Becky Buller Songs That Sing Me Dark Shadow
For her latest album, Becky Buller decided to cover some of the songs that 'awoke her deep love of music, and continue to teach her how to form melody and lyric’. One of the most awarded artists in bluegrass, Becky Buller has (so far) earned 10 IBMA awards for both Fiddler of the Year and Female Vocalist of the Year. Her songs have won Grammys for artists including Molly Tuttle (who appears on this project), The Travellin’ McCourys and The Infamous Stringdusters. She performs widely and teaches fiddle on line, from her home in Manchester, Tennessee.
Some of these eleven songs are from well known pop/rock artists who are household names, and some from lesser known writers in gospel, folk and bluegrass. Most people of a certain age will recognise Paul Simon’s A Hazy Shade Of Winter, but I must admit to never having actually paid attention to the lyrics until now. Buller imbues her choices with a new sense of clarity, thanks in part to her dynamic, emotive vocal range and the passion with which she approaches her music. Stephen Mougin’s production also helps - he’s the owner of her record label, Dark Shadow, and a respected guitar player and vocalist in his own right. He also adds prominent backing vocals to many of the song choices here. James Taylor’s insightful tribute to the lot of the unfortunate Millworker of the 19/20th century is covered with the help of Dan Tyminski’s backing vocals. Jim Lauderdale lends his vocals to a well known Reno & Smiley bluegrass standard, Wall Around Your Heart and another champion fiddler Stuart Duncan joins Buller for some twin fiddling on this one. Ride on By is a tour-de-force and an album highlight. Written by a fellow Minnesotan veteran Dick Kimmel, banjoist Ned Luberecki (who tours regularly with Buller both as a duo and as part of her band) really shines on the lovely sparse arrangement, where Buller gets to use much of her wide vocal range. Becky Isaacs Bowman shares lead vocal on the gospel number The Outlaw, with Justin Moses guesting on resonator guitar, and Ricky Skaggs and The Whites guest on the other gospel choice, Camel Train. Another standout is Phil Rosenthal’s Muddy Waters, which he first sang in his days as lead vocalist with the legendary The Seldom Scene. It has since been covered several times, including by Johnny Cash, Nick Cave, but Buller’s version is swampy, bluesy and full of passion.
She is supported on most of the album by her regular touring band, including Jacob Groopman on acoustic guitar, Daniel Hardin on bass, Wes Lee on mandolin and the aforementioned Ned Luberecki on banjo. Bela Fleck’s family, including wife Abigail Washman and sons Theo and Juno, join in on James Taylor's children’s song Jellybean Kelly, which is a gorgeous riot. The album closes with another uplifting number, Reach (a 1977 hit for Orleans) performed by an all-female supergroup comprising Alison Brown (banjo), Missy Raines (bass), Molly Tuttle (guitar) and Sierra Hull (mandolin).
This life affirming collection is highly recommended.
Eilís Boland
Ryan Dart If Love Don’t Break You Self Release
Having paid his dues over two decades as a sound engineer, guitar tech and road manager (Ryan Bingham is a former boss), Ryan Dart’s ‘divorce album’ finds him coming out from under the radar. The Colorado-based horseman and farmer bares his soul on this latest project, although it’s not quite the record of pain that you might expect. Admitting that he has more recently fallen in love again, many of the originally planned songs were ditched in favour of new ones, reflecting his recent contentedness. The breakup of his marriage and newfound sobriety in recent years have brought about a huge catharsis for Dart, and he admits that his new self-awareness has altered the nature of his songwriting.
The title track opens the album and finds him struggling with heartache, “No matter where I find myself, part of me’s on the run/And every love song is a sad song to someone”. Long term friend Richard Bowden adds prominent fiddle over the sparse but effective, laid back, country rock palette throughout. Queen of Oklahoma reflects the love of the land that he shared with his ex-partner, Dart’s harmonica playing adding to the melancholy, while Eric Swanson adds tasty pedal steel here and elsewhere. Wranglers and Rock & Roll, the only song not written exclusively by Dart himself, is a co-write with Danno Simpson and another tale of longing for the happier past. Hard To Let Go covers similar territory, while he also admits to missing life on the road.
