Susto Stringband (Volume 2) Missing Piece
Justin Osborne’s 2025 experimental reworking of songs he previously recorded with his indie-rock band Susto was released last year, titled SUSTO STRINGBAND VOL.1. Joining forces with members of the Asheville, North Carolina, bluegrass scene in 2022, the original songs were deconstructed and rebuilt in bluegrass and old-time stylings. The title of that album left the door open for a second record, and given the positive response to the original record, it’s little surprise that Osborne and his colleagues repeated the exercise.
The musicians alongside Osborne on this record are Jackson Grimm (mandolin, octave mandolin, guitar, vocals), Clint Roberts (guitar, vocals), Helena Rose (banjo, vocals Joey Brown (upright bass, vocals) and Nat Copeland (fiddle, group vocals). Additional contributors were Morgan Wade, Joshua Hedley, Madeline Dierauf and Marley Fischer.
The remodelled Hard Drugs, one of the standout tracks on Susto’s 2017 record, & I’M FINE TODAY, works remarkably well. Morgan Wade shares lead vocals with Osborne, and the toned-down treatment draws the listener to the lyrics even more than on the original version (“I had a dream that we were doing hard drugs in a street alley /You were lying dead next to me”). A masterly fiddle break by Nat Copeland also works exceptionally well on the recording. Joshua Hedley’s contribution is playing fiddle alongside Copeland in E-350, an upbeat salute to a trusty touring van.
In honour of one of the first generation of bluegrass artists, the Ralph Stanley song Gloryland opens the album, performed a cappella by Osborne with harmony vocals by band members Rose, Brown, Grimm and Roberts. The lively instrumental jig Work Away includes Madeline Dierauf on second fiddle, and the Osborne and Rose duet Don’t Feel Right is a widow’s lament for a loved one (“Couldn't change the ending /With all the time we spent /You got tired of living /Now I’m left to sit with it”)
Born in Puddin’ Swamp in rural South Carolina, Osborne formed Susto while living in Havana, Cuba, writing confessional songs about growing up and the politics and religion that surrounded him. If those recordings were ventilated under the ‘psychedelic meets Americana’ umbrella, this album and its predecessor, under the Susto Stringband alliance, find Osborne returning to the gospel, bluegrass and folk music that inspired him in his early years.
That sense of ‘coming home’ is best expressed by Osborne in the song Black River Gospel (“Well my brothers, me, and my cousins, had an early theological start/Learning them Black River gospel hymns and singing 'em all by heart/ We were up on stage, like a sacrifice to God /But that's the price you pay, when you grow up in the South”).
Declan Culliton
Jobi Riccio Face The Feeling Yep Roc
Two of the standout tracks on Colorado-born Jobi Riccio’s latest album imply that the album’s title is both self-directed and aimed at a wider audience. The opening song A Little At A Time, which I played on repeat four times before moving to the next track, it’s that good, is a brutally honest and openhearted tearjerker (‘’But even just a little is worth all the crying/ And if it’s this or nothing/ I’ll choose a little every time”). It’s also a trademark of the Nashville-based artist’s unguarded writing that often suggests wounds not yet healed. If that song represents mirror gazing, Wildfire Season, tracked a day after Trump’s second election, is more a call to arms as Riccio witnesses masses sleepwalking through inconceivable times (“I'm just barely twenty-three/Still got my life ahead of me/In a few years, I'll be twenty-nine/And I am fuckin' terrified/I'm not immune to positivity/But it's dangerously close to complacency”).
While still in her teens, Riccio was awarded the Lee Villiare Scholarship from the Berkeley College of Music, followed a few years later by the Newport Folk Festival John Prine Fellowship. WHIPLASH, her ‘coming of age’ album from 2022, signalled a young artist whose insightful songwriting suggested a maturity well beyond her age. That promise is enhanced by this record, which weaves between fierce rockers and gentle ballads. The former is well represented by the self-searching Buzzkill; the latter by the sensitive love song Easy. Landing somewhere between the two tempos is the Joni Mitchell-sounding Idaho and the powerful tale of self-control, Love Of The Song (“Cause I’m not drinking for the taste/Or singing for the love of these songs”). In contrast, High Beam features only Riccio’s vocals and acoustic guitars as she articulates her tale of rejection and a connection that was sadly not fully realised.
