Mighty Poplar Self-Titled Free Dirt
The five members of supergroup Mighty Poplar became firm friends over the years, as their paths crossed at many competitions, festivals and recording studios in the bluegrass and roots realms. Recorded live in one room in the rural Tractor Studios outside Nashville, though bluegrass is at the heart of the project this is, in essence, a folk album. The choice of songs was compiled by Andrew Marlin (Watchtower) and he takes the lead vocal on most of them, with his trademark laidback delivery, as well as playing mandolin and guitar. He is joined by two Punch Brothers: Noam Pikelny on banjo and Chris Eldridge on guitar. Then there’s a former Punch Brother but now bassist with Leftover Salmon, Greg Garrison, and fiddler extraordinaire Alex Hargreaves, who currently plays with Billy Strings.
Kicking off fittingly with a Carter Family song (popularised by Hazel Dickens and Alice Gerrard), A Distant Land to Roam, one is immediately aware that there’s no showing off here, just great ensemble playing, all in the service of the song or tune. The interpretations feel fresh and energetic. Another traditional folk song, also covered by the Carter Family, Blackjack Davy is given quite a new feel with its more uptempo rendition and swing jazz stylings. Bob Dylan’s dark tale of the perils of coal mining, North Country Blues, is another sympathetic retelling, while the oft covered Little Joe stays fairly close to Norman Blake’s version. John Hartford is remembered with Let Him Go On Mama, his tale of a pilot working on the paddle steamers on the Ohio river. The most recently penned song included comes from the pen of Martha Scanlan - Up on The Divide recounts the hardship of continuing the tradition of farming in Montana, despite the coming of the destructive mining industry. There are two tremendous instrumentals: Alex Hargreaves’ fiddle introduces the uptempo (150 beats/min!) fiddle tune Grey Eagle, although the other four musicians are well capable of matching and harmonising beautifully with him, and Kicking Up the Devil On A Holiday/Dr. Heckock’s Jig again demonstrate the supreme musicianship and offer ample opportunities to each player to shine. Leonard Cohen’s powerful Story of Isaac is perhaps even more affecting than the original, and the traditional Lovin’ Babe (newly arranged and expanded by Kristin Andreassen) is sublime.
The band’s name is affectionately stolen from a phrase used by Bill Monroe (in a recorded conversation with Doc Watson) where he explains that a particular song was “mighty pop’lar”.
Here’s hoping that Mighty Poplar Vol 2 is in the works, because Mighty Poplar are mighty pop’lar round these here parts.
Review by Eilís Boland
Laurie Jones Dark Horse Self Release
Jones recorded this album at Halo Studio in Maine, USA, her sixth in a career that goes back to a debut release in 2001. Two more albums found their way to market in the lead up to 2007, before a career break and a period of stepping back from the business and a relentless touring schedule. Jones re-emerged in 2016 with the release of The Truth About Her, closely followed in the following year by the appearance of Bridges.
This new album was ready to go in 2021 but with Covid getting in the way of a return to the touring circuit, Jones was forced to wait for the chance to rekindle her career. This European release is very welcome and the co-production of Darren Elder and Mehuman Ernst delivers a slice of classic Americana with the emphasis on the Rock side of that broad musical genre. There are nine tracks in total and they are all written by Jones, with the exception of Dazed which was created by Torin Storm Jones. The no-holds-barred approach on songs such as Light Side, No Hell and Sorry I’m Stilted lay down an impressive marker. The band dynamic is edgy and the playing has a very fresh and fulsome quality.
Quieter songs like Good Man, Letting Go and Dazed all show another side to the talent on display and the reflection on love gained and lost is the dominant theme running through the project. Opening song That Summer has a more commercial sound while the slower arrangements on Resurrecting Joan and Bombs are perfectly suited to the expressive vocal style of Jones in their delivery.
Studio engineer Kevin Billingslea contributed to the album on guitars and bass, while co-producer Elder played percussion. Jake Wertman (drums), Torin Jones (acoustic guitar), Glen Kavin (keyboards and strings), and Amy Gauthier (backing vocals) made up the impressive studio band. A very solid welcome back statement from an artist with a lot to offer. Jones may have felt like a ‘dark horse’ at certain stages of her career, but she is now definitely galloping into the light.
