Cuchulain Window Seat Self Release
Independent singer-songwriter and band leader Cuchulain O’Neill Kelly was born in S Carolina but has lived most of his adult life, until recently, in Portland, Oregon. He has featured several times on NPR’s Tiny Desk, and toured in Europe as well as the US. Very much his own man, he recorded this, his second album, almost entirely in his home studio, and played most of the instruments. Apart from the one cover version (of Californian punk band Goldfinger's Superman) he wrote all the songs too and on the evidence of these he is definitely a ‘glass half full’ type of guy, with a slightly warped sense of humour!
The album is dedicated to his wife, Claire, and the title track is composed of personal vignettes of their life together since they met at college, glimpses of their everyday lives and their continuing love story. “Every time I see you smile, I see your grandma’s eyes / Tiny wrinkles to the past, a time machine leads me back”. It’s somewhat difficult to pin down Cuchulain’s musical genre but generally the album could be categorised as folk/rock, with an occasional foray into Tex-Mex and country. As well as the expected guitars, drums and bass, he also plays keys and calls in friends to add liberal helpings of brass, pedal steel, Hammond B3 and backing vocals.
Examples of his whimsical sense of humour first surface on the endearing, affectionate tribute to his dog, simply titled My Dog. The universally recognised obsession with one’s pet is embodied in his charming lyrics, “There’s a lot of things that he don’t understand / But that don’t mean he ain’t my man”, complete with an uplifting key change, a rousing chorus of friends and, of course, a closing contribution from Willie Dog Nelson himself. Sing In The Shower introduces some dubious rhyming couplets, “Some folks like Sonny & Cher / All the love and all the hair”. Jesus Christ is an utterly country affair (thanks to Philip Bronchtein’s pedal steel), the theme of which is that ’nobody’s perfect’ as demonstrated by this verse, “Jesus Christ sure was good at public speaking/ but he must have been pretty bad at carpentry / ‘Cos you hear a lot about his sermons and his teaching / But you never hear about his woodworking”.
He pays tribute to the arrival of a friend’s baby in the affectionate Miles, and switches to more of a crooner in the ballad If The Rain Holds Off, which reflects the steamy and humid summers in the South. Somehow Claire is another attempt to serenade his wife of ten years, “I can’t find the tune to capture every part of you” he admits, but the piano ballad is enhanced by trumpet and the Delgani String Quartet, no less, so I think she’ll be impressed.
Now that the couple have started the next chapter of their lives with a move to the East Coast and have celebrated the arrival of a baby, we can look forward to the next musical instalment soon, I hope.
Eilís Boland
Sean Burns & Lost Country Better Off In Time Department Store
This new release is an album of original songs co-written by Sean Burns and Ryan Dyck, it was produced by Skinny Dyck and Scott Franchuk. Anyone acquainted with Burns’ previous recording will know what to expected in his particular evocation of honky tonk themes. This is given a particular Canadian perspective by dint of location, as witnessed by Burns’ previous album LOST COUNTRY which was a rewarding collection of songs recorded by some lesser know traditional country artists from there.
This collection is subtitled Other Songs For The Dance Floor, which gives you an overall feeling of its intention. The regretful Glory For Me opens as a mid-paced song with featured fiddle and piano - the latter by legendary player Floyd Domino, adding his parts from his home studio in Austin. Fiddle is predominately featured in the arrangements, with three players Blaine Badiuk, Jeremy Penner, as well as Austin Parachoniak (also adding backing vocals) all listed in the credits. They join regular band members guitarist Christopher Bryan Dunn, Joanna Miller on drums and pedal steel guitarist Dan Russell, a set of musicians well versed in capturing the essence of the honky tonk environment.
Burns himself is leading from the front on upright bass and delivering a mature, seasoned and stalwart vocal, one that is central to the songs themselves, which often take the accustomed heartbreak and human frailty route. So to the songs; the opening track Glory For Me is the first of the ten tracks that, from the first notes, lets you know if you are looking for some hardwood floor action, either at home or in a neon lit venue, you have come to the right place. Fiddle and steel abound on Stop!, as our protagonist wants the hurt to reach that conclusion. From then on its a run of man-made misery in When The Heartaches Call, I Do My Crying Alone and Cold Day (which has a 60s organ motif used to good effect). Each tells those sad stories from one side of the hurt or the other. More in something of a retro-pop mode perhaps is the mid-paced Feeling Blue.