Pilar, NM, is another exercise in self-examination (“There’s a mirror in these mountains/They hold it up to my heart/And remind me who I am”) and the retrospective Coyote recalls childhood memories of simpler times and the anticipation of fleeing the nest to live an independent, love-filled life.
Co-produced by Riccio, Isaiah Beard and Jesse Timm, the arrangements and production are more adventurous than on her previous records. In particular, the addition of strings on A Little At A Time and Easy work spectacularly well.
Bleak themes, handled delicately and unashamedly, dominate this excellent collection of songs by an artist whose talents have fully blossomed on this record. For me, it’s as good an album as I’ve heard so far this year. Listen to it yourself and decide. I doubt you’ll be disappointed.
Declan Culliton
Whitney Rose The Tennessee Polaroids MCG
Canadian-born and Austin resident Whitney Rose headed to Nashville to record this three-track EP at Creative Workshop Recording Studio. Co-produced by Rose and Chris Scruggs, it’s a welcome return to recording by Rose since her last record, ROSIE, in 2023. That album addressed her pain and struggles, having suffered serious illness in 2022, which necessitated Rose putting her career on hold at that time.
Scruggs' input also included playing acoustic guitar, electric guitar, steel guitar and backing vocals. The additional players were Gabe Tonon on electric guitar, Jay Weaver on bass, Dave Racine on drums, and Kinley, who played violin and viola. Brennen Leigh also added backing vocals.
The three tracks on this EP are testament to Rose’s talent as a vocalist, songwriter and her capacity to skilfully serve up dreamy country ballads, raucous barroom toe tappers and heartfelt tales of loss. Spring 2016 falls into the latter category, recalling a treasured time in the past that sadly discontinued. Raising the tempo, Tooties is laced with clever wordplay, hoots and hollers, hand claps, and super slick guitar breaks supporting Rose’s crystal-clear vocals. It plays out like a walking tour of Broadway, with pit stops at Tootie's, Acme & Seed, and Roberts Western World, as the central character recalls her first trip to Nashville, dreaming of becoming a country star. (“They got my picture up at Tootsie’s right where I always said it would be/ See my face there on the wall With Patsy, Hank and Tom T Hall/ It’s a honky Tonkin’ badge I wear It don’t matter why, just that I’m there/ Not far from that wall of fame /See me Tootsie’s wall of shame”). The third track Marquee is a classy and perfectly paced 1960s Countrypolitan-styled inclusion.
It’s a delight to hear Rose back in such stellar form. Vocally, she’s as impressive as ever, so let’s hope THE TENNESSEE POLAROIDS is the gateway to further recordings soon.
Declan Culliton
Nathan Evans Fox Heirloom Free Dirt
Nashville-based singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Nathan Evans Fox’s songwriting couldn’t be further from much of the collaborative songwriting originating from nine-to-five speed writing schools that dominate pop/country these days. On the contrary, the North Carolina-born artist, whose hometown was regarded as one of the most depressed in America, writes about real-life issues, social observations and in particular, family, both past and present.
That sense of family is emphasised in the open song, an open letter to his daughter titled Lots Of Beginnings, where Fox mourns that she will never see the family land that had to be sold and his fear that his family’s rural origins might be lost on her. Prior to her birth, Fox's thoughts and concerns of bringing a child into a world of chaos and uncertainty are expressed in the song Heirloom (“A daughter in tow’s /Better than staring at rope /There’s plenty to show her ‘bout all that an heirloom can grow……She’s welcome to reap /All that I sowed first /After all of these years /I hope there’s a taste of its sweetness”).
Fox’s diverse career path prior to becoming a professional musician gave him a broad range of experiences to fuel his passion for writing. Included were the undistinguished roles of stacking tyres at a Michelin plant in South Carolina, serving in AmeriCorps, and working as a hospital chaplain in New York, working with grief-stricken families. HEIRLOOM is his fifth album since he released his debut record HOME in 2017.
On this record Sevindust speaks of moving on and accepting that certain family traits and traditions need to be seen in a new light and let go of, despite the consequential ‘fallout.’ Reflecting Fox’s childhood in the Bible Belt, Hillbilly Hymn (Okra and Cigarettes) reproduces the gospel and choir singing of his youth. Jesus and the Buck is a mature and open-minded reflection on that dominant role of so-called Christianity and its warped means of control and wealth accumulation.