Review by Paul McGee
Lori McKenna 1988 CN/Thirty Tigers
Born and raised in Stoughton, Massachusetts, the place where she still lives, Lori McKenna is a much revered singer songwriter. She grew up playing in the coffee houses of the Boston Folk music scene although her frequent affiliations with Nashville have seen McKenna adopted as a Country music artist, with her gift to pen songs for others as much as for her own solo career. She has written hits for a number of artists including Tim McGraw, Reba McEntire, Little Big Town, Faith Hill, Carrie Underwood, Taylor Swift and Keith Urban.
This new release marks her twelfth studio album in a star studded career that has admired McKenna’s ability to capture a song in both complex lyrical themes and sweet melodies, while framing the emotions of all who dwell in the realms of fragility and kindness. Her creative muse runs deep and her writing has been placed at the very top of the mountain where fellow writers such as Mary Chapin Carpenter, Eliza Gilkyson and Lynn Miles reside. The album title is in tribute to the year in which McKenna married her husband having first met in high school and married young. They have five children and the life they share is part of the fabric woven through this new collection of twelve songs. The themes of family, belonging, loving and losing are familiar touchstones on previous albums, but mixed here with youthful memory, reflection, longing, missed opportunities and bitter regret.
Dave Cobb, six-time Grammy Award winner, produced the album at his Nashville studio and this is the fourth time that the duo have teamed up in what has been a very rewarding partnership in a rich vein of success. Six of the songs are co-writes, including two with her sons Brian and Chris, which must have been a really empowering experience. McKenna has always been comfortable with writing with others and for many other songwriters this can often be a stumbling block. Over her career she has learned to let the process flow and the creativity never seems to be very far away from her guitar and notebook as a result.
Here we have songs of family, of friends who took wrong turns, past memories of growing up and dealing with the passage of time. Recollections that somehow encapsulate the hopes and dreams of tomorrow. These are words of experience and perspective, littered with old wisdom, sage advice and providing fuel for the journey ahead. The Old Woman In Me is a celebration of the ageing process and so beautifully observed ‘I hope some day I get to be the old woman in me.’ The next track Happy Children is reminiscent of an earlier hit that she wrote for Tim McGraw, Humble and Kind (2016). It is a guide book for life lessons that will keep another on the correct path. It’s a prayer for only good things in living. Killing Me is a co-write and features the vocals of Hillary Lindsey on a song that looks at relationship blues. The up-tempo rhythm masks the lyric ‘Tryna make you happy is killing me.’
Days Are Honey looks at riding out the difficult times in any relationship and looking for the joy ‘All that sting, All that bittersweet.’ The title song, 1988 is an open love song to her husband and their thirty five years together as a team ‘Looking back on those early days, Between playing house and praying for grace.’ One of the standout songs is Growing Up and the issues of leaving youthful memories and small town dreams in the past ‘You move on the way time does, Till something brings you right back to growing up.’ This is followed by another highlight in Wonder Drug and a tale of watching an old friend slip away under the addiction of opioids ‘Blue collar life and all its weight, I was right there and I was too late.’
Letting go of an old friend can bring the hardest pain of all, whether a family member or someone who grew up with you. The Town In Your Heart captures this emotion perfectly ‘You were tail lights on the highway, flying, Searching for something nobody ever, ever finds.’ And the chorus sums up all the hurt of separation in the lines ‘I hope I live on a road in the town in your heart.’ The very personal Letting People Down seems to be questioning what all the accolades are worth when you doubt yourself and wish for more ‘ Hold your arms out, God help the justified, I fall short, I always fall behind.’
Final song The Tunnel is another look back down the road once travelled and the ways in which our youth shapes the eventual road that we find ourselves upon. It accepts that life is unkind and that looking for the light can be hard. Finding something to aim for and to keep running towards it is the key to escaping the dark ‘ I don't know how it works or how God picks who gets to get through, It just seems like a lot of life's been mostly the tunnel for you.’
The themes explored here are what real life is made of, the joys and the disappointments, the doubts and the pain. However, running through it all is the soft touch of someone who has her hand on the wheel and is steering a steady course. Lori McKenna has delivered another superbly crafted album and one that stands alongside her best work.
