David Serby 'Poor Man's Poem' Self-Release

For this album Serby has moved from the honky-tonk of his previous albums to a more folk-based acoustic sound. He seems right at home here as he did in the honky-tonks. Again he works with producer Edward Tree, who plays a variety of instruments throughout, to produce a textured set of original songs that not only are more relevant to these times but also to earlier troubled times. Serby songs place him at events and feeling emotions of outlaws, outsiders and out-of-timers. The songs feel real and Serby sings them with heart and conviction over a rich acoustic arrangements. The songs take in the exploits of gunfighters, gold miners, honest and dishonest working men and displaced Civil War soldiers as well as poor men dreaming of love and better times. That these song have a resonance in an age of greed, celebrity and, on the other side of the coin, hardened times. There is much sympathy in these songs for those exploited in the past and for the times they lived and the problems that they face and often overcame. In the telling their relevance to the here and now is underscored. For instance Silver Creek talks of a wounded soldier's life after returning severely wounded from the Civil War to find menial work and loss of dignity. Dignity is crucial to the core of Serby's understanding of the human condition and a song like Silver Creek has an unspoken continuity with the wounded returning from current arenas of conflict. Those who enjoyed some of Dave Alvin's more acoustic folk based albums should enjoy this album. It is an album that extends Serby's range and his solid body of Americana music that should be enjoyed for what it is - and that is simply some very fine music.

The Wilders 'Self-Titled' Free Dirt

The latest album from this quartet continues their reputation as a band able to deliver songs in any number of categories from bluegrass to honky-tonk. This time out the bulk of the album has been produced by the band's guitarist Phil Wade. A multi-instrumentalist Wade has done a fine job of conveying their versatility and strengths. These include fiddler Betse Ellis - that she is credited with playing violin, viola as well as fiddle emphasizes this point. Nate Gawron is the band's bassist, electric and acoustic and is also responsible for 5 of the albums thirteen songs. Ellis contributed four and singer/guitarist Ike Sheldon wrote two. Sheldon is a striking vocalist who sings these songs with depth and emotion that round out the quartet's unit strengths. They're joined on the album also by drummer Tucker Slough and on a couple of occasions by Sarah Carpenter on vocals. With their own multi-instrumemntal skills they add layers of textures to these songs that cover a lot of ground from Ellis' fiddle led instrumentals to songs that connect strongly and will undoubtably form a core of their impressive live shows. The Wilders are one of those bands that succeed and deliver on recording and on stage. They play from the heart, they play the music they love and they experience live and they write about it. They can play with restarin as on Patrick Frazier's Pat's 25 as easily as they can rock out as they do with Sheldon's L.A. a tale of the that city's seamy side. Ellis' sings her life on the road tale Things They Say About Home and again shows that these songs come from their troubadour lives and loves. Take a walk on the Wilder side.

Rory Ellis 'Perfectly Damaged' Self-Released

An Australian roots singer who is at the core of these album as writer, singer, producer, player and label president. He has a rich, deep, resonant voice and gives these songs their focus. The music has touches of blues, country, folk and rock often within the same song. This is the singer/songwriters 5th studio release and furthers his exploration of life as it is lived and observed by Ellis. Again nothing here is troubling the frontiers of roots rock but it makes for a very enjoyable experience that fans of such artist as Ray Wylie Hubbard might well enjoy. It is rugged, ragged and rough-cut and it rocks. This is the kind of music that rarely get an outing on radio outside of particular specialist shows but if it did it would find a wider appreciative audience. His songs tackle subjects that include corporate condescension (Skeleton Hill), current means of meeting (PC Love), cocaine (The Gift), greed (The Gravey Train) and two-faced bad attitudes (Street Angle, House Devil). He can also look inward as he does on his songs Flesh And Bone where he writes about his two autistic twin boys. This he does with compassion and understanding. The music is as robust as Eillis' voice, the gravel in his voice is equally matched by the gravel in the music. Which runs from rock hard to righteous introspection. There is no doubting the appeal of Rory Ellis and that those who encounter his music, live or recorded, will find a artist true to himself and his music. That's when the damage will have been done. 

