The Foreign Landers Made To Wonder Tin Foil Studio
The transatlantic romantic and professional partnership of Northern Ireland’s Tabitha Benedict Agnew and South Carolinian David Benedict continues to flourish, as evidenced by this, their second full length album. Tabitha, originally from Co Armagh, is known as an accomplished banjo player, and her prowess on guitar is now equally evident. David is one of the foremost bluegrass mandolin players among the newer generation, having been a prominent member of Mile Twelve for several years. MADE TO WONDER is heavily informed by the arrival of the couples’ first child last year, and explores themes of time (and lack thereof!), transience, faith and hope.
When The Morning Comes was prompted by the trepidation and other emotions felt during Tabitha’s pregnancy. ’There’ll be sleepless nights/ but the light will come’ and ’there'll be joy, crying out through the pain’. The band also comprises the amazing fiddle player Julian Pinelli (a Berklee graduate and a former member of Front Country) and his presence is felt in every track. Nate Sabat on bass ably completes the line up. The ephemeral nature of life is explored in Smell The Rose and Tabitha, who takes lead vocals on most of the songs, reminds us to appreciate the little fleeting things before they disappear. There’s liberal use of layers of backing vocals and lush musical arrangements throughout the album, all of which was impressively recorded and self-produced in their home studio, Tin Foil Studio, in Traveler’s Rest, S Carolina.
They cover beautifully the ‘traditional’ folk song, I Am a Youth Inclined to Ramble, first recorded in the Sam Henry Collection in Northern Ireland and probably best known nowadays from Paul Brady’s rendition on his 1978 folk album, Welcome Here Kind Stranger. Scottish folk artist Kris Drever adds harmony vocals here, contrasting with Tabitha’s soft vocals, and Armagh’s Brian Finnegan (Flook) enhances it with his mellifluous whistle playing, lending the whole affair a decidedly Celtic feel. Another standout track is the title song, which recounts the frustration at how days go by in a flash, suitably soundtracked by a persistent frenetic banjo contribution from Tabitha, and augmented by equally frantic fiddle from Julian. Resolution comes, however, from their Christian faith, a prominent theme throughout the recording.
Uncertainty about the future features again in The Walking Song, while the amusing Shoes Off lays out their mutual frustration with each others’ foibles, a normal part of living in the same space. Tabitha switches to frailing banjo in a lovely cover of Ola Belle Reed’s Wildflowers, with David’s octave mandolin playing complementing superbly. The album closes with Is It a Dream?, a fitting love song to their daughter.
MADE TO WONDER marks another step towards a more folky feel for this progressive bluegrass ensemble, with another personal collection. There should be more than enough here to satisfy both the faithful and the faithless!
Eilís Boland
Brule County Bad Boys Burden Lake (Cold As Life) Ya-Ya! Ent
This band of Troy, New York-based bad boys (and a couple of lawless ladies too) have a number of previous albums and singles to their credit. They are something of a roughneck take on old school country and outlaw ethos energy. The band is fronted by the lead vocalist, songwriter and instrumentalist Josh Coletto and he is joined by Sean “Tex” Secor on bass, Steve Golding on pedal steel, Benny Wessels on drums, keyboardist Sam Wessels and fiddler Lucy Nelligan. They are augmented by co-producer Steve Hammond, who was joined in the task by Coletto. The former also added some steel and guitar. He was joined in the latter capacity by Graham Tichy and Kieran Robbins. Kevin Maul played dobro and they were accompanied by vocalists Jen Maco, Yarrow Denny-Colettop and Miles McNally. Hammond himself received a favourable review here for his last album too.
