Cindy Kalmenson Home Again Self Release
Founder of the long running Nashville songwriter night, Girls With Guitars, during her 13 years in Music City in the 90’s/2000’s, Cindy Kalmenson has been back living happily in her native Southern California for a number of years. However, contrary to popular opinion, the muse hasn’t left her just because she is happily married, raising a daughter and making jewellery, as her latest album will attest. Still driven to write songs and playing out with a band, she has won several national songwriting competitions in recent years, most recently the Kerrville New Folk competition in 2025. HOME AGAIN, a sparkling collection of twelve country/folk originals and one cover, demonstrates exactly why she is considered a songwriter of skill and humour, with the crystal clear vocals to match.
Catch and Release mines that fertile soil from which Kalmenson gleans much of her inspiration - her ex-boyfriends, of whom she seems to have had many! This sultry grooving affair makes fun of a former lover who clearly wasn’t in the relationship for the long run, “you knew I was fishin', fishin’ for keeps / While you were playin’ catch and release”. In the keys driven Measure Down, she introduces another hapless character who she finally shakes off once she realises that it takes more than chemistry to sustain a relationship with a chancer. ‘You’ll never measure up / And I’ll never measure down”, she assures him as she waves goodbye. In the country waltz Hook, Line and Sinker we meet another ex-boyfriend, the chorus of the song summing up that relationship. “When you fall in love with a drinker … You get a ‘what was I thinkin'?' kinda song”. From Here to Tennessee details the random, late night, whiskey-fuelled phone calls from a former boyfriend in Nashville, which Kalmenson finds amusing and annoying but also flattering.
Kalmenson’s musical partner in crime for this record is Californian musician Bernie Larsen, a former member of David Lindley’s El Rayo-X, who has also worked with Jackson Browne, Lucinda Williams and Rickie Lee Jones, to name but a few. As well as co-producing this record, he plays a phenomenal number of instruments here, including guitars, keys, bass, drums, accordion and tuba. Jessie Seibenberg’s pedal steel plays a prominent role, along with Nathan McEuen on banjo on several tracks, and Jeff Young (Jackson Browne) on additional keys.
Midlife Chrysler is an amusing take on a fictional woman’s mid-life crisis, Kalmenson showing her bawdy sense of humour with lines like ”My kids are doing fine / Not one is doing time”. The autobiographical Lucky For Me recounts how she met her husband Terry and how their love is still strong. By contrast, the protagonist in the title track Home Again leaves her husband to return home to her first love after 18 years apart, both belatedly realising they should always have been together. Kalmenson was a bilingual elementary school teacher in a former life, so she’s comfortable singing the only cover on the record, a version of Linda Ronstadt’s Lo Siento Mi Vida (I’m Sorry My Love), complete with Spanish style guitar from Bernie Larsen. The closing song I’m Everywhere, which features just Kalmenson’s vocals over her acoustic guitar, she describes as being written by her late nephew Sean, through her, and she hopes it brings comfort to her family and indeed to all those who have lost loved ones. A recommend album.
Eilís Boland
Benjamin Tod Country Is Dead Self Release
Despite the title, this is an album very much keeping that particular genre in the mind and heart of Tod and his accomplices. Following on from his excellent recent all original album VENGEANCE & GRACE, and a couple of single releases, this finds Tod back in the studio with producer Andrija Tokic (a seemingly perfect match) for an album of well-chosen covers. In the accompanying press release, Benjamin Tod outlines why particular songs had so much meaning for him through the years. They show a man much in love with music that travels under the country music banner, while underscoring its diversity. The originals come from such diverse sources as Jimmie Rodgers and Hank Williams, through to The Byrds and Bob Dylan.
