Not to be overwhelmed by downbeat and despairing topics, Glory Overcome tells a tale of growth and fulfilment against all odds, and Hyla Karula rejoices in the simple beauty of nature.

White has never been afraid to lay bare her own vulnerabilities in her writing, but she has widened her lens with this collection of songs. A deeply satisfying listen, with suitable musical arrangements behind White’s vocals, that confronts, head-on, the chaos that surrounds us in these unprecedented times.

Declan Culliton

Forrest VanTuyl Old Trails Proper

Far from romantic or imaginary tales of the Western lifestyle, Forrest VanTuyl's music comes from his experiences and parallel careers as both a singer-songwriter and working cowboy. Growing up on a farm in Western Washington, his early exposure to cowboy songs was singer-songwriter and rodeo champion Chris LeDoux. Another strong influence was noted Canadian artist Ian Tyson.

Dividing his time between being a touring musician performing his shows or playing guitar and bass in his wife Margo Cilker's band, VanTuyl spends the rest of his time on horseback in the remote wilds of Oregon and Washington as a working cowboy. It's an ideal occupation mix, with much of VanTuyl's writing coming from his time spent in the wilderness, both in his day-to-day experiences and gifting him the uninterrupted time and space to consider more personal matters.

Those ups and downs and cold hard facts of that Western lifestyle are laid bare in the title track and The County.  The former is a co-write with Margo Cilker and is delivered semi-spoken in a grainy, well-weathered voice and features splashes of fiddle by Clara Baker. The latter recalls the harsh realities of the cowboy plight ('It's snakey and it's steep, it's rocky and it's deep, so bring all the dogs you can haul. It's six months of winter, Range Rider for dinner, square dancin' at the Liberty Hall'). In contrast, the draw and freedom of that line of work is expressed in 160 Horses. Also co-written with Cilker, who is credited as executive producer, is the tender love song Ez 2 Luv u 

VanTuyl's capacity to turn everyday simple observations into something more insightful is very much to the fore in OLD TRAILS. It's a lovely listening experience that embraces both folk and Western music.

Declan Culliton 

Maia Sharp Tomboy Crooked Crown

Moving from her native California to start a new life in Nashville, following the break-up of a two-decade marriage, may have appeared to be a brave move for singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Maia Sharp. Her 2021 record, MERCY RISING, was written shortly after that move, with her personal circumstances providing her with ample subject matter. Smoothly integrating into the Nashville bohemian music community and environment has found Sharp at her most prolific in recording output for almost two decades, with TOMBOY being her third release in four years, following on from RECKLESS THOUGHTS two years ago.

Sonically, Sharp shifted from her traditional instrumentation on this occasion and finds her experimenting with a more digital sound, primarily using her newfound OP-1 Field mini synth. She also played guitar, saxophone, Mellotron, accordion, piano and added backing vocals and produced the record at her Crooked Crown home studio in Nashville. Essential to the album’s sound was percussionist Eric Darken, whose contributions worked hand in glove with Sharp’s crystal-clear vocals and digital expressions.

Like her peers Mary Gauthier, Amy Speace and Erin Enderlin, Sharp has been working with the Songwriting With Soldiers project and gaining strength from the experience (‘And the things that I thought ranked as a problem just don’t qualify as a problem anymore in the real scheme of things’). Putting challenging times behind her, the latest record finds her in a buoyant, experimental, and retrospective mood. The album’s cover depicts a four-year-old Sharp sporting a variety of impish and tomboy expressions. These snapshots signpost the album’s direction, being one of reflection on a life fully lived to date, one that finds the writer content with her present lot and looking forward to what may follow. The opening and title track revives testing childhood memories (‘A neighbour told my mother once “what a nice young man,” I was mowing the meridian in my t-shirt tan. Just like that, my streak is broken, days with no embarrassing moments. Grown up whispers, nobody understands’). Insecurity also raises its head in the gorgeously melodic Asking for A Friend which includes shared vocals with Terri Clark.

The slow-burning, jazzy, Is That What Love Does considers freedom, whether self-determined or otherwise. Fool In Love Again questions whether that freedom is welcome (‘I’d drop everything, just tell me where and when and I will be a fool, I will be a fool in love again’) or simply a stopgap until the next liaison. The answer to that conundrum may very well lie in the album’s closing track. Featuring Garrison Starr on backing vocals, it’s a cover of U2’s, I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.

Calming and meditative, TOMBOY may be, musically, a slight curveball for Sharp, but it further enhances her lofty reputation as a brilliant songwriter, musician and vocalist.

Declan Culliton

The Pleasures Enemy Of My Enemy Uber Savvy

Album two from the Australian duo who as solo artists pursued slightly different musical paths but here combine those to created a musical middle ground that reflects those different influences. Catherine Britt was a country music performer who had a major label deal and was a recipient of International Artist of the Year at the CMAs, while Lachlan Bryan was a member of successful rock band The Wildes. On this new album, and my first to review, there is much to like and, given the different backgrounds, some very different approaches from their respective solo material. The album was recorded in Melbourne and produced and mixed by Damian Cafarella, who was also the drummer on the recordings, with Britt’s husband Brad Bergan handling bass duties. Renowned steel player Tommy Detamore also adds his skill where required.

The title song opens the album and lets you know that “the enemy of my enemy is my friend.”  It is a funky rhythmic track with shared vocals that lets you know they mean business in this relationship breakdown with a “If I hurt you I could care less… let’s get angry, let’s get even” type of attitude - which the album has in spades. The keyboards are very apparent on track two, Was It Something I Said has that kind of Tom Petty crossover roots rock manner that raises that very question, with each taking a verse from the opposing perspective. 

Things take a decidedly more alt-country turn on the next track, Where The Money Goes, which features a banjo prominently. This is then followed by Step Away, which is even more decidedly country in tone with pedal steel playing an important part in the sound. It asks a potential partner to do just that, as taking things further are likely not to end well. It shows that a full album of these heartbreak duets could also work well - it is an album highlight. This territory is explored again in It’s OK (Knew What You Meant), with Britt expressing some recognition of another’s viewpoint over a simple acoustic led song of trying to find a way forward. When Bryan comes in the band kick in to give the song a deeper resonance. Equally effecting and again taking the more restrained route is The Rules, all of which are laying out a particular more traditional oriented sound.

The remaining tracks are given a more kicking uptempo sound such as in Wild Things, a guitar riff driven song. This May Hurt A Little Bit draws from overall of theme of misunderstanding and the difficulties of making things work as they should or at least as they might have. Love Relapse lets you know that “I can’t do a thing about it because I’m never winning” but that there is a pattern of relapsing into the same mistakes again, all over a solid musical motif and forward pushing beat. Good People follows a similar tack, letting you know who they would like to be. We end on a more soulful note with A Little Blue, a melodic and thoughtful sense of space and place that leaves you in no doubt that the combining of these two talents and voices is one that can move in a number of different directions and that, inevitably, each listener will have their own selected focal point here - but, in the end, wer’e all friends. 

Stephen Rapid

Petunia & The Vipers Callin’ Me Back Self Release

The latest release from this combo will delight existing fans and make new ones of those who may love the mix of hillbilly and swing sounds. It’s a fifteen track record that covers the use of the expanded line up to include a dedicated horn section of players that feature trumpet, tuba, trombone, saxophone, clarinet and French horn. Those acquainted with Petunia’s mostly original songs (there are also two contributions from Devin Champlin and a Jimmie Rogers co-write included) will immediately recognise that they are sung in his distinctive voice and phrasing. 

The title track is a winner that cuts up some dust with the guitar/lapsteel sound of longtime studio regulars Stephen Nikleva and Jimmy Roy, also here from that long-time relationship is drummer Paul Townsend. The upright bassist joining them here is Joseph Lubinsky-Mast. This is the core of the band, to which the additional players add layers of sound and seasoning. This is pretty much where they have been since issuing the first album back after the turn of the century. There have been a half dozen albums under that joint banner, as well as an equal number under Petunia’s own name, all offering a glimpse to the past and a view of an alternative future.

If you have ever liked the likes of Ray Condo, Pokey LaFarge, JD Wilkes, Paul Burch, Big Sandy and other purveyors of a individual mix of folk, blues, swing, rockabilly, New Orleans jazz and traditional Hank Williams Sr influenced country, then this album will likely find you settling into its insidious rhythms and enjoying its rhymes and reasons. However it is the songs, direction and vision of Petunia that are the focus point of everything happening. He is, quite obviously, the master of ceremonies and the heart of his music. Make no mistake - while this may not be seen as the cutting edge of country, it is, in its own way, as innovative as those who are adding hip-hop and pop to try and subvert the genre. Rather this is something that is underscoring its seminal roots. In that light it certainly won’t be for everyone, but for others it will be calling them back to a time and place that feels right. 

This Vancouver based artist has worked for some time with co-producer Steve Loree, who is himself well know for his role in alt-country band Jr. Gone Wild, and he brings something of that spirit to his production here. This album was initially scheduled for release some five years back but, as with a number of projects, it was put on hold until now. For some releases, such a delay might be something of a disaster but, thought it meant things didn’t go as planned back then, the music has such a timeless quality that it didn’t lose any of its essence. The song Billy The Kid tells the story of an Old West legend with a sonic sensibility that fits the theme to a ‘t’, while The Blue Yodel Blues takes a very different approach that channels Jimmie Rodgers and shows off Petunia’s yodelling skills too. Another song that takes the message of the lovelorn and lonely into an orchestral setting that sounds like it should have been a feature of a past cherished musical is the final track Inside Of You. It emotes that “Feeling like a loner when I walk down the street /For feeling like a loner, this song came to me / Now I cry out for all our souls, for all to claim one as their own / An invitation that only goes out to the brave.” It also underlines that Petunia is a songwriter of no small skill.

Petunia has mentioned that he learns from inspirational writers and singers until he begins to feel that a song in that character begins to emerge and then he hones that to the final songs we hear here. It became a less self-conscious process and is now his modus operandi, which he can then bring to the stage. He has been working this way in the studio and stage for many years now. That calling is something we can be grateful for.

Stephen Rapid

Chandler Dozier Bakersfield East Self Release

While much has been made of the resurgence of some exponents of 90s country, my heart and love of country started with Dwight Yoakam in the 80s, ’86 with the release of his debut, in fact. Prior to that there had been brief non-immersive encounters with the L.A. country music experiments of The Byrds and Flying Burrito Brothers. There were some recent artists who delved into the Bakersfield sound, something that the late Billy Block defined as Western Beat and I think that description best fits the music of that time. Singer/songwriters like George Ducas and Moot Davis in the 90s and 2000s referenced that sound and both at one point worked with Yoakam’s producer, Pete Anderson. There have been other more recent aficionados attracted to that sound and beat too, some have moved on and others are still exploring, but it is essential to have new adherents to that distinctive sound.

So now eyes are turned to newcomer Chandler Dozier, who has just released a debut mini-album of six tracks. It leaves one wanting more, as any good introduction should. Five of the songs are originals, while the other is a telling cover of Move It On Over from Hank Williams Sr. Dozier also looks the part - no outlaw long hair and beard, no backward baseball hat, just a clear love for classic country and the ability to deliver it with a fresh outlook that does not hide its influences, but instead perfects them into something that sounds individual and compares favourably with Yoakam’s own recent output.

Dozier is a stylised singer and fine guitar player and is supported by his own players, including Jimmy Lester on drums, bassist Luca Chiappara, Tyler Feehery on pedal steel, David Lukens on piano, fiddler Leah Sawyer and Gideon on dobro, as well as Reed Stutz on backing vocals. Many of these, I would imagine, have helped Dozier find his feet and live sound in sets played in Lower Broadway’s honky-tonks. 

It is hard to pick a song to highlight, as there is not a track you would want to skip over here. The whole thing is pretty much a perfect introduction to a new artist who at 23 is playing, producing and writing like a seasoned veteran. The tag neo-traditionalist is in some ways correct and the one used when Yoakam, Randy Travis and Steve Earle first emerged. There are others who are drawing from similar sources but Dozier, one hopes, is about to build a career on such strong instincts and that is more than a launch pad into different directions. There’s no doubt he could do that and also that his heroes Dwight Yoakam, Buck Owens and Merle Haggard themselves were open to different explorations of the parameters of the music, but all seemed to return to their core values. Dozier has a ways to go yet, but has made a great start.

It’s Not Me It’s You, All Over Again, Dancing With A Memory, Let Me Be and When You Land In Charlotte would fit on any album by his chosen inspirations, but they are all here now on BAKERSFIELD EAST. If you have enjoyed the music that came from that iconic location in the past, I recommend a visit as soon as you can.

Stephen Rapid

Grayson Hugh Save Your Love For Me River Soul

A generous fourteen songs over one hour of music is something that takes a dedicated listener to absorb in these days of short attention spans. Many among the public like to ‘consume’ music as a commodity, wanting nothing more that single sound bites for inclusion on increasingly sanitized play lists. Credit then is due to an artist who is making a celebrated ‘come back’ from years in the background, seemingly disillusioned by the music machine that dictated his career back in the 1980s.

Grayson Hugh has an impressive vocal power and pure tone, with his early career more focused upon a Soul/Blues/Gospel direction, with a select number of his songs featuring in high profile movies such as Thelma and Louise and also Fried Green Tomatoes.

It’s an interesting story; one of a young musical talent who delivers some initial big hitters, only to fade from view, a victim of record label changes and corporate politics. Grayson took a subsequent step away from the barricades and channelled his dream into other directions. However, in 2009 a solo comeback album An American Record was launched, and this was followed in 2015 with Back To the Soul. In between, an occasional EP and some demo releases have surfaced, but for a number of years Grayson taught songwriting at the Berklee College of Music.

This new album has been five years in the making, and whatever the original disappointments and their causes, Grayson Hugh is back with a real statement of his excellence and proof that real talent never dissipates. A song about the onset of Spring opens the album with Cleanin’ the Cobwebs and something of a metaphor for new beginnings and fresh optimism. The next song has the artist playing a local gig in Coggin Hill which is located in Maine, and he’s missing his girl. The country swing in the sound is very appealing ‘This lonesome highway is like a river movin' slow, I've got to move on, all night right through the dawn, still got a long way to go.‘

There are some really superb musicians on the album, with the ensemble playing so beautifully captured in the superb production. The magic is provided by Grayson Hugh (lead vocals/ grand piano/Hammond B3 organ, keyboard accordion, keyboard pedal steel, synthesizer, baritone saxophone, congas, drums, tympani and frottoir),Cindy Cashdollar (dobro/lap steel guitar), Tony Garnier (acoustic upright bass), Pete Kennedy (acoustic, electric, baritone guitars/mandolin/banjo), Gary Oleyar(fiddle/rockabilly electric guitar), Tyger MacNeal (drums), and Polly Messer on harmony vocals. The songs defy genre traps and deliver an eclectic mix, with a leaning towards country/soul as a signpost.

The atmospheric What Are We Waiting For? has a sweet groove in a song about seizing the moment and appreciating all that exists in a relationship. I Had A Dream looks at stealing away and hiding out while on the road, where you never know what may happen, of an afternoon, at the Dixie Comfort Inn. There is an addictive Bayou beat to the superb I’ll Get To It with sage advice to ditch the cheating girl, and both percussion and piano adding to the accordion and brass in colouring the melody.  The superb country fiddle of Gary Oleyar compliments the sweet harmony vocals of Polly Messer on a rhythmic Save Your Love For Me, another song about coming home to your loved one.

On Summertime Return the theme is repeated on a slow reflective song about a returning lover. The Hank Williams classic I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry is given a great bluesy rendition with Polly Mesner trading verses with Grayson in a fine interpretation of such a timeless tune. The gospel feel on Carry Me is a standout moment with the song arrangement building slowly, and there is a Dr John meets Little Feat in the New Orleans groove to Wide Awake. Early Eagles country rock finds a way into the melody on A Whole Lot Of Love, with stellar piano from Grayson. Another country song is The Wrong Side Of Me and a threat that revenge comes to those who cross the line. Hoppin’ On the Housatonic is pure rockabilly with great guitar breaks and a country swing included. The Housatonic is a river and you better come dressed for the occasion once the locals meet to dance it up ‘we gonna be out til the sun is comin’ up, drinks are cold, band is hot, gonna have a good time, ready or not.’

The final song is Way Beyond The World Of You & Me (A Letter To My Love) and it captures the essence of Mother Earth with all its glorious mystery. Grayson then juxtaposes this hymn to nature with the grim reality of city living ‘I wandered lost for days in ten broken cities, in places filled with people without pity, where buildings grew and blotted out the sky, and the only smile I saw was the full moon’s eye.’ So beautifully observed and a very appropriate ending to what is one of my albums of the year. An essential purchase.

Paul McGee

Morgan Wade The Party Is Over (recovered) Sony

Such a well timed look back into the early years of this gifted artist who has battled many of life’s challenges at such a young age. Addiction, a broken home, a double mastectomy in her early 20’s, and the resilience and fortitude to rise above the challenges and break through all barriers of self -doubt.

In March 2022, I was introduced to this new songwriting talent as a part of the C2C weekend in Dublin. She sang a few songs, in the round, with two other female artists, Tiera Kennedy and Priscilla Block. It was an unlikely alliance early in the evening and for me Morgan blew the other ladies offstage with the powerful honesty in the songs she sang and in their delivery. Both of the other performers on that evening have subsequently debuted solo albums in recent years, whereas we find Morgan Wade on her fifth release since 2018. Career momentum is a strong indicator of endurance.

The ten tracks included here are mostly early songs taken from a time when Morgan was in a different place and head-space. Her parents divorced when she was 5 years old and she spent a lot of her youth in the company of her grandparents. After her school years she attended college to study in the health sciences and began writing songs to express her inner thoughts. The influence of peer pressure, while absorbing the full college experience, can spill into a hedonistic lifestyle in trying to find out just who you might be. Throw in struggles with self-identity, and coming out the other end, and you present a challenging road for any young woman.

The songs are from this period in Morgan’s life and they are heartfelt, personal and cathartic. It’s strongly compelling in the listening experience, where the emotion cannot be ignored in both the words and the honesty in the self-analysis that’s at play. Morgan Wade sings from a personal perspective and in seeking the path in her emerging journey that has ultimately led to critical acclaim. We are looking at real star quality here, and she is a welcome addition to the club of acknowledged artists. All those young dreams that Morgan once hoped would come true, are now manifest.

Many of these old songs reflect her experiences at the time, in beginning to explore new boundaries. There are broken hearts, situations that she would not want to find herself in again, plenty of fun times getting high, and trying to reconcile the lessons to be learned in the cold light of day. There is also unrequited love, aimless love and everything in between, until you find yourself in a relationship that endures… notably the result of learning to love yourself first.

Titles such as High In Your Apartment, and Songs I Won’t Remember track the use of artificial highs to attain a place of numbing the pain of untethered emotion ‘We got high in your apartment, You got drunk out in my car, Yeah we’ll lose it all’ and, in the second song ‘So take me out and get me drunk, Teach me things I forgot about love, And sing me songs I won’t remember, Get high, head home.’

Candy From Strangers tells of parental warnings ‘Mama said don’t go taking no candy from strangers, She never told me nothing about no shots from boys in bars, Everybody in this place looks like pure danger.’ In Let Us Down we are given a glimpse into a relationship with a married man ‘It got real old drinking when you’re drinking just to have fun, You don’t look too happy but who am I to judge.’ Again in East Coast there is a failed relationship and the reflection ‘I hope you know I loved you the most, Yeah, but you took the life out of me.’

Songs that speak to the vagaries of youth and the dangers that lay waiting to be revealed, prompting regret and then real work in turning bad experiences into valuable life lessons. Four of the songs included here also appeared on her self released 2018 album PUPPETS WITH MY HEART which she recorded with her band at the time, The Stepbrothers. There is one new song included here and it is the very poignant Hardwood Floor, a most difficult subject matter as it lays bare the stark reality of what lies in the road ahead for Morgan. In March 2024, she chose to undergo a double mastectomy after testing positive for the RAD5ID gene, which, along with a family history of breast cancer, puts her at great risk. She will eventually need to have a hysterectomy and her ovaries removed to prevent ovarian cancer. This song reflects upon the urge for motherhood and the lines “I wanna be quiet closing a nursery door, I wanna hear little feet on a hardwood floor,” a dream that will never come true for her. Entirely heartbreaking.

Morgan Wade has a strong self-regard these days, which is essential in the face of the ever-increasing media attention and scrutiny. Her inner strength has been hard won, but her road has seen her develop into a woman of serious gravitas and someone to be greatly admired. In looking back, she may well have released her most potent album to date, with the confessional vulnerability of her songwriting building a sense of self that looks forward into her very bright future.

Paul McGee

Florence Sommerville Endless Horizon Self Release

This is a very impressive debut album from a singer-songwriter who hails from a small Essex village in England. The twelve songs give the impression that this musician has wisdom beyond her years with her finely honed insights and perspectives, whether gained from personal experience or from observation. There are six co-writes included, with the remaining six songs self-penned. An interesting mix that points towards her song craft developing in the best possible way, by combining personal sentiment with the discipline brought from other writers who can offer experience, nuance, and different shades to these collaborations. There is a temptation to put her into a pop country package because of her young age but that would just be lazy assumption. What you get is a considered songwriter who tips more than a passing hat to the older traditions of country music while placing her own unique stamp upon these song arrangements and melodies.

There is a happy optimism on Cut and Run where the urge is to just get away from the daily routine with a new partner ‘What about it baby if we just ran away, Leave the questions and the answers for another day.’ Independence is the again the theme on Fearless with the bravery of youth reflected in taking risks ‘If there’s chances, I’m takin’ em, If there’s rules, well I’m breakin’ em, They say no, I say yes, I have always been fearless.’ The message on (I’ll Be Your) Best Broken Heart is that the lady is not looking for commitment, just a good time without any ties ‘I’m here for a season, I’m known for loving and leaving, I’ve got a gypsy soul, That’s something that you need to know.’ Summer fling anyone?

There are songs that echo relationship break-ups such as Overton, Broken Pieces, and Silly Little Things. Unrequited love is the topic on other songs such as California and Love Me Then, whereas the impact of addiction in a relationship is something that runs through the lyric on Forget the Water ‘Every time you hit me with that sideways smile, I would take you in like some lost wayward child, Now all I see is a grown man acting foolish, And the fool that used to love you in denial.’ Molasses is yet another song that references being under pressure in a toxic relationship ‘So go and stay gone, Don’t haunt me anymore.’

The joy of growing up in rural England is captured on the excellent Out Where the Love Grows and acknowledgement of the quiet country town memories of her youth ‘When you need reminding of who you are, This place brings you back like a guiding star.’ Boots In the Rain is a song about the joy that music can bring and the need to travel in pursuit of a dream ‘Got a song in my soul, A heart that don’t want to be tamed, And some boots in the rain.’  There are four bonus tracks on the CD version and the two covers are well delivered in Landslide (Fleetwood Mac) and Sweet Child Of Mine (Guns and Roses).  Whiskey In the Morning is another song about the price paid for addiction and the cost involved for others, ‘He’s used to everything spinning, don’t want to know what he’s missing, most days he’s just happy it all goes away.’ An acoustic version of Love Me Then is further confirmation of the fine performances that Florence delivers across all of the songs included.

The sound production is crystal clear and full marks to producer Alan West and engineer Adam Sweet in their vision for the songs. The band is comprised of Florence Sommerville (lead and harmony vocals, guitar), Damon Sawyer (drums), Nick Bayes (bass), Tom Wright and Adam Sweet (acoustic and electric guitars), Tom Berge (electric piano), and John Taylor (harmony vocals). Florence has an impressive vocal range, changing her tone in the delivery, with both power and subtlety used in appropriate measure in her performance. At the tender age of only twenty-one, she has certainly announced herself as a real talent to the various music media platforms. As debut albums go, this one is punching well above its weight and certainly worthy of your attention.

Paul McGee

New Album Reviews

The Pink Stones Thank the Lord… it’s The Pink Stones Normaltown/New West

The front cover of Athens, Georgia band The Pink Stones’ third album features frontman Hunter Pinkston poised in front of a church and casting a shadow that displays a pair of devil horns. The image recalls the religious expression depicted on the album cover from The Louvin Brothers' 1959 SATAN IS REAL. The similarity with those country and gospel singing brothers does not end there either. This eleven-track album, subtitled Eleven New Country Standards, takes its cue from the classic traditional country sounds from the early 1960s to early 1970s, with nods to the Louvin Brothers, Merle Haggard, The Byrds and Gram Parsons.   That’s not to say that The Pink Stones are anything like a tribute band, far from it. Pinkson’s aching vocals are tailor-made for his emotion-filled and sometimes playful lyrics, and the arrangement and instrumentation that support him are top drawer.

‘Heartbreak, regret, unrequited love, that’s our wheelhouse,’ explains Pinkston on the framework of their latest record. He co-produced the album with Henry Barbe (Drive By Truckers, Lee Bains, Deerhunter), added lead and backing vocals, and played electric guitars. New band member Caleb Boese’s standout pedal steel is a highlight across the album, and other studio contributors included Michael Alexander (drums), Adam Wayton (bass) and Neil Golden (keyboards). East Nashville’s rising bluegrass star Wyatt Ellis guests on the gospel-like opening and title track, contributing backing vocals and mandolin.

Easy-going rhythm and melding melancholia are the order of the day in Real Sad Movies, Big Jet Planes and Pile of Memories. The more up-tempo Hometown Hotel is a Porter Wagoner-style tale of small-town infidelity, and love lost is lamented in If I Can’t Win (Without You). That tale of loss and fading love also surfaces in Cold Eye of Leaving. 

More than living up to the early promise of their two previous records, INTRODUCING THE PINK STONES (2021) and YOU KNOW WHO (2023), Hunter Pinkston and his current line-up have raised the bar several notches this time around. Featuring songs that sound like they have been around forever, the album explores and navigates music from a bygone era and, in doing so, is further evidence that the classic traditional country genre continues to enjoy a welcome rebirth. A hugely impressive album.

Declan Culliton

Margo Price Hard Headed Woman Loma Vista

Despite living in Nashville for two decades, Margo Price’s sixth album, HARD HEADED WOMAN, is the first record she has recorded in Music City. Reuniting with Matt Ross-Spang, who produced her first two albums, MIDWEST FARMER’S DAUGHTER (2016) and ALL AMERICAN MADE (2017), and after a couple of records that strayed away from country towards rock, she returns to the outlaw country vibe of those early career albums. Following in the footsteps of similarly strong-willed artists such as Dolly Parton, Waylon Jennings, Loretta Lynn, and Merle Haggard, the recordings took place in the historic RCA Studio A, with Price recruiting a host of Nashville's finest, as well as those from further afield, to join in the sessions. Alongside her husband, Jeremy Ivey, other notable guests included Rodney Crowell, Tyler Childers, Shannon McNally, Russ Pahl, Billy Contreras, and Logan Ledger.

Very much a survivor, Price’s 2022 memoir Maybe We’ll Make It was a brutally honest account of vulnerability, alcohol abuse and personal tragedy. Her backstory is one of country legend, and this latest album, in many ways, is a testimony to survival without, for one minute, blocking out the past.

Putting her cards on the table from the get-go, she opens with a short, fiddle led, hymn type prelude (‘I’m a hard headed woman and I don’t owe ya shit, I ain’t ashamed, I just am what I am. I’ve been high as heaven and stubborn as hell. But I ain’t ashamed I’m just a hard headed woman’). Don’t Let The Bastards Get You Down follows; the title is borrowed from Kris Kristofferson’s sage advice to Sinead O’Connor, and on this occasion, the guidance offered by Price to the increasingly growing numbers struggling to survive in difficult times. Co-written with Rodney Crowell and her husband Jeremy Ivey, Red Eye Flight is a lively account of a once blissful marriage that is falling apart, and on the other side of the coin is the tender Close To You. The open-hearted and autobiographical latter song, also co-written with Jeremy Ivey, tells the tale of undying love with Price’s delicate vocals backed by atmospheric flamenco guitar. Good times and free spirits are recalled in the toe-tapper Wild At Heart and Price is joined by Jesse Welles in the whirlwind Don’t Wake Me Up, which is derived from a childhood poem written by Price, which Jeremy Ivey came upon.

A few well-chosen covers also feature. Price takes George Jones’ slow burner, ‘I Just Don’t Give A Damn,’ breathes new life into it, and transforms it into a full-on soulful belter. At Jessi Colter’s suggestion, Waylon Jennings’ ‘Kissing You Goodbye’ is included and is also revved up and remodelled. Pride of place among the covers goes to the Stephen Knudson-written call and response love ballad, Love Me Like You Used To Do, where Price and Tyler Childers trade lyrics beautifully in an attempt to rekindle a past romance. 

HARD HEADED WOMAN places Margo Price musically where she fits best, as an outspoken country outlaw. An essential role model for other women who operate on the opposite side of the Nashville pop/country music spectrum, let's hope she has returned to her roots and remains here for a while at least. In her own words, ‘country music is my toxic ex and I’m back to kick ass.’ She has done that and more this time around. Welcome back. 

Declan Culliton

Grant-Lee Phillips In the Hour of Dust  Yep Roc

The twelfth solo album by Grant-Lee Phillips was inspired by a painting that he came upon in the Norton Simon Art Museum in Pasadena, California. The title of that artwork from India, dating back to the 1800s, relates to the time of day when the cows are being led indoors and the dust they kick up. In doing so, they signal the end of the day, triggering the preparation of the night lamps. The title takes on an altogether different direction as Phillips, in his own words, is 'trying to find meaning in an age of confusion, feeling your way through the blinding dust of unreality.'

Much of the material is directed at that confusion and unreality that currently surrounds us, and no more so than in America. Particularly, songs like Bullies (‘Like we’re back on the schoolyard again. Oh, the world is full of bullies’) and Little Men (‘Little men who want to rule like Caesar’) call out the vile and seeking of power at any cost, that progress from the school yard to corporate business and politics, with zero empathy or compassion for the ordinary decent people.  The former was composed with pianist and Phillips’ long-time touring partner, Jamie Edwards; the latter considers the underhanded denial of freedom in many forms since the foundation of America.

The contradiction between our advancements in science, which were incomprehensible a few decades ago, and the worrying transfer of decision-making and direction to technology is at the heart of Closer Tonight. The song title 'Did You Make It Through the Night OK?' is borrowed from the Muskogee Nation's traditional morning greeting, which acknowledges the adversity that many of their community have had to endure.

There are also several tender moments. The comforting She Knows Me details the value of support and understanding, and No Mistaking, an ode to Phillips’ long-term wife and fellow artist, Denise Siegel, is an open-hearted expression of love. Optimism and hope are addressed in Dark Ages. Despite its title, the song is a reminder that even the darkest days will pass, and a brighter horizon will emerge (‘Don’t be fooled there are stars behind the clouds…. Don’t despair, there’s more than all of this’).

Phillips’ lyricism, instantly recognisable vocals that encompass both personal and observational themes, and classy arrangements continue to shine brightly on this simply gorgeous collection.

Declan Culliton

Carson McHone Pentimento Merge

Born into an artistic family, her mother, a poetry and short fiction writer, inspired Carson McHone to begin writing poetry and prose at a young age. She started playing guitar and writing songs at the age of sixteen. That swiftly progressed to playing two- and three-hour residencies in two of Austin, Texas, legendary music rooms, The Hole In The Wall and The White Horse. 

Lonesome Highway’s introduction to McHone was her 2019 album CAROUSEL, released on the Loose label. An alt-country/folk genre-hopping project, it highlighted a silver-voiced young artist who also knew how to write great songs. STILL LIFE followed three years later, produced by McHone’s husband, Canadian musical chameleon Daniel Romano, and recorded in their home studio in Southern Ontario.

PENTIMENTO, which translates in painting as ‘the presence or emergence of earlier images, forms, or strokes that have been changed and painted over’, is by far McHone’s most mature and experimental project to date. Deeply personal and tapping into her love of poetry and painting, much of the material was written during lockdown, which proved to be a particularly fruitful period for McHone in both poetry and song composition.

Very much a folk album in the traditional sense, included alongside McHone’s beautifully delivered songs are short spoken interludes, field recordings and snippets of poetry. A benchmark for the album is the British psychedelic folk band of the 1960s, The Incredible String Band, an outfit much loved by McHone. The track September Song from this album was named after that band’s October Song, which featured in their debut self-titled album from 1966. A more contemporary traditional British folk band, The Unthanks, comes to mind in the haunting track, Wake You Well. 

Though primarily written during the COVID lockdown, Triumph Of The Heart dates back to when McHone moved from Texas to her current home in Ontario, and its lyrics featured in one of the first postcards she wrote from there. Opening with a short poetry reading by Romano and following mid-paced vocals by McHone, Fruits Of My Tending explodes mid-song with a lengthy guitar burst by Romano before ending abruptly close to the six-minute mark. Another key inclusion is the opening full song, Winter Breaking. It follows McHone’s short spoken poetry reading intro, and with layered vocals, woozy keys, and handclaps, it is a thunderous inclusion.

Personal, powerful and profound, PENTIMENTO is an extraordinarily mature project from McHone that requires listening in one sitting. It’s also a giant leap forward by an artist who has truly broadened her horizons with this record. 

Declan Culliton 

Joel Plaskett One Real Reveal Self Release

Since the 1990s this Canadian musician/songwriter, based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, has been creating music of a consistently high quality. Whether in a band environment with early groups such as Thrush Hermit and Neuseiland, or fronting his own group The Emergency, Joel Plaskett has been at the cutting edge with his artistic endeavours, spanning different genres of music and always delivering real excellence.

This album escaped the attention of the Lonesome Highway team when it first appeared back in 2024, but through a strange turn of fate, it fell onto our radar recently with the new release of a tribute album to Joel’s talents (also reviewed here). The twelve tracks on this solo album are delivered in a very intimate, stripped down fashion. No other musicians were used on these songs, apart from some Wurlitzer played by Bill Stevenson, with Joel contributing on a selection of guitars, banjo, mandolin and piano. The songs are musings on matters of life and love, with fleeting reflections, sliding door moments, synchronicity, ‘what if’ scenarios and always coloured with an overarching sense of ‘why not’?

The stripped back arrangements were recorded on analogue format and four-track, with spoken word on some tracks and vocals that were double tracked for greater effect on others. Memory is a big factor in these songs and Joel has said that time travelling is part of what music is all about. We see this clearly in the songs here, snippets of reflection and nostalgia, and a nice sense of place and time. Also, where aspirations and dreams can point to a future direction, therein lies the real gold, such as the title track One Real Reveal where the urge is to want more and to strike out for the horizon ‘I’m not so sure it’s gonna set us free, But if you’re walking out the door, Wait for me, I’m hot on your heels.’

In Let Me Go, Jo we have the plea ‘Let me go, Jo, Let me go make my mistakes, The pedal to the metal, Just to know that them’s the brakes.’ There is a sense of wanting to be fully invested in everything that makes life worthwhile. Many of Joel’s songs display a sense of longing in the words and their delivery, which leads the listeners to form their own insights from the meaning. Joel is a consummate wordsmith, and his songs often challenge the listener to meet him at the door that opens into hidden emotions. He is very playful with language, as with the opening to Blind Spots ‘Salacious stories, Curvaceous lady, This spaceship sure feels spacious lately.’ The song suggests lost love and a change of heart.

There are five tracks that run at just two minutes, or less, in length. They are vignettes into feelings expressed, such as I Sell Flowers that poses a question regarding a brief moment with a passing stranger and the transient nature of communication. The song Variations On A Theme plays along similar lines in examining the variety in relationships, and in It’s Almost Over Now we have an old memory mixed with a sense of regret as a romance comes towards an ending. High Summer and Iona are similar songs in that they capture moments now lost in time and that heady feeling of first love is superseded by the realisation that we are not so different in our emotional core after all.

Perhaps it’s just a small part in the play of life and those lines from Shakespeare ring true “All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances, And one man in his time plays many parts.” The weary traveller in Rainy Day Janey asks for temporary respite from the rain on the living room floor of a friend ‘Can I sleep on your floor for the night? I don’t have a pillow but that’s not my going concern, I can roll up my jacket alright, I’ll let myself out in the mornin’ - You won’t even know I was here.’

And maybe it all resolves in the love song Breezy Jane that closes out the album in the knowledge that ‘I was goin’ through the motions, I was stayin’ in my lane, Now I couldn’t care less that I’m standin’ in the rain, Where ya been all my life, Breezy Jane?’ Love indeed conquers all in the final reckoning. This album comes highly recommended, superbly delivered and full of insight, humour and reflection.

Paul McGee

Various Artists Joel Plaskett -Songs From the Gang Turtlemusik

Ever since a debut album launched the solo career of this Canadian singer songwriter back in 1999,   Joel Plaskett has had a creative output that stands tall in terms of quality and style. Whether recording under his band name The Emergency or, as a solo artist, this multi-instrumentalist has amassed an impressive number of album releases, EPs, and compilations, including rarities and popular songs.

He is such a strong artist in his melodic instincts, in the superbly crafted lyrics around the song arrangements, and with his overall sense of having fun and not taking it all too seriously. The albums span a number of genres, to the extent where I would term his output as blending and transcending any such imposed limits. He formed the indie-rock band Thrush Helmet in the early 1990s  and gravitated to Neuseiland towards the end of that decade, a band that fused experimentation with conventional song structures. Joel has been nominated for numerous East Coast Music Awards over his career and he has always applied a pioneering approach to different experimental projects.

In 2009 the album Three was released and it consisted of three discs, each consisting of nine songs, with a total of 27 tracks to enjoy. A lot of the song titles had three repeated words as a play on the theme. Jump forward to 2020, and Joel completed an album titled 44 and yes, you guessed it, the four discs contained eleven songs on each. It was given a release on the last day that he was 44 years old.

And now, we bring everything full circle in 2025 with a celebration to mark Joel Plaskett turning 50 years of age. His management team commissioned SONGS FROM THE GANG as a tribute album, featuring 23 Canadian acts who recorded cover versions of songs chosen from Plaskett’s broad repertoire. The project was not revealed to Joel in advance of its release, and it is a sign of the esteem in which this popular musician is held that so many of his contemporaries willingly took part.

The songs vary widely in their interpretations and cover a full range, from blues to folk, hard rock to country, with some pop leanings included. There are six songs covered from the LA DE DA album (2005), a further four selected from the THREE release (2009), with three songs selected from each of ASHTRAY ROCK (2007) and SCRAPPY HAPPINESS (2012). Everyone will have their own personal favourites of course and the entire project is an unqualified success, with stellar performances from all involved.

Personal highlights for me include the reflective takes on Please Don’t Return by Bahamas, All the Way Down the Line by City and Colour, and Lonely Love courtesy of Mo Kinney. Also, honourable mention for the upbeat You’re Mine by Frank Turner, the playful Come On Teacher by Arkells, and the driving I Love This Town by Sloan. No matter what songs you care to highlight, the entire listening experience is filled with great moments. An engaging and recommended album.

Paul McGee

Charles Wesley Godwin Lonely Mountain Town Big Loud

For someone who is still in his early thirties, this West Virginian artist has achieved quite a lot over a relatively short career to date. Godwin learned to play guitar in his early twenties after calling time on a dream to make American football his professional career. Already, he is the creative source of three fine albums, along with a number of Eps and singles, and his growing reputation continues to draw accolades, fully evidenced on this seven-song release that finds Godwin in reflective mood throughout.

Seth Avett of the Avett Brothers makes an appearance on the cover song Hammer Down which was originally penned by Jason Molina, and the artist ERNEST sings on another song  Dead To Rights. All of the songs have a chilled, mid-tempo feel to them and they highlight the superb vocals of Godwin as he sings of lonely hearts and broken down places, experienced while touring around various American cities and townships. The life of a travelling minstrel, captured in these insights and reflections and some insight of life on the road for a living.

The title track is a song that echoes the loneliness of missing your kin while out on the road ‘This lonely mountain feels empty when there’s people all around.’ Elsewhere, the words on It’s the Little Things, highlight the simple things that we can take for granted, “It’s the little things like the look she gives me in the morning.” On Dead To Rights we are treated to atmospheric pedal steel on a love song that reflects upon the power of attraction “You crashed into me, Like that damn left hook I never got to see.” On the song It’s Her Move the gentle acoustic guitar showcases that endless highway always pulling at the hopes of any sustained relationships. The ensemble playing is very enjoyable as the sense of distance paints an atmospheric picture.

On Then I’m Gone the singer is looking back to a potential life of settling down versus that choice of singing songs for a living from town to town. She Don’t Love Me Anymore is a reflective performance on guitar that echoes regret at the ending of a relationship and admits “been having a hard week, For the last year.” The final song Hammer Down is a wry look at feelings of melancholy and the urge to keep moving, destination unknown “When it's been my ghost and the empty road, I think the stars are just the neon lights.”

Producer, guitarist and bandmate, Al Torrence recorded these songs at his Music Garden Studios in New Brighton, Pennsylvania. Charles Wesley Godwin is supported by his live band, the impressive Alleghany High, with Ben Townsend (banjo, fiddle), Joe Pinchotti (drums), Don Garvin (bass), John Rickard (dobro, pedal steel), joining Al Torrence (guitar, keyboards, mandolin), to deliver in great style on these songs. This mini-album is certainly worth the investment and takes its place in the rising career of James Wesley Godwin with plenty of poise and presence.

Paul McGee

Freight Old Bones Switchyard

This band define their sound as Rural Rock and Country Funk and their base is located in Ithaca, NY.  They were founded in 2020 by JP Payton and their debut album that year was titled HARD WORKER.

There is an impressive array of musicians on this very enjoyable album and contributions are supplied by the following: Bowman Townsend, Jeremy Bussman, Chris Ploss, Wade Fedder, Russ DeLuca (drums), Mike Brando, Mike DuMont (bass), RP Payton (pedal steel, dobro, electric guitar, bass, synthesizer), Liam Lawson, Joe Rian (electric guitar), Cory Holbert (electric guitar, keyboards), Sam Lupowitz (keyboards), Sheila Bertoletti (keyboards, organ), Colleen Countryman (organ, piano), and Loveday Greene (backing vocals).

Quite a list of players guesting across different songs and the album is packed with inviting hooks and melodies, all sourced from the creative muse of JP Payton (acoustic, electric guitars and lead vocals), who wrote the ten songs, including one co-write. The album was recorded at Sunwood Studios in Trumansburg, NY by Jaime Gartelos.

Big Bright Moon has a traditional country sound with superb pedal steel and a sweet groove that sees the singer returning back home from being too long on the road. The title track Old Bones is in similar territory as the singer reflects upon taking a relationship break and l can sense the longing in the restrained guitar lines, “Old ways die hard, and old ways leave scars.”

Found A Love has a slow rhythm and the fine vocal of Payton compliments the deep guitar melody that winds around the atmospheric and restrained power. Loving Arms has some excellent acoustic guitar picking and the song build up excites as it develops into a fine work out with all the players joining towards a satisfying resolve. It’s followed by the longest track on the album Travesty, with dynamic pedal steel to lift the harmonics and propel the song along with an energy. New Coat has a nice Americana looseness in the arrangement that reminds me of a Son Volt vibe, with dobro mixing into the cool guitar picking and a lazy beat unfurling a sense of freedom in the delivery.

Cry Honey is one part rockabilly, one part rocking beat, that shouldn’t work, but happily knocks it out of the park, and I’m sure that it’s a killer song when played live. Things slow down on Somehow and a nice country love song “‘Baby can you lift me up, I’ve been too far down on love.” The next song is the excellent Skyrocket and again the band excel on a fine vocal duet shared with Loveday Greene and gritty guitar embellishing the warm keyboard swells.

The final song is Too Much and it wraps everything up nicely with a brightly coloured testament of love, complimented by the excellent rhythm section bringing the groove, and the atmospheric guitar sound rising to meet the harmony vocals. A very impressive album and certainly one that will bring many hours of enjoyment and entertainment.

Paul McGee

JP Payton Mtn Blue Switchyard

Not content to focus exclusively on the new album from JP Payton’s band Freight (also reviewed), this talented New York resident has also recorded a solo album of some resonance and depth. Both albums bring plenty of riches in their content, with a band dynamic on one, balanced against the acoustic calm of the other. Payton grew up in Bloomington, Indiana and released a debut EP in 2019, and he writes thought-provoking songs that reflect our daily hopes and fears, with insight and perspective upon what is really important in the enduring play of life.

Thank You So kicks off proceedings with a warm vocal and fingerstyle guitar. It’s a positive affirmation of others and an appreciation for all that we share together. The next song is Little Late and this is a relationship song that asks for some common ground between lovers; in stark contrast to the universal love expressed in the opener. An interesting juxtaposition and one that draws you into the rest of this album.

The song Job Well Done observes the life of a guy who is just trying to get ahead and facing his commitments, while Wheel’s Falling Off has the returning hero trying to find a way back to something once left behind; can you ever replace what now appears lost? Big Bright Moon is a solo acoustic rendition of a song that appears on the latest Freight album Old Bones and it’s another road song about setting your compass home by the light of the moon. Another song Starting Over Again is about recovering from a toxic relationship and getting your mojo back in gear.

Although the songs are simple acoustic guitar and vocal, there is an immediacy and an intimacy that settles like a warm blanket around feelings of a shared knowledge and understanding. The song Need To Know asks whether innocence of youth is completely gone in the propensity as adults to try and learn what it’s supposedly all about, and where everything fits. Living in the moment is more than enough, as evidenced in the lyric ‘And I don’t even need to know what it’s all about, The sun’s setting low and we’re here right now.’

The next two songs also appear on the Old Bones album with Somehow asking for a healing balm and a cure from loves arrows ‘ Bent out of shape and broke down,’ while Travesty has superb guitar picking on a song that deals with raising funds for a headstone to honour a friend that has passed away. Sing Back has a late night feel surrounding the vocal delivery and strummed guitar, the song hinting at a rueful sense of something missed. Love never runs in straight lines.

6th of Jan is a song that captures the Trump supporters march on Washington DC back in 2021, expressing the disbelief that many felt with that turn of events. Again, you can enjoy the superb guitar playing on this track and throughout the album. A second guitar features, with Liam Lawson on nylon strings playing as a counterpoint and a key part of this song. There is also a female vocal on Somehow that is courtesy of the impressive Loveday Greene. The final song is Lights Out and it has an easy melody to soothe the listener “When I close my eyes I’m dreaming, and my heart touches clouds.” Again, twin guitars playing in unison here, and a perfect coda to an album that will bring many admirers to this engaging music.

Paul McGee

New Album Reviews

David Newbould Average Fidelity Vol 1 Blackbird

Produced and recorded in his home studio, Carport Livin’ in East Nashville, AVERAGE FIDELITY VOL.1 follows Canadia David Newbould’s explosive LIVE IN GERMANY from 2024.

The 2020 restrictions during COVID led Newbould to record and release his album POWER UP!, working alongside producer and multi-instrumentalist Scot Sax (Wanderlust, Robert Plant, Aaron Lee Tasjan). If POWER UP! was a two-person effort, he has gone one step further with his latest record, contributing vocals, guitars, bass, piano, organ and drums in what is in every sense of the word a ‘solo’ album. The only outside input came from Tommy Goss who added drums on two tracks, and Julian McClannahan who played fiddle on one track.

 Newbould’s career path has included playing with indie-rock band The Mercenaries in New York City, teaming up with fellow rocker Jon Dee Graham and dobro/ steel guitar wonder Cindy Cashdollar in Austin, Texas, before finally settling in Nashville, where he has worked with fellow axe men Dan Baird and Aaron Lee Tasjan.

AVERAGE FIDELITY VOL.1 includes a number of Newbold’s customary face melters, Fractured Love and I Wanna Quit Drinkin’ (But My Baby Won’t Let Me) are raw, full on, and demand to be played at maximum volume. Elsewhere, he includes a couple of genre-crossing curveballs.  He dips into prog-rock with the super Into The Deep, a co-write with Aaron Lee Tasjan, which brings to mind Todd Rundgren. The country ditty Straight Shot To Bakersfield was triggered by a California tour with L.A.-based honky tonker, Rosy Nolan.

Troubled times and disappointment are at play in Broken Hearts Are Paint, co-written with Newbould’s East Nashville neighbour, Boo Ray. Human vulnerabilities are also the thread that runs through Rainy Day Heart, which charts a relationship falling apart.

A hard-edged album of heartland Americana and rock-tinged songs, despite its DIY creation, it’s a worthy addition to Newbould’s back catalogue, and the good news is that Vol. 2 is likely to be released next year.

A regular visitor to Europe, Newbould is due to play dates in Germany, Belgium, Denmark, Holland, and Sweden in August/September, where no doubt he will be featuring material from this album as well as his back catalogue. Get along to see him if you can, his live shows are simply dynamic.

Declan Culliton

Anna Tivel Animal Poem Fluff & Gravy

A leading light in the folk/singer songwriter genre of the past decade, Anna Tivel’s latest album, ANIMAL POEM, is her seventh studio recording. La Conner, Washington, born but residing in Portland, Oregon, since the age of eighteen, her writing often focuses on the plight of the underprivileged and ordinary people attempting to survive in an increasingly challenging environment. A quite prolific writer, this record is her fourth in five years, following on from BLUE WORLD (2021), OUTSIDERS (2022) and LIVING THING (2024).

Tivel worked with Portland-based producer and multi-instrumentalist Sam Weber for the first time on this recording, and that marriage works seamlessly across the ten tracks. Weber co-produced with Tivel, as well as contributing electric and acoustic guitar.  Recorded live in a circle with all the players present, the other contributors, mostly close friends of Tivel, included Micah Hummel (drums, percussion), Galen Clark (Wurlitzer, organ, piano, Mellotron), Sam Howard (bass), Nicole McCabe (saxophone) and Danny Austin-Manning (percussion).

‘Every album is a snapshot, a momentary study of the way a mind reaches for understanding. I can feel myself reaching in these songs for whatever is right beyond my grasp. Mortality and connection. Suffering and meaning’, explains Tivel, on her latest observations and writings.

At a few seconds short of six minutes, Paradise (Is It In The Mind) is simply stunning and one that had me hitting the repeat button a number of times. Writing from the perspective of an ageing and lonely individual, after a dreamy opening with Tivel’s gentle questioning vocals, the intensity increases mid-song with vocals laced with frustration and a scorching guitar break in front of a hypnotic drum beat. Considering separation and the passage of time is the less frenetic Badlands and the title track reflects on the ever-growing gap between the affluent and the destitute, (‘None of it is really fair, born into the atmosphere breathing gold or stealing when you’re hungry, everyone you come upon, holds a picture in their mind, ask them and they might just show you’).

Tivel’s vocals and tenor guitar deliver the stripped-down ode to a lost friend in HOUGH AVE, 1966, and fond retrospections of past summers emerge in the jazzy White Goose. The sharp contrasts of existing in this messed-up world are echoed in Holy Equation (‘good luck to the lucky few…. gold dust blooming from black gun powder….God bless this whole mess, and God bless my neighbors’)

Every listen opens new doors in ANIMAL POEM, and each song plays out like a meditation on life’s challenges. Attentive listening is the key to maximum return on this hugely impressive record, from an artist who consistently pours her heart and soul into her work. 

Declan Culliton

Emma Swift The Resurrection Game Tiny Ghost

The 2020 debut album, BLONDE ON THE TRACKS, from Australian-born Emma Swift, was a joyful labour of love with a delve into the back catalogue of her beloved Bob Dylan. Swift’s sophomore album was prompted by entirely contrasting circumstances. The core theme of THE RESURRECTION GAME is her journey from despair and hopelessness to rebirth and recovery. The material for the record was written over a two-year period while the Nashville-based artist recovered from mental illness that resulted in a seven-week hospital stay followed by a twelve-month recovery period, assisted by therapy and medication. The songs probe the sagging anguish and remorse of Swift’s trauma while also rejoicing in the love and support that aided her recovery.

The album benefits hugely from the chosen recording process. The simple option would have been for Swift to call on her talented Nashville neighbours and record in any of the numerous studios close to home. Instead, she and her producer Jordan Lehning (Rodney Crowell, Kacey Musgraves, Caitlin Rose) headed to the Isle of Wight in the U.K. where they spent a week recording at the Chale Abbey studio, a large stone barn dating back to the 16th century and located in the grounds of one of the oldest domestic buildings on the island. Accompanied by her studio band of Nashville-based big hitters, including Spencer Cullum (pedal steel), Juan Solorzano (guitar), Eli Beaird (bass), Dom Billet (drums) and with Lehning playing pianos, synths, vibes and glockenspiel, they recorded the album's ten tracks live in that magical setting. By removing Swift and her contributors from their comfort zone of Nashville, whether intentionally or otherwise, the album’s musical direction steers clear of the bulging Americana genre. Instead, its direction takes on an imposing eclectic baroque-pop style that recalls the early careers of Scott Walker and Kate Bush.

