The David Mayfield Parade Go Big And Go Home Mountain Fever
The cover photo of the second album from The David Mayfield Parade depicts the besuited band inside a little wooden church, wrestling with snakes. Welcome to the manic world of David Mayfield and his equally manic bandmates. What’s even more bizarre is that four of the ten songs on the album are gospel songs, without a hint of irony or irreverence, even though this is one of the most irreverent bluegrass bands in existence. Bear with me here, because this is one of the finest albums that I have come across in the last 12 months. You may have seen David a few years back playing guitar in the backing band of his sister, Jessica Lea Mayfield. A phenomenal finger picker, he then did a stint with Cadillac Sky, a progressive bluegrass band out of Nashville. He has now gathered a bunch of equally talented players (who are also songwriters and vocalists) to create one of the most dynamic and hilarious live bands on the circuit.
The record blasts off with the high energy Time’s Winding Up, a tongue in cheek, apocryphal prediction of the ending of the world. Each of the band gets to perform a solo break to show off their undoubted chops, and the song ends with a long scream! That song and the next are co-written by David and his wife Jessie. Three and even four part harmonies are a feature throughout the album, and none more so than on Face Your Life. Much more serious than the opener, it’s a philosophy for living: ”stand up straight/ face your life/ embrace the pain” and stand together with your fellow man. Producer Tim O’Brien has done a stellar job, his crisp production allowing all the instruments to be heard. He also contributed fiddle to that second song. Unusually, the resonator guitar plays a prominent role in the band’s overall sound and player Ryan Wallen also wrote three of the songs here. He takes the lead vocal on Daytime Moon, a positive fun song about simply enjoying life, with another robust ending! At Your Throne is another co-write from Jessie and David, a gospel song with an unconventional soul/blues groove. Tim O’Brien plays bouzouki on this one, dramatic lyrics detail how the protagonist "gave it up and laid it all at your throne”, ending with more impressive four part harmonies. Banjo player Stephen Moore is a multi-award winning player and he co-wrote Sapphire Town with Mayfield. It began as an instrumental, then Mayfield wrote the lyrics after learning about the dangers of working in the sapphire mines in Madagascar. The exploitation of lives is hinted at, while the vulnerable worker dreams that “I might be the one who finds what shines”.
Mandolin player Keith Wallen leads on his own gospel number, a dynamic one called The Lord Comes Down.
The second contribution from Ryan Wallen is a gospel song, The Line, describing the queue that we’re all in "for the stairway to paradise". David Mayfield’s Never Knew I Could is another gospel song, inspired by his wife, where he credits the Lord with saving him AND finding him a wife! The Old Bronson Church is quite stunning - performed a capella with five part harmonies, it’s not so much a gospel song as a song of encouragement. “It won’t matter who you pray to/ if you pray at all/ Don’t care if you voted/ or who you voted for”. Amen, say I. The closing number is nearer to a traditional bluegrass theme - Ryan Wallen remembers his upbringing with his family and his late Papaw’s Spirit. (Wallen, incidentally, also designed the album sleeve)
Recorded at their record label Mountain Fever’s studio in Willis, Virginia, I am sure that much hilarity will have been involved, if the band’s live performances are anything to go by. You can get an inkling of this on their videos for some of these tracks, if you’re still needing to be convinced. Seek them out live and buy this album!
Eilís Boland
Steve Baskin and The Fourteens I Sometimes Think (Better) Vanelle’s Songs
The latest release from Atlanta-based artist Steve Baskin is a reworking of the songs on his 2006 album I SOMETIMES THINK. That debut album was an introduction to the recording process for Baskin, a ‘hands-on’ approach that found him playing on all ten tracks. For this 20th-anniversary edition, Baskin established backing band, The Fourteens, adding their groove and swagger to breathe new life into the songs. The Fourteens is Roger Brainard (guitars), Mark Socus (bass), Geoff Gill (drums, percussion), and Mark Van Allen (pedal steel). Vocals, guitars, mandolin and lead vocals are credited to Baskin, who also co-produced with Rich Herring.
