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 2020. 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 Ryan Foster. 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