The lush arrangements and Swift’s emotion-drenched vocals on the opening track, Nothing And Forever, could have been the perfect soundtrack to the closing episode of Twin Peaks. Equally dramatic is the title track, which recounts a week-long therapy retreat at The Hoffman Institute in California (‘With ash in my hair and dirt in my nails, the eternal story, we love and we fail. Breathing in fire and calling it air, I've come to surrender to what was never there’). At a gentler pace, Catholic Girls Are Easy questions the absurd religious teaching that we are born with sin and the subsequent guilt it can promote (‘I've spent a lifetime praying to folks who were not there. You know they were not there’). Similarly paced, the dreamlike Going Where The Lonely Go is a gorgeous statement of undying love, as is the testimony of rebirth and renewal, No Happy Endings. More sinister is the ghostly and dramatic Signing Off With Love, which references the confessional poet Robert Lowell and avant-garde poet and writer Maggie Nelson.

Swift’s debut album was a pointer towards an artist with a keen eye for reconstructing cover songs, but THE RESURRECTION GAME raises the bar to an entirely different level. It may have taken illness and debilitation to trigger this project, and I certainly didn’t see this coming, but the upshot is a spectacular accomplishment of impeccable song crafting with tailor-made arrangements. 

Declan Culliton

Joshua Josué Beneath The Sand Electric Chololand

The debut album from a man known as El Gringo Mariachi is an uplifting and accomplished blend of heartland twangy rock and the various traditions of music from south of the border - one they have dubbed Chicano rock. Some may view the combination as perhaps just skimming the surface of both. But to these ears it ticks the boxes in many ways. Josué has a natural affinity with his sources and the original material, which he has composed himself or, as with the title track, co-written with Roly Salley and Ben Rice. The exception is Cartas de Amor which was written by Mikel Erentxun Acosta and Jesus Maria Corman. 

The overall sound recording and production from Pat Kearns, in Goat Mountain Recording, has all the muscle and motive it requires to reveal a mastery of the intended purpose of the album. Add to that a studio posse par excellence and you can easily understand why it works so well. You have on board Chris Isaak’s bassist Roly Salley and guitarist Hershel Yatovitz, Dwight Yoakam’s drummer Mitch Marine, Los Lobos saxophonist Steve Berlin, Joel Guzmán on accordion, keyboardist Mark Breiterbach and, finally, Mathew Peluso on pedal steel. An array of these above players and others, including Murry Hammond and Angelynn Pierce, are featured on backing vocals.

However Josué leads from the front on guitar and vocals, handling the dual language lyrics with a depth and well-disposed delivery. The opening track, Restless Heart, has a strong rhythmic pulse with some very appealing twang-laden guitar sounds. Bogart & Me is a travel song about a man and his trusted canine companion moving on down the road ,with Guzman’s accordion upfront and Berlin’s sax making their presence felt. Solitario is sung in Spanish but easily manages to convey its sense of loneliness. Similarly, the title track’s sense of loss and grief is palpable, written during a time of travelling by motorcycle and looking for meaning along the way and finding some of that in the landscape and Latin influenced music. In both he’s trying to forget and trying to find - “I swear I see your face with every border I cross / These Central American highways a place to get lost.”

Following that are another three songs sung in Spanish (including the above mentioned non Josué co-write) and I can only guess at what they are telling us, other than from their musical implications - which are all stalwart in that intention. They contain a sense of romance as well as the recondite. Another highlight is the dynamic Big Train, built around an equally striking guitar motif and the vocal admonishment that there is a “Train as black as night just like my soul.” That may be so but, Josué’s music is full of life and counterbalances any inherent but realistic and restless melancholy and one that has some elevation and Chicano ethos in its soul.

The album closes with another two well realised treatises on the overall atmosphere, in the all night desert walking drama of Plaza Expiatorio, and the more moody She Is Guadalajara that uses the pedal steel effectively to highlight its drifting nature. This will be my, and doubtless many others’, first encounter with this Portland-based artist. It is to be hoped he further hones his approach to his blend, which may not be unique in intention but is delivered with a skill and understanding that will be fruitful in further endeavours, especially if the assembled players can be reunited with Josué’s musical talents.

Stephen Rapid

Pete Droge Fade Away Blue Self Release 

Some may best remember Droge for his 1994 album NECKTIE SECOND, when he was signed to Rick Rubin’s label. The stand-out track for this writer was the song The Fourth of July. It fitted into much that was happening around that time musically. Since then there have been several more albums (and labels and great songs), plus a collaborative band, The Thorns, in 2003. FADE AWAY BLUE is released under his own name, but includes several songs co-written with long-time partner Elaine Summers. They have also put out three albums together in recent times, but now we have this album of more folkish styled songs. Here, under the helm of Droge and Paul Bryan, they are give a rounded reading with a full band which includes the latter on bass and Mellotron. He is joined in the rhythm section by noted drummer Jay Bellerosea nd a host of other players, including single track contributions by Greg Leisz on pedal steel and fiddler Gabe Witcher. Summers adds her harmony vocals throughout, for a warm and relaxed (for the most part) sound.

While I lost contact with Droge after the initial releases (a reminder of a time when if an album was not on a major label it was quite difficult to get hold of an indie artist release, before streaming and downloads) many in his fan base did not and the new album will doubtless appeal to them. It may not be obvious, on a casual listen to some of the slower songs, that he is often talking of an individual’s search for an identity and an understanding of time and place. Dealing with love both present, past and unrequited, this relates to Droge’s search to find his birth mother. It’s a journey that many have taken in the face of, often, bureaucratic obstacles to finding someone who, for one reason or another, may not want to have that contact. In Droge’s case that opportunity was lost when he discovered that his birth mother had recently passed away. Song For Barbara Ann deals with that difficult reality. The people who did raise him is the theme of other songs, such as You Called Me Kid, a fine song that opens the album. Lonely Mother comes from the same thought source but from a different perspective, as does Gypsy Rose which imagines her as a young free spirit. It has been for Droge a journey that has brought him face to face with pain and healing and knowing more about himself, much of which he has translated into song with a tenderness and truth.

Other songs take a more lasting look at the long term relationship with his collaborator and wife, Elaine Summers. Bare Tree is an example of the gratitude that such a longterm relationship has brought to him. The album title is a consideration of a state of mind and body emerging from a period of “the blues”, a term for a depressive situation that he and many others have faced. This album may be very helpful to others who have encountered a similar path, yet even if none of these is immediately evident, the album will engage many on a purely musical level for what it delivers as an album experience. I found that the song Skeleton Crew was the one track that, this time out, stuck in my head. But that’s just me and many will find others. This is an album that is personal yet will also find a wider affinity within an Americana audience at large.

Stephen Rapid

Tobin Kirk Live and Solo at De Groeverij 2024 Self Release

This singer songwriter started his career as a band member in indie-power-pop groups. A move to Nashville sparked a career turn into the area of songwriting but subsequent family commitments saw Tobin taking a step away from the music industry for a number of years.

He has now returned with a focus on making up for lost time, and judging by what I can find on his profile he has released two studio albums and seven singles since 2022 last. An impressive output by any standards and now we are given a live album, recorded in the Netherlands during a residency in De Groeverij, Hoten, Utrecht during 2024.

His photo image is somewhat reminiscent of a young James Joyce with his waxed moustache, glasses and Stetson. Not that his songs are anything approaching the literary depth of this renowned novelist and poet. However, in musical terms, Tobin Kirk presents himself as a talented guitarist and he sings in a clear and confident vocal tone that brings plenty to enjoy. The eight songs included here are selected across his recorded output to date, with four of the tracks appearing on his LESSONS IN LONLEY album from 2022. There are a further two songs included from the Waterworks album in 2024, plus a couple of singles.

The live album is recorded with an impressive production quality and both vocals and acoustic guitar are captured in a bright and engaging style. Tobin sings with great energy and although the songs can sound just a little thin without further instrument augmentation, you are given enough in the mix to want to explore the studio releases in greater detail.

Mostly the songs are concerned with relationship issues and the dynamic between making the heart robust against inevitable hurt, versus opening it up to all the possibilities of true love. Titles such as Lessons In Lonely, Scar Tissue, I Can’t Cry All Day and My Song Is Blue give you all the clues that you need regarding the direction in which these songs are headed. All in all, this is a fine starter before the main course for anyone who is interested to investigate further. Full marks for the talent on display and I look forward to hearing Tobin Kirk when surrounded by his full band in adding greater dimension to these song of the heart.

Paul McGee

Dave Steel Wooden Music Self Release

Another fine example of the hidden gems awaiting discovery in the roots music scene of Australia. There have been many examples of real quality over the decades from “down under” and all have the same common ingredient; a special essence that elevates the music and rises above the mainstream.

Nominated for several ARIA Awards over the years in the Australian music industry, Dave Steel recorded this album in the Huon Valley, Lutruwita (Tasmania).  It was recorded live in the studio with minimal overdubs, and with Ross Smithard on fiddle, Louis Gill on double bass, Tiffany Eckhardt on backing vocals, and Dave Steel on guitars and lead vocals, the ten songs deliver a very impressive album.

The atmospheric Road opens the album with imagery of driving at night, alone with internal thoughts, reflecting on family, and travelling towards some unknown destination. The spontaneous playing on the melody has a free-form folky structure with plenty of space for improvisation. It’s the longest song included here and quite an interesting opening statement. Sea Wind is another long track and the ensemble playing is very addictive with an easy pulse in the rhythm, and the creative fiddle playing of Smithard rising above and creating images of sweet freedom on the ocean wave. Upside is a reflective tune that reminds me of fellow Australian Paul Kelly, with lots of local references to growing up in local neighbourhoods and the experiences that shaped the adult. Like As Not is another jaunt along a dusty country road with a sunny rhythm to enjoy the feeling of being in the moment.

This is the first album from Dave Steel in 20 years, and the power of the new material has me wondering why this veteran of the Australian roots music scene has taken such a long spell away from his solo output. His back catalogue comprises nine previous releases, and Dave is a singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer who was a founding member of Weddings Parties Anything, and has worked as a sideman and session musician with many of Australia’s finest artists.

On Sickle Moon he takes a slow tempo arrangement and embellishes it with an atmospheric vocal performance on singing the blues, the understated playing of Smithard and Gill adding great atmospherics to the song. Go In Peace follows and its mellow flow is a real highlight, and perhaps a tribute to a friend who has passed away ‘ go in peace my brother, all your debts are paid, all your chances taken, all the plans you made.’ This is the type of album where you want to be seated live in the room with a nice glass of wine and the music wrapping around you in the intimacy of the moment.

Hard Times is another slow blues with a less-is-more approach in the playing dynamic. Dripping in atmosphere. Winter is another slice of pure Paul Kelly in the descriptive content of the song ‘there's snow up high on the mountain, an icy wind is cutting me down, I'm up here in a shack by the fire, with a big black dog and a shotgun.‘ Woodsmoke looks at searching out external stimulations while the simple things of nature lie quietly around us as peaceful solutions ‘ we chase the mighty dollar, we talk and fuss and fight, and all the while the world she turns, softly through the night.’

The cover version of a Skip James song Hard Time Killin’ Floor is particularly memorable with the mournful vocal and fiddle bringing fresh spotlight upon the poverty to be found in society, both past and present, from the depression era through to the war torn countries of the 21st century.

It's such a great joy to discover these artists from the other side of the world, making such vital music and contributing to the global creativity of roots music. Final song The Dying Stockman visits the last days of a livestock farmer and is very much in the way of an old dirge from the land. There is clearly a vibrant roots scene in Australia, pioneered in earlier times by the integration of  bush balladeers and the emigrant music of English, Irish and Scottish traditions, among many others. This album, at over 50 minutes of classy songs, echoes this rich past and stands as a ringing endorsement of the creative source. It will bring great joy and reward to all who partake.

Paul McGee

Vince Santoro Exposed Self Release

This excellent album is a debut recording from an experienced drummer and session player to the stars, with the confident and rich sound delivered courtesy of producer and long-time friend George Marinelli.  Over a long career Santoro has played and toured with the likes of Rodney Crowell, Rosanne Cash, Emmy Lou Harris, Carlene Carter, Shania Twain, and Mary Chapin Carpenter. Santoro also played with The Highwaymen (Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, and Waylon Jennings), among many others.

On this solo album of nine tracks, Vince Santoro contributes on lead vocals, drums, guitar, synth bass, and electric bass. He is joined by George Marinelli on electric, acoustic, slide guitar, bass guitar, mandolin, synth bass, keyboards, harmonica, percussion and backing vocals. The duo also have the talented Barbara Santoro on harmony vocals and piano, with single track appearances from Benny Harrison on keyboards, backing vocals, Jim Hoke on horns, and Jonell Mosser, vocals on “I’d Be Dancing.”

Santoro draws on the experience that Marinelli has gained over years of working with many prominent artists like Bruce Hornsby and Bonnie Raitt. The title track Exposed concerns someone who feels out of his depth in a love and a loser in the affairs of the heart ‘I might join the club where shot-down lovers go.’

Another song, I’d Be Dancing follows the joie de vivre of a young girl dancing down the street and elsewhere Rec Room harks back to teenage days when a den in the family home was the centre of the universe for growing adolescents in need of their own space. Another childhood memory is visited on Long Slow Rain and days when time stood still lake fishing in the rain.

For Adeline is a heart-felt tribute to the passing of his mother and captured in the words ‘Seems everyone she knew is in my living room, Together we’re the legacy of love that she left, With casseroles and constant conversation I can smile a busy smile, The fact she’s gone really hasn’t hit me yet.’ On Shade Tree the search for home someplace else is tempered by the fact that it really always existed right on your doorstep ‘Each time I run from town to town, Thinkin’ it’s greener, I leave behind a chance to find, That piece of fertile ground.’

The plight of the homeless is addressed on What’s That Like? And the words hit hard ‘What’s that like … By the fireside, Safe behind 4 walls of stone?, I only know the unforgiving sidewalk that I call home.’ The target on Everything is well chosen and the irony of where the charlatan may hide ‘It’s Everything, every phrase that masquerades as intellect, Every point that you think you made that doesn’t pass the test.’

A Too Familiar Sight is a song about crippling shyness and self-consciousness ‘Why do you watch me from the mirror in my room? You could go anywhere but this is what you choose, Another lonely night – a too familiar sight.’ Perhaps in a previous existence, Vince Santoro suffered the same doubts and fears that all folks encounter when looking for our place in the world. With his CV bursting from the great musical journey his life has embarked upon these days Santoro can only look back with a benign smile at where he has arrived from. An album that brings plenty of interesting moments and one that comes recommended.

Paul McGee

Skydiggers Dreams and Second Chances Self Release

Skydiggers is a Canadian roots rock band from Toronto that was formed by Andy Maize and Josh Finlayson. Since 1990, they have released 19 albums/EPs, and have seen a number of personal changes along the way. Original bandmates Andy Maize and Josh Finlayson remain to this day and this new album continues the legacy and success of the band. Recording took place at the Bathouse, in Bath, Ontario and the home studio of another legendary Canadian band The Tragically Hip.

A great album that is filled with interesting group dynamics. Clearly comfortable in their own internal zone, the musicians deliver such an impressive array of talent across these 14 songs. Being optimistic is the key message of the title track Dreams and Second Chances with the husband asking his wife ‘I believe in dreams and second chances, I believe in holding on to hope, So why don’t you.’

In an increasingly fractured world it’s hard to keep belief in positive outcomes but the Skydiggers seek out that silver lining and on Start Again they sing that ‘What you don't have, You will not need, The past it's gone, That's plain to see,’ perhaps the essential mantra by which to live our lives going forward. Jessy Bell Smith takes lead vocal on Mother’s Pocket and this song about faithless love is wrapped in a traditional country arrangement with the understated instrumentation reflecting the sense of hurt. The compelling rhythm on Snow Blind carries a beat that is reminiscent of a Roy Orbison tune and the lead vocal of Andy Maize is very close to the legendary singer.

The musicians excel throughout with Derrick Brady (bass guitar), Aaron Comeau (electric guitar), Josh Finlayson (acoustic guitar), Michael Johnston(keyboards), and Noel Webb (drums), and the twin vocal leads of Jessy Bell Smith and Andy Maize have plenty of quality to pivot around in the song arrangements.

Walk With the Stars is a dreamscape in which nature is the central essence of the repeated chorus ‘The older the moon, The brighter it shines, We walk with the stars, One night at a time.’ Apparently the song is in tribute to Gord Downie of the Tragically Hip who died in 2017, and the song is a co-write with Jim Cuddy of Blue Rodeo.

Other highlights include the interesting I Love You, Too… Maybe which appears to tackle doubts internalised by a new father on the arrival of a baby into his life. My interpretation may be wide of the mark but lines such as ‘In this room full of people, I feel so all alone, Pushing ahead, Full of doubt’ have me pondering whether all is not well.

Elsewhere we are treated to the slow melody of Quiet Mind and a message to learn from past experience in order to live fully in the present moment. The band play in a restrained and harmonious rhythm on the song, while the vocals add sweet succour.

There is a love breakdown on the songs Broken Year and  One, Maybe Two, Maybe… where the words speak volumes ‘Promises we made but who's keeping score, And I can't remember what we're fighting for.’ The final song is All Good All the Time and it restores faith in the urge to keep going no matter what travails we carry. Turning full circle we find Skydiggers essentially looking at a “glass half full” scenario, despite the forays into darker territory on some of these songs. As always, music to challenge and also stimulate the senses. A Skydiggers album is always worthy of attention and hopefully you will agree that the wait has been worth the time spent.

Paul McGee

New Album Reviews

Seth Mulder & Midnight Run Coming On Strong Rebel

For his first album on the legacy Rebel Records, and his fourth album to date, Seth Mulder chose Dudley Connell and Ken Irwin to co-produce and the result is simply sublime. Connell formed the hugely influential bluegrass band, the Johnson Mountain Boys, in the 70’s and later joined another huge act, The Seldom Scene, with whom he still plays. Irwin co-founded that essential roots music label, Rounder Records, in 1970 and therefore had his finger in many of the pies which went on to influence American folk music right up until the present day. 

Seth Mulder’s musical development has always been about pushing boundaries, yet still being rooted in bluegrass tradition. He credits this partly to his upbringing in North Dakota, which isn’t exactly a hotbed of bluegrass, so the first bluegrass artists he discovered were Del McCoury and Punch Brothers! The diversity of sources and styles on this latest record are also down to the influences of the two producers, who brought a lot of song suggestions to Seth and the band and indeed it is a miracle that they were able to narrow those down to just twelve. Unlike his 2022 album IN DREAMS I GO BACK (a personal favourite that year), there is only one self-penned song on this latest recording, but it is outstanding. Looking Past The Pain (The Cowboy Song) expresses the regret and heartbreak of a cowboy who’s ‘crossing the last frontier’ and ’wondering if you’ll miss me as I wave goodbye from the train’, sung in Seth’s unmistakeable rich tenor, against a driving bluegrass rhythm. He explains that it was inspired by watching the Yellowstone series during Covid, and he himself identifies with the cowboy lifestyle having been immersed in raising horses in his upbringing in N Dakota. This cut, and many of the other album choices, reflect the emotional side of bluegrass music, something that Mulder feels is an essential component of his band’s connection with their audiences.

Traditional bluegrass songs covered include the opening train song Heartbreak Express (written by Speedy Krise, who incidentally is credited with introducing the dobro into bluegrass), Ray Price’s I’ll be There (If You Ever Want Me) and Don Stover’s Old Reuben No.1. But then there’s a grassed up version of Sierra Ferrell’s love song Bells Of Every Chapel, which works really well (by adding backing vocals and more fiddle) and an equally successful grassed up version of Gillian Welch and David Rawlings’ Rock Of Ages. Most unexpected of all is a version of Motörhead’s 1916 anti war song (which I will admit to not being previously familiar with). 

Dudley Connell suggested JP Cormier’s Gilgarry’s Glen,which is another standout and  another emotion-driven ballad, rooted in the collective sadness of emigration from Scotland to the New World, where ‘the folks in the cities have passed us by/they don’t know how they got there and don’t care why’. Throughout the recording, Mulder is supported by the outstanding crew of Tyler Griffith (upright bass), Colton Powers (banjo), Chevy Watson (guitar) and Max Silverstein (fiddle). It should be noted, though, that the new Midnight Run lineup includes only Griffith from that previous band. However, having seen the new guys on their extensive Irish tour this summer, I can confirm that they are bedding in nicely. Completing the package is the excellent art work with a retro radio theme, credited to Mark Larson.

Highly recommended and a definite inclusion in my 2025 favourites.

Eilís Boland

Grayson Jenkins Country Parables Self Release

For this new album the Kentucky born singer/songwriter brings to the fore his personal take on country music, taking it to a position that shows his growth and understanding of his own place, here and now. The production was shared between fellow artist Pony Bradshaw and Jenkins himself. They recorded in Little Rock, Arkansas, among other studios, and the end result is an assured and entertaining listen. A number of the team were local players, including Jesse Aycock on electric, acoustic and pedal steel guitars. They were joined by a name that should by now be well know to our readers in Fats Kaplan on fiddle, mandolin and accordion.

Opening with a song that sets you on a road by its immediate likability, Old Trails is about familiarity and a comfortable sense of locale. It has a strong guitar presence and warming vocal. There is a soulful element to the next track, Hard Heart To Hold, with some subtle keyboards adding to that atmosphere. Those keyboards are by Jason Weinheimer for this track, elsewhere Phillipe Bronchtein takes the credit for the ivories. We are again on the more gentle side of things with Scarecrow, a dreamscape that finds him being not so much lonely as, rather, being alone, waking up in a house that ain’t a home. Another look back at a past that surmises that there are two non-changing elements in life that are, as the song says, Taxes & Time. Aycock plays a dobro here that adds to the track’s sense of downhomeness. 

Producer Bradshaw joins in vocally for the realisation that is central in Good Times Go, again the guitar motifs here are highly effective. Also not forgetting that throughout the album the rhythm section of Aaron Boehler and Paddy Ryan play their part as necessary for each track’s mood. Equally persuasive is From Now On, where again the guitar is forceful without being overplayed. Vocal guest Madelyn Baier adds some sweet harmonies on Calling Out Your Name, which is a sweet love song to his would be ‘river darling’. Country Parables. which is also the final track, has a somewhat more rural workingman feel, and some lyrics that reflect on parables on how to live, whether that is actually how one desires to live.

Nobody’s Stopping You Anyhow, featuring Brit Taylor in a duet that blends the two voices well, is a slow ballad with some subtle playing that is entirely a counterpoint to its message of making your mind up about what the next steps in a relationship should be. This was written by McLaughlin and Allen, as was the other song not solely written by Grayson, though he joined the other two on the writing credits for Grand Slam, which has a gentle border touch with accordion and fiddle.

Grayson Jenkins has undoubtedly honed his art with an album that shows him delivering a step up and a step forward, working with a set of studio players who have done him proud as he has, indeed, done for himself with his songs and vocal ability.

Stephen Rapid

Rodney Crowell Airline Highway New West

Five decades into his career, which has yielded twenty studio albums, Rodney Crowell’s appetite for writing and recording remains unabated. Always a champion of younger artists, whether that is adding his vocal to an emerging songwriter’s album, assisting with a co-write, or taking on complete production duties, his helping hand has been a stamp of his full commitment to his art.

That input from numerous younger artists continues in AIRLINE HIGHWAY. Starting with the production, Crowell handed these duties to a fellow Texan and member of the Nashville-based rock band Shakedown, Tyler Bryant. The recording process kicked off with demos recorded at both of their home studios and was completed when Crowell, Bryant and the selected players headed for the remote Dockside Studio, close to the swamps in Maurice, Louisiana, where the songs were recorded in two or three takes.

 The album travels from the wicked and instantly catchy groove in Rainy Day In California, co-written with Lucas Nelson, who also adds his vocals to the song, to the reflective rolling country love ballad Simple (You Wouldn’t Call It Simple). Rebecca and Megan Lovell from Larkin Poe add vocals and lap steel on Louisiana Sunshine Feeling Okay and Ashley McBryde shares the vocals in her fine co-write with Crowell, Taking Flight. 

Another standout and very much a song of these turbulent times is Heaven Can You Help Us (‘Beware the ones who speak with forked tongues that reek of hatred. Six in ten will most deplore, and of those six, there are two who blindly take their cue from cable news distorted to the core’). It features layered vocals by Crowell and Blackberry Smoke’s Charlie Starr.

The Twenty-One Song Salute (In Memory of GG Shinn and Cléoma Falcon) is a fun-filled rock and roller, and a tribute to two artists who hugely influenced a young Rodney Crowell. Shinn was a vocalist and trumpet player in the Boogie Kings, and Cléoma Falcon is credited as one of the first to record Cajun music. On a lighter note, Sometime Twang gives the ‘thumbs up’ to a high-spirited lover (‘She’s a wildwood flower in a red Corvette, Tanya Tucker meets Cate Blanchett, she’s stacked like dishes in the kitchen sink’) before the album closes on a more serious note with the gentle nostalgic ballad, Maybe Somewhere Down The Road, which recalls a fleeting relationship with a troubled and suicidal woman.

‘My ambition isn’t to be a household name anymore’, confesses Crowell, ‘My ambition is to be satisfied with the work that I do. I’m at a place where it really is all about having fun’. Modest words indeed, given the quality of the songwriting, Crowell’s vocals and the host of contributors on this warm and consoling collection of songs.

Declan Culliton

Hayes Carll We’re Only Human Hwy87/Thirty Tigers

Continuing in the tradition of his fellow Texan songwriters, Guy Clark, Townes Van Zandt and Terry Allen, but often with more emphasis on wicked humour, Hayes Carll's latest album tackles the emotional vulnerabilities and confusion brought about by simply existing in modern life. Co-produced by Carll and Gordi Quist, who also added guitars and vocals, the overriding message from the album’s ten tracks is ‘nobody is perfect, so please stop beating yourself up’, delivered with empathy and goodwill.

The opening lines from the piano-led title track sets that scene (‘Whether you give up or you give it your best, it’s hard not to feel like you’re failing the test… new lessons get learned, pages are turned, and then we forget’). Carll’s skillset to articulate tragedy and devastation with black humour is underlined in Progress of Man (Bitcoin & Cattle). A co-write with Aaron Raitiere, its biting lyrics truly pinpoint the current political landscape, not only in America but increasingly further afield (‘The man on the TV keeps makin’ strange faces, there’s folks flyin’ rockets to faraway places. The world’s gettin’ turned on by assholes and racists and it’s all for the progress of man’). There’s a ragtime feel to the punchy and sing-along Good People (Thank Me), which is also a co-write with Raitiere. Without being overly dewy-eyed, its simple message is ‘life is too short, chill out and love your neighbour.’ 

The confessional I Got Away With It should be recognisable to most. It addresses lessons learned in recalling bad decisions and behaviour that fortunately didn’t end in tears. Without coincidence, it’s followed by an admission of guilt and commitment to redress in Making Amends, it’s a beautiful ballad with tearful pedal steel by Geoff Queen, giving the song even more authenticity. 

Bookending the album is the gospel-like May I Never, complete with choir-like harmonies from Carll’s like-minded friends Gordy Quist, Shovels & Rope, Darrell Scott, Nicole Atkins, Ed Jurdi, Ray Wylie Hubbard and Kelley Mickwee. It’s an appropriate final chapter to a deeply satisfying listen, which not only addresses its author’s journey, but also is directed towards ordinary folk who can, from time to time, feel unnecessarily weighed down by guilt and self-doubt. 

A worthy companion to the impressive back catalogue of an artist who seldom wastes a word in his writing.

Declan Culliton

T. Hardy Morris Artificial Tears Normaltown

Founding member of the alt-country and now defunct Athens, Georgia band Dead Confederate, Nashville-based T. Hardy Morris is also a member of supergroup Diamond Rugs alongside John McCauley and Robbie Crowell of Deer Tick, Ian Saint Pe of Black Lips, Steve Berlin of Los Lobos, and Bryan Dufresne of Six Finger Satellite. His solo career has previously yielded four solo albums, ARTIFICIAL TEARS being his fifth. This new record follows his 2021 album THE DIGITAL AGE OF ROME, written during COVID and exploring the condition of the modern world without rose-tinted glasses. ARTIFICIAL TEARS is a continuation of sorts but with a more personal and nostalgic slant, as Morris attempts to process the ups and downs of a twenty-year career as an artist in the contemporary world.

The final recording process was unconventional, but ideally suited to the content and messages within the songs. Carl Broemel of My Morning Jacket fame was engaged as co-producer with Morris; he also contributed the majority of the instrumentation, including guitars, bass, piano, pedal steel, saxophone and background vocals. Having commenced studio sessions in Nashville, Morris felt that the recordings did not fit the raw sound that he was striving for on many of the songs. In a brave move, they reconvened at Broemel’s house, revisited the original demos recorded on a Teac four-track machine, and finished the recording that way. The result is a suite of melodic rock tunes that can be filed under the Americana genre.

From down-to-earth and straightforward recollections to more streams of consciousness, the twelve tracks swing from optimism to scepticism. Opening brightly with a jaunty dose of power pop, Write It In The Sky recalls simpler times (‘When all the world was young, we held it like an egg.  We never dropped a crumb… we swore we’d keep it safe’). Those carefree days also feature in Juvenile Years before the writer’s thoughts turn to less starry-eyed issues. Breakneck Speed is a reminder of the painful low that can follow a short-term high, and given that, Don’t Kill Your Time (To Shine) is a ‘live in the moment’ message, a sentiment that also plays out in Low Hopes. With chunky guitar and bathed in sweet pedal steel, Fight Forever (‘Rather fight forever than give up the ghost’) calls for belief in oneself regardless of oppression and distress. Morris signs off on an equally resolute note with the short but to-the-point, Trouble Will.

Morris has created something quite lovely and highly listenable here. Undoubtedly, it will strike a chord with many whose artistic career path can be unpredictable and unrewarding at times, but like Morris, they continue to forge ahead wholeheartedly.

Declan Culliton

TJ Rosenthal Self-Titled Self Release

Based in New York, this singer songwriter was inspired to follow a path into country music through his admiration for artists such as Tyler Childers, Charley Crockett and Red Clay Strays, all of whom are prepared to strike out for an independent approach in managing their respective careers. He was also influenced by some of the old traditionalists such as Merle Haggard and Dwight Yoakam and being prepared to mix tried and trusted traditions with new ways of thinking never did any harm.

TJ Rosenthal recorded this debut album across two separate recording studios, with both Brick and G Calz based in New Jersey. He mastered the songs in Sterling Sound, Nashville and the time spent has certainly proven worthwhile. Production, mixing and mastering can vary as links in an important chain, and too often there has been a disconnect between original intentions and the final product. As the old saying goes “There is many a slip, between cup and lip.” Happily, in this case, everything worked out to deliver a very engaging eleven songs and the variety included adds nicely to the final listening experience.

The musicians on the album are TJ Rosenthal (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, lap steel, bass), G Calz (bass, drums), McKenna Daley (lead vocal on “Don’t Wanna Fight Anymore,” and backing vocals), Jerry Mac (lead guitar), and Jon Lijoi (trumpet on Bad Habits). All songs on were written by TJ Rosenthal except for Ain’t That Lonely Yet, which was written by Kostas and James House and recorded by Yoakam.

These are songs about the everyday, and concern everyman, our routines and our strengths and weaknesses, as we negotiate the various challenges of modern life. Both Gonna Need You and I Saw Your Message are songs that cover the need to be aware of the increasing malaise of anger and frustration in our society, the impact of increasing taxes and a reduced empathy. The urge to retreat to simpler times is the topic in songs like Ain’t No Place Left and the attraction of living off the grid seems preferable to enduring the lack of real community. Living post-Covid is examined on songs like Sunday Morning and Clear Your Head where habits have changed and a positive mental attitude is the key to healthy living.

Younger times are revisited on songs Way Out In the Country and I Was Down In Virginia where the pursuit of innocent dreams and desires masked the reality of how life unfolds; with the premature passing of a friend the subject of the former song, while the latter song reflects upon two separate lives that were being lived independently before an initial connection down the line. Who knows what the future holds.

Bad Habits is a great song and plays out at quite a pace, the shuffle beat driving a song about the joy of partying, despite our troubled Covid times ‘Bad decisions are the only ones to make, I keep plenty on repeat, or so it seems.’ The message on Don’t Wanna Fight Anymore is one of looking for the family to hold sway and for any difficult times to be overcome along the path we all walk. The final song is a cover of the Dwight Yoakam hit Ain’t That Lonely Yet and a statement of resilience against the inevitable pain of heartbreak and what lies beyond.

The mood of the album is very much that of having a good time in the studio and letting the quality of the musicianship and the songs speak for themselves. A release that bodes very well for what will follow down the road for TJ Rosenthal.

Paul McGee

Barbara Lynch Where Did You Go Self Release

This is a new name to me and the songwriting of Barbara Lynch is quite a revelation. Her meditative vignettes of a variety characters paint portraits that are akin to short plays or creative flash fiction.

Barbara grew up on a small farm and her passion for music began from a very young age with the influence of her mother’s love for different musical genres, including blues and jazz.  Her professional career took off back in 1992, and a few albums were released, before she stepped away in 2008 from increased activity. She now lives in Toronto and this new album was produced, recorded, and mixed by Michael Timmins (Cowboy Junkies) at The Hangar. It’s such a welcome return to the music spotlight for Barbara and her life experience gained over the time away brings a real maturity to these new songs.

All nine songs were written and arranged by Barbara Lynch and she contributes on lead vocals, acoustic guitar, and piano. She is joined by Shelley Coopersmith on both fiddle and viola, with Clela Errington providing harmonica and backing vocals, along with Brian Stillar. A small cast of players but how perfect for this intimate and timeless music. There is such a great atmosphere created in the arrangements and the interpretative playing.

Georgia Brown decides to escape her dutiful roles as mother and wife, leaving her difficult husband and the hard rural life that she had been reared to expect. The characters in We Go Back include a couple confined in a nursing home as old age descends, perhaps wishing they were being cared for by a close friend or family member. Tom Ryan leaves no doubt as to the story line, with the wife packing her suitcase and leaving the family farm for new beginnings. Dance With Me is a song that looks at the frustration of unrequited love as the guy leaves the girl behind, in search of his dreams.

Again, spurned love is the subject on Kate where the husband leaves for another woman ‘And the night is dark and lonely, And the rain is fallin' hard, But I saw him with his pretty girl, All dressed up and goin' downtown.’ The homeless woman on Rita Doyle is damaged from childhood challenges and incidents, with no hope of a normal life, wanting to leave this painful existence and waiting for the birds to come and fly her away.

My True Love reflects the simple attraction between kids growing up and making practical, rather than heart-driven decisions regarding life’s path ‘Well he failed grade ten, three times in a row, But he's still the smartest guy that I know, He can sing like an angel and dance like the devil, Cook in the kitchen better than my mother, Get everybody laughin' when there's nothin' to laugh about.’

Songs of regret, lost chances, embattled hope and grim, repetitive realities; but there are also glimmers of hope among the embers of expectation. Barbara Lynch stands in the space of a female Tom Waits in capturing insights into the poignancy of hard lives, and crosses borne with dignity and resolve. The Good Guys Might Not Win is played on piano and it’s a song that looks at our predilection towards greed and self-absorption to the detriment of others in society ‘It was like the man said, life is a crazy patchwork quilt, Well we took everything, there wasn't enough for you, He said I'm not a bettin' man but it sure seems to me, The good guys might not win.’

The final song is Worry No More with simple acoustic guitar and fiddle setting a plaintive atmosphere around a melody that echoes ‘ Well I look way down the river, And what do you think I see? I see a band of angels, And they're comin' after me.’ This album is really one that should find a place in every discerning music collectors home.

Paul McGee

The Bluest Sky Homegrown Self Release

This band is the brainchild of Chuck Melchin, previously the creative source behind The Bean Pickers Union, a collective that has been active since 2007. Their sound was taken straight from classic Americana, and Melchin, who is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, decided to form this new project The Bluest Sky, with a debut album release, back in 2023. A further album issued last year, titled RAINDANCER, and now this 6-song EP follows.

The assembled musicians are Dave Westner (bass, drums), Chuck Melchin (acoustic and electric guitars, vocals), Andy Santospago (lead guitar), Mike Giordano (electric guitar), Lynne Taylor (vocals). All songs are written by Chuck Melchin and he also handles all production, with mixing and mastering by Dave Westner.

Opening with Pretty Girl From Mobile, a song of distant admiration for a young girl expressing her freedom, the lead guitar attack of Santospago and the rhythm guitar of Melchin is very much along the lines of the Black Crows in the delivery. Pressure Drop follows and the upbeat rhythm wraps a song about survival and feeling blessed to have beaten the odds in a road accident. Giordano on lead guitar powers this song along with great finesse.

Cordelia is a song that hints at a troubled relationship and a past that is best forgotten ‘There ain’t no compromising on my family tree, We never substitute affection, For a chunk of green.’ Again, the tight band dynamic is excellent and the changes in tempo allow Santospago room to create some nice guitar lines. Interstate 84 is a song about a truck stop hooker turning tricks for the long distance lorry drivers who stop by.

Perhaps the standout is The Bridge with a slow rhythm line and some nice banjo and mandolin mixed into the guitar melodies, ‘Time keeps pulling all of us along, Every day’s a choice between right and wrong.’ The final song is Tears For Appalachia and Lynne Taylor takes the lead vocal to great effect on a sad tale of nature claiming lives in a local hurricane ‘She swore she’d rise out of it, Said she’s leave it all behind, Tears of Appalachia, It’s starting to unwind.’ This is a very enjoyable EP of well-produced songs and leaves you wanting the band to get back into the studio to deliver an extended album next time around.

Paul McGee

Blue Rose Blue Moon Self Release

This band is comprised of musical duo Marcus Gebauer and Jori Griffith, and they are based in Chicago. This debut album is the result of a chance meeting at a party that led to both musicians ultimately giving up their day jobs and focusing on their dream to follow a full time career in music. The duo describe their sound as “new country with an old soul” and the twelve songs here are quite varied in their reach.

The opening track If I Had A Rose has a big production sound, programmed handclaps and a commercial arrangement that is aimed at a broad appeal. There are enough elements in the mix to carry the song, with banjo, pedal steel and sweet harmony vocals, but somewhat compromised by the overly busy mastering. However, the next song makes better inroads with Let Me Love You showing a different side to the band, a more rootsy arrangement with some nice edge in the playing. Jori has a fine voice and carries the song with ease as the musicians kick into higher gear and the track builds.

The title song Blue Moon rocks along in a style that is reminiscent of Jewel or Sheryl Crow in the presentation, while the change in tempo on Let’s See A Band is welcome in the laid-back melody on a love song that highlights nice fiddle and understated keys, dovetailing with the easy vocal delivery. Another mid-tempo reflection is Remember When and the acoustic arrangement with guitars and pedal steel is very effective with the overall musing on lost love; one of the stronger songs included, along with the mellow arrangement on Dandelions.

Another song Slow is a nod to younger days and the thrill of exploring new relationship dynamics. Tracks like I’m So Tired, Somethin’ Good and Life Is Short point more in the direction of mass commercial reach which will certainly open the band’s sound up to wider markets. Equally Just Like Sheryl harks back to the influences on a young Jori Griffith growing up and getting inspired by her favourite female artists. The final song Sometimes is a slow melody on piano and acoustic guitar and a song that reflects upon the true essence of love. The build in the arrangement is well delivered with keyboard swells lifting the music and Jori delivering a very effective vocal.

Jori Griffith and Marcus Gebauer provide lead vocals and guitars, with Packy Lundholm (electric guitar, pedal steel), Jared Rabin (fiddle, electric guitar), Ben Johnson (piano, organ), Andrew Vogt and Nicholas Kapche (bass), and Reuben Garza and Eric Matteson (drums) contributing to the project. Production, mixing and mastering was handled by Noam Wallenburg at Rax Trax Studios in Chicago. All songs on the album were written by Jori Griffith and Marcus Gebauer apart from the opening  If I Had a Rose, written by Adam Wright and previously performed by Kelly Willis and Bruce Robison.

As a debut album, this is a very positive statement of the talents on display and there is plenty here for Jori Griffith and Marcus Gebauer to build upon into the future.

Paul McGee

New Album Reviews

Eve Adams American Dust Basin Rock

Singer-songwriter Eve Adams' writing has been described in the past as 'equal parts violence and romance,' and in keeping with that portrayal, her fourth album, AMERICAN DUST, is a fearless and profoundly emotional affair.

Like many other artists inspired by the vast desert landscapes of the American West, Adams' latest record was drawn from the open spaces and surreal landscapes of the high desert. The writing is all the more credible given that Adams relocated from the city to the desert's remoteness a few years ago, in search of a more serene quality of life. That dramatic change of scenery is addressed in the opening track, Nowhere Now ('Washed the ashes and dust off of Los Angeles, now she's clean and unafraid'). Explaining the album's thrust, the song reads like the preface to a novel, and Adams's wispy, almost childlike vocals, set against an evocative backbeat of percussion, are stunning. That sonic landscape and sense of isolation and aloneness are repeated in Strangers, before things take a murderous and macabre turn in Dirty Thirties and the dark, Bonnie and Clyde-type murder ballad, Ricochet, which inevitably ends in bloodshed. Equally, there's little joy, well-being or happy ending in the break-up song, Ask Me, though a glimmer of hope for a lasting relationship does raise its head in Get Your Hopes Up.

Adam's intense vocal performance perfectly matches the vulnerability and sadness in much of the material. Multi-instrumentalist Bryce Cloghesy (a member of the Canadian music collective Crack Cloud) produced the album and contributed the bulk of the instrumentation; his piano and guitar work are stunning. Also adding their skills were Gamaliel Traynor on cello and Oliver Hamilton on violin.

A dark sentiment is embodied in AMERICAN DUST, confronting issues often avoided. Adam's tackles isolation, sacrifice, and unfulfilled dreams head-on in a collection of intense songs. It's far from a Saturday night listen and does require repeated listens to be fully appreciated. However, that investment of time is well rewarded, particularly for lovers of gothic folk-noir.

Declan Culliton 

Case Oats Last Missouri Exit Merge

Recorded over three days in the gloomy basement of a house in Chicago, LAST MISSOURI EXIT is the debut album of five-piece outfit, Case Oats. The band members are Casey Gomez Walker (lead vocals, acoustic guitar), Spencer Tweedy (drums), Max Subar (guitar, pedal steel), Scott Daniel (fiddle) and Jason Ashworth.

The album’s title stems from a signpost located before the Illinois and Missouri border, spotted by Gomez Walker, as she drove from her hometown to relocate to Chicago. Defining both a new chapter in her life and the transition from childhood to an independent adult, the title and the album’s central thrust is that of Gomez Walker’s ‘coming of age.’ The production duties were shared by Gomez Walker, Ashworth, Subar and Tweedy, the latter’s previous experience of recording in Wilco’s loft studio no doubt proving helpful.

A graduate in creative writing, Gomez Walker revisits her teenage years, not wearing tinted glasses and without any degree of comfort, in Seventeen (‘think about how much you didn’t know, racing cars on the drive home. Close your eyes trying to find help, aren’t you glad you didn’t kill yourself?’) and Kentucky Cave. The latter is a twangy affair telling a tale of a close acquaintance who has a mental illness. Darker still and based on an actual event, Bitter Root Lake tells of a couple who steal a plane only to crash into a lake, killing one of them. In A Bungalow considers the tug between homesickness and leaving the nest seeking new adventures (‘there’s nothing wrong with missing your friends or your parents’ house, dad asleep on the couch’).

Genre hopping from quirky country to soulful indie-folk, think David Berman or a youthful Alynda Segarra, Gomez Walker’s almost childlike vocals could not be better suited to her confessional and pin-sharp writings. Added to this, by also recording live, there is a charming innocence to the record. From the countryfied opener Buick Door, which delves into family life in small-town Midwestern life, to the jaunty closer, Bluff, they don’t put a foot wrong. A standout debut record that I’ll be revisiting regularly in the coming weeks and months.

Declan Culliton

Kathleen Edwards Billionaire Dualtone

Few songwriters can match Kathleen Edwards’ capacity to write so articulately and credibly about emotionally raw terrain, as well as observational matters. Her deliberations on failed romances have been particularly impassioned and have repeatedly found her at her most fluent. Old Times Sake from BACK TO ME (2005), Asking For Flowers from the album of the same name in 2008, Change The Sheets from VOYAGEUR (2012), and Hard On Everyone from TOTAL FREEDOM (2020) are just a selection of eye raising songs, written from the heart and detailing the end of emotionally abusive liaisons.

Having stepped back from the music industry in 2014 due to burnout and disillusionment, Edwards took refuge in the ironically named Quitters, a coffee shop in Sittsville, Ottawa. Following a request from Maren Morris in 2017 to write a song for Morris’ album GIRL, Edwards’ creative mojo returned, and she began writing material for what was to become her 2020 release, TOTAL FREEDOM.

Fast forward five years, and she is well and truly back in the game with BILLIONAIRE. Produced by Jason Isbell and Gena Johnson, a host of celebrated players, alongside Isbell and Johnson, who collectively contributed guitars, keys and background vocals, joined the recordings. The contributors included Anna Butterss (bass), Annie Clements (bass), Chad Gamble (drums and percussion), Jen Gunderman (piano, celeste, Hammond B3 organ, Wurlitzer) and Shelby Lynne and Allison Moorer (background vocals).

Now settled in sunny Florida, one might have expected a ‘happy’ album rejoicing in newly found contentment and well-being. Conversely, this is far from the case, and the writing and the guitar and keyboard-driven tempo across much of the album hark back to her earlier recordings, FAILER and BACK TO ME. She’s spitting fire and at her rockiest from the onset in Save Your Soul (‘Line your pockets with gold, line your pockets. Who's going to save your soul, when your money's no good at all’).  She visits that ‘break-up’ theme in the dynamic and high-powered Say, Goodbye, Tell No One that follows (‘I was always good to you, you can get blisters from your favourite shoes…. Here’s the truth wrapped up in a lie, I never cared and I never tried, I don't miss you and I never cried’).

The emotionally-charged Need A Ride is a close relation to and equally as hypnotic as Goodnight California from ASKING FOR FLOWERS, and those romantic entanglement anxieties raise their head again in the mid-tempo album closer, Pine. Despite its standard reference to financial possession, the album’s title and track of the same name refer to the pursuit of the simple things in life that bring long-term happiness and contentment, rather than any monetary declaration.   

Disheartened and drained after the release of VOYAGEUR and before taking time out from the industry in 2014, Edwards expressed her frame of mind as ‘No one cares, I’m just not good enough.’ Fortunately, those negative thoughts are a thing of the past, and BILLIONAIRE is yet another jewel in the crown by one of the most vital artists of the past two decades. Old-school alt-country at its best and essential listening.

Declan Culliton

Nowhere Brothers Till The End Of Nowhere Timezone

The backstory to Italian-born Roberto Fiorelli and Nicola Ventolini's musical venture is quite unique. Their connection began two decades ago, fuelled by their mutual love of music and travel, the latter often involving the exploration of remote desert lands. That friendship resulted in the formation of Nowhere Brothers and the recording of their debut album DOWN LIFE BOULEVARD in 2017. That album, recorded over two days in Phoenix, Arizona, celebrated the couple's nomadic lifestyle and was skeletal, lo-fi and gripping.

Their latest ten-track project's inspiration stems from a similar background. Once again, taking the open landscapes of the American West and its inhabitants as their mainspring, TILL THE END OF NOWHERE is loaded with a ghostly atmosphere.

Abandoning the stripped-back direction of their debut album, they adopted a fuller sound this time. The opening track, Mestizo, with a thumping drumbeat up front, is written from the perspective of a mixed-heritage truck driver whose only solace from his work is the realisation that the roads he travels were once the home of his people. 

Tragic love is the backstory in the rampant Barstow, which has a rootsy Rolling Stones vibe to it and features killer backing vocals by Dajla Jakomin. The funky gospel crossover Fever also features Jakomin in full voice, and Saviour's Howl recalls the classic border sounds of Calexico. Returning to the shape of their debut album, the most stripped-back track on the album, Blackeye follows the survival of a cowboy who refuses to abandon his now infertile land. Mesmerised rejoices in the freedom and thrills of cruising the dusty and open roads on motorbikes. 

An international affair, written and produced by two Italians, recorded at BA Audiolabs in Laupheim, Germany, and brought into being by the landscapes and natives of the American west, TILL THE END OF NOWHERE casts its spell far and wide. The songwriting is timeless, often harking back to previous eras as well as the modern day, and the songs are executed stylishly. Hopefully, this album won't be overlooked, and Nowhere Brothers will continue to record spirited projects like this one.

Declan Culliton

Kevin Holm-Hudson Travellers Rest Self Release

A Professor of Music Theory and Composition at the College of Fine Arts in University of Kentucky, a published author, and an active songwriter and performer. Kevin Holm-Hudson is clearly a very talented individual with much to offer in the space of creative flow. With three prior albums to his name MESSAGE FROM THE MARGINS (2021), THE TREMBLING AIR (2022), and MILKWEED (2023), you could say that he is on a golden streak with no sign of slowing down. A Christmas record arrived in 2024, and there has been a further single which saw the light in early 2025.

This new album has fourteen tracks and the credits highlight Kevin Holm-Hudson on vocals, acoustic guitar, keyboards, bass, electric guitar, slide guitar, and mandolin. He also wrote all the songs and is joined by Dr. Jim Gleason on electric guitar, and pedal steel guitar, who also produced and mastered the album. Toby Holm-Hudson plays bass on six songs, David Chapman provides drums, and percussion, with Ahmed Ibrahim also playing percussion on one track, and the Woke Ridge Boys providing vocals on another. The album was recorded at The Blue Room, Claustro Phonic Sound, and Gnome Hollow Studios.

There is a theme of travel on the album with both What the Heart Wants and Hotel Breakfast Lounge songs that view the need to be away from routine and creating lasting and new memories.  The celebration of friendship is captured on Hello Old Friend while the title song Travellers Rest is about looking back on life as it winds down and being pleased with the years that were lived. A similar reflection is covered on Time In This World.

Chances not taken and dreams unfilled form the essence of Last Of the Local Legends and there is unrequited love running through the teenage angst of Invisible Boy. The music machine in Nashville is dissected on Thrashville with the words ‘Get yourself a cowboy hat, it won’t do you any harm, Nobody could know you never set foot on a farm.’  The sentiment of Melancholy Man is one of wanting a real friend and of putting away all illusions of how we define, and lie, to ourselves.

The ties that bind are covered in songs such as Home and Picnic where the memory of lives entwined are both celebrated and remembered. The latter song also threads an anti-war message into the fabric and the damage left by serving a cause. The positive sentiment captured on both A Radical Thought and Light Of Peace is well received in these troubled times and perhaps there remains some hope for us finding a solution to the conundrum of seeking out peaceful living.

There are carnival sounds to accompany final song Goodnight Waltz and it’s as if our visit to the fair has come to an end; it’s time to say goodbye to our youthful dreams and to embrace the chance to make a difference in the years we are still given. This is a very enjoyable listen and the songwriting is excellent. Great production also and a keen sense of the enjoyment experienced by the musicians make this an album to celebrate.

Paul McGee

Crys Matthews Reclamation Self Release

Music has always walked hand-in-hand with the fight for social justice in society and it has often stood as the champion of the repressed and the downtrodden. From the early days of Woodie Guthrie and his socialist Folk songs against fascism, all the way through to Dylan and Springsteen, the power of the song has been to the fore of human struggle and the simple symbol of a guitar given the elevation as a machine that delivers truth.

Crys Matthews is based in Nashville and her upbringing has been one of a preachers daughter with a sense of what really matters in living your truth. As a gay, black woman Matthews has had to face bigotry in many different guises and she has stared it down at every turn. On the song Suit and Tie she sings ‘This world is a mess, and it's getting worse as days go by, uncivil unrest about who's a girl and who's a guy, But this heart beating in my chest knows the truth I can't deny: I might look good in a dress, but I feel better in a suit and tie.’

Another song that hits the mark is Like Jesus Would and the words ‘In my hometown, there's a church on every block, sanctified folks who'd much rather pray for you than talk, They cherry-pick the good Word and hold on to the bad parts, so they can wilfully ignore every lesson Jesus taught.’ This reflection is typical of the incisive observation that runs through the songs of Matthews and the humanism that shines through her words is to be applauded.