Review by Paul McGee
Sam Blasucci Off My Stars Innovative Leisure
As a core member of Mapache, a band that he created with friend Clay Finch, Blasucci has seen his blend of Inde-Folk and Country-smooth sounds become a staple of the Californian Roots Rock scene since the 2017 debut. Stepping aside from the five albums released as Mapache, here we see Blasucci working with Johnny Payne, producer and songwriter (Asia), and together they recorded the twelve songs included on this debut solo album.
Recorded at Lone Palm Studios in Los Angeles, a location well-known to Mapache, a different perspective surfaced and provided Blascucci with the freedom to stretch out in the song melodies and arrangements. The use of saxophone on opener Sha La La is inspired and lends a nice soulful aspect to the sweet vocal delivery. On other songs Every Night On the Farm and Can You Teach Me? we find Blasucci on familiar territory with lingering melodies and timeless inflections, wrapped in beautiful and drifting soundscapes that prove so appealing.
There are cover versions included and the interpretation of the Cranberries’ classic Linger sees Blasucci paying homage to the original vocal performance of Dolores O’Riordan with perhaps a more mellow delivery. Other covers of Il Mondo (Pes, Greco, Meccia, Fontana ) and Thank You (Dido, Herman) are delivered in real style, the former sung in Italian and the latter a new take on a classic hit. The tribute to his father Proud Of You is another fine moment on the album and no doubt David Blasucci (Toto) is another big fan of the broad talent that his son continues to explore on his recorded output. The easy jazz groove of final song I’m Glad delivers a gentle love song and name checks pet dog Roscoe who was the inspiration for last year’s release, Roscoe’s Dream. This is elegant music, performed in the understated manner that we have come to expect from prior albums and it comes highly recommended.
Review by Paul McGee
The Pawn Shop Saints Weeds Dollyrocker
This band has been around since 2012 and is the creation of Jeb Barry, based in Massachusetts. Over the Covid pandemic they released two albums, ORDINARY FOLKS (2020) and RIDE MY GALAXY (2022) and their sound is very much rooted in the Americana tradition of character songs and reflections on blue collar life in the USA. The band is comprised of Jeb Barry (vocals, guitars, bass, banjo, organ, harmonica), Michael O’Neill (guitars, vocals), Amy Attias (fiddle), Tony Pisano (accordion) and Josh Pisano (drums, percussion, vocals).
James is a song that channels the death of a friend and focuses on the need for everyone to think of their own place in life and how fragile it all can be. The War is written around a father/son relationship where the barriers erected over time stop real communication and any open expression of feelings. The effects of the Covid virus still linger and inform songs like The Covid Unit and Miss June, tackling the ignorance of those who thought they knew better than the medical experts and also the loneliness of those who ended up dying alone without the loving support of others. Twine is a tribute to John Prine who died of Covid complications and the lines that resonate in the song include ‘I’m still holding this life together with twine.’
This is an acoustic-based album with a confessional theme in both the writing and the delivery of these earnest songs. Memorial Day looks at the hypocrisy that surrounds such events where the loss of life is easily forgotten in the superficial act of planting remembrance flags once a year. The title track Weeds is about the demons that we all carry around with us and the tongue-in-cheek Baby Got Drunk hides the reality of those who turn to stimulants to try and ease the pain.
Final song All Girls Break Hearts is a look at the fragile nature of relationships and the dangers involved in surrendering yourself to another, the haunting fiddle of Amy Attias adding to the poignant reflection. There is no doubting Jeb Barry’s ability to write a memorable song and this collection will speak to many in terms of his honest and open rumination on the human condition.
Steve Mednick 1952 Cottage Sound
This singer songwriter has been releasing music since 2006 and is based in New Haven, Connecticut. The latest album was recorded at Cottage Sounds Studios in Middlebury and the production by Isaac Civitello is really excellent. Mednick has called upon a very talented group of musicians to bring his twelve songs to life here and their interplay is certainly impressive and vibrant. The album title appears to reference Mednick’s year of birth and the songs look at the signposts that mark the key moments along life’s path. Days spent in questioning the universe is something that we can all relate to, and even become a victim of; frozen in time and unable to grasp the significance of the great beyond. On these songs, Mednick seeks to come up with answers that bring a degree of comfort.
