Noel McKay Songs About Bad People Self Release
Back with a new eight track set of songs that touch on many parts of McKay’s musical journey and as well as a couple that appear to touch on some new destinations. It was produced by Eric Blakely and recorded both in Nashville and in France. It features, in the main, songs that are written or co-written by McKay. Fallaste Corazón, the only outside song, was written by Cuco Sánchez and naturally is sung in Spanish with an arrangement that reflects that sensibility. However just how bad the person in the song is eludes me since I don’t speak that language, but ‘Failed Heart’ is the translation of the title so you can image the scenario. There is no such misunderstanding about The Artist Of Death, the story of an executioner Billy White, who outlines the various forms of execution available to such a dark practitioner. As the opening song it sets the tone with a simple keyboard, percussion and bass instrumentation. It also defines that McKay has a timbre and profoundness to his vocal that holds attention front and centre.
Lighter in tone is the duet of the engaging country mode of Pink Chandelier, which he co-wrote with Becky Warren. The female vocalist isn’t listed in the credits, which was inspired by that style of light fitting in a Vietnamese restaurant. Both the diners are skirting round issues of distrust and demonisation. However on the surface, looking into that dining space, all could be seen, perhaps, as something more normal and less unsavoury. The next song continues in a similarly relaxed musical setting, telling of how the notion of love is open to interpretation and possible fixations. Strange California Days is also slightly unsettling as it gently unfolds its misunderstanding of the nature of love. The character in Terrifically Vain who is described as “You’re shallow, pompous, and proud / You’re unabashedly loud … But whenever I feel defeated / I just think of how you succeeded with no real cause to be so incredibly conceited.” Lines like this confirm that McKay also knows how to write an interesting and involving song along the way.
Again the philosophy of the protagonist of The Midas Touch has no lack of a sense of entitlement - “I want a real fast car, an easy job and a big name / A big name / I want a wad of cash / a hefty stash and an airplane.” Fair enough if that is what life holds for you. But don’t confuse the personalties detailed here as being McKay, or his thinking. On this occasion the plot doesn’t quite work out as was intended. The song itself was a cowrite between McKay, Brennen Leigh and the late (great) Davis Olney. Arianna Monteverdi provides the alluring harmony vocal. On a different music noir path, with the atmosphere of late night wet streets and shadowy paranoia, is Hit Man, about a man who tries to justify his occupation but in reality has none. He kills for pleasure and money - nothing else.
A change of pace and intention is the final track When The Night Is As Black As A Coffin, with its undeniable subject and tonal inspiration reminiscent of Long Black Veil. This one is viewed from a different perspective, but one that is no less bleak overall. It has a distinct Celtic atmosphere that befits its arrangement and performance. As elsewhere Arianna Monteverdi’s vocal fits as a perfect foil for McKay’s. The rhythm section of Aaron Goodrich and Clyde Cervantes are understated but essential throughout with additional embellishments from Catherine Marx on Wurlitzer and keyboards and further contributions on selected tracks by Ken Coomer, Ben Sanders on violin and on the aforementioned Hit Man Mary Rogers plays apt saxophone along with the vibraphone of Sam Bacco. A select and convincing set of musicians who serve the songs and McKay’s central themes perfectly, making this a release that has the ability to reveal as it relates the bad people it engenders. Yet it will work for you good people too.
Stephen Rapid
Julia Jacklin The Gem 4AD
Julia Jacklin's fourth album is named after a small bar in Melbourne that became her second home when she moved there from Sydney in 2017. In recognition of this, Jacklin recorded THE GEM, her fourth album, at Rat Shack Studios above the bar, co-produced with the studio owner and her close friend, Robert Munios.
Out of contract with her record label since her 2022 record PRE PLEASURE and after a gruelling few years touring, Jacklin found herself without a record label or manager, with time on her hands. Hooking up with Munios and longtime friends Jacob Diamond (guitar), Mimi Gilbert Bass (bass) and Jess Elwood (drums), she set out to track her fourth album. What was supposed to be a quick turnaround was anything but. After recording, mixing, and mastering the album, Jacklin revisited the recordings and wasn't totally comfortable with them; over the next twelve months, she worked with Munios, revising the recordings until she felt satisfied with the final product.