There is a gamut of tracks on offer that, on first listen, almost sound like two different bands, one a countrified twang band and the other a fiddle-led outfit. However, on further listening, it begins to blend together as a more cohesive offering, yet one that still has the rough edges intact. The slow paced Switchblade Knife builds with some abrasive guitar and swirling keyboards, while Susanna Gal Interlude is a short fiddle stomp that sounds as if it was recorded live. So does the later Bucking Mule Interlude, which again sounds like a beer-infused singalong. Somewhere between the two directions Truckin’ is a familiar tale of white line fever that is full of truck stop twang - with piano and guitar featured at a tempo to match the need to move on down the current highway. It has a large show-stye chorus tacked on at the end that is slightly incongruous but fun. That sense of random sound extends to the inclusion of ambient voice overs that feature ahead of a number of the tracks. As before, the opening Cold As Life (with its gunshots and shouts) itself offers a fairly comprehensive introduction to the band and to Coletto’s fulsome vocal. It has some complementary backing vocals over its raucous country rendering with steel, fiddle and guitar all in the mix. It sets you up for what is to follow.
Aside from the aforementioned tracks, there are songs like Diggin’ Deep that is prefaced by a rant about how the rich rule by way of the work of those who aren’t. It is again a strong song that further illuminates the sentiment of the intro. There is a sweetness to the fiddle intro to Expectation that says “ain’t nothing wrong, ain’t nothing wrong.” Throughout, the songs tend to favour the plight of those who struggle and work for a living. Cornbread takes a rockier route in a similar theme. Being lonesome is the question set before Wet Brain, a slower song that asks “which side are you on when the daylight is gone?” Perhaps a suitable choice for a vampire film or similar.
Towards the end of the album, the 'live in a tavern' feel is again achieved in Little Soul, a song with steel, piano and fiddle and some vocal accompaniment that sounds pretty much how you could imagine this being the way the band might sound live. The album closes off with The Lantern, a ‘border’ feel is alluded with the accordion sound and the lead vocal joined in the choruses to provide the album with a satisfying conclusion, even when that ending is prolonged with some vibrant drumming beyond the song’s finish.
This is another release from a band who play for their audience and for themselves with an upfront and unabated attitude and outlaw instincts, that make for a interesting and enjoyable album from the edges of the country music landscape. Suitable for bad boys and mischievous gals everywhere.
Stephen Rapid
Greazy Alice As Time Goes By Loose
Two EPs, JUST ANOTHER ONE and CIRCLES, released in late 2025, gave listeners a taste of what to expect from the New Orleans-based band, Greazy Alice. The band was formed by Alex Pianowich, originally from Pennsylvania, who teamed up with vocalist and now wife, Jo Morris. Together, they have created a modern boy/girl country project, blending the playful style of Lee Hazlewood and Nancy Sinatra with the lo-fi elements of David Berman’s Silver Jews. Pianowich relocated to New Orleans fifteen years ago and established himself as a ‘go-to’ session player in the city's alternative, indie, and Americana scenes.
Greazy Alice’s debut full-length album features eleven tracks, combining material from both previously released EPs with newer songs. Much of the material emerged during Pianowich’s daily marathon walks around New Orleans, often structured around the city's capacity to confront the many challenges it has faced and overcome over the decades. As a result, death and rebirth regularly surface in the songwriting, alongside closer-to-the-heart issues like romantic commitment. The latter emerges in Just Another One (‘Don’t get too close, it makes me wanna run, yeah, I’m afraid I’m just another one’). Opening with Pianowich’s spoken vocals and soon to be joined by Morris’ high-pitched trilling, it’s a heavy-hearted and edgy delight.
More conventional are the country ballad Circles, written after the tragic passing of a friend, and the smooth, joyful country swing of Turn. Equally easy-going and no less intoxicating is Stop Asking Why, highlighting the fluency of the couple’s combined vocals. Conceived during one of Pianowich’s daily rambles, the slow-burning and self-counselling Glen Echo Cardinals (‘Don’t you let those thoughts turn black or you’ll start slipping back’) strives for positive thought patterns.
With the help of a close friend and fellow songwriter, Morgan Orion, Pianowich recorded the material on a Tascam MS16 tape machine. The songs range from conservative to experimental, following a basic traditional honky tonk formula punctuated by sonic oddities. This approach brings Pianowich’s expressive songwriting to life, resulting in a deeply satisfying and interesting listen.