Kicking up the tempo then is Second Time Around, about not giving second chances unless of course when is mandated by the lure of love. One of the high spots is the sorrowful realisations inherent in Lord, I Hate To See Myself This Way - the kind of pity party that those who point to country music as an unrelenting downer just don’t get. But if you do, you have a perfect reason to applaud Burns and band and the music offered. Tables And Chairs finds him wondering why he is in a place with just the mentioned elements of furniture for company. We finish with Better Off In Time, where there is hope that time may heal any perceived wounds that need to be licked and potentially healed, before the next round and what that may bring.
Sean Burns shows us that either with covers songs or originals he is a country music stalwart who has immersed himself in its past to create its future, something that places him among that select few who create their music for the pleasure of it. It also speeds that love to those who listen to it from a similar perspective and will find themselves better off right now.
Stephen Rapid
Dallas Burrow Modern Day Vagabond Forty Below
Following on from his sterling release THE WAY THE WEST WAS WON which found him in something of a Marty Robbins mode, this new album has some equally diverse influences. Much as Robbins could turn his hand to a number of different modes, this album takes a similar path. However this time out Burrow works with producers Mike McClure and Adam Odor. The producer of that previous album, Lloyd Maines, is present here playing pedal steel alongside Colin Brooks. Other guests include Kelly Wills on harmony vocals on a couple of tracks. Asleep At The Wheel’s Katie Shore brings her fiddle and bow and the band West Texas Exiles are here for the ride. The six stringers include Will Sexton, Mark Tokach, Larry Chaney and Mike Ingber, who also added the percussion. Susan Gibson joins on banjo and vocals. Both producers join in too, with Odor on bass and McClure playing acoustic guitar.
As with the last album, Burrow is our storyteller and narrator. He has a voice that suggests he knows a tale or two, taking different roles as the song requires, for example the restless man keen to move on but whose reasons may not be as straightforward as he implies. He is strident in his pronouncement to disguise the fact that the choices being made may not be of his making. Burrow’s sometimes intimate vocal style is central without being domineering. This allows the stories and the observations of those he encounters to have their tales told. This is given additional weight by a number of vocal partners such as Kelly Willis (who appeared on the previous album) to join him on Walking Side By Side and Let It Shine, which has something of a soulful groove as befits its title. Also on a couple of tracks is fellow artist Kelley Mickwee. To illustrate the diverse nature of the arrangements Miracle starts as piano-based, before building with Mickwee and Will Sexton adding their vocals to a fuller sound. All I Want Is You is another ballad with piano and a different soulful disposition that sounds at odds with the other tracks but is in fact a part of its diverse search for its own truth.
In a more acoustic singer/songwriter mode is No Problem, which outlines that in his youth he was without the problems that later emerged. Full Circle is an ode to his father and his wishes to be like him. It contains advice from one generation to another and a gentle sense of love and respect and is an example of Burrow as a Texas songwriter in a tradition of some great forebears. The closing inclusion is a cover of the revered and influential Townes Van Zandt’s song Rake which is stripped back to voice, mandolin and flute that seems very appropriate. Van Zandt and Burrow’s father Mike were firm buddies and Burrow Snr in fact adds vocals to the twangy song Memories, which mentions many that are fond and otherwise. It also illustrates the connection that Burrows has for his home state and the musical influences it produced. It is contested with the rock-infused delivery of Underdog, which again points to the diversity employed here on the material.
Pedal steel opens the song Whole Different Angle,which features McClure on vocals and is another highlight and full of that Texas ambience that is apparent in its best artists. Then Old Time Revival is a stomping gospel-ish invocation of redemption, soul and of seeking grace. Like many of Texas’s songwriting community, Dallas Burrow is claiming his place with an album that is rewarding and revealing. It might be a little too varied for some but there can be no doubting its heart and mind.
Stephen Rapid
Freddy Trujillo Ave Trujillo El Cortez
If you’re not familiar with the solo output of Portland, Oregon-based Freddy Trujillo, you have no doubt come across his parallel career as a bass player with The Delines and formerly Richmond Fontaine. AVE TRUJILLO is his fifth solo album and includes contributions from his fellow members of both those bands, Willy Vlautin, Sean Oldham and Paul Brainard, together with his colleagues in The Delines, Cory Gray, and guitarist, producer and Those Pretty Wrongs member, Luther Russell. Whereas the sound is predominantly Chicano-rock and border-flavoured country, Trujillo also strays into R’n’B on his latest record.
An intriguing aspect of the album is Trujillo’s resolution to use various species of birds to characterise the themes of loss, displacement and climate change across the album’s eleven songs. He explains another quite logical rationale behind this approach as follows: "I see a lot of similarities between birds and musicians. Birds sing and musicians sing … We're all colourful characters who like to fluff our feathers a little."
