Cam Penner 'To Build A Fire' - Rawlco

A sombre brass and piano opening sets the tone for this new album from Penner, which delivers his sonic expressions of the basic needs that are required to live our lives. Building a fire would be central to that need and this album sets out ten songs that are built around something fundamental and focused. The music is played by Penner and co-producer and instrumentalist Jon Wood. The pair play a variety of instruments that run from the voice and guitar of This Could Be Your Anthem or Rivers Forgotten both of which are embellished by additional textures which underline the raw emotionalism which comes from Penner's honest rough hewn voice. Elsewhere there are blues riffs and wind-torn vocals that are earthy and full of hard won experience.

Penner has taken his music all over America and beyond. His travels have seen him strive to understand life's underbelly and the outsider, much in the way of a modern Woody Guthrie. This album though, comes from a time when Penner moved with his family from the city to a more open setting,  not that this has changed his passion for his music and delivering his songs in as direct a fashion as possible. Memphis has solid rhythm and guitar and banjo motifs that emphasise the vocal refrain of travel and the message that "I miss Texas more than it misses me". 

There's a lighter touch to the vocals on Curiosity which is a contemplation on open space and open mindedness. Gasoline Summers, House Of Liars and Whiskey Lips finish the album with equal veracity and vulnerability. Penner is a modern day troubadour looking at sin, sorrow and whatever means of salvation are necessary to find ways to salve his soul and to touch the souls of those who encounter his music. A torch lit from other fires has been used to build a new fire and Cam Penner welcomes you to sit round and feel its warmth. 

Yvette Landry 'No Man's Land' Self-release

This Louisiana native is adept at delivering straight up country and honky tonk. Landry has an enticing, believable and seductive voice that echoes the great country ladies of the past while still retaining her own identity. She is also a great writer in the spirit of pure country; while some may need three chords and the truth, she prefers three chords and a bottle, but there is also truth there. Witness this in the cutting couplet from the song Three Chords and a Bottle "I heard you tell the story that your good in bed, come on honey, let me tell you that's all in your head". There are many fine lines in her songs that will get the message across that this is a real woman looking at the real world.

Throughout the playing is top notch and Landry's co-production with Joel Savoy makes the music sound fresh and alive. This is about keeping a tradition alive and not changing it almost beyond recognition. Special mention must go to Richard Comeaux's fluid steel guitar playing. Other notables here include Cindy Cashdollar, Bill Kirchen, and Dirk Powell and the ensemble playing is always there to serve the song,  all of which are memorable and stand repeat listens. There is one outside song and that is Matt Kline's Lord, I Get High which is a slow paced lament on late night drinking and extolling the spirit. Heartbreak, loss and separation are all topics here, as they should on any real country album. This House is Not a Home, Little Gold Band, My Next Mr.Ex are all songs that deal with the diverse nature of the human condition, especially one that has the bar as the centre of attraction and solicitation. Landry's songs would doubtless find approval form the likes of Loretta Lynn as much as they do from anyone who listens to No Man's Land.

This is yet another album that shows that when it comes to honest-to-god country music it is the ladies who are largely leading the way. Yvette Landry is right up there at the forefront and this album has a lot of different ways of reminding me why I love this music. It may be a case of no man's land but this music is for everyone who likes it old school and real; a subject that Landry raises in What in the Hell They did Back Then, a song that asks how the great stars of the past did it without aid of reality shows and such to get their music across. They did it by making great music like this.

Stephen Rapid

Tift Merritt/ Simone Dinnerstein 'Night' Sony

Tift Merritt has been a wonderful talent on the country music circuit for many years now. With six superb CD releases to her name already, many see her as the natural successor to the great Emmylou Harris in the years to come. Her voice is a revelation to enjoy, so steeped in emotion and inflection and her last release, Travelling Alone, was a standout collection of songs, accompanied by a virtuoso group of coveted musicians.

Simone Dinnerstein is a classically trained pianist of the highest calibre, Juilliard trained and with an impressive international career. The pairing of two such unassociated talents is a strange one to consider and I have no idea as to how the creative muse visited both of these ladies to pair together for this unique project.