In keeping with his back catalogue, Baskin genre-hops sonically from power-pop, country soul, and classic rock. The opening tracks, How I Feel and Where You Are, tick that power-pop box. The closing two, Bad Idea and I Sometimes Think, are full-on rockers. Elsewhere, Trip Begin is a highlight, loaded with screeching guitars and a Tom Petty-type rhythm section.
Matters close to the heart also feature. If the mandolin-led and slow-burning I Don’t Know Nothing (Love Song), complete with dreamy pedal steel, is a mature and heartfelt love song, the racy and somewhat tongue-in-cheek Lucy depicts teenage angst and longing. Including a Beatles cover is a brave move, and it could go either way. In this case A Hard Days Night, which was also included in Baskin’s 2025 covers album UNDER COVER, gets a sympathetic, soulful makeover that works.
More adventurous in arrangement and production than his 2006 record, the album certainly lives up to its title. The musicians excel at adding greater expression to the songs behind Baskin’s gritty, soulful vocals, offering the listener a rewarding, relaxed listening experience.
Declan Culliton
Juni Habel Evergreen In Your Mind Basin Rock
If most of the Scandinavian artists whose work Lonesome Highway has reviewed in recent years are bedded in the country/roots Nordicana genre, Norwegian singer-songwriter Juni Habel’s melodies have consistently been grounded in classic folk, and by her own admission, inspired by Nick Drake, Yashi Bunyan and Ane Brun.
The songs on EVERGREEN IN YOUR MIND are even more unhurried than those on her two previous records, ALL EARS (2020) and CARVINGS (2023), although they follow a similar path and structure. Beautifully articulated by Habel’s quite stunning vocals, some of the inclusions date back several years, but the majority were written since her last record. The recordings took place in Hebel’s home in Rakkestad and in her co-producer Stian Skaaden’s apartments in both Oslo and Gjerstad. Multi-instrumentalist Skaaden played bass, synths, percussion, organ, violin, and backing vocals. Lead vocals, guitar, organ, and piano are credited to Habel, and guesting were Herman Wildhagen on pedal steel, Martin Morland on double bass, and Emil Nojgaard Petersen on electric guitar.
Nature and its connection with the human spirit loom large in much of the material. The simple pursuits of hiking, running in the forests and swimming in lakes close to her rural cabin feed into the spareness of Habel’s writing and the song compositions. A prime example is the title track, which finds Habel deep in the woods savouring the tranquillity and escape from distractions (‘’Forest grows tall, you looked down on the trail, you were cold to the bone. Honey, I don’t want to go back home’’). Simply featuring layered vocals and acoustic guitar, it’s a classic case of ‘less is more’, a recurring feature on the record. That sense of calm and ‘time standing still’ is also crafted in Pearl Cloud Song, an instrumental featuring acoustic guitar, percussion, and pedal steel. Less calming, more experimental and quirkier, another instrumental, Gitarhum, has Habel humming over contorted bass lines. Her relaxed folk melodies excel in the opening track Another High, and an otherworldly sense of aloneness and tranquillity plays out in the quite beautiful Colours Close To Me.
Built around Habel’s infectious, hushed, and sometimes semi-spoken vocals, EVERGREEN IN YOUR MIND is an impeccable collection of delicate folk songs.
Declan Culliton
Emily Nenni Movin’ Shoes New West
“This isn’t strictly honky tonk like my former records, even though it’s still all the same influences, I’m just drawing from more artists and genres than I have in the past,” explains Emily Nenni on the release of her latest album, MOVIN’ SHOES.