In Cancel Culture she nails it right down to the core ‘There's a whole lot in our culture we could cancel if we tried: instead of banning abortions, we could trust women to decide; every size and shape of body could be normalized; and every type of mental illness could finally be destigmatized. No more squeezing and contorting into boxes we don't fit. No more saying that we're fine when we're not but scared to admit it.’ Wow, talk about speaking truth to power!

In Her House is a strong tale referencing domestic violence against women, and the superb I Want It All is a standout track with a beautiful rising melody and a love song for all to enjoy ‘You're not too much, for me. There isn't any inch of you that I don't wanna see.’ Another love song is Red and visits the pain of sweet separation ‘ I'm having a hard time lately. It feels like I'm going crazy, from missing your touch. I miss you so much.’

The musicians include Megan McCormick (electric guitar, acoustic guitar), Ellen Angelico (electric guitar, mandolin, banjo), Jen Gunderman (Wurlitzer), Ryan Madora (bass), Michael Majett (bass), Megan Coleman (drums), Larissa Maestro (strings), Heather Mae, Kyshona and Shannon LaBrie on featured vocals and Melody Walker, Chris Housman, Nickie Conley on backing vocals.

Sister’s Keeper is a song in support of women’s rights and the power is in the delivery from passionate vocals and the assembled musicians. My Skin really sums up everything in the words ‘I don't want your thoughts and prayers, and I don't want your tears, I just want to be able to live my life without fear.’ Trying to search for balance and meaning in this crazy world can be self-defeating and it is something of a small miracle how minority groups continue the fight to push through. This is an album of real gravitas and with seventeen songs running over one hour of listening pleasure, it is an essential purchase.

Paul McGee

Ashley E. Norton The Red Guitar Self Release

Ramona in California is currently home to Ashley E. Norton and she was given the honour “Citizen Of The Year” in 2023 for her role in growing Ramona’s music scene with the foundation of the Ramona Music Alliance. She grew up in Arizona and after moving to Nashville she began to embrace the songwriter nights that were doing the rounds in many of the venues. Over time, she decided to focus on all-female songwriter get-togethers, in attempts to represent women in the greater scheme of  things within that local music scene. This continued into a monthly Songbirds Of Ramona Ranch series residency at Ramona Ranch Winery.

Norton also founded the all-female group called Lady Psychiatrist Booth, now performing as Dolly’s Revenge, and known as a high energy San Diego band. When we reviewed Norton’s debut solo album towards the end of last year, we spoke about the eleven songs highlighting “the broad talent of this artist.” Well, on this four-song EP she certainly proves the point by taking on a fascinating project to highlight the incredible story of Paul Weisner and the great risks that he took as housemaster of Het Loo Palace, home to the Dutch Monarchy. During the second world war the palace was converted into a hospital for wounded German soldiers during their occupancy of Holland, and Paul Weisner concealed a radio transceiver that was used to help the Dutch resistance stay a step ahead of the hated Nazi occupiers.

The fact that the radio transmitter was hidden inside an unassuming red guitar is the link to the key song The Red Guitar. Performed solo acoustic by Norton the resonance of the story is captured superbly in the words ‘A trojan horse, all the lives it saved.’ The risk of death was ever-present and yet the daughter of Paul Weisner recalls vividly the memories and the circumstances that surrounded the presence of the iconic red guitar. It was the carrier of much more than melodic tunes and it saved countless lives and gave hope to the Dutch Underground.

The other three tracks on the EP are acoustic versions of songs that appeared on Ashley’s solo album, Every Woman I Know, or on previous Lady Psychiatrist Booth output, with both That Girl and Love You In the Dark giving strong affirmation of the roles that women play in the shaping of our societies. Whether in the role of supporting, striking out for independence, or providing safe haven, their celebration of positive affirmation is to be acknowledged. For the last five years, Norton has been writing a new song every week and posting it to Patreon for just $5 a month. The sign of a prolific artist at the very top of her game. This EP does everything to continue her interesting upward direction.

Paul McGee

Nero Simon and the Sunsetters Pura Vida Self Release

“Pura Vida” is a phrase that is commonly heard in Costa Rica. The translation is “pure life” but the true essence references a way of life and a state of mind. This album is the third release from the band since the debut TREASURE CHEST appeared in 2022 and they have their roots in Atlanta, Georgia.

The musicians are Nero Simon (vocals, guitar), Mary Ann Ooten (vocals), Stephen Flores (guitar, backing Vocals), Marcus Durham (bass, backing vocals), Michael Hester (synths, backing vocals), Sam Ross (drums), and Jeff Gaines (saxophone). Their sound is very bright and breezy, and perfectly highlighted in the standout track Campeche, a state in Mexico, with the vibrant guitar sound very reminiscent of a compulsive Santana groove.

Elsewhere, Nero Simon and Mary Ann Ooten share harmonies, and their vocals entwine naturally together on songs like Cruisin’ and Forever (Redux), with the rich production really lifting the arrangements in their delivery. A cover version of Love the One You’re With is included and the iconic Stephen Stills song is given a fresh coat of paint with the celebratory sound and tight harmonies laying a perfect path for the guitar parts to soar. The album is a nice fusion of Americana and Rock, mixed in a blender and producing the perfect cocktail for a drive down an East coast American highway on a summer’s day. Excellent from start to finish.

Paul McGee

Madison Hughes All That I Am Self Release

Jacksonville, Florida is home to this artist who first appeared on our radar back in 2024 with the release of her debut EP, a 6-track insight into her burgeoning talent. This time out Hughes has employed the services of Lera Lynn and Tom Lombardo on production and the ten songs are very impressively delivered.

Her vocal range is very powerful and she knows when to hold back in the song arrangements in order to allow sufficient space for the excellent ensemble playing from the studio musicians to shine alongside her in the bright production. There are no credits regarding who plays what on the album and this is an increasing frustration for music reviewers in our ’brave new world’ of downloads and streaming services. Suffice to say that the greater the information provided, then the better the review potential.

Songs of love and loss come and go, with So Close To Forever wiping down the rain on the windshield of romance, banjo and pedal steel lifting the melody; Waiting On You trawls similar waters where the wish for calm is disturbed by the ripples of doubt over what can be gained from a one-sided relationship. On Gypsy Wings we find sage advice given to fly free in the world and find your own path ‘Chase that shooting star so far that you’re never coming back again.’

Mystery Highway is a highlight here with it’s slow build and atmospheric groove, the message that travel without purpose is destined to lead to a cul-de-sac and a sense of dislocation. The pop country sound of So Real and All That I Am is perhaps forgivable, given the reality of having to find a mass audience by whatever means, while the understated duet with Brent Cobb on Nobody Knows Your Love wipes away any doubt and returns full faith in the vision of this talented new singer songwriter.

Paul McGee

New Album Reviews

Grace Morrison Saltwater Country Self Release

Proud New Englander Grace Morrison has reached a stage in her life where she is ready to embrace her small town upbringing in this, her fifth solo album. With her hard won life experiences, she wears her heart on her sleeve in a fitting homage to Wareham, Massachusetts, known as ‘The Gateway to Cape Cod’. Having been described as ‘too pop for folk, and too folk for country’, she is happy to settle on her own description of her music as ‘Saltwater Country’, which has more than a smattering of 90’s country about it, thanks to local producer Jon Evans (Tori Amos, Sarah McLachlan). The difference though, between Morrison’s work and most 90s country/pop is the authenticity that’s evident here, with all of the songs written or co-written by her, often focussing on what’s really going on after all the tourists have gone home after Labor Day.

Her rootedness is evident in the opening cut, Cranberry Blossoms, an homage to her grandfather and her father-in-law, whose cure for a broken heart was ‘a hard day’s work in the bog’ (where she  toiled for a summer job, harvesting the cranberry crop). The title track reflects the loyalty of the locals to the town where they grew up, ‘we like tradition, we like everything as it was’, where everyone knows everyone else (a blessing or a curse?). Co-written with Jackson Emmer, Just a Kid on Parkwood Drive finds the 12 year old Morrison dreaming of making it in the music business and pleading ‘will someone please notice I exist?’. She yearns for the innocence of teen friendship in You and Me Talking, but by the time of the love song I Wanna Tell You Something, her self worth has been realised, ‘I’ve learned how to embrace all my features’. 

Morrison doesn’t shy away from the darker side of life. The sinister Poor Man’s Daughter hints at how poverty drives risky behaviour, and Smoke Stain also explores the seamy underbelly. Only A Man is a harrowing picture of domestic abuse, told from the viewpoint of a boy who encourages his mother to escape, telling her ‘you don’t have to take it’ … you can ‘cross the invisible lines that make you stay’. It’s a co-write with legendary musician Jeff Plankenhorn, who also contributes lap steel and dobro on most tracks.  Gloria reminds us of the overwhelming presence of the sea and fishing in a life on the coast - it’s a sea shanty that finds a fisherman lamenting his love-hate relationship with a woman on the shore.

On a lighter note, Who’s Raising Who is one for all those parents who start out with great intentions (‘organic fruit cut in pieces’) only to be subjugated by the power of the toddler who ‘went on hunger strike for cake’! The album closes with the upbeat On My Way To Massachusetts,  a rootsy anthem to home, complete with The Plank’s lap steel licks. The whole package is cleverly designed with appealing childhood photos of Grace Morrison and her family and friends. One to check out.

Eilís Boland 

Travis Roberts Rebel Rose New West

Born in South Korea, where his military family were stationed, Travis Robert’s early years included a few more moves before his family settled in Amarillo, Texas. Now twenty-five years old, he has lived a full life to date and much of it on the wrong side of the tracks. As a teenager, his music of choice were country artists George Strait and Waylon Jennings, but his introduction to Steve Earle’s COPPERHEAD ROAD by his mother was a game-changer. Unfortunately, he followed the same path that early career Steve Earle travelled, and alcohol and substance abuse eventually led to an extended time spent in a treatment centre. Finally clean, Roberts moved in with his grandmother, got his act together and began writing and recording material, much of which found its way onto this debut album, REBEL ROSE.

Sobriety has moderated Robert’s behaviour, and he has channelled all his kick ass attitude into his art. This album is more early-career Earle than Strait or Jennings, with a hefty dose of punk on the side.  The production duties are credited to fellow Texan-based artists Dalton Domino, PH Naffah (The Refreshments, Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers) and Jeff Lusby-Breault (Mercy Fall). It was recorded, in the main, live in the studio with his band The Willing Few, replicating the intensity and energy of their live shows.

Full-throttle inclusions are Bellmarie, which recalls a wild-child former friend and work colleague, and the explosive Minefields, whose backstory is a hell-raising, doomed relationship. Also included are a number of other tracks that reminisce about out-of-control friends and lovers, fictional or real. The title track Rebel Rose tells of a tragic fellow substance abuser (‘You’ve been the black sheep all your life, sevenfold records and switchblade knives. Always on the rougher side ‘til it finally got rough on you’) and the tempo lightens temporarily on Kudza, which reminisces on an out-of-control girlfriend and doffs its cap in the direction of Jason Isbell. The pick of the crop, Hereford Blues, a co-write between Roberts and Ray Wylie Hubbard, is a full-blooded head banger, and Ink Ain’t Dry is a bass-driven power pop gem.

The prayer-like and acoustically presented All My Friends, written from first-hand experience, ponders on the fine line between survival and self-destruction, before Robert’s signs off on a note of optimism and realism in Fake Magnolias.  With a vocals and piano intro, it explodes spectacularly mid-song, closing the album on a celebratory note. 

Turning the tables on the emotional wreckage which he soldiered through during his teen years, Roberts never attempts to gloss over the pain and recklessness he has endured, in REBEL ROSE. With songs that are directed towards self-examination and written with brutal honesty, the album is a statement by an artist who, rather than eclipse the past, has conquered his demons and has moved forward with renewed optimism.

Declan Culliton

Tyler Childers Snipe Hunter Hickman Holler/RCA

Never one to be accused of playing his cards close to his chest, across thirteen tracks and fifty-four minutes, Tyler Childers' latest album is a rollercoaster of modern country edging towards indie-rock, as well as more traditional country and gospel. The crossover between genres is hardly surprising given that Childers handed the production duties to Rick Rubin, which immediately implied experimentation with a capital E.

Is the result of the union between Childers and Rubin going to divide opinion? Most probably it will, but given the quantity and indeed, in many cases, quality of material on offer here and the variations in style, there are inclusions to satisfy the more traditional country buffs, as well as those prepared to embrace the more unconventional tracks.

Childers is spitting fire in the opener, Eatin' Big Time. The snarly vocals, bordering on out of control, and rambling lyrics suggest sarcasm soaked in black humour, while flagging his current prosperity ('Eatin' big time, ain't she pretty? Just rollin' in the shade. Eatin' big time in the holler, ain't it lovely, ain't it great'). The plain-speaking country tune, Cuttin' Teeth, follows that bombastic introduction. It's an 'easy on the ear' autobiographical affair, in contrast to the opening track, both in its delivery and lyrical content. 

The dissimilarity between those two opening tracks continues across the album. In the country corner are the stunning countrypolitan Oneida and Nose On The Grindstone, the latter has been included in his setlists for a number of years and is as good a country ballad as Childers has ever written. On the rockier side are Watch Out, Snipe Hunt and Dirty Ought Trill, all three listenable rather than spectacular, and the tongue-in-cheek ditty Bitin' List is aimed at his detractors ('If there ever comes a time I get rabies, you're on my biting list). On a more earnest note, Tirtha Yatra ('I wanna go to India, put faces to paper, put visuals to words that I've read. Get a better understandin' of the culture that's surroundin') reflects Childers' ongoing fascination with Hinduism. On another serious note, he celebrates his recent sobriety in Getting To The Bottom.

It should hardly come as a surprise that Childers continues his explorations into various musical forms with this album. His three previous releases, LONG VIOLENT HISTORY, CAN I TAKE MY HOUNDS TO HEAVEN?, and RUSTIN' IN THE RAIN were all, in their own way, variations on modern and traditional country. Rubin's production on SNIPE HUNTER may or may not sit easily with many, but, for this writer, I can find little to fault it. I'll leave the final words to Childers, who describes it as 'an album that reflects a period of artistic and personal liberation, embracing both reverence for tradition and curiosity for the unknown.'

Declan Culliton

Minor Gold Way To The Sun Calm Palms

The buzz-phrase ‘Cosmic Americana’ is bandied around recklessly these days, often referring to acts whose output bears few or no credentials to qualify for the description. Not so the Canadian/Australian duo Minor Gold. With their breezy, sun-filled, harmonised sound, Tracy McNeil and Dan Parsons are most worthy of that label.

WAY TO THE SUN is the follow-up to their self-titled debut record from 2023. That album, written during lockdown while they lived in a van in Queensland, combined Laurel Canyon-style country rock with country/folk ballads that evoked the classic Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings style. Recorded at Ultimate Hair Farm Studio in Glendale, California, and produced by Dan Horne (Mapache, Cass McCombs, Beachwood Sparks, Circles Around the Sun), the template that worked so well is repeated on this ten-track record. 

The Welch/Rawlings symmetry is to the fore in Moonlight Silver Highway. At the tender heart of the album, it confronts the pain of consigning things to the past and turning over a new leaf. Escapism of an altogether different type, the title track embraces the opportunity to cast off the shackles and abandon the real world (‘I want the big, big, sky, a little contraband, let the time just slide out of my hands’). Pretty Peggy raises the tempo a few notches. It’s a playful account of a one-way romantic chase that’s always going to end in tears. A song of its time, Handstand pleads for relief from oppression and domination. Closing on a positive note, the adage that ‘love conquers all’ is expressed in the album’s final two tracks, Lighter Shade Of Blue and The One Who Loves You.

Dan Horne’s production and the playing are top-notch throughout, but the real winners are the harmony vocals by McNeil and Parsons; at present, few are doing this any better. If Minor Gold’s debut record was a snapshot of a band with potential, they have raised the bar by some distance with WAY TO THE SUN. A joy to behold from start to finish.

Declan Culliton

Sunny Sweeney Rhinestone Requiem Aunt Daddy

If country artists traditionally use the template of broken hearts that still bear the scars, Sunny Sweeney has routinely taken that blueprint one step further. Diamonds and Divorce Decrees, the well-chosen first single from Sweeney's latest album ('I'm stuck between I do and I’ll never do that again, between happy ever after and the cold hard bitter end') may be laced with clever wordplay and black humour. Still, it’s also a true reflection of her stormy relationships over the past two decades and her strength of character to overcome them. Sweeney’s last album from 2022, MARRIED ALONE, was written shortly after her second divorce and, by her own admission, RHINSTONE REQUIEM is the first of her six albums written when she does not have relationship problems.

That change in personal circumstances didn’t rule out Sweeney revisiting those troubled times, while dusting herself down and striding forward resolutely and unscathed. The aforementioned Diamonds and Divorce Decrees, as good a country song as Sweeney has ever written and recorded, is a case in point (‘Where’s the dotted line? Show me where to sign, Momma’s on the loose again’). She shares writing credits on that song with Buddy Owens and Galen Griffen; the trio also composed the equally full-on As Long As There’s A Honky Tonk.

Traveling On is one of three co-writes with her fellow Texan artist and close friend, Brennen Leigh. Taking things down a couple of notches, it tells of an unhealthy and controlling relationship. The other two are Waiting For A Reason To Stay, which is a ‘cheerio’ to a less-than-well-suited partner, and Houston Belongs To Me also focuses on a ‘break-up’ theme. Turning the heat up again, Erin Enderlin, another artist and close friend, gets a writing credit on the honky tonkers I Drink Well With Others and Is Tonight the Night (I Make You a Memory).

Sweeney has always had a knack for selecting cover songs and making them her own. On this album, she opens with a killer version of Douglas Van Arsdale & Michael Charles Clark’s Find It Where I Can, possibly even outdoing Waylon Jennings and James Garner’s 1983 effort. Another cover, Last Hard Bible, remains faithful to the original recording by Kasey Chambers.

Despite industry trends and no doubt industry pressure, Sunny Sweeney has continued to be country through and through since her debut album HEARTBREAKER’S HALL OF FAME in 2006. Injecting her customary groove and wicked humour in RHINSTONE REQUIEM, it reaffirms her as one of, if not the finest, country vocalists of her time. With pin-sharp production, fine playing and full of swing and twang, this is how honky tonk country should be done.

Suzy Thompson Suzy Sings Sibel Self Release

This is an inspired choice by roots artist Suzy Thompson in bringing the music of a sadly overlooked singer songwriter to our collective attention. Paul Sibel was active as a singer songwriter in the 1970s and he was much feted by his contemporaries at that time. His star shone brightly for only a brief time however as his inability to conquer paralysing stage fright stopped him from touring. He only released two albums of his songs, WOODSMOKE AND ORANGES (1970), and JACK KNIFE GYPSEY (1971). He retired from music in the 1980s and passed away in April 2022.

In 2004, a compilation album was issued with a total of 22 songs included, and it’s well worth adding to your collection if you gravitate towards insightful and “portrait” songsmiths. Suzy does a wonderful job of interpreting the songs chosen here and she is backed by a stellar group of musicians. The sound is very much rooted in country and blues traditions, with the folk sensibilities of Suzy’s background always nearby. Her prowess on fiddle and guitar are perfect companions for her crystal clear vocals and the very engaging manner in which she can perform these gentle songs of life and love.

Opening song is the poignant Bride 1945 and a story of young love turned into something akin to defeat into the adult years ‘She was so young then, he wasn’t much older, He loved her some then, he was a soldier, They planned a future, what’s a girl to dream about, A home in the suburbs, if they could learn to do without.’ The lap steel of Cindy Cashdollar is a highlight on this story song of failed dreams.

The traditional country sound of Nashville Again has superb interplay between dobro, mandolin and national guitar on a song of lost love and broken promise. Uncle Dudley is a tribute to an uncle who was larger than life and made a deep impression on a young child while still impressionable about the ways of the world. One of Paul Sibel’s most famous songs is Louise, famously covered by both Bonnie Raitt and Linda Ronstadt in turn; it’s the sad tale of a working girl who finally succumbs to her lifestyle ‘Men brought Louise ten cent trinkets, Their intentions were easily traced, And everybody knew at times she cried, Ah but women like Louise, well, they get by.’

The playing is a joy throughout with the ensemble sparking off each other, whether on the Old Time sound of The Ballad Of Honest Sam, or the murder/suicide tale on You Don’t Need A Gun. The light jazz feel of Any Day Woman has kazoo and fiddle in an interesting duet, with the upright bass of Mark Schatz providing a fine rhythmic bedrock. The final song is Long Afternoons with a light acoustic touch on a love song in recollection of sunny days spent ‘His secrets and stories, we shared in our room, I remember them well, and the long afternoons.’ This is an album that brings lots to recommend it and it will leave the listener wanting to explore further the craft of both Paul Sibel and Suzy Thompson.

Paul McGee

Chrissy Johnson Shake Where You’re Steady Self Release

Based in Chicago, Chrissy Johnson writes her songs from the heart and this is her second album since her debut Arms In July first appeared in 2016. Both of her albums have been produced by Steve Dawson at the Kernel Sound Emporium and his influence is very much highlighted across the impressive sound and the overall project. Dawson is a multi-instrumentalist and plays all the instruments here with the exception of Chrissy on acoustic guitar and vocals, Chris Greene on saxophone and horn arrangements, and John Moore Jr. playing trumpet on one track.

On the album cover, Chrissy is photographed on sand dunes, with the sea as a backdrop, and a lavender plant in her hands. The properties of lavender are quoted as beneficial for anxiety, depression, stress, and the sweet aroma is helpful in promoting increased relaxation and sleep. The songs of Chrissy are personal in theme and you can understand the decision to engage a beach scene in promoting the positive aspects of music as a healing force.

The first track is Greatest Abandon and a song about remaining open and being selfless in love. It is followed by a great rhythm and blues pulse on Anything, with the horn section adding real atmosphere and groove. The soulful Strange Fire is a highlight with the smooth saxophone of Chris Greene mixed high in the melody and the song is an acknowledgment to keep enduring through life’s challenges. On It Takes Imagination To Survive we are given a look into an aspect of desire in its purest form, attraction mixed with self-doubt in a heady cocktail.

Only Now speaks of a healing process ‘I see the error of my ways, I was not always afraid, I’ve done the best that I can,’ hoping to take the life lessons of the past and using them as an ally into the future. There is a fine sense of flow to the song In The Meantime with Steve Dawson excelling in the mix of bass lines, keyboards and incisive guitar parts, while Soldier Of Reverie is focused upon the positive aspects of a relationship that can work ‘Take my hand and lead me through your front door.’

The album title is included in the lyrics on Falling and the song celebrates that feeling of being in love for the first time when it’s all consuming. There is some really tasty acoustic guitar courtesy of Steve Dawson with his skilled feel. The final song Pretty Little Heart brings the album to a conclusion with a positive outlook for the joys of connection,

Paul McGee

The Border Band Magdalene Self Release

This is a re-release of an album which has been out of print for many years. Quite why this has taken place remains something of a mystery as there is little information regarding the decision to reissue. The original tracks have not been revisited in terms of modern studio enhancement techniques, leaving the impression that it’s a project that is frozen in time. Almost as if you wandered into an old music store and found the original CD hidden in the bargain basement, awaiting discovery and a rebirth of sorts.

The creative source behind the band is Melvin Litton and he describes the music as a brand of “rawhide rock ‘n country blues.” He wrote all the songs with the exception of one that was created by Rodger Holden. The band members, when the album was originally created, were Melvin Litton (vocals and rhythm guitar), Rodger Holden (lead electric and acoustic guitars), Dave Melody (drums and percussion), and Doc Nelson (electric bass, organ, and guitar fills). There were also two guest musicians, with Calvin Bennett (standup bass and backing vocals), and Cody Bennett (fiddle and violin).

The superb production across seventy-plus minutes of listening is a reminder that real quality never sounds old, and the fourteen songs were recorded and mixed in impressive style by Colin Mahoney. The excellence of the music is a testament to the musicians who played on the original sessions. This timeless quality could well be the reason why Litton has now decided to revisit the original record. The credits on the gatefold sleeve mention a new bass player in Andy Gribble, so it would appear that the band is still currently performing, despite the fact that they were originally retired by Litton back in 2016.

The Border Band released a total of five albums over the period of years 201 – 2015, and the solo career of Melvin Litton then took over as he continued to express his talents as “The Gothic Cowboy.”  These songs are full of character and personality, with great hooks and a dynamic rhythm running through the strong melodies. There is definitely a strong influence of The Band that features in the central thrust of the songs. That sense of space in the arrangements that allows all players to express themselves without constraint. Marvellous in the delivery, magnificent in the tight playing..

Melvin can sound a little like Willie Nelson in part and the lead guitar has echoes of Mark Knopfler throughout. The fiddle/violin is particularly effective also. Song titles such as Yellow Rose Hotel, Spanish Guns and Aztec Gold give a flavour of the content across the album with a strong Tex-Mex sway, coupled with Spanish influences from along the border towns of the US-Mexico divide. Songs refer to the plight of the Red Indian nation (Wounded Knee), also the slaughter of Buffalo herds (Prairie Ballad), with a collection of bandits, drifters, gamblers, and thieves that pepper these songs of character and colour.

El Nino is a fine rockabilly workout by the band and Joaquin Murrieta tells of a caballero horseman who rode the Badlands. Old time country love song Rocky Mountain Woman is a balm against the grim reality of life in mining towns as portrayed on Cold Ohio City. The Tejano rhythm and percussion speaks of gypsy ways on Slow Me Down and this relationship song is one of the highlights on this very enjoyable album.

The album cover, a painting by Melvin Litton, may cause some comment in the depiction of Mary Magdalene, not as a witness to Jesus’ crucifixion, burial and resurrection, or as a loyal disciple; but more shown in the guise of a love interest, or prostitute, in the naked image portrayal. Twenty-two years have elapsed since the original album recording, and new perspectives may court controversy.

Paul McGee

Cimarron 615 Self-Titled Blue Élan

This is the second album in just a few years from a four-piece band who have their roots very much in the country-rock sound of 70s California. The fame enjoyed by legendary band Poco dates back to that time and two former members of the band are now a dynamic duo in Cimarron 615, with Jack Sundrud on bass and vocals, joined by Rick Lonow on drums, percussion, vocals. The other two band members are Michael Webb on piano, Hammond organ, accordion, mandolin, vocals, and Ronnie Guilbeau on guitar and vocals.

These songs are very enjoyable and full of great dynamic in the execution, with the experienced players pulling out all of their party tricks across the twelve tracks included here. The harmony vocals are everything that you would expect from musicians who were part of such an iconic genre of music all those decades back, but we are also given a wider palette of colour with songs like Free In America featuring accordion and bringing a cool Tex-Mex vibe, and the funky groove of I Know Better very much channelling a sweet memory of early Little Feat.

There are straight-out rockers such as opener Time Keeps Slipping Away with its great guitar and keyboard sound; plus the deep guitar riff on Make It Right Or Make It Wrong. The harmonica sounds of Paco Shipp on The Truth sets a fine atmosphere, before the tempo picks up with the vocal delivery reminiscent of Don Henley in his pomp. The rhythm section of Lonow and Sundrud really drive the beat on this arrangement.

A standout is the track Night At the Rodeo and a song that reflects on a lost romance, with atmospheric pedal steel, courtesy of Mike Daley, duetting with the electric guitar of Guilbeau to great effect. The impressive production is very much highlighted on the song I’m Listening when everything comes together in an engaging and impressive band performance, with vocals and music dovetailing to great effect. Butte La Rose is another key track with a swampy Louisiana kick and the fiddle of Aubrey Richmond complimenting the accordion of Michael Webb, while the guitar of Guilbeau cuts through the melody. This album is a sweet gumbo of heady sounds and I really enjoyed the listening experience.

Paul McGee

New Album Review

Brent Cobb Ain’t Rocked In A While Ol’Buddy/ Thirty Tigers

Disciples of small-town Georgia singer-songwriter Brent Cobb would hardly have seen this coming. If his previous six albums have been peppered with songs that incorporated country, soul, gospel, and blues, he has gone full-on rock with this ten-track record, which revisits the classic rock bands that he listened to growing up. Recorded live to tape with his touring band The Fixin’s at The Black Palace in Springfield, Missouri, the record is best described as simply ‘piercing rock and roll.’ 

The album opens with a ninety-second prayer like  track titled Beyond Measure. It features only Cobb’s vocals and piano as he expresses his gratitude for his love-filled life. He signs off, joined by The Fixin’s, with a grungy reprise of the same song.

It may be that Cobb is following the direction taken by Neil Young when he and Crazy Horse cranked up the guitars and went all ‘hell for leather.’ The swampy Do It All The Time, the thumping Even If It’s Broke, and the title track (which recalls early Black Sabbath) all sound like Cobb and his band are having the time of their lives. It’s not all full throttle either, In Our Hands is a return to more familiar ground from his previous work. 

‘I feel like sometimes when people come to our shows, there might be a disconnect, people might view me as just a singer-songwriter,’ explains Cobb. This record may well be a one-off diversion for Cobb, potentially alienating some of his supporters. However, the bottom line is that it is loaded with memorable songs laced with cutthroat energy and a pointer towards an artist who has no intention of being pigeonholed into any one genre. 

Declan Culliton

Ashley Monroe Tennessee Lightning Mountainrose Sparrow

A member of the supergroup Pistol Annies alongside Miranda Lambert and Angaleena Presley, Ashley Monroe's latest solo album, TENNESSEE LIGHTNING, is her sixth solo recording since her debut album, SATISFIED, in 2009. Her career has found her crisscrossing genres from traditional country to countrypolitan and bluegrass to pop/country. 

Her superb 2013 album LIKE A ROSE,on the Warner Brothers label was, for this writer, a career high point. Her most ‘country’ record, it was produced by Vince Gill and highlighted Monroe’s credentials as a superb vocalist and songwriter.  Her subsequent record, the Grammy-nominated THE BLADE from 2015, followed a similar path; further releases, although consistently strong, have tended to move more towards the mainstream, possibly influenced by the industry.

Diagnosed with a rare form of blood cancer, Waldenström macroglobulinemia, in 2021, Monroe’s career was on hold while she underwent intense treatment and, thankfully, she is now in remission. Understandably, a celebratory and uplifting theme is at large throughout this album, which includes support and contributions from many of her friends and peers (‘When I finally went into remission, I could feel the life and the music start flowing in my veins again. It was like a flood, just this rush of inspiration.’) Those contributors include Marty Stuart, T Bone-Burnett, Shelby Lynne, Brittney Spencer, Karen Fairchild, Waylon Payne, Brenden Benson, and Amand Hutton.

Co-produced by Monroe with Grammy-winning producer/engineer Gena Johnson (John Prine, Jason Isbell), the seventeen-track record shifts from the other-worldly opener I’m Gonna Run to the hip-hoppy Bitter Swisher Sweet and from the swampy pop Recovery to the gentle Leonard Cohen written ballad, That’s No Way To Say Goodbye. Marty Stuart’s guitar lick opens The Touch, one of a number of heartfelt love songs, alongside Amen Love and the piano-led There You Are, which feature. Hot Rod Pipe Dream is an upbeat, power-pop track that instantly hits the spot, and the slow-burning, soulful Risen Road has a similar impact. Fittingly, the album bookends with the psalm Jesus Hold My Hand which includes supporting vocals by Amand Hutton.

Celebrating resilience and survival, Ashley Munroe pours her heart out from start to finish on this album. She is in fine voice throughout and, as you might expect, the messiahship is of the highest order. To satisfy diehards like myself, she may at some stage revert to a more ‘old school’ rather than ‘modern’ country sound. But in the meantime, it’s heartening to have her back to full health and recording terrific music once more.

Declan Culliton

The Last Revel Gone For Good Hassle House/Thirty Tigers

Minneapolis-based three-piece Indie folk/bluegrass band The Last Revel consists of banjoist/multi-instrumentalist Ryan Acker, guitarist Lee Henke, and fiddler Vinnie Donatelle, with all three members contributing vocals. Very much a democracy, each member also shares the songwriting credits.

Formed in 2011, they had clocked up over two hundred shows each year up to 2019, when they paused to draw breath and recalibrate. That interlude only lasted until they reformed in 2021, and ironically, they discovered that their profile had increased after Covid, with many new fans finding their music during lockdown.

Produced by the lead singer in Trampled By Turtles, Dave Simonett, THE LAST REVEL is the band’s sixth album. It essentially recounts the highs and lows of a touring artist over its ten tracks. Songs that explore the darker side of life include Solid Gone, which addresses the endless hours spent behind the wheel and its inherent risks, and Wait Up, written by Donatelle after the death of two close friends, that speaks of the challenges of grappling with and moving on from tragedy. The fickleness and unpredictability of our day-to-day existence are also addressed in Porcelain.  

More upbeat topics also emerge. Everlasting love and devotion are the messages behind Until Death and Simple Wheel. The simple but often underappreciated beauty of the nature that surrounds us was the inspiration behind Tall Grass.

A breezy affair, GONE FOR GOOD is a blueprint for what The Last Revel does best. Well-constructed songs that tackle real-life issues head-on, along with slick instrumental interplay and harmonies that complement each other, combine to create a thoroughly enjoyable listening experience. 

Declan Culliton

Cody Jinks In My Blood Late August

A genuine torch carrier for outlaw country, Cody Jinks' latest album, IN MY BLOOD, is his eleventh studio recording. All released independently, and more recently on his own label, Late August, the Texan can boast of five billion streams across various platforms, making him the most successful independent country artist by some margin. His studio output is prolific, despite his hectic touring schedule. His 2024 work yielded three albums, CHANGE THE GAME, BACKSIDE OF 30 and his tribute record CODY JINKS SINGS LEFTY FRIZZELL. Never one to let the grass grow under his feet, the latter was recorded during COVID when touring was not an option. He is currently headlining his “Hippies and Cowboys” tour, which is due to headline at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado, Asbury Park in New Jersey, The Met in Philadelphia, and Pier 17 in New York.

If CHANGE THE GAME was the last album recorded during his ‘drinking days, ’Jinks describes his latest project as ‘most certainly a celebration of survival.’ IN MY BLOOD was written from an altogether sober standpoint - labelled by Jinks as ‘written by the new me’- with much of the material reflecting on the past with brutal honesty. The title of the album is a simple statement of what drives Jinks on and rationalises the twenty-two hours often spent on a tour bus for the privilege of a two-hour show. The track of the same name is a co-write with Charlie Starr, the lead vocalist and guitarist of Blackberry Smoke, a close friend and fellow road warrior.  

The opening track and statement Better Than The Bottle (‘Some living's been done and we pulled back on the throttle. Still a vice or two, but they're better than the bottle’) reflects on newfound sobriety and sets the scene for the confessional songs that follow. The loss of control and pull that is the curse of addiction is the message in the driving anthem-like See That Man and the brutally honest Monster speaks of the ongoing fight to remain sober (‘I know he likes to show up when I think he’s finally gone, preying on my weakness like he did before’).  

Others calls out and applauds the loyal fan base Jinks has grown over the past decade and a half, and the continuing motivation their support has generated (‘And only god knows where I'll be, out here singin' for the others like me’). Other standout inclusions are the blissed-out Something Wicked That Way and the Pettyesque Lost Highway, before he signs off with the slow-burning and reflective hymn-like When Time Didn’t Fly.

A profoundly personal project, in keeping with his extensive back catalogue, IN MY BLOOD is a full-blooded and intoxicating affair that blends outlaw country with southern rock without ever descending into predictability.  The smooth chemistry between Jinks’ baritone, gravelly vocals, supported by grungy guitar riffs, keyboards, pedal steel and percussion, is a joy to behold on an album that equals, if not surpasses, his best work to date.

Declan Culliton

Rah Rah Rabbit Chasin’ Rabbit, Catchin’ Squirrels Blackbird

A long time part of the Californian cosmic country crew, Rah Rah Rabbit are led by singer/songwriter Laura Anne Lacey. The band here mix their country with some folk and broader Americana elements to create something that fits the overall feeling set by the name and album title, in that it mixes a certain sassy humour with some more serious issues. For instance, the song Liquor Store Chicken includes the self-explanatory lines “I got home at night to an empty house / everything was missing including my spouse”, before returning to the alluring finger lickin’ pleasure at hand by way of compensation. The album title comes from another song that is perhaps a little more philosophical: When You Get It is about seeking one thing but having to be satisfied with something else, even it is the “same dang thing.” It has a stop start beat with some swirling sonics of fiddle and guitar. 

Produced by Joe Napolitano, a noted exponent of the art and by Dave “Mustang” Lang and Jillinda Palmer, all of whom form a part of the assembled studio team, alongside a number of other local musicians such as Andy Creighton on guitar and Kevin Milner on pedal steel. Drummer Nolan Le Vine and harmonica player Sugar Mill Slim also make their presence felt, as do the contributors on banjo, mandolin and violin. It is a varied and entertaining set from the singalong jauntiness of Checkered & Blue with a strong vocal ensemble, to a more blues/rock mood in Windy Feet that has a more southern feel with slide guitar, Hammond B3, piano and a grooving rhythm section.

All of this highlights how the band can draw from a number of sources, while maintaining a coherence that is set by the production arrangements and by Lacy’s vocal delivery and songwriting which, as mentioned, fits between resignation and the more wayward chasing of rabbits and other possibilities. The nine songs here build that basis such as A Man I Once Knew which is more a considered look at a failed association. But a song like Mountains has a more uptempo craziness about it, with a strong guitar break and some driving fiddle included, as she looks at getting over someone. The layered vocal chorus of This Winter works in a different way, showing the versatility of the overall deliveries.

Another name to add to the variety of roots exponents working in California who are doing their music in their own way and with an overall individuality that helps it to stand out and doing it without taking themselves too seriously.

Stephen Rapid

Jesse Lovelock & The Velvet Voices Self -Titled Self Release

First and foremost this is something of an accomplishment in that it is a detailed and loving creation of a mainstream strand of country from decades ago. Not an entirely forgotten one however as there have been other forays of late into what became known as the Countrypoliton/Nashville sound, even if this is not entirely rooted in that particular sound but one that can also predate its pop crossover nature at times. Aside from those artists who were associated back in the day, I remember Mike Ireland’s albums from 1998 and 2002 that touched on the traditional themes of country music but added the sound of strings to balance the sense of pain with sweetness, something that a string quartet or orchestra could provide (depending on the recording budget). 

Here Lovelock has used the pedal steel and strong female vocal accompaniment to add a similar aura of melancholy throughout. As producer and an undoubted master in the studio, he has made sure that it simply sounds right. The principal players, aside from Lovelock, are Ashley Rose and Sandy Cruz on background (but very important) vocals, pedal steel maestro Reggie Duncan and fiddle/violin player Mark Lewis - a man with an extensive CV that includes playing with icons like Merle Haggard, Porter Wagoner, Bill Anderson, Dolly Parton and Jean Shepard among others, a list that certainly underscores his ability to understand the aims and purpose of this recording.

As a largely hard-core honky-tonk enthusiast myself, the very notion of this sound may seem like the antithesis of the sound that appeals to me. In some ways it is (and may seem so to others who may simply not want to take the time to listen), yet it contains the same sense of authenticity and ambition that so much of the music I like contains. The final recitation on life and death In The Afterlife, which closes the album, may however be a step too far for some. Yet it is again rendered in a way that means it could easily have been included on an album released decades ago. In the end it is not only about a careful, meticulous recreation, but also allows a contemporary look into a seemingly simpler time that may or may not have actually existed, but is coloured by a nostalgia that it might have.

Top that with a towering vocal performance from Lovelock that is nuanced and stylised, but full of passion and precision. The songs are all written by Lovelock and deal in the main with those aforementioned reflections on love, loss, heartbreak and the seeking of redemption. There are two covers - one is the opening song Misty Blue, a song written by Bob Montgomery and recorded many times, but perhaps it is the Eddie Arnold version that serves as the template here. The other cover is She Even Woke Me To Say Goodbye, which was recorded by Jerry Lee Lewis and written by Doug Gilmore and Mickey Newbury. Both show that Lovelock has been listening carefully to a lot of music from the appropriate sources.

Singing The Blues has soulful steel and guitar to underscore its sense of forfeiture. It is, of course, only one of many songs that deal in similar sensitivities, which perhaps means that many of the tracks have a similar sentiment overall and might be considered somewhat samey. However, after a lot of listening, it is that disposition that allows a deeper immersion in the resonance on offer. For example, Crazy Love shows Lovelock’s vocal ability at its best. The piano is also a fixture on many of the songs. You simply think that you are listening to a little known covers album from the late 50s, produced by the likes of Owen Bradley in Nashville.

Now, if that is something that would engage you then you need to seek this album out as it is not, at this point, available to be downloaded or streamed other than on Soundcloud. This will, likely, divide those who see no point in engaging in such a project and certainly, as with other more recent artists looking to convincingly recreate a particular sound and era, remain a format that will sit well outside the mainstream, even if that has been gaining a more pleasing country leaning of late.

But for those who ‘get it’, this is undoubtedly going to be one to savour and an ‘album of the year’ contender for this writer. It has done exactly what it set out to do, which was to make a great immersive album, period (for any period). 

[The single Misty Blue currently available to listen to on Spotify]

Stephen Rapid

Red Sky July Misty Morning Self Release

Red Sky July are a British alternative country band, consisting of husband and wife team Ally McErlaine (ex-Texas) and Shelly Poole (ex-Alisha's Attic). They were the original duo that formed this band back in 2009 and this is their fourth album, filled with creative song arrangements and tight harmonies and presenting a vibrant blend of Alt-Folk, Country and Americana sounds.

Completing the trio is impressive vocalist Haley Glennie-Smith, who replaced Charity Hair (The Alice Band and The Ailerons) back in 2015 and the last album release was The Truth and the Lie some years back in 2016. The British Country Music Association voted that release as UK Album of the Year, and, indeed, the band was also honoured as Group of the Year. So, why the gap in momentum of some nine years? Clearly their new sound had to evolve and I understand that a few attempts to complete a new album were scrapped both pre-and-post Covid years. All I can say is that the wait has certainly been worth it as the new album is both engaging and very impressive in all aspects.

Stones and Brambles is a gentle Folk song with sweet harmony vocals that sing about loyalty and having someone else’s welfare as the central focus ‘I will carry the whole of your weight over the stones and brambles.’ We should all be so lucky to find such a friend. Spectral vocals carry the song.

King Of Better Things follows and sings about leaving for better opportunities to share with someone beside you all the way; again a song of faith and a promise to stand beside your friends. Solace in friendship. Celebratory sounds drifting high on layered melodies.

I Found Angels is reflective and has a haunting vocal balance between both Shelly and Haley with ghostly guitar sounds in the background echoing a sense of disquiet. Ally takes the lead vocal on Utah, the highlight song here with Jo Hammill joining on co-vocal and singing about changes we experience in a father-daughter relationship ‘You’re not the same person that you left home as, You don’t need a flashlight to see that.’ As the dialogue continues ‘Sorry Daddy, I’m ready for a new start.’

Platform 5 has a lovely sense of English traditional Folk in the arrangement and gentle guitar supports the lead harmony vocals that dovetail around the understated melody. Haunting and subtle touches of magical moments on another key song. Two Magicians follows a similar theme and the simple melody is in support of the dual vocals of Shelly and Haley on a song that seems to be about challenging relationships that travel into the mystic and follow trysts gone wrong.

The title track is a feast of electronic effects on guitar and keyboard that wrap the dramatic vocals of the trio and deliver quite a compelling cadence in the performance. Stars Turn Cold continues in the same fashion ‘I look for silver linings but they are hard to find, After the sun burns out you’ll still be on my mind.’ Chances lost and roads not taken. Some sweet guitar on this track to heighten the sense of regret.

Pool Party is another floating sonic song that drifts by on memories; a rueful look back at relationships not meant to last beyond their summer fling. The final song is Cut Me Down and it again tackles relationship challenges, and brings this very enjoyable album to a fine conclusion. Highly recommended and definitely an album to hope that it doesn’t take quite so long for the next instalment. Until then, there is always the back-catalogue.

Paul McGee

Jesse Daniel Edwards Self-Titled Cavity Search

One man at his piano; do not disturb; these are songs of rueful insight and reflective observation. The thought process in stripping down songs to their bare essence gives so much appreciation into the vulnerability of the artist and the willingness to be laid open. The songs included here are of the heart and the healing process brought about by the catharsis of deep emotion. Lyrical and sweet longing wrapped in a prayer for redemption.

Cuyamaca is a region of eastern San Diego County, California and it was home to Jesse Edwards as he grew into his teenage years, before deciding to explore outside influences in travelling the USA and beyond. While in Nashville, he was mentored by Al Bunetta, then manager of John Prine, who encouraged the musical talents of Edwards. Now, with four previous albums to his name, Jesse delivers a real gem, and a certainty to feature in my best-of lists as the year unfolds. Recorded live on 2-track tape by Scott McEwen, and produced by Denny Swofford, at Memphis Magnetic Recording Co., this new, self-titled release marks a new chapter in Edwards' evolving artistic journey, offering an intimate, raw portrayal of his musical and emotional world. .

Previous albums include WE, THE PRODUCT(2022), and the song So Passes the Light From Your Eye is included here. AMERICAN DREAMING appeared in 2023, and Coat You Left Behind is featured, plus three tracks from VIOLENSIA, also a 2023 release, I’m So Happy (I Think That I may Cry), Nobody’s Got Me, and Everything Makes You Sick forming part of the ten song opus. CLAP TRAP VENUS was the last album, released in 2024, and the excellent Wrong About God is taken from this record. The remaining four songs are universally superb and point to the prolific talents of Jesse Edwards.

All ten songs are piano-only versions of songs written by Edwards and the opening I’m So Happy (I Think I Might Cry) is a wry look at how we mask our real emotions under the surface. This House Comes With A Ghost is structured so expertly and captures memories in, and of, a home place ‘Broken hearted love affairs, and bittersweet farewells.’ The song Everything Makes You Sick is about learning the lessons of past experiences ‘A stolen kiss that dies, unreturned.’ The visual imagery in the lyrics throughout the album is so keenly honed.

Remember How To Love is an attempt to rekindle love’s bright flame from times gone by in a relationship ‘If I could remember how to love you, maybe you’d remember how to smile.’ So poignant and precise. Wrong About God is a painful look back at a challenging time ‘I was a Chaplin in the army, But I got tired of lying to dead men.’ The loss of a close friend also shattered his belief in a higher presence and this song is a realisation to look within for the divine.

Secret Of Love is a love song to a special person, and the admiration held for her open arms and open heart ‘She’s a glass of wine in a paper cup.’ The other side of love is the subject of Nobody’s Got Me and the loneliness of being an outlier in society with those inner voices telling that you’re not good enough. There is more emotional turbulence on Omaha and a plea to remember the good times that can lie buried under the baggage of relationship woes.

Left Your Coat Behind is a highlight among many great songs and it examines the passage of time, misconnections, communication breakdown and other feelings that sting  ‘The clock on the wall is screaming at the clock in the hall, and I know I’m running out of time.’ The final track So Passes the Light From the Eye tackles change, in life, in our perspectives, the impermanence of everything and in our visions of death. All so elegantly captured and delivered with a knowing wisdom. Last year Jesse created a digital project titled Demos and it was a collection of eighteen songs played on either guitar or piano in a stripped down acoustic atmosphere, highlighting the superb craft of this singer songwriter. A number of EPs have also been released, along with the current trend for regular digital singles; the latest project is titled Requiem Mass, a five-track EP that has just launched. I urge you to check out the music of this talented artist. You will not be disappointed.

Paul McGee

Lukas Nelson American Romance Sony

Pedigree counts for a lot and it goes a long way when deciding how to represent the talent inherited from others and the rewards of a life well lived. When you grow up under the influence of music legends like Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings then the baton passes down through both the genes and the experiences gained in living their unique qualities up close and personal.

Two sons come together to collaborate on this debut solo album. Two talents in their own right who have been proving their worth in different ways over the past decades. One is the producer Shooter Jennings, son of Waylon, and respected artist and songwriter. The other is Lukas Nelson, son of Willie, an accomplished musician who founded POTR the live touring band over a number of years to Neil Young, as well as releasing a string of excellent studio albums in their own name.

The opening song here is Ain’t Done and it carries an important message in that our lives are always unfolding, never predictable and always subject to change.  Following track Pretty Much is a testament to the love felt by Lukas for his wife and her youthful, spontaneous ways. A true partnership of travellers in time.  Another song Make You Happy reflects upon enduring love, it could be love for a parent, a sibling, or a true friend - whatever the source, it’s a celebration of being there for one another.

The traditional country arrangement of Outsmarted is a look back at mistakes made as a youthful renegade. Standout song Disappearing Light addresses the question of mortality and the passing of time, it’s a duet with Stephen Wilson Jr. and it is superbly delivered.

Born Runnin’ Outta Time is the perfect companion in looking at how time goes by and the fast pace of the song is reflected in the dash towards some kind of reconciliation. It’s such a clever song with all the signs of the writing skills of the father – the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree after all.

All God Did is a wonderful take-down of our attempts to make sense of this temporary ride on the wheel of life. Despite all efforts to choose a path to supposed enlightenment, all we can do is wonder at the mystery of it all. The true meaning is in the daily kindness that we show to each other and the simple ways in which we express our empathy.

Montana is a lovely slice of pure country and perhaps a memory of that other Rocky Mountain High  tribute to nature and all the gifts it brings. Sierra Ferrell pops up on Friend In the End and her vocal joins with Lukas in a celebration of being in the moment and soaking in that atmosphere that true friendship brings. The Lie engages in the way that we live our lives under the reign of popular opinion the weight of social media, and the race to win some seemingly irreplaceable prize.

The album title American Romance is a song to grapple with as it suggests a scenario of a wild romance, juxtaposed against an affair where there are no winners ‘We sit in the car alone, Now’s the time for stealing home, Feel a little joy before, The many sides advance.’ The final track is an acoustic reflection of love and You Were It suggests that relationships are never quite equal and that Lukas carries a perspective gained from experience ‘ You were sly, You were fast, Built to last, And you lasted ‘til the end.’ Life lessons, love lessons, perspective for the journey. As Lukas embarks upon a solo career, this is a very encouraging start and an album that has much to reflect upon. Both satisfying and substantive.

Paul McGee

New Album Reviews

Dave Desmelik Among Friends Self Release

A new album from North Carolina’s Dave Desmelik is always welcome here at Lonesome Highway. Despite lack of major commercial success, Dave keeps putting out his independent releases because he truly believes in the power of music. For this, his 19th release, he has taken a slightly different tack and has recorded his interpretations of songs written by nine of his friends, with just one of his own compositions. Playing all the instruments himself, he supplies acoustic and electric guitars, bass, keys, synths and drums to provide a pleasant folk/roots/alt country back drop for his vocals, which have an appealing fragility. These are not easy songs. They reward attentive listening because it’s all about the lyrics, folks. 

New York Times (by Jimmy Davidson) details the tough life of a blue collar worker who laboured his lifetime in the merchant navy and who ‘lived such that nobody noticed too much/ he kept to his place in the line’, until one day something momentous happened. The protagonist in Immaterial Boy (by Steve Mayone) thoroughly rejects capitalism and so called progress, while Everyday Theatre expands on Shakespeare’s ‘all the world’s a stage’ philosophy. Pulling no punches, Jay Brown’s Be Real advises that ‘now ain’t the time to string us along/ with meaningless singing of meaningless songs’. Preach it, Dave!

Unusually, there’s just one heartbreak song here - the pleading Come Back, from the pen of Aaron Woody Wood. Desmelik’s old friend from Arizona, Nolan McKelvey, provides the moving ballad Durango, which relays the story of an aging rancher approaching the end of his life with acceptance and peace, seeing it as completing the cycle of life, and asking to have his ashes scattered in the Animas river. Impending death is also the subject of Betsy Franck’s Used To Be,  but this protagonist is not quite so sure what is awaiting ‘on the other side’, due to a less than salubrious life. 

The album closes with Dave Desmelik’s own song, Tear It Down, and his anger is palpable. It’s there in his vocals, in his strident piano and harmonica accompaniment. ‘Now I live in a world that I used to could understand. I been here too long now. I still won’t let you tear it down’. We hear you, Dave.

Eilis Boland

Will Overman Stranger Self Release

Growing up in Virginia saw this singer songwriter develop a real love of music, and an early decision to learn cello was something that started Will Overman on his journey towards a career in music. While living in Charlottesville, he formed his first band and an eight-track album titled SON, appeared (2013). This was followed by a six-track EP, DIE WHERE I BEGIN (2015) and a self- titled album appeared the following year, including a few tracks from previous releases.

A further EP appeared in 2017 (CROSSROADS), and back in 2021, Lonesome Highway reviewed his last album release, titled THE WINEMAKER’S DAUGHTER. We were suitably impressed with the fine songwriting at the time, and apart from a five-song EP, LIVE FROM VIRGINIA (2023) there was little further activity. However, now the opportunity to catch up with this interesting songwriter arises as he delivers the results of his Covid lockdown labours, and a new album spanning eleven songs.