Eliza Lynn 'Together' Civility

Lynn is an interpreter of songs and plays with a small core of acoustic musicians in a folk, bluegrass inclined sound that suit Lynn's clear voice. The best know of these songs is her reading of the Tia Sellers, Mark Sanders oft covered song I Hope You Dance. It's stripped down setting emphasizes the simple aims that are at the core of the songs expressed wish of better time. The remainder of the 9 songs also include Life Is Like A River written by Doc Watson, Van Morrison's When The Leaves Come Falling Down and the traditional Shenandoah. The instrumentation is guitar, banjo, dobro, mandolin and fiddle with lots of harmony vocals. Nothing new or unusual just a good honest lo-key delivery of some well chosen songs that suit Lynn's voice well. Sit Down Servant has the pure voices of Lynn and Alia Clary without any other instrumentation and again reminds of what an emotive element the human voice can be. Given the tight musical unit involved they manage to ring the changes across the songs from the aforementioned acapella delivery to the gentle lapsteel of their take on the Van Morrison song to traditional setting for Shenandoah. Nothing then that breaks any rules or barriers bur rather this album comes down to basics. A good voice, delivering good songs over some good playing. Music doesn't always have to be much more when it is removed from expectation and extraneous embellishment.

Ben Glover 'Before The Birds' Self-Release

The Northern Ireland singer/songwriter now spends the majority of his time in Nashville. This move has paid off on his latest album, third album. Produced by Neilson Hubbard in Nashville it highlights Glover's intimate style of writing and ever assured vocal skill. The musicians here, as you'd expect, are totally in synch with the songs and play there part well, delivering a tasty slice of roots orientated music that is prevalent on the fringes of Music City, if sadly not on the airwaves. Hubbard is joined by a full band who include Eamon McLaughlin on violin and some effective backing vocals from Kaci Bolls. But it's the songs that most albums are about and these are among the best Glover has yet committed to recording. Trick Of The Light opens the album and is soon followed by other songs that seek to define the minutiae of human relationships. A perennial pursuit of the songwriter and one with endless possibilities for perspicuousness. Almost Home delights in ending a journey while Song Of A Caged Bird Signing talks of a restlessness and the need to move on from difficult times and decisions. The album moves between those two reference points of melancholy and manifest good times. Before The Birds is an album that conjures a mood that is best sustained over it's ten tracks, rather than pointing to any single track, though the subtle restraint of the closing song At The Car Park has a haunting quality that last after the album has finished. A new song, yet to be recorded, played at a recent gig points to the fact that Glover is growing and moving forward as a songwriter, but for now this album is a more than satisfactory insight into the music of a talent singer/songwriter who has the ability to capture a mood and moment that will resonate with the attentive listener who will be rewarded for that involvement. 

Willie Heath Neal 'Out On The Highway' Chicken Ranch

For his latest album Willie Heath Neal has been produced by Legendry Shack*Shakers lynchpins Mark Robertson and JD Wilkes. The result is the best album to date that has energy, attitude and heart. As you might expect from the producers there are some full on songs but there are also mid-tempo songs like Porter's Blues built around a solid drum beat, twangy guitar and rounded organ tones that highlight the versatility of the songs and Neal's and richly veined voice. Something that the next song Something's Wrong With The Radio shows well with it's honky-tonk piano tone. Both producers are also involved on the playing side alongside Heath's own band and guests like Amanda Shires on fiddle. The majority of the songs are originals with some interesting covers like ZZ Top's She's A Heartbreaker given a run for its money. Glenn Danzig's Attitude has loads and links to punk rock past. The high-energy speeded delivery of the Bill Fries/Chip Davis' The Classifieds is fun, frantic and fulsome. Alabama Highway, from the pen of Steve Young is delivered in Neal's best baritone and fits the mood of movement and the miles of myriad motels. Outlaw Song uses that contentious word and what it might represent in country music and its environs. But here Neal seems more entitled to consider himself an outsider to the country mainstream that most having been on the fringes for a hell of a long time. One can only hope that Out On The Highway will bring him some warranted attention for what is a life-affirming and honest album that hits all the right notes for those who seeks some authentic attitude and like their music to recognize its past traditions but to be very much of the here and now.