Declan Culliton
Sophie Gault Unhinged Torrez
We’ve been on Nashville-based Sophie Gault’s musical journey at Lonesome Highway since discovering DELUSIONS OF GRANDEUR, the debut full-length album by the then-named Sophie & The Broken Things in 2022. Released in her own name, BALTIC STREET HOTEL followed two years later. Her latest ten-track offering, UNHINGED, follows her trajectory of raising the bar with each of her subsequent recordings.
Often positioned in the overflowing Americana genre, that classification does not do Gault justice. Instead, cast your mind back to the early 1970s and the emergence of cowpunk or two decades later when alt-country was in full swing, and you’re getting closer to Gault’s sound. Playing out like Gault had been tuning into Lucinda Williams’ Changed The Locks and Righteously on repeat, that rawness and snarling guitar-led sound behind her gritty vocals in UNHINGED amounts to her most ambitious project to date.
The opening track is a remodelling of Buck Owens’ Loves Gonna Live Here. Screaming guitars, thumping drums and bass lines transform Owens’ mid-paced honky tonker into a fully blissed-out rocker. It’s also a statement for what is to follow, with Gault seldom shifting gear from that ‘in your face’ stance. Matching that dynamic is Stowaway, conceived while Gault enjoyed some downtime on the Outlaw Music Cruise, and the Mando Saenz-written Pocket Change which, in keeping with the original version, and despite its placid opening, explodes thirty seconds later into a fully charged blowout.
Gault has spoken openly about her struggles with mental illness and how songwriting, particularly in her early work, has been a therapeutic medium to document the challenges of bipolar disorder. The inclusion of the Robert Johnson-penned Stop Breaking Down may or may not be a note to herself; either way, it’s a blistering reworking of the song. Tracks with equally sharp teeth include the extremely muscular bluesy rocker Whiskey Would Help, and Last Call Rock and Roll is a ‘tears in your beer’ barroom standard.
It's not entirely a firm foot down on the gas either. Taken at a gentler tempo, the bluesy Merlot Dodge Dart tells of a spurned lover exacting revenge by keying her ex’s beloved automobile. The mid-paced Chestnut St., written about a less-than-committed boyfriend, harks back to Gault’s earlier career days playing in upstate New York bars. Stripped back to vocals and guitar, Is Anyone Out There bookends the album, with Gurf Morlix, who wrote the song, adding his voice to the gentle, questioning song.
Produced by Alex Torrez and David Dorn and recorded at Farmland Studios in Nashville, Gault has turned the heat up several notches with UNHINGED, resulting in her most impressive album to date.
Declan Culliton
Slow Motion Cowboys Wolf Of St.Elmo Arkam
Late to the party with this one, but thankfully not overlooked. Released in 2025, Slow Motion Cowboys is a New Orleans-based band led by the self-christened ‘Buzzard Prince of San Francisco in Exile’, Pete Fields. Originally from San Francisco, Fields relocated to New Orleans via Las Cruces in New Mexico and WOLF OF ST. ELMO’s laid-back and gloriously loose tones tap into the roots of all three regions.
Fields set the wheels in motion for the band in his student days, over 20 years ago, originally naming the project One Eyed Spectacle, which was later rechristened Slow Motion Cowboys. Four albums followed: BUZZARD SONGS (2013), EXILE/ON THE MESA (2016), SUNBURNT FEATHERS (2019), and SHORE BIRD (2021) before he moved to New Orleans and joined the burgeoning roots music scene there. Hooking up with like-minded players from that area, and close friend Shawn Wyman, who also moved to the city, presented Fields with the means to flesh out the ten songs that made the cut for this album.
Self-produced by Fields, he played guitar and sang, with Wyman on bass, percussion, and backing vocals. The other band members included Denton Hatcher (guitar, bass, backup Vocals) and Will McMains (drums, percussion). A host of other locals also contributed, adding pedal steel, mandolin, melodica, organ, and backing vocals. These included Greazy Alice band leader Alex Pianovich, who is credited as playing piano, guitar, and harmonica on this record.