On Fulton Hill Mednick sings that ‘I never gave up on love’ and the sweet harmonica brings a sense of nostalgia for times passed. There are regrets, like the song We Never Found Our Way that examines a failed relationship and Stars That Shine Like Diamonds looks to find real meaning in new love and hope for tomorrow. Opener Version Of the Truth asks whether memory is entirely selective and Lost and Found has a nice drum shuffle rhythm and a message to try and find the silver lining in the darkest cloud. The driving This Place is a return to the past and a location that brings back old memories ‘It’s been a long time since I saw her face.’
The lengthy After All These Years highlights the full range of Mednick’s vision as he delivers across an eight-section song that reflects upon his life. ‘Got rivers to cross, don’t know how many, It makes no difference to me,’ kicks the notion of ageing gracefully as Mednick resolves to keep pushing through and searching for new beginnings. The soaring guitar on Time Is A Strange Thing brings the suite to a climax and makes way for the acoustic An Extended Term which sings of wanting to stay on this mortal coil for as long as possible.
The assembled players really shine with the superb guitar of Karl Allweier a regular highlight. Producer Issac Civitello adds drums, percussion, keyboards, guitar and vocals. There are various guests on selected songs with Brett Calabrese taking lead guitar on four songs, and both Ashley Bathgate (cello) and Eddie Seville (harmonica) adding their contributions, along with backing vocals from Falshyuyy Holos. Mednick wrote all the songs and plays guitar, piano and organ in addition to singing all the lead vocals. The final song, appropriately titled Living For Tomorrow reflects that ‘I wish I could take the years of time and bottle wisdom to store with my wine,’ a defining sentiment that captures the moment.
Mednick is a prolific writer with fourteen previous releases, including three albums since Covid struck in 2020. His music is very much in the Americana genre with plenty of roots-based rock and reflective ballads. An artist definitely worth checking out, both for his versatility and for his undoubted talent.
Todd Partridge Autumn Never Knows Self Release
This is a very enjoyable album featuring eight songs that are filled with easy melody and plenty of lyrical playing. Todd Partridge is an Iowa based artist who more than delivers on vocals, mandolin, acoustic and electric guitar and he is a member of the band King Of the Tramps since 2011.
Opening song Postcards From the Sea contains the lyric ‘Maybe love is just the silence between the good things that don’t get said’ and suddenly you pick up your attention. Next up is another insightful song Where the Highway Meets the Sky with some lovely pedal steel playing and the lines ‘well the road gets heavy and the road gets mean, we try to help each other in between, I guess we’re just walking each other home.’ It’s all about just letting the journey unfold…
The slow groove of Sioux Falls is a perfect antidote to a broken heart and the reflection that ‘a bird on a string is a bird that can’t sing, the love song that freedom can bring.’ Wood has a traditional country vibe with some nice violin parts while Lucy Brown channels early Eagles harmonies and some warm organ layers on a song that speaks of love and longing. Partridge has a sweet vocal style and he is back by Bryan Vanderpool (drums, percussion, banjo, guitar, vocals), Kathryn Severing Fox (violin, viola), Sarah Vanderpool (keyboards, organ, vocals) and Jay Foote (fender bass).
Junk Train has a lonesome guitar sound and banjo backing on a prairie song about travelling free and moving with the rhythm of a life on the wing. Blessing follows with a message of support to anyone who needs that sense of a friend in their corner ‘May there always be a road and a hand for you to hold… a blanket to keep you warm when you get old.’ Final song Sorrow leaves the feeling that Partridge is saying goodbye to a close friend, perhaps a family member, whose time has come. It’s a sombre end to what is a celebratory album but perhaps the real message is that life has many ups and downs and the key is trying the ‘seize the day.’ A very impressive album and one that delivers plenty of memorable moments.
Review by Paul McGee
Dan Tuffy and Song Crew Country Star Smoked
Australian artist Dan Tuffy has two previous solo albums to his name, SONGS FROM DAN (2016) and LETTERS OF GOLD (2020). Tuffy has made his home in the Netherlands for the last twenty five years and on this album he has called on some excellent local players in multi-instrumentalist Madelief van Vlijmen, (aka Madlife), guitarist and pedal steel player Stefan Wolfs, and drummer and percussionist Mischa Porte. They prove to be a very dextrous trio in the studio and the interplay on these nine songs is both intuitive and sensitive. They are joined by Zlaya Loud who produced the album and who contributes synthesizers and electronics, plus Michael Turner on two tracks with Matt Walker on another; both providing additional colour on drums, drones, guitars, keyboards, and electro sounds.