As a Chicano born in the Simi Valley, California, Trujillo's college studies included lessons in Chicano history and traditions, and this subject matter, combined with real-life experiences of social injustice, has consistently surfaced in his songwriting. Common Loon tells the story of a Chicano musician seeking fame and acceptance while taking root in Minnesota; its theme parallels the arduous plight of many Mexican artists struggling to keep Chicano soul music vital. In Canyon Wren, a distraught father tells of the heartbreak endured by his family as they pine for their missing daughter.
Mockingbird mourns the displacement of communities and the loss of natural habitat caused by sprawling urban development. A sighting of the colourful Vermillion Flycatcher after Trujillo’s father’s funeral inspired the soulful ballad of the same name before the album closes with Flap Party, appropriately a cacophony of bird calls and songs.
Trujillo handles often-bleak themes delicately in this record. His love of birds is cleverly employed to address both the author's personal concerns and the history of Chicano real-life experiences and struggles, hardships that continue daily.
Declan Culliton
Ian Noe Canyon Falls Trailer Band Thirty Tigers
Little had been heard from Ian Noe after he broke a wrist in 2022 until the announcement of this sweeping sixteen-track concept album, and it’s fair to say that the four-year wait since his last album RIVER FOOLS AND MOUNTAIN SAINTS has been worth it.
The album title comes from an imaginary band that perform only one show to get the music industry's attention. In doing so, they genre-hop from roots, folk, and country to cast the widest net possible and maximise their odds of recognition. Concept it may be, but it also accurately reflects Noe’s flair for creating graphic tales, often inspired by observations, tragic and uplifting, of his upbringing in Eastern Kentucky. By adding his expressive, crystal-clear vocals and traditional country instrumentation, Noe has crafted an intoxicating and profoundly personal project.
“I’ve experienced a great deal of suffering myself growing up here, not as much as some others for sure. It’s just like some of these stories, I felt like they just needed to be told,” explains Noe on the backstory to the album. The recording took place at The Bomb Shelter in Nashville, where Noe hooked up with longtime collaborator and producer Andrija Tokić, joined by Charlie McCoy on harmonica, Billy Contreras on fiddle and Russ Pahl on pedal steel.
By way of introduction, the title track opens the album, name-checking the band members and their aspirations (“Someday, wе're gonna make it, gonna take it homе/Gonna write the big one, gonna shine like chrome”). Next up, The Heidelberg Fisherman’s Ball recalls a fisherman’s gathering and the local women that are drawn to the party in the hope of luring a male suitor. If that track is upbeat and humorous, Tobacco Moon is the opposite side of the coin. An album highlight, it visits the brutal reality of betrayal and survival (“Virginia ain't been the same/We buried John back in June/They caught him out in the cane/Left him hangin' in the tobacco moon”).
Alongside the darker inclusions are some classic country gems. Another Night Like That has a Merle Haggard feel to it, and Leeann, an ode to a beloved free spirit, is honky tonk heaven.
It’s difficult not to reference the sixteen tracks on CANYON FALLS TRAILOR BAND as nothing approaches a filler on the album. However, don’t just take my word for it; listen and decide for yourself. I’d be surprised if you don’t rate it as good as any country album you’ve heard this year.
Declan Culliton
Mary Gauthier Reckoning Soundly/Thirty Tigers
The body of work, thirteen albums including this one, by Mary Gauthier has consistently drilled into exacting issues both personal and universal, while also incorporating reassurance and healing. Two examples are her deeply moving 2010 autobiographical record THE FOUNDLING, which dealt with adoption and RIFLES & ROSARY BEADS from 2018, which was co-written with U.S. veterans and their immediate families. RECKONING follows a similar path, offering nine stories that explore addiction, isolation, faith, and, most importantly, compassion.
“Alcohol and Adderall the pride that comes before the fall/Emptiness and all the damage done/Matches and gasoline, tripwire, broken things”, sings Gauthier in the opening track, Alcohol and Adderall. A co-write with Jaimee Harris and Ben Roberts, it plays out like a bonus track from Gauthier’s 1999 DRAG QUEENS IN LIMOUSINES. Co-writes with like-minded friends feature strongly on the album. The title track, a melodramatic reflection on the political turmoil of present times, was penned with Aaron Lee Tasjan.
Some Times, written with Vince Gill, is told through the eyes of an older man who reflects on tragedies of his lifetime, like the killing of the Kennedy brothers and Martin Luther King, and more celebratory events like the election of the first black President. Written in 2014 with Lori McKenna and closely related to Some Times, Heaven considers the approaching end of life and the enduring faith that accepts that destiny without fear.