The aptly named NIGHT is a perfect title for the reflective, meditative music that ensues with the torch song quality of Merritt’s delivery blending beautifully, with the stream of consciousness playing of Dinnerstein, across the 14 tracks on offer. Indeed it is hard to define where one track ends and another begins, such is the seamlessness of the arrangements and the mood of the entire recording.

As one listens to the CD, there is a sense of bearing witness to a very special piece of work and both talents unite in a spectral vision of a place that few get to visit.

Commencing with the beautiful ‘Only in Songs’, the mood is set for a journey through the darker side of human emotions that includes interpretations of songs by Billie Holiday, Leonard Cohen, Patty Griffin and ending with the Johnny Nash song ‘I Can See Clearly Now’ which brings the conclusion of this song cycle out into the light.

We also get to visit both Schubert and Bach along the way and a fine arrangement of a new Brad Mehldau track, ‘I Shall Weep at Night’. Tift Merritt contributes four original songs of her own, all of which stand tall with the other song selections.

The overall production is one of bare, stripped emotion in both the playing and the soul reflected in these beautiful songs. Never is this more obvious than on the traditional ‘Wayfaring Stranger’ where Tift sings as if it were her last call for understanding in a cold world.

If we were voting on Top 10 favourites for 2013 at this early stage, then this in right there in the top slot. Highly recommended.

Paul McGee

The Revelers 'Self Titled' Self-release

The cover of this album suggests an earlier, though I'm not sure if it was exactly a more innocent, time. The band hail from Louisiana, as does Yvette Landry,  and in fact both albums share band members. While Landry's album is rooted in county,  The Revelers play a mix of cajun music with dollops of swing, zydeco, Tex-Mex, and r'n'b thrown for good measure. The recipe is for dancing, but the album is aimed at the head and heart as well as the feet and is just as suitable for the honky-tonk floor.

The head will appreciate the excellent playing while the heart will respond to songs like If You ain’t Got Love. The songs are a mix of traditional given the band make-over and a smattering of original songs sung in English and French as appropriate. Chas Justus, one of the five singers, gives his Blues Take a Holiday a hillbilly twist that will make you smile and the sentiment is universal. He is joined in The Revelers by Daniel Coolik, Glenn Fields, Blake Miller and Eric Prey plus a trio of guests who add to the fiddle and accordion led sound. 

The five members of The Revelers have wide resumes that include playing with the Red Stick Ramblers and The Pine Leaf Boys amongst others. Theyare seasoned players who add much spice to their playing. This is an album made with a sense of joy that is apparent in the end result with thirteen songs that are full of life and an energy which bursts out in a contagious fashion. The closing song, enhanced by sax, expresses a sentiment that many will endorse on certain occasions; I Don't wanna Go Home. It brings to an end an album that has nothing to do with chart placing or radio play (but it deserves both), no this is about having a good time on both sides of the stage. 

Stephen Rapid

The Stray Birds 'Self -Titled' Self-Release

Bluegrass played in the finest traditions of the genre, the Stray Birds come armed with fiddles, banjos, guitars, upright bass and little else. The production is very much a stripped down sound with plenty of sweet harmonies and spacious playing from this trio of very talented musicians.

This is their debut release and the eleven songs are filled with salutary tales of prison and regret, sweet love remembered and dreams of the times to come. There is a particularly arresting fiddle workout on the trio of songs, Give That Wildman a Knife/ Bellows Falls/ Waitin’ on a Hannah. Earth music by another name, the traditions of folk/roots music run through these songs like a beacon of light.

The arrangements are tight and filled with a complementary playing dynamic that is developed over a fine understanding of each other and a sense of where the tune is in need of enhancement. This is never more obvious than on the beautiful Harlem which is a perfect slow tribute to the memory of a time perhaps now passed.Just Sayin’ skips along with a jazzy rhythm and a happy melody to celebrate good times.

Stray Birds is joy to listen to from start to finish and already a contender for those top 10 releases at the end of the year. Feel free to explore.