If DRIVE & CRY, the Nashville-based artist’s 2024 release, was hard-boiled and vintage honky tonk, her latest album moves toward southern country soul. It’s therefore not surprising that she packed her bags and headed to Memphis to record MOVIN’ SHOES. Although the recording venue changed from her last album, Nenni still worked with the same producer, John James Tourville (of the Deslondes), and Grammy-winner Matt-Ross Spang (Jason Isbell, Margo Price, John Prine), who recorded and mixed the album’s thirteen tracks.
The album may shift sonically from Nenni’s previous recordings, but the common denominator is her powerful, extremely soulful vocals, which fit ‘hand in glove’ with the direction she’s chosen. The raging fiddles and pedal steel that worked so well on We Sure Could Two Step on her last album are put to one side this time around and replaced by sweet-sounding horns on tracks like What Have I Done Wrong and Yes It Hurts, with nods in the direction of Dusty Springfield rather than Loretta Lynn.
Nenni’s songwriting has consistently referenced the ‘here and now’ like an update on her current state of mind. Matter of fact songs like Changes and I Don’t Have To Like You from her last album are repeated here in Take My Money (‘’ Rather see you gone than hold these nickels and dimes/Take my money, give me back my time’’) and Good Ma’am (‘’ I need to calm down. Only I can say that I need to slow down’’). Livin’ in Shame, the first single taken from the album, is a song for these times and defiantly calls out the appalling ‘body shaming’ culture (‘’Everybody is different each time, every curve and scar is one of a kind. Never saw a size or shape I didn’t like, so why the wasted years being so cruel to mine’’).
Without straying too far from the originals, Nenni does justice to her takes on Paul Simon’s Tenderness and Delbert McClinton’s Honky Tonkin (I Guess I Done Me Some). Nenni herself has done her fair share of ‘honky tonkin’ since bravely moving to Nashville from California at age twenty-one. Through hard endeavour and abundant talent, she has established herself among a troupe of younger artists who champion the ‘traditional meets modern’ country sound. The album is a delightfully accessible listen from start to finish.
Declan Culliton
Colton Bowlin Grandpa’s Mill Thirty Tigers
In recent years, Kentucky has produced several stellar singer-songwriters deeply influenced by country music. Sturgill Simpson and Tyler Childers exemplify the successful male artists, while Kelsey Waldon and Carly Pearce stand out among the women. Each has an individual style, united by unapologetic pride in Kentucky’s musical heritage. Colton Bowlin is the latest talent to emerge, wearing his heart on his sleeve in GRANDPA’S MILL, an album rooted in family, recollection, and honest reflection on his younger days.
GRANDPA’S MILL is Bowlin’s debut album on the Thirty Tigers label, following his 2024 release SONGS FROM THE HOLLER. Much of the material was written during work breaks at his father’s feed mill in Albany, Kentucky. Inspiration often came from casual chats with older workmates and locals in the small town. On weekends, Bowlin brought these stories to life playing at local bars.
Fond memories of Bowlin’s blissful younger years are presented in Clinton County and Greenbriar Road, while less memorable times of lost love are the subject matter of State Lines and Missed The Dance. Appalachian tales would hardly be complete without a murder ballad, and Don’t Come Home ticks that box. Through the eyes of an elderly man, the protagonist in Man I Used To Be reminisces about a life well lived, including working hard, raising a family, and serving his country in war.
The title track closes the album. A heartfelt tribute to a major influence on Bowlin as a child and young man (‘’I wish I could have back my best friend, but the Lord’s taken him away/ He’s found a better place for him’’), it bookends a self-assured and open-hearted collection of songs that contemplate youth and adulthood, past and future, and life and death, from an artist with endless potential. Fans of Jason Isbell will lap this up.
Declan Culliton
Andy Cohen+Eleanor Ellis+William Lee Ellis Whistlin’ Past the Graveyard Riverlark
What do you get when you bring together three of the most celebrated musicians from the Blues and Folk genres of American Roots music? The answer is a collection of twenty-one songs that highlight and illustrate the depth and breadth of both musical worlds, together with a healthy sprinkling of old-time and gypsy jazz genres to spice up the variety on offer.