Barbara Nesbitt 'The Bees' Self-Release

From the opening seconds of the first song you know your listening to a singer with a powerful voice. Then a few tracks in you know that she's no slouch in the songwriting department either. The title track has bee-like sounds and predominant banjo while there are also songs that rock out more, like Losin' Time. Produced and recorded in San Diego, California by Jeff Berkley, it has a fine cast of players including Doug Pettibone and Mike Spurgat on guitars, Dennis Caplinger on fiddle, banjo, mandolin and more. They play it straight down the line on the country heartbreak of Good For Something. Nesbitt has the kind of voice that readily conveys emotion without moving into the oversung, over-emotive stance of many of today's divas tend to deliver in their vocal performances. Though Nesbitt could easily give many a major label signing a run for their money. This second album from Nesbitt confirms her as a talented all rounder, who like a lot of her contemporaries, needs some exposure to draw a wider audience to her work other than she might get through touring. Give In starts out slow and stripped down before Doug Pettipone's pedal steel adds a layer of atmosphere to the songs sense of defeat. Quicksand has a rootsier dobro, banjo and fiddle sound with Nesbitt's voice still front and centre. The album closes with its only cover, a take on Boudleaux Bryant's Like Strangers, a harmony duet with drummer Bill Coomes that shows another direction that Nesbitt could take, with its less strident vocal it makes a perfect end to the album and shows yet again how much music exists out there that is only looking to connect to a wider audience who would find themselves captivated my music such as this if the opportunity to connect came about. 

Dan Krikorian 'Windsor Blue' Self-Release

The influences that are inherent in Krikorian are common to many contemporary songwriters. Their musical stew includes folk, soul, country, gospel and blues - an amalgam of American roots music tempered with a little of that mix reflected back from this side of the pond with, usually, Bob Dylan, The Band and Van Morrison as touchstones. Aritist who in their own careers have touched on all, or many, of those genres. Dan Krikorian wants to connect with people through his music and with this album there is a sense of upbeat approachability that goes some way to doing that. There's nothing here that hasn't been heard before but that doesn't effect the bottom line that it comes down to the songs and Krikorian's song ain't half bad. From the soulful positivity, brass-like enhancement on New York City Day through the pedal steel permeated Isabelle. Goodbye Waltz showcases a voice that warmth and ability and a set of musicians who serve these songs well. They include co-producer Shawn Nourse (I See Hawks In L.A.) on drums, Mike Teague and Bob Boulding on guitars as well as Chris Lawrence on pedal steel. The title song is a strong song with good harmonies and some fine fiddle playing giving it an attractive pop/folk feel. Elsewhere Krikorian delivers his songs with a strong sense of where to find the positivity in life and with a enduring outlook. That these songs have an underlying sense of melody makes them all the more effective in their intent. This is Krikorian's third album but my first encounter with him and it argues well for his work in the future. If you like your music like sunlight coming through your kitchen window then this album could well be something that would appeal. Like many independent artists it's very difficult for someone like Krikorian to connect with a larger audience as these music has largely been moved to the margins of mainstream radio. Windor Blue however, like it's cover is a attractive water-coloured album that will reward those who take the trouble to listen. 

Ian McFeron 'Summer Nights' Self-Release

As the title suggests this is an album built around the thoughts that have translated into songs while navigating seasonal nights. This is the seasoned songwriter sixth album and as such shows an artist who understands his craft and how to make his songs work in the studio. Here the production is handled by the equally studio smart Doug Lancio, who as expected plays some tasteful guitar throughout. Other players include two associated with Ryan Adams - drummer Brad Pemberton and bassist Billy Mercer. The band also features long-time band member Alisa Milner on fiddle and cello. Though there are comparisons to Adams, this album feels like it would appeal to Ray Lamontagne fans. There are touches of gospel, soul and blues mixed in with the roots undertow of alt-country, folk and rock. McFeron has a distinctive vocal with a natural nasal tone that that cuts through and is one of those voices that people either tend to love or hate. It is one that, here, works well in deliver his songs which range from the slow tempo of The Ballad Of Florentino Ariza with it's tasteful guitar to the more elevated opener Shine A Little Light a song talks of walking the late night streets and drinking the light of the moon while doing late night walking and wondering. The eternal issue of "why" permeates the album through songs like Hard Since You've Been Gone, Come And See Me Before You Go and You're Still On My Mind. A resolute spirit though is more apparent in I Ain't Dead Yet. Human nature though is grist to the songwriter's mill. Summer Nights though is definitely a grower and the music slowly revealing its strengths with each listen. The production and players given McFeron's songs the perfect soil from which they can grow. The thirteen songs here all strong enough to make the album work as a whole and even if overall the mood of the album remains similar throughout that works to underscore the theme and attitude. An album that is suitable for late-night walks or solo bouts of sympathy as well as for more populated performances.