This time around, we are introduced to a new set of studio musicians and production duties are handled by Bobby Holland & Brad Sample, both of whom feature on the album and contribute as musicians. The songs featured are all co-writes, with one cover version of the Killers song, Read My Mind. The sound is very much in the Americana arena with strong song structures and bright arrangements.

Virginia Is For Lovers has a sweet melody, wrapped in pedal steel, banjo and piano interplay. The song has Overman looking back on his youth and the happy memories that have now been replaced by more recent life issues. Indeed, a number of these songs are steeped in self-analysis, decisions made, and the consequences of focusing upon a career as a travelling musician to the exclusion of all else.

Bowery makes reference to the difficulties in keeping momentum in a music career of many lows and relatively few highs ‘There’s a Tik-Tok kid who has sold out the room beneath me, and I’m ten years in and wondering if anyone believes me, There ain’t nothing in this life I expect to get for free, But I thought by now I’d be running on more than a dream.’ Again, on the big sound of Landlocked Heart, Overman sings of the urge to follow his nomadic dreams ‘Is this an anchor or a sail, Am I just chasing fairytales, Cause I’m four weeks in, my phone is dead, I’m homesick and I’m sick of this, I drove twenty hours round-trip for an hour-long hit.’ Hard earned insight into the life of this travelling minstrel, and illustrated with honestly on both of these tracks..

There is a much bigger sound on this album compared to his 2021 release with more layering and sonics in the production. The commercial sound on Names and the sing-along chorus has radio hit written all over it and the song highlights the lure of transient relationships, even if the abiding feeling is one of loneliness ‘I'm too broke for therapy, You're too broken to change, It's better that we don't know each other's names.’

The title track Stranger is a self-acceptance of the price to be paid for continuing to chase success ‘I thought the grass would be greener turns out it’s full of weeds, I thought it would be everything that I wanted, turns out it’s nothing that I need, Turns out the shit I left back in Virginia just followed me to Tennessee.’

A stand out song is Funeral For A Friend and it references the sad memories that follow after a divorce, likening the pain to that of a funeral. The previous album was a tribute to Overman’s wife, and her fight against cancer over a number of years. Having survived this battle, the couple then navigated the Covid years and the inevitable pressure and strain brought by having to hit pause on music and on touring revenues. The decision was taken to part and go their separate ways and this song carries that pain in the slow acoustic build and quiet synth sound echoing the words ‘There ain’t nothing about who you are that I ain’t gonna miss, Our love was supposed to last until the end, Now every day’s a funeral for a friend.‘

Another personal song is Held Up By A Woman highlighting the difficulty in trying to move on with living. When you are getting used to life without your long-time partner, you start seeing images of them in everyday activity as you go about your day, perfectly captured in the words ‘Now I’m too broke to date, and I’m too desperate to wait, Was that you walking down Gallatin Avenue, Yesterday.’

The country sound of Somewhere Upstate is very bright and engaging, even if it hides the emotion of wanting to get back home, and the harmonica sound offers a plaintive memory ‘In her arms my sanctuary, Now it’s truck-stops in January, If I can’t go back, I’m taking the long way home.’ Equally, As A Crow Flies looks back at earlier happy times and there are images that can still haunt  ‘All your pictures on my phone make it hard to be alone, fucked up on your memory, Or maybe it’s all this whiskey.’

Will Overman now resides in Nashville and works closely with Evan Hunsberger who doubles as his manager, in addition to being the band’s drummer. With all the upset of a divorce, coupled with a move to a new city, and added to the demands of the Covid years, Overman reflects in the song The Bottom ‘I lost so much, I gave up on my wife, I’ve questioned my life, shot up on myself and got high on my pride, I’ve climbed and I‘ve climbed, Only to find the bottom.’ Well, if this is truly the case, then the only way is back up.

There is no questioning the talent on display and Overman sings passionately with his engaging vocal always finding the bulls-eye. The album comes highly recommended and all credit goes to Will Overman (acoustic guitar, harmonica, synthesizer, lead vocals), Bobby Holland (bass, guitars, keyboards, synthesizers, percussion), Brad Sample (acoustic, electric, slide guitars, percussion, backing vocals), Brittany Bishop, Evan Hunsberger (drums, vocals), Kaleb Jones (backing vocals), Ryan Lee (bass, guitar, backing vocals), Kyle Tuttle (banjo), Sam Wilson (pedal steel), Stephen Roach (keyboards, piano, synthesizer, Wurlitzer).

This ensemble of musicians that would grace any album, let alone one of this excellence and quality.

Paul McGee

The Tasty Kings Native Tongue Self Release

Songwriter and musician Andrew Morse founded The Tasty Kings and this is the third album from the NYC-based band. Their sound is very much rooted in R&B, with added dimensions, and on this new release the presence of guest vocalist Blondie Chapman is front and centre. He is known for his appearances with such acts as The Rolling Stones, The Beach Boys, The Byrds, Rick Danko, Brian Wilson, Jeff Beck, Brian Wilson and many more. His expressive vocal delivery dominates proceedings here and the soulful rhythm and blues feel throughout is a real pleasure to hear. These songs were only released in digital format originally, back in 2023, and exposure was minimal. This represents a re-release of the project and it is certainly worth the investment.

Opening with Done and Dusted and that sense of feeling burned out,  the sentiment in the lyrics is one of fatigue ‘Done and dusted, I'm just waitin' to be, Done and dusted, Nothin' left of me.’ That sense of dreams unfilled carries into songs like South America with the lyric ‘And the hero is confused, His feelings are bruised, And his big day was ruined, By the small size, Of his crowd.’

Another song, Ocean’s Unfaithful, has a cool Stones vibe in the loose arrangement and the guitar riffs, while the solemn hymn on George Floyd is in stark contrast ‘Well, two sets of rules, One black and one white, That's the best we can do, As you beg for your life.’ Subtle guitar brings an additional layer of emotion to the arrangement.

Flyboy is a clever song in reference to Daedalus, a craftsman, and considered the inventor of carpentry. In Greek mythology his son, Icarus, flew too near the sun on wings of wax and feathers in search of a dream. The standout track is Steady Reggie and it has such a sweet groove, ‘The gun on your hip, now, is gone to your head, Steady Reggie, hear what I said.’ Again, some sweet guitar playing compliments the overall rhythm and brings a smile.

The acoustic strum of Kiss Me has a soothing presence, as it hints at a relationship at a crossroads ‘Maybe you got a generous heart, Maybe things are coming apart, Maybe I forgot how to fly, Maybe I'm blind.’ The concluding track Girl Next Door is a memory of time gone by when a hidden crush remained unspoken ‘Her hair in a braid, As the evening light fades, Her voice calling out, “Hey, ain't I seen you before?” That girl next door. ‘

The lack of album credits restrict me from listing the fine musicianship that the Tasty Kings display throughout. The founding member is songwriter and musician Andrew Morse, and his move to include Blondie Chapman proves to be an inspired choice on this excellent collection of  songs.

Paul McGee

Marina Rocks S.O.S. Texas Self Release

Straight out rock n’ roll on opener It’s All Messed Up and memories of the seminal Runaways sound in the groove. Marina plays a mean guitar riff and she is very much on top of her creative inspiration on this new album. The song S.O.S. is one that displays a real sense of irony in the lyrics that focus on the plight of trying to ‘make it’ as a female artist in the music industry. Be true to yourself, girl!

The Hollywood Sign has a slow burn with some sweet harmonica and a song that deals with lost dreams. A very nuanced vocal delivery from Marina, and followed by the up-tempo groove on the fine instrumental I Don’t Know, quite the opposite dynamic, but no less worthy of attention. Again, some great band interplay and unfortunately, the musicians are not credited on the information that I received. However, hats off to you all, whoever you may be!

One More Song channels Lucinda Williams in the vocal timbre and is a soulful plea to the muse of broken hearts to ease the pain. A fine example of the heartfelt talent of Marina Rocks. The tough stance on Mind’s Eye is wrapped in an easy melody and a message of being open to the world and what may fall our way.

Standout song Slap Happy has the band in full flow as the addictive groove extends into a climatic guitar and keyboard swell. The easy touch on Starlight is in complete contrast as Marina delivers a really sweet instrumental meditation. A return to One More Song concludes the album with an emotional rendition that highlights the passion of being in the moment ‘When did we get this way,’ a recognition to the broken hearted in need of redemption. A very fine album.

Paul McGee

Rachel Whitcomb Wildest Dreams Self Release

There is not a weak song here, among the ten excellent tracks included on this debut album, courtesy of the Associate Dean and Associate Professor of Music Education at Duquesne University, Pittsburgh. Folks, I give you the impressive talents of Rachel Whitcomb.

Rachel has assembled a group of Nashville’s finest session players to interpret these songs and bring them to life. We are given the talents of Brent Mason (electric guitar), Pat McGrath (acoustic guitar), Ryan Joseph (fiddle), Duncan Mullins (bass), Johnny Brown (keyboards), Scotty Sanders (steel guitar), and Garth Justice (drums). Such superbly delivered playing of understated excellence and nuance.

Honky Tonk opener Walk Of Shame is a great way to introduce the music with a swinging tempo and a nod towards the groove of the famous Joe South song, Rose Garden (I Never Promised You), with pedal steel leading the melody. Next up is a slow dirge to unfulfilled romance on You’ll Want Me and a look at sad times when feeling left behind, fiddle and pedal steel featured as the echo of longing. Kryptonite is another slow burn that channels raw desire and the electric guitar brings a sweetly cool blues energy to the song arrangement.

Live In the Lonely is a heartbreak song that asks how to move forward from a relationship breakup. Again, the impressive guitar of Brent Mason elevates the arrangement as Rachel asks ‘How can you turn all your feelings around so your hopes don’t resemble your fears.’ The level of maturity in the songwriting reflects someone who is fully immersed in the creative process in her life and this is a substantial album that carries a real statement of both intent and quality.

Promise has the beautiful violin lines of Ryan Joseph to embellish a song that will no doubt become a staple at wedding day ceremonies into the future; a statement of commitment and dedication to a future where two become one.  Such subtle ensemble playing and a real highlight among many great moments. The Old Time swing of Tryin’ To Quit Me is another joyful slice of musical reverie with all the musicians playing off each other with short runs that compliment and colour the melody, ‘I’m like a cigarette you can’t put out, and you’ve got no defence.’

Tim McGraw recorded a song back in 1998 by Bruce Robson, titled Angry All the Time. In the song the husband addresses the breakdown of a marriage and the memories of how the couple used to be before life beat them down. Rachel has written Flirt With Me as a response to the sentiment expressed and puts the emphasis back on the husband to act differently ‘If I’m still your heart’s desire, your burning fire, then why not let it show.’ Such a clever conceit and a very considered lyric.

Control is a straight rocker that really impresses as the slow introduction builds and the guitar of Brent Mason explodes into a space where both desire and inspiration can meet. The vocal control of Rachel is a feature on this track and, throughout the album, knowing when to lift the song delivery and singing with a great resonance and style. Things slow down a pace on the reflective Taking Me Down To the Blue and a song that tries to untie relationship complexities, with Scotty Sanders echoing the sense of longing on pedal steel.

The final song is Can’t Say Goodbye and the feeling is clear with the lines ‘I don’t want to throw us away, But I can’t stand to stay, I can’t forgive yesterday.’ It’s another classic country melody that highlights this talent and with the future opening out like a big open highway there is plenty to look forward to from this very impressive singer songwriter. Definitely one of the contenders for my top albums of 2025.

Paul McGee

Blake Smeltz Heartbreak Highway Self Release

This is a debut album written by Virginia native Blake Smeltz and containing nine songs that reflect his life and the experiences that have so far shaped him in growing into a professional musician. These are mainly songs of the heart and songs of the road, with some obvious influences apparent in the music.

Growing up in Evington, there is always the pull of open roads and the presence of that journey taken into the dreams and hopes of tomorrow. Drive is a song that looks to living free and getting beyond feelings of not being able to express honesty. The Road is another such look at staying mobile and restless, looking to have his girl share in the dream. There is lost romance and missing connection on the title track Heartbreak Highway and the love song I’ll Love You turns into quite the opposite on You Ain’t Whiskey where the sting of a departed lover still smarts ‘You ain’t whiskey, but you damn sure hit me.’

Till I See You Again is another song about heartbreak with the girl having left in a trail of lies, and love gone bad. The sins of the past and family skeletons are part of Good Faith and a look back at the way life can unfold, sobriety issues and staying on a straight path. The dreams of youth are visited on Nicotine Daydream and as we grow into adulthood the question is whether we end up chasing old memories.

The album is produced by William Gawley, Michelle Robertson and Dave Flint. David Flint played acoustic, electric, bass and piano on the tracks and also mixed the record. Andy Hull played drums on the tracks. The overall sound I very clean in the speakers and the songs will certainly find a wide audience if you are in the camp of new country stars like Luke Combs or Zach Bryan. An impressive debut and I’m sure that Smeltz will write further albums of greater resonance as he continues his musical journey.

Paul McGee

MacKenzie Roark and The Hot Pants Ghosts of Rock and Roll Vocal Rest

Lonesome Highway's introduction to Richmond, Virginia-based MacKenzie Roark was her 'no holds barred' debut full-length 2022 album, ROLLIN' HIGH, FEELIN' LOW.  Shooting from the hip, song titles like Drunk Again, Wasting Away, and Little Pills were brutally honest, addressing recurring themes on a hard-hitting album. Twelve months after that release, she formed MacKenzie Roark and The Hot Pants as a vehicle to recreate her studio sound in a live setting. The Hot Pants are Billy Bacci (lead guitar, piano, Wurlitzer, organ, harmonica, backing vocals), Caroline Vain (violin, backing vocals), Matt Moran (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Drew Barnocky (drums, backing vocals, penny whistle). Additional players on the album are Leigh Pinner on backing vocals and John Bradberry on lap steel.

GHOSTS OF ROCK and ROLL continues where that debut album left off with gritty 'get down and dirty' rock and roll alongside some more rootsy and laid-back tracks.  Among the 'full throttle' highlights, Take My Money, Hot American Blood, and Ghosts of Rock and Roll hit the sweet spot. Nestled comfortably alongside those belters are the more relaxed Rich Man and Late Bloomer. Cigarettes and TV Dinners recalls The Waterboys, and also included is the barroom honky tonker, Broken Jukebox Blues.

It's not surprising that MacKenzie Roark recruited these guys to hit the live stages. The end product sounds more like an extended family than a newly formed band, and it more than lives up to the promise of her debut album.

Declan Culliton

Mose Wilson That’s Love Self-Release

Starting his journey as a five-year-old singing in his local church at the foot of the Sewanee Mountain, between Nashville and Chattanooga, Mose Wilson’s career path was never in doubt. His early education in his chosen art was furthered by an introduction to Hank Williams' music by his grandfather and being gifted cassette tapes of Muddy Waters by an uncle. 

Now a leading light in the East Nashville community, at the forefront of the resurgence in country music, that early grounding is evident in Wilson’s recordings, which encompass the full spectrum of roots music. THAT’S LOVE follows on from his self-titled debut album, released in 2021. The intervening four years have not been idle for him; he undertook production duties, collaborations, worked as a hired hand with a number of like-minded artists, including Hannah Juanita, Sweet Meg, Melissa Carper, and Eliza Thorn, as well as working on his own material.

If lost love and hardship are blueprints for the majority of country albums, Wilson has bucked that trend with THAT’S LOVE. Possibly resulting from his engagement to his long-term girlfriend and fellow artist, Hannah Juanita, and reflected in the album’s title, the overriding theme throughout the album is one of devotion and well-being, but also with a sense of realism. That point is emphasised in the first three tracks. The title track, which opens the album, is a gentle ballad with a cool border feel, underlined by Russ Pahl’s chilled pedal steel and Jeff Taylor's accordion breaks. They are just two of a host of Nashville’s finest players who joined Wilson for the recordings at The Bomb Shelter in East Nashville. Among the other contributors were Dennis Crouch (upright bass), Billy Contreras (fiddle, strings), Chris Gelb and Fred Eltringham (drums, percussion). Cajun Baby and ‘Cause I Got You follow that opening track. The former, living up to its title with an infectious beat, includes Hannah Juanita on backing vocals and killer fiddle work by Contreras. The latter is a mid-tempo, joyful love ballad.

Dance With You switches gear to a more bluesy path, and the stomping tongue-in-cheek Yippi Ki Yay is a breezy evergreen affair. A variation on the theme of good times and everlasting love are the break-up ballad I Told You So and the soulful Since I Lost You, before the album closes on a high note with When I Go (‘I’m here for a good time not a long time, I’m gonna live it up and love it up, enjoy every minute I’ve got’). The lasting impression I’m left with is that Mose Wilson and his players lived up to the message in that closing track by enjoying every minute while recording this hugely impressive suite of songs.

Declan Culliton

 April Moon Forgiveness Juice Self-Release

Originally hailing from the Saskatchewan prairies, but currently based in Liverpool, when they are not globetrotting around Europe and farther afield, April Moon is comprised of partners Jaime April and Jason Moon. Describing their output as 'Canadiana', the duo recorded this six-track EP at Scratch Studios and Crosstown Studios in Liverpool, during breaks from living out of their campervan while touring.  Included are five written by the duo and a twangy reworking of The Backstreet Boys', I Want It That Way, the title of which, no doubt, accurately describes their nomadic lifestyle. The opening track, Long May We Roam further emphasises the couple's sense of independence.

The zappy Part Of The Game features Liverpudlian Jo Pue on fiddle, and barely surviving in a typical small town is the story behind Echoville. The duet Uptown Lady Life is a spirited toe-tapper with one foot in country and the other in power pop.

Very much a team effort and, no doubt, a labour of love, FORGIVENESS JUICE offers the listener well-crafted and very listenable songs that land between roots and pop.

Declan Culliton

New Album Reviews

Simeon Hammond Dallas  Seventeen self release 

The third EP from London native Simeon Hammond Dallas sees her looking back on her life, friendships and relationships to date as she enters her third decade, discovering the benefit of hindsight. Her sound this time round takes a slightly different path, there’s less of the blues, country and jazz and instead she has chosen a more power pop sound, evidenced by her choice of producer in Fred Abbott (formerly of Noah & The Whale).

The title track sets the tone and theme for the collection, being an honest acknowledgement of mistakes she made in an early relationship with an older man, “I was afraid to say no/I’d blame myself when you go’. SHD admits that she has repeated this pattern in her relationships ever since. Producing this song herself, it is the quietest track on the EP, with Gabriel Holland providing a piano accompaniment behind her accomplished acoustic guitar playing. Her powerful voice is equally comfortable and effective in the rock/pop sounds of the other four tracks. The catchy Fallen is a perfect piece of power pop, although with perhaps more authentic grit in the lyrics than the usual radio fare, ‘I’ve fallen in love with a car crash baby and it’s headed towards me/ I’ve fallen in love with a storm cloud and I didn’t get any warning’. There’s a lingering country influence in the memorable Do I Die?, though Abbott on electric guitar, bass and keys, along with Christopher Morris on drums, lend it a distinctly poppy flavour.

Four In The Morning details another relationship that’s going down the tubes - ‘All those wasted nights/We fight, I cry, and try to be something you like’ -but at last SHD is coming to a realisation.

She calls out a poisonous former friend in Bad Liar, ‘You should have just stayed quiet/Dragging my name though the dirt’s/Only gonna hurt you when it backfires/ Ooh you’re a bad, bad liar’. Don’t mess with this gal.

Simeon Hammond Dallas can do angst with the best of them, but hopefully this slight change in musical direction will garner more commercial success for a talented artist who is clearly taking control of the next chapter of her life and her career. She will continue to wear her heart on her sleeve, but perhaps her luck is about to turn.

Eilís Boland

Ethan Harrison Smith Live On the WDVX Blue Plate Special Self Release

An interesting live EP from a singer-songwriter who resides in Atlanta, Georgia. It originally surfaced back in 2014, but I received a link to the music in an e-mail from the artists and decided to give the songs an airing. Whether it’s getting a reissued release is unclear, but just in case…

Acoustic guitar and harmonica… essential elements in the boiler room of any aspiring artists’ tools of the trade. I listen to opening song Maybe, Baby and the enjoyable combination of guitar strum and lifting harmonica are immediate as the song tells of unrequited love ‘ Every time I fall in love, Something in me dies.’

Next up is I Can Talk To You and the rhythm echoes the singer finding real communication with his loved one, even when, all around, his attempts at relationships continue to mess up, ‘I got a million things to say, And I know that it don’t seem that way, Cause when I talk I stutter and mumble too.’

Roll Water Roll then slows things down as Harrison Smith is lost in self-thought and looking for balance in the depth of his self-doubt. Water as a remedy, or perhaps a new baptism. Line In A Song is another relationship challenge and the strong vocal hopes that all the pain suffered will be overcome. The final song on this live EP is People Like Me with a sense of dislocation in the words, and the sentiment ‘These empty bars, they don’t ease my mind, it’s so hard to find a heart that beats in time with mine.’

WDVX is a community radio station in Knoxville, Tennessee and the Blue Plate Special is a live performance show on their schedule. Harrison Smith also included an additional song I Was Here which again displays a keen writing style as it reflects upon our existence while we are alive. It is part of a 10-song compilation album called Secret Stash which is available on the official website.

Paul McGee

Michael Henchman If the Sky Fell Self Release

This is a third album from the contemporary folk artist Michael Henchman. He wrote and arranged all twelve songs included here and if gentle, reflective acoustic music is what you crave, then the tracks on this album will more than satisfy your needs.

Nature features prominently across these songs articulating the life experiences of Henchman and his three decades of living in the wilds of Alaska. The mountains, the trees and the sea all find their place in the imagery as Henchman looks upon our life patterns and the decisions that shape us.

There is an intimacy to these songs and the positive affirmation of Love Always Finds Someone, coupled with Life Is Rich bring messages of living full lives and experiencing the joy in the days we are given. Songs like Ghost Pines and Burning Bush carry messages of what lies beyond our initial actions and sensitivities, whether it’s the ghost of a lost lover haunting or in behaving like our pride should stand as the most important focus in what we do with our lives.

Henchman is a multi-instrumentalist and he is joined in the studio by an array of talented players in binging these arrangements to life. There is not too much gear shifting on these songs and we tend to remain in the middle ground of easy going melodies that occupy a quiet space and provide an atmosphere of contentment.

Blue House Dreaming is a fine example of the writing here with a look back to a family home that has seen children raised and now moved out, into adult lives. It contains a knowing reverence to parenthood and the place of love within a family. There are songs that look at some of the pressures in life and Days By Degrees visits the daily pulse of a city and the inhabitants going about their routines, with that sense of isolation felt in the search for meaning and fulfilment. East To West also looks for measure and a way in which we can live for a higher purpose ‘It don’t seem like the answer’s coming anytime soon, Throwing up our hopes with all the latest news.’

The overall commitment to nature and to keeping attached to the wonder is captured on If the Sky Fell and the lines ‘Something in the wind calls my name, Though I never was a rolling stone, Time to get away from everything, Free the spirit, lose the home.‘ These are gentle songs that nestle in beside you on a quiet night and whisper their messages. The playing is understated and the production qualities are very high. Certainly an album that gives food for thought and one that will creep up upon you slowly.

Paul McGee

Barry Oreck and Friends We Were Wood Self Release

Brooklyn, New York is home to this singer songwriter and he has been releasing music since 2016, with four previous releases to his name. This album was self-produced by Oreck and Bob Harris who also contributes to the album on mandolin, keyboards and percussion. The ten songs were written by Oreck, with three co-writes included and involving Rob Meador.

Just Enough Pain kicks off proceedings with a sweet folky melody and the co-vocal of Rima Fand harmonising nicely on a song that questions our commitment to the environment and the abuses that we increasingly tolerate. Build Me A City is an attack on urban development and property speculators. There is a price to be paid for apparent progress and the song is specifically aimed at Robert Moses, a developer in NYC who caused huge change in the manner in which the city was developed.

The title track We Were Wood is a look at the importance of trees to our eco-system and the way in which humans not only take them for granted but who also abuse their uses ‘We hold the earth together, we’re the fur and we’re the skin, Burnt seeds, deep roots, we’re covered in fruit, We’ve got connections in high places, enemies in hot pursuit.’ A homeless people and misguided planning is the tale contained in the song The Norris Dam where the Tennessee Valley Authority persuaded families to sell their farms, scheduled to be submerged in 1936 when the Norris Dam was developed. The lovely violin of Rima Fand features dramatically in the melody

Trust is a song that examines the dynamic in a relationship and again the violin of Rima Fand is a highlight.  She Was Supposed To Cry continues this relationship theme with the girl finally leaving and all the pointless fights now firmly placed in the past. It’s a fine country song and the guy certainly gets his comeuppance ‘When she came to the bar I thought she had forgiven, My meaningless flings with other women, Then a guy walked up and touched her hair, She left with him, she didn't even see me there.’ Karma indeed. This is a very enjoyable album and one that I continue to enjoy on repeated listening.

Paul McGee

Patrick Rydman and Mark Davis You Plus One Self Release

Six songs that run over twenty four minutes and highlight the excellent harmonies of this duo. They originally met in California some years ago and their collaboration was delayed until they found themselves living in Europe, with Denmark and Sweden their host nations.

Both artists have released solo works in their own respective careers and they bring much experience to the writing process. The songs are varied, speaking of friendship and of love, in their multi-layered variety; the plight to the world and the search for real meaning are also important issues upon this spinning globe and whether we can endure is anyone’s guess.

On the title track You Plus One the vicissitudes of life are examined and the way in which our dreams and expectations don’t materialise just because we wish them so. Life can feel like it’s only just a day away from where we want it to be. Sailing Time is a love song that asks for a partner to join in the struggle against the storms of life’s journey and the challenges that form such a part of any relationship. The enduring love can conquer all things, and this is the message here.

Who’s Got the Time? questions our way of living and the constant need to keep busy and moving forward. The lack of real communication and the inability to listen to the sounds of nature cause us real harm. With the song The Box we are asked to step outside of accepted norms and to live life more freely. Self limitation is a terrible thing and our resilience is tested as we try to see the world in different colours.

Ghosts has simple piano accompaniment on a song that reflects upon a past relationship and the feelings that still haunt a decision to part ways. The final song To Be Home is a hope to put away feelings of impermanence and yearning for something not seen, to be more present, and to happily live in the now. There are no musician credits that I can find, so my assumption is that Rydman and Davis play most of the instruments. The song arrangements are very much steeped in melody and lush sounds, all of which makes this project something that should be repeated by this creative duo into the future.

Paul McGee

Kemp Harris The America Chronicles Self Release

This singer-songwriter dwells in the space between different musical styles. He’s also an actor, activist, author, and storyteller, plus an award-winning educator who has taught young public school students for more than 40 years.

The opening song Ruthie’s is one of segregation at its core and the reflection that ‘maybe love will set them free.’ It’s a soulful sound with piano and keyboards featured in the mix. The following song is along similar lines and looks to poverty throughout the world but specifically at home in his America where mass shootings are also a grim reality. Don’t You Hear Them America is full of reggae beats but masks the plea to recognise the inequalities in society.

The song Tulsa refers to the race massacre that took place in 1921. White supremacists carried out a massacre where mobs of white residents attacked black residents and destroyed homes and businesses. The event is considered one of the worst incidents of racial violence in American history.   Harris grew up in the local community of Edenton, North Carolina and laments the certainty to life back then. He misses those days of innocence on the song Edenton and rues the way that society has changed to one of fear and hatred in greater proportions. It’s wrapped in a sweetly soulful sound.

Standing Your Ground continues this theme of hatred and violence in our cities where murder is as cheap as the reasons behind why it happens in the first place. Ego and pride at the centre of so much suffering. The song Down is pure in its message about keeping your head up at all times, no matter what the obstacles ‘But when push comes to shove the open hand becomes a fisted glove, So much for the brotherhood of man.’

“It’s all about communication,” Kemp says. “Everything I do.” This is his mantra and his previous album releases cover similar ground in trying to influence listeners to the message of peace and love through his beautifully honed vocal style.  The song In For the Kill looks at greed that is prevalent in the actions of those with power in society. This Is America Right is almost bordering on a theme song from a popular musical, delivered with great pathos and supported with circus sounds. The Elton John/Bernie Taupin co-write Border Song is prefaced ironically, one feels, by America (the Beautiful), the patriotic song. The resonance of the lyric ‘There’s a man over there, What’s his colour?  I don’t care, He’s my brother, let us live in peace.’

The lullaby Goodnight America puts everything to bed and asks for understanding in the struggle towards enlightenment ‘I loved you then, I love you still, You always have my heart, And we’ll all keep trying, Yeah, we’ll all keep trying.’ If only we could believe in a sunny day tomorrow. This is an album of great heart and soul and is very much a prayer for reconciliation from an artist who has lived through the many stages of hopes and dreams redefined. Well worthy of your attention.

Paul McGee

Ed Haaker Project Born To Rock  Self Release

The title says it all, and this is a classic slice of Americana music, fuelled with strident guitar sounds and a coterie of great studio players who feature on the ten songs included. Duties are shared in the studio with multiple credits for drum, bass and guitar contributions. Producer Keith Lynch also stars on lead vocals, guitars and bass across a number of the songs and Haaker plays rhythm guitar throughout. The Ed Haaker Project is a collaboration of many co-writers each taking turns performing the compositions. The songs span the musical territory from story songs to blues, and into hard rock.

Can You Feel the Power could be a song that slots easily onto any Allman Brothers recording with the laid-back rhythm and the lyrical quality in the vocals and the playing. It sounds so sweetly loose in the delivery that you know just how practiced these players are. Despite a middle-eight where the vocals take an unusual turn, it’s a great song. Another relaxed song is Call Of the Road and the band supports the guest vocal of Jim Kimo West with a look at nomadic lifestyles ‘I know there’s something out there, I’m not just spinning my wheels, May not know what it looks like, But I’ll know it by how it feels.’

The great dynamic on Born With the Blues is a highlight with Jimmy Wood prominent on harmonica and some very tasty guitar from Keith Lynch, with the backbeat of Keith Carlock and steady bass of Jimmy Johnson setting the rhythm for the song to take flight. The atmospheric keyboards of Michael Ruff on Pacific Breeze project the image of lazy days and easy living as the instrumental plays out on the smooth jazzy sound Lynch’s expressive guitar.

Tomorrow May Never Come is a rousing workout that brings echoes of Eddie Van Halen on guitar shredding, courtesy of Keith Lynch, and the soulful backing vocals of Amanda Frazier providing the perfect support for the excellent lead vocal. Hell Of A Ride takes on a quiet pace and is a fitting tribute to the memory of the greatly missed Jimmy Buffett ‘*I see him chilling by a palm tree barefoot in the sand, Glint in his eye, Guitar in his hand.’ There is a great energy on closing track Ain’t Gonna Change with Amanda Frazier featured and a Stones groove in the delivery. An excellent album, filled with great Americana and Rock tunes, and a feast to enjoy, from all involved.   

Paul McGee

Eliza Gilkyson Dark Ages Realiza

What was initially intended to be a celebration of Kamala Harris's Presidential victory, the direction of Eliza Gilkyson's latest album took on an entirely different focus following the results of the 2024 election. Taking its title from the decline in culture, intellect and economic stability during the Early Middle Ages in Western Europe, the album's message may be one of 'history repeating itself.' Still, alongside that sentiment, the material also emphasises the belief that today's trauma and chaos will be replaced by a more caring and inclusive world in the future.

As a result, the album includes 'fire-spitting' songs with unflinching lyrics like the title track, with an obvious target in mind ('Dirty old man with the dead snake eyes, fork-tongued devil telling lie, lie, lies. Holding up his bible like a wannabe martyr, never gonna buy back the soul he bartered') and Dark Night Of The Soul ('There's some bad news going 'round, our whole world's turned upside down, dreams are shattered, hearts are broken………Alpha white boys thumping on their chest while they dictate to the women what is right, what is best, they all bow down when the big dog barks'). 

On the other side of the coin, Times Like These ('You gotta pull yourself together/in times like these, figure out how to weather times like these') is a tender call to arms, and the opener Song To You, written by Gilkyson over fifty years ago, rejoices in the healing effect of music. Man In The Moon is dedicated to the late Jimmy LaFave, a close friend of Gilkyson. 

Produced by Don Richmond, who also contributes the majority of the instrumentation, DARK AGES, despite its motivation, is surprisingly upbeat in its deliveries. Gilkyson is in fine vocal form throughout, drawing the listener into mid-tempo ballads that delicately and convincingly handle a bleak theme. However, that's hardly surprising; she has consistently hit that high mark with her recordings for over four decades now.  

Declan Culliton

Alaina Stacey Dusk Self-Release

Chicago-born and now Nashville-based singer-songwriter Alaina Stacey's latest album is the final instalment in her trilogy DAWN, DAY and DUSK. An EP/mini-album, it includes the final six tracks, which complete the trilogy's nineteen songs.

A former member of the country trio Maybe April, Stacey is forging ahead with her brand of modern country, while attempting to sidestep the current industry direction that many similar artists are drawn to.

Given its title, it's little surprise that the nature of the songs is in keeping with a time of day when reflection is key. 'Being a performer in Nashville made me aware of the constant attempt artists make to create a 'sound' that reflects the musical genre into which they best seem to fit. With this project, I decided to relieve myself of that burden for a moment and create a sound that reflected, to me, different times of the day,' she explains.

The result is an introspective suite of songs that tap into personal issues and dilemmas. Insomnia speaks of problems that appear insurmountable in the dark of night, and many of those sleepless nights were the result of a relationship breakup. The opening track, Think of You, revisits a previous courtship and, similarly, Revolve visits unrequited love and the pain of finally accepting that the flame is well and truly out. A song written some years ago, 'Drunken Lullaby, recalls a flatmate arriving home late at night, uncharacteristically with a few drinks too many on board.  In the song Stan, Stacey fondly remembers her late grandfather, who had Alzheimer's disease.

A melancholic mood prevails throughout the album, which is precisely what Stacey aimed for. Tapping into country/pop ballads rather than traditional or mainstream country, Stacey's vocals are excellent and achieve the aching sound that perfectly suits the material. DUSK fulfils the promise of its predecessors, DAWN and DAY, and serves as another stepping stone in the career of an artist who, despite a crowded playing field, has the credentials to continue climbing the industry ladder.

Declan Culliton

New Album Reviews

Zoé Basha Gamble Self Release

It’s been a long time coming and this impressive début album from French-American artist Zoé Basha is as interesting and eclectic as her back story. Basha hails from Florida, but has spent much of her adult life to date wandering between France and Ireland, where she now calls Dublin home. Most of that time has been spent living out of a van, busking and working on environmental projects. Her musical influences range from folk, jazz, ragtime, blues and nouvelle chanson, making her sound impossible to pin down, and it’s all the more refreshing for that.

Opening and closing the album are chilling a capella renditions of Appalachian/English folk ballads, Love Is Teasin’ and One Morning in May, and she is joined on the latter by Anna Mieke, a fellow member of Rufous Nightjar, an acclaimed Dublin-based a capella trio. Gamble, the title track, written during a sojourn in a wintry Galway when she was tentatively hoping to meet someone with a similar level of emotional baggage, introduces the heavy slice of jazz styling that permeates Basha’s work. Her versatile vocals can range from sweet whisperings to deep powerful renditions, and she plays a mean guitar (an arch top vintage Gibson and an acoustic guitar). The recording band includes Ultan Lavery on keys, fiddle & guitar, Hannah Hiemstra on drums, Johnny Pickett on upright bass & banjo and Anthony Mannion on dobro & lapsteel. Worried, dominated by Lavery’s keys and Hammond, with its frequent disconcerting key changes, explores insecurity in a relationship, ‘I’m worried that I’ll lose my temper/so I lose my rage/and I lose myself’.

Basha is a master of imagery (though sometimes it can be maddeningly cryptic), as demonstrated in Same Swallows Swooping, where she identifies with the ‘south-seeking swallow’ but she is ‘now settled in these hills’, and admits that ‘I can feel my heart lingering where I ripped it from my breast’, as she scats over her fingerpicked guitar accompaniment. Come Find Me Lonesome draws from a similar jazz palette, more bluesy this time, with some particularly fine dobro playing from Mannion, and piano from Lavery. Lavery adds clarinet to the gently swinging Traveling Shoes, a warning to potential suitors that ‘don’t expect me to be there in the morning… my traveling shoes will have already left with my feet’. 

Amazingly, Zoe Basha also produced the record single-handedly, in Black Mountain Studios in Dundalk. Many artists and producers have had a bash at creating the effect of a dreamscape musically, and many have failed, yet Basha realises it superbly on What Dream Is This, with subtle use of synths, guitars, layered and echoed vocals and a soupcon of magic. Conversely, she covers Jimmie Rodgers’ 1932 hit, Sweet Papa Hurry Home (substituting the original Mama for Papa) as its original jazzy New Orleans two step. Dublin Street Corners, far from being an homage to her adopted city, is a reaction to a badly ending love affair, replete with bitter regret. This is an album that took some time to germinate and it was worth the wait.

Eilís Boland

The Paris Rogues Live and Learn Melt Shop

This musical duo is comprised of Michael C Parris and Peter Rogan and they came together back in 2021 in order to blend their respective talents into a cohesive whole. Both artists have independently released solo projects, with Rogan having two fine albums (2019 and 2021), and Parris one release (2022).

They met at Phil Madeira’s Mercyland Songwriters Workshop in North Carolina and instantly found a rapport together. Peter is from Pennsylvania and Michael resides in North Carolina and both of the musicians recorded and mixed the album at Beacon Hill Sound studios with all songs co-written by both songwriters, together with three collaborators in Vicky Smith (three songs), plus Max Berueffy and Jesse Jones with one apiece.

Michael C Parris plays guitar and shares vocal duties, with Peter Rogan providing guitars, bass, mandolin, harmonica and synthesizers, plus vocals. There are a number of studio players who join the duo and Phil Madeira is very influential on piano, organ, Wurlitzer, lap steel, and accordion (five tracks). Rob Strabinsky also guests on piano, and synth (two tracks), with Cliff Starkey sharing piano, organ, synth, Rhodes (four tracks). The rhythm section is ably provided by Josh Kanusky (drums, percussion) and Steve Varner (three tracks), with Parris also playing bass on a number of songs too.

Hold the Light is a standout song with the duo taking a poem by  Vicky Smith and interpreting it. The image of a daughter helping her Daddy service his truck is enduring ‘Points and plugs and oil change, keep her running smooth he'd say, Father's truck the front jacked up, beneath the wheels some boards stacked up, Hold the light little girl, just hold the light little girl.’

Another highlight is the final song The Gift and written in the wake of Rogan’s mother passing away. It’s a song of deep reflection with the words resonating ‘If we lost it all today, would it matter anyway, who we are is the choices that we make.’

Elsewhere, the album title, and opening song, Live and Learn with its bluesy groove is a fine introduction to the excellent musicianship that is assembled here. Another Day In Paradise is something of a departure with a reggae beat and some wise words about how your attitude shapes the way in which you view the world. The rocking sound of 16th and Haak is really enjoyable and sees the band stretch out in the playing, while Wake Me Up, Mama has a nice blues groove to highlight the quality on display. A very enjoyable album.

Paul McGee

Michael Lane Our Love Greywood

This 5-song EP is the latest offering from an artist who is presently based in Germany. He has lived in the USA previously and served in the American army on active duty. These days, Lane is entirely focused on his music career and dealing in matters of the heart, rather than affairs of the military world.

These songs highlight Lane’s angelic voice that has magnified previous releases and I recall his last album from 2022, titled TAKE IT SLOW which was very memorable. Kicking off with the title track Our Love, the simple acoustic guitar is augmented by subtle keyboard sounds as Lane sings of the joys of being in love ‘One walk, we talk, sometimes we sing, This child, his smile means everything.’

The next song Run Away is quite the opposite and looks at the emotions involved when love breaks down ‘ You took the key, You shut the door, You left me here on the floor.’ The vagaries of love, drawn to the flame but always at risk of being burned. Following on is Live Free and the engaging melody encompasses feelings of conflict between being lucky and grateful for so much and yet recognising the urge to leave it all behind for a new start.

This dichotomy is explored further on Don’t Hold Back as themes of death and grief are highlighted as reasons to just embrace the present moment and give everything to the absolute ‘The universe will align and set you free.’ It’s a message of loving awareness wrapped in gorgeous vocal harmonies that build to a fine crescendo. The final song is Blind and an acoustic track that balances shadows against the light of love. Pain of the past and moments of sorrow leave their mark, but the heart can surmount any challenge and shine brightly. This is contemporary songwriting and is all very therapeutic, even if the scars of love can run deep. Michael Lane is an example of the superb songwriting talents that remain generally undiscovered, and I look forward to his next project with anticipation.

Paul McGee

Joe Stamm Band Little Crosses Den Tree

This is roots rock with a broad appeal that has a lyrical depth to match its robust disposition. The band, on this latest album, are joined by a number of additional players who help to round the arrangements to something that adds a layer, taking it further than being just a studio representation of a live show. There are the rockin’ songs sitting beside the more contemplative arrangements. As you would expect, it is Joe Stamm who is the primary songwriter and singer and frontperson here. The production is handled convincingly by Al Torrence, a player in his own right and owner of Music Garden Studios in Pennsylvania, where the album was recorded. Torrence has also worked with Charles Wesley Godwin in the past and brings an equal quality to the sound here. He adds acoustic and slide guitar, Wurlitzer and a bunch of other keyboards throughout the album. However, it is Stamm’s band who all make their own solid contributions to the bedrock of the sound. There are also some string arrangements and Amico DeMuzio’s pedal steel to that add a layer of different textures to the various tracks. 

Stamm is the main songwriter here and he sets the tone with those songs and with his believable, down to earth vocals. The songs tend to focus on observation and personal occurrences, like this couplet for the title song “I got two hands on the wheel, I try to focus on the road / But I pass them little crosses and I shiver in those souls.” There are also a number of comments relating to living life under small town, small minded attitudes. In Territory Town, the things to do in summertime are somewhat limited. Trying to arrange some private time is not as easy as it might seem  “Meet me down at the high school track / Watch the sun comin’ up from the pole vault mat / Groundsman shoutin’, “What’cha doin’ down there?” / Runnin’ to the car in our underwear.” This track opens the album in an able-bodied, rockin’ mode.  But there are also tracks that are arranged in a more pensive style, involving personal friction, such as Forward, the perspective of a man with a daughter, hoping that every time there may be an opportunity to move on “Darlin, won’t ya wait out in the car / Me and mama gotta talk a little heart to heart / How’d I ever let it fall apart? / Every time I fall, Lord, I find a way forward.” These show Stamm as a writer who is a cut above the average, who imbues his material with some personal input, mainly from an uplifting and hopeful perspective. 

The title track is equally musing, the song equates the small white crosses that are often placed beside roadways to an equally, perhaps soulless, relationship. “I pass them little crosses and I shiver in those souls / And I wonder if I’ll have the time to tell the Lord I’m sorry / And I wonder if she’ll wait to cash the check until I’m buried.” These words are full of the doubt and self discrimination that many who are away from home and family may regularly feel. In a similar set of circumstances, How To Quit looks inward to the life of a small time musician who is also wondering if it might be time to quit in the most final way - whichever way the story might end, the track rocks. The aftermath of that lifestyle is again talked about in the slower Foldin’ Cash that is about looking for “Just a little foldin’ cash, to keep the cold off my back / And a little self-respect”. Something not to lose sight of is how well the band and assembled players perform here, whether the songs veer towards the introspective ballad or the more heart pumping heartland rockers. It is a sound with a lot of appeal and attitude that has a potential to be picked up and achieve a lot more. The Joe Stamm band will, doubtless, gain ground on their journey here and deservedly so.

Stephen Rapid

Murry Hammond Trail Songs Of The Deep Fluff & Gravy

The founding member of the Old 97s and the current touring bassist with The Long Ryders has already staked his place in the alt-country world. This may give certain expectations in terms of his solo releases, but Murry Hammond has instead travelled in another direction with this and his previous (debut) album. This time out the songs are all original and he has added an unusual instrument to the mix, not often heard these days,which is his skill as a whistler. He utilises it over several of the tracks and it is not only individual but also highly effective. Being a band person, and although this is released under his name, he is not alone here. He is joined by Annie Crawford on piano and Richard Hewett on drums and tambourine and by Faith Shippey on upright bowed bass. The sound is perhaps rooted in an acoustic delivery and therefore with a certain nod to old school folk songs, but that is not to recognise how fresh and inviting this album actually is.

Not only melancholic but quite alluring is The Wedding Plates, a song full of sad thoughts that shows Hammond as a writer who tells a story without being a storyteller in a poetic, rather than objectively literal, way. “She stayed at home and that's all she wrote / So do hang up your hat and coat / The single room and the mess inside / Compliments, your nervous bride.” A sense of leaving rather than arriving can be gleaned from Praise The Road and Long American Highway, wherein he asks “Bus stop, truck stop / Make a new man of me.” This combination of subtle, simple, yet satisfying melodies complement these words of the need to wander and to wonder. Another strong example is the clear statement and continuing search contained in When A Fella Needs A Friend.

That sense of place and the need to continue on down a long road is deep seated and apparent in Trinity River Bridge that sees “the sight of a grey water tower made / The sound of a Rock Island train at grade / A bridge where my important thinking is done / Then I'm gone”, a further emphasis of a human tumbleweed in motion. The essential feel is of man, acoustic guitar and vocal, yet the additional accompaniment of piano, bass and percussion add much to the overall ambience.

Produced by Hammond and Todd Burke, it has built upon his debut album I DON’T KNOW WHERE I’M GOING BUT I’M ON MY WAY. That title offers a hint to the transience that is portrayed here lyrically, although released seventeen years apart,  and there is a continuity and progression here. It is apparent that Hammond’s singing has gone from strength to strength, on a release that while it will sit well outside of the mainstream, offers something deserving of attention, not least for his existing fans but also in the context of this seeking something that has, in itself, a certain uniqueness.

Although not quite certain what to expect this time around, I was taken in from the first track onwards and more than happy to amble along it trails that have both depth and a sense of airy disposition overall, despite a slight feeling of dislocation. The first song, even as an instrumental, has from its title 3-10 To Liverpool given you a clue to Hammond’s rambling mind. One can only hope that this team will deliver another set of songs in less time than lay between these two releases. It will be welcome, whatever the time frame and frame of mind.

Stephen Rapid

Tami Neilson Neon Cowgirl Outside

There’s quite a backstory to this album, with the title and cover image representing Neilson’s deep love of country in its myriad forms and aspects. The original neon cowgirl sits down above a boot store in Broadway in Nashville and has become something of a mythical figure for Neilson (while the cover is in fact a painted representation by Kellie Talbot). The familiar image overlooked her various visits to the city as tourist, songwriter, performer, parent and above all fan of the genre she has chosen. 

The album was produced by Steven Schram (bar You’re Gonna Fall which Neilson helmed herself) with a musical team capable of delivering their collective vision, which included Brett Adams (lead guitar), Chet O'Connell (acoustic and rhythm guitar), Neil Watson (pedal steel guitar and banjo), Chip Matthews (bass), Steph Brown (keyboards), Tom Broome (drums and percussion), Nick Atkinson (saxophone) and Ashley Brown (cello). This allows for the different arrangements over the eleven tracks to be achieved with a sonic realism. The most immediate aspect of the album, not unlike the neon cowgirl herself, is the towering voice of Neilson, which is readily apparent from the open song Foolish Heart, though she is joined by backing singer and guests such as Neil Finn on the title track, Ashley McBryde, Shelly Fairchild, Grace Bowers (Borrow My Boots) and JD McPherson (You're Gonna Fall). Neilson’s aim was to capture the spirit of Elvis, Willie, Patsy, k.d. and also of the inspirational Roy Orbison. As she notes herself “the blues of Memphis, the twang of Texas, the cinematic torch of Judy Garland on a Hollywood soundstage”, which pretty much sums up the overall ambience of the album.

The aforementioned Foolish Heart is laden with stings and may well conjure memories of a number of great singers from Dusty Springfield, k.d. Lang or Patsy Cline - you may easily have your own set of references - but all are likely to be great singers. Salvation Mountain finds us out on the highway with soulful organ and a driving beat. The title song sums up the mood with a piano-led ballad that becomes a big sounding production, featuring Neil Finn on a soaring harmonic chorus. The trio of female singers mentioned above join in on the banjo faceted sisterhood of Borrow My Boots. The vicissitudes of love also take the stage at times in various guises in Love Someone and Loneliness Of Love, while elsewhere there is a personal strength in Keep On. Another highly effective duet is the standout track You’re Gonna Fall, with JD McPherson, that has cinematic guitar and a shimmering vocal choral.

More twangy naturally is Heartbreak City, USA, mixing that with another old school vocal backing that highlights the effective contributions of Bella Kalolo-Suraj, Anna Coddington, and Vanessa Abernethy. This is a not unfamiliar theme, that the town is not always going to be a place to realise your dreams. Similarly, given the title, U-Hall Blues draws on that format’s mores to tell of the complications of hauling one’s life around with them. The final track, again featuring a twanging cinematic feel, is One Less Heart, another ode to a forlorn love. It ends as it began, then, with the overriding sense of being in the presence of a powerful, emotive, stylistic singer at the top of her game. It is a nuanced album that may not suit the more hard-core honky-tonk enthusiasts but, as a summation of some of the more mainstream aspects of that past that are still valid today, is as big and bright as its titular edifice.

Stephen Rapid

Kristen Grainger & Dan Wetzel / True North Duo Time and Materials Self Release

This twelve-track album was written and recorded by the Oregon-based couple, Kristen Grainger and Dan Wetzel. Members of West Coast string band Kristen Grainger & True North, the project is very much a team effort by the duo. They share vocals and harmonies and play five instruments: two guitars, a banjo, a baritone ukulele, and a tenor ukulele, all of which were hand-built by Wetzel. The cottage industry project also included input from their daughter, who designed the artwork on the record.

Taking a leaf out of the Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings template, the material is laid-back and 'front porch' in approach. Grainger's unrushed vocal deliveries take the lead on ten of the twelve songs, and the harmonious vocals and supporting instrumentation emphasise the relaxed chemistry between them.

Lost love and regret raise their heads in Sound Of Losing You ('It's the clock in the kitchen tick-tocking my life away too, It's the sound of losing you'). Lonesome For You treads a similar path of aloneness and wanting, but the sweeter-themed 'Til I Have You paints a brighter picture of appreciation of stability and companionship. For me, the standout tracks are Doris Dean and Still Life Café. The former tells the tale of a ninety-year-old woman named by her mother after a Wild West trick rider . The latter is very much in the present day, reflecting the plight of immigrants barely surviving against an increasingly volatile background ('Most of us here at the Still Life café learned to smile to cover the pain. The hostess escaped from the Taliban, the cook is from Senegal me from Ukraine, the busboys are brothers from Guadalajara'). The prayer-like Richard Shindell cover, Next Best Western, pleads for safe passage for those whose livelihoods are dependent on pumping gas and spending hours on the highways.

TIME and MATERIALS was self-produced by Grainger and Wetzel and recorded by Dale Adkins at his Big Owl Studios in Oregon. The songs, often stripped to the bare bones, showcase the couple's flair for easy-to-access melody in a highly listenable collection of songs that acknowledge both the past and the present.

Declan Culliton

Bonnie Dobson & The Hanging Stars Dreams Loose

A collaboration between an acclaimed Canadian folk singer from the 1960s and a cosmic roots band from London of recent years may, on the face of it, seem a strange fusion. The composer of time-honoured folk songs Morning Dew and I’m Your Woman, Bonnie Dobson’s six-decade varied career has seen her perform alongside Sonny Terry, Brownie McGhee, Robert Plant, MC5 and Phil Ochs, appear on the Val Donnican show in 1972, and at the invitation of Jarvis Cocker, headlining the Lost Ladies of Folk festival at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in 2007. Her latest venture finds her collaborating with The Hanging Stars to record this eight-track album, comprising six new compositions and two previously recorded tracks, and the union works spectacularly well.