There’s so much to like about the album’s ten tracks. Textured stories about survival and love-torn relationships are at the heart of Field’s writing. Delicate pedal steel and tingling piano are twinned with Fields’ heartsick vocals in Catch and Release, which recalls Neil Young pouring his heart out in Mellow My Mind from his darkest record, TONIGHT’S THE NIGHT. There’s also anguish in the backstories contained in Invisible Stars and Damned If You Do, with the writer mulling over romantic tie-ups hanging on by a thread. Running From Regrets (‘Heading down that lonesome highway, probably late at night, running from regrets’) speaks of one of those past liaisons, and Drive These Streets Blind echoes the narratives and musicianship on Richmond Fontaine’s breakthrough record, POST TO WIRE. The album is bookended with the title track. Taking its name after a dive bar in Bisbee, Arizona, it’s a moody and cryptic border-influenced gem.
Lovers of the late 20th-century alt-country genre should lap this up. What may be bleak themes are handled with delicacy and unhurried melodies on a record that offers the listener many memorable songs, making it a truly rewarding listen from start to finish.
Declan Culliton
Charles Wesley Godwin Live from the Steel City Self Release
Pittsburgh, Pa is the location for this impressive live album from Virginia native Charles Wesley Godwin. Across twenty-three songs his craft is highlighted in the stirring performance and the dynamic that is served up by his band, The Allegheny High.
Included are covers of Whitehouse Road (Tyler Childers), The Jealous Kind (Chris Knight), Take Me Home, Country Roads (John Denver), and the majority of the setlist is taken from three previous albums, Family Ties (eleven songs), How the Mighty Fall (three songs), and Seneca (four songs). There is also an old Merle Haggard song Ramblin’ Fever, together with a rendition of Jamie, a song that Godwin performed with Zach Bryan previously on an EP released in 2022. We find Charles Wesley Godwin at the very top of his creative power here, his rich vocal tone resonating across the audience and a fervent celebration that confirms the giant steps taken in his career thus far.
Allegheny County includes the city of Pittsburgh, the second largest in the state of Pennsylvania, after Philadelphia, and it’s the meeting point of three rivers: the Allegheny, Monongahela, and Ohio. The musicians that support Charles Wesley Godwin as The Allegheny High and are mainly from the Beaver County area of Pennsylvania and include Max Somerville (keyboards, piano), Al Torrence (lead guitar), Nate Catanzarite (bass), Joe Pinchotti (drums), Eric Dull (guitars), and Amico “Meex” Demuzio (pedal steel, lap steel, banjo). On this live performance Eric James is introduced as a guitarist in the band, in place of Eric Dull.
In just a short number of years, Godwin has shot to fame like a rocket with a career trajectory that is really gathering pace these days. His popularity lies in a humble, down-home persona and coming across like the kind of guy you’d just enjoy sharing a beer with down at your local watering hole. His songwriting is very much taken from experiences in growing up in the heartland of Virginia, home to Bluegrass, String Band and Old Time music traditions, and acts such as the Carter Family and the Stanley Brothers. Godwin sings of local issues in songs like The Flood, and Sorry For the Wait, his father on Miner Imperfections, his daughter on Dance In Rain, and his grandfather on Seneca Creek.
Stage AE is a multi-purpose entertainment complex in Pittsburgh and this was the concert venue for the live recording, part of a 2025 USA tour that included performances at the AmericanaFest in Nashville, where I was lucky enough to catch his incendiary performance at the Skydeck. The band is so finely tuned and impressively sharpened through intuitive playing across songs that they know intimately from regular performance together. When the rhythm section is locked-in, and the pedal steel, banjo and lead guitar are dove-tailing around the melody; it’s all very addictive, compelling, and vibrant. The between-song dialogue from Godwin feeds perfectly into the enthusiastic crowd who respond with plenty of positive cheering and chanting.
Songs like Hardwood Floors, Cue Country Roads, Shrinks and Pills, and Another Leaf give the musicians plenty of room to stretch out and fire from the hip, with more reflective songs like Family Ties, All Again, Willing and Able and Jesse showing a softer side to proceedings. Overall, this is a great example of live music played in the perfect setting, making you feel part of the experience and wishing you could be plug into this energy every night. Stirring stuff.