The sacrifices of the musician’s lot and the often minimal return has been a feature of country music songs forever and Fox follows suit with Little Bit of Shine (“More than a dollar short and a few days late /Only worked down the interest on the dues I paid /All that crying and cussin’ it’s gone to waste /When I’m scared by the little bit of shine I make”).
Nathan Evans Fox contributed vocals, pedal steel, acoustic guitar, banjo, strings, keys, and percussion on the album, which was produced by Zachary Hamilton, whose credits also included playing drums, electric guitar, bass, organ, and adding background vocals. It’s a thought-provoking and highly enjoyable meditation on life’s challenges, well worth your investigation.
Declan Culliton
Juana Everett Past Lives In California Great Canyon
Leaving her home in Madrid in 2016, Juana Everett headed for Los Angeles to record her debut solo album. Spending eight years in California, Everett experienced highs and lows, unfulfilled and notable dreams, and encounters and friendships that moulded her into the person she is today.
To translate those episodes into this record, Everett travelled to Nashville, equipped with her songs, intending to record in Music City. Musician and producer Alex Muñoz grew up in the same neighbourhood in Madrid as Everett and had also moved to America to pursue his career. That relocation led to Muñoz working with a host of Nashville artists, including Margo Price and her husband Jeremy Ivey, Nikki Lane and John Hiatt. Fate would have it that Muñoz and Everett would cross paths, leading to their collaboration on the production and recording of PAST LIVES IN CALIFORNIA. The recordings took place in Middletree Studios in East Nashville and Fame Recording Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama.
Everett’s pilgrimage to California gave rise to mixed emotions, and she opens this record with an air of homesickness in Bring Me Back (“Home again/I see the memories of yesterday/My mother's eyes/Smiling softly when she calls my name”). It’s beautifully articulated by Everett’s honeyed, layered vocals and the musicians who supported her in the studio: Muñoz (electric guitar, mando guitar, 12-string and baritone guitar, pedal steel), Joe Pisapia (synths, bass), Jamie Dick (drums, percussion) and Ray Jacildo (piano).
More hard-hitting in both tempo and content is Janitor, which tells of a luckless woman leading a mundane, desperate existence whose sole dark secret is a 15-year crush on a teacher at her workplace. Night Shift broods over the seedy side of California and the unfortunates who sleepwalk through a life barely surviving (“Today we are closed/The house piano player overdosed/After ten years on the night shift/Including holidays/Same show”). Equally ‘finger pointing’ is Your Worst Enemy, which takes a swipe at the fakery and the egotistical undercurrent of the West Coast (‘’Your face on the big screen/But you hate it all/Secretly”).
It’s not all downbeat themes. Dylan LeBlanc duets in the gentle love ballad Whatever It Takes which rejoices in strong family bonds even when the chips appear down. Coincidentally, Dylan spent much of his youth at Fame Recording Studios, where his father, James, was a staff songwriter and session player. Closing on a high note, Nikki Lane adds backing vocals on What A Swell Party, which rejoices in freedom, the great outdoors and friendship.
Spurred on by real-life concerns, Everett’s eloquent writing and musical influences, from Spanish to Celtic, and from folk to Laurel Canyon, shine brightly on this fine treasure chest of songs.
Declan Culliton
Don Williams Epilogue: The Cellar Tapes Craft
The discovery of multi-track tapes, decades in storage, in the storm cellar of the Williams’ family home in rural Tennessee led to the production of this twelve-track album of previously unreleased recordings by country legend Don Williams.
Williams’ smooth and relaxed baritone voice remained untarnished on the tapes, but extensive work was required to restore the musicianship. That task was embarked upon by Williams’ long-time producer Garth Fundis (Trisha Yearwood, Keith Whitley, Sugarland), who, alongside Williams’ son Tim, co-produced the album. In keeping with tradition, Joe Allen (bass) and Kenny Malone (drums), both regular collaborators on Williams’ recordings, contributed. Other guest players included Lloyd Green on pedal steel guitar and Jimmy Colvard, Dave Kirby, and Billy Sanford on guitar. The string sections were arranged by Charles Cochran, who also played piano and organ.