He is joined from the previous album by Billy Contreras on fiddle and bassist Paul DeFiglia and brings in such players as Chris Gelb on drums, guitarist Sam Talmadge and Jeff Taylor on piano. Tod explains “My general take on covers is they either need to be done differently, or done better. There’s a few that are impossible to do either with, but I think we hit that mark on most of this record”, something that the recordings make pretty clear. That and the fact that Tod's vocals throughout are also excellent. He has a number of additional vocalists join him where required but it is always his voice front and centre,
The album opens with the oldest song in terms of era and that is Jimmie Rodgers’ self written Waiting On A Train, a song that Tod has played since he was a teenager. It also offered something of a roadmap for his early life choices, a sense of that life lived has informed the authenticity of his delivery. It is a theme that he also returns to later in the album with his selection of Bob Dylan’s Only A Hobo (rather than one of his better known songs), another choice that dates back to his teens and a heavy 60’s folk influence. His take includes what he considers “the prettiest and most meaningful piece I’ve ever produced.”
This album is like a perfect jukebox by reminding you of some great classic country, but reimagining it in a way that respects the material but brings it alive without pandering to any contemporary media expectations. Benjamin Tod is his own man and, not unlike Charlie Crockett, is not bothered by record company controlled release cycles. Gram Parsons was another influence and his Hickory Wind (written with Bob Buchanan) is a song that I rarely tire of and this version is up there with the best. Knowing his string band background, his take on the song Natural Thing To Do, that became a bluegrass standard via Larry Sparks, here sounds more at home in a honky tonk. Another man who mixed his country and bluegrass was Ricky Skaggs, and Tod takes the Larry Cordle written Highway 40 Blues and gives it something of a shuffle mode, with another great vocal delivery.
Nashville Women takes a look at the nighttime women (and men) of that town, portrayed through the writing of Harlan Howard in this version of the Hank Locklin hit. By way of contrast, the Leona Williams’ written and Merle Haggard recorded, You Take Me For Granted has a slightly different perspective on relationships. So perhaps then covering a love song recorded by Don Williams may not initially seem like an obvious artistic choice. It was a chart topping hit penned by Wayland Holyfield, but true to form Tod gives you a different arrangement and feel to that of the better known version of Some Broken Hearts Never Mend - a well-written love song.
But then there’s the other side of life revealed by Tod’s dark and despairing rendition of Alone And Forsaken, another of Hank Sr’s ongoing tales of heartbreak and woe. As you might expect this is an album highlight that is perfectly realised here. That he takes on the canon of George Jones on his co-write Color Of The Blues shows a growing confidence and also an understanding of the great man’s unique vocal ability. For this he notes it was an “extremely challenging sing,” one he doesn’t think will be replicated in his live repertoire in the foreseeable future. The album’s penultimate choice is a song from another outlaw spirit in the shape of the indomitable Billy Joe Shaver’s self-realising lifestyle choice that is Ragged Old Truck.
So it’s up to the positive realisation of a Keith Whitley recorded song, Turn This Thing Around, that is chosen to close the album in what is an upbeat call to arms. Many cover albums don’t always do a lot more than remind you of how great the originals were, but here the delivery is far from the moribund sentiment of the title. As Dr Frankenstein may have said in the movies “it’s alive!” It’s also a kicking and a living, breathing, exploration of country music at its best.
Stephen Rapid
PS: After a life of pop, rock, electronic and dub music, I turned to country for something different. After some flirtation with The Byrds and related members' country forays, I found a trio of albums in my local record store. They were Dwight Yoakam Guitar, Cadillacs … , Hank Williams Sr. Greatest Hits and a Vernon Oxford album. I thought for a time that all country singers sang with a nasal twang. Then I discovered so much more ... but Benjamin Tod with this and previous albums takes me right back to where I started. He is one, among with a number of other artists, who have remained true to their own vision and to country music - Keepers Of The Flame.
Tony Hannah Love It Or Leave It Soulstep
Women have been working overtime” says Tony Hannah. “From pulling double shifts to mending heartbreak after heartbreak… it feels never-ending. We do it all, alone.” The East Tennessee-born artist speaks from the heart, having worked a variety of jobs, including getting her hands dirty as a farm labourer in California and enjoying a more glamorous job as a fashion model in New York, to name but two.
LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT, an honest commentary about surviving in the music industry, was produced by Elijah Ocean and recorded at Black Cabin Sound, Nashville, with Hannah’s studio band that included multi-instrumentalist Jeremy Long, fiddle player Mary Meyer and drummer Aaron Goodrich. A debut record, it sits comfortably between traditional and modern country, and although Tennessee-born, it is shaped by Hannah’s upbringing in Berkeley, California and the laid-back country sounds common to that state.
Much of Hannah’s inspiration to pursue a career as a country artist stems from following in the footsteps of her late uncle AJ Masters, who wrote songs for Faith Hill and Randy Travis, as well as charting numerous times himself on the Hot Country Song Chart in the mid-1980s. In recognition of this, An Old Pair Of Shoes, written by AJ, is included in the ten-track album. The remaining nine tracks are a combination of self-writes by Hannah and a few co-writes with Brennen Leigh, Elijah Ocean and Stefanie Joyce.
Comin’ Up Short grapples with the reality of exhaustive hard graft with little financial gain (“I've been comin' up short for way too long/At the end of the month, the money's all gone/My mind and body and soul’s all spent/And I've got no clue where the day's going”). As you’d expect from a country album, there’s also heartbreak aplenty. The Brennen Leigh co-write, It Takes A Man To Say Goodbye and What the Heart Wants tick that box. The former is a reminder that if it’s not working, it’s time to bail out, while the latter is an up-tempo ditty on a ‘one-way’ relationship that’s doomed for failure.
Recognising the red flags and avoiding getting bowled over by the cool dude at the bar is the message in the light-hearted Easy on the Eye. More hard-hitting is the confessional record opener It’s Getting Better (As Time Goes On) that speaks of the push and pull of dealing with life’s challenges.
Built around Hannah’s relaxed vocal deliveries and with the support of some fine musicians, she has found her calling in the ‘traditional meets modern’ country genre with this record and, it must be said, has done so with some aplomb.
Declan Culliton
Jason James Cut The Chains Heart Of Texas
The recording for Texan Jason James’ third album started back in 2022 with producer John Evans, who was also at the controls on James’ previous records, JASON JAMES (2015) and SEEMS LIKE TEARS AGO (2019). Working at bass player David Roe’s (Jerry Reed, Dwight Yoakam, Johnny Cash) studio, they assembled a team of big hitters alongside James and Roe to commence the recordings. The lineup included pedal steel player Steve Hinson (George Jones, Randy Travis, Kenny Vaughan, Marty Stuart, Lucinda Williams) on guitar and baritone, and bluegrass composer and vocalist Ronnie Bowman, who added backing vocals. (Bowman subsequently tragically lost his life at the age of sixty-four in a motorbike collision earlier this year).
However, with four songs recorded and plans to complete the album in the coming months, James's funding and personal issues led to the project being shelved. Fortunately for James, a friendship developed with Tracy Pitcox of Heart of Texas Recordings in Brady, Texas, and with funding secured and the label’s support, the recordings were completed. Sadly, David Roe passed away in 2023, but the recordings were completed, using the same team as before, at Roe’s studio in his memory.
It’s very much business as usual with James’ third album, with a combination of tear-jerkers and a few full-on honky tonkers that never stray from traditional country. James’ vocals have always suggested that George Jones albums were never allowed to gather dust in his record collection, and his expressive voice is the perfect balance between vulnerability and confidence. Add that to country-style harmonies, prominent pedal steel guitar and weeping fiddles, and there is plenty to treasure here.
As expected in a classic country collection, heartbreak and heartache recur throughout. Titles like To Have Loved and Lost, I Can’t Get Used To Getting Over You, and She’s Gone Again speak for themselves, and the title track plays out like an acceptance of a relationship that’s had its day. The George Jones analogy is also very much in evidence in the self-abusive drinking song Another Day In A Nightmare, where a breakup leads to hitting the bottle in an attempt to blank out reality.