Dobson’s vocals are excellent throughout. Sixty-five years after she first stood in front of a microphone, she effortlessly hits notes that defy that timescale. Evidence of this is the inclusion of two songs previously recorded by Dobson, given similar treatment as the original recording, You Don’t Know from GOOD MORNING RAIN (1970) and the Chet Powers written Get Together, which featured on her self-titled album from 1969. Somewhat more experimental, and highlighting how her marriage with The Hanging Stars works so well, is the opener, Baby’s Got The Blues.  Its sound harks back to the mid-60s but is closer in texture to what Julie Driscoll was recording at that time than Dobson’s more traditional folk output. That Julie Driscoll / Brian Auger vibe also surfaces in On A Morning Like This, which features backing vocals by Hanging Stars frontman Richard Olson, and comes across as what might have been a contender for a James Bond movie soundtrack back in that era. That cinematic landscape is repeated in Trouble, but in this case, the sound is closer to Ennio Morricone’s orchestral desert arrangements.

The title track finds Dobson digging deeply into her memory vaults. Living in the U.K. since 1969, she dreams of a return to her native Canada to visit family and friends. The song acknowledges that the passage of time, as well as life events, both positive and challenging, cannot be reversed. It’s a fitting closing statement by an artist who, at the age of eighty-four, is still prepared to expand her musical universe and, in this collaboration with The Hanging Stars, continues to record essential music.

Declan Culliton 

The Legends of Surf Guitar Various Artists Oglio

Recorded live at the Lighthouse Café in Hermosa Beach, California, in 1995, THE LEGENDS OF SURF GUITAR brought together some of the original players of the instrumental surf guitar genre from the 1960s and 1980s. The recordings were the work of Grammy winner Mark Linett (The Beach Boys, Los Lobos, Red Hot Chilli Peppers) and The Cars’ lead guitarist Elliot Easton, the twenty-five-track album is finally available, thirty years later, on vinyl and CD.  Linett and surf guitarist extraordinaire John Blair are credited with producing the album, and they successfully recreate the electric atmosphere created at the event.

The concert was held twelve months after the movie Pulp Fiction introduced surf guitar to a whole new generation with the inclusion of The Lively Ones’ Surf Rider and The Centurians’ Bullwinkle Pt. II.

A member of The Bel-Airs and Cat Mother & The All Night Newsboys, Paul Johnson and his backing band, The Pacards, feature on ten of the tracks, with Apache and Mr. Moto being particular highlights. Davie Allan (of Davie Allan & The Arrows fame) features twice with note-perfect renditions of the time-honoured Peter Gunn and also his own composition, Blues Theme. Allan was the go-to artist to design soundtracks for teen and biker movies in the 1960s, and the latter was used in the opening scene of the film, The Wild Angels. Other notable inclusions are Bob Demmon with Baja and Movin’ and John Blair’s brace, Geronimo and Rumble at Waikiki.

An often-underappreciated musical genre, surf guitar is well overdue for another revival. Hopefully, this gem of twangy instrumentals will correct that and once more trigger interest in this timeless classification.

Declan Culliton

New Album Reviews

The Faux Paws No Bad Ideas Great Bear 

What do you get when you team up a rootsy stringband brother duo with a saxophone player, with dastardly drums thrown into the mix? On paper it shouldn’t work, but The Faux Paws have proven that not only can it work, but that it can give rise to one of the freshest releases of the year so far. I reviewed their last release (the BACKBURNER EP) after a chance meeting at IBMA 2023, and at that time declared that I ‘had never come across a harder to classify band’. Happily, on the strength of this new record, they are still (proudly) impossible to pin down into one musical genre. However, the beating heart running through every track is the pulsating rhythm that derives from their joint love of traditional dance music. Andrew VanNorstrand (vocals & guitar) and Noah VanNorstrand (vocals, fiddle, mandolin & feet) grew up in NY state, playing in an influential contra dance band with their mother. They met Chris Miller (vocals, tenor saxophone & banjo) some years later, when he had begun to explore musics beyond his jazz training in sax. Eventually he became immersed in folk music, influenced by attending Merlefest, discovering Bela Fleck and learned clawhammer banjo. The trio have now been playing together for 12 years. Miller’s jazz sensibility, along with Noah VanNorstrand’s love of power pop and their strong melodies combine with old time, Celtic, folk and bluegrass to give them their unique sound. 

Night, which opens the album, is a literal footstomper since the percussion is provided by Noah’s feet, along with fiddle, acoustic guitar and bass on this upbeat declaration of love. The glorious Rockingham runs to almost 10 minutes long and is an exploration of the feelings associated with moving to live in a new place. It lopes along languidly - ‘gotta take it slow’- getting to know new people - eventually being taken over by the saxophone in an extended freeform flight of fancy, all the time underpinned by hints of psychedelic pedal steel from guest, Charlie Rose. The sax finally comes back down to pick up the mesmeric beat held down by guitar, bass and mandolin. Three Days In Cheyenne contemplates moving on from a relationship, again with a strong upbeat sax and fiddle led memorable melody. Riverdog is an energetic old timey dance instrumental, complete with lots of ‘oh oh oh oh’s’ from the boys. 

Zoe Guigueno plays bass on all tracks and also takes lead vocals on the gentle Sneak Out The Back Door, her delicate timbre most appropriate for the theme of social anxiety or, at least, introversion. The Celtic feel is very strong on the high energy instrumental Bubwa/No Bad Ideas- for this reviewer very reminiscent of the saxophone work of Seamus O’Donnell in the sadly now defunct Irish trad band, At The Racket- fiddle and sax in fabulous harmony, at times heavily percussive. At almost 8 minutes long, the bonus closing track, 15 Below, is another instrumental, featuring more spectacular interplay between fiddle and sax.

One of the notable aspects of the self produced project is the length of the tracks, averaging at over 5 minutes each, which the band put down to years of playing long dance tunes live for gatherings. As Andrew put it ‘we just lived in the music a little bit more’. I sure am glad that they did.

Eilís Boland

Kathryn Legendre Here’s Your Honky Tonk Self-Release

Texan Kathryn Legendre has been at the heart of the Austin honky tonk scene for well over a decade and her first full-length album since 2013’s OLD SOUL is a dynamic 70s-styled country collection of toe-tapping and dance-friendly gems.

Out of the tracks at fever speed with the opener Tailing Eighteen Wheelers and signing off with the mid-paced two-stepper ballad, The Long Haul Legendre doesn’t put a foot wrong. Very much reflective of her live shows, she fuses humour, pain, tears in your beer and full-on honky tonk across the album’s nine tracks.

 Ray Benson joins the party, sharing vocals on the hilarious western swing ditty, The Day I Smoked a J with Ray and, on a sterner note, she’s breathing fire in the finger-pointing Tear Your World Apart. Dreams and disappointments are visited in the love-lost Best Western Breakdown and Cigarettes, and heartbreak also raises its head in Back To The Baroom Again. The title track is a matter-of-fact synopsis of where Legendre is coming from. Laced with pedal steel, slick guitar breaks, and raging fiddle, the track showcases the quality of the players who joined Legendre at both Signal Hill and Studios in Fischer, Texas, for the recordings.

It’s not difficult to draw comparisons between Legendre and fellow Texan, Sunny Sweeney. Both possess flawless and organic voices, can draw a tear and a smile, often in the same song, and are loaded with good-natured sassiness. Legendre isn’t attempting to rewrite the rule book here, but HERE’S YOUR HONKY TONK is a prime example of how country music should be done. Hats off to her for nailing it with this hugely enjoyable record.

Declan Culliton 

Katie and the Honky Tonks Ain’t No Shame Self-Release

‘IOWA, you know I’m here stay….. but you better have a honky tonk somewhere, someday’ are the closing lyrics on the debut album by four-piece band, Katie and The Honky Tonks.

Indie, pop and rock may be the most popular genres in Iowa City, but with the slow but steady growing popularity for honky tonk outside the traditional country heartlands, band leader Kaie Jo’s wish should be granted sooner rather than later. The other band members are Brian John McCarty (bass, backing vocals), Bryan Hendrickson (guitars, lap steel, backing vocals) and Luke Jerry (drums).

Recorded live to tape at Catamount Recording Studio in Cedar Falls, Iowa and co-produced by Travis Huisman and the four band members, it is their debut full-length album following the release of their 2024 EP TWO STEPPIN’ IN THE SHOWER.

A degree of continuity appears in the songwriting. The ballad Slow Down Honey is a red flag warning to a less than attentive suitor; Boo Hoo could be the next phase in that relationship, and Bye Bye Birdie the final instalment. Women of Country takes a similar stance to that of Loretta Lynn half a century ago, a reminder of the talent of the fairer sex in a still male-dominated industry. High-spirited Ain’t No Shame offers the thumbs up to the partying women types, and the two-stepper Dance Hall continues in that thread of dance-friendly songs.

The real winner here is how the songs come together. The vital ingredients of powerful singing and slick playing gel perfectly, and Katie and the Honky Tonks join the ever-growing canon of women like Summer Dean, Emily Nenni, Sarah Gayle Meech and Kimmi Bitter, to name but a few, that are representing genuine honky tonk music.

Declan Culliton

Josiah Flores Doin' Fine Speakeasy Studio

This debut full album, DOIN' FINE, follows Chicano Josiah Flores' 2019 eight-track mini-album AWFUL FEELING. The San Francisco-based singer-songwriter's introduction to his chosen artistic career began at a young age when he led a church youth group band. Although not religious these days, that grounding was critical in Flores developing the skills to lead a band, along with an outlet to hone his songwriting skills. The journey from an evangelical beginning to that of a non-believer is articulated in the album's opening track, Wishin' I Didn't Care, described by the writer as 'his death letter to the church'.

There is a Hank Williams feel to Young, Dumb & Full of Beer, both in the vocal delivery and raw production, even if its core story is more repentant and apologetic than much of Williams' output. The stripped-back La Lucha is a powerful protest song fueled by stories, related to Flores by his grandmother, of difficult times when much of the family's survival depended on migrant farm work. This toil often included travelling in railroad boxcars, packed with others also reliant on this seasonal work to put food on their tables. Recalling South San Jose where he grew up, Southside is a more up-tempo affair, fondly speaking of the town he continues to be drawn back to. 

The influences of Johnny Cash, Blaze Foley and Townes Van Zandt are close to the surface on a number of the tracks. The latter's semi-spoken deliveries and absorbing lyrics are certainly to the fore on both Eddie and album closer Flaco & Rose.

Produced by Alicia Vanden Heuvel and recorded at Speakeasy Studios in San Francisco, the impressive supporting instrumentation was contributed by Esther Gonzales (dobro, lap steel), Sydney Peterson (bass), K. Dylan Edrich (Fiddle), Ainsley Wagoner (piano, keys, background vocals) Jacob Aranda (pedal steel), and Marisela Guizar (drums).

Gritty and intense, Flores's stories are interesting and, most of all, wholly believable. Delivered at an assured and unhurried pace, they draw the listener in and hold the attention from start to finish. I've no doubt that was Josiah Flores' intention when creating this body of work and, in that regard, he has succeeded hands down.

Declan Culliton

Rose Morrison The River She Knows Self Release

Nova Scotia is home to Rose Morrison and her talents as a musician have been recognised with three East Coast Music Awards in Canada. Her native Cape Breton threads gently through these songs that are rooted in nature and the power of the sea. There is a gentle sway that inhabits these melodies and Rose sings with a rich vocal tone to compliment her skills on fiddle, viola and guitar.

The title song on this third album sings of solace and empathy for someone who is experiencing hard times, reaching out to console ‘It all changes with time, Rest your hand in mine.’ The Mi’kmaw peoples are among the first inhabitants of Canada’s Atlantic region and are a First Nation tribe whose culture is still very much alive today. On the song For A Thousand Years we are treated to a timeless duet between Rose and the spoken word of Graham Marshall who tells of ‘The old ones, gone past, Listen to what the water is telling you, In the river.’ The Mi’kmaw native language is featured in the song and is mixed with a Gaelic chorus, sung by Rose Morrison.

Mother Annie is a tribute song and a paean to loved ones now gone ‘May you play, dance and sing in good company, Hold onto the ones you call family.’ Another song Let Our Love is a sweet prayer to the power of devotion, the beautiful strings lifting the words higher ‘We walked out to the glen, Over the bridge, She sang to me, All of your troubles will wash down with the stream.’ This was originally released as a single in February 2022 to critical acclaim and features Dave Gunning, and Brian Doyle on guitar.

Award-winning singer-songwriter Dave Gunning plays an influential role in this project, co-producing the songs with Rose and also contributing on harmony vocals, guitars, bass, drums, banjo and synthesizer sounds. Chris Joslin features on dobro on three songs, including the beautiful Sing River Sing, one of the highlights included here. The Celtic melody on the instrumental Lady Katherine’s Waltz illustrates the deep connection that exists with Irish music traditions and Rose has previously collaborated with Glen Hansard and Breanndán O Beaglaoich, with her invite to play at the concert tribute to Sinéad O’Connor and Shane MacGowan in 2024 a poignant memory.

Rose wrote all these songs featured over a period of years and although her reputation lies more in her instrumental prowess, there is plenty of evidence that these hidden reflections are worthy of finally being set free. There are three co-writes included and the entire album is a real joy from start to finish. Well worth your attention.

Paul McGee

Sacred Vagabonds All That Matters Self Release

Lush production courtesy of producers Brian Gentry and Ken Marvin. It harkens back to classic sounds of the 1960s and these rich harmonies woven together form an integral part of the sweeping melodies that fuel the six songs. The EP was recorded at Sweet City Sound in Nashville and it’s a fine example of what can be unfurled when like-minded artists come together in song. The musicians are Brian Gentry (acoustic and electric guitars, harmonica, vocals), Ken Marvin (guitars, bass, percussion, vocals), Kim Parent (guitars, vocals), Paul Eckberg (drums and percussion), with Alison Prestwood (bass), and Ray Braun (keyboards) completing the studio players.

Both Gentry and Marvin have previously worked together in a band named Peace. They were joined by ex-America founder member Dan Peek, who sadly passed away back in 2011. The duo decided to continue in honour of their fallen comrade and indeed there is a strong musical influence of America running through these songs. They are joined by Kim Parent (vocals, acoustic guitars), and the three-part harmonies created is the key element of the EP. Twenty two minutes of music and not a weak track, kicking off with Beyond Blue and a song about loss. The lovely melody belies the lyric about missing the presence of a loved one. The album is dedicated to the memory of Jill Gentry Alexander, the sister of Brian Gentry who died after battling cancer in 2024 last.

The song Amelia is contemplating an old love that has now faded away. The regret that is housed in the vocal harmonies also sending positive thoughts for new experiences to be kind in the ex-partners travels. Again, the sweet song arrangement sweeps the vocals along a blissful path. Goodbye Old Friend looks back to younger days of blue skies and looking optimistically forward, whereas in the present the skies have turned grey. The exuberance of youth cannot be revisited sadly, and again this is a song of goodbyes. The inclusion of harmonica is a nice touch in the song arrangement.

Here Down Below  again explores loss and asks for a sign that we go on after leaving this mortal coil ‘Can someone above show me a sign, because here down below, love is blind.’ All That Matters follows and the weight of the world is disguised by the nice mid-tempo arrangement and the sweet harmonies ‘Ever since you’ve been gone, the love we shared is all that matters.’ On the final song Shimmering Skies we are given a sense of the grief that death unveils in the memories that can haunt ‘I can hear you calling out my name, walking upon the water, I can feel you calm the wind and waves, when I’m going under.’ Again, the use of harmonica is very effective. This is a fine set of songs and leaves the listener wanting to hear more from this talented band.

Paul McGee

Hat Check Girl 29 and Gone Gallway Bay

Atmospheric country noir in the form of a duo about whom it has been said “intense yet unhurried and quiet, poetic as they enjoy each other in deep partnership” (Michael Devlin).

Both Michael Gallway and Annie Gallup have been releasing music for many years now, either as solo artists or as this duo, Hat Check Girl. The opening song Twenty-Nine and Gone is a tribute to the memory of Hank Williams and his troubled life, cut all too short at the tender age of, yes : twenty-nine. The words paint pictures of ‘a black locomotive coming for the kill’ and ‘A black sheep son’’ with telling references in ‘damn that whiskey and every master it serves, give me something stronger for all this pain.’ Dripping with atmosphere.

Radio Darling is a love song to the intimate relationship that exists between two lovers and a common bond forged in music. Annie sings in a wistful style that contains so many reflective tones. There is a meditative quality to these songs even if things are kicked up a notch on the more up-tempo One-Stop with relationships again to the fore ‘I forgot to remember to forget, me and Janey on the porch for hours.’

Fight the Devil has some lovely guitar lines, courtesy of Peter Gallway, as Annie sings about an odd coupling and the depths through which a love can run. It’s a new version of the same song that appeared on a very early album. If you are looking for equality in relationships then don’t listen to The Record Skipped where the vagaries of troubled love are clearly illustrated ‘ Jack says I’m a black hole, George says I’m a deep well, Joe says I’m a lost soul, Jake says I can go to hell.’ Excellent wordplay to illustrate the message.

A Lot Of Try is a story song about resilience and facing up to the challenges that grief and loss bring ‘Well this world will throw you everything it’s got, And all you can do is take your best shot, There’s times you’ll shake your fist at the sky, Till there’s nothing left to do but cry.’  Other songs deal with the compromise of living and the decisions we make, whether the doomed actions of the guy in The Light Beyond the Streetlights, or the deals made for better or worse on Winning Hand ‘I played to win by losing.’ The song Pilot Light is a sweetly delivered schmooze, and talks of going to the love doctor to have your perspective reset on matters of desire.

The final song Carry You Now is superbly arranged, with ghostly guitar sounds and a prayer to ease you into the next part of life’s journey. The song was inspired by the passing of a favourite pet, but it’s equally relevant for any loved one we have lost. A very rewarding album on many levels. The talents of these two artists continue to shine brightly.

Paul McGee

Ryan Holweger The Golden Paper Flower Self Release

There are nine songs on this follow-up album to Holweger’s debut GUNMETALl SKY, which dates back to 2018. This time out the Minneapolis-born musician used the Capture Studios in Syracuse, New York, where he now resides, to record the project and both engineering and production was handled by Casey Ahrens-Cavallo.

It has been difficult to obtain relevant information regarding the musicians used on these tracks, and the official website makes a short reference to “classical guitar player Aaron Bobis, bassist Blake Propst, and Holweger’s talented wife Katie Anderson, who once again lends her voice to her husband's music, singing backup on two songs The County Route  and Bird.” Singer Reagan Helen also guests on co-lead vocals for the song Settle In Easy but the remaining musicians will have to remain anonymous.

The songs are very well constructed with a loose feel to a number of the arrangements, leaving lots of space for the players to express themselves. The title song is a nice album opener and an easy groove about meeting up with friends ‘ If you don’t know where we’re at, On this late hour, You will find us towards the back, Of the Golden Paper Flower.’ There is some nice classical guitar and pedal steel as the gentle pace continues on Bleed All Over, another relationship song and the light percussion signals a message of ‘I don’t think you realize, Standing there at our last sunrise, How it feels to be apart, Tearing pieces of my decrepit heart.’

Reagan Helen shares lead vocals with Ryan on Settle In Easy and yet another relationship song ‘I was hoping to see you comin’ through that door, What am I even gonna hope that for? To finally figure out what we always knew, If it’s not working then it’s time to choose.’ It’s one of the highlights on the album. The song Dehydration sings ‘ All I wanna do Is hang out in the kitchen, Drinkin’ whiskey with you’ - which may well be the reason why dehydration hit in the first place.

The Country melody on Some Lives is led by nice pedal steel and piano, with the guitar solo echoing a sense of live and let live. Things slow right down on the sweet sounds of Bird, a song to a newborn baby that celebrates life. There is some nice interplay between banjo, pedal steel and guitar as the writer observes ‘Soon she’ll be one year old, Next, she’ll be driving a car.’ Another song The Country Route is about slowing down time to enjoy daily life and to opt to take the long way home, the rhythm section propelling the song along a nice tempo that allows keyboard and pedal steel to add colour.

As the album winds down, Wasted Gods is another fine song that displays some virtuoso playing on a song that examines beliefs and the dynamic in what we believe as the correct thing to hold dear. The final song is Hope You Don’t Forget and if there were a note to end on, then the sentiment to keep the spark of love glowing is captured ‘You may not still remember, How to do all the things you used to do, I hope that you don’t forget, That I said I love you.’ This is a strong album and one that stands up very well on repeated plays.

Paul McGee

Eva Hillered Take Me Home Self Release

Eva Hillered is an established Swedish singer-songwriter with ten solo albums to her name, in addition to success as a singles artist. Her sound is very much in the area of Americana and Folk influences and on this seven-track album she includes two cover songs from Patty Griffin and Shawn Colvin.

The title track is a co-write with Jerry Sillah and it opens proceedings with a mid-tempo arrangement and a plea to her lover for sweet sanctuary. Horses is a song that  looks at the wild freedom to be found in relationships ‘You say, just come closer, You're much too far away, Warm blood, shoulder to shoulder, Right here wild, On the hills.’ Elsewhere, on Open It Up, Hillered urges us in the repeated refrain ‘Don't limit yourself, open it up now,’ to be brave in living your authentic life.

Her vocal is both assured and strong in the delivery with her rendition of Forgiveness (Patty Griffin), showing her more considered side in what is a fine interpretation of the original song. Also, on the Get Out Of This House cover (Shawn Colvin),Hillered is laying down a statement of an independent woman breaking free from the chains imposed by compromise.

Today is a self-penned song that highlights Hillered’s vocal depth on a track that celebrates the joys of love and has a nice blues feel in the delivery. The final song Water Is Life  uses the imagery of magical water as the essence of creation and asks to ‘Let me go down to the wide blue ocean.’ Another example of the varied talents of Eva Hillered. An engaging album.

Paul McGee

New Album Reviews

Watchhouse Rituals Tiptoe Tiger Thirty Tigers

Chapel Hill, North Carolina-based duo Watchhouse's latest recording is their second since changing their name from Mandolin Orange. Their debut self-titled album under The Watchhouse banner was released in 2021 and debuted at No.1 on the Billboard Charts. Strictly not limited to bluegrass, the duo, and also husband and wife, of Andrew Marlin (vocals, mandolin, guitar, banjo) and Emily Frantz (vocals, violin, guitar), recordings range from old-timey to folk, alongside their bluegrass leanings.

'Mandolin Orange was born out of my 21-year-old mind. The name isn't what I strive for when I write,' explained Marlin on the name change. Whatever the motive, the reincarnation has resulted in a signing with the Tiptoe Tiger/Thirty Tiger label and a broader appreciation of their music. 

RITUALS, with its core theme of positivity over defeatism, presents ten tracks of modern folk which address the real meaning of home (All Around You), surviving in modern and burdensome times (Rituals) and the strength of a loving and lasting bond (The Sun). The more exploratory Endless Highway (Pt.1) is a composite slice of cosmic Americana that is not unlike the sonic world of Bonny Light Horseman.

Sharing the production duties with Ryan Gustafson (The Dead Tongues), RITUALS moves at an unhurried and fluid pace, highlighting a duo whose talents continue to develop.

Declan Culliton

The HercuLeons Self-Titled True Lonesome

A collaboration born out of the pandemic lockdown, The HercuLeons is a meeting of minds by John Cowan and Andrea Zonn. With touring firmly on the back burner during the pandemic years, the couple communicated remotely to kickstart what was to become this eleven-track album of original material and covers. Classic material written by Kenny Edwards, John Sebastian and Lowell George, Stevie Ray and Jimmie Vaughn, Larry Campbell, and Gregory Porter all were reconstructed at The Sound Emporium in Nashville, with Wendy Waldman overseeing the production duties, as well as contributing acoustic guitars, dulcimer, keyboards, and harmony vocals. Other players, of which there were many, included Michael Landau, Bill Payne, Michael McDonald, Scott Babcock and John McFee.

Cowan’s four-decade career includes fronting the progressive bluegrass supergroup New Grass Revival, being a member of The Doobie Brothers and Sam Bush’s touring band, and a session player on recordings by Garth Brooks, Steve Earle and Travis Tritt.  An accomplished vocalist and fiddle player, Zonn has toured with Vince Gill, Lyle Lovett and James Taylor and recorded with a host of household names, including her close friend Alison Krauss, Trisha Yearwood, Mickey Newbury, Randy Travis and Martina McBride.

With their combined CV’s and musical backgrounds, it’s little surprise that this album covers a number of musical bases ranging from straight rock (Long Way From Home, Trying To Survive), soul (Straight Up, When I Stop Loving You), folk ballads (Face of Appalachia, Still I Sing), newgrass (Resurrection Road) and, at over seven minutes long, the album highlight and closer, Barbed Wire Boys, which crosses numerous genres.  

What at its conception is essentially a pastime of two long-term friends during uncertain times, morphed into an impressive musical journey. With Cowan and Zonn’s combined musical talents and the quality of players engaged, it is hardly surprising that the musicality is of the highest order, but the icing on the cake is how perfectly the couples’ vocals stand out from start to finish.

Declan Culliton

Ward Hayden & The Outliers Little By Little Self Release

There have been numerous countrified versions of Brice Springsteen songs over the years. Need he has even done some himself. They tend to highlight however adaptable and memorable his songs are and have been. Ward Hayden and his band though have taken these songs and done them in the style of their own sound and set-up. They hail from Boston where Hayden has fronted the band since it was know as Girls, Guns and Glory (a name they felt might confuse the perception some might have for a band with that name). Through the years as is often the case and for a variety of reasons there have been many members who plated live or in the studio under the Outliers. This makes Hayden the only consistent member since their inception. However it is Hayden who is the vocalist, tone setter and leader so this allows a certain constancy for the ongoing musical direction.

There is no doubt the influence that Springsteen has had on Hayden (and many other of his contemporaries) in overall writing style. The album opens with Promised Land - a song that is born out of Springsteen’s long road journey to California (on advice to become successful). Another song absorbed at an early age was Youngstown. Another lyrical astute deep storyline of the boom to bust of that town’s steel industry and its inevitable effects on its populace.

Perhaps more universal and certainly a more iconic one is Dancing In The Dark, a song that is feasibly more related to the latter word of the title than the perception of the former in its message. Something that the slow ballad styled arrangement here homes in on. This shows how many songs can be translated across to a slightly different emotion that the original might have taken. The song Cadillac Ranch is here given a more overt rock ’n’ roll influence as befits the band’s own history. They brought in guitarist Eric ‘Roscoe’ Ambel who had also previously produced and played with the band as well as Jim Gambino on piano who normally plays with Boston band Swinging Steaks. This gives the song and band an added energy that aligns with their own work and gives the album a mid-set uplift in true cowpunk spirit.

A dissertation on how a having trust and faith can lead to real love is at the heart of If I Should Fall Behind. Hayden manages to capture in his vocal much of the songs need to stay strong in his assured vocal delivery. Something that he does through by being himself and not try to capture another singer’s distinctive manner. With the song Two Faces who has the protagonist realising how he is offering two different faces in his everyday life. They experiment with a two voice vocal delivery on the title refrain, this helps Hayden underscore the title in a more direct way.

Place and its relation to its people is again a big part of the telling of County Fair, an event that happens a lot across the States. It is an observation of this type of event and how it’s very much a part of the social interaction for many of those who attend such an occasion. The final song on the eight track album is firmly in Springsteen’s mythology and working man territory. It was given a much more stripped back approach on the NEBRASKA album. Here its given a solid country delivery with harmonica and steel guitar underscoring that and it shows what the underlying ethos of Ward Hayden and his band and guests to here. It is a reminder of the endearing nature of their output and a primer for the next release of original material as well as demonstrating their collective appreciation of the Boss’s talent. So this is an album that will doubtless please the band’s fan base as well as those who appreciate Bruce Springsteen’s work given an alternative perspective.

Stephen Rapid

Weldon Henson Stone Gold Country Gold Self Release

This is an album that lives up to its title and continues Henson’s live and recorded work and dedication to an abiding appreciation and love for the traditional aspects of real country music. Unlike many of his compatriots on the Texas Music scene whose music is a mix of a more raucous rock element as well as that of country music and more. Henson stays true to what he set out to do so rather than chasing fame or some larger venue appearance he knows what his audience what to hear and appreciate. This new album is a perfect example of what he does and does so well.

It is a satisfying journey through many of the touchstones of classic honky tonk and hardwood floor fillers as well as his regular Broken Spoke residency. Produced by Henson and featuring an assembled cast of like-mined players there is a variety here that is thoroughly engaging. No one is going to say that Henson has set about to write a series of thought provoking singer-songwriter dictums on the current state of the larger or local world. That is not to say that emotion and relationship situations don’t have a meaning or the songs don’t express the lives of the listeners. They do and they work within the context of the overall aims of the album.

The opening song for instance is an ode to a much love dog coming to the end of his life and the need to help the dog in return for the company he had given previously. That is Carter’s Song and it sets the tone for the album. In a similar vein is the song This Ol’ Truck wherein Henson eulogises his comfortable but falling apart truck. One that has been a part of his life for a long time and know feels much more like home than a new shiney one could ever be, it is also one he can fix up himself!

His dedication to the music he loves is played out in Pastime Of Country Music, this is about continuing a tradition rather than racking up social media numbers. In a comparable space is the title track in which he states that stone cold country gold won’t betray or judge you as its music straight from the heart. While interpersonal relationships - the perennial subject of the ladies are the substance to the life and love of our protagonist, either lost or newly found - are covered in tracks like Come On, Time For Loving You More, If I Can’t Talk To You and Playing With Fire. Mostly delivered in a spirited uptime fashion with the latter with a strong western swing touch that works a treat. While the songs Lost In Time and The Past Ten Years are imbued with a sadness and are slowly rendered ballads that underscore the recognition of how such feelings can effect how one comes to terms with their own shortcomings.

All of this is delivered by a set of sympathetic players who are at one with the mission in hand and Henson has a pure country voice that is a perfect vehicle for his material. There are some thirteen musicians credited alongside Henson on the album and all can feel satisfied with their contribution. Names like Tommy Detamore, Eric Hokkanen and Ricky Davis, to name three of those involved, have a history of association with playing music with a real conviction. bThis is an album that will consolidate Weldon Henson’s position of an artist who cares more about the music that he makes rather than the fame (or fiscal reward) it might bring. Hopefully with the wheel beginning to turn a little he might pick up a little of that too along with the thanks of those who already know his previous work and will love this album too.

Stephen Rapid

Willie Nile The Great Yellow Light River House

With some fourteen previous studio albums under his belt the 77 years old singer/songwriter continues his penchant for giving his songs something of a rock ’n’ roll edge. Mixing the heartfelt with the hard worn this ten track release covers some different bases as it unfurls its flag of offence. Produced by Nile and Stewart Lerman it employs members of Nile’s regular band Jimi Bones (guitars), Johnny Pisano (bass) and Jon Weber (drums) with a number of guests who we will mention as we go along.

The opening track here is a full on rocking ride entitled Wild Wild World, Nile’s raspy vocal has elements of his history as a committed vocalist about it. 60s style keyboards are featured along side the solid rhythm section and strident guitars. It lets you know that Nile means business and hasn’t settled for a lesser option. We Are We Are has the title repeated as a gang style chorus that works well. This trio of upfront rockers is completed by Electrify Me. Again the title as simple sing along chorus that is full of mutual lust and is memorable and sure to work well in a live context too.

There is a strong Celtic influence on the next piece An Irish Goodbye that features, at a guess as the promo has no individual credits, Black 47 members Larry Kirwan, Fred Parcells and Chris Byrne. It has easy and inevitable references to the Pogues and those bands who followed in their wake. The expression means making exit discreetly and without due attention. This is followed by an excellent song which acts as the title and is based on an expression in a letter that Vincent Van Gogh wrote to his brother about the quality of light he found in Arles where he was painting, yet It is also about dreaming of a girl if you follow the lyric. The is then a reality check in the next track Tryin’ To Make A Livin’ In The USA, it has an almost Ramone’s feel to it do without aping there sound to these ears. A friendship is offered in Fall One Me, another more mid-paced song that lets Nile step back from the harder vocal to something more considered. The piano-led What Colour Is Love is another tender moment that helps to give the album some diversity and light.

Wake Up America is another songs that observes and warns of the darker turns that are taking strong roots there. It features, convincingly, Steve Earle on shared vocals to further emphasise the urgency of the message. The album ends with Washington’s Day a song that Nile co-wrote with Rob Hyman and Eric Brazilian both members of The Hooters. Other guests on the album included Waddy Wachtel and David Mansfield as well as Irish singer/songwriter Paul Brady.

It is an album that is evidence that Wille Nile is still in the game and leading from the front and further affirmation to the notion that he is to New York what Bruce Springsteen is to Jersey. And coincidentally the album was recorded at Hobo Sound in New Jersey. It will be welcome by the many Wille Nile fans and should be also by those who like the a certain truth and longevity to the music of their singers and writers. May the light shine.

Stephen Rapid

Jesse Daniel Son Of The San Lorenzo Lightning Rod

A lot of lives take wrong turns and sometimes bad decision are made. This is a storyline that may have been part of Jesse Daniel’s past but he has worked hard to move beyond that point - and there’s no denying he has achieved that on his own terms with his own music. With his new album titled after a song he released on an earlier album and here rerecorded he uses the opportunity to look back at his life but also to include some of the musical influences he had along the way. The strong country feel is still very apparent but he has added some new textures to broaden out this journey  - his liking for both Southern rock and Cosmic American canyon music are a part of this process.

This album starts with Child Is Born and ends with, well somewhat naturally with, The End. Produced by Daniel himself this time out he is fully in control of the recording and showing his developed songwriting craft and a growing vocal maturity - this time it’s (more) personal. It is still early days for an artist whose heroes produced music for decades in some cases. Daniel notes that this is more about the experience of the journey rather any specific destination.

That opening song features the harmonica of the legendary Charlie McCoy (as do several other songs using it effectively throughout the album) and it sets out that first part of his particular expedition from then on we get an honest, personal account of his life story. It details getting ‘strung out and locked up’ and how he ‘put down the spoon and picked up the pen.’ It also has a fondness for the place he grew up in ‘for better or worse.’ Given the reflective nature of the material many of the arrangements are more slow paced and allow the listened to get involved. Acoustic instruments are also prominent in the mix giving the album a different emphasis than on some of the previous releases. One’s Too Many (And A Thousand Not Enough) is an inward look at the destructive traits of an addictive personality while coming to terms with those unwise decisions.

The role his partner, manager, inspiration and wife Jodi is a turning point and outlined in the song of that name. The pedal steel drifts around this life-changing love story. That change in lifestyle finds Daniel looking further back and wanted to return from a different time that was built around his Mountain Home. One’s allotted span is central to the song Time Well Spent For A Man, he is joined here by Charles Wesley Godwin on harmony vocals as it contemplates what is actually worth putting energy into. Upping the tempo in Crankster kicks things up notch or two for account of dissolute man ‘who doesn’t know what he’s looking for.’ A different tack is taken for My Times Gonna Come which has a soulful 60s West Coast feel overall that looks at a past and a future and all the possibilities in that and in finding the higher places that can be found.

We close out with The End, a pretty perfect way to end an album that has allowed the singer and listener to make a musical journey through some of the standout points in what has been fundamental to his life to date. This album is an important one for Daniel to outline how he has arrived at this particular moment in time. He can be justifiably proud of arriving here and how the hard work he has put in has come out in his music. The next step from son to man of San Lorenzo will be a further development of an undoubted talent in country music’s future.

Stephen Rapid

William Beckmann Whiskey Lies & Alibis Warner Nashville

Here is something to take note of a debut album on a major label that appears to be a big step in the direction of a country orientated artist being presented in the mainstream. It has been produced by renowned artist, songwriter in his own right Jon Randall, who himself has been in a similar position in his career. It has an immediate feel of the 90s better and brighter moments. Beckmann has an attractive vocal that has an energy that easily appeals. Aside from a number of outside song choices Beckmann has a hand in co-writing eight of the tracks here. The opening song (which seems to have been a confusion with some online sources crediting it to Hank Williams Sr.) is a cracker. Honey Tonk Blue is listed on the notes as being from the pen of Chris Stapleton and William Brice Long. It is a perfect opener, though on first listen I felt some of the other tracks moved into a more pop-county feel. Listening to the album several times since that I have got to like these tracks and feel that that are perhaps a necessary part of a wider acceptance at radio and with a younger listener. Beckmann has a look that is not going to dissuade that audience, however there is substance here that is pointing to a future growth. Which direction that growth will go is open to a number of choices. For now it is pointing largely in the right direction.

Randall has assembled some players who can take their contributions in several directions but whose talent is obvious. These include amongst others Jedd Hughes on guitars, drummer Chad Cromwell, Jimmy Wallace’s B3, synth and piano and songwriter Jesi Alexander providing backing vocals. The arrangements are often a little more rock orientated in the guitar department than some might wish but none-the-less effective.

The tile track is another standout with a strong chorus to bolster it. Overall the theme throughout is relationship related and relaying on a Cathy hook and strong chorus. In Be Your Man the lyric tells us that he wants to be your Townes Van Zandt and write you a song, not an obvious or usual reference that indicates that Beckmann may indeed listen to such an worthy influence. A couple of other songs that came from others includes the Alexander (a well know writer herself) co-written Game I Like To Play and the Dean Dillon/Brass Dillon song Neon Sounds. The last song Pro Mujeres ComeTu is another strong performance, written by Enrique Yanez Guzman it is convincingly sung in Spanish and with some telling feel for the lyric and some nice Spanish guitar to emphasise the mood.

Beckmann also can deliver a ballad with conviction as in Not That Strong, while the more rhythmic songs are also given an animated delivery that is as convincing as in Making Them Hate Me, in which his female interest chooses him over some other contenders this making their dislike obvious. There is also some likeable contrast with those songs that sit alongside these like the more stylised Orbinson-esque vocal of Lonely Over You or the more antagonistic Starting Over Again which has a very engaging contribution from the female voice which I assume is either Alexander or Jessie Jo Dillon.

This is an album that I was a little dubious of at first, given some previous so called country music encounters from major label, but it certainly grew on me. This is not the hardcore honky tonk of earlier times released by mainstream companies but, as the wheel slowly turns, is in itself a good start for both Beckmann and his label. Forget the lies and alibis that are part of many a press release and listen and make up your own mind.

Stephen Rapid

Sound Of the Sirens The Other Me Self Release

On initial listen this album highlights the impassioned harmony vocals of Abbe Wood and Hannah Walker. The opening song Who You Are captures this dynamic perfectly as the short arrangement comes and goes in a rush of hand-claps and strident vocal delivery. Chasing Skies keeps the tempo high and things drop back a few notches on the sweet love song Infinite Kindness, with some fine keyboards present in the mix.

Based in Exeter, England, the duo came together in 2011 and have released quite a few albums over the years since. Tao has a nice piano melody running through the song and The Part Where You’re Gone deals with the reality of living with grief. The passion in the vocal delivery is obviously something that the duo focus upon and Coming Back delivers with a real conviction and sense of joyous change.

The album was recorded at The Old Cider Press in Worcestershire, England, and was produced by Dave Draper. He provides bass, drums, programmed keyboards and electric guitars, while Hannah and Abbe perform on guitars and piano. The impermanence of life is covered on Things Change and the realisation that we are shaped by our experiences. Anxiety and self-doubt is the topic that Sacred Dreaming tackles and asks that old fears are left where they belong, firmly in the past.  An impressive album that will win many new admirers of this energetic and thoughtful music.

Paul McGee

ARBO Self-Titled Self Release

L'Angélus was a family band that made a vibrant cocktail of music, originally influenced from their home base in Louisiana during the early noughties. They were comprised of four siblings, Katie, Paige, Johnny, and Stephen Rees, and their talents spanned a variety of genres, including Cajun, Zydeco, Bluegrass, and Western Swing. A debut album appeared in 2006, Ca C'est Bon, which is well worth tracking down, and it was a heady mix of thirteen tracks, sung in both English and French, with eight original songs, plus collaborations with Cajun legends D.L. Menard and Hadley Castille.  

 Although the band no longer exists, their spirit is very much alive and well in the strong Irish and Cajun/Acadian influences that now shapes ARBO. Brothers Johnny (drums) and Stevie (fiddle) walked different paths for a few years after the original band split but they were always drawn back to a vision of what they could build again. The music that the brothers now create as ARBO has been described as “Country music that has hot sauce on it.” The band name is short for the historic Arbolada neighbourhood which is located near the University of Louisiana in Lafayette.

The new music is full of great energy, led by dynamic fiddle playing, a driving beat, and rich vocal harmonies. After releasing a series of singles in recent years, the duo also recorded a live album at the Brightside in Dayton, Ohio (website purchase only). On this studio debut a number of the singles are included on the eleven tracks and the listening experience is both powerful and rousing. On the opening track Whiskey River Road, you are immediately thrown into the feeling of hearing a country classic unfold. Things slow down on the reflective Give You Away a song of regret over a love that didn’t work out ‘There’s a little diamond ring that never got to sparkle on your hand.’

The pain of love continues on Little Less Back and the country rock beat echoes the message ‘Every time you give yourself away, You get a little less back.’ The various musicians include Aaron Smith on keyboards, James Gregory and Scott Mulvahill on bass, Tim Galloway, Simon Martensson, Zach Torres on guitars, David Howley on bouzouki, with Stevie Rees (fiddle, guitars, mandolin, harmonica, lead and harmony vocals) and Johnny Rees (drums, harmony vocals) providing the source of the magic.

Hot Stuff is a standout track with an addictive chorus and rhythm and the sweet melody on Light In Me is perfectly judged in the execution ‘It took finally finding you, To find the light in me.’ The regret on Already Gone is a fine example of the band dynamic, with considered words surrounding a divorce, backed up by understated drumming, restrained guitar, and sweet harmonies. Another country-cool song is Bayou Boy with a slow build in the tempo and the fiddle surfing on the rhythm.

Love Is Not A Gun plays with the idea of manipulative relationships in the lyrics ‘Love is not a tool you have to use someone,’ the driving rhythm and excellent piano playing highlighting the message. If  there is a radio hit to be plucked from these excellent tunes then Cry Love gets my vote, with great vocals and a dramatic guitar break lifting the energy levels and bringing home the compelling beat.

One of the final tracks When You Left visits failed relationships ‘I wish I was the man I was not being let,’ as he reflects upon that promise “for better or worse” and the fiddle playing drives the regret. Last song is a superb workout of Cajun / Zydeco class on Louisiana Saturday Night and the introduction of Scythian, a band that Johnny used to be a part of, and which includes Alex Fedoryka (lead vocal, fiddle), Dan Fedoryka (harmony vocals, accordion), Ethan Dean (harmony vocals). It’s a real hoedown in classic style to bring proceedings to a close. Such an enjoyable album. You will not be disappointed.

Paul McGee

New Album Reviews

Mary Chapin Carpenter Personal History Thirty Tigers

Loretta Lynn was undoubtedly the trailblazer in country music for headlining real issues facing women both in and out of wedlock in her writing, and Mary Chapin Carpenter followed in her footsteps in the alt-country genre, with material that often visited feminist themes. A five-time Grammy Award-winner, Chapin Carpenter was, and continues to be, an inspiration to a host of woman singer-songwriters, including close friend Shawn Colvin in the 1990s and more recently Brandy Clark and Anaïs Mitchell, the latter adding vocals to the song, Home Is A Song.  PERSONAL HISTORY is her seventeenth album, and it's of little surprise that Mitchell's bandmate in Bonny Light Horseman, Josh Kaufman, was brought on board to oversee the production at Peter Gabriel's Real World Studios in Bath, UK. It follows LOOKING FOR THE THREAD, her collaborative album with Scottish artists Julie Fowlis and Karine Polwart, released earlier this year. 

As the title implies, the album takes an autobiographical leaning across the eleven tracks, and she articulates that objective in the opening track, What Did You Miss? ('I've been walking in circles for so long, unwinding the mystery. I've been writing it down song by song, as a personal history'). 

Carpenter credits the inspiration for the album to Elizabeth Strout's novel MY NAME IS LUCY BARTON and the advice her creative writing teacher gives the main character in the book 'You will only have one story. You will write your one story in many ways.'

The vocals are delivered in an unrushed, whisper-like manner, often accompanied by sparse instrumentation, inviting the listener to focus on every lyric. Girl And Her Dog is a candid reflection on life decisions made, some of which are regretted, while others are cherished. Equally broody is Hello My Name Is, and a brief encounter or lost opportunity, imagined or otherwise, is the tale that unfolds in The Night We Never Met. The influence of Guy Clark on a twenty-five-year-old Chapin Carpenter is the subject matter of the album highlight, Paint + Turpentine. Like a master addressing a pupil, it offers sage advice of patience and perseverance ('But some things take their time to age enough to shine, with paint and turpentine'). 

 Carpenter's career has evolved from youthful escapism to being an unapologetic supporter of feminism, and she now stands as an artist continuing to mature like fine wine. There's hardly a line wasted in her latest collection of deeply contemplative songs, from an artist who excels in expressing both anguish and fulfilment in her writing.

Declan Culliton

Sam Stoane Tales Of The Dark West Cloverdale

Country & Western may have dropped the 'Western' from its name in the 1950s in an attempt to appeal to a broader and more urban fan base, but three-quarters of a century later, it's creeping back into fashion. Colter Wall, Corb Lund, Victoria Bailey, Nathan Jacques, and Chris Guenther are just a few of the increasing number of artists who genuinely embrace the cowboy or cowgirl backdrop, some with firsthand experience. Californian Sam Stoane can boast a genuine 'cowgirl' pedigree, having worked with horses and agriculture from a young age and continues to do so since moving to Nashville nine years ago. Since that move, Stoane has pursued parallel careers as a recording and performing artist alongside her passions for horse training and farm management.

A lover of writing and poetry from a young age, her farm and stable work drew her towards songwriting with a Western theme. Her debut album, TALES OF THE DARK WEST, is loaded with impressive lyrical expressions that fully embrace that lifestyle.

The strummed and plucked short guitar intro that opens the record plays out like a late-night campfire recording. It's followed fittingly by the equally mournful Coyote Cries ('Coyote cries a lonesome goodbye, serenading the moon in the sky') with Stoane's billowing falsetto vocals supported by wailing harmonica. The working cowgirl way of life and a devotion to animals also presents itself in A Good Horse And A Good Dog ('I'm sitting high in the saddle, been a long life travelled, with a good horse and a good dog'), and the lonesome Tehachapi is a drifter's yearning for his homestead.

It's not all a 'thumbs up' to the outdoor prairie life either. Pretty Poppies is a dark murder ballad ('Sleep, sleep, baby, never wake, forever flowers on the grave'), and Calico Coal is a eulogy to the coal miners who toiled long hours, unwittingly filling their lungs with toxic dust. A close encounter with a stranger sets the scene for the timeless tale of Dead Man's Alley. Diesel is an autobiographical account of how Stoane's love of a horse outweighed a passing romance; she ends up owning the horse and ditching the boyfriend.  Two covers also feature the Gene Autry/Ray Whitley classic Back In The Saddle Again, and Rodney Crowell's Even Cowgirls Get The Blues, but the real winner here is Sloane's original self-writes.

It's a remarkably assured record for a debut effort that combines quality writing, inspired vocals and musicianship that supports rather than dominates, from an artist who appears to have achieved the perfect lifestyle balance.

Declan Culliton

Kelsey Waldon Every Ghost Oh Boy

'I've already hurt the worst that I could and lived to tell the story. We can be thankful for our ghosts,' confesses Monkey's Eyebrow, Kentucky-born singer-songwriter Kelsey Waldon. 

The title of Waldon's sixth studio album is a brutally honest declaration. Very much a 'skeletons in the closet' group of songs, she opens her heart, addressing issues such as addiction, trauma and grief, and no doubt exorcising a number of demons in doing so. 

In saying that, the issues are often expressed in a toe-tapping and upbeat fashion. Recorded at Southern Grooves Studio in Memphis and backed by her touring band, The Muleskinners, the album was co-produced by Waldon and Grammy winner Justin Francis (Sheryl Crow, Kacey Musgraves, Tyler Childers, Gary Clark Jnr.).

Blessed with her glorious Kentuckian vocal drawl and a cracking bunch of players, she opens with the first-person narrative, Ghost Of Myself. It's a 'here and now' declaration and a recognition of adversities that were overcome through graft and resoluteness. Those characteristics of strength and resilience are also revealed in an ode to Waldon's grandmother in the fiddle-driven Tiger Lillies. Likewise, Comanche, written about her thirty-year-old-plus Jeep, also embodies toughness and dependability. Family pride and continuity also play a significant role in My Kin.

Falling Down is a cry for help ('He keeps fallin' down, fallin' down, liquored up, spinnin' 'round and I don't know how to get out') as the self-destructive protagonist just about hits rock bottom.  Lost In My Idlin' is classic honky tonk tears in your beer fare, complete with splashes of weeping fiddle, before the album closes with a cover of Hazel Dickens' Ramblin' Woman.

Waldon continues to take giant steps forward with each recording, and EVERY GHOST is no exception. It captures everything that is so gratifying about her work, from her distinctive vocals and excellent support players to her ability to translate thorny and real-life matters into terrific songs. Albums that address their authors' journeys, written from the heart rather than songwriting sessions, often produce genuinely great listens, and this one certainly hits that particular bullseye.

Declan Culliton

Clarence Tilton Queen Of The Brawl Self-Release

A five-piece band based in Omaha, Nebraska, QUEEN OF THE BRAWL is Clarence Tilton’s third full-length album. Fronted by brothers Chris Weber (guitar and vocals) and Corey Weber (guitar, vocals and pedal steel), the other members are Craig Meier (bass), Paul Novak (guitar and vocals) and Jarron Wayne Storm (drums, percussion and vocals).

They cite their influences as the Flying Burrito Brothers, James Gang, and George Jones, which explains their blend of what used to be called alt-country. With references to names and places, their storytelling songs unfold like a walk around a small-town rural area. Typical of this is the impressive mid-paced opener Fred’s Colt, which spells this out. It’s catchy as hell and features Marty Stuart adding vocals and guitar. It is followed by the racy instrumental Ray’s Stockyard Stomp, which tips its hat in the direction of The Sadies. 

Presley Tucker, daughter of Tanya Tucker, is a guest vocalist and a fine one at that, on the call-and-response country rocker Flyway Café. Tucker also contributes backing vocals on Pretty Things. Slowing things down, Sorrow And Sail and, in particular, Friant, are outstanding unhurried inclusions. On the other side of the coin, they let rip with the Lynyrd Skynyrd-type rocker St.Joseph’s.

Self-produced by the band and recorded at ARC Studios, Omaha, and Keystone Studios, Nashville, Clarence Tilton is not attempting to reinvent the wheel with QUEEN OF THE BRAWL, and the album may only make a small dent in the paintwork of the overcrowded Americana market. However, their impressive lyrical descriptions and deeply groovy melodies work spectacularly well.  Alongside their first-rate vocal deliveries, they’ve moulded a suite of songs that I’m most certainly going to revisit in the coming weeks and months.

Declan Culliton

Thee Holy Brothers High In My Balloon Regional

The debut album by Thee Holy Brothers, MY NAME IS SPARKLE, was released in 2020 and the duo comprises Marvin Etzioni and Willie Aron. Both lives have been touched by cancer in recent years, seeing Etzioni diagnosed with the disease and Aron’s wife passing away from the same condition. Rather than serving to split the band with the enormity of these events, it actually consolidated their wish to make music together.

Multi-instrumentalist Etzioni wrote all ten songs included and co-produced along with Aron. The sound is very much in the space of contemporary indie-folk. There is an echo of the Beach Boys from certain tracks, such as the title song and the standout The Holy In Everything.  Other notable songs are I Am Time, High In My Balloon, and Sunshine In My Veins, written around the topic of chemotherapy treatment.  There are a number of guest musicians on the album and they contribute to what is a very enjoyable thirty plus minutes in the company of artists who have plenty to offer in their creative expression.

Paul McGee

James McMurtry The Black Dog and the Wandering Boy New West

This ten-song collection was co-produced by the inimitable  James McMurtry and the legendary Don Dixon, who produced James’s third album WHERE’D YOU HIDE THE BODY? (1995) and he again brings his production perspective to this new project. It is his first album that James has recorded in four years and it features appearances by Sarah Jarosz, Charlie Sexton, Bonnie Whitmore, Bukka Allen and more. Regular band members BettySoo (accordion and backing vocals), Cornbread (bass), Tim Holt (guitar) and Daren Hess (drums) also appear and add greatly to the usual high standard of musicianship to be found on previous releases.

There is no doubt that James is taking stock and considering his options right now. So many ways that he could decide to walk, so many choices to ruminate upon. His observations on the human condition are legendary over a career that dates back to the 1980s, but for every fictional character created in the songs, there is always going to be a little bit of himself caught up in the detail.

The new songs find James reflecting upon the past, including family, and the night hallucinations experienced by his father, renowned writer Larry McMurtry,  and mirrored in the title of the album. There is also a sense of time running out for an artist who has done it all, toured forever, released numerous albums, and now sees the world changes through his increasingly frustrated lens on life, while wondering where he still fits into it all.