Thomas Hine 'Into The Bottomlands' Self-Release

A low-key, lo-fi walk through the bottomlands that finds Hine a self-sufficient artist who has written and performed the 16 songs. Produced by Steven Hine the songs are quiet, inward looking and features a wide variety of instruments from just tin whistles on Sargasso Sea to On The Rivers guitars, organ, bass, drums and piano. Whatever Hine feels is right for the song is brought into play to give the song the support it needs. Some songs like the aforementioned Sargasso Sea are short interludes, in this case 16 seconds. Others top the four minuets mark but you don't feel the 52 minuets pass as you are taken into Hine's world and gentle songs. This is folk music for a reflection, down tempo travel songs. Traveling inwards and outwards to explore the possibilities of spaces. This music is pleasant and undemanding yet rewarding if you go with the flow of Hine's voice and songs. This is his third album he has developed his essentially solo music to encompass elements of Americana and folk that draw form elements of his Colorado location and in traveling from that place to places near and far. Because of its nature this is not music that going to come and get you, rather you have to go to it, meet it half way. Find some quiet time and listen but if you're not prepared to do that then it's likely that Thomas Hine will pass you by. But give it time and its endearing tone will sound more fulfilling and it's very nature and subtle interplay will bring you on its introspective journey. Go to www.myspace.com/thomashinelink for track samples, lyrics and information.

Jonny Burke 'Distance and Fortune' Self-Release

This compelling slice of roots rock has been put together by Burke and producer Marc Ford, who also worked with Ryan Bingham. Jonny Burke was formally a member of Austin based band The Dedringers but has decided to follow his own muse here. Distance and Fortune as a title relates to his travels and the things that happened to him on those ventures. The opening song Broke Again fairly tears it up with Burke and Ford on electric guitars and the solid rhythm section of Ronnie Johnson and Kory Cook pushing them along. Most of these songs deal with being on or off the road, they deal with movement both internal and external. Into The Autumn takes us through three states in a search for some kind of salvation. Fortune is tested on You Wear It So Well where "there was powders on the table, and police at the door". A song that looks at two people moving apart to different destinies. Things get more reflective on Little Girl Of The World before we go full tilt again on Cracka' Jack, a tale of takin' it to the edge. Fortune or rather misfortune is again the subject of Don't Let Me Fall wherein poet's and painters whose work never really makes it to the attention of the public fosters a sense of sadness on a low-key track that highlights Burke's nasal inflected life-worn voice. Quinceanera takes us into the heart of a Mexican family's mixed emotions. The album's lone cover of The Soft Boys Human Music perhaps sums up the approach to the music delivered here. But it is human music with a lower case "h" and it contemplates the frailties that are the trait of most of us. The album closes on the voice and guitar delivered song that acknowledges just how hard we can be on ourselves and how life can takes its toll but that hope does spring eternal despite the songs consideration of a "long steady decline". Jonny Burke has made an album that would likely appeal to Ryan Bingham fans with its rough scrabble roots-rock energy and moments of quieter contemplation that mark him out for good things to come and a solid debut solo offering.

The O's 'Between The Two' Idol

A duo from Dallas, Texas the O's are Taylor Young and John Pedigo who kick up a fuss with their direct banjo and guitar led songs. But to that they add all sorts of additional instruments from harmonica and kick drum to tambourine, lapsteel and lowebro. They sing together and their voices are central to this rhythm centric sound. They have been compared to the Avett Brothers and you can understand the link though the O's have a different overall sound there are some areas of common ground. Like a lot of duos the manage to compensate for the lack of other players by an innate understanding of where and what to play to fill the gaps. There's also plenty of attitude and energy on offer here on these mainly uptempo songs. They on songs like We Are Young they take a slightly less frantic approach to a song that tells us a little about their sensibilities. This music draws on a Americana stew that has hints of the past mixed with a timeless future. It has a internal charm and and an outgoing immediacy that kicks you in the pants to pay attention. They have enough variety in the pace and direction of the songs so that they don't end up sounding too samey while retaining an overall identity. They songs are largely about things that are relevant to their lives and to an ongoing understanding of relationships and hoe to "take it slow, down the road". This is the O's first album and they are doubtless a good live experience but it will be interesting to see how they develop their core sound in the future. But for now, between the two of them they have made a good start and they are continuing a tradition that they see as good "as the feeling they get from singing a Louvin Brothers tune at 4am". I can see how that might appeal.