Despite all the hardship, rejection and ‘tears in your beer’, the protagonist dusts himself down, moves on and hits the town in Tonight I’m Steppin’ Out and Honky Tonks In Mind, both of which include killer piano breaks.
Many of today's new breed of country artists are producing great music by weaving between genres while still honouring the first principles of traditional country music. Few are as committed to classic old-school country music as Jason James. A powerful crooner, the quality of his vocals alone is worth your attention, but with cracking players supporting him and with earnest and heartfelt songs, CUT THE CHAINS is an essential listen for lovers of real country music.
Declan Culliton
Israel Nash Sweetheart of the Rodeo Desert Folklore
Arguably the first, and if not, certainly one of the first country rock albums, The Byrds divided opinion amongst their vast fanbase when they released SWEETHEART OF THE RODEO in 1968. Abandoning the stylish psychedelic rock that worked so well on their previous album, THE NOTORIOUS BYRD BROTHERS, they instead went full-on ‘country’ with an album of cover versions of songs written by Merle Haggard, The Louvin Brothers, Cindy Walker, Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan. Also included is Hickory Wind by Gram Parsons, recently recruited and the main advocate for the band's change in musical direction. Ironically, Israel Nash has taken those songs and applied his own psychedelic trademark to them.
Recorded in Nash’s self-built studio in Texas Hill Country, his reworkings of the album’s eleven songs are often unrecognisable from the versions recorded by The Byrds. If their interpretation of Woody Guthrie’s Pretty Boy Floyd strayed into bluegrass territory, Nash reconstructs the song into an otherworldly offshoot awash with keys, synths and ghostly backing vocals. Probably the most instantly recognisable of the tracks are the masterly takes on Dylan’s You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere, and You’re Still on My Mind that sticks quite close to the original version. Less recognisable are the heavily synthesised One Hundred Years from Now and Life in Prison; the latter is given a ‘hymn-like’ makeover.
On You Don’t Miss the Water, Earl P. Ball’s piano lead and Jay Dee Maness’s pedal steel (both of whom guested on The Byrds’ album) are replaced by raging guitars, synths and Nash’s soaring voice, expertly supported by Emily Scott Robinson on backing vocals. The interpretation of Gram Parsons’ Hickory Wind is striking and respectful to the classic song, with Nash’s vocals expressed unhurriedly out in front of the supporting instrumentation. The Christian Life, with Eric Swanson’s pedal steel prominent throughout, is the closest to a ‘country’ interpretation and a standout inclusion.
Rather than comparing this album to that of The Byrds, a more rewarding approach is to view it simply as a companion to Nash’s last three recordings, LIFTED, TOPAZ and OZARKER, all of which found him experimenting with new textures, soundscapes and production twists. Despite its origins, this record is precisely what you would hope for from a free-spirited artist not influenced by industry trends.
I’ll leave the last words to Israel Nash, who sums up the project perfectly: "I don't look at Sweetheart of the Rodeo as a covers album" he says. "It's a reimagination. I'm changing melodies and writing new arrangements, reinterpreting an album that opened the floodgates to Americana music nearly 60 years ago”.
Declan Culliton
Paige Plaisance Swampwater Self-Release
The debut full-length album, LOUISIANA LONELY, from Austin-based Paige Plaisance, reviewed by Lonesome Highway last year, was an impressive introduction to an artist with a signature country voice and the wherewithal to write clever songs to match it. Has she built on the promise of that record? The answer is a resounding ‘yes’. Recorded with her band The Yeah You Right Boys, the album’s reference points drift from unrequited love and heartache to grief and recovery, often fuelled by personal experiences.