Paul McGee
The Boy the Earth Sings To The Quiet Voice Of God Self Release
Twelve songs and forty minutes of beautiful, fragile, soft-focus dreamscapes that come and go, almost like a sweet summer scent on the breeze. This is gentle melody and ensemble playing of the highest quality from a selection of musicians that are very much aligned and expressing great simpático. Joshua Britt is the creative source behind The Boy the Earth Sings To and he is indeed plugged directly into the great mystery, as he honours the spectral quality of nature in the everyday. Taking time to slow down and celebrate all that we have surrounding us, both within and without, this is the joy to be found on this special project.
In a career spent looking for the magical, Joshua Britt has been blessed in seeking out like-minded souls along the journey. From a childhood in Kentucky, immersed in family tradition, learning to play the mandolin, steeped in the waters of old church Gospel harmony singing, and founding his own musical project, The Orphan Brigade. Along with co-founder Nielsen Hubbard he branched out into film and video work by forming Neighborhoods Apart Productions, and now the spirit has moved Joshua to return once again to his first love of music.
Suitably inspired by the Spanish genius that was Gaudí we are given a quote that says “ The creation continues incessantly through the media of man. But man does not create … he discovers.” Perfectly expressed, and in this new project, Joshua Britt discovers the essence and joy of his creative muse. He joins with others, such as Matt 'The Banjo Player' Menefee (Mumford & Sons), the lovely harmonies of Lady Moon (Eva Holbrook of SHEL), Neilson Hubbard (drums), Good Day Dean (guitars), Gaijin Yujin (upright bass, strings), Matt Menefee (Ebow, banjo), Dean Marold, (bass, strings), Jason Miller (piano), and his children, Quincy and Colter, (who contribute harmony vocals, drums, percussion). Sarah Drake (harmony vocals) also appears, along with cameos from Zach Bevill and Carey Ott on individual tracks. However, it’s the multi-instrumental skills of Joshua Britt that take the central role and whether performing on mandolins, banjos, Op-1, electric guitars, piano, mandola, or other stringed instruments, he displays craftmanship of the highest order.
The lead vocals are mixed down in the overall song arrangements, lending them a ghostly quality and an ‘otherness,’ as if they’re being sourced from another point in the ether. Songs that resonate seamlessly blend into a comprehensive listening experience and produce a hushed quality. The concept of time passing and life unfolding informs tracks like Burn the Daylight There, and Every Single Moment, with the power of enduring love present in songs such as Easy To Fall In Love, together with Walter and Vera. The past is ever with us, whether in fleeting memory or a sense of emotion lost, and songs like Small Town Dreams, Picture Frames and Too Late Too Soon address nostalgia, dreams and time gone by.
Constant change and the strength to be found in personal resilience and spirit, thread into Eyes Of God and Rain Washes In, while dealing with complex inner feelings are reflections on The Wolf Is Dead and Spirit Machine. Joshua Britt sings that ‘I want to live like a watch unwinding’ and elsewhere ‘Searching for the truth, The quiet voice of God in every moment,’ and in his search for real connection he has found a precious source of creativity to inspire all who come into his orbit.
Paul McGee
Mark Sebastian A Trick Of the Light Self Release
It is sometimes said that “less is more,” and that quality is always more important than quantity. And, indeed, if absence does make the heart grow fonder, then the return of Mark Sebastian is very welcome to those who enjoy music that is both commercial and appealing to a wide cohort.
There is something to suit everyone across these nine songs of contemporary folk and easy r’n’b rhythms. Mark rose to fame on the back of the song “Summer In the City” which he wrote with his brother John B. Sebastian, and it became a classic 60s Summer hit when recorded by John’s band, The Lovin’ Spoonful. Mark has collaborated over his years in the music business with the talents of Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks, in addition to writing for publishing houses and devoting time to an acting career.