Ryan Dart’s rich vocals are perfectly suited to the laid back groove that permeates the album, which was recorded in Cinder Sound studio, with John McVey (I’m With Her, The Railsplitters) helming the production, as well as contributing guitar, piano and bass. The main backing vocalist is Katie Mintle, with Peyton Langford on bass and Nate Barnes on drums. Elephant Revival’s Bridget Law and Darren Garvey also guest and Charlie Rose adds mandolin and banjo.
New love is particularly evident in Dancing on your Porch with its refrain “Only read about this kind of love before/Now we’re dancing, right here on your porch”. Wild Sea, with its soundscape of waves gently crashing onto a shore mingling with his acoustic guitar and sweet fiddle, also celebrates his new love, as does Dirt Road Woman.
In Time Stands Still, Dart acknowledges that his perspective has changed after surviving and digesting the events of the past few years, he’s letting go of the past and living in the moment, also the theme of These Horses where his stated philosophy is “ain’t no more playing it safe/on the back side of my better days”. In a recent interview, Ryan Dart explained that he has finally overcome doubt and self-criticism, and is now more outward looking in his philosophy, and wants his songs to give a voice to others who are struggling. He expresses this in Masters of Time, with its repeated refrain, “Well I hope love is shining on you”. Whether you’re in love or out of love, this album is well worth checking out.
Eilís Boland
David Serby Broken Heart In A honky Tonk Self Release
Each new album from David Serby finds you in a comfort zone of Californian honky tonk delivered with heart, honesty, humour and hi-energy. Designed for a good time, it is, however, not without a sense of introspection, and a self-awareness of how life can deal you a bad hand and let you play it out for better or worse. You can do that to a shuffle beat on a barroom floor or sitting in your own home - and you feel good in either situation. This album is a solid affirmation of the Bakersfield western beat he started out his career with, back in 2006.
This is album seven by my reckoning and all have been interesting even when he has explored, at times, some different avenues for his music. All have been in association with Edward Tree as producer and multi-instrumentalist; it is a relationship that has paid off by being able to explore the sensibilities that each bring to the projects and in the obvious affinity they have developed together.
Here, as in the past, Serby utilises some of the best country/roots players on the LA/California circuit to enrich the songs. This includes, this time out, Chris Lawrence and Jay Dee Maness on pedal steel, the rhythm section of Kevin Jarvis and David J. Carpenter (drums and bass respectively) and harmony vocals from Darice Bailey and Teresa James. Producer Tree also adds guitars and piano to the mix. It was recorded, as usual in California. The songs are, once again, all from Serby and they explore those perennial topics of the neon honky-tonk existence, from both positive and negative perspectives.
However, on face value, without digging into the subtext, they have something of an upbeat ambience that is immediately attractive. There are shades of those artists who preceded him in the iconic shape of Merle Haggard, Buck Owens, The Desert Rose Band and Dwight Yoakam, as well as countless lesser know luminaries who were all part of that thriving non-Nashville scene.
The album opens with the driving energy of the title track that is full of roadhouse memories. It mentions both Buck and Merle and that sets out where it’s coming from and where it is heading to. Next he tells us the things he works on just don’t stay fixed, and that if he ever breaks a heart it is likely you’re going to need to check the warranty. That’s how it goes for Don’t Say Fixed. Equally Flight Patch speaks of looking for ways out when things get tough. It has a nice spoken segment that is firmly bringing him to ground after looking for permission to land. Others like Gone For Good are part of a contingent of roots and rockin’ songs that germinate the album.