Not afraid to get her hands dirty, Plaisance was raised on a farm near the banks of the Mississippi River in Louisiana, and she has honed her skills as a regular on the Austin, Texas, gig circuit, as well as through extensive touring. Adding to the unending list of new music genres, she has cleverly christened her sound ‘swampytonkin’, a blend of the traditional music of her home state, Louisiana and Texan country. As a result, she gets down and dirty on the bluesy title track and Movin’ Out, which sit comfortably alongside two-steppers Honky Tonkin’ Around The Hill Country, which salutes the vibrant dance hall scene in her adopted state, and the opener Make Mine Country. The latter plays out like a wish list for the perfect lifestyle. On a more sombre note, Waiting explores the sensitive side of a doomed relationship.
Despite its often-dark topics, SWAMPWATER is a splendid listen, littered with strong melodic hooks and built around Plaisance’s charming, natural, twangy vocals. She’s no mean piano player either, and with her supporting players has negotiated the tricky ‘second album’ syndrome with flying colours.
Keep an eye out for her tour dates; having previously seen her perform live, a fun night's entertainment is guaranteed.
Declan Culliton
Ray Wylie Hubbard Reel 2 Reel 4 Real Soundly/Bordello/Thirty Tigers
If this album, the twentieth by Texan Ray Wylie Hubbard, is to be his swansong as he says, he is most certainly going out on a high note. “I’m not going to say this is the best record I’ve done. I’ll say it’s the best record I’ve ever heard”, Hubbard quips in his familiar droll manner.
Hubbard’s output has consistently favoured bleed over polish, and this raw fusion of blues, country and rock hits that nail on the head. “I've always liked records where it's real guys really playing...like the first Buffalo Springfield, first Stones”, confessed Hubbard in a recent interview, and that is precisely what he has done with this record.
Eight of the songs were recorded live to analog tape at Jonathan Tyler’s studio in Austin, the remaining two at Mike Campbell’s studio in Los Angeles. The sound is raw, gritty, thunderous, and often spectacular, with contributions from Hubbard’s son Lucas on guitar, Kyle Schneider on drums, and John Michael Schoepf on bass. Also adding their individual touches were Bukka Allen (organ), Cody Braun (mandolin, fiddle) and Tobin Dale (guitar).
Schneider’s thumping drums kick off the opener Cassette Mix Tape. It’s a breathtaking time-capsule trip back to the early 1970s, telling the tale of a sixteen-year-old Hubbard stealing his dad’s car and heading off on a road trip with his buddy, Jack. Those of a certain age will identify with the tales of a cassette player blasting Neil Young, Golden Earring, Bob Seger, and The Stones, with some back-seat manoeuvres and two girls they picked up added to the mix. A nod to the same era is She Plays “Crazy Mama”, with its lyrical nod to J.J. Cale and hazy guitar breaks that mirror Cale’s distinctive laid-back guitar style.
Also referenced is Townes Van Zandt in the Gods Playing Poker, a cinematic (“The cards were dealt around; the bets were made/ Jesus drinks wine from a paper cup/ Odin says ‘I guess you quit going to A.A’/Medusa has three queens facing up”) and swampy affair detailing a cheating card game that ends in a riot. The namechecks continue in the ragged and bluesy Cobwebs (“She agrees with Robert Palmer that the father of the blues/ Wasn’t Robert Johnson but Charlie Patton”); The White Stripes and Keith Richards also get a mention on the track.
Another highlight is the no-nonsense rocker The Night, with its clever wordplay (“The night lights up like a penny arcade/ The night opens up like an Italian switchblade/ The night cries out to the lost and betrayed/ The night is when a deal with the devil is made”) and screeching guitars.
Charmingly ramshackle and loaded with playful moments alongside some heavy scenarios, Hubbard may very well be on the money by referencing this album as his finest work. No argument on that score from this writer.