Paul McGee

Mike Aiken 'Captains & Cowboys' Northwind

This is a fulsome roots album that rocks and with Dan Baird on board as co-producer and guitarist that should't be much of a surprise. Most of the songs are by Aiken,  either solo or co-writes with sundry others. Coal Train deplores the fact that coal from the Appalachians is being shipped to China. Your Memory Wins is a bar-room ballad of regret - "when the whiskey wears off you’re still gone" and is embellished by Dan Dugmore's pedal steel. While from the other end of the glass comes Bring out The Bourbon, a bar-room buddies song with a solid beat behind the bleary eyes of beer and bourbonites solving the world's problems.

 Get Down Rive, r written by The Bottle Rockets Brian Henneman, has a nice loose feel with accordion playing a part in getting the right mood for the song. That theme is continued in Put a Sail On It, a gentle metaphor for moving on. As is Save The Whale, s which considers how things were and where they are now in the process of whaling. Tammy Rogers add some zest with her fiddle playing and the chorus includes a traditional "hooray up she rises, early in the morning". Take the Boy Fishin' has us back down beside the water but this time a tale of a young man's fancy for the captain's daughter.

Throughout, Aiken has a voice that is adaptable enough to taken control of the gentler songs as well as the more uptempo numbers. He is joined on background vocals by Amy Aiken and the balance works well between the two. Night Rider's Lament, written by Michael Burton is a tale of those who spend their time looking after cattle but living their life in the way they wish to. It is a more acoustic songs with again fiddle and Mike Webb's accordion giving the song its texture. The title songs closes the album in tribute to two sets of people that Aiken attributes a lifestyle to that he admires and is truthful to their individual needs, something he holds dear and something he espouses throughout the album.

Mike Aiken has made a solid and satisfying album that is diverse enough to please a wide range of roots-orientated listeners looking for something to tasty to savour.

Stephen Rapid

Matt Woosey Band 'On the Waggon' - Self release

This is a blues release from an English singer/songwriter who has been gigging live for many years. Matt Woosey is a talented guitar player and sings with sufficient gravel in his voice to keep the listener engaged throughout the twelve songs on offer.

There is a temptation to refer to American Delta Blues in the opening songs that sing of freight trains and mean lovin’ women. However, I hear sufficient influence of the great John Martyn in the music to stay on this side of the Atlantic and to enjoy the groove that Matt Woosey is delivering. Don’t Need Money is a particularly fine example of this inspiration

Some of the lyrics could do with a little flavouring but the playing is enjoyable, with the  trio being completed by Jim ‘E’ Williams on drums & percussion and Adji Shuib on bass.

She Just Called is a slow blues that winds towards a pleasing destination and the loose jam feel to That’s My Baby is the standout track here and a live favourite, I am sure.

There is some fine slide guitar playing on the track Woke Up This Morning which echoes the spirit of  Elmore James. The album finishes with a blues burn on Dopey Mick that starts with plenty of straining guitar but quickly transforms into  a five minute  drum solo;  some would call this excessive but I just think that it is a poor way to finish what is otherwise an enjoyable listen.

Paul McGee

The Avett Brothers 'The Carpenter' - American

As stated in our live review,  the Avetts are a different beast, of late, on record, discounting of course the live albums they have released during their career. This second album on American is again produced by Rick Rubin, who has broadened their sound beyond the stripped down acoustic music of the original trio of Seth and Scott Avett and Robert Crawford. For The Carpenter they are joined by additional players,  including touring members Joe Kwon and Jacob Edwards;  another thirteen musicians are credited , including Benmont Tench, Lenny Castro and Chad Smith.

The Avett’s  songs are built around the voices of Seth and Scott and they have taken that core trio sound and added a range of instruments which give the music a wider appeal. However it is the songs of the trio which are the stars here as they have been on previous albums and on this record they feature less banjo though it is still a dominant element live. Equally, there is less piano than previously. The folk vision and melodies now sit beside full-blown rock sounds.  I Never Knew You has a sunnier disposition than the title and lyrics might suggest. Many of these songs look inward to try and understand the reasons that relationships can fail as much as they can survive hardship. Winter In My Heart is a theme that has been explored in the past and will be in the future. The loss of faith and love is timeless.