An added bonus is that the original recordings date back to 1979-1984, a peak period in Williams’ career. Self-writes and cover versions feature. Opening with the Layng Martine Jnr. written Try Me Again and closing with the Jennifer Kimball/Richard Beresford co-write Growing On Me, it’s not surprising that Williams’ laid-back deliveries backed by equally relaxed playing earned him the title ‘Gentle Giant’ in a career that spanned at least one hit every year from 1974 to 1991. Also noticeable is that much of his back catalogue was considered ‘pop/country’ at the time, in contrast to the drivel often representing the same genre in today’s music industry.
Other notable covers include a cracking take on Rodney Crowell’s Leaving Louisiana In The Broad Daylight and Bob McDill’s How Can I Miss What I Never Had. The latter’s theme of heartache and loss is repeated in both Williams’ classic co-write with Wayland Holyfield, I’m The One, and Goldy’s Gone From Golden.
This album will no doubt be cherished by long-time Williams devotees. Hopefully, it will also reach a younger audience of music fans and introduce them to a masterclass in how ‘easy listening’ country should be done.
Declan Culliton
Erik Stucky Bag Of Bones Self Release
All roads lead to Nashville when you are trying to establish a reputation as a serious musician and a gun for hire. Erik is a multi-instrumentalist who began establishing his career back in 2017 with the release of Stray Clouds, his debut album. Over time he has developed as a touring musician for other artists, in addition to being a studio player on various recordings.
A second album appeared in 2021 and Good Vibrations added to his popularity as he also began looking to produce music in the studio environment. On this short 5-track EP we find Erik cementing this progress and he not only produced the project, but played on mandolin, guitars, fiddle, and contributed lead and backing vocals.
He is joined by a tight group of musicians in colouring the songs and all the players are excellent, with Steven Schumann (bass, cello, piano, fiddle), and Mark Prentice (piano, B3 organ, synthesizer, Wurlitzer) bringing great variety in their delivery. Justin Vorp is very understated in his rhythmic playing on drums, congas, and bodhran, with Lois Mahalia outstanding on very effective backing vocals. Mat Poole adds bass and guitar across two songs and the entire recording process took place at Amber Sound Studios, Hermitage, which is very close to Nashville. Mat Poole is a producer at the studios and he also engineered and mixed the songs.
The opener Bag Of Bones has a really infectious groove and an edgy feel to the sense of pending danger ‘Look out, the devil is trying to lift your bag of bones,’ the spectral fiddle of Steven Schumann echoing in the melody. Night Train is a more stripped back affair and gives the sense of escaping from something restricting in the life of a woman looking to break away ‘Misery turns to magic, all the troubles fall behind her like the rain.’ The drums play a shuffle like the wheels on a train and the fiddle and acoustic guitar build the momentum.
Jealous Of the Wind is a slow burn that looks at the life of someone who is stuck in a small-town rut ‘It don’t have to work in the factory… Have the same old conversations that go nowhere... It don’t ask questions, Or answer to time.’ As a force of nature, the wind just passes on through and blows on down the road, but it can’t take away the frustrations of a young man looking for a bigger life.
Because You’re Right is a song that reflects upon relationships and the dividing line between what prioritizes leaving over wanting to stay. We all end up having to walk our own path ‘Because you’re right, doesn’t make me wrong.’ The final song Crying Side Of You has an up-tempo rhythm with the musicians finding that sweet spot where everything comes together and the energy lifts off. The nice soulful harmony vocal and bright acoustic guitar break are highlights. Excellent all round, and there is no doubting the talent at play here. Erik Stucky brings lots to admire to the table and I look forward to the next instalment.
Paul McGee
Robert Thurman Are We There Yet? Self Release
This new release from Tennessee resident Robert Thurman follows closely in content to his previous 2025 debut, BURNING DAYLIGHT. There are fifteen tracks included on this new album and each stays very much in the acoustic blues tradition. They are very-much stripped down to the core with just vocal and a Washburn acoustic guitar in the mix.
The project is certainly one of great focus and no doubt coming from a very authentic core. It’s as if Robert wants to channel the pain and the struggles of life through the six strings and the rhythmic strum of his guitar, reaching out to echoes of the Folk Blues that shaped a lot of the current music that we listen to in different formats and genres. If the wish was to channel the old blues masters and the angst of Townes Van Zandt, mixed into the inner world of Eric Taylor, then you are going to enjoy what is waiting to be discovered here.