Declan Culliton
Sera Cahoone I’ve Missed You All These Years Sub Pop
The title of Sera Cahoone’s latest album could be an accurate reflection of how lovers of her music might respond, given that it’s been eight years since the Colorado-born indie folk artist's last album. She had not been distanced from her art during that period and, together with working on this project, produced and played drums on Margo Cilker’s album, POHORYLLE in 2021 and Dean Johnson’s 2025 record, I HOPE WE CAN STILL BE FRIENDS.
Co-produced by Cahoone and John Morgan and recorded at Bear Creek Studios in Woodinville, Washington, the album features her regular band members and other artists she has previously worked with. Included were Jeff Fielder on guitars and banjo, Jason Kardong on pedal steel, Keith Lowe on upright bass, Jonas Haskins on bass, Daniel Walker on keys, Aaron O’Neill on drums and Alex Guy on strings.
Cahoone wrote the album mostly in a remote cabin in Leavenworth, Washington, during a period when she rebuilt her life after a difficult chain of events. Grieving the passing of her father, her best friend and her pet dog over a short period of time resulted in a process of personal rebuilding for Cahoone. Rather than dwelling on her great loss, her songwriting focuses on rebirth and the strength and love of friends and community that helped her through those life-changing events.
The material crosses over seamlessly from country offerings (Horse Runnin’ and Tangled Nights) to thoughtful ballads (I’m No Fool, No One Like You). Between those two genres are the standout tracks Not How I Hoped and Say Something, both built around Cahoone’s hypnotic vocals, heartfelt lyrics, and delightful picking, strumming, and support vocals. A person living with Parkinson’s, her father died during the pandemic, denying Cahoone the chance to be with him in his final days, and she mourns that loss in the delicate and stripped back, Supposed To Be.
Like comfort food, Cahoone’s musical output is always a pleasure to return to. Laced with minor details that reveal themselves on further listens, her latest album is no exception, and one I’ll be revisiting regularly in the coming weeks and months.
Declan Culliton
Brittany Ann Tranbaugh Lucky Broke Girl Self-Release
Winning song of the year at the 2021 John Lennon Song Contest with Kiss You gave Pennsylvania singer-songwriter Brittany Ann Tranbaugh the confidence to consider a career in what, at that time, was a parallel love alongside full-time employment. She packed up her day job in 2023 to focus on her professional career, and the accolades and awards she has since accumulated have justified that decision. First places in both the 2025 Songwriter Serenade Contest and the 2026 American Songwriter Magazine Song Contest are no mean achievement, together with being named Queer Country Artist to Watch in 2026 by No Depression Magazine.
Unfortunately, awards and accolades don’t pay the bills, as the title of Tranbaugh’s debut album rightly acknowledges. With the help of over four hundred fans, she crowdfunded the album, which she recorded in Philadelphia with producer Nick Krill and her band, Joe Plowman (bass), Shona Carr (fiddle, banjo, electric guitar, tenor guitar), Adam Shumski (drums & percussion), and Liz Faure (pedal steel, electric guitar, acoustic guitar).
Although the album has excursions into country, Wissahickon and the wonderfully titled Dinner With A Divorcee tick that box; it’s not strictly a country album. Transbaugh’s sharp songwriting and expressive vocals work equally well tussling with despair on tender ballads as they do on the more honky tonk inclusions. A standout across many tracks is Faure’s terrific pedal steel, which gives the songs an extra lift. Case in point is the jaunty title track, which is a commentary on the music industry that applies to so many (“I left a steady job for this/A pension and health benefits/Said the world's on fire so why not/Give the music thing a shot….. But I found all the treasure in the world/I ain’t rich/ I’m just a lucky broke girl”) and the dreamy ballad Feather Bed, the latter a co-write with Joe Plowman and, no stranger to Lonesome Highway, Liz Greene. Another co-write, penned with Carsie Blanton, is the stripped-back album closer, For Caroline.
The album’s title says a lot about the often-unsurmountable hurdles artists face today, especially women artists. So, let’s hope this hugely impressive album doesn't go unnoticed and gets the exposure it deserves.
Declan Culliton