The song Sailing Away has lyrics such as ‘Feelin' faded, and I'm not okay‘ and is almost a goodbye note to the admirers that have followed his career in every detail - ‘Have I any business, being in this business anymore?’ James asks, and hints at feeling dated and less relevant. The anger expressed in Sons Of The Second Sons is in total disbelief that the ideals of previous generations could be bent out of shape to fit and suit the avarice of the minority to the detriment of others in modern USA.

This legendary storyteller has included a pair of covers as bookends on the album and Laredo (Small Dark Something (Jon Dee Graham) opens things up before Kris Kristofferson’s Broken Freedom Song brings everything to a conclusion. Laredo (Small Dark Something) by Jon Dee Graham dates back to 2002 and It’s inclusion here is somewhat surprising, unless perhaps James has murder on his mind. The party fervour of the song comes through in the lyrics ‘We shot dope ‘till the money ran out’. Hedonistic denial of the reality at the end of the world?

The next track is the interesting South Texas Lawman and a slice of life taken from border surveillance, while the chief protagonist is found ‘cheating on both his wives.’ A view from the edges of keeping the peace in border towns that flirt with what is defined as legal. ‘I used to be strong as any man, nobody bothered me, I can’t stand getting’ old, It don’t fit me.’ Things remain the same, until change comes calling.

The Colour Of Night is a song that appears to be about dislocation and not being comfortable with the state of things. This is something of a default position in the musings of James McMurtry. There is the outlier who grapples with meaning, trying to just get along with what it takes to just come through intact. However, the existential shadow always looms large and the thought that there may be more to the story is never too far away in the sentiment.   

Pinocchio In Vegas is hilarious. ‘He’s a real boy now and his dick grows when he lies’ is one of the cool lyrics to digest in a song that appears to reflect image rights in a modern world where the real sense of balance has disappeared ‘Who were my grandmother's friends? They used to take me fishing every now and then, Who were the neighbours next door? I can't call you up and ask you anymore.’ Old values lost in the race for media recognition and social acceptance. Annie is a song that reflects on a 9/11 experience and the trauma of the time. Reference to George W. Bush is made and the chilling reality of the Trade Centre terrorist acts. The twin towers and Saddam Hussein reference the sense of confusion and the roles that were acted out.

The title track is an hallucination that Larry McMurtry had prior to passing away, imagined here by James in a scenario that has the character drinking beer in the morning on the porch, and watching while ‘The squares go to work.' Back To Cour d’Alene is as song that talks of the city in Idaho and likens the search for commercial acceptance and success against the reality of the emigration police calling to check on credentials.

The band are so much in the central moments of the album and the playing is so tight across all the songs here. Ending with that Kristofferson number is perhaps appropriate as the song looks at disillusionment where the price to be paid is more than expected, ‘Just a broken song of freedom, and the closing of a door, no one's missin' till you need 'em, Ain't no fun to sing that song no more.’ As always, there is so much to digest in the music of James McMurtry and this new album is filled with ample proof of his many gifts and talent.

Paul McGee

Jeff Finlin Myth Of the Giver Continental Song City

LIFE AND DEATH – The Essential Jeff Finlin, appeared back in 2016, and it represented an interesting look down the path taken in the colourful career of this troubadour. One might have thought that this compilation signalled something of a full stop, and that the years of touring had perhaps taken their toll. In early days, Finlin travelled across America in cars, trains, planes, and also hitchhiked in his search for the American dream. He played music in different bands from Boston, to Ohio and L.A. He was a founder member of The Thieves, a Nashville band, before going on to release a debut solo album back in 1993. Since those times, Jeff has seen a run of eight studio albums, a few live releases, and a previous retrospective album (2006), appear on his interesting CV.

Happily, since the appearance of LIFE AND DEATH, he has not rested on his laurels, deciding instead to go on a run of albums that brought renewed media reaction to his creative talents, and rewarded his ever-expanding army of admirers, with THE GURU IN THE GIRL (2017), SOUL ON THE LINE (2022), and now this album of thirteen new songs. His voice has become more ‘lived-in’ over the years of touring and to say that the new songs carry a ragged elegance is an appropriate and heart-felt compliment.

On the opening track, Whippoorwill, he sounds tired with the routine of the everyday and his words reflect ‘Knowing seems to take the place of doing, Since I done it all before, Show me how to keep on moving, When I feel I just must close the door.’ The edgy love on All Dolled Up Like Michigan tells a tale of ‘We met at the well, with a rope and a bucket, and a story to tell; spoke words about a future, only the broke could spell, all dolled up like Michigan, in love we both fell.’

Wings is a love song and is superbly structured in all aspects ‘The skeleton boys in my closet, they rattle my bones by the day, Till the wicked red road loosens that load, And rolls me on out, like the washing of a rain.’ The poetry of the weary and the wise. There are songs that reference his past, and the lost highway of Lightning Days is a close companion for Tears Roll By in the images painted ‘Bootheels dug deeper with each mile that winds, Nothing to feel but the end of the line, As the tears roll by.’

The album was recorded at the Rubber Room in Fort Collins, Colorado and Jeff Finlin played most of the instruments that are used in the songs. There are contributions from Jeff Coppage (mandolin), Phillip Broste (pedal steel) and Eric Straumanis (electric guitar) on individual tracks but it’s pretty much all of Jeff’s own work. There is a worldly-wise understanding in the song Unknowing with its addictive rhythm and the words ‘Stepping through the turnstiles, boarding that inbound train, Her love is in the doorway, punching my ticket again, My destinations lost in the sound of the chord, ringing in the grace between the lamb and the lord.’ Excellent imagery.

Dare I suggest that this represents a musical highpoint in a career that has seen many plaudits, and the key message of love is continued through the interesting rhythms of both Valentines Day and Love Is the Last Word. There is a weary sense of responsibility on both Hannah In the Air and The Cowgirl In Forever, whether in the returning or the leaving, memories linger in the ether. Lovers Day is a beautiful slice of poetic perspective ‘ Lovers day, Blowing in the willow, Laying light on my head and on my pillow, Songs in blue laughing in the rain, How I long for you and lovers day.’

Two final love songs wrap the album with Taking the Blue and Volunteer confirming the real quality throughout ‘Stuck on this train, Traveling the timeless years, You taught me how to be my love, another volunteer.’ An essential purchase and a welcome reminder that real class is permanent.

Paul McGee

Rupert Wates Father To the Man Bite   

Looking to the boy within us all and wondering upon the future life that will unfold for a treasured son. This is what lies at the core of these songs, where Rupert Wates takes the perspective of being a father to his son Gabriel, and pondering upon what paths may open up ahead in the distance.

On the opening track, (Like A) Songbird In the Spring, Wates pens the words ‘Then like a songbird in the spring, Open your loving heart and sing, The time will come to spread your wings and fly, And you will fly.’ A reflection that life is there to be lived to the full, and that growing up strong is the inevitable result of wise parental guidance. Another song The Fair brings to life the magic of a festive event in the eyes of a young child with the colour and spectacle of it all.

The album is performed entirely on solo guitar from Wates who favours his richly sounding Lowden instrument throughout. His prowess on guitar is at an elevated standard of excellence and his thirteen previous solo albums bear testament to this lofty talent. As a musician who is based in NYC, he is steeped in the artistic influences that the city holds and his very astute arrangements hold the attention as they play out in sweet melodies. The tale of love lost on The Lady and the King is a fine example of this playing prowess although what the message is to the child remains open to interpretation. Them Bones is a look at mortality and the fear that grips us all that in time we are reduced to no more than a set of bones. It is our deeds by which we are remembered.

The Song Of the Wayfarer is reminiscent of all that is good in the British Folk tradition and relays the story of a father who has the restless spirit for travel, leaving behind his young child in the process. Wates was born in London and grew up in England where the influence of contemporary folk was very much an influence and one that remains alive in these reflective songs.

April Morning heralds the onset of Spring in the sentiment and the interpretation of growing up is well captured in the songs, the need to show courage and to face life’s challenges.  In the song Nobody’s Man (But Your Own) Wates councils ‘The man at the top will pay you in gold, To steal what is yours alone, Don’t pay him in kind don’t give him your soul, Be nobody’s man but your own.’

The world is forever changing and the need to stay wary of outside influence and pressure can only be taught when the child is not yet a man and having to face such challenges himself. The title track suggests that the child is father to the man and that in guiding a young life, there is as much to be learned by the parent as is imparted. Apart from double bass accompaniment from Dave Pomeroy, the twelve songs are an intimate love letter from father to son and beautifully delivered throughout.

Paul McGee

Ben Joseph and the Lay Lows The Burns Self Release

The official website highlights Ben Joseph as a London-based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist with roots in Alabama and New Orleans. His sound is stated to be a unique blend of blues, country, rock, and soul. The nine tracks included on this new release run for twenty-seven minutes and studios in London and New Orleans were used in the recording process.

Despite my best efforts, I have been unable to find much detail around the boast that “over 20 musicians from around the globe” feature on the album. There are only credits on the PR sheet for Jimmy Messa (bass), Rob Lee (drums), Emily Moment (harmonies), with Dan Razza and Stephen Llewellyn also providing harmony vocals. Production is handled by Ben Joseph, who holds an MA in Ethnomusicology. He released an album back in 2017 titled TWO TICKETS PLEASE and this outing is his second full release.

The sound on some of the arrangements is somewhat busy in the mix and can come across as somewhat muddy in their delivery. Certain songs have a distant quality, like they’re coming out of  speakers in another room. The album is a fiery exploration of love’s many flames according to the promo sheet and the harmonica of Ben Joseph highlights the need to fix a broken love on opening track Fix It Or Listen. The ponderous beat on I’m A Rolling Stone holds the song back and it never gains any real momentum, while the spacy guitar solo does at least try to lift the energy.

Damn Kudzu is an appealing song and the slower tempo suits the song that tells of the invasive Chinese plant that suffocates trees, abandoned homes and telephone poles. The song I’m A Dog has the lines ‘you were feral when I found you, I just couldn’t leave you all alone.’ Letting love rule the heart is something that the easy country groove of Tell Marie addresses and harmonica soothes in the melody. Love Burns is a soulful journey down the highway and has a nice flow to the playing.

It’s followed by the rocking Betty that looks to capture the energy of the old Ram Jam song Black Betty. There is a stop-go feel to Burn Me which has some nice guitar on the song, and the final track Cajun Fairy (or Queen?), tells of addiction to brown sugar and has an interesting dynamic in the playing. Marks for effort but could certainly up the game on future outings.

Paul McGee

New Album Reviews

The Steeldrivers Outrun Rounder

Hands up time: I admit to being one of those who predicted that The Steeldrivers would fall apart after the departure of lead singer, Chris Stapleton, just after the release of their second album in 2010. I am happy that I was totally wrong and here they are, celebrating their 20th anniversary, and releasing their seventh self-produced bluegrass/Americana album, and with a Grammy under their belt. Founding member Tammy Rogers, who is the main songwriter as well as playing fiddle and singing harmony vocals, puts down their success to their ‘unique sound, where everyone is encouraged to have their own voice’. They’ve also toured relentlessly and that tightness, that only evolves after years on the road together, is a hallmark of their sound. Each member is a standout on their respective instrument, like the other founding members, Mike Fleming on bass and vocals, and Richard Bailey on banjo. Guitarist Matt Dame also takes lead vocals (his gritty and bluesy vocals are not unlike those of Chris Stapleton, indeed) and he also contributes two songs. Brent Truitt completes the lineup on mandolin.

Comprised of twelve strong cuts, there are no fewer than five murder ballads on this record, believe it or not, and all of them have unexpected twists. Emma Lee, cowritten by Matt Dame, is a female protagonist, who almost escaped justice but, thanks to a wily sheriff, ‘now she’s doin’ time in a 10 x 10 cell / and she’s holdin’ on to stories that she’ never gonna tell’. The rocking title track is a Tammy Rogers and Leslie Satcher composition, where the subject learns that he ‘can’t outrun the Grim Reaper, once the deed is done’ and Rosanna tells the sad tale of the outcome of forbidden love between a Hatfield and a McCoy. Thomm Jutz has co-written three strong songs with Rogers, including the murder ballad Cut You Down, and the catchy You Should see The Other Guy, wherein a misogynist gets his comeuppance.

Band co-founder, and indeed the lynchpin who got them all together initially, Mike Henderson, died in 2023 and there are two inclusions in his honour: his quintessential country ballad, Prisoner’s Tears, and Painted and Poison, his cowrite with Ronnie McCoury, which the band had often performed but never recorded until now.

Verlon Thompson cowrote Booze and Cigarettes with Rogers, the tale of a barfly and his excuses, and the album closes appropriately, after all the murder and mayhem, with Mike Dames’ redemption song, On My Way.

The Steeldrivers are itching to get back on the road again and, if you’re fortunate  enough to catch them live, please tell them that Europe is waiting patiently.

Review by Eilís Boland

The Shootouts Switchback Transoceanic

There are a couple of very telling clues that The Shootouts have made a change to their music. Not least is the fact that they have moved away from the previous western dime novel graphic look of their previous albums. They are still using an illustration but,rather than the previous fun graphics on the cover, this time it is an abstract landscape. Also, the band pictures now only feature the three principal members. Once you listen to the new recordings you hear that they have made a decision to concentrate on a slightly different sound, one that, while still rooted in country, is derived less from the sound of classic honky tonk and Bakersfield this time out. The Ohio-based trio are now working with producer Dan Knobler in Nashville studios. They have augmented their contributions with a host of additional session players, such as Sam Bush, Russ Pahl, Mickey Raphael and Jen Gunderman, with Knobler also contributing on guitars and keyboards. There are numerous additional vocal guests, from noted names like Vince Gill, Rodney Crowell, Logan Ledger and Lindsay Lou, as well as band founding member, Emily Bates. But the central figures are lead vocalist and chief songwriter, Ryan Humbert, and lead guitarist Brian Postern, who shows off his skills on the instrumental title track, wherein he trades licks with Sam Bush’s mandolin here and elsewhere on the album.

The Shootouts made this move to try to develop more of their own sound and to, simply, move on to something a little different from what they had done over the past three releases. This can both have the effect of giving a band a new energy, but also risks alienating those fans who really loved their interpretation of those classic country motifs. The end result is more of a move towards a roots rock sound, something that works in the context of the new material, but still featuring the welcome sound of the pedal steel alongside the mandolin and harmonica contributions, making a solid connection to the previous albums. However, it is the upfront guitars and keyboards that underpin the majority of the sound.

Humbert delivers some matured vocals throughout, on the original songs and also he goes toe to toe with Vince Gill on I’ll Be Damned, a Gill written song from earlier in his career that is one of the more twang-centric outings on the album. The other is a reinterpretation of the Yazoo/Vince Clarke written hit, Only You. It features a nuanced vocal from Humbert, while guest Lindsay Lou adds harmonies, and the song shows how well it is open to another elucidation. The harmonica, mandolin and steel are effective in underscoring the overall sense of the theme of finding an individual need as close to true love as is possible. 

The album opens with a mid-paced ballad, Trampoline, with the vocal shared again with Lindsay Lou’s harmonies on a song that looks at life’s ups and downs using the title as something of a metaphor. It clearly sets out the comprehensive new direction that The Shootsouts are pursuing. The overall use of lead and harmony vocals seems much more prominent this time out than previously, or maybe that is how the production has placed the emphasis. Crowell’s harmony sits behind Humbert’s own voice on the pensive Half A World Away. It is another tale of introspection and love seeking sentiments, and is something of a continuous theme with songs like Blue Eyes, or Only Good At Goodbye.

A standout that feels pure country, in terms of its lyrical content, is A Few Old Memories, wherein there is a wish to make a few more of those ‘old memories’. Your Love (I’m Afraid Of) is another uptempo guitar-driven tale of doubt that features a strong chorus. The closing track, Dancing With A Distance, begins with some ambient sound, looking at a past and things that used to be part of a lifestyle that seems lost. Raphael is again featured effectively while Postern then takes the song in a harder rockin’ direction that allows the harmonica to stake its claim in the sound. “Where I am to where I want to be” is the sensibility here, something that is also echoed in the overall context of this album. It opens another chapter for The Shootsouts to write their own future, one that seems open now to move away from a hardcore country attitude to something broader, with a wider potential. However, they have demonstrated their ability to make such a move with panache, and a platform to develop without losing the genre-based feel of their earlier work. Such is the trampoline of music.

Stephen Rapid

S.G.Goodman Planting By The Signs Slough Water/Thirty Tigers

The title and theme of S.G. Goodman's latest project were constructed around details of her rural Kentucky childhood, when planting seeds, or indeed, basic planning, were often timed by the cycle of the moon.Satellite, the third single from the album, particularly explores this phenomenon, it’s an intoxicating song featuring Goodman's semi-spoken vocals set against a hypnotic backbeat.

Currently living in Murray, Kentucky, Goodman was born and raised fifty miles west on a farm in Hickman, Kentucky. Her writing has consistently focused on the people and the lands in her rural and small-town homeland, and PLANTING BY THE SIGNS follows that pattern.  Though a country artist at heart, she marries her quite unique vocals with pounding drums, screeching guitars and thumping bass lines. A champion of the underprivileged (the quite excellent "Work Until I Die" from her 2022 record TEETH MARKS is a case in point), her latest album recalls upsetting childhood memories as well as more recent events and setbacks. Snapping Turtle looks back on an encounter, during her youth, with a group of kids she caught trashing a turtle in the street and the evasive action she took in rescuing the situation. The song also speaks of a less fortunate childhood friend who was unable to survive ('Not after seeing LeAnna's face, A life beat down like that snapping turtle day').

The self-questioning and introspective Fire Sign broaches the self-doubt that two years of constant touring, and the expectation of that sacrifice, can initiate. Michael Told Me pays homage to her close friend Mike Harmon ('Love You from Los Angeles, even with the pain'), who often acted as a roadie and van driver, and who died tragically in a tree-felling accident while Goodman was on tour. Elsewhere, she is joined by fellow Kentuckian Bonny Prince Billy on Nature's Child, and co-producer Mat Rowan on the title track, before closing the album with Heaven's Song, which, at nine minutes long, fondly remembers road trips with her beloved dog, Howard, who died in 2024.

Born out of setbacks and personal pain, the extent of which is emphasised by her near-broken vocals on occasion, PLANTING BY THE SIGNS is a tour de force. Few can connect country and post-punk in the electrifying manner that S.G. Goodman has over her four-album career to date, and this effort is, without doubt, the cream of that crop.

Declan Culliton

Anne McCue & The Cubists Wholly Roller Coaster Flying Machine

East Nashville-based treasure, singer, songwriter, ace guitar player and multi-instrumentalist, producer, video director and music show host Anne McCue has been recording and releasing her eclectic mix of roots, power pop, blues and psychedelia for nearly three decades. The Australian-born artist confesses that the lack of a studio release over the best part of a decade was down to writer's block. However, in recent years, primarily fuelled by a full-on diet of psychedelic pop, she got her writing mojo back in full swing, and WHOLLY ROLLER COASTER is the result of that rebirth.

Described by McCue as 'a pop album with psychedelic folk-rock tendencies,' it transports the listener back to the classic left-wing pop/folk crossover that blossomed in the U.K. during the heady mid-1960s, when the industry allowed artists to dictate their output rather than the A&R suits who eventually took control. The resulting ten tracks recall the work of Syd Barrett and early David Bowie, while also paying homage to the movement from traditional folk music into folk rock in the late 1960s by crossover bands like Fairport Convention. 

Co-produced by McCue and Jane Nightshade, and recorded at Flying Machine Studio in Nashville, the album features a diverse range of instrumentation, including the standard instrumentation employed, as well as the Wurlitzer organ, tambourine, bouzouki, banjo, harpsichord, flutes, horns, and trumpet, all of which contribute to the hallucinogenic and experimental sound.

Typical of the record's folk-rock cocktail, and making an instant connection on first play, is the breezy and cheerful opener, Fly or Fall. A contemporary folky vibe also surfaces on the mellow Gone. Closer to the work of Ray Davies, Shadow Lane harks back to simpler and more innocent times, evoking a delightful sense of nostalgia ('And Mr Finnegan is in his chair acting like he doesn't care, perhaps he's a millionaire'). From a comparable musical era Leaping On The Moon could have been plucked from David Bowie's 1967 self-titled and often underappreciated album.  Feelin' Alright Now is a seriously catchy and upbeat affair, possibly rejoicing in the passing of the pandemic and the return to normality ('Feelin' alright now, 'cause our eyes can finally see the way'). Layered and semi-spoken vocals, along with a steady drum beat, contribute to the cheerful final track, The Years.

Explaining the long pause since her last recording, McCue explains, 'I've been waiting patiently for the song gods and goddesses to once again grace me with their splendour.' The gods and goddesses certainly made their presence well and truly felt with this delightful and mystical collection.

Anne McCue has never reached as broad an audience as her talents merit.  Perhaps she is quite happy to operate slightly under the radar. But with a back catalogue that includes gems such as ROLL, EAST OF ELECTRIC, BLUE SKY THINKIN' and now this delight, WHOLLY ROLLER COASTER, she is an artist that, if you don't already know, you're well advised to investigate.

Declan Culliton

North Mississippi Allstars Still Shakin' New West

Twenty-five years after the release of their Grammy-nominated debut album SHAKE HANDS WITH SHORTY, and thirty years after the band’s formation, North Mississippi Allstars celebrate those landmarks with an eleven-track album. Like that debut album and close on twenty others that followed, brothers and founding members Luther and Cody Dickinson were joined by guest players to contribute to STILL SHAKIN.'

The album was recorded at their family studio, Zebra Ranch, near Coldwater, Mississippi, which was established by their late father, Jim Dickinson, who, as well as releasing his own numerous solo albums and work as a producer, played piano on recordings by The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, The Flamin' Groovies, Ry Cooder and The Cramps.

Luther Dickinson describes their output precisely as 'We don't fit in anywhere. We're not Americana, we're not blues, we're not country or rock, we're just what I call modern Mississippi music.' In that vein, their latest project is a celebration of the traditional music of their home state, alongside their passion for improvised jams, which crisscross between blues, folk, southern rock, and psychedelia. The current line-up is Cody and Luther Dickinson, Rayfield ‘Ray-Ray' Holloman (The Origin Band), and Joey Williams (Blind Boys of Alabama, Peter Gabriel) along with a host of guests (Jojo Hermann, Duwayne Burnside, Robert Kimbrough, Kashiah Hunter, Trae Pierce, Grahame Lesh, Sharisse Norman, Shontelle Norma) who also feature on STILL SHAKIN'. 

Effortlessly weaving between blues (Don't Let the Devil Ride and Stay All Night), jazzy rap-like jam (Still Shakin'), a woozy instrumental (Monomyth- Folk Hero's Last Ride) and funk (Poor Boy), the songs play out like an encyclopaedia of songs gathered from the Dickinson brothers' numerous influences. An acknowledgement of both the past and the present is the order of the day here, from a band with their feet firmly on the cosmic pedal of the sonic landscape of Mississippi. Groove-laden and infectious, it's a crescendo reaching and highly engaging listen.   

Declan Culliton

Drew and Ellie Holcomb Memory Bank Magnolia

Can there be any greater buzz than making music with your wife and enjoying the creative process together? This Tennessee-based couple formed a band in 2005 as Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors, with Ellie remaining as a member until 2012, when she left to raise their children and to pursue a solo career. They now come together again in song to release their first album as a duo, and it’s packed with great tunes.

You Drive Me Crazy hits the nail with a sultry groove, dripping in sweet rhythm as the co-vocal parts come together in a real tour de force. The couple collaborated on nine of the thirteen songs included here and they recorded at the Sound Emporium Studios in Nashville. There is a fine cover of the song Shut Up and Dance (Walk the Moon), and Ellie includes a collaboration with Taylor Leonhardt on Brick By Brick. There are two songs written by Drew with Bones and We Can Go Dancing both hitting the high bar set in the writing, and on a number of other songs the talents of both Cason Cooley and KS Rhoads are highlighted.

All of the above simply goes to show what is involved in the process of collaboration, both in the writing and in the ensemble performance in the studio. The sessions were recorded live in the studio and production was handled by Cason Cooley who also contributed on drums, percussion, programming, synthesizers, mellotron and acoustic guitar.

Regular members of Drew’s band The Neighbors also play on the songs with both Rich Brinsfield (upright and electric bass) and Nathan Dugger (acoustic and electric guitar, piano, Wurlitzer, mellotron, pedal steel) bringing their magic touch. Ian Miller also stars on B3, accordion, piano, along with other guests who provide great colour in the song arrangements. You Drive Me Crazy is a fun look at the relationship dynamic between spouses and Rain Or Shine is a strong statement of the love that endures between them. The lovely Silver Thread is a fine example of the mature songwriting at play here and throughout the album we are treated to many highlights across the vocal prowess of both artists as they dove-tail around the melody and come together in a celebration of music. A very enjoyable album and definitely a keeper.

Paul McGee

Gordie Tentrees and Jaxon Haldane Double Takes Self Release

A very satisfying album from a duo that have been recording and touring together, on an ad-hoc basis since they met in 2014. Both musicians had already forged their independent careers in Canada, with Tentrees hailing from Whitehorse in the Yukon, and Haldane growing up in Winnipeg, Manitoba. They released a live album in 2018, titled GRIT, and now this new project has arrived to represent their first studio collaboration. Included are ten self-penned songs and the production is by Nash Chambers (Paul Kelly), the brother of Kasey Chambers. The musicians include Shawn Fichter (percussion), Steve Mackey (bass), Charlie McCoy (harmonica), Tania Elizabeth (fiddle), Bill Chambers (lap steel), Lucky Oceans (pedal steel), Joanna Rodriguez (harmony vocals), and Nash Chambers (percussion, melodica).

The entire album was completed in just a few days at Troubadour Studios in Nashville, and there is a great live ‘on the floor’ feel to the songs in an attempt to replicate the typical performances that the duo are renowned for when on tour together. The easy blues of Drive Or Push is reminiscent of the early Elvis sound with the harmonica of Charlie McCoy and the electric guitar of Haldane high in the mix. Bygone Days is another step back in time and the exceptional fiddle playing of Tania Elizabeth is a real highlight on this light bar-room jazzy groove.

Haldane delivers a tribute to his grandparents on Bobbi and Gus, with harmonica and resonator guitar superbly delivered by Tentrees. A highlight is the song Time and a look at how our lives are shaped by the decisions we make and the ways in which we choose to spend our days. Crystal is another strong song and it references a tale of addiction and trying to control that urge to keep chasing that high. The final song, Gratitude, has a slow tempo and gives thanks for good fortune in life, with some fine harmonica and harmony vocals. It all feels very loose and lively in the delivery, with plenty of tight playing, and the right attitude to letting the music speak for itself.

Paul McGee

Nelson Wright Ghosts On the Water Self Release

This singer songwriter grew up in New York and his music is very much in the genre of folk and roots in the content and delivery. Having released a debut album back in 2012 titled STILL BURNING, Wright followed this up with a second record in 2014, ORPHANS AND RELICS. It has taken the distance in between for Wright to present this new music and the nine songs included are very much worth the wait.

Like any seasoned musician the years bring their own reward in terms of experience and insight into the ways in which we all try to negotiate our separate lives. Now based in Seattle, Wright has a keen eye when it comes to observing the human condition and these songs cover quite a lot of ground. The opening song Alcatraz looks at the  1960s escape from the island which was orchestrated by Frank Morris and joined by brothers Clarence and John Anglin. None of the escapees were ever captured and were reputed to be living all these years in South America.

Mobile Bay is another song that references prison, this time from the perspective of an inmate in an Alabama prison who is thinking of the freedom that lies just a few hundred miles across the Gulf of Mexico. The Natchez Trace tells the story of dislocated people who are looking to get back home to their origins. Both a young girl and an old soldier are featured in their attempts to get beyond their grown experience and return to simpler times. The Old Natchez Trace is a historic forest trail which spans over 450 miles from Nashville, Tennessee, to Natchez, Mississippi, and links the Cumberland, Tennessee, and Mississippi rivers.

Kindred Spirits is a tale of an old uncle that impressed a young nephew with his earned wisdom and simple ability in playing a musical instrument. Learning from the old ways and the true path of living ‘the things I learned from a kindred spirit’s hand.’  There are love songs included and the easy groove of My Favourite Brunette is a real tonic, together with the sentiment expressed for a loved one on My Heart’s Best Tattoo.

The story on The Night Love Ran Out is one that sees female partner taking the hard decision to leave behind the frustrations of trying to keep the flame of love burning ‘Dreams can take a lot of abuse, they hold on fast when there’s no excuse, But they don’t come back once you cut them lose, when love runs out. ’ There is a list of musicians who play on the album but sadly no detail as to individual credits. The ensemble deliver some striking moments throughout and perhaps more care should have been given to give recognition where it is due.

Stony Ground  looks at trying to escape your roots and trying to recall youthful memories of the days left behind. The accordion on the song builds a sense of nostalgia with the guitar motif echoing this sense of needing to escape. Elsewhere mandolin, dobro, fiddle and guitars mix together and the female lead vocal on My Heart’s Best Tattoo could be any of the three female names that appear in the musicians list … The final song is about letting go and the words in Let Me Down Slow say ‘There’s a chill wind running through me now, like something I don’t know, let me down, let me down slow.’ If you wanted to slip off this mortal coil then this is perhaps a song that would be played as your mortal remains are taken to their final resting place.

Paul McGee

Charles Ellsworth Cosmic Cannon Fodder Burro Borrachos

Raised in Arizona and based now in NYC this is the fifth album release from a singer songwriter who has established a career that brings much to the listener. Frustration at being stuck in an airport makes up the opener, LAX Song. Up next is Avenue Of the Giants and a rocker that swings along at a pace, looking at the challenge of life passages. Elsewhere, the country sound of Ripped To Ribbons is a strong track calling for a chance to make a relationship work; ‘I’ll do my best to open up, if you promise not to run,’ with some nice pedal steel playing courtesy of Mike Brenner, to give the mid-tempo melody a gentle lift.

If They Let Me Choose Forever is a rocker that plays out with plenty of attitude and a song about teenage rites of passage, getting high and making out. Another Fucking Tuesday is a song about the normalising of mass shootings in American schools, and the media reports that increasingly see such tragedies and killings as just a part of our daily reality. Politicians doing nothing to effect change in any real way. The Gates has a slow melody with sweet pedal steel sounds and a song about earning just enough to pay the bills and get by, victims of a corrupt system that rewards greed and takes the common-man for granted.

The title song Cosmic Cannon Fodder has a reflective theme and examines the way in which we try to find meaning in the chaos of daily routine; basically, in adulthood, how we are left to ponder our own place in the universe. Time passing is also a theme in Crazy Kelly and the heady abandon in the freedoms of youth, and the following song Swimming In the Shades Of Grey is a tender contemplation on past relationships, old memories, a restless spirit and the need to keep moving. The anger felt by Ellsworth at the political state of the nation pours forth on Build A Bigger Table and his aspiration to ‘Get to know that kid, who I once was.’ Wanting to feel he can believe in that ubiquitous American dream and not just passively watching all the pain and upset that permeates.

The final track If I Could Talk To God is another angry look at the state of play on the planet and the frustrations felt in trying to get used to living with compromise. Doubts in a higher power, jobs that don’t inspire, the death of old friends, all  lie heavily on a life that just wants to break away and live freely. The album has plenty to offer and the production of Blake Tallent (Sarah Shook and the Disarmers) is superb in bringing a vibrancy to these songs. Tallent also contributes on drums, percussion, bass and keyboards, with Ellsworth playing guitar and writing all the songs.

Paul McGee

New Album Reviews

Hailey Whitters Corn Queen Pigasus/Big Loud

The title of Hailey Whitters' fourth full-length album stems from her fans christening her 'Corn Queen,' because she was born and raised in the small town of Shueyville, Iowa. As a proud Iowa native who moved to Nashville as a seventeen-year-old and, through a decade of hard graft, has established herself as a breakthrough country artist, Whitters took this as a compliment. 'I'm proud of it, I like the idea of a queen with a little grit and elbow grease,' was her response.

Whitters' first taste of Nashville was as a fifteen-year-old when her mom booked a trip for them both to Music City. Incredibly, it was the teenager's first city trip, and its impact was such that the music-loving girl vowed to return after high school to follow her dream. That dream has been fully realised, through diligence and endeavour, by an artist with a natural talent for penning and singing bona fide country songs about everyday life, loves, and letdowns in small-town America.

With two records under her belt, BLACK SHEEP (2015) and THE DREAM (2020), Whitters’ profile was on an upward trajectory , and her third album, RAISED (2022), earned her tours with Luke Combs, Shania Twain, Dierks Bentley, Eric Church and Luke Bryan. However, the success and market recognition had a stifling effect on her creatively and CORN QUEEN is the product of her pressing the reset button and concentrating on where she wants to be, rather than where outside influences would prefer. 'I got pretty lost in it for a while and needed a rest, I needed to take off the costumes and the makeup and reconnect with the girl underneath it all,' she explains.

That sentiment is evident from the get-go with the banging,fiddle-driven, country opener High On The Hog ('Might look like the dream, but bein' Corn Queen, hell it ain't all crowns and sashes'). That high-octane pace continues on Prodigal Daughter, which includes a cameo by Molly Tuttle. Other guests include The Wilder Blue on the slower-paced album closer DanceMor, and Charles Wesley Godwin trades vocals with Whitters on I Don't Want You, which explores the reality of a love-hate relationship. Other reality checks raise their head on the punchy Shotgun Wedding. Slowing things down a few gears, Casseroles paints a graphic picture of death and the loneliness that follows. The autobiographical Helluva Heart highlights the strength of character and relentless work ethic that keeps her in check during taxing times. Recorded in Nashville with her husband, Jake Gear, overseeing the project, the host of top players that contribute excel in giving expression to the sixteen songs that feature.

It's not yet exactly 'floodgates open' for women in roots and country music, but the wheel is turning slowly in that direction. Hopefully, the industry does not overburden Whitters, as she holds all the aces to emulate the success of similarly talented songwriters and performers like Miranda Lambert, Brandy Clark, and Kaitlin Butts, all blessed with the skillset to pen down-to-earth, meaningful songs with genius wordplay and often from firsthand experiences. Whitters has certainly achieved that with CORN QUEEN, a contemporary country record of the highest order. 

Declan Culliton

Ken Pomeroy Cruel Joke Rounder

At the age of twenty-two, Oklahoma-born Cherokee Nation member Ken Pomeroy’s latest album, CRUEL JOKE, is her fourth recording, three of which she had released by the age of nineteen. This latest record is her first on the Rounder Records label and consists of twelve soul-searching tracks. In keeping with her previous output, it is a profoundly personal project.

When asked by Lonesome Highway in an interview back in 2021 to describe her music, she replied, 'I'd describe my music as a mix of folk and Americana, with a kind of hopeful sadness to it. I write a lot of sad songs and emotional songs in a very vulnerable sense.' 

That melancholy remains at the forefront in CRUEL JOKE, with tracks like the gorgeous Flannel Cowboy speaking of unrequited love and the unreserved heartache detailed in Stranger also striking a chord ('The wind keeps on hitting me like my mother used to. Unlike her, I feel like it doesn't want to'). Likewise, pushing the door open on buried memories is the intense Innocent Eyes ('I think it's funny how my own mind will hide things so I don't cry. I had a friend say the hardest thing is looking back without innocent eyes').

Further brooding ballads beautifully performed include the stunning Wolf In Sheep's Clothes and Coyote, the latter includes swapping verses with guest vocalist John Moreland. Pomeroy also includes "Grey Skies," written when she was only thirteen, an incredible, poem-like composition for one so young. In chaotic and uncertain times, a cry for stability and security surfaces in Cicadas, with the writer recalling how the arrival of the insects every summer was a fixed event in her childhood.

Attentive listening, ideally with headphones, is the key to fully engrossing oneself in Ken Pomeroy's deeply considered lyrics, rich vocals and haunting musical sketches. Once more, as in her previous recordings, by digging acutely into her memory vaults, she has created a hugely impressive listen, from an artist with unlimited talent. 

Declan Culliton

Little Feat Strike Up The Band Megaforce

Over five decades since their formation by two former members of Frank Zappa’s Mothers of Invention, Lowell George and Roy Estrada, the California band Little Feat continues to record its unique blend of rock, country, swamp, and funk. Multiple lineup changes have occurred over the band’s lifespan. The current format includes Bill Payne, keyboard player and member of the original lineup, and bass player Kenny Gradney, who replaced Estrada in 1972. Percussionist and vocalist Sam Clayton, another member since 1972, is also in the current band, as is long-time member and multi-instrumentalist and vocalist, Fred Tackett. The other current members are Anthony Leone (Chris Robinson Brotherhood, Ollabelle) and Scott Sharrard (Gregg Allman Band). Produced by Vance Powell (Chris Stapleton, Jack White, Phish) and recorded at his Sputnik Studios in Nashville, the horn sections were contributed by Art Edmiston (saxophone) and Marc Franklin (trumpet). 

STRIKE UP THE BAND follows on from the success of their 2024 Grammy-nominated blues covers album, SAM’S PLACE. The thirteen songs on the album include material previously written by Bill Payne and Grateful Dead’s Robert Hunter, more recent ones penned by Payne, Sherrard and Clayton co-writes, and collaborations with Blackberry Smoke’s Charlie Starr, Larkin Poe, Molly Tuttle, Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams. Despite the multiple contributors and the period of the writing, the tracks embrace the essence and sonic terrain that the band have created from day one.

At over an hour long and with thirteen tracks, it’s very much a ‘bang for your bucks’ affair. The strong opener, 4 Days Of Heaven 3 Days Of Work, is eyebrow-raising territory. With strong lead vocals by Clayton, screeching guitar solos, a heavy rhythm section and a fiery brass section, it’s an instantly striking listen.  At the other end of the record, they sign off with an equally rousing album closer, New Orleans Cries When She Sings. It kicks off like a piano-led Warren Zevon-styled ballad before, true to its title, exploding into a jazzy, gospel, jam. The title track, somewhat surprisingly given its name, is a lovely, slow-paced ballad featuring backing vocals and guitar by sisters Rebecca and Megan Lovell, of Larkin Poe fame, and a splendid piano solo by Bill Payne. 

The tongue-in-cheek Too High To Cut My Hair is a full-on and funky delight. A co-write by Sharrard and Tackett, based on a true story, it recounts the moment when the latter turned down his wife’s offer of a haircut and includes a killer guitar and horn break. Other standout tracks are the racy Midnight Flight and the more relaxed Love and Life (Never Fear).

In keeping with the title of their 1974 album, FEATS DON’T FAIL ME NOW, the 2025 crew of this remarkable band continue on their path of deeply groove-driven music with this easy-on-the-ear collection. 

Declan Culliton

Shelby Means Self-Titled Self-Release

The esteem in which Shelby Means is held by her musical peers is highlighted by the bluegrass and country royalty who guest on this album. Best known as a member of the supergroup Golden Highway, where she played bass and added harmony vocals alongside Molly Tuttle, Bronwyn Keith-Hynes, Dominick Leslie and Kyle Tuttle, this thirteen-track record is her debut full-length recording. Her other projects included membership in the string band Della Mae and alt-country duo Sally and George, but she has followed her love of bluegrass for her debut record. 

Produced by fellow singer-songwriter and instrumentalist Maya de Vitry, the thirteen tracks include eleven originals and two covers, George Jones' The Old, Old House and Lady Gaga's Million Reasons. Together with Means' former Golden Highway colleagues, the numerous contributors read like a 'who's who' of bluegrass royalty, including Bryan Sutton, Jerry Douglas, Sam Bush, Ron Block, Billy Strings, and Billy Contreras. Harmony vocals are credited to Tim O'Brien, Kelsey Waldon, Rachel Baiman, Ronnie McCoury and Joel Timmons.

The tracks are a mixture of material written by Means early in her career, rearranged songs previously recorded and more recently composed songs. The opener, Streets Of Boulder, is her first attempt to write a breakup song, which she wrote back in college, and Fisherman's Daughter is the first song she wrote after moving to Nashville. The more recently written Suitcase Blues recalls leaving Nashville and moving to a different city. Wild Tiger Style, a co-write with her husband, is a defiant statement confronting the oppression of women at various levels, both at home and abroad.  Farm Girl, which started as a co-write with fellow artist Mac Leaphart, was built around Means' ranch work as a young woman, and the album is bookended with Joy. Written during the pandemic shortly after she had relocated to Charleston, S.C., the latter reflects on the relief that the backyard company of a fellow musician offered during that dark period.

Like her peer and fellow artist Bronwyn Keith-Hynes, whose 2024 album I BUILD A WALL established her as a leading player in the evolving modern bluegrass scene, Shelby Means' debut album marks her out as a formidable band leader alongside her parallel career as a standout bass player.

Declan Cullton

The Brains Behind Pa Beggars Belief Grass Magoops

When I look into the career of Bill Price I am left wondering as to why he’s not better known in wider musical circles. His debut album as a solo artist was titled BONES AND APPLES and was released back in 2003. Since then there have been a further two solo albums and four EP releases from this creative talent, in addition to releasing two albums under the performing name of The Brains Behind Pa. He is based in Indianapolis, Indiana and his creative muse burns brightly as an inspiration for music of this depth and quality.

Bill Price writes all thirteen songs here and they run over a generous seventy-five minutes of listening. The album was co-produced with Tyler Watkins at Postal Recording studios and the musicians in the band have been together since 2002 when they recorded their seven-song debut titled Old Hat. A second album, Better For the Devil, appeared in 2006 and it has taken the intervening years for Price to resurrect the band and provide a new lease of life with this project.

The core band is comprised of Garry Bole (Piano, Hammond Organ, Electric Piano, Farfisa Organ, Accordion, Clavinet, Mellotron, Vibraphone, Dobro), Gordon Bonham (Electric and Acoustic Lead Guitar, 12-string Electric Guitar, Vocals, Harmony Vocals, Banjo), Bill Price (Electric and Acoustic Guitar, Vocals, Pump Organ, Cittern), and Jeff Stone (Bass, Fretless Bass, Upright Bass). They are joined by four separate drummers across the various tracks, a brass section of three additional players, plus seven backing singers who bring great Gospel and Soul traditions in their harmonies and variety.

There are a few solo piano vignettes linking a number of the songs and these sound almost ghostly, as if the piano was playing itself in another room. This mood fits in quite well with the overall theme of the album which is that of darker times ahead and the emerging price to be paid for our poor care of planet earth. The song Blue Riders Approaching could be seen as the horsemen of the apocalypse bringing their punishment to the planet; maybe in order to sweep it clean and give hope that we could start all over again?

Strike the Rock is a gospel-influenced song that covers a similar territory and we are reminded that in the bible Moses went to God for water and God ordered him to strike the rock – he did and water came forth. The blues of Whistling Liars is a damning song that states ‘Just a trace of truth, not a trace of proof, The dirt you are digging is so uncouth’; fake news anyone? The country sound of Poor Eyes is another look at the portents of doom while all around us ignorance abounds.

The album is a real tour de force and the quality of the musicianship is hugely enjoyable. There are excellent solo parts across the various tracks with the studio players given freedom to expand and experiment within the song arrangements. An example is the track Most Men with the sweet groove inspiring guitar, mellotron and piano to stretch out in a jazzy flow that aims arrows at a certain political leader - ‘Most men learn from the enemy, Avoid the mistakes of history, In glass houses hold their stones, You are not most men.’ Answers on a postcard please…

The ensemble playing on Maybe, Maybe Not #2 conjures memories of the Allman Brothers in full flow, with organ, piano and guitar spiralling together in unison. The cynic will enjoy the put down on Red, White and a Little Bit Of Blue and no doubt say “I told you so.” For true evil to endure, all it takes is for good men to do nothing ‘A little bit of debate, just a spit and spat, A little bit of honesty, Little chance of that.’

The title track is a surreal vision of a travelling circus with the ringmaster overseeing the great farce and spectacle. Somehow the metaphor is inescapable, the imagery in the characters so wrapped up in our political and corporate clowns ‘Now I’m not the smartest, But I’m sitting here on the edge of my seat, Because the things people do to take part in the heart of the darkness, It beggars belief.’ The circus is indeed coming to a nearby town, if it’s not already arrived.

Apparently the band recorded enough surplus material from the studio sessions to warrant a further two albums, and I look forward to the next chapters in this interesting band’s evolution. Definitely an album to stimulate and to provide many hours of listening pleasure.

Paul McGee

Blue Fish Diamond Radio Silence Self Release

This is the third album from Dublin-based Blue Fish Diamond, an ensemble that comprises of six excellent musicians that advertise their music as ‘indie folk rock.’  There are certainly elements of all three genres included in the overall sound and their broad approach continues to produce results that are very radio-friendly and enjoyable.

The quality of the musicianship is very high and each player contributes in a telling manner to the overall rich sounds that are created across the eleven new songs included here. Jim Murphy (lead vocals and rhythm guitar) is the founder of the band and he writes all the songs (with one co-write credit), in addition to taking on the responsibilities of leading mover and shaker for the group. He is ably supported by the talents of Laura Ryder (keyboards), and Axel McDonald (guitars). The strong rhythm section is locked down by Ronan Quinn (bass), and Shay Sweeney (drums), with Matilda O’Mahony (backing vocals) providing sweet harmonies throughout.

A debut album, FROM DARK TO LIGHT, appeared in 2018 and this was followed by FROZEN STARS ON THE NIGHT in 2021. Jim also took time away from band duties to deliver a superb album in 2023 under the side-project name of Hibsen. This resulted in an album titled THE STERN TASK OF LIVING and drew from the short stories of 'Dubliners' by James Joyce. Each of the songs on the album was named after one of the book’s stories and Irish Folk chanteuse Gráinne Hunt joined with Jim to create a project of enduring quality.

With this new set of songs the sonic direction has expanded somewhat, and under the creative guidance of producer Gavin Glass (Pedal steel & 12 string acoustic guitar), there are plenty of nice touches in the song arrangements to enjoy. The string section that graced the Hibsen project is also employed here to great effect and the combined skills of Lynda O’Connor (First violin), Paul O’Hanlon (Second violin), Beth McNinch (Viola), and Gerald Peregrine (Cello), play at a level that colours the melodies with subtle hues. All of the string sections were arranged by Cormac Curran.

On the song One More Chance the lead vocal is taken by Matilda O’Mahony as she delivers a superb performance, accompanied by the string section, in echoing a female perspective on a relationship that is running out of hope. Another relationship song is the lovely Stranger Things Have Happened but in this case it is Jim wearing his heart on his sleeve in honour of the enduring love he holds for his wife. Yet another love story, of sorts, is the song Gracepark and the close affiliation that Jim has to a favoured location that he likes to visit.   

Elsewhere there are songs that strike out against the mess that humankind has made of planet earth on Planet Blue; the dislocation and loneliness endured by so many in today’s society on Radio Silence; the stress in trying to make ends meet every day on Fallen Angel, and the nostalgia of wanting to revert in time to a happier space on The 1980s. The big questions are tackled on Universe and the lyrics pose the immortal dilemma of who we are, what are we doing here, and where are we all going.

The sentiment expressed on Servants To the Hand is one of questioning extreme right-wing control in our lives by government. However, the Wizard of Oz has long been exposed for the manipulator that he was, and the thought that we need to ‘pull aside the curtain’ or that ‘we cannot see’ the controlling hand, is perhaps no longer the actual case – rather we see all too clearly these days and the view is not one that brings comfort or reassures.

I Don’t Know is a great band workout to the idea that the reality we face is perhaps something ‘other’ and that the Buddhist philosophy of the ‘middle-way’ could well be our redemption. The mention of ‘a big blue frog inside of me‘ suggests the concept of birth, renewal and transformation that runs through the frog spirit animal in certain spiritual teachings. Tonight speaks of the enjoyment of honest relationships and living for the freedom of the moment, and I’ve Got It Made is a celebration of a new-found perspective on living, which hints toward an ELO sound in the strings and the song arrangement. So, plenty to enjoy, and definitely a knowing confidence running through these new songs, as the band continues to build upon an impressive career on all fronts.

Paul McGee

Alice Howe and Freebo Live Self Release

This is an example of all that is good in attending a live gig and basking in the glow of accomplished musicians playing at the height of their collective powers. No overdubs or enhancements were added to this performance from Port Townsend, Washington State, back in 2024. Alice Howe has two previous releases and she has been playing music with bass legend Freebo since 2017. Their understanding on guitars and vocals is seamless and their duetting is both subtle and warm. The inclusion of Jeff Fielder on electric guitar is an inspired choice and his playing is both spontaneous and understated, his interpretations of the song dynamics something that is exhilarating.

Freebo includes songs from his 2019 album IF NOT NOW WHEN. Along with the title track, he performs superbly on the tongue-in-cheek She Loves My Dog More Than Me and three other tracks taken from this release. He also includes a cover of the Little Feat classic Sailin’ Shoes and gives it a slow treatment that works really well. Alice is a very talented performer in her own right on acoustic guitar and her superb vocal tone is highlighted really well on these stripped-back arrangements. Her warm delivery is very alluring and she includes five songs from her last album Circumstance, including Travellin’ Soul, Something Calls To Me and With You By My Side.

Her previous album is also represented with the song Twilight and there are covers of the Joni Mitchell classic A Case Of You with Alice providing a real highlight with solo performance on guitar; along with John Prine’s Angel From Montgomery, a finely judged duet between Freebo and Alice. This is a really enjoyable live album and a celebration of real talent across this trio of great artists.

Paul McGee

David Massey Man In the Mirror Self Release

Seven albums strong and Washington DC resident David Massey continues to represent some of the best hidden gems that can be found in contemporary singer songwriter music. This new album is eight songs that have been carefully created and are delivered with a measured attention to detail. Massey includes one cover song and his take on the Townes Van Zandt classic Tecumseh Valley is beautifully considered, bringing out all of the pathos of the original story concerning a working girl who falls victim to the vagaries of life.

There is a tribute song to the memory of two young sisters, Jillian and Lindsay, who were taken at a very young age and the beautiful sentiment expressed in Too Soon Gone is that of admiration in the face of such trauma and the quiet dignity shown by a father while coping with such grief.

Man In the Mirror is a song of self reflection and wanting to recapture the heady days of youthful innocence when make-believe and wide-eyed wonder were the order of the day. The grown man in Till the Evening Comes is found on his porch in spring, enjoying the sounds of nature while trying to write a song and being fully in the moment. Fighter’s Lament is a story song about a guy who played ice hockey for The Hershey Bears in Pennsylvania before injury forced him to change to boxing in order to try and make ends meet ‘All those kid dreams dissolved into fear, No joy left in skating, no comfort in beer.’

Massey had a career the legal profession for quite a number of years and enjoyed performing his music around the local circuit in Washington DC and the Maryland region. His debut album appeared back in 2004, so at this stage he is a seasoned musician. This is clearly evident in the quality of the songs and the assembled studio musicians that he called upon to colour these arrangements. Included is the talent of Jay Byrd on guitars, who adds great nuance in his playing, and who released a very striking solo album himself back in 2022, AT HOME AGAIN, and which featured in the Lonesome Highway best picks of that year. Also featured is Jim Robeson on bass (and web design), and Miles Lieder on drums, both providing the rhythm that is built upon in the melodies by a variety of other invited guests.

The song Marianne is written in heartfelt memory to Jim Robeson’s wife, who sadly passed away, and the words resonate ‘Marianne our merry band has lost its joyful beat, We try so hard, but you’re the card that makes this deck complete.’ Two other songs speak of peace and being thankful for the simple pleasures; Home and Free is penned in celebration of his local environment and name-checks many of the locations as Massey drives himself home to his beloved nature, and Dawn seeks to put all personal doubts and fears aside in favour of embracing what you already hold safe ‘Still she wakes up and smiles, Through all the years and the miles, Something there still beguiles, Love lives on, In the dawn.’ An album that is worthy of your attention and one that will give lots of pleasure.

Paul McGee

Scott Warren and Molly Orlando Wounded Bird Sessions Self Release

This album is the result of two young friends growing up together in St. Charles, Missouri. When they met up again as adults in the state of Colorado, both Warren and Orlando decided to start making music together as a duo under the performance name of Wounded Bird. The Covid years meant an enforced break from performance and recording but in more recent times Warren and Orlando were able to create the songs on this new release at a home studio in Evergreen, Colorado.