Amy Lashley 'Travels Of A Homebody' Wanamaker

These songs are delivered with a quiet confidence and highlight Amy Lashley's observations and crystalline voice. Recorded with a simple quartet of players led by multi-instrumentalist Thomm Jutz and produced by singer/songwriter Otis Gibbs they give these songs all the space they need to tell their tales with a back-porch intimacy. As she says herself in Homebody Blues "all I want is simplicity". Her songs are observations of life and of events, as with Emmett Till which tells of the death, by lynching, of a 14 year old African American boy at the hands of white mob in 1955. An event that still resonates and also inspired a song on Emmylou Harris' new album. Amy Lashley apparently doesn't like to play live so we have this insight into her music instead and it serves her well. The songs are well written and tell their stories well from the aforementioned historical songs to the story of being from the wrong side of the street in Wrong Side Of Gallatin. There are elements of country blues and string bands in evidence here but it sounds very much from the here and now even of the constituent parts are timeless. Livin' On Beans On Cornbread has a kind of jauntiness and acceptance that makes it almost joyful. The album closes with Older Brother that again has the bedrock of Pat McInerney's unobtrusive but essential drumming underpinning it. All this makes this the album one that deserves repeated playing as you get to know its intimacy and heart. It brings you inside the hearth and heart of a homebody. Which in this case is a pretty good place to be.

Stacy Grubb 'Hurricane' Self-Release

The instrumentation here is a interesting mix acoustic and bluegrass with electric bass, guitar, piano and drums. Producer and arranger Ronnie Cochran has managed a balance between bluegrass and country that works very well. That Grubb has a voice that can carry this off is more than a bonus it is central to the music. She has also written the majority of the songs here and delivers them with a crystal clear conviction and a sense of vulnerability that makes her voice that bit special. Gary Dunham's song Appalachain Rain also adds a string quartet to good effect and shows that Grubb can stand tall next to the likes of Alison Krauss for adding to and pushing the boundaries of what might loosely be termed bluegrass music. A strong independent woman is portrayed in Violet Steele a woman who back in the day who lived in a cold, cold world and would "for your wallet would shoot you dead". There is a sense of time gone by in many of these songs that seems to give them an added depth such as her Alan Johnston co-write Time Hasn't Changed Anything. The assembled talent all play their part here and with players like Rob Ickes, Ron Block, Brent Mason and Aubrey Haynie you are bound to have high expectations. Expectations that are met throughout the album. Hard Row To Hoe has electric guitar and dobro blending well in a way that you don't get to hear too often with bluegrass purists resisting any such crossovers. But it works and makes for a rewarding and rich album for anyone interested in bluegrass music and how it may progress without actually becoming what might be termed "newgrass". The music here sounds more traditional with the winds of change blowing up a hurricane. 

Josh Kelley Georgia Clay Humphead

Another big voiced good ol' boy who sings about what it is to be such a person. Given that Kelly has a solid voice that can express emotion on these set of mostly co-written songs. A Real Good Try has a nice background vocal from Ashley Monroe and some pleasant steel from Gary Morse. Elsewhere the songs take on a fuller sound. There are love songs like Baby Blue Eyes and Naleigh Moon, a song about his daughter that has some elegant dobro playing from Jerry Douglas to give it some texture to the low-key backing.Throughout producer Clint Largerberg plays some tasteful electric guitar and hold things in check so that the music here never overwhelms the songs or the singer.Though they can still deliver the full package on songs like Rainin' Whiskey and Great Idea. Though the album rocks out it doesn't fall into the trap of being too rock, southern or otherwise, rather than being, as it is, more obviously country, though you won't ever mistake this for a Dale Watson album. Josh Kelley has some soul in his voice, something that's brought to the fore on Learning You. Loss peppers Ain't Lettin' Go an uptempo song of a man recognizing his mistakes that have driven off his life partner. All delivered over a vibrant uptempo rocking beat. The album closes on a similar sense of love lost with Don't You Go, a big sounding ballad that again shows that Kelley can sing. Georgia Clay is an album that should find favour with those partial to the current crop of contemporary singers coming out of Music Radio. A lot will depend if country radio gets behind him and he get the exposure that an album like this, on a major label. 

Lucy Angel 'Self-Title' GForce

A five track ep that is immersed in of a sense of pop glamour. This mother and two daughters trio are at the front end of the pop/rock combination that passes for country in some places. Nothing wrong with the singing or the songs rather it's the skewed notion that this owes something to what might be termed country music. Producer Anthony Smith co-writes three songs here. Colour Love Blue and I'd Be Lyin' are the closest the album comes to the genre with some pedal steel high in the mix and the trio's harmonies and lead vocals all shown to good effect, though the latter again soon hits the big sound after the mandolin and acoustic guitar intro. This has it's place and the trio, with the right breaks, might get wider recognition but it sure ain't what I would choose to call country.