Gauthier worked with Beth Nielsen Chapman on two inclusions, Black Ice and Gone, and the co-write with Eliza Gilkyson, Soldier of Fortune, is a powerful censure of the individuals who carry out horrendous killings on the pretext that they were ‘following orders.’
Produced by Neilson Hubbard and Dylan Alldredge (Mark Hallman was at the controls for I Thought I Heard a Train), the album features Gauthier’s vocals, guitar, occasional harmonica flashes and little else. With songwriting so vivid and compelling from an artist that seldom wastes a word, that is more than enough to engage the listener in this sublime collection of songs.
Declan Culliton
Scott Cook Troubadourly Yours Self Release
It’s been six years since the last album by Canadian songsmith and world traveller, Scott Cook. His previous Tangle Of Souls release was quite an achievement both in terms of the music and the generous additional packaging that included background information, lyrics, chord charts and essays. This approach is repeated by Scott on the new release of TROUBADOURLY YOURS, in every way a natural companion for that earlier project, and an album that holds a mirror up to our modern world in both macroscopic and microscopic detail. The old traditions are revisited to see just what gets left behind; the intrinsic influence of family is examined across the example set by previous generations, and the shape that society assumes is also up for dissection. It’s a very impressive and insightful new work.
There are ten songs included, and recorded at Edmonton, Alberta with the assistance of Miles Wilkerson (Guy Clarke, Emmylou Harris). All contributors, of which there are many, either turned up at the studio location or contributed remote home recording parts to the songs, and Scott also did some tracking from his own living room in what was a truly collaborative and immersive experience for all involved.
In choosing the life of a travelling artist, Scott carries a flame for some of his key influences, such as Woody Guthrie, and the title track is a song that encapsulates the nomad lifestyle with a commitment to spread the gospel of peace, love and understanding. Keeping Good Company follows and it’s a song about community, companionship, and fellowship. The dedicated fan base that support Scott in his lifestyle are honoured in this song, which has a light acoustic jazz sound and feels very much celebratory. It’s quite ironic that in all the wanderings of Scott Cook, he is never in an untethered state, with his home-base ever to be found among those like-minded souls who wrap him with ongoing recognition and warmth.
Steady For You is a love song to his partner Pamela, and promising consistency and stability in their relationship. There Is A River shares images of lives that are lived with dignity and a sense of purpose to all our efforts. The tolerance and understanding in Scott’s writing shines through here as the family bonds get handed down the generations. The Wolf That Wins refers to an ancient parable of ‘Good vs Evil’ and a timely reminder that we tend to lean towards that which we nurture in our lives. If we fill our minds with fear and hatred then this is what we reap. The real danger lies in people who are subjugated by government propaganda and social media scare tactics as a means of control. The blame culture always seeks a scapegoat as a safety valve.
Frankie’s Braids is a true story, based around Scott’s time as a teacher in Taipei, Taiwan, and a free-spirited pupil that he taught. It looks at intolerance and prejudice and also weaves the history of First Nation peoples in Canada into the words, where ethnic cleansing was practiced under the assumption of “all for the best.” It’s a real highlight of the songwriting quality on display and is heartbreakingly beautiful in the delivery. Enough is a bluegrass song about consumerism today and the loss of the old values where folks ‘never had a lot but always had enough.’ Sadly, today it all revolves around the race for the mighty dollar.
A Bigger Tent looks at how history repeats and the lessons of the past are never really learned. Fundamental change can only come from a new way of thinking and stopping perpetual wars. Those in real power use conflict as a societal controlling device, while wealth is framed as ‘A great redistribution from the many to the few.’ From Here To the Curve is about having the courage to always question. Fostering a positive environment with family and not letting the greed and hate get a grip on real values. The album closes with Something To Do With Love and the enduring message of ‘Don’t this whole life feel like a question? If it’s got an answer it’s something to do with love.’ A powerful album and a standout for me in terms of current year favourites.
Paul McGee
Jack Browning Painted Skies Too Fine
Album number two from the pen of UK musician Jack Browning and one which blends a number of roots music influences into a very interesting mixture. The twelve songs are co-produced by Browning and Dan Lucas, who contributes on bass and keyboards, with The Joplin House in Kent chosen as the recording studio. Several musicians join on the recording, leaving their mark on selected tracks, with the stamp of Cristiano Pochesci (pedal steel guitar), particularly memorable throughout.