On this third album Mark has included some real talent on the songs, with James Gadson (Smokey Robinson, BB King, Marvyn Gave) playing drums on eight tracks, and Bob Glaub (Bob Dylan, CSN, Jackson Browne) contributing bass and guitars on eight tracks also. Outside of this engine room we have guest slots from both Freddie Washington, and Motown Funk Brother, guitarist, Wah Wah Watson. Don Randi of the original Wrecking Crew turns up on piano, while string arrangements by Van Dyke Parks join with cameos from Bill Payne (Little Feat), Johnnie Lee Schell (Bonnie Raitt), with Billy Nicholls and Leah Kunkel on background vocals.
There are elements of smooth jazz on the love song A Voice In the Forest and the lines ‘This time, let it be easier, This time, there’ll be room to run’ sum up the feeling of freedom highlighted. The opposite applies in the song You Made A Monkey Out Of Me with a great groove masking the failure of a relationship, while the players create a Steely Dan feel on the arrangement. Trying to reconcile with the girl is something that Roll With Me addresses ‘All my old mates ask me, What’s the status on you.’ The message is similar on The Way Back Home with the parties to the potential relationship both slipping off track ‘I must have been away far too long, Show me where it is I turned wrong.’
Riverrun has superb harmony and melody on a song that mirrors a Beach Boys sound, while the title track is a regret on love gone wrong with a plea to try again ‘Rusty bridges, broken roads, Surround this dirty old town, Can we rescue our lofty dreams, From these bits on the ground.’ The contemporary sound of Beneath the Sheets warns that external beauty is not enough to sustain a meaningful liaison beyond the bedroom, and Hard-Hearted deals with regret in living for yourself. The final track is a funky work-out and Get-Up and Move continues the abiding theme of relationships and their complexities. So, lots to colour this album and one that will find favour with admirers of great melody and layered arrangements.
Paul McGee
Sigvard and the Bone Whispers In the Land Of the Midnight Sun HepTown
This Swedish band release a second album that comes with much to recommend it. There are nine tracks across forty minutes of what I would call “Swedicana.’ Well, creative licence is a good thing when you are a reviewer, and the overall sound dynamic here is very close to the traditional Americana sound of so many bands Stateside.
The opening song In the Land Of the Midnight Sun is in reference to the name given to Norway, mainly due to the fact that a natural phenomenon occurs there where proximity to the Arctic Circle can result in the sun shining over 24-hours. There may be strange behaviour as a result and drinking all day long can lead to all manner of trouble. The song Call My Name seeks a deep connection with another where a lack of self-identity is replaced by the belief shown from someone near. Deep Water is about bouncing back in life and not staying down on the bottom of the ladder. Breathe is another song about looking for connection, where self-doubt and inner demons can be dispelled by the comforting hand of another.
When I Die is a giddy old-time country manifesto on how to live your life completely free from routine encumbrance, leave nothing behind, and enjoy the days we are given. On Bang Your Drum, (Go To War) the old traditions handed down are questioned on this anti-war protest ‘And you fight for someone else's power, Not your freedom like they say, And when you think you've won the battle, You end up losing anyway.’
The blues groove on Mama Your Boy Is Hurting is a fine band work-out with harmonica taking some nice moments in the song arrangement, along with cool electric guitar. Better Than Me is a song about the over-confidence of youth when everything seems possible in life. Suddenly you are left with the realisation that the limits on your potential are all self-inflicted. The final song is Harbour and it’s a sanctuary for the tired and lonely ‘I'll be your haven, When you're tired of the storms, I'll keep your fire, bright and warm, I'll be the rock we build upon, I'll be wherever you call home.’ Harmonica and pedal steel lift the melody and bring everything to a satisfactory conclusion.
Jonas Hellerup (lead vocals, acoustic guitar), Mats Brandström (drums, percussion, banjo, backing vocals), Olof Broberg (double, electric bass), Lars Brandström (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, dobro, mandolin, bouzouki, pedal steel, backing vocals), Lars Nilsson (organ, piano), Samuel Lundström (violin), Goran Petrovski (violin), Hedvig Wieslander (cello), and Martin Poblete (harmonica) come together to provide the magic dust. It’s a fine album with lots to recommend it.
Paul McGee