I suspect that those who have grown up listening to the Avett Brothers will have mostly grown with the music. Some however,  may yearn for the simpler and more direct take on bluegrass that the band previously represented. While this album may not top I and Love and You, there is much here to enjoy and it certainly reveals more on repeated play. It is the sound of a band exploring possibilities with a degree of subtlety and success that can only see their audience grow. In the wake of the outright success of the far more mainstream Mumford & Sons, that's an interesting prospect.

Son Volt 'Honky Tonk' - Rounder

It's perhaps no surprise that the more stringent of country consumers would not totally approve of what is on offer on an album entitled Honky Tonk. Those with a broader mind will find this far more appetising that some of the more Nashville players on stage today. Me, I think Jay Farrar has always loved this music, even when he moved away from it. These  tracks are full of fiddle, pedal steel and tales of heartbreak and heart fixing. 

Farrar’s mournful voice is up front and centre and he brings out these songs which,  while they may not have you on the dance floor, will have you at the bar or picking the sad songs on the jukebox. You might even pick some of these to play like Wild Side or Tears of Change. "There's a world of wisdom in a fiddle tune" says Down The Highway and indeed the fiddle and steel underscore that sentiment with the song’s Celtic echoes,  while Bakersfield pays tribute to all hell breaking loose on a Saturday night in that famed California honky-tonk town.

This is a solid band effort with no producer listed,  rather band member Mark Spencer is credited with recording the album and one feels that all seven players credited felt a part of the process of putting it together. The overall mood heads down the darker side of the highway  yet the music still heads for the bright lights and the California country music that never relied on the approval of Music Row for its existence which it found that in the fans, in the bars and in the fan’s raised glasses.

Son Volt has been heading in this direction,  but this is a fully fledged left turn that finds them electrified and committed. It may be a little too downbeat for some,  but as it asks in Seawall "do honky-tonk angels still walk this ground?" and the answer may be that they are certainly flying close to the ground at the very least. Son Volt have made the album they wanted to and as it happens its one that many others will want to hear too.

Skip Gorman 'A Herder's Call' - Old West

This seasoned multi-instrumentalist and vocalist is a true believer in the western way and this collection of mainly traditional songs includes such classic cowboy songs as Git Along, Little Dogies, Bury Me Not On The Lone Prairie and Home On The Range along with some lesser know but equally rich songs. Gorman is joined by Connie Dover, Mary Burdette, Matt Levine and Angus Gorman on guitar, acoustic bass, slide guitar and harmony vocals. It is a campfire-warm sound that will please any fans of the genre and other artists like Don Edwards or those who started the genre like Rex Griffin, the Cartwright brothers and Carl T Sprague.

Some of the songs are stripped down to voice and banjo as on A Cowboy's Life while others use bass, guitar, fiddle and more for a fuller sound. All have an authenticity that comes from an understanding of a traditional folk form that draws from a romanticised vision of the cowboy's life. But beyond the celluloid vision there was a harsh reality for those who lived that life and these songs also reflect that truth as much as the myth.

Gorman has also a love for the roots of these songs, many of which relate to Irish songs and tunes and in his extensive and informative sleeve notes he details the history of these songs. It shows again that the lost art of the informed sleeve note which can add so much to the enjoyment of the songs and their deep roots. While I'm not an aficionado of the genre,  I have several albums that draw on that tradition and enjoy the tales they tell.

The hour plus running time of this CD is well spent and Skip Gorman is undoubtedly one of the best exponents of the genre who has several albums in his catalogue. This recent collection is a very good place to start listening to a storyteller who weaves his blanket of heartache, loneliness and death with passion, skill and heart.

Christa Couture 'The Living Record' - Self-Release

This is the third release from Christa Couture, a Canadian singer/songwriter who is largely unknown in Europe but whose talent is undoubtedly rich and vibrant. The twelve songs included here display great insight and perspective. There is a wisdom and yearning in these creations that makes the listening experience both challenging and uplifting in equal measure.

Her last release was in 2008 and since that time Christa has endured great personal loss in her life with the passing of her son. To say that she has bravely tackled the myriad of emotions and questions that such a life defining event has upon a young mother, is to understate the beauty and grace contained in the songs on display here.