Other contributions from Crosby Coford (fiddle), Jake Dillion Groves (harmonica), Wes Brown (keyboards) add rich textures while the drumming of both Adam Hays and Rick Kent compliment the bass lines of Darren Juniper. The production is very nicely balanced across the songs with lots of light and open space to carry the melodies and harmony vocals, which come together to illustrate what an accomplished song arranger Jack Browning is already. He is also a very good guitarist and his vocal style is engaging and warm in tone.
A code of life is laid out in the opener Speak Your Mind (But Ride A Fast Horse) which recommends an honesty in all encounters and a speed of thought to always keep a step ahead. The rousing tempo to this song is quickly replaced on Champagne Taste with a honky tonk style and swing as Browning unfolds the typical story of broke musicians.
The growing pains and optimism of High Hopes is replaced by the cool country blues of James Alley Blues, and the spoken word captured on The Perimeter is something of a key pivot on the album. The short track speaks of ‘You’ve always been the outsider just trying to peek in’ and the sense that we define our own boundaries around the chosen paths we take “That lonesome highway radio is trying to tell you something, But these days ain’t too many folks listening, Those that do, well, they rarely understand.” Perhaps this is the price that a wandering troubadour must pay for the goals sought, the isolation that comes from transitory experiences. Joe David Ward recites the words on this memorable track.
Another song about the road and the reality of nomadic existence is Heavy Is the Head and captured in the words ‘Heavy is the grin that wears the frown I’ve been running.’ Before things become too internal in focus, Browning breaks out Junkyard Dog and the big colourful sound is just like a Tom Waits dream, the angular rhythm section, proud trumpet and off kilter arrangement creating an addictive soundscape.
The relationship challenge of Wire leads on to Muhlenberg County Stars, a song that repeats in acoustic format as the album closing track. It’s a love song that resonates with the words ‘For all my faults and all my sins, I’m glad I gave you that diamond ring.’ The country groove on Gut Feelin’ has a nice lilt and the song wants us to enjoy every moment, while the abiding feeling on Factory Reset is one of keeping up, just to keep up ‘The wind is blowing round this shotgun shack, I ain’t slept in weeks, I got this aching in my back.’
The title track Painted Skies is wrapped up in fleeting dreams, loving another, and the need to remain grounded. The reputation of Jack Browning continues to climb and this new album is a worthy addition to the hype. It will no doubt feature in many favourite lists at year-end and it is a very impressive record.
Paul McGee
Surrender Hill Wild Country Blue Betty
Lucky eight symbolizes prosperity, balance, renewal, and infinity in many cultures, and in China it is associated with wealth. Well, one could surmise that folk duo Surrender Hill are sending a message to the universe on their own eight album release. The opening song and album title Wild Country speaks about how they found each other, perhaps by divine providence, and how their journey began. Graced by lucky charms or by destiny, this couple has probably produced a career highlight on these fifteen songs that play out over sixty plus minutes of impressive music.
Robin Dean Salmon and Afton Seekins Salmon are the husband-and-wife duo that comprise Surrender Hill. They currently reside in Geogia and this album was recorded at Blue Betty studio in Ellijay, and produced by Robin, who originally grew up in South Africa before his family relocated to the USA. All songs are written by the couple and their fine harmony vocals are a touchstone for these songs which place themselves very much in heartland America. Robin plays several instruments, including acoustic and electric guitars, organ and bass. Afton joins her husband on lead and background vocals, and both Matthew Von Doran and Mike Waldron share lead guitar dynamics. Dennis Parker features on guitar, mandolin, banjo, and fiddle, Eric Fritsch contributes on keyboards, organ and guitar, with Matt Crouse on drums and percussion. Jim Van Cleve plays fiddle on the track Witness, which was written for the first child born to the couple, and it’s imparting a wisdom in mapping out a way to live a generous and open life.
Love is certainly in the air in North Georgia and there are several songs that focus upon giving as a way to receive back. On the title track, Straight Into the Light, Not Alone, Dancing With the Woman I Love, The Feeling Of You, and The Otherside (featuring Ray Tanner on flugelhorn), all illustrate the power of trusting in another and enriching life experience through the union of two people who share a commitment and are loyal to a promise. After a debut album in 2015, this couple has released new albums on a consistent basis to show their prolific talents to a growing fan base, and in a market that is overly populated with male/female duo acts, their strong arranging and writing ability separates them out. The song melodies are very appealing and there is no sense of repetition across the wide array of songs included here. An album that is very rewarding, hitting some real high spots, and one that points to continued success for this creative couple.
Paul McGee