The contradiction and dilemma between the love of performing set against the hardship and time crunching of touring is questioned in If I had the hand of God (“If I had the hand of god/Would the god whose hand I have / Know how to pick up the phone / Take a breath and call my dad”). Before that, the opening track Brand New celebrates a sense of rebirth and liberation (“I’m free now let me be brand new”). That sense of regaining control, rather than letting others dictate your every move, also surfaces in God Sometimes.
The acceptance of a doomed relationship is recalled in The Hardest Thing, whereas the jaunty Get Away From Me (I Think I’ll Love You) is a more playful take on flirtation. The album closes with the stripped-back and reflective I Wish. With sisters Elsie and Maggie Rigby from the folk duo The Maes adding backing vocals, Jacklin signs off on a positive note while mulling over trying times, fortunately now in the past (“I got through, yeah I’ll be fine / still I wish someone had been there at the time / yeah I wish someone had been there at the time”).
Jacklin is the master of the bittersweet ballad with expressive vocals that land between vulnerability and confidence. This nakedly autobiographical album further enhances her reputation as an artist who can seamlessly shift from alternative folk to modern pop.
Declan Culliton
Two Runner Porchlight Gar Hole
Three-piece folk/country band Two Country is fronted by Paige Andersen, whose music career began at age nine when she toured with her family’s bluegrass band. PORCHLIGHT is the band’s first record on Nick Shoulders’ record label, Gar Hole, and was written and recorded after Andersen parted ways with her longtime musical collaborator, Emilie Rose (who features on several tracks), and dealt with the aftermath of a ten-year romantic relationship that had ended. Not surprisingly, the album’s lyrical direction centres on rebirth and resilience.
“How many times have you left the life you’ve always known?” Andersen asks in the opening lines of the album’s title track, accepting her predicament with her head held high as she prepares for a new life chapter. Her clear vocals across the album’s twelve tracks are supported by claw hammer banjo, slick guitar picking, upright bass, fiddles, and country-style harmonies, creating a sound that lands between folk and bluegrass.
Missed Calls and the album’s standout track, Late Dinner, suggest emotional turbulence and a relationship’s fading light (“You pulled the hope right out from under me/The worst part was I tried and tried way too hard/To catch your eyes, to hold your hand”). More forward-looking is Strawberry Rhinestone (“Don’t let the bad ones get you down/‘Cause the good ones are hanging somewhere around”), and the letting-go, up-tempo tracks Punk Rock Bar and Burnout both impress.
Co-produced by Anderson, Rose and Oz Fritz and recorded at High Velocity Sound Engineering in Andersen’s birth town, Nevada City, the contributors alongside her were Emile Rose (fiddle, cello, viola, vocals), Charlie Rose (pedal steel), Lucas Lawson (bass, vocals), Tyson Gerhardt (twelve-string guitar) and Daniel Young (drums).
Loss may be the thread that runs through much of PORCHLIGHT. Still, it’s most likely the closing of a chapter in Paige Andersen’s musical journey and a transitional period, to be followed by much more equally impressive work going forward.
Declan Culliton
Tyler Ramsey and Carl Broemel Celestun Duo Quest / Tone Tree
This deluxe version of CELESTUN, a collaboration between Tyler Ramsey and Carl Broemel, includes three additional tracks not included in the original release earlier this year. Ramsey was previously a member of Band of Horses; Broemel is a classically trained multi-instrumentalist and member of My Morning Jacket, alongside his solo career; he and Ramsey have been friends and touring partners for years, and this album is essentially an instrumental song cycle recorded primarily on acoustic guitars.
The album’s title comes from a small town in the Yucatán Peninsula in southeast Mexico, and Ramsey and his family were inspired by a visit to the region. It’s also the opening track and, like In The Willows, is both atmospheric and cinematic. Elizabeth Brown, which follows the opening track, is a more upbeat, playful jam.
Nevermind, one of three songs that include vocals on the original recording, ponders present-day social media overload and fake news, and Flying Things features backing vocals from The Secret Sisters. A cover of Neil Young’s Sail Away, is a fitting testament to the simple, fundamental things in life often ignored in the push and pull of modern living.
Two additional tracks feature on this deluxe edition. Evening County, recorded live at Space in Evanston, Illinois, features Moose Loon on backing vocals and recorded live at The Grey Eagle in Ashville, North Carolina Carried Away includes backing vocals by Maggie Halfman.
CELESTUN balances simplicity and sophistication, with two friends recharging their batteries, all underpinned by top-drawer playing.