Her acceptance and understanding that bad things happen to good people is interlaced through the lyrics, to such an extent that it is hard to listen without being greatly moved with the bare honesty running through these songs.

The renowned  Canadian  producer, Steve Dawson, musician and songwriter, is at the control panel and creates both flawless and sensitive arrangements that are beautifully delivered by a group of musicians who serve the songs with impeccable talent and taste.

We have songs with memories of time spent in Michigan, Louisiana and London; of people who brought something special to her life experience along the difficult path that was taken. Somewhere in between, we get the chance to reflect upon the journey that we all take towards an uncertain tomorrow.

An Invitation in Three Parts is a quite stunning creation and one that tears at the heart of this artist. It is a truly beautiful piece of writing that everybody should get the chance to hear.

Elsewhere, tracks like Parasite and Lucky or Lost display great musicianship that colour the song melodies and elsewhere, the giddy tease of Pussycat Pussycat is a joy to explore. Sing for Me is yet another beautifully realised piece of writing where the writer sings “I don’t need a destination I just need to walk”.

The Way of the Dodo looks to the hope that everybody can endure and grow from having survived a life changing experience; ‘I am the living record, I am the work of art that was made by your presence – the shape you made of my heart’. 

This CD ranks as my favourite listen of the year so far and comes highly recommended.

Angela Perley and the Howlin Moons 'Nowhere Is Now Her" - Vital Music

A five song E.P. from this interesting songwriter that brings to full circle, a four E.P. cycle that she commenced in 2010. The playing is very assured throughout and the arrangements crackle with slow reflective ballads like Brooklyn Girls to a Honky Tonk groove of Country Fair. The guitar playing is exciting on the title track and the vocal delivery is sweet and seductive. We have a little bit of Lucinda Williams mixed into Over the Rhine and sounding really fine on the bright production of Fred Blitzer. 18 Feet Under is pure adrenalin rush and a stand out live number, I have no doubt. We are treated to a very affecting Saw solo on the closing song Tangled on the Kitchen Floor, which echoes Patsy Cline meeting Norman Bates with very little chance of a romantic ending. Full marks for effort and leaves me wanting to hear more. 

Milagro Saints 'Chance & Circumstance' - Moon Caravan

This is the sixth release from a band whose history dates back to the late 1990’s. The two original members, Lee Kirby and S.D. Ineson, met in NYC before deciding to form the band.

Milagro means miracle in Spanish, or so the story goes. The key sound is very reminiscent of a number of iconic bands from the past; take your pick from the Allman Brothers, Marshall Tucker Band, the Outlaws of the Eagles.

There are past influences throughout the songs and the closest modern band that comes to mind is Widespread Panic, who share the same leanings towards extended band workouts with intertwining guitar solos and warm organ sounds, wrapping the music up into a fine blend of melody and rhythm.

A very enjoyable listening experience and recommended to all country roots collectors who like a little rock & soul added to the mix. 

Blue Rodeo are also channelled when listening to the vocal delivery and use of a range of instruments, from Lap Steel & Dobro to Harmonica & Accordion, Melodica & Mandolin. The music moves across roots rock, soul and country, with effortless ease and the backing vocals of Joyce Bowden are a welcome addition in filling out the sound on many songs; including the stand out Don’t Give It Up which is a plea to all eco- friendly folk to reach out a humanist hand and share the love across the planet.

Pennsylvania Rose trips along nicely with an infectious groove and chorus. Golden Day is a fine song of reflection and a wish that ‘we don’t say no to love’. The final song Other Side of the River is a terrific ensemble piece with a gentle opening to the arrangement that develops into a fine workout with all musicians getting the opportunity to colour the production with gentle vignettes.

A very enjoyable listening experience and recommended to all country roots collectors who like a little rock & soul added to the mix. 

Melinda Ortner 'I Wanna Be OK" - Self-Release

This collection of up-tempo pop songs is arranged and produced by Asaf Rodeh and written by Melinda Ortner.  A debut release of some merit, the twelve cuts give a variety of big production sonic structures and mood textures. The overall groove is very bright with the fine Bass playing of producer Rodeh very prominent in the mix.