There is a loose, chilled, quality to the arrangements that is both considered and effective. The overall impression is of a very self assured and talented artist who has a particular vision of how his music should be represented. The album doesn’t outlive its stay, clocking in at just over the half hour mark and there is plenty of variety across the songs. Life lessons from ‘never pick up the telephone in a strange woman’s house’ to ‘always leave your shirt on at the table’ are dispensed on Don’t Smoke In Bed and could be right out of the John Martyn Folk songbook with strummed guitars and an easy rhythm. Firetails brings a different hue, with restrained percussion, tinkling piano and a rich memory of fiches and bird migration.
Home Sweet Sunshine is an acoustic essay on the dangers of family strife and excessive drinking, double bass, keys and brushed drums setting the atmosphere. Tuffy targets social issues on Where Does the Money Go which is a diatribe on the evils of power in the wrong hands and the lie of the trickle down economy with lines like ‘They ripped the trees out across the big valley, to build estates for the walking dead.’ Justified anger and well-aimed at the political masters of greed.
Polecat shimmers with a slow burn tempo in a tale of someone living off the grid and making a living from used car parts and whatever comes down the track. Some very tasty guitar and restrained keyboard sounds adding to the groove. There are echoes of Leonard Cohen on Silver Morning, with the husky spoken vocal of Tuffy particularly effective in the delivery . The track Venom and Mud has Tuffy examining his relationships and contemplating that ‘ain’t nobody getting nowhere digging up each other’s dirt.’ If all we do is carry grudges, then everything just gets worse as we get older, ‘you gotta swim through the venom and the mud to get things done these days.’ Amen to that…
Man Of Feeling is a highlight and the jazz-like flow to the guitar and bass melody is balanced against fuzz guitar and keyboard explorations. Tuffy plays with the dynamic across the arrangement, lifting the tempo and reflecting on our collective journey. Final track Up A Tree is an acoustic folk song and a meditative piece that brings a sense of calm to all the distraction and disconnection. An Interesting album and worthy of your time.
Review by Paul McGee
The Golden Roses Coverage From Signal Hill Self Release
The joyful sound of this band is quite infectious and over two prior albums the Golden Roses has proven their obvious talent, something that can be witnessed on a regular basis in their local Austin, Texas honky-tonks and dancehalls. They are a real treasure and comprise John Mutchler (vocals, guitar), Heather Rae Johnson (vocals, fiddle), Troy Wilson (bass, backing vocals), Shawnee Rose (drums), and Tony Rincon (pedal steel). The band has a very strong work ethic that has honed their skills over numerous gigs and rehearsals On this 4-song EP they have tipped their collective hat at the great songs that have inspired so many in the country music genre over the decades.
We have cover versions of Amarillo Highway (Terry Allen), Willin’ (Lowell George) and Pancho and Lefty (Townes Van Zandt). As always, the playing is addictive and the spirit within this band shines through in bursts of great interplay, especially the flight of pedal steel and fiddle, intertwined with twanging guitar sounds. Each song is given the Roses stamp in the arrangement but still stays true to the original. We also get a Roses original on the addictive Feelin’ Single, Seein’ Double with superb lead vocal delivered by Heather Rae Johnson.
The band also released a tribute to Jerry Jeff Walker with the song Jaded Lover and a new single titled New Pal has also recently seen the light of day. Texas two steppin’ into a bright future is what awaits all who discover this hidden jewel. They no doubt kick up a storm in a live setting and if you want to get some idea of their celebratory sound then visit the website and click on the live song Top Shelf Whiskey & Cold Lone Star Beer. Energising, exciting and invigorating! “WE PLAY, Y’ALL DANCE!”
Review by Paul McGee
Mighty Poplar, Laurie Jones Music , Lori McKenna, The Pawn Shop Saints, Steve Mednick, Todd Partridge (King Of The Tramps), Dan Tuffy & Song Crew, and The Golden Roses