Declan Culliton
Hollow Hand Wish Road South Loose
MJ Lenderman, Caitlin Rose, and Aoife Nessa Frances may come from different musical genres, but together they set a roadmap for Hollow Hand / Max Kinghorn-Mills’ latest record. With the bones of an album already written, Kinghorn-Mills' support on Lenderman’s European tour, plus collaborations with Nessa Frances and playing in Rose’s touring band, reawakened his creative spirit and led to a fresh start in the writing and recording process for this record.
Alongside the previously namechecked artists, Kinghorn-Mills' influences range from Violent Femmes to The Modern Lovers and Steeleye Span to Lou Reed and that eclectic mix of music was the filter that led to WISH ROAD SOUTH, his most ambitious recording to date. The recording process also took a different path from Kinghorn-Mills previous methodology. Rather than recording in his flat or a makeshift studio in his father’s shed, he teamed up with bass player Leo Clarke and drummer Oliver Newton in a Brighton studio and tracked the songs live.
Given that the album’s ten tracks play out like a musical roadmap at a given time for Kinghorn-Mills, there is inevitably a lack of cohesiveness, but that ‘skip and jump’ approach does not detract from the end product; if anything, it adds to the album's charm. Consider the traditional folk opener Flower In The Garden swiftly followed by the outrageously melodic power-pop " Here Are The Tulips and you’re scratching your head in wonder if both came from the same recording session. Likewise, Love Again, with its Velvet Underground vibe, seems oceans away, sound-wise, from the Teenage Fan Club-sounding Heavy Metal T-Shirt. Elsewhere, the Wilco-like flavour of Kiss The Boot and the driving Brit-pop tracks Drinking With Judy and Green Meadows Of England have little in common except that they're clever, well written, and exceptionally listenable.
No rule book dictates that an album’s first principle should be a consistent, interconnecting vibe throughout, and if there were, it would no doubt find a home in Kinghorn-Mills’ wastepaper basket. WISH ROAD SOUTH may not be an exact sum of its parts, but it’s loaded with great songs gathered from numerous influential sources in Kinghorn-Mills' most accomplished project to date.
Declan Culliton
Jeffrey Halford and the Healers Used Parts Self Release
More proof of the notable talent that flows out of the guitar and pen of Texas troubadour Jeffrey Halford. This is a soulful rock album that comes shining through across ten tracks that are full of energy and insight.
The studio players are very much locked into the project and the guitar tone and phrasing of Halford is exceptional, adding more energy to the overall listening experience. If you are looking for an introduction to this artist and his music then the 2020 compilation Beware of Worthless Imitations (vol.1) is the perfect starting point. Not that you should not seek out the individual albums, as when you have such an innate songwriting talent, then every release is a gem to be uncovered.
Bright Lights kicks off the album with restrained rhythm, soulful in the delivery and an early example of Halford’s guitar prowess. Used Parts follows and the rocky beat highlights the great ensemble dynamic. Living Worthwhile slows things down with keyboards and pedal steel setting the mood before Don’t Turn Out the Lights follows in a similar vein, a cool tempo on a song about embracing change.
Rhythm Of the Rails is about chance encounters and it’s a great rocking tune, followed by the atmospheric Corazón – a song about connection, courage and spirit, with the accordion prominent in the mix and echoing tex-mex influences. Chasing Forgiveness has sweet and soulful harmonies to accompany more inventive guitar from Halford and this groove continues on High Mountain Soul with the rhythm section of Mike Anderson on bass and Adan Rossi on drums excelling. Rossi also plays keyboards and another regular band member is Kevin Thomas White who plays bass on three songs here. Rossi and White have been supporting Jeffrey Halford as far back as 2004 when he first started recording.
Additional musicians include two of Halford’s children with Aaron featured on three songs with his guitar and vocals, and sister Hannah adding vocals on another three songs. Tom Heyman plays pedal steel on three tracks to great atmospheric effect, and Myron Dove adds bass on another.
There is a Bill Wyman cover with blues slide guitar and ZZ Top rhythm on Mississippi Flyer before the simple acoustic guitar and piano of True North brings everything to a very satisfactory conclusion. A superb album, just go out and add it to your collection folks!
Paul McGee
Bill Baker SUCH, etc. & WHAT Self Release
Eight songs on this confident introduction to the music of Washington DC artist Bill Baker, who leads his local band the Diviners. There was a 2016 album release titles Arms Of the World but it appears that no further official releases followed.