Warren has been recording as a solo artist since 2009, and prior to this he was a founding member of Signal Hill Transmission, a Los Angeles band that released a few albums between 2002 and 2009.  On the eleven tracks included here the production is handled by Scott Warren (Vocals, Guitars, Bass, Keys, Percussion), and he is joined by Molly Orlando (Vocals). In the studio they added the multi-talents of Dan Wistrom (Pedal Steel, Weissenborn, Lap Steel, Acoustic Guitar, Keyboards),and his presence really helps to colour the sounds on the album. Subsequently, after the songs were recorded in  stripped-down live sessions, more instrumentation was added to the mix with Brian Young (Drums, Percussion), and Dan Hochhalter (Fiddle), contributing their skills.

The album revolves very much around a central theme of love and relationships, with all the drama of people who come together looking for a connection that may last. Opening song Arms is very much a “will they, won’t they” stay together with challenges and reassurances surfacing ‘Guess that's the way that things shake out, Me in the bed you on the couch, Someday I'll wake up next to you, And I'll wrap my arms around you.’

The following song Cut A Path looks at serendipity and the  good fortune that can throw two lovers into the same orbit in the first place ‘ Oh life can be a mixed up mess, Which way the dice will roll is anyone's guess.’ Yet another song looks into husband and wife woes on The Truth with the guy being called out for spending a night on the town and the poor girl at home wanting some answers ‘Spare me the mind games you’re high as Georgia pine, You’re digging that ole hole of yours I’ll bury you in time, Oh I’m getting long in tooth waiting on the truth.’

Other songs look at losing in love, like Dear John Blues, and  there is another acoustic blues song Medication For My Heart that communicates a positive spin on how love can work out. Elsewhere we have a song that asks humankind to leave nature as we find it for other to enjoy on Leave Me the Way That You Found Me, and the deceitful dirty work of politics is tackled on Workin’ Out The Kinks.  Deceitful behaviour and chameleon shape shifters are taken down on Act the Fool and a cover of JJ Cale’s Devil In Disguise is included to spice things up a little.

There’s A Man is a take on a solitary life of a Vietnam veteran who lives on the margins and the isolation that ensues, while the opposite is the case on I’d Grow Old With You and a promise to stay committed to another through all the ups and downs. It’s a charming album in many ways with superb musicianship from all the players. Definitely an album that will get repeated plays on my personal set list.

Paul McGee

New Album Reviews

Sweet Meg Never Been Home Self Release 

At an early age, New York City-born Sweet Meg's musical journey kicked off with singing in coffee shops and small bars in the East Village and Brooklyn. From there, she relocated to Paris to study jazz vocals, resulting in a decade as a jazz singer in her home city. Her debut album, UNDER THE MOONLIGHT, released in 2020, was an indie-jazz record and one of the first albums released on the jazz label Turtle Bay Records. I'M IN LOVE AGAIN followed on the same label a year later, before she packed her bags for Nashville to test the waters there and spread her wings towards more roots-based leanings.

Continuing her prolific output and hybrid jazz/country style, CHRISTINE'S DAUGHTER, MY WINDOW FACES THE SOUTH and BLUER THAN BLUE were released in the following two years. These albums were recorded while Meg continued to tour globally with the musical collective Postmodern Jukebox, suggesting an artist who could boast little or no downtime. Her latest project, NEVER BEEN HOME, continues her exploration of a musical styling heavily influenced by blues and jazz but also subsumes country leanings and more.

The opener, My Irish Ex, goes as far as including a traditional Irish reel into an outro, and it's one of a number of tracks that address the author's wayfaring lifestyle. New York Love Song, Tennessee To Boulder and Piccadilly Line (Waiting) are others that namecheck events on the road in their titles. 

Recognising her present Nashville abode, Heartaches and the short closing track, The Button Song, are pure country, and the full-blooded Bridge and Tunnell and the breezy This Train hit the mark as instantly catchy and rootsy ventures.

Recorded at The Bomb Shelter in Nashville and co-produced by Mose Wilson and Dennis Crouch, the quality of Sweet Meg's voice alone would be worth your attention. With tender, intimate songs and cracking players, NEVER BEEN HOME is a delightfully accessible listen. 

Declan Culliton

Blue Cactus Believer Sleepy Cat

Fronted by Steph Stewart and Mario Arnez, North Carolina band Blue Cactus's latest record continues their trademark sound, combining melody-filled roots songs with a dash of modern country and twang. Unlike their previous records, Stewart, with acoustic guitar and percussion, takes lead vocals on all the songs, with Arnez adding harmony vocals, guitars and bass. Also adding their sweet voices to the mix are Erin Rae, Brit Taylor and Kate Rhudy, and among the notable guest players are Russ Pahl (Randy Travis, Kacey Musgraves) on pedal steel, Taylor Floreth (Rich Ruth, Wolf!) on drums and percussion and Jonathan Beam (J.R.Miller, Tim Easton, India Ramey) on bass.

BELIEVER is the third album from Blue Cactus, whose 2017 debut self-titled album was followed by STRANGER AGAIN in 2021. Highlights are This Kind of Rain, which delicately handles a theme of uncertainty and apprehension, and, at over five minutes long, the title track, which ebbs and flows beautifully and includes some thrilling fuzzy guitar feedback. The quietly pulsing Resolution and peppy Biting My Tongue are instantly catchy and capture the album's overall engaging and often moody theme.  

Channelling California country down a path that dips into alt-folk and psychedelic rock, BELIEVER's uncluttered sound, fronted by gorgeous vocals by Stewart, is a potent serving of modern Americana.

Declan Culliton

I'm With Her Wild and Clear and Blue Rounder

Formed in 2014 and seven years after their Grammy-nominated debut album SEE YOU AROUND, Sarah Jarosz, Aoife O'Donovan, and Sara Watkins have once more teamed up to combine their many talents as writers, vocalists and instrumentalists on their sophomore eleven-track album. The wide range of instruments employed includes mandolin, octave mandolin, guitar and banjo (Jarosz), guitar and piano (O'Donovan), fiddle, cello and organ (Watkins). JT Bates (Andrew Bird, Taylor Swift) guested on drums, and Josh Kaufman, of Bonny Light Horseman fame, who produced the album, also added pedal steel and Wurlitzer. The album was recorded in New York at The Outlier Inn in the Catskills and The Clubhouse in Rhinebeck.

If their debut album played out as a joyous coming together of like-minded artists, WILD AND CLEAR AND BLUE offers fuller, fleshed-out arrangements highlighting more intense and, at times, darker storytelling, elevated by Kaufman's flawless arrangements. Folklore and ancestral themes regularly emerge, no more so than on the stunning opener, Ancient Light. Their collective bluegrass lineage emerges in Find My Way To You and Sisters Of The Night Watch ('I was brought by I know not whom, ancient lights are still guiding') and the short instrumental Strawberry Moonrise are hauntingly beautiful. Very much a statement of its time, the emotive and slow-building Standing On The Fault Line ('Is it when the reservoir dries out and the birds stop flying south? How we gonna know it's time to flee?) is intoxicating, highlighting finely placed harmonies and layered vocals. 'Sister, sing me alive, sing mе alive,' they chant in Mother Eagle (Sing Me Alive), which is precisely what the trio do, in parallel with exquisite instrumentation, from start to finish.   

Supergroups can often be less than the sum of their parts, particularly where the lead vocals are shared. Not so with I'm With Her, whose bond, despite their busy individual schedules, is picture-perfect on this, their most accomplished project to date.

Declan Culliton

Teague Brothers Band Wish You The World Self Release

This new album again highlights the John Teague fronted band as one of Texas’ best and most interesting bands. This follow up to the critically lauded LOVE AND PEACE release in 2022 builds on that album with sterling performances all round. Teague’s vocals and songwriting have only grown and matured since then. The album was produced by Derek Hames in Edgewater Studios in their home state of Texas. There the band and new producer Hames developed the material into a diverse set that is filled with strong songs and a sense of empathy, sometimes not as obvious in some of the rowdier Texas bands. 

Sure these guys can rock out with the best of them in true Texas tradition, creating that beloved foot stomping dance floor energy that is often seen as essential. Take for instance the full on fiddle-fulled Hotel Water, courtesy of band member A.J. Hoffman. That is contrasted by the folky and tender remembrance of his Grandma in the song Tell Me Anything, that compares her wisdom and beliefs with his own failings and those of his family. In a self-revealing couplet he notes “I’m just as bad at saying goodbye, as I’m at stopping by.” Teague’s songs are full of strong lyrical concepts, revealing him to be deserving of wider credit for his observations and insights. Often these are downbeat in theme but uplifting in delivery,  which allows them to reveal their merit over a number of plays. 

The song that starts the album, Breathe, is a precursor to the overall attitude of Teague’s character portraits, who are often “holding my breathe like I’m under water.” The guitar and rhythm section fairly rock along here to underline slight desperation on offer. The title track is more mid tempo and boasts a strong chorus line. There is more of a sense of heartbreak revealed in Fire, “I was in love with a liar / so I’m going to build me a fire.” This is done in a restrained and reflective mood that makes it all the more effective and poignant. Another song that also has a message, but one that is both personal and easy to related to, is Depression. It is full of, well, depressing images of a man in distress, wondering how his relationship is lacking his basic perceived needs but conscious that this runs two ways, asking “Is there anything I could do for you to love me again?” There is a jaunty ending to the album with Smiles, wherein he is a man with no complaints, and that seems like a pretty good sentiment to end the album on.

The Brothers here are that of a band of brothers and include, from the last album, the vital contributions of Kyle Villarreal on guitar and vocals, and drummer Jeremy Hall, who are joined by a number of other players who make their presence felt too. There has been much made of certain other band of troubadours who are making some major inroads into the mainstream. The music on this album and the band themselves could easily be taking that same route, given a wider exposure to a bigger audience. The contents of this album are well capable of making the case for that. Wishing you the world with this release, as the songs and spirit here are certainly worthy of making their world a better place.

Stephen Rapid

Ben De La Cour New Roses Jullian

The recorded albums from Ben De La Cour have been, with each release, moving away from the direct simplicity of his solo live shows (though he is quite often accompanied by a female harmony singer live). The recently released live album …AND THE CROWD WENT WILD is testament to that part of his performance and recommended to those who might want to capture the essence of that on CD. However, his albums have been moving in a different direction that brings him to the place where he has produced this album himself, learning from previous experiences with the likes of Jim White to explore the deeper nature of his recording. This seems be recorded, often alone, in Nashville where he (big breath) plays guitar, bass, piano, synth, drums and something he has labeled a Dorkatron (which seems to translate as playing dorky on purpose!). If that is the case, there is a lot of playing that is also purposeful and prescient. As with the live performance, De La Cour often features a number of harmony singers such as Elizabeth Cook (The Devil Went Down To Silverlake), Gin Wife (I Must Be Lonely), Emily Scott Robinson (Christina) and Misty Harlowe (New Roses). Other guests are Billy Contreras on fiddle and the trumpet of John Klein.

Once I settled into this and listened carefully, I realise that the essence of De La Cour is at the heart of this album. That is his exceptional writing and a distinctive voice (which he  experiments with here), both mark him out as something special and an artist who is continuing to develop as time goes on and showing that he has much more to offer the world and that will see him recognised along with the best of his generation. There are elements of folk, blues and ambient auras with this recording that make for a rewarding listening, taking you on a journey from the darkness and into the light. 

There is one cover here, that of Leon Payne’s Hank Williams Sr recorded Lost Highway. It is given a harsh, shard-filled, nightmarish reading that offers another windscreen view on an individual route into a darker wisdom. That is not the only time that these songs refer to a dark underbelly of life, love and reason. I Must Be Lonely is a song that captures that sense of isolation and emptiness. “You sing about the devil / Like he's someone that you know / But they paved over the crossroads / A long, long time ago” is a warning of a compulsive allure to go and see what is will happen when The Devil Went Down To Silverlake - a journey that won’t end well. More gentle in delivery and intention is We Were Young Together Once, a song written for his daughter, offering the sense of needing to make that person safe. Which again is expressed in words that are avoid of some of the sentiment such as sing might have. “I’m so scared for my little girl / Feels like there’s nothing I can do / She's walking through a world on fire / In watermelon shoes / All daddy sees is shades of blue.” 

Another tale that has some emphatic and effective electric guitar is Beautiful Day. The song then delivers a lyric that contrasts that notion with something more oppressive but equally expressive “Little white crosses burning on the square / Cops and their friends.” Stuart Little Killed God (On 2nd Ave) has, to these ears, a slightly middle eastern tone to parts of the melody, and is sung with a different tone to some other songs, offering something that can be construed as more apocalyptic intone. The title track again refers to the highway which, given his lifestyle, is a place that De La Cour would often find himself. Though this time the song’s protagonist states “This highway runs to Mexico / Just one more place / I’ll never go.” One could quote from all of the tracks to emphasise the strength of the songwriting, yet it is never impenetrable and always open to interpretation, which allows the listener their own sense of understanding them. I might read some different from what was intended, but that is what a great song should allow.

As one might expect from an artist of such insight, the arrangements and production are sensitive to the nature of the songs and allow for some shadow and light to fall across them, as is suitable for a better emphasis of the story. NEW ROSES on first listen, for those used to the more direct performance from the live shows, might seem as though De La Cour has moved away from that, but in truth he has simply added a layer of texture that enhances them in their recorded context. All of which confirms that he is, as many who are acquainted with his previous albums will assert, continuing to grow in the tradition of those iconic writers whose work is held up as a prime example of the art of the songwriter.

Stephen Rapid

Jim Wurster Transcendental Inclinations Y&T

From the first notes, Wurster’s voice makes no attempt to hide the age that is inherent in it. He is a country/folk singer who has made solo albums in the past,  and a couple with his band, the Atomic Cowboys. It is easy to hear a variety of comparisons that could be made to his voice and direction. His songs are delivered with little effort to appeal to what might be a critical market for  a young mainstream artist. No, this is Wurster as he wants to sound, making music for himself and those who appreciate the honesty of the approach.

The album is produced by Bob Wlos and Mike Vullo in a studio down in Florida, where his label Y&T is based (and incidentally the label that released the debut Mavericks album and where I first encountered them). Both of this team also add numerous instrumental contributions throughout.  Additional to them are Mike ‘Bongo’ Hawn, something in that nickname gives a clue to his percussive contribution. Jack Stamates adds violin and Jil Wills backing vocals alongside the others.

It is a roots sound that is built around Wurster’s original songs, though a couple of covers hint at his earlier influences as well. His love of traditional country is 

outlined in the opening song where he lets us know he’s never driven a pick-up, ridden a steer or even drunk much beer, but that “I like country music … but not that kind of crap they play on the radio.” The opening track Tried and True then is given the right kind of arrangement for that sentiment, with pedal steel prominent. Wurster’s allegiances are, as you might expect, true to those of an earlier less oppressive time. The title track counts our blessings while  I Keep Rollin’ is a testament to survival and to keep on keeping on. Then the first cover Tear It Up takes us back to a classic rockabilly beat and tune, it has some nice and fitting guitar in the break. The other age appropriate choices are Rave On and Lonesome Town. All are give acceptably suitable readings and remind one of an earlier time and how the artists who recorded these songs might do them today.

Sometimes I wonder is it only listeners of a certain age who sympathise with the sentiment. Maybe, but hopefully it may appeal to a wider listenership. Wurster has performed in the past without the wider recognition of a Cash or Cohen who had an audience who were receptive to their later output. This album has an equal propensity. In songs like High Rolling Holy Roller and Black Queerie Wurster highlights some of the unwelcome things he sees around him locally and nationally these days. The latter has an old time feel with banjo and tells of a person who is about to come out and be true to himself despite authority resistance. It is delivered with a joyous singalong quality. The album finishes with Wash Me In The River and features a wistful harmonica as it moves into something vocally that hints of a gospel feel towards the end.

The sense of Wurster’s seasoned voice is in itself appealing, and is entirely as one with the featured material. There is something that is the old school troubadour/folk-singer in Wurster’s writing and delivery that makes this an easy and charming listen, one that would find favour with a listener in sympathy with the approach and arrangements and its incidental transcendental inclinations.

Stephen Rapid

American Cosmic Revival Vol. 1: Back At Home Self Release 

Not a compilation but a collective led by Patrick Cleary and Christian Parker, the latter who also helmed the previously released Sweethearts Of The Rodeo tribute. This time out, it's subtitled "A Tribute to the International Submarine Band." Who were Gram Parsons pre Byrds/Burritos band. Joining him again are veterans of the original recording Jay Dee Maness and Earl Poole Ball. Parker has immersed himself in the country rock sound of the Byrds, which was a sound that many have a love for. Not least Marty Stuart and The Fabulous Superlatives who have not only recorded original songs in that mode but have backed Chris Hillman and Roger McGuinn live playing selections from Sweethearts and other related songs (this grouping can be seen on a YouTube live concert compilation). 

This album takes all the tracks from the original SAFE AT HOME, although programming them in a slightly different running order. The album was produced by Cleary and Parker and was recorded in a number of different studios. The overall effect is pleasing and a solid reminder of the influence those albums and bands had. 'Cosmic American Music', the term used at the time, is alive and well here with this collection of musicians. The songs are all played with skill, and there is a freshness to them while being respectful to the original album. There are ten songs that include A Satisfied Mind, Miller's Cave, I Still Miss Someone and Luxury Liner. All tracks will resonate both with those who listened to them the first time out and with those who are discovering and relishing another chance to hear these tracks again.

There would always be the offhand "Why bother when the originals are out there" and similar remarks of the unconvinced, but that has long been a criticism of any such project. Because these songs are given a makeover and can also be played live, it gives them legitimacy and makes the album worthwhile. Only when played alongside the original recording, it is apparent that this recreation differs in arrangement and energy in the delivery.

All in all, it is going to appeal to those who are coming to the songs for the first time but equally to Gram Parson's fans while not forgetting the other band members from the first time out. Call it revivalist, and then perhaps it will serve as a revival that will help spread the word on a nostalgic but forceful time when country, rock and soul were blended in a new mix of flavours.

Stephen Rapid

Adam Chaffins Trailer Trash Self Release

This five-track EP offers a slice of the soulful country Chaffins has co-written with collaborators such as noted songwriter Adam Wright. Chaffins plays bass throughout (a special one, too, noting the loan from Bobby Bare Jr. of a 60's Fender Jazz bass once played by Waylon Jennings) as well as giving a very good account of himself on the lead vocals. The tracks were co-produced by noted studio master Frank Rogers along with Derek Wells, Mike Fiorentino, as well as Chaffins. He is a noted session man and side player but has lately been steeping up front and centred owning the mic. The aforementioned Wells joins him on electric guitar as well as co-writer Bryan Sutton on acoustic, banjo and mandolin, Russ Pahl on pedal steel, Matt Combs' strings and Robbie Crowell on keyboards, amongst others.

Chaffin has also played in the bluegrass band Town Mountain, though that influence is less obvious here overall, though mandolin, banjo, and upright bass are all a part of the mix here.

This follows up from a previous album in 2020 entitled SOME THINGS WON'T LAST, though on this evidence, some things obviously did. The opening song, Living' Til My Dying Day, moves in a direction that would be familiar to Chris Stapleton fans. A soul groove that leads to the title track, which is less upfront in tempo and even deeper in a soulful ballad mode. Dive Bar Moses is a nice story song with the piano to the fore and lays out its story with something of a different vocal delivery that has a lot of voices going in a la-la crowd singalong that suits its mood. The next song, Kentucky Girl, follows along from the last track in appreciation of his girl. It has a solid rhythm and pedal steel with a sense of joy overall in its message. The final track of the five is Little Bit At A Time which uses synth over a sweet combination of instruments, all channelled to enhance its genre-crossing tone that fades away before coming back with an extended instrumental outro.

It's not normally my favourite formula in Americana, but Chaffins, over these five tracks, lays out his credentials that sound like they should be ready for a bigger audience and could easily find a footing in the mainstream, too. Let's see where this particular boulevard will take him.

Stephen Rapid

Ernie Palmer A Teacher, A Preacher & A Bad Farmer Self Release

Once again, it is immediately apparent that Palmer is not a singer starting out but a man in the autumn of his life reflecting on what it has been and what it has brought him. It hits folk and old-time songs in a simple setting. However, the sound is expanded on certain tracks with pedal steel, electric guitar, and percussion. There is gentleness in the opening How Gently, which is tinged with loss. These are all Palmer's material that draw on his personal experiences and journey. The cover depicts, I believe, Palmer during his military service in Vietnam. But the title suggests he has been doing many things during his life and only started writing songs later in life. 

The album was produced by Jay Rudd and Aaron Zimmer, who are both contributors on numerous instruments. It is one of those projects that may have a limited appeal to a wider audience, but to those who may be acquainted with him and his music, this will serve as a handy collection of his homely songs. Vocally, Palmer sings in a distinctive way that may not be everyone's choice, but it is a real voice full of his life's honesty. The songs included Night Shift, Bents Creek Road and Old Trooper. Perhaps the most poignant is The Last Night At Tony's, wherein he talks about where his life is now and how, as he is now alone, he reckons he will sell his house and move away. Not wanting to be in the way even when he has been asked to move in with them. He reasons they both have their own lives to be going on with, and he'd just be telling stories to his grandkids of his wilder, younger days. He encompasses this with the song, which shows that Palmer has a way with words in these story songs.

There is an uplift in the arrangement for The Ticket, which works well with bass percussion and electric guitar. Other well-put-together tales of small towns and trying to find one's place with them is another standout arrangement in Wanderlust; again, the electric guitar effectively adds another layer to the song's truth, an early Johnny Cash vibe permeates The Truest Thing. The album finishes with a fiddle-led track, Comanche Moon, which tells of another take on a different time and a more desolate environment. Your appreciation of this album depends on your openness to its integrity. If you have liked the more recent material by the artist Mark Brine at any time then this may well be something else appreciate.

Stephen Rapid

New Album Reviews

Sierra Hull A Tip Toe High Wire Self Release

A child prodigy, playing mandolin since she was eight, Hull has achieved more in her first 33 years than most musicians will ever aspire to. Yet, on the foot of the evidence on this, her sixth album, she has much more yet to give. She joins a host of other younger musicians, originally from the bluegrass tradition, that have gone on to stretch their musical wings much further. With a voice that is only rivalled by that of Alison Krauss (an early mentor in bluegrass circles) for its sweetness and ability to convey meaning, she has also achieved an unrivalled prowess on mandolin, winning the IBMA Mandolin Player of the Year an unprecedented six times.

Hull has confessed that she was nervous going out on a limb to release this project independently (having been previously signed to a record label) but, unsurprisingly, the result is stunningly good. On top of all that, she produced the album single-handedly. Of the eight songs and two instrumentals here, most are either self-written or co-written, the advantage of being based as she is in Nashville, where there is a strong band of friends always available to call in for help.

The album’s title, A TIP TOE HIGH WIRE, is a line from Spitfire, a song for her eighty year old grandmother, who led a fascinating life of triumph over unbelievable adversity. It’s not hard to see from where Hull derives her tenacity, closing with the affectionate ‘she’s in my blood/she’s a spitfire’. Justin Moses, Hull’s talented multi-instrumentalist husband, contributes lovely dobro here, and elsewhere. More upbeat, indeed as are most of the tracks, is the high-octane Let’s Go, which reverberates with the highs and lows of the touring life - a mixture of brief late night euphoria and much daytime boredom. Several songs of positivity in the face of challenges, suggesting Hull’s disposition to be on the sunny side, include Coming out of My Blues (with backing vocals from Tim O’Brien and young Avery Meritt on fiddle on this pulsing old timey original) and the lovely slow burner, Redbird, also inspired by her granny.

She’s joined by her friend Bela Fleck on the high-octane instrumental E-Tune, which has been a live favourite for years, and her former touring bass player, Ethan Jodziewicz is called in for this complex one.

The album closer is a stand-out too - Haven Hill was inspired by the serene location chosen by her husband’s grandmother for her final resting place, and will no doubt provide solace for anyone  who mourns the loss of a loved one, ‘when we go may we have no regrets / from sunrise till the sun finally sets’. Highly recommend and bound to be in my end of year list.

Eilis Boland

Caitlin Cannon Love Addict Self-Release

THE TRASHCANNON ALBUM, the debut by Nashville-based artist Caitlin Cannon, featured highly in Lonesome Highway's favourite albums of 2020. Not easy to categorise, the album drew its content from often torturous personal issues such as alcohol and substance abuse, gender discrimination, poor relationships, family trauma and more. Just listen to tracks like Deliver, Drink Enough, and Going For The Bronze on that album for a lesson on creating gloriously catchy songs from calamity and hard knocks. 

Such were the striking melodies and wicked humour on that album's songs and Cannon's slick vocals that it often took a number of listens to take on board the depth of her songwriting. That solemnity and frankness in her songwriting continue on her latest record, although she has delivered the material in a more laid-back fashion this time. By Cannon's admission, the credit for the more chilled arrangements is down to producer Misa Arriaga (Kasey Musgraves, Willie Nelson, Lillie Mae) and his chosen musicians, who directed her sound towards 60s classic Countrypolitan, side by side with melody-laden Americana.

At over four and a half minutes long and riddled with expletives, the title track was never aimed at prime-time radio. It's a shame, as it's a masterclass in quintessential mature pop, with a melody that's harder to shake off than a summer cold. In her prime, Madonna would probably have earned pension-sized royalties from the song. On the same page is Jesus Is My Lover, which is risky but devoid of swear words, and described by its author as 'well-intended (for the well-humoured)’ My Own Company, a co-write with fellow Nashvillian Kiely Connell, is a no-holds-barred self-examination critique ('Too late for babies and 401 K's, too young to be in so much damn pain'). Dr Dealer, though expressed with dry humour, is equally self-deprecating and brutally honest, dealing with the carnage of prescription medication dependency.

Misa Arriaga has emerged in recent years as the producer most adept at creating an authentic country sound, and Let It Hurt Some and You're Losing Me tick that particular box. The former, awash with strings and dreamy pedal steel, harks back to an era when Connie Smith's singing style and arrangements were the toast of Nashville and farther afield. The latter is a beautifully performed tale of a relationship whose light is fading. The album closes with a stripped-back version of Waiting, which featured on the BEGGARS EP. It takes its cue from Cannon's brother's thirty-five-year incarceration and the lifelong devastation and ruination due to juvenile indiscretion. 

LOVE ADDICT is a body of work that does not slot easily into any single genre. Loaded with killer tracks, the results are spectacular in places, and the marriage of Cannon's writing and vocals and Arriaga's arrangements is quite stunning, and a throwback to the best Countrypolitan sounds of the late '60s and early '70s.

Declan Culliton

Esther Rose Want New West

SAFE TO RUN, the 2023 album from Esther Rose, and the tour that followed its release could have concluded the Santa Fe-based artist's music career, such became her disillusionment with the gruelling reality of an often unforgiving and unrewarding industry. Thankfully, she dusted herself down, dealt with some personal issues and, with renewed enthusiasm and an open mind, started working on the material that would become her fifth record, WANT. Describing working on the album as 'the most beautiful experience of my life', the emphasis on the eleven tracks is on candid self-examination.

If Rose's early career albums were most likely to be filed under the country genre, SAFE TO RUN more than embraced elements of folk and indie pop. This latest addition to her impressive catalogue digs deeper in that direction with a fuller band sound supporting the tracks than on her previous work. That's not to say that her unrushed and almost fragile vocals, the perfect foil for melancholia and emotional wreckage songs, are not as entrancing as ever. 

'I want to live in the desert and bake in the sun, I want to live in the city and kiss everyone…. I want to hear a pin drop in a sold-out room, I want a puppy, but I don't want a mess,' she considers on the title and opening track, suggesting that she has successfully negotiated complex emotional territory and is moving on with a positive mindset. Elsewhere, the songwriting often recognises poor life choices, unstable relationships and unhealthy dependencies, possibly reminders of demons conquered. Bemoaning the crutch that the demon drink can be, the outrageously catchy Had To is a case in point; Rose has confessed to feeling invigorated, having left her alcohol consuming days behind her. The guilt-ridden New Bad, with its thumping bass line and confessional lyrics, is prime power pop, and she also opens her heart in the gentle Scars ('Oh intimacy, strange thing, and if you try to get too close to me I'll disappear') which includes a vocal contribution by singer-songwriter Dean Johnson. The upbeat Tailspin is a co-write with Ross Farbe of the synth-pop band Video Age. 

Recorded live to tape at Nashville's Bomb Shelter, with the production overseen by Ross Fabre, the supporting players were Gina Leslie (bass, vocals), John James Tourville (pedal steel, concert drum), Kunal Prakash (guitar, piano), Howe Pearson (drums, percussion, piano, vocals), Ross Farbe (guitar, synth, organ, piano, percussion) and Dean Johnson (vocals). 

Dreams, disappointments and memories may all be aired in WANT, but this splendid album's lasting impression is one of awakening and recovery. 

Declan Culliton

Kristina Murray Little Blue Normaltown /New West

As much as anyone else, Atlanta-born country singer-songwriter Kristina Murray has played her part in Nashville’s traditional country music resurgence over the past decade. Her early years in Nashville found her playing to meagre numbers at the Honky Tonk Tuesdays at American Legion Post 17, Gallatin, and the legendary Santas Bar in Downtown Nashville. Such has been the success of the former that the event had to relocate to a larger venue to satisfy the punters that were turned on to honky tonk and two-stepping. Despite this and with two critically well-received albums, UNRAVELIN’ (2013) and SOUTHERN AMBROSIA (2018), Murray remained unsigned until Normaltown / New West got on board with LITTLE BLUE. 

Despite engaging two producers and recording at two studios, the nine songs on the record work seamlessly together. Four of the tracks were recorded at East Avalon Recorders in Muscle Shoals with Rachael Moore (Robert Plant, Alison Krauss, T Bone Burnett, Bob Dylan, Elvis Costello) at the controls; the remaining five were overseen by Misa Arriaga (Kacey Musgraves, Joshua Hedley, Lillie Mae) at his Music City Studio B in East Nashville. Both producers, leading lights in shaping traditional country, were inspired choices borne out by the end result. Murray is the possessor of a voice tailor-made for singing country songs, and she gathered a talented crew of close friends to work alongside her.  

Taking her cue from classic country songwriting, the songs were driven by Murray confronting unfulfilled dreams, grief and heartache from both personal and observational angles. The lead single, Watchin’ The World Pass Me By, outlines frustrating times (‘Time after time after time, and again and again I been left out, left behind and misunderstood’). Fool’s Gold treads a similar path (‘And I am feelin’ all the weight of the world, I am really thinkin’ I ain’t got no worth’). The latter is a standout track featuring backing vocals by Erin Rae, killer contributions from Eddy Dunlap on pedal steel and James Paul Mitchell on lead guitar. Frank Rische, the much sought-after Nashville guitar slinger and brother of Lillie Mae Rische, adds backing vocals in the gorgeous tearjerker Just A Little While Longer. Murray’s 2022 single, the Vern Gosden cover That Just About Does It, was a duet with Logan Ledger, and he contributes backing vocals to Get Down To It. Cut from the same cloth as Slow Kill from her SOUTHERN AMBROSIA record, Phenix City addresses the growth of hopelessness and desolation prevalent in numerous small towns in America, before the record closes with the title track.

This album is genuine country music, unlike much of what seeps out of Nashville these days under the country banner, and if you’re only going to buy one country album this month or even this year, get this one. It’s unlikely that there are going to be many that hit the bullseye like LITTLE BLUE does.

Declan Culliton

Brown Horse All The Right Weaknesses Loose

With gloriously loose arrangements, shared songwriting, and shared instruments and lead vocals, six-piece Norfolk band Brown Horse created quite a stir with their debut album RESERVOIR, released in 2024 on the Loose label. Very much a collective project, the band have been busily touring in the UK and Europe since the release of that album. Much of the material on the new album was road-tested during those gruelling months on the road before they returned to Norfolk and Sickroom Studios, where, recreating their live sound, they recorded this eleven-track record. 

Brown Horse is Emma Tovell (pedal and lap steel, bass, banjo), Nyle Holihan (guitar, bass), Rowan Braham (piano, keyboards, accordion), Phoebe Troup (bass, banjo, guitar, vocals), Patrick Turner (guitar, fiddle, vocals) and Ben Auld (drums). Their debut album included killer and full-on standout tracks like Stealing Horses and Bloodstain, creating their distinctive sound, and the new album follows a similar path to those tracks. Their marriage of harmony vocals and vast instrumentation, which includes guitars, bass, pedal and lap steel, banjo, fiddle, keys, drums, and accordion, creates a sound that lands somewhere between alt-country and rock. The songwriting duties on the album are shared between Turner, Tovell, Troup, Holihan and Braham without rendering the end product anything but cohesive. 

Standout tracks include Verna Bloom, which takes its title from the American actress of the same name, the unbridled and power-poppy Corduroy Couch, and Radio Free Bolinas, which references the coastal area in Marin County and its reclusive residents. The blissed-out and folk-rock-rooted Wisteria Vine also impresses. 

Brown Horse have come a long way in a short period, creating their own Norfolk-ana sound, and on the strength of this and their debut album, you’re left with a lasting impression that they are only getting into third gear and will have lots more to offer going forward.

Declan Culliton

Autumn Hollow Say No More Self-Release

Autumn Hollow is a Boston-based band led by frontman Brendan Murphy, with guitarist Mike Burke and the rhythm section of Chuck Vath on bass and drummer Ian McMillan. SAY NO MORE follows on from their 2022 EP THROW THE HOUSE.

Recorded at Soul Shop Studios in Medford, Massachusetts and co-produced by Brendan Murphy and Elio DeLuca (Craig Finn, Faces on Film), the ten-track album includes contributions from guest players Will Ellis Johnson (pedal steel), Gabe Hirshfeld (banjo) and vocalists Sarah Leveque and Peter Zarkadas. 

The band's modus operandi is best described as simply rock and roll. Fields N' Town ('And here I'm standing in these fields, where cavalries callously killed and somewhere in the truth reveals the fate, that we made a mistake') calls to mind and questions the futility of past wars. The opening track After All This Is Gone considers the aftermath of the pandemic and its often-ignored lasting impact on many. If This Keeps Up drills into the current political regime in America, particularly the events of January 6, 2021, at Capitol Hill. By way of reflection, the title track speculates on the utopian dream of a fresh start while putting past differences and conflicts aside. 

The greatest mass extinction in Earth's history, known as the Permian-Triassic event, wiped out the majority of marine and terrestrial species around 250 million years ago. This environmental disaster inspired The Great Dying and serves as a reminder of the devastation that climate change can cause, as well as the importance of protecting what surrounds us.

Brendan Murphy, a passionate writer and a school teacher in his parallel career, puts his cards on the table from the outset in SAY NO MORE. This gritty and intense collection finds him trying to come to terms with the increasingly unsettling landscape that currently prevails.

Declan Culliton

My Politic Signs Of Life Self Release

The last time we were given the benefit of music from the creative source of My Politic was back in late 2022, as the Covid crisis continued to be scaled down across the various countries and continents of the world. Given that it was a time of deep reflection and a wake up call regarding where we all saw our priorities in life, the content of Missouri Folklore: Songs & Stories From Home was very much a look back down the road from where Kaston Guffey and Nick Pankey had travelled. The two Ozark, Missouri childhood friends laid a lot of old ghosts to rest on those songs and looked forward to the dreams of the future that had seen them relocate to Nashville, Tennessee, in search of the big breakthrough with their insightful, mature music.

Having tried to make the Nashville dream become a reality over a number of years, songwriter Kaston Guffey decided that there was more to be gained by leaving the endless stream of hopeful musicians that crowd the management and agency offices along the various Music Row buildings and streets of Country Music central. He now resides in Pittsburgh, a move made back in 2023, after nearly ten years spent trying to break through those cosy walls that often block entry to the inner circle of the Nashville establishment.

Nick Pankey still lives in Nashville, and this represents the first time that the creative pair has been separated by distance for quite some time. Not that it matters so much in this age of technology where everything is a file to be sent and shared, a download to add music into the mix, or a Zoom call to trade ideas over a face-to-face session on the song creation.

So, it is with great anticipation that I received new music from My Politic, in anticipation of the release of SIGNS OF LIFE; an appropriate title, given the intrinsic changes that have been taking place in the lifestyle choices of the duo over recent years. Kaston has now married his fiancée of previous years, Georgia, a creative artist in her own space, and his new-found contentment has not in any way blunted his keen observational gift to capture an emotion or a sentiment in succinct lyrical terms.

The opening track on the new album is Two In the Morning and it captures the ageing process, anxiety with the world and the late night insomnia that results. It acknowledges the state of those troubled by current political events and the song arrangement, with strident acoustic guitar and inventive fiddle, is an echo of this thought process.

Moving away and starting over are core elements of the following track. Memories left behind and fresh perspective packed for the road that lies ahead. Such feelings are reflected in I Took All the Pictures Down - a slow arrangement and a meditation upon our need to keep moving forward ‘The things we chase are all the same, But sometimes go by different names, The impulse to fan the flames, Of that roaring fire within.’

Who Could Ask For More is a song of thanks for the simple things, such as feeling in love and sharing the vulnerable moments that we all recognise as an intimate part of any relationship. Signs Of Life is the title track and it looks at the joy of living with a free and open spirit, even if there are the consequence of lifestyle choices made and the temptation to look for validation. One of the album highlights is No Other Way with a gentle strum of acoustic guitar and a self-reflection on the relative rewards of living on the edge of melancholia ‘I’ve spent my life searching for peace of mind, Well the more you go looking, The more pieces you find.‘  Elsewhere, Kaston ponders ‘Questions that keep us turning the wheel, Somewhere between what we know and the way that we feel, We can see for what seems like forever, But it’s rare when it all comes together. ‘

Another gem is the track Drifting Around the Ocean and the subject of growing up. The past is never gone, and life is not linear, it revolves in a circle around our choices. Peace can be found in the simple process of creating a song to reflect upon such matters and the restrained fiddle of John Mailander is beautifully measured here. The dubious pleasures of living in a material society that is ruled by the gun and the lust for power is tackled in Will We Ever Make It Out Of Heaven Alive? The ensemble playing is quite superb as the musicians dance around the melody ‘Everything and everyone is for sale here, All the time, And you ain’t worth a nickel if you can’t steal somebody’s dime, Where Jesus Christ protects us all but you have to stand in line, While the wealthy choose who is and ain’t allowed to board the ride.’ Stirring invective and so much on point.

The bluegrass rhythm on From the Early Days is invigorating in the delivery before  the more serious Lonely 21st Century hits like a fist ‘Seems everybody’s looking for any way to get by, Connections everywhere fractured and frayed, So it ain’t no wonder why crooked politicians, snake oil salesmen too, Are coming up with every terrible way to fill that hole for you.’ Too many people in the USA finding themselves living frugally and forced to practice an economy in all aspects. The increased cost of trying to get by, expenses spiralling, budgets hard to set, “Folks are working on their houses all around us, The faint sound of nail guns and saws in the air, Just a piece at a time, When they can afford it; We’re doing the same thing downstairs.” Life issues repeat across our continents and it is perhaps the greatest gift of Guffey’s that he captures this in such a succinct fashion. It’s the dream and the reflection of everyman, gone up in smoke, and captured in such eloquent understanding.

A Funny Place To Find Yourself is another song of thanks, this time to the listening public that enable the duo to make a success of this crazy travelling life for a musician. House concerts and new friends found, each road trip a trove of memories for the future “The road’s a funny place to find yourself, Thankful to everyone who ever let us in.” This could be the perfect way to bring the album to a natural conclusion but Guffey moves on with Still Growing Today and a youthful remembrance of growing up in rural Missouri. Time and love resurface on the final track I’d Rather Have Some (Than Nothing At All) and inner reflections again point to learning from the past and maintaining an optimism.

All thirteen songs on the new album are written by Kaston Guffey and Josh Washam played a role as engineer on the self-produced project. Kaston Guffey (vocals, guitar), Nick Pankey (harmony vocals, guitar, mandolin ), Josh Washam (bass, piano, drums, organ, synth), John Mailander (fiddle, mandolin), Steve Peavey (dobro, pedal steel), bring the magic in the musical arrangements. This album is another musical highpoint across their growing career to date and is already a strong contender for my album of the year – a must have for all discerning music lovers.

Paul McGee

Imelda Kehoe The Colour Green Self Release

This is the fourth album from Irish Artist Imelda Kehoe who is based in Wexford. Her vocal delivery is so engaging and warm, captured beautifully on the opening track, Risen People,  and the story of Countess Markeivicz, the Irish politician, revolutionary, nationalist, suffragist, and socialist.

It immediately captures an emotion and energy for the album that is carried throughout these twelve songs that highlight the subtle talent of this singer songwriter. Her vocal delivery is perfectly captured on the title track The Colour Green which could easily fit onto an album of either Sade or Everything But the Girl.  The easy groove of the music continues on the sweetly melodic Own Story Now and perhaps a tribute to a lost friendship that still echoes across time. Glass ceilings are tackled on Best Hire Amy and the social propensity to not promote the correct candidate where the chance of pregnancy and career breaks hangs in the air. The use of strings here is not the best choice as it somehow clutters the arrangement. Better is the next track, with stripped down piano intro and a slow groove on the bluesy If I Were Me, a relationship song of longing.

Mr Lincoln is a seduction and a look into the sultry flirtation of new love when that sense of electricity is in the air. The confident vocal highlighting the sense of play in the melody. Throughout the album the musicians excel with the accomplished vocals beautifully captured in the song Monday Night Is For Elvis and the feeling that a night of karaoke can heal the problems of the daily grind.

There is an ache of longing on the track Colour A lie and a sense of something lost. Songs can come from a personal place or be simply a look into the nature of human emotion, and this is something that Imelda captures so seamlessly.  In the past, lmelda relocated from the United Kingdom to Ireland and this change is captured in the song Nothing I Miss About England, as she sings of the benefit in making positive changes.

The song Chicago looks at the fluidity of relationships and whether the place we choose to live is more important than the bond supposedly shared between the couples, the transient nature of relationships captured perfectly in the lyric and the echo of loss. All Of My Heart is simply beautiful as a sentiment of pure love, the surrender to another and the vulnerability of letting go in trusting another completely.

The final song is The Circus Came To Town and the happy sunshine vocal of Imelda wraps the arrangement in a warm melody. No matter what challenges we face, love is the absolute, the answer to all of our concerns. A fine album to add to Imelda’s growing reputation as an artist.

Paul McGee

Dave Clancy Live Our Own Dream Self Release

This album is a follow-up to the debut THE PATH, which appeared in 2020. That was quite an accomplished collection of songs, and now, having negotiated the Covid years, Dave Clancy returns with a new batch of songs.

A number of the musicians which appeared on that debut return here, and the presence again of Nicola Joyce, Matthew Berrill and Fergal Scahill adds a nice consistency. The production for the project was again trusted to the very skilled duo Eamon Brady and Liam Caffrey. There is a great sense of quiet reverie on these ten songs and the engaging vocal delivery of Dave Clancy brings an intimacy to the listening experience.

The theme of love runs though much of the album, with the clear production highlighting lovely melodies and great interplay among the musicians. The opening song What Is Love Meant To Be sets the tone for much of what follows, with the warmth of Hear Your Name written for someone who clearly holds a special place in Dave’s life. Take Your Time is a sweetly delivered piece of advice to be kind to yourself and let life unfold easily.

Maria Ryan plays strings across the tracks and the creative fiddle of Fergal Scahill is always prominent in the mix. There is so much to recommend the songs and the understated playing, the touch of a harp on one track, the use of clarinet on another, with the talents of Clancy adding piano, organ, synthesizer and pedal steel guitar. The title track is a call to stand proud and be yourself in the way that your life is lived. It is a message that repeats on tracks Follow Your Light and The Faltering Flame where the need to keep focus on the things that are important on our collective journey is so important.

Another love song is When I Walked Through Your Door and it explores the sense of belonging and the genuine commitment in a relationship. Eoin Wynne contributes on banjo and guitar, Conor McCreanor plays bass, and with Eamon Murray on drums, they complete the musicians used across these tracks. Everything comes together on the song of hope Now Is All We Need with some superb ensemble parts and the sweet saxophone of Berrill colouring the melody.

The final song is When We Say Goodbye and the harmony vocals of Clancy and Nicola Joyce deliver a gentle love song that offers a healing balm and a promise to be there for each other. These songs are certainly a welcome addition to the building reputation of Dave Clancy and the album is a strong successor to his excellent debut.

Paul McGee

New Album Reviews

Ynana Rose Under A Cathedral Sky Self Release

On her third album, Californian native Ynana Rose (pronounced 'yuh-na-na’) takes an unflinching look at middle age, facing your fears, and having some fun while you're at it. Her rootsy sound is influenced by country, folk, jazz and blues, and it’s all pulled together into a most enjoyable whole by producer Damon Castillo, in his Laurel Lane Studios in their home town of San Luis Obispo. The first thing that strikes you is Ynana’s incredible rich alto voice, and it’s a surprise to learn that she only started songwriting and performing when she was 37. Her maturity shines through in her songwriting, across the eleven original songs here, six written alone and five being co-writes.

Rose’s deep connection to nature is evident in the opening song, Redwood Holler, which also gives the album its title. Brought up in Mendocino County, where she ran wild in the redwoods, she adored the mighty Eel river as it wound its way through the dramatic redwoods and the madrone trees, and the red tailed eagle soared, all recalled by the lovely mandolin and pedal steel contributions of Wanda Vick and Damon Castillo, respectively. Midlife Walking Blues is an uptempo take on that midlife crisis that doesn’t take itself too seriously, and Tammy Rogers (Steeldrivers) adds her insistent fiddle pulse as a backdrop to the moon’s depiction as a One Eyed Ghost in a tale of unrequited love and regret. There’s a latin/jazz feel to Let Go The Day, a lullaby written in an attempt to address insomnia during the lockdown, replete with percussion from Paul Griffith and some tasty electric guitar from the producer, and there are more latin rhythms as the basis for the romantic Prelude To A Kiss.

Persephone delves into the age-old question of masculinity and femininity and Rose’s conclusion is that ‘we need new stories’. Strawberry Moon is a term used in North America for the full moon in June, not because it is pink but because it coincides with the strawberry harvest. Here Ynana Rose uses it as the inspiration for a story song concerning a man who swore he’d never marry again after being abandoned by his truel ove, who he met under a strawberry moon.

Written with David Landau during a thunderous rainstorm while they were on a songwriting retreat, The Downpour is particularly personal, coming as it did in the aftermath of the breakup of her 20 year marriage. Landau also contributes cello on this sensitive evocation of the trauma of the uncertain future, which ends on a hanging note, no doubt to be continued. It’s About Time, which is the album closer and possibly its stand out track, derives from the same difficult period, ‘now we’ve done all the damage we could do ... I gave it my all, but it was never enough.’ I, for one, am looking forward to discovering the next chapter.

Eilis Boland

Antonio Andrade Here We Go Lif Shakes

A ninth album from this experienced performer who has been delivering his music over a 25-year period, balancing his music with a regular day job in order to pay the bills. Andrade recorded his debut album Straydog back in 2000 and his second release arrived in 2007 with What Do You Want From Me, containing original songs that covered rock, folk, and pop influences in the sound.

Andrade gave up his day job in 2014 and has since released a series of albums , culminating in this generous 16-song covers project that plays out over fifty minutes in length. There is always a risk in releasing an entire covers album as invariably the comparisons begin with the original versions and across so many chosen tracks there are going to be some that work better than others. Also, the inclusion of so many different musical genres, means the results can be somewhat scattergun in hitting the target.

From Bob Dylan (Forever Young), and J.J Cale (Magnolia), to Neil Young (Ohio) to Tom Waits (Downtown Train), the arrangements are interesting with Andrade asserting his own style and take on each song. The cover of Bob Marley’s Waiting In Vain is less successful, as is the Eurythmics medley of Here Comes the Rain Again/Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This). The version of Pat Benatar’s big hit We Belong also falls short, even though the Spanish verses add something different.

More successful is the Cars iconic Drive and the idiosyncratic Looney Tunes medley, along with Take Me Out To the Ball Game, shows the fun side of not taking everything so seriously. Not an album that will feature apart from personal favourite lists, and there is something for everyone here, in terms of easy enjoyment. No doubt Andrade will get back to the more serious side of personal songwriting for his next release

Paul McGee

Richie Lawrence Moving At the Speed Of Trees Big Book

This is a fourth solo album from a musician and songwriter based in Sacramento, California. Lawrence is well known for his talents on accordion and piano and has played with many bands over his career, including I See Hawks In LA.

It was his lifelong friend from that band, Paul Lacques, that brought the greatest influence to this new recording. In addition to co-writing two of the songs, it was the sudden death of Lacques that brought great shock in 2024. Recording was halted while the grieving process  took over and it is in memory of his great friend that Lawrence now releases the completed album.

Katie Thomas is married to Richie Lawrence and she stepped into the role of co-producer on the album, with her vocals featuring on nine of the tracks selected. Former drummer and percussionist with I See Hawks In LA, Shawn Nourse appears on eight of the songs, alongside Simeon Pillich (acoustic bass) and their steady timing is a feature throughout. Founding member Robert Rex Waller Jr. provides an additional co-write and appears here with current bandmates Victoria Jacobs, and Paul Marshall providing the rhythm section on two of the tracks.

There is a cover of the Ray Bonneville song Lone Freighter’s Wall with the pedal steel of Dave Zirbel particularly effective. Apart from this, all songs are written by Richie Lawrence, including four co-writes, and the production offers plenty to enjoy in the individual musical performances. Lawrence sings with a low key delivery that does the job of sitting easily into the restrained arrangements and gentle melodies throughout. There is some lovely violin (Giorgi Khokhobashvili) on Life Long Lived and on one of the highlights The Poetry Of Lust we are treated to superb electric guitar (Tony Gilkyson,) and the sweet accordion of Lawrence on a song that channels Leonard Cohen in the delivery.

There is a jazz swing on InFable that also includes excellent piano parts and clever lyrics, while The Wonderful Waltz is all that, and more, in the delivery. Emily Dickinson is a reflective solo instrumental played by Lawrence on piano, and the final song I Believe In You is a fine conclusion with the sentiment ‘There’s nothing I can do, Save share my love with you, And let you find your way in this, a world defined by hope.’ Both understated and elegant in the delivery, this album takes its place alongside the previous works of Richie Lawrence with great pride and no small amount of impressive songwriting.

Paul McGee

Robert Thurman Burning Daylight Self Release

Growing up in Tennessee I think that it’s fair to say that Robert Thurman was surrounded by much of the musical influences of that great State, and his interest in joining local bands grew from this immersion. The roots of country, bluegrass, gospel and blues can all be traced to Tennessee over the years and the influence of rockabilly, Sun Studios and the soul music of Memphis and Stax records is also never far away, perhaps just floating in the air. It has often been stated that acoustic blues music was at the heart of everything that was created in the early development of rural culture as the solo vocal with acoustic fingerstyle guitar accompaniment became a main influence.

Robert Thurman honed his guitar skills into his early twenties and after suffering health challenges over a number of years he turned to acoustic blues as a means of dealing with his frustrations. This album is home produced and is comprised solely of the guitar and voice of Robert Thurman. There are seventeen tracks included with very few exceeding the three-minute mark. This is a good thing in that you are moving swiftly through the various song arrangements and guitar rhythms, but the downside is that you start to suffer from a sense of sameness with relatively little variety in the dynamic. There is a basic demo-style sound to the songs and although there is no doubt that Thurman has his own particular style, it would have been good to sample some percussion as support for the tunes or some bass modulation.

There are two cover versions with Ground Hog Blues (Sonny Boy Williamson) and Who Do You Love (Bo Diddley) fitting nicely into the overall feel of the album. A number of the songs follow the acoustic blues influence and titles such as Small Town Blues, Nervous Blues, and American Jesus Blues deliver exactly what it says on the tin. Confinement Blues was clearly written while Thurman was recovering at home from the health issues he experienced and Blues This Morning also hints at the frustration of trying to move beyond serious illness.

There is an uncredited female vocal on the song Angel and the song references the largest industrial spill in United States history at the Kingston Fossil Plant in Roane Country, Tennessee. The final track One Last Breath hints at a ghostly presence at a haunted family homestead that assists people in moving to the other side of the veil. Ready For the Fire (a murder song)and Never Ending Sky are other songs that are memorable, with some fine guitar picking, and the title track Burning Daylight references the phrase for spending time uselessly. Given the challenges already faced by Thurman in his personal life I have no doubt that he now looks to the future and taking as much positivity as is possible from every single day.

Paul McGee

Rees Shad Porcelain Angel Shadville

Since the arrival of his debut album in 1994, Rees Shad has released an impressive run of sixteen solo albums over four decades, and has become a wordsmith of the highest calibre in the Folk traditions of singer-songwriters. This new project adds to his reputation with a lot of creative nous and a knowing maturity. Kicking off with Ain’t That the Way and a song which asks that we take some personal responsibility to effect real change ‘They’ll turn the screws long as you sit back, Unless you step up to the line and do a righteous act.’ It is a call to arms and marks an intention to deliver songs of lasting value.