A little different are Border Town Romance, with an arrangement that eminently suits the more relaxed theme, while No Happy Endings has a more 60s pop feel with elements of an attractive folkier thread in its movie story analogy. “There ain’t no happy endings / On the silver screen / Boy meets girl and falls in love / That’s but just one scene.” That’s something that it seems that as a divorcee Serby can directly relate to. Also taken at a slow paced groove is Little Ol’ Bruise with Maness adding a fluid steel arrangement that is effective in its intent. Equally reflective and showing a different side of a brief interaction is If I Weren’t Me that proffers that in different circumstances something longer lasting may have grown from that moment. It shows that Serby can vocally handle emotional deliveries. It’s the closing shuffle for those who might like to get closer and, in these circumstances the practical consideration of “I need someone new to love me / Just enough to drive me home.”
These are songs that Serby can relate to the characters he writes about, which doubtless contain directly felt emotions but also ones that are broad enough for anyone to relate to. All wrapped up in the glow of a neon sign that is bound to draw you in.
Stephen Rapid
Jim Lauderdale & The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys The Birds Know Sky Crunch
"Since I first saw them at MerleFest several years ago, and after we did our first album together, I really wanted us to do a follow-up,” explains Jim Lauderdale on his latest project, a bluegrass album featuring The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys. It’s Lauderdale’s second album release in a month, following COUNTRY SUPER HITS VOLUME 2, and further evidence of his capacity to switch genres without compromising on the consistently high standard of his work.
Lauderdale takes the lead vocals and plays guitars on the record, joined by C.J. Lewandowski (mandolin/vocals), Max Silverstein (fiddle/vocals), Jereme Brown (banjo/vocals), John Gooding (guitar/vocals) and Jasper Lorentzen (bass). The majority of the eleven tracks were written shortly before the recording sessions. Alongside self-writes, Lauderdale shared the songwriting duties with Adam Wright (Two Crows, Don’t Look Down, Life Has A Way Of Making Jokes; Don’t It), Joe Newberry (The Bird’s Knew), Odie Blackmon (Little Blue Diamonds), and Sarah Douget (You Wanted Mountains From Me).
THE BIRDS KNOW follows the template that worked so well on THE LONG and LONESOME LETTING GO, Lauderdale’s previous album with The Po’Ramblin’ Boys in 2023. Stirring banjo and fiddle kick off the opener, Two Crows, in fine style, a precursor for the quality of playing that follows. Lauderdale’s in fine voice, also supported by harmonies and backing vocals. Landing somewhere between traditional country and bluegrass, Chuck Will’s Widow, the album’s longest track, tells the tale of an unlikely union and love story, explaining how the bird with its distinctive call inherited the same name. Similar in style and a theme commonly drilled into country songs, You Wanted Mountains From Me (‘’I tried my best /But it was never enough /Now there’s nothing left /That’s not what you call love’’) could have been borrowed from George Jones’ treasure chest of unrequited love. We Look At Things In Different Ways is a plea for empathy in an increasingly polarised time, and Innocent Heart was written by Lauderdale the night before it was recorded with Ralph Stanley's style in mind. The playful children’s nursery rhyme Rainbow Choo Choo Train bookends the album, complete with semi-giggles by Lauderdale in the delivery.
Though referred to as a bluegrass album, THE BIRDS KNOW is more than that, with excursions into traditional country at times. As you would expect, the playing is exquisite, as are the vocals and harmonies, and the songwriting, particularly considering the short notice in which the songs were composed, is earnest and incisive. It should appeal to a wide range of listeners, not just bluegrass lovers. All in all, a hugely satisfying listening experience.
Declan Culliton
Yarn Saturday Night Sermon 333 Entertainment
The album title and the opening track of the same name are an introduction to what to expect from the Carolina-based roots rockers' latest record. It may only be under two minutes long, but the guitar and gloriously choir-driven song suggest that what follows will be upbeat, toe-tapping and fast-paced. That’s precisely what SATURDAY NIGHT SERMON delivers, no-nonsense tracks that hop from country to soul and gospel to dynamic southern rock.