The current musicians in the Diviners are Bill Baker (vocals, electric and slide guitar), Derek Brock (vocals, acoustic guitar), Scott Glambusso (upright bass), and Steve Bloom (drums, percussion). On this album they are joined by other musical friends in the studio to add their talents to these songs.
A highlight is the presence of Kinobe and his use of Kora on the song If It Wasn’t For Love where the beautiful melodies that are created by this 21-stringed West African instrument that blends features of a harp and lute, are truly inspiring. It appears again on other tracks such as Running Dry which is a song that laments the way we treat this earthly planet as a species.
Dig A Hole is a blues-based song that has a restrained atmosphere and a slow groove around which the musicians interplay. Some great guitarwork on this one too. Going To Louisiana is more up-tempo and swings with a bayou beat, the accordion of Brian Simms front and centre as the rhythm seduces.
Co-producer Gantt Kushner plays electric guitar on the songs alongside Bill Baker, and the banjo of Bob Lucas, with Tom Mendte on mandolin, and the violin of Tad Marks are prominent on the upbeat country sound of Grace Of God. The overall sound is one of easy ensemble playing among friends who know each other so well, and the album is a very enjoyable thirty minutes of your time.
Paul McGee
Garett Gunderson Anywhere Anytime Self Release
Edmonton, Canada is home to this musician who releases his second album, and the nine songs are very much rooted in the commercial arena of rock-based arrangements. The album is produced mixed and mastered by Stew Kirkwood who plays a wide array of instruments, with Gunderson providing all lead vocals. The recording was captured at Dept.9 Studios in the heart of Edmonton and owned by Kirkwood.
Some of the song arrangements remind me of the Cars in their heyday and In the Sunlight is a prime example. Love is the abiding message on these tracks and there is the inclusion of the Itunu Choir on Let Our Love. There is a great guitar sound on the album and Anywhere Anytime is a song where Kirkwood gets the opportunity to showcase his licks. Miss Dynamite is an all-out rocker and on Soul Love we have the inclusion of Allison Ochoa (baritone sax), Bob Tildesley (trumpet), supported by the warm organ sound of Rob Shapiro.
Gunderson delivers on lead vocals with a quiet confidence, never showy in the performance, and always front and centre in the production mix. Vocal harmonies are courtesy of Tim Cotton and Stephanie Suchy and with less than thirty minutes of listening time, the album is a very pleasing diversion. Not that it will ever pull up any trees, but as solid songwriting and production goes, this is quite acceptable fare.
Paul McGee
Cina and the Fireflites Good Ol’ Music Tuten
We are transported back to the land of swinging 50s USA, and that immersive world of western swing, old time country, rockabilly, and honky tonk tunes. Cina covers twelve original songs across these different styles and her vocal performance is so perfectly aligned with each song chosen to represent those times. The overarching sense is that her influences run deeply into the inspiration shown by the era of Patsy Cline or indeed, Loretta Lynn and Connie Francis.
The upright bass and drums propel the songs, with piano, lap steel and pedal steel keeping the pot boiling, while the clean and tidy guitar lines, along with rich harmony vocals add to great effect. Born in Sweden, Cina invites fellow Scandinavian musicians to share their skills across these chosen tracks and her brother Berra Karlsson contributes on various guitars, and as co-producer, along with the chanteuse herself.
(I’d Be) A Legend In My Time and Give Myself A Party are mid-tempo tracks and both were written by Don Gibson. The classic You Belong To Me (Price, King, Stewart) is included, and the Thank Heaven For Sending Me You (Devaney) is another song professing love, in a time-honoured honky tonk style. The song Snap Your Fingers (Martin, Zanetis) is a fine version of western swing and the Charlie Rich song Right Behind You Baby is a terrific rockabilly groove.
Be Glad (Tubb, Westbury) has some great electric guitar and pedal steel parts as the rhythm takes hold, with the piano on I Know I’ll Lose Again (Morris) capturing the old radio days of dancehall and petticoat dreams of simpler times.
Cina has been releasing music all the way back to the 1980s when she was a part of the band Freetown Highway with her brother Berra. Her solo career began in the early 2000s and since then Cina has been recognised as a key artist in country music circles, both in Europe and Stateside. This album is perfectly titled and Good Ol’ Music is just that, a reflection of a time when having a great time on the weekend was a barn dance and a hit song to make you forget all your cares. It’s a terrific album and guaranteed to put a smile on your face.
Paul McGee