Ortner has a pleasant voice and the background vocals fill out the arrangements in an impressive manner. No thoughts of holding back in the quest for glory here; Melinda Ortner is going for gold and taking no prisoners along her path.

 Caught in the Middle has a funky groove coupled with a cry to be understood in the lyrics. Jezebella has hit single written all over it with a slight nod to the iconic Footloose guitar riff.  Another Chance channels Evanescence in the big production dynamic, but no less an enjoyable experience for it.

The closing track Maybe is a fine song, played on simple acoustic guitar and points to a direction that this talented songwriter might aspire towards in the years that lie ahead.  

Susie Glaze & the Hi-Lonesome Band "White Swan' - Self-Release

White Swan is a beautifully made folk album that  is a memory jolt back to the best of the ‘60s. Susie Glaze has a clear accurate and silky voice which can handle all the variety of material the album features. Mandolin/bouzouki/guitar player Steve Rankin takes lead vocal on Steve Earle’s Me and the Eagle while my favourite song on the album is Fred Sanders’ lead on his own Rockin’ in Your Grandaddy’s Chair, a song you can imagine Merle Haggard or George Strait covering  if they heard it.

The album opens with James Taylor’s Mill Worker in a version not a million miles from Emmylou Harris’ cover of the song on her Evangeline album (an album not available on CD) except this starts with a well played version of Si Bheag, Si Mhor. I’m not quite sure why this was done as for me it just doesn’t work – two great tunes which each deserve their own separate version.

Guitarist Rob Carlson contributes 4 songs, three of which are co-writes with other band members and the best of which is the charming Little Rabbit. Ernest Troost contributes two, Evangeline and Harlan County Boys a subject already mined by Darrell Scott. Fair Ellender is a version of Child Ballad #73 which seems to be a favourite in California folk/roots/bluegrass as it has been widely covered, by Jerry Garcia amongst others. It also has, for me the only production mistake with a ludicrous amount of reverb on Glaze’s lovely acapella opening vocal.

The only other real criticism is the title song, an overlong cod Child ballad that did nothing for me and I am a lover of tragic songs. Otherwise the album is well made, beautifully played and sung and has a most handsome cover from one of my heroes from the Arts and Crafts movement, children’s book illustrator Walter Crane.

As an aside, I bet these guys are dynamite live so let us hope they tour over here.

The Bean Pickers Union 'Better the Devil' - Inseam

I’ve been trying to write a positive review of this album for 2 months – with our editor gently bugging me – and it just won’t happen. Especially after the stunningly good Eilen Jewell gig Easter weekend which throws up Boston-area music comparisons which reflect darkly on the Bean Pickers.

OK, positives: it is very well produced except for a few aberrant moments in Down when Steve Mayone’s lap steel sounds perilously like a musical saw.  Most of the playing is exemplary, especially Jess Fox’s fiddle. The melodies are pretty good, although I’m somewhat curious about what seems to be a developing trend; putting a long instrumental intro (one minute plus) in front of a song which has no relation to the song whatsoever, as in Ditch. I’ve found this on a couple of albums by other artists, it doesn’t seem to make much sense. If the music is good enough to be there, let it stand on its own as an instrumental, which is what Chuck Melchin  aka The Bean Pickers Union, does with his first track, the gorgeous Proem.

I’m well aware that the album has been well reviewed with adjectives galore – ‘dark’, ‘haunting’ and ‘evocative’ are just a few – but it seems more petulant, pissed off rather than angst ridden. Some of the lyrics hit home; ‘I don’t want you to love me, I just want you to drive’ from Ditch, but most just didn’t engage me. Particularly when the rhymes were forced  (‘feet’ & ‘curiosity’ just don’t rhyme) or the phrasing was messed up to hit the rhythm of words which do rhyme (‘years’ and ‘tears’), all from Down.

Maybe it is too many amazingly good Richmond Fontaine albums which seem to me to lay out the highway the Bean Pickers want to travel, but Better the Devil just don’t make it for me.  I hate to say that as a lot of work and care has gone into the album and Melchin’s heart is in the right place but it is an album I wouldn’t have minded not hearing.