Originally formed in Brooklyn, New York, two decades ago, Yarn is Blake Christiana (Lead Vocals, Guitar), Andy Thomas (Lead Guitar), Rick Bugel (Bass), and Robert Bonhomme (Drums). Co-produced by Damian Calagne and Yarn, the former also contributed piano and Hammond B3. Various horn players and backing vocalists joined the recording at The Pinebox, Boonton Township, New Jersey.
Musically, there’s a lot going on the record. Soaring guitars compete with heavy keys and horns, yet the recordings never feel overcooked. Christiana’s gritty vocals work as well on the up-tempo inclusions like Longshot, Never Enough, Good Day, and the country rocker Let The Universe. The quieter moments work as well on the gentler tracks, Where We Land and A Welcome New Home. Brand New Light also impresses with a backbeat that recalls Thin Lizzy’s Dancing In The Moonlight.
Without trying to rewrite the rule book, and with nods in the direction of 1970s classic rock, SATURDAY NIGHT SERMON shows how southern rock should be done.
Declan Culliton
Michaela Anne These Are The Days Georgia June
One of a select number of artists and songwriters who successfully blend traditional country music and storytelling with pop and rock influences to great effect, without crossing over into bland pop/country, Nashville-based Michaela Anne has consistently released strong albums with writing inspired by real-life events, both joyful and tragic.
THESE ARE THE DAYS is Anne’s fifth album. Like her previous work, it feels like an update on what’s been happening in her world since her last album, OH TO BE THAT FREE from 2022. That record reflected a traumatic period in Anne's life. During her first pregnancy, Anne’s mother suffered a haemorrhagic stroke, resulting in Anne spending the latter stages of her pregnancy at her mother’s hospital bedside. After a two-year pause from songwriting, Anne's latest album reflects on motherhood, grief, recovery from difficult times, and the fine line between bliss and distress.
Anne didn’t have to travel far for the recordings, working at her husband and producer Aaron Shafer-Haiss's home-made studio in their backyard, close to Percy Priest Lake, ten miles east of Nashville. That independence is also reinforced by the album's release on Anne’s own label, Georgia June Records. Alongside production duties, Shafer-Haiss played drums, and in the studio were Seth Taylor, Ethan Ballinger and John McNally on guitars, Owen Biddle on bass, and key player Jimmy Matt Rowland.
Built around Anne’s hypnotic vocals, this nine-track album veers more towards rock than her previous recordings. With a driving rhythm behind her vocals We’re All Good (‘’Sometimes people don't do the things they know they should/ And forgiveness feels much better than you'd think it would’’) opens the album with a message of compassion. That thread is repeated in If Your Body Fails You, before Anne turns her thoughts to matters closer to home with a doting ode to her eldest daughter, That’s What I Tell Georgia. More mundane day-to-day realities are negotiated in These Are The Days (“When I thought I knew what tired meant/But now those bills pile on the table/Baby's crying all night long/I'm hanging on by just a thread’’). Caroline Spence adds her voice to Two Pianos, which rejoices in the precious, often-overlooked, simple gifts which surround us.
Once more, Michaela Anne, the sweet-voiced author of a most impressive batch of songs, has come up trumps with this hugely impressive record.
Declan Culliton
Bodinrocker Special Blend Bearman
Anders Bodin is a musician based in Sweden and he formed his band Bodinrocker in 2005. This is the fifth album and most of the songs are written by Bodin, together with Dutchman Jan Leentjes. Interestingly, the pair have never physically met and their remote writing partnership has been a successful model for both over a number of years now.
The studio band is comprised of local musicians, with Anders Bodin playing guitars in addition to vocals; Lars Ekberg plays all keyboards and also sings, along with Anders Mossberg on bass and harmonica duties, and Fredrik Wallumrod driving everything in the engine room on drums. Family members turn up on backing vocals for selected tracks and Bodin co-produced the album with Lars Ekberg in Gothenburg, Sweden.