The feel of Coda Blues has some fine harmonica from RB Stone and a self-satisfied look at a woman who treats her man right.  Great Big World sees the guy chasing his girl half-way around the world in order to catch up on the experiences she’s having, living her best life in foreign places and not missing home at all. Isn’t It A Lovely Day is a gentle song in celebration of the world we wake up to ‘See what the world sent our way, I’m happy when we sit and stay, And while away these lovely days.’

The title track looks at regret formed out of letting a loved one slip away. Perhaps hinting at mental illness challenges and the inability of others to try and assist in any way. Thumbing the Scales is a highlight with a heart worn vocal concerning the greed of others in taking advantage of the trust put in strangers that is often misplaced. A Man Like Me is an up-tempo song with horns in the arrangement and a co-vocal by Wanda Houston that delivers a soulful groove and celebrates the attraction of the opposite sex. Another groove with attitude is Pistol Whip Hangover and the guitar bites with great dynamic in the song arrangement, topped off with tenor sax solo by Marcus Benoit. Great stuff..!

Love song Brighter Daze includes a fine co-vocal with Eleanor Dubinsky, wrapping a sultry light-jazz Bossa nova beat. There is also some very tasty Spanish guitar courtesy of Dario Acosta Teich. The Right Thing is a song that takes a rueful look at mistakes made in a manner of self-deception where everything looked so different at the time ‘As I wallow in the yearn, For forgiveness never asked for, Or contrition left undone, I can’t bring myself to face you, And the woman you’ve become.’ Perhaps a father figure who wasn’t there for his child?

Your Last Straw is a song where a parent is looking at the life unfolding for a child who needs to make their own mistakes ‘It’s obvious to me that you’ve been crying once again, And I know that you won’t welcome any questions, Still I feel like such a fool sitting silent as I watch, You drive your life in all the wrong directions.’ Such poignant writing and another standout moment on this album of many riches. The lap steel of Natalia Zukerman and the acoustic guitar of Rick Ruskin feature on this fine song. Rees Shad has produced a superbly crafted album, full of great songs and superb musicianship. As someone with a long legacy of quality music this addition is well up to the mark.

Paul McGee

Turnpike Troubadours The Price of Admission Bossier City / Thirty Tigers

The most satisfying aspect of the huge success of Turnpike Troubadours - 2.2 billion streams globally and 1.7 million units already sold - is that they write and play country music and not the watered-down mainstream pop that currently dominates country music radio and charts. Seeing them land the number one spot on iTunes country charts is as refreshing as it is deserved.

Turnpike Troubadours' current line-up is Evan Felker (vocals, guitar), Kyle Nix (fiddle), Ryan Engleman (electric guitar), RC Edwards (bass), Gabe Pearson (drums) and Hank Early (steel, accordion), and THE PRICE OF ADMISSION is their sixth album. Produced by Shooter Jennings, the eleven-track album is divided into unhurried country ballads alongside their more customary raucous songs.

The mid-tempo On The Red River opens the record in fine style, with Felker speaking fondly about his late father. What follows are thunderous knees-up tracks like The Devil Piles His Trade and Ruby Ann, both complete with raging fiddle breaks by Nix, alongside outright rocker What Was Advertised and the gospel-tinged Be Here. Country ballads, such as "Searching For A Light," a melodic co-write with fellow Oklahoman John Fullbright, and "Heaven Passing Through," also impress, though it's fair to say that there isn't a weak track on the album.

THE PRICE OF ADMISSION is Turnpike Troubadours' most accomplished work to date and a continuation of their ever-engaging musical journey. Hopefully, their success and the recognition of their talents, in both songwriting and performance, will filter down to many of the next level of artists and bands that are sticking to their guns and recording genuine country music. In the meantime, hats off to these guys for the hard graft and talent that has brought them to a place they so richly deserve.

Declan Culliton

Will Worden The Only One & All The Others Self-Release

Looking at the cover of THE ONLY ONE & ALL THE OTHERS, you could be forgiven for thinking that the album was an undiscovered gem recorded by Lee Hazlewood in the late '60s under the pseudonym, Will Worden. That striking resemblance, appearance-wise, is furthered when listening to the twelve-track collection of country psychedelia.  

Very much a mystery man, possibly by choice, surfing the net will not unlock much background on Worden. His website is simply a photo of him wearing a Gram Parsons-type jumpsuit with the caption, ‘We’re cooking something up….’

My limited background knowledge of Worden is that he is a Texan living in Topanga, California. This debut and self-produced album follows his two singles released in 2020, Shut Your Eyes and Moonlit. Alongside his impressive vocal style, he also played guitar on the tracks, and the other contributors were Chris Dixie Darley (guitars), Casey Nunes and Eli Thompson (bass), Frank Lenz (drums), Joe Assef (percussion), Robert Joseph Manning (piano) and Conor Gallagher (pedal steel).

Broken Wings, a spaghetti western soundtrack-styled love song, is a co-write with Australian artist and accomplished whistler Molly Lewis, who, I can only assume, can take credit for the atmospheric whistling on the track. Other tracks play out like homages to many of the smooth country performers of the 60s. Lovin’ You Forever sounds like a Jimmy Webb composition sung by Glen Campbell and Pines In The Wind has an early career Porter Wagoner sound to it. Jerry Reed is represented with the swampy Rainy Weather Blues, and Texan Phil Hollie is credited as a co-writer on the Elvis-sounding, I Gave Her Every Reason. These comparisons are in no way a criticism. Worden nails the sounds of that era spectacularly well, and the production and playing match that retro feel.

I can’t tell where the album was recorded or where you'll likely catch Will Worden playing. I can tell you that the album highlights Worden’s impressive baritone vocals and his knack for crafting instantly catchy, well-written songs. The anonymity and mystique may or may not be calculated; either way, the album is a retro country gem you’re well advised to check out.

Declan Culliton

The Barlow High Spirits Self Release

This is a band who are likely justly proud of their roots, in both musical and location terms. They hail from Denver, Colorado and play country-rock that moves across both ends of that description (with nods to southern and outlaw along the way). This is the band’s fourth album, wherein they consolidate their rugged sound and songwriting. The album’s opening track Standing Next To Me is more in the latter rock direction while It Ain't Mine, the second track, is closer to that of a country song. And so it goes across the ten cuts, all bar one written by the band. The Barlow are essentially a four piece band, Shea Boynton being the main writer (although all the tracks are credited to him and the band) as well as lead singer and guitarist. Brad Johnson is guitarist and harmony vocalist, and the lineup is completed by the solidifying rhythm section of Ben Richter on drums, and Jason Berner on bass. They are joined here by Craig Bennington on pedal steel and banjo, keyboardist Andy Scimeider, and Wes Barlow on fiddle. This trio round out the sound and add texture in the recorded context, contributing to the collective achievement. Bennington and the band produced the album together.

This hard working band plays across many states to enthusiastic crowds who no doubt appreciate the solid nature of their sound. Nothing here will either break new ground, or fall into the usual Nashville trap. Rather it is the work of a band who know who they are and what they want out of their music. There are tracks here that are more uptempo, songs that sonically feel uplifting, even in such cases where the theme of the song itself may be about something that is a little less so. This is material that is inclined to be drawn from experience and therefore have a more common appeal. That Boynton holds his own as lead vocalist is clear throughout, especially on the title track and Backwater, which has a slower more emotive delivery, among others. In fact the band throughout demonstrate that they are not standing still and are trying to perfect their own sound while remaining in an overall context.

More twangy are Turn Tail And Run and Roping The Wind, which is another highlight with steel and banjo prominent, giving that roots feel that mixes well with the more rock leaning material such as Clean, which is built around a solid rock riff that drives the song along. The final song, Lost Angel Saloon, the one song not penned by the band, was written by Chad Price and it closes the album in a more honky-tonk barroom mode that shows that this band could easily make a full album in that context if they wished to, as easily as they could do a more southern rock focused album. However they do what they do here, and do it in high spirits, to ensure their music has a broad appeal in the venues they tour in, as well as an accomplished sounding album that is a strong calling card.

Stephen Rapid

Clark Paterson American Suburban Self Release

This is an often self-deprecating look at the life of a man who may not have achieved all he hoped in life or, at least, someone who has the lyrical ability to capture that outlook (observations from the outside or from the inside). I was reminded at times of some of the material of Todd Snider. Paterson has had a hand in the writing on all of these songs, mostly solo, but on three of the ten he is joined by a co-writer. They certainly raise a smile and also, on occasion, some pause for thought. He grew up in rural Michigan but has relocated to Nashville to ply his trade, and his lyrics draw from both environments. In recent times, it is reported that he has had some serious medical issues, a divorce, and the negativity around custody that that can raise. All, no doubt, have contributed to his outlook and world view.

Musically the album also holds its own with some fine playing from all involved, whether the song is more acoustic and folk-oriented or whether it is more country style in tone. Another feature is the use of female vocals and harmonies, which work well to bolster Paterson’s own delivery. Sierra Ferrell, Mandy Contreras and Luella Matthews are all credited in this welcome capacity. Some nine Nashville players are credited on the album, including producers Eric McConnell and Shawn Byrne - the former also plays stand up bass and the latter guitars and musical saw. Also present and very correct are Paul Niehaus, John McTigue and Billy Contreras, names that will be recognised as musicians who have worked on some of Nashville’s more independent and interesting releases.

What Keeps A Fool asks you to hang on and continue when “it all feels like I’m paddling upstream”, allowing a natural-born fool to carry on, while S-10 is about his mode of unreliable transport, a Chevy S-10, and its transmission giving out so he has to walk to work again. Small time lives are the subject of Good Ole Boy and how things are stacked against a person in that situation. “… Got me a wife, have a nice little life” was the aim and to be a good ole boy alongside the rest. “Never wanting to be the best, never wanting to be the worst” is his summation of his intentions. The final track The Deputy is more of a story song, about the way life can become an opposing situation between two people from different sides of the law divide.

Then those themes continue, such as life on the road for the travelling musician on On The Road 2 Long, while the title of the song Life’s A Bitch just about sums up its downbeat attitude. It takes a more folky route to tell its meaning of life, “you know me I like to complain, some things just never change, drinking form an empty cup, I never knew when to shut up.” Equally considering the backside of life is Man Of The Year, wherein he reckons he got too big for his britches and now he’s running for 'man of the year'. He reasons that “I’m always talking a real big game, that I ain’t feeling no pain.” Making no gain or reaching no real understanding would seem to be the protagonist's lot here.

All of the ten tracks have some quotable couplets, demonstrating that Paterson is following in the footsteps of some of those notable troubadours who can sure pen a song and sing it well. He may not be up there with them yet, but the indications here are they that he could be. This album may help gain him some further recognition after his previous releases and it’s one worth spending time absorbing the overall attributes that it has to offer.

Stephen Rapid

New Album Reviews

Lisa Cerbone We Still Have Sky Caldo Verde

The city of Baltimore is home to Lisa Cerbone and her musical talent has walked alongside her work as an ESL teacher to international students for a number of years now. Back in the 1990s she released a series of albums that received wide critical acclaim, and even if career momentum was not sustained into the new millennium, her ability as a songwriter was established in many corners. By 2008 she had released her fourth album, a self-produced collection of songs that reverberated with a sense  of innocence lost, uneasy isolation and ultimately hope that pointed towards a sense of redemption.

A number of these elements are woven through the eleven songs on this new release and the sense of space in the arrangements, coupled with gossamer touch in the playing, is superbly balanced and delivered with a quiet dynamic. Lisa Cerbone wrote poetry and fiction as a student and the discipline gained has certainly informed her sense of wordplay in these melodies and the rhythm of her songs. The heart of the poet still beats strongly and threads these vistas of self-reflection and wistful longing into the thoughtful reflections that these songs attest.

The initial assumption that the songs come from a deeply personal place is not to give due regard to the writing and the sense of observation of other lives at play. On repeated listening there are different colours unveiled and an empathy for the lost and lonely souls, disenfranchised and trying to make their way in this fractured world. Various questions arise for me, such as how do we define our individual identities and how much of our free will is determined by the gene pool that created us in the first place?

Are we perhaps no more than the sum total of our life experience, both positive and negative? The arguments will always move back and forth as we try to make sense of our decisions and our pretensions towards understanding this mortal coil and our place upon it. We can all look for connection and a sense of belonging as we sometimes grapple with feelings of depression and loneliness in the eternal search of acceptance and understanding.

The great talents of Mark Kozelek (Red House Painters/ Sun Kil Moon) are brought to this project and his innate musicianship adds so much to the songs and the overall feel on this album. His prowess on guitar, bass, banjo, percussion and vocals is richly delivered alongside Lisa and their subtle reciprocity throughout. Her central role in providing sweetly understated vocals brings much to be admired in the hushed delivery and the superbly timed guitar interplay. The songs are like short stories in time, full of atmosphere and interesting content in their delivery.

The branch on the album cover looks like a cherry blossom tree and the significance of this is in the short span of rich colour where the blossoms don’t last while the temporary beauty permeates. Lisa has stripped back everything in the songs to deliver such unadorned beauty  and the opening Tomorrow looks at the emotional distance between a couple as they embark upon a lengthy car journey. The sense of separation is palpable ‘Maybe there will come a time, When we can speak about it,’ while the closing words state ‘We’ll find a way to be,’ as if offering hope for the future.

The song Mary’s Face is beautifully structured around a tale of religious calling. A decision to forego earthly pleasure in favour of a life of service and reverence ‘You take your place, In lines of men, Who left so many Worlds behind, For golden robes, And lives of saints, And the purity of Mary’s face.’ Such beautiful sentiment in the sacrifice. Cold Dark Night is a song that circles the spectre of grief and the many forms that it takes. The passing of a loved one, perhaps a parent, and the imprint left upon a life ‘I have to let you go, Your presence lives in me.’

Another form of grief is captured in A Song For Susanna and an insight into the normal life that gets replaced by illegal immigration and the constraints of trying to define a new way to live  ‘ I may never see you again, Count the hours and miles, To your small arms.’ The Waterfront Is Safe tells of an abusive home situation and the need to flee to the city in order to attain a fragile anonymity ‘Peaceful silence can be so frightening, Not sure if you belong, Not sure if you can go it alone here.’ The humanity that pours through the delivery of these songs is beautifully balanced against the need to almost hold your breath until the song concludes.

I guess that we all find our tribes in different ways and our safe place can be letting down the walls to allow others access ‘Sometimes there are those, Who are kinder than our own families, They see you only, Understand the ache and longing’ some of the thoughts that unfold on Home For the First Time.

Do you recognise that inner voice telling us we are not good enough; we all hear it from time to time, and that parental judge can lecture the child within. The song Written In the Stars has an understanding of this internal struggle ‘ It speaks to you, In your sleep, It’s a passenger in the car, You thought you buried it deep, In the yard.’  The song I’ve Got To Get Myself Back To You speaks to that child of youth and to the need to keep that innocence alive and that spirit burning brightly ‘I’ve got to get myself back to you, Back to my favourite dream, I let too much of the world in, When I should have kept you near.’

The title track brings everything to a conclusion with the words that ‘We still have sky, The sun, the stars on our side’ so no matter how negative we may feel, there is always a ray of light to bring hope for a better tomorrow.  This is a superb album with so much to recommend it to the discerning listener. Such wonderful artistry and delivered with both grace and equanimity. An essential purchase

Paul McGee

Eric Schmitt Wait For the Night Self Release

This singer songwriter is from Baton Rouge, Louisiana and his debut album appeared back in 2014. He followed it up with further releases in 2017 and in 2021. On this new album there is a fine group of players with Clyde Thompson (violin), Denise Brumfield (bass), Chad Townsend (drums), Dave Hinson (cello, upright bass), Jodi James (vocals), Paul Buller (mandolin), and James McCann (steel guitar) adding their skills to those of multi-instrumentalist Clay Parker (bass, organ, electric and acoustic guitar, percussion and backing vocals), and Schmitt himself who also plays a variety of instruments (vocals, acoustic guitar, harmonica, piano, electric piano, electric guitar, and lap steel).

The album was co-produced by both Parker and Schmitt and recorded on an eight-track tape machine at Parker’s studio in Gonzales, Louisiana. Across eleven songs there is the strong sense of an artist at the top of his game and the creative story songs are rich in melody and rhythm. Opening track BR Blues is a look at local events and the routine of days that repeat, football games, road races and lawns to keep watered. Little Bird follows with a self-analysis of growing up in rural settings, delving into teenage influences and school days that inevitably turn into adult memories. Some well-placed harmonica and mandolin colour this song nicely.

Louisiana is a love song to Schmitt’s home state and it has all the hallmarks of a Randy Newman – styled, ironic look at the real beauty to be found in the ordinary. Story song One Of These Days looks at a relationship between a Home Depot employee and a working musician who is a drain on  their resources, both emotional and material. The song My Red Door is a standout and examines the feelings left behind when a relationship ends ‘I used to hurt but I don’t anymore, When I feel blue, I paint my red door.’ The use of cello and violin on the song bring an atmospheric melancholy and a reflective sense of closure.

Buckets is about a local guy with a crush on the girl who works at the liquor store and it channels the narrative of, perhaps, a John Prine song in the structure. Some nice fingerstyle guitar on the arrangement also. The atmospheric harmonica, pedal steel and acoustic strum of Floating is very engaging and if you pick up a sense of Neil Young in the vocal delivery then it’s no bad thing. The light touch on Fool’s Parade has a nice jazz-tinged arrangement and creative pedal steel parts compliment the Bossa Nova beat, which is nicely nuanced.

Another standout song is Tattoos, Diapers, and Pills and the country arrangement is slowly unfurled with a broken romance at the heart of matters ‘She met a stranger on a white horse, Now I’m heading for a divorce, and living on the bad side of town.’ The slow rhythm of Midnight Song builds and has some nice electric piano on a song that is a rallying cry to howl at the moon. The final track is the atmospheric Wait For the Night and the spoken lyrics resonate ‘I wake up in the afternoon, your face comes sneaking through the cracks into my room, But I can’t start drinking with the sky so bright, So I put on my shoes and wait for the night.’ One way to deal with the hurt I guess. This album is most enjoyable and comes with a strong recommendation.         

Paul McGee

Bob Bradshaw Live In Boston Fluke

It was back at the end of the 1980s that Irish-born Bradshaw found himself in New York City, after spending previous years busking across Europe with his songs. During the 1990s he released a few albums while working on the West Coast, and after a further move to Boston in 2006, he was accepted as a mature student into the iconic Berklee College of Music, graduating in 2013.

Across this winding journey Bob Bradshaw has always been a creative songwriter and his early career as a journalist and short-story writer certainly fuelled that fire. We now see his adventures turn full circle as Bradshaw reflects back on his previous ten albums and revisits a number of the original songs. The project was recorded live, on the floor, in just one day at Q Division Studios, Massachusetts and Rafi Sofer produced the thirteen tracks selected across five of his album library.

The more recent albums feature mostly, with four songs taken from The Art Of Feeling Blue (2023) and a further three songs from each of Queen Of the West (2019) and American Echoes (2017). The musicians used on the songs are comprised of Andrew Stern (electric guitar), Andy Santospago (electric, steel guitars), James Rohr (keyboards), John Sheeran (bass), and Mike Connors (drums). Bradshaw contributes on acoustic and electric guitars and sings all vocals on a bright and compelling look back through his song catalogue.

The players rock out on songs like Talkin’ About My Love For You and Hot In the Kitchen displaying a real energy and a tightly honed sound. Mid-tempo songs such as Material For the Blues and the traditional country waltz-time of Albuquerque bring their own charm and the reflective insights on The Art Of Feeling Blue showcase the talents of Bradshaw as an accomplished songwriter ‘ I’m something of an expert in the art of feeling blue, I’ve got a gift for finding hurt, Any excuse will do, For feeling blue.’

The angry guitar sound on High Horse displays another side of the studio band and the slow burn of Everybody’s Small Time Now gives way to the easy groove on The Assumptions We Make and a tale of love gone wrong ‘Here's to the journey, That was not ours to take, Oh the assumptions we make.’ There is a hint of Elvis Costello in the vocal delivery on Somebody Told Me A Lie wrapped in a crooning blues arrangement. The song Sideways is from The Ghost Light album (2021) and the noir feel in the rhythm is complimented by the atmospherics of guitar reverb.

As the album winds down, we are given the gentle Every Little Thing and the good council that ‘Every little thing that falls apart, Doesn’t have to bring a broken heart’ while inventive guitar lines are threaded through the melody. The buzz on High On Our Own Supply is reflected in the band rocking out and complimenting the lyric. One of the strongest songs is the final Exotic Dancers Wanted capturing a strip club atmosphere in all its sordid detail and the resignation of the pole dancers ‘She says: It brings me somewhere I'm someone, I need these things to cross the line, From where it stings, to where it's fine.’ Observant and touched with a sad truth. Once again Bob Bradshaw has proven himself to be a musician that warrants a wider exposure and his craft as a songwriter continues to grow.

Paul McGee

Jonathan Rundman Waves Self Release

This is the first solo release from Minneapolis-based Jonathan Rundman in ten years. He has recently been a touring member of the legendary band, The Silos, one of the leading lights in the Roots Rock scene in the 1990s. They paved the way for many bands who embraced the growing alternative country movement of the time and released a run of impressive albums that continue to this day.  There were offshoot bands such as The Vulgar Boatmen, The Setters and solo projects that came and went, but the creative core of the output centred around the talents of Walter Salas- Humara, Bob Rupe (deceased 2025), Drew Glackin (deceased 2008), Konrad Meissner and Tom Freund, among others, over the years since 1985.

Jonathan Rundman has been a professional musician for the last 30 years, playing as a solo acoustic troubadour, a hired gun multi-instrumentalist, Nordic folk ensemble player, university lecturer, workshop facilitator, and occasional rock band frontman. His multi-talented skills alternate between guitar, piano, mandolin, accordion, and synthesizers. His early output is best captured on the 2007 greatest hits release The Best Of Jonathan Rundman (available on Bandcamp) and his creative output dates back to a debut album in 1992 and also includes a duet collaboration with the talented Beki Hemingway.

This new album has fourteen songs and they are bookended by the sound of waves coming into the shoreline. It’s an appropriate way in which to bring this music into the existing catalogue as it echoes time passing over the years, where the more things change, the more they stay the same, as the sea still crowds the shore.

There is a happy, upbeat vibe to Living On the Lakeside and the good time feel continues on Veronika Ann with a rockabilly beat and girl trouble on the horizon. The slower Elizabeth Don’t Waste Your Breath is a co-write with Walter Salas-Humara and it pleads with the girl to drop corporate climbing and move into a life where she can be more her natural self and live freely.

There are a series of interludes between the tracks and the palate cleanser of Terminal, Atonement Theory Breakdown, and Lakeside Leitmotif are brought to the table in order to give pause between the more up-tempo songs.  State Line Fireworks Outlet is a straight out rocker that name checks the founder of dynamite, Alfred Nobel, and it has a really great sound. Diner By the Train is a story song that traces the life of a couple who meet, fall in love, marry and start a family while running a small business near the train station. It ends with sad outcomes and a promise for the next generations to carry on.

Hospital is a song that captures the observations of the appointed chaplain as he goes about his daily routine. Evidence has a slow groove and finds Rundman professing his love for another, while Oxygen Tank rocks out in classic Silos style with a charged guitar attack. Celebrating life and enjoying the days that we are given fill the words of Let’s Put On An Opera and the final track Atonement Theory Girls seeks out ladies with traditional values and an attractive disposition. It has a classic backbeat with call-out chorus and nice guitar groove.

There are also five bonus tracks that are different mixes and alternate takes of songs included on the main album. They play out very well without any dramatic departures from the originals. All in all, a very engaging album with plenty for everyone to enjoy. Jonathan Rundman has returned with a confident swagger and a marker laid down for future work that is deserving of your attention.

Paul McGee

Jefferson Ross Backstage Balladeer Self Release

Describing himself as a songwriter, musician and painter is an appropriate way in which to capture the creative talents of this interesting artist. Based in the folk roots tradition of America, Ross has immersed himself in the deep cultural mythology of the southern regions, and since a debut release in 2008 he has created a steady output of music that informs his artistic passion.

This album represents his eight release, including a live album and a Christmas-themed project, which, together with output from paintings/photos/portraits, identifies Ross and his creative output as both prolific and nuanced. His relative lack of a wide commercial footprint doesn’t seem to have deterred Ross in his ongoing love of the arts and this new album is yet another testament to his resilience.

Southern Currency was the last release that Lonesome Highway received for review, back in 2022, and a fine album it proved to be, with great ensemble playing across the tracks. This time out Jefferson Ross has decided to play, sing, produce, mix and record the entire album himself. The fundamental definition of D.I.Y. and a task that proves Ross to be more than equal to the challenge. The songs included here are examples of a storytelling style and religious themes run through a number of tracks such as Crooked Lines, Lion In Zion, Mary Magdelene, House Of the Lord and Let’s Start A Cult.

Serpent is another song that looks at the struggle between good and evil, while The Blues and the Blood is a morality tale that paints a vista of what may be left after the great flood. There is also the topic of greed that runs through songs like Power and I Believe What I Know with business owners and preachers alike caught up in their own sense of self-importance. On another song, narrow mindedness and rural ignorance is tackled on Travel and highlights the need to broaden our minds and our safe outlook on life.

The country rock sound of One Taco At a Time is are celebratory look at living life in the moment and enjoying each day, while another country ballad tells the tale of a dream encounter with Jerry Lee Lewis on the banks of the river Jordan. The groove on Brimstone Blues is very appealing and has a light, jazzy air in the arrangement and the title song Backstage Balladeer is a reflection upon the value of a life lived and the legacy of what we leave behind. For Jefferson Ross this is the perfect self-expression in his artistic endeavours. The album production is bright and has a wide sound in the mixes, and Ross certainly knows his way around the studio with impressive performances on these songs. Another worthy addition to his growing body of work

Paul McGee

XIXA Xolo Jullian

If you caught the most recent Calexico live shows in Dublin, you may remember the support act was Brian López, who also joined the band as their touring guitarist. He is also a founding member of XIXA alongside Gabriel Sullivan, with whom he produced this new album. As previously, with their two earlier albums, they produce something akin to a dreamscape, semi-psychedelic, desert rock vision that incorporates mythology and a clear method. It is a combination of guitars, electronics, rhythms and voice - one that is entirely entrancing and signals what is the band’s most effective and alluring album to date, recorded in Tucson, Arizona which is also the band’s homebase and one source of their panoramic-guided inspiration.

The album’s theme and title is taken from the legend of a hairless dog breed, which was sacred in both Aztec and Mayan culture. Legend has it that this dog was able to guide those who visited the underworld (know nin Aztec myths as Mictlán) and its many confrontations with fear and fate. The story then is of El Xolo guiding and protecting Arcoiris, a young girl, through the nine levels associated with Mictlán. This is related over the nine tracks on the album. The voice of Arcoiris is given its form by vocalist Mona Chambers. Vocals are a primary part of the band’s structure throughout and add much to the overall effectiveness in the story’s telling. However, even if you know nothing of the lyrical context, that will not affect the enjoyment and fortitude that is apparent in the music. Rather the nine tracks build up an audio journey that allows you to go with the emanation of this imagined world, that you can enter and appreciate regardless of a total understanding of the minutiae of the storyline.

The music is, over its duration, accessible and melodically arranged, without ever having the feeling of predictability. The elements of desert blues, Cumbia and Latin rhythms sit easily alongside its more the rock elements. In that way it manages to be cerebral and incentivising at different times. For instance, La Danza De Los Jaguares opens with an old world/new world mix of accordion, electronics and a strong beat while Waves Of Serenity reflects its title’s sense of quietude. The final song Hearts Of The World is a memorable closure, with the vocals and guitars building to a powerful culmination, ending with a simple guitar motif and spoken voice, that underlines how individual XIXA’s music is. Two members of the English band (one with some common ground) Modern English join them on It Doesn’t Matter, something that highlights the universality of the music. This is music from the underworld for what may be a particular underground audience, but one that will doubtless expand on the enthusiasm for this latest release from this always engrossing band.

Stephen Rapid

Kassi Valazza From Newman Street Loose

FROM NEWMAN STREET, the third album from Kassi Valazza, demonstrates how compelling music often results from confronting pain and life's inevitable challenges. The album takes its title from a friend's house in Portland, where Valazza took refuge during a stressful personal period in 2023. Most of the ten tracks were written during this retreat; the remainder were written in New Orleans, where she now lives, having spent the past decade in Portland.

If opening tracks are a means of capturing the listener's attention straight away, Birds Fly and Better Highways certainly achieve their goal. The former is a broody affair, giving an inkling of what lies in the writer's head ('Who can say, what happens when love ends'). A comparison to Joni Mitchell may be lazy, but it's difficult not to make that connection with the latter song. It presents the listener with an insight into the emotional wreckage and self-imposed isolation from which the album's ten songs are derived. ('I was born to better highways, calling cards and busy streets. Now I watch the sun move sideways, sleeping on my cotton sheets, listening to the wild honking of the sulking winter geese'). 

A self-confessed victim of social anxiety, the unguarded collection of songs on the album plays out like a logbook of events that prepared Valazza for moving on, both physically and emotionally, from a damaging period in her life. However, contradicting the dark and introspective content, the musical arrangements and Valazza's vocals are a delight. A point in case isYour Heart's A Tin Box, whose upbeat and addictive melody shadows the harsh reality within the song ('Walking through the airport with no money I can spend…two months of selling out most of the shows, I'd sure like to see where all that money goes'). Shadow Of Lately is equally beautiful, a classic folk offering, bathed in dreamy pedal steel courtesy of Erik Clampitt and slick electric guitar by Lewi Longmire. Echoes of Sandy Denny raise their head in Time Is Round, and the album's defining song, Roll On, finds the writer putting a relationship, or possibly a period of depression, on the back burner and moving on.

Valazza's work has consistently been from the heart, but FROM NEWMAN STREET is even more personal than she's previously ventured. Loaded with memorable songs, it's more than a worthy companion to her 2023 album KASSI VALAZZA KNOWS NOTHING. Summing up her latest project perfectly in a recent interview, she confessed, ' The album is a diary that I'm letting other people read, but it's mostly for myself.' Essential listening.

Declan Culliton

Toria Wooff Self-Titled Sloe Flower

'Chapters to dip in and out of, moments immortalised in time, bound together by nothing more than the human experience' is Toria Wooff's description of her debut album.

The self-titled album from the Lancashire-based songwriter, musician, painter, and poet is a suite of vintage folk songs that drew me in on the first listen and is one I've returned to regularly since then. Much of the material harks back to previous decades sonically, most likely due to Wooff's exposure to her father's record collection, which included Fairport Convention and Townes Van Zandt alongside Led Zeppelin. However, it's more than a reflection of an artist steeped in the 70s; it's more so of an artist who knows exactly what she is doing in creating music that connects to the past but with modern interpretations. 

Recorded at Sloe Flower Studio in Chester, the home studio of James Wyatt, who produced and contributed electric guitar, the album's overall mood is timeless as the writer probes familiar folk song themes of love, death and folklore. 

From stripped-back and delicate tracks like Estuaries, The Waltz Of Winter Hey, and Sweet William to the more animated inclusions like opener The Plough and The Flood, Wooff's graceful vocals are supported by arrangements that more than complement her voice. Particular mention is merited of the adventurous orchestral arrangements, credited to Danny Miller, which wonderfully underpin many of the tracks.   

With songs that sound like they have been around for decades and the current resurgence in alt-folk, this most enjoyable record should herald a well-deserved breakthrough for Wooff. Similarly to her peer Katherine Priddy, she is proudly flying the flag for first-rate folk music that has been created by British artists for over half a century.

Declan Culliton

Rachel Brooke Sings Sad Songs Self-Release

Ameripolitan outlaw country winner in 2023, Rachel Brooke has been a leading light in the underground country music scene since her debut and self-titled album in 2008. Her distinctive vocals and edgy songwriting have yielded several exceptional albums, my personal favourites being A KILLER'S DREAM from 2012 and THE LONELINESS IN ME released in 2020. The Michigan-born artist's early career found her drumming in a punk band, and the raw sensibilities of the punk genre have never been too far from the surface in her writing. 

Brooke describes her latest album, SINGS SAD SONGS, as 'a record I never intended to make and probably isn't gonna get any spins on the charts.' She confesses to having struggled with depression during 2024 and, by way of self-healing, went on a songwriting spree that yielded material for three albums. This recording is the first of the three, and it's deliberately stripped back to the bone, with the emphasis on the messages within the often-lonesome country songs, some of which are co-writes and covers.

It's an experimental project and maybe not what her die-hard fans were expecting, but the strength of Brooke's vocals and, in particular, her distinctive pronunciations make it an engrossing listen. There are fourteen tracks on offer, including four co-writes with Brooks Robbins and the well-chosen covers include Hank Williams’ Weary Blues From Waiting, Kurt Cobain's All Apologies and John Hartford's Gentle On My Mind. One of those co-writes, Lonely Old Bummer, fittingly opens the album, and it's not difficult to visualise Brooke playing the song in the dead of night as she attempts to exorcise the paralysing demons that weighed heavily on her shoulders. 

Listening to a number of the tracks, in particular the self-writes Bad Habit and I'm Doing Fine, it's not difficult to make comparisons with many of Hank Williams' songs when he performed acoustically, detailing the physical and mental pain that he endured.  

SINGS SAD SONGS is a masterclass in stripping country songs to the bare bones from an artist whose vocal range is the perfect conduit to communicate sadness and heartache. Closing the album on an optimistic note with Silver Lining ('Look on the bright side, my mom would say. Don't give up, child, tomorrow's a brand new day') suggests that, for Brooke, the healing effect of this album has borne fruit.

Declan Culliton 

New Album Reviews

Jaywalkers Move On Self Release

English trio Jaywalkers crisscross the Americana highways, merging bluegrass, folk, old time and country music into a delicious rootsy melange on their fifth album, MOVE ON. Together as a band for eighteen years (which in itself is no mean feat) they combine top class musicianship with impressive songwriting and three-part harmonies, all of which are on show here. Mike Giverin is the main songwriter, and also plays mandolin and guitar. Jay Bradberry is the fiddle player with the stunning lead vocals, and the essential beat is held down by Lucille Williams on upright bass.

Opening song The Radio is a tongue-in-cheek, rocky number, with the protagonist wondering how to get their song played on the radio. Jaywalkers shouldn’t have any problems like this, given the strength of this record. Two of the strongest songs, which at first glance both sound like they will be ‘broken heart’ numbers, actually concern themselves with the theme of climate change. The Longest Day opens with the unmistakeable dobro sound of guest Rob Ickes, emphasising the sombre realisation that the summer droughts are presaging the inevitable slide towards global warming. Gone Forever opens with Giverin’s sweet but mournful mandolin and features Ickes again, with Jay Bradberry’s powerful vocals channeling Mother Earth, ‘you know how you can save me/stay on this path and I’ll be/gone forever’. Chilling.

Move On is an actual heartbreak song this time, a combination of banjo (Stu Williams) and mandolin giving it an old timey feel but with a modern sensibility - it’s time to pick up the pieces and move on. The erratic flight pattern of the snipe (a waterbird in decline) is emulated in the swooping and soaring of fiddle and mandolin in the breathless instrumental Flight of the Snipe, and another illustrious Nashville based guitarist, this time none other than Trey Hensley, adds phenomenal acoustic guitar.

A couple of contrasting covers are included: the jazz standard Aint’ Nobody’s Business allows Jay Bradberry to show that her sultry vocals are perfect for this genre too, while she adds great bluesy fiddle parts, and Larry Cordle’s oft-covered bluegrass standard gets a successful outing, with more hot guitar from Trey Hensley - no ‘dialling it in’ here! Playsuit, co-written with Bradberry, is a fun whimsical number, while the album closes with a lonesome country ballad, December in the Desert.

They didn’t have to go far from their Cheshire base to find their producer - Joe Rusby produced, recorded and mixed the record in his Chester studio. Jaywalkers have produced an album that is up there with anything coming out of the US right now - seek out and enjoy.

Eilís Boland 

Tip Jar Road Of No Return Self Release

Dutch couple Bart de Win and Arianne Knegt are the central source that spins the magic dust through the songs of Tip Jar, with superb harmonies mixing with the bright melodies in creating songs about love and life. The true spirit in the music espouses a loving awareness and a code for life that is one of inclusivity. Indeed, their last album was titled SONGS ABOUT LOVE AND LIFE ON THE HIPPIE SIDE OF COUNTRY (2022), and involved many of the musicians who appear on this new collection of twelve songs. They include friends from both sides of the Atlantic with the recording process split between Austin Texas (USA) and Eindhoven (The Netherlands).

The combined talents of Bart de Win (piano, keyboards, accordion, Wurlitzer, vocals) and Arianne Knegt (lead vocals), are complimented by Harry Hendriks (banjo, guitar, ukulele, harmonies), Eric van de Lest (drums, harmonies), Joost van Es (violin), Tonnie Ector (double bass), Baer Traa (harmonies), Walt Wilkins (acoustic guitar, harmonies), Bill Small (bass, harmonies), Pat Manske (drums), John Chipman (drums), and Scrappy Jud Newcomb (electric guitars). This eclectic mix of talent from both sides of the divide come together to produce really inspiring music and the superb arrangements linger in the ether long after initial listening.

The highlights include a simple love song Corner Of Your Heart, played on piano by Bart de Win and beautifully delivered as a tribute to his wife. The opening song Road Of No Return is another stand out song with a country blues feel making an impressive statement. The soulful groove of All Good is infectious with the collective harmony vocals lifting the song to great heights, while the Bluegrass vibrancy of Standing On the Corner features some outstanding violin, courtesy of Joost van Es. The reflection on Be Someone has Arianne wanting to break beyond stereotypes and allow for a different perspective.

The love song I’ll Be Here is a declaration of devotion through hard times and Window Girl is another statement of togetherness through life’s challenges. Another song On My Way is a late night rendezvous with a warm fire and a glass of your favourite drink, reflecting upon the vagaries of love and life, with the risk of leaving yourself vulnerable in relationships stacked against the urge to remain private and closed,  ‘I will try to see it through, And in the end I’ll be someone new.’ Another example of the excellent songwriting, and the entire album is a strong statement of the joy to be found in talented musicians coming together with a shared vision. Superbly crafted and delivered.

Paul McGee

Slowman The Invisible Son Slow

The opening track The Invisible Son is a strong rocking statement for all that follows here. A song of rebellion that also features a tribute to a father who displayed his love in a quiet way, the song highlights a great dynamic that continues across the eleven songs included. Restless is another rocker that highlights the guitar prowess of Svante 'Slowman' Törngren on guitar and vocals, ably assisted by Owe Eriksson on bass, and Thomas 'Tompa' Björklund on drums.

On/Off is a great example of the fluid musicianship and prowess as the trio ruminate on relationship woes ‘It’s hard to do it right, When she’s always holding the key.’  Songs like Crying In the Rain and Best Years Yet To Come highlight an acoustic blues and a swamp groove that really captures the essence of the band.

Harvest Home is a warm tribute to a local watering hole where the local community gathers together to celebrate life and Walking Down Our Streets is a slow song that honours the past and a relationship that endures in the memory ‘I miss you darling, But I’m still on my feet, Walking down our streets.’ It is a tribute to a loved one who lost a battle to cancer at a young age and it’s a fitting tribute to end an album that includes much to admire in the collective musicianship and the heartfelt delivery of these songs.

Paul McGee

Ashleigh Flynn & The Riveters Good Morning Sunshine Blackbird

Portland, Oregon, has long since been a hotbed for alternative music. Alongside household names like The Decemberists, The Shins and Elliott Smith, more underground bands like the now defunct Richmond Fontaine and, in more recent years, Kassi Valazza, Jeffrey Martin, Anna Tivel, and Jenny Don't and The Spurs have been keeping the Portland artistic flag flying. Ashleigh Flynn & The Riveters are another talented crew that can be added to that list. 

Formed in 2017, they are an all-female Portland-based group that lands somewhere between rock and roll and honky tonk. GOOD MORNING SUNSHINE is their fourth album. It features founding members Ashleigh Flynn (lead vocal, acoustic guitar) and Nancy Luca (electric guitar), alongside artists who have been part of the band's rotating membership. Those players include Carmen Paradise (bass), Leila Chieko (drums), Jenny Conlee (piano & organ), Kathryn Claire (violin, harmony vocals), and Kat Fountain (vocals and harmonica).

The title track, named after the sun rise in the Columbia River Gorge, is more than just an admiration of those spectacular occurrences; it's also a cry for empathy and recovery. With tingling piano, thumping bass lines and crisp pedal steel guitar, its sound recalls mid-career Stones, and that rugged rock and roll is a regular feature on the eleven tracks. They also excel in raw, knees-up, barroom blues with Deep River Hollow and Little Red Wing. It's not all foot firmly on the gas pedal, and Love Is An Ember, complete with weepy pedal steel, and Shake The Stranger tick the country ballad box. A wild drunken night, most probably autobiographical, is recalled in Drunk In Ojai.

All in all, Ashleigh Flynn and her cohorts have aimed to recreate the dynamism of their live shows, and with GOOD MORNING SUNSHINE, they have hit the bullseye.  

Declan Culliton

Alison Krauss & Union Station Arcadia Down The Road

It is fourteen years since the release of Alison Krauss & Union Station’s PAPER AIRPLANE, Krauss's first number-one Billboard Country Chart album. ARCADIA finds the exceptionally talented musician and vocalist reunited with Union Station for another contemporary folk, and sometimes bluegrass, album. Those intervening years have yielded a number of projects by Krauss, most notably her solo record, WINDY CITY (2017) and a second collaboration with Robert Plant, RAISE THE ROOF (2021). 

Unsurprisingly, given its commercial success, ARCADIA follows a similar template to that which worked spectacularly well with PAPER AIRPLANE. Angelic vocals, exquisite playing and selecting and reworking carefully chosen material are once again the order of the day. The only notable variation with this record is the inclusion of Russell Moore of bluegrass outfit IIIrd Tyme Out, who takes the lead vocals on a number of the tracks, a role which was filled previously by Dan Tyminski. Moore also adds guitar and mandolin and Tyminski is also credited as contributing acoustic guitar and mandolin. The remaining players are Ron Block (bass, vocals), Jerry Douglas (dobro, guitar, lap steel), Adam Steffey (mandolin), Viktor Krauss (piano, strings), Jeff Taylor (accordion) and Stuart Duncan (fiddle).

There's so much to enjoy here. Krauss' vocals are simply divine on the two Jeremy Lister-written songs, Looks Like The End Of The Road and album closer There's A Light Up Ahead. Krauss came across the former during a pandemic-driven low point when uncertainty and confusion reigned ('Goodbye to the world that I know, looks like the end of the road'). Moore takes the lead vocal on a reworking of JD McPherson's North Side Gal and The Hangman. The latter is based on a poem by Maurice Ogden, and the musical arrangement is credited to Alison’s brother, Victor. Granite Mills tells the tragic 1874 tale of a factory fire in Massachusetts that took the lives of twenty-three workers, most of them children. 

Further highlights are the gorgeous ballads One Ray Of Shine and, Forever and the Civil War tale of a fallen soldier, Richmond On The James, although it's fair to say that Krauss and her players don't put a foot wrong across the ten tracks.

 It's business as usual for Alison Krauss & Union Station with ARCADIA. An album that lyrically and musically acknowledges both the past and the present, it will most certainly be featured when the Grammys are next being handed out.

Declan Culliton

The Slow Harvest Selections From The Sad Bastard Songbook Self Release

If your music of choice is an upbeat Saturday night type listen, you are best advised not to read on. However, if the dark and gothic Alt-Country impressions created by the likes of The Handsome Family, Will Oldham, Wovenhand and the late Willard Grant Conspiracy are in your record collection, read on. Wisconsin-based band The Slow Harvest's debut album is a haunting and often unsettling deliberation on mortality, survival and self-reproach, which falls into the masterly territory inhabited by those mentioned above. 

The album's title may be somewhat tongue in cheek, but inclusions of There Has To Be More ('I'm being haunted, an old friend he visited me. We sat together talking in my dream, just like we had for years') and This House Is Too Quiet ('The laughter is gone. A tree decked out in tinsel, but it's a week into June') are as spine-chilling as they are enthralling.

The Slow Harvest is songwriter, guitarist and vocalist Bryan Kroes, bass player Matt Villmer, Harrison Dole, who plays organ and pedal steel, and drummer Partick Tomter. Tamara Kroes is also credited as a backing vocalist.  

Despite its upbeat and groovy delivery, the country two-stepper We're Already Dead plays out like a session on a psychiatrist's couch, and the twangy Time Doesn't Matter grieves sudden and unannounced loss. On a less bleak note the album opens with the tender ode to parenthood, Evensong and closes with an anthem very much of its time, We Could Use A Little Rain. The latter questions living in an increasingly messed up world ('Every morning, there's more bad news like a plague across this town. The crazies are getting crazier while the good ones go insane') and asks if it's time to hit the reset button and start all over again. 

'Don't worry, there are a few love songs buried in there too, but honestly, there are no promises for the future of anything. Buyer beware,' warns Bryan Kroes to any potential listener. Heed the warning by all means, but be reassured, this is a body of work that is full-blooded Americana, narrated by deep baritone vocals and perfectly matched players.

Declan Culliton

Tom Dunphy Everything Was New Self Release

With his wife Tara, Tom Dunphy has fronted the award-winning Canadian traditional country band The Rizdales since 2003. Now with this solo album, Dunphy takes a step back to an earlier ethos with some stripped back late 40s, early 50s styled country. The age-worn ache in his voice is full of lonesome heartache, as well as taking as much from those experiences to start all over. The songs are all originals, which he has written as if they were obscure gems from that earlier time, with a cover of the T Bone Burnett written Song To A Dead Man, the track which closes the album and the song from which the title is taken. It is a song that deals with being young, meeting a girl and finding out what the world had (or hadn’t) to offer.

The overall disposition draws from a stripped back approach, comprised of the trio of Dunphy on upright bass and acoustic guitar, with the integrated and effective accompaniment of lap steel from Burke Carroll and Steve Briggs on electric guitar. They effectively keep things moving along without a drum beat (something that you are not particularly aware of as you listen). With that line up, the album plays almost as a live set in a welcoming honky-tonk, with the individual skills of the three players well to the fore. That, in effect, doesn’t allow for a great deal of variation over the length of the album, which will please those who appreciate music from a time when country music was often a more simple and distinctive offering, and often local to specific areas and likes, perhaps not so popular now with those who are used to more contemporary and diverse musical stylings.

The titles here often indiacte where the lyric’s direction is heading, these include Gone For Good, Leaving Train, Headed For A Fall and Big Fool - many a tear in many a beer. But the honestly of the vocal delivery is bolstered by the authenticity of the accompanying arrangements, fitting the overall intention of placing the music in an earlier (if not an easier) time frame. The track You Make Me Shake is a good indicator of the music on offer, both lyrically and musically. “Your cruel seduction’s coming / And I should be running / But the longing starts / And so I’ll let you in / And then the fun will begin / But soon I’m crying.” The material here from Dunphy is well considered and well executed, something that is not always the case on retro oriented projects. 

So there is much to like on this solo outing from Dunphy but I don’t think that means we won’t hear more from the Rizdales band again, and this release should please fans of the band as the overall aim comes from a similar frame of mind. The old is again new here, particularly for those who have not previously been exposed to the tight, stripped down sound that was so effective in the past and is again here.

Stephen Rapid

Mike Delevante September Days Truly Handmade

This first solo album from Mike Delevante opens in fine style, with ringing twelve string guitar on a harmony laden slice of roots power pop that is as accomplished as it is enticing. Initially a part of the duo The Delevantes with his brother Bob, both went on to have separate careers within the design industry. Bob has released a number of solo albums, but this is Mike’s first foray under his own name. It is produced by Joe Pisapia and Gary Tallent. Both have previously been associated with the brother’s recordings, but Tallent (best know for his work with the E Street band) has been there from the beginning. All three are based in Nashville now, having moved away from their roots in  New Jersey to further their music. Tallest co-produced the band’s Rounder debut LONG ABOUT THAT TIME back in 1995. He also added his lauded aptitude as a bass player along the way, as he does here on this album.

The unit involved in the recording include the aforementioned, along with Bryan Owings and James Dick on drums and Bob also joins in on occasion, playing harmonica. The sound is a throwback to those early recordings which bring ringing guitars and melodic structures throughout, over the solidity of the understated rhythm section. Pisapia adds guitar, keyboard and pedal steel as required throughout, adding colour and tone to those structures. There are thirteen tracks that capture an overall sound that, outside of the brother’s work - either solo or as a band - you don’t get to hear that often in the context of Nashville recorded roots music, with a more timeless and crafted soundscape. Overall Delevante focuses, in these songs, on the positive aspects that later life has brought him. There are moments that are more regretful such as the opening track The Rain Never Came and Only Sometimes, though the former musically is an uplifting gem. There are also redemptive themes as in I Wrote To You, and the more openly affectionate feelings that permeate When You’re Around, and those moments of emotional release mentioned in Good Cry. But largely this album has some sparkling arrangements that hit home. There is also a sense of contemplative meditation in the album’s closing song, Coming Home. So Delevante gives us a range of emotion and ruminations throughout the album, delivered with a sense of unruffled intent.

Delevante is thoroughly at ease here in this company, simply playing music that doubtless makes all involved feel good and it also extends that to the listener. This is an album that has an unpretentious mood, that gets better with familiarity and frequency. As acknowledged, this is an appealing sound that mixes that Rickenbacker guitar sound with keyboards, pedal steel and a solid beat. It’s a sound that seems to have been overlooked for some time, a roots rock melodic confection, that is sometimes heard in more power-pop related settings, all good omens for this writer. The last album the brothers released together was A THOUSAND TURNS back in 2021,and one hopes that there will be more from this talented pair, either together or as individuals. Given how the industry has changed and that both have alternate creative outlets, this may take a little more time, but I think an investigation of the albums under the Delevante name shouldn’t disappoint the discerning seeker.

Stephen Rapid

John Howie Jr & The Rosewood Bluff The Return Of … Schoolkids

For those with a memory for some good hardcore country from back in the mid-90s, the name Two Dollar Pistols was considered among the best bands from that era. They came from the country scene in North Carolina. During their time, they released an EP with Tift Merritt and four albums, all excellent, three on the Yep Roc label. However, despite critical acclaim, the band broke up after a number of different issues. Front man and writer John Howie Jr has now released a brand new album that, once again, highlights his love for classic country, 30 years on from his entry into the fray. Prior to that there was an album LEAVIN’ YESTERDAY with his current band, released in 2011, five years after the last Pistols album.

The opening song Who Needs The Neon? lets you know that Howie hasn’t embraced hip-hop, pop, or any current mainstream deviation from what he believes in and does best. Howie produced the album with Tim Shearer, with Shearer also appearing on electric guitar, alongside Nathan Golub on pedal steel, bassist Mark O’Connor and Dave Hartman (also of Southern Culture On The Skids) on drums. Additionally, John Teer from Chatham County Line adds some fiddle and backing vocals, as does Alec Ferrell, and there’s some cello too from Sarah Glasco to round the sound out. It is one that has an edge, authenticity and heartfelt delivery. As expected the songs deal with heartbreak, hang-ups and the expected the minutiae of honky tonk hearsay, straight-up country rock and soulful roots balladry. 

Howie’s material always has the necessary hooks to catch you and pull you in. At varying points the steel guitar, twang-laden guitar, fiddle and danceable rhythm section all mesh as they should to bring the songs out of the barroom and into your consciousness. The tales told are of losing a lover and the regret that follows, and the need to then get over the break-up and move on. If anything, over the years, Howie’s voice has some added depth and grit that add to the overall appreciation of his talents. A look at the titles tells you as much as you might need to know about their origin: Breakin’ Up, Gotta Getaway, How Can I Make You Love Me and The Only Problem I Really Have (Is You), though all the designations deal a similar set of cards.

One song runs into another, as they would if you were witnessing the band live in some appropriate venue, where the dancers are enjoying the sound that surrounds them regardless of what the detail of this particular piece of disappointment might be. Rather you just want the sound to continue to surround you. There are songs that step a little more lightly for the slower dances, like Some People or In The Back Of My Mind. Then there’s those with a little more of a broadly rockin’ roots sound, as in Never Enough. In other words, there’s more than enough here to satisfy and to really welcome the return of Howie Jr. He joins the ranks of some other more recent bands and artists who have an equal love and appreciation of a genre that, not so long ago, seemed to be on the brink of extinction under the weight of a wave of imposters and non-believers. You can believe in this though.

Stephen Rapid