There are two cover versions with renditions of Fixin’ To Die Blues (Bukka White), and John the Revelator (Son House). Elsewhere we have Robert declaring Sam I Am as “Dr Seuss meets Harry Crews, with a tribute to the late great Charlie Patton” and the lyric speaks of “Every night he slept with two rattlers by his side / One named Bonnie and one named Clyde.” On Good Times Bad Times Blues Robert sings of “walking on a tightrope that's coming undone, howlin' at the moon and I'm trippin’ on the sun.” The duality of this life perfectly summed up, almost like a Haiku.
Polite Society Blues is a highlight and the memorable I’m Still Here, But I Ain’t All There is another standout, with the classic blues line ‘check the obituary to see if I'm dead.’ It’s as much an album to enjoy over a glass of wine, as it is one to view our darker thoughts of life never dealing you a fair hand. Whose Appalachia looks at the history of the preconceived, stereotyped opinions that surround the local inhabitants within the State. Unmarked Grave is a very atmospheric song and Devil’s Waiting tells its own tale of travelling on old deserted back roads.
The final track is a spoken memory, and The Old House is something that could easily inhabit a Tom Waits album with a reflection on getting older and having to grow up with odd ghosts “These memories here are much like people to me / Some are destined to move on, some are here to stay / I don’t mind wandering around with all the others in here either / I hear them speaking, sometimes I hear them playing a tune I can almost remember.” An old ghost in a deserted house?
Robert Thurman is an artist and a poet in addition to his musical leanings. He has been involved in exhibitions and projects in his community and this new collection of songs will be well received by many of his admirers who enjoy authentic blues, played with great heart and soul.
Paul McGee
West Of Eden Lighthousekeeping West Of Music
The Celtic tradition is very much an integral influence to be found running through the music of Swedish band West Of Eden. There is no direct connection between this genre and their country of origin, but the folk leanings of West Of Eden have found a spiritual home in the reach of traditional Irish and Scottish music.
The six-piece group was originally created by founding members, husband and wife team, Jenny Schaub (lead and backing vocals, accordion, tin whistle), and multi-instrumentalist Martin Schaub(lead and backing vocals, acoustic guitars, tenor guitar, dobro, mandolin, bouzouki, cittern, keyboard, Hammond organ, Rhodes, celesta, piano, pump organ, accordion and glockenspiel).
Over three decades, the couple has driven the vision of West Of Eden, seen band members join and leave, projects come to fruition and tours successfully negotiated across much of Europe. Today, they are joined by current band members Ola Karlevo(drums, percussion, cajón, bodhrán, backing vocals), Lars Broman (fiddle, viola, backing vocals), Martin Deubler Holmlund (double bass, bass guitar, backing vocals), and Henning Sernhede (electric and acoustic guitars, mandolin).
And together, the six musicians bring a celebratory and vibrant sound to their music, always committed to lifting the recording experience and pushing onto new horizons. This album is their twelfth, not counting a couple of Christmas records, plus a fine compilation, NO TIME LIKE THE PAST (2017).
On the twelve songs included here the focus is entirely on Celtic traditional arrangements and the tracks are creatively interpreted by the band, together with guest musicians who joined them on the project. Returning to the original location where the band first performed together, Jenny and Martin chose a lighthouse keeper’s house on the west coast of Sweden as the source of inspiration for this recording.
John McCusker added fiddle and low whistle across eight of the tunes, with Michael McGoldrick contributing uilleann pipes and whistles to the opening track Sir Patrick Spens, a Scottish maritime ballad about a disaster at sea. Another Scottish folk song is included with Mari’s Wedding and the twin-lead vocals of both Jenny and Martin. The instrumental Si Bheag, Si Mhór is in reflection of ancient burial sites in the county of Leitrim in Ireland, and Ar Éirinn Ní Nfheosfainn Ce Hi is a traditional Irish song that translates as - For Ireland I'd Not Tell Her Name, and is a song of unrequited love and longing.
She’s Like the Swallow is a Canadian folk song and deals with a woman’s heartbreak, while Song From Molom/Cooley's Reel combines a traditional Swedish air with an Irish reel to great effect. Throughout the album, the musicianship is of the highest order and the soaring vocals of Jenny Schaub enrich the arrangements. Yet another jewel in the crown of this excellent Swedish band that continues to produce engaging and effervescent music.
Paul McGee