The musicians are excellent and their talents shine through on the song arrangements with tight ensemble playing and a vibrant sound. Bodin is a fine guitar player and his lead runs are dynamic and infectious in raising the energy output on the tracks. Lars Ekberg plays some rich organ and keyboard melodies that colour the arrangements and the unit of bass and drums is really solid and inventive in the delivery; hats off to Mossberg and Wallumrod. The whole thing sounds like a very enjoyable experience to be involved with and the old school rock and roll sound has quite a few touchstones, from Dave Edmunds with Rockpile all the way through to Big Star and the Flamin’ Groovies.
Highlights are We Were Young and the addictive groove of Running the Show. Elements of power pop are hinted at on songs like This Song Is For You which has a more commercial base, but it’s not too long before we return to a swampy blues rocker on What I Wanna Say. There is a song that is sung in Swedish and Ligger I Min Famn has a quiet acoustic build as the band deliver a nice climax. Other songs are reminiscent of Thin Lizzy meet Status Quo in the rocking no-prisoners-taken drive, and all-in-all, it’s a fine album to enjoy. Bravo!
Paul McGee
The Ghost and the Machine Sorrows Fullmax
Austrian guitarist and singer-songwriter Andreas Lechner is the key creative source behind The Ghost and the Machine. His resigned vocal style is wrapped in a sound that incorporates elements of indie-folk and rock, with resonator guitar incorporated along with synthesizers to provide an otherworldly effect.
There are twelve tracks included and the playing time is just over the forty-minute mark. Building on a debut release back in 2016, this new album is the fourth in the ongoing progress of Lechner’s individual vision. The band is comprised of Andi Lechner (vocals, guitars), Martti Winkler (accordion, synthesizer), Hannes Wirth (guitar), Lina Neuner (bass), and Aurora Timón Hackl (drums).
Ghost Romance is very atmospheric and memorable, while the driving beat of Midnight Plains is compulsive, before the more laid-back tempo of Last Day Of Summer brings a sense of calm. The title track Sorrows is an acoustic arrangement with accordion and strummed guitars as Lechner sings “Cover me in blankets when the morning’s turning grey.” The rocking beat on Pale Rider has an urgency that is in contrast to the country sound of Foreign City. Light Of Love is another slow tempo song that brings a sense of quiet calm and there is no doubting the creative variety across this interesting project.
Paul McGee
Catcher Evo Charcoal Paraply
This is the performing moniker for singer, guitarist and songwriter Stefan Leoson, a Swedish artist who favours the EP format as a means of getting his songs to a wider audience. When I researched his name on the Hemifran website, I found a telling quote from Leoson ”There's a lightness to the EP format that I like. I also felt that only releasing singles wouldn't carry enough weight to launch an entirely new project. People have such short attention span these days, so I felt that five or six songs at a time is just perfect.”
No argument from me in this logic. It does appear to be increasingly the case, with the blur of social media platforms, and the relentless volume of singles that find little air to breathe, there is no potential for artists to differentiate themselves from their competition. Leoson has delivered six songs here that are really impressive and that definitely stay in the memory. My abiding feeling was one of wanting to hear more.. and isn’t that just the reaction that Leoson is seeking with his release format after all?
His sound is very much in the roots rock field and most of the instruments are played by Leoson, with drums added by Jordan Perlson (four songs) and Beo Kjellsson (one track). Separate songs feature Alo Karlsson (bass), and Johan Svensk (guitar), with his wife Karin providing backing vocals on the impressive Take This Weight.
The production quality is top drawer and the expressive vocal tone of Stefan is engaging. He plays lots of melodic guitar lines and Don’t You Ever Change and Beside You are instantly impressive on first listen. You and All Your Friends will never make radio play (due to expletives), but the lyrics are great fun and a stab at the greedy, self-promoting, arrogance that we all experience as part of modern living.
Little L is a sweet memory of childhood days and an old friend that no longer features in the life of the writer, while the gentle delivery on Waiting For A Change is superbly delivered, capturing the need to keep ourselves open to all possibilities, in both relationships and in the opportunities that life puts in our direction. A fine set of songs and very much recommended – I look forward to the next instalment!
Paul McGee