Included here are traditional songs, given a fresh interpretation, a few tasty instrumentals, and some cover versions of more recent songs. A number of the selections were written by the musicians themselves with Chicken (Andy Cohen), Handful Of Frets, Memphis Minnie and Me (William Lee Ellis) featured. Traditional arrangements are reworked by Eleanor Ellis on a number of songs like Drunkard’s Lament, Red River Blues, Riley and Spencer. Andy Cohen also does a fine job with Ye Banks and Braes.
Every tune is a joy, often pairing atmospheric blues with a gospel and ragtime mix. Perfect music for a relaxing evening with a log fire burning in cosy surroundings. Whether it’s fingerstyle picking or Piedmont blues featured, the songs move quickly along and seduce the listener into a pleasant state of well-being. Instrumentals like Won’t That Be A Happy Time, played by Andy Cohen on piano, and the Blind Lemon Jefferson song Shuckin’ Sugar performed by Eleanor , are a real treat.
South Nashville Blues by Steve Earle is played like it was written a century ago, and the duelling guitars of Andy Cohen and William Lee Ellis on the Rev. Gary Davis/Scott Joplin song Make Believe Stunt is a real high point. The steady bass playing of Steve Feinbloom underpins a number of the tracks and his rhythmic strum is a highlight on the Furry Lewis track I Will Turn Your Money Green. Fraser Speirs provides harmonica, Vernita Weller brings vocals and tambourine, and Julie Coffey on vocals, all adding colour to various songs.
A Charly Patton song I’m Goin’ Home is dripping with atmosphere and I’ll Be Rested (When the Roll Is Called) is a gospel celebration to the day when the kingdom of heaven comes calling. William Lee Ellis arranges the song I Am Born To Preach the Gospel which brings proceedings to a satisfactory close on this immensely enjoyable album. Praise goes to Eleanor Ellis (vocal, guitar), Andy Cohen (vocal, guitar, mandola, dolceola, piano), and William Lee Ellis (vocal, guitar, banjo, 12-string guitar, slide guitar, steel guitar), for their inventive and inspiring musicianship throughout.
Paul McGee
Band Of Heathens Country Sides BOH
Twenty years down the road, the original duo and founding members Ed Jurdi and Gordy Quist are alive and well and still making vibrant records as Band Of Heathens. On this new release, the band is comprised of Ed Jurdi (Vocals, Guitars), Gordy Quist (Vocals, Guitars), Trevor Nealon(Keyboards, Vocals), Clint Simmons (Drums, Percussion, Vocals), Nick Jay (Bass, Vocals). The credits state that Geoff Queen (Pedal Steel Guitar) features, suggesting that he’s not a regular band member, but based on the evidence here, his stamp on these songs is an integral part of their sound.
The band are from Austin Texas and the album was co-produced with Jim Vollentine, and recorded at The Finishing School in Austin. Their career has seen them focus on an independent path to success, keeping everything within their own decision-making process and highlighting an approach that has been at all turns steady and structured. The first two albums in their discography were recorded live and this focus on performance is something that the band has always promoted, to the point of making many of their shows available to purchase on the night by USB drive, all the way back to 2012. An innovative idea at the time and a novel move that worked so well for them.
On this new album the rich vocals are a highlight throughout, and the simpatico playing coupled with easy melody and rhythm, are reminiscent of bands from the original LA Country-Rock scene of the 1970s. No Direction opens the album with a nice Country style and a song about missing your loved one when you’re apart. It could be clocking up miles on the road that keeps the separation uppermost in the mind. Next up is High On Our Own Supply and it isn’t a song about having an ample supply of weed. More to the point, it is a statement of what works for the band when they are out on tour and looking to keep that positive momentum when playing to fans across the miles “We play rock and roll music all night long / Getting high on our own supply / Feels like going home.”
She’s the Night is a song about looking to the morning and not allowing the dark shadows of night to rest on you like the weight of the world. On the next song Lead Don’t Follow the advice is to take control of your life and trust your instincts. The pedal steel is nicely woven into the up-tempo beat and the harmonies are nicely balanced against the melody.
Getting your heart broken is a risk in trusting others and being vulnerable, and Forever’s Not A Long Time consoles in the thought that a true friend will always be there for you when needed “Nothing ever comes easy / So I'll be waiting here for you.” One of the highlights is the soulful delivery on Something That I Started and that chase for what love could turn out to be is something that we can all relate to.
On these songs the lead vocals are shared between Jurdi and Quist with each possessing a sweetly blended delivery of both tone and perfect timing. On Pleasing People we have the reflection that trying to be what others expect us to be can be a difficult path and one that leads to ultimate frustration. Again, be yourself and live the way you want, leaving others to do the same. Good As I Can Be is another testament to belief in yourself and in what you bring – it’s all bound up in positive mental attitude.
Take the Cake rocks along with some nice guitar and keyboard breaks, and the mellow groove on Just As Much is a promise to always be consistent and unwavering in being present for someone – “I will still love you tomorrow, just as much as I do now.” The final song is Letting Go and it speaks of rolling with the punches “There’s one thing I’ve learned more than I know / I can keep a little grace, Instead of trying to save face / I just roll with the flow.” This thought is a nice way to summarise the album; it’s filled with fine melodies and great harmony vocals, flowing along like a river in the way that the songs carry their own momentum forward to a pleasing conclusion.
Paul McGee
Isabel Rumble Hold Everything Lightly Self Release
Australian indie folk delivered in a beautifully packaged new album from the impressive Isabel Rumble. A debut album appeared in 2023 and this new project was produced by Heath Cullen, a sought-after musician, producer and songwriter from New South Wales. All ten songs are written by Isabel Rumble and it’s a very intimate album with the deep underlying message of loving awareness running throughout.
The opening track Soften is a song that captures the heartbreak of losing a lover and a friend “They keep telling me I’m strong / I’ve been doing the work, Breaking parts of my heart / And healing the hurt.” The understated playing and atmospherics are delivered by Isabel on vocal and guitar, Heath Cullen on drums, guitar, piano and Robyn Martin on bass. And it is Martin who is the anchor on all of the arrangements, bar one, with her light touch on either upright or electric bass.
Better Half Of Me is an exploration of falling gradually into love with another “Hoping we belong to each other / As lovers do … Good things take time.” There is superb pedal steel, played by Ben Franz, who features on five tracks, bringing some lovely moments. The cello on Lonely Hunter is beautifully delivered by Ben Tolliday on a song that celebrates the close bond between two lovers in the moments of quiet intimacy. A similar feeling runs through Knowing and that sixth sense of unspoken understanding, entwined in one another.
Room To Grow sees lovers part with a sense of regret, and yet looking forward to the next chapter ‘I realised the limit to what I was giving, You could see it too, no longer ringing true.’ The intimacy on Born Again is both gentle and tinged with rueful reflection, Isabel performing solo on just vocals and acoustic guitar “I’ve been hiding all this time, hoping you’ll find me / Now I’m realising I put a guard around my heart / What did I expect you to see.”
The building passion on I Danced is a highlight with Heath Cullen providing nuanced guitar, organ, piano and drums. There is a wistful quality on Digesting History with piano and upright bass, understated cello and a vocal that looks back on a relationship “Softness in the words you speak / The hard truth settles in.” Another memorable song is You’ll Sing with the lovely piano melody augmented by haunting pedal steel ‘For what you think, And the kindness you bring, Lives eternally.’ Echoes of Jane Siberry on this song and the sense of longing entwined with regret for the loss of the past.
The final song is also the album title, and Hold Everything Lightly is like a mantra, or a prayer, to be offered in times of vulnerability and uncertainty. It’s the longest track and a reflection on a relationship of real meaning and substance, mirrored in the lines “I gave enough to you, I gave myself to you / Beneath this quarter moon, Driving away from you … Gave my heart away and chased until the days were longer than the nights.”
There is a deep sense of acceptance and of quiet humility running through these songs and their overall impact is quietly stunning as they wind their way around the lovely melodies and the ensemble dynamic. A highly recommended album.
Paul McGee
Jesper Lindell 3614 Jackson Highway Yep Roc
This release is the first half of an intriguing project undertaken by Swedish musician Jesper Lindell and his band, The Brunnsvik Sound. In September 2024, over a four-day period, Jesper and the band travelled to a pair of iconic recording studios in Alabama and Tennessee to record two albums in a live format. Quite a daunting task and one that inspired the jet-lagged musicians to rise to the occasion. The result can be seen in the separate albums 3614 JACKSON HIGHWAY and ROYAL – in paying tribute to both the Muscle Shoals studio in Alabama and Royal Studios in Memphis.
Such an inspirational idea could only result in a positive outcome and the first of these two albums has now been released with 3614 Jackson Highway the address of the iconic sound studio at Muscle Shoals. Across nine cover songs we are given the playing skills of The Brunnsvik sextet to absorb and assess, and the results are impressive, with the soulful sound of the musicians producing an album of great moments.
Starting off with the Dan Penn song If Love Was Money the bar is set high, with Jesper Lindell sounding like Graham Parker on the lead vocal. Horns and string arrangements were added subsequently by Rasmus Fors, one of three producers who worked on the album and the backing vocals of Michaela Holmberg and Kajsa Hansson also add great energy.
The Spooner Oldham/Dan Penn song She Ain’t Gonna Do Right follows and the performance is again convincing and fresh. Things really lift off on the Staple Singers classic Respect Yourself (Ingram/Rice) with a soulful vocal and some fine lead guitar courtesy of Lindell. The Tony Joe White classic Rainy Night In Georgia is included but it cannot come close to the Randy Crawford version, the string arrangement here making the sound almost too smooth.
Pretend It Never Happened is better, with the Willie Nelson song given a magical soul vibe that really works, the warm sound of organ and piano courtesy of Rasmus Fors. Ever popular Dan Penn returns again on the song Rainbow Road and the pain in the message is well captured with Lindell sounding close to Nathaniel Rateliff in the vocal delivery. Again, the addition of horns and backing vocals bring the edge, even if the relative need for strings can be debated here.
The Staple Singers hit Heavy Makes You Happy (Barry/Bloom) is another inspired choice with Michaela Holmberg shining on co-lead vocals. There is a real groove on this one. Another song from Tony Joe White is included with I’ve Got A Thing About You Baby hitting all the bases. Perhaps the standout performance is reserved for final track Drift Away (Mentor Williams), made famous by versions from Dobie Gray and Michael Bolton over the years. The smoky, soulful delivery from Lindell is just perfect, restrained and yet powerful, shared with Phil Campbell on co-lead vocal and benefiting from the harmony vocals of Michaela Holmberg, Kajsa Hansson and Elin Larsson.
The members of the Brunnsvik Sound are Jesper Lindell (guitars, lead vocals), Anton Lindell (bass), Carl Lindvall (piano, backing vocals), Jimmy Reimers (guitars, harmonica, violin, trumpet, French horn, backing vocals), Rasmus Fors (accordion, keyboards, organ), and Simon Wilhelmsson (drums). They all shine on the project and their live recording concept is augmented by horns, strings and background vocals which, more often than not, add colour to everything. As key moments go, it’s well worth your time and investment; a reverential nod to a time when the rural rhythm and blues sounds of the 60s began merging with the soulful urban sounds of a developing musical experience.
Paul McGee