The Honeycutters ‘Me Oh My’ - Organic

This North Carolina quintet are proving their musical development and skills with this, their third album. The band leader is Amanda Platt who here is not only the lead singer and songwriter but also the album's primary producer. She is an undoubted talent and is ably accompanied by the rest of the band Tal Taylor on mandolin, Rick Cooper on bass, Josh Milligan on drums and Matt Smith on guitar of the electric and pedal steel variety. The fourteen songs are both memorable and melodious. Comparisons have been made to Gillian Welch (though more so in their early incarnation as a duo) and Lucinda Williams. To these ears though a closer comparison would be with Eilen Jewell, Zoe Muth, Yvette Landry or even Molly and the Heymakers from a few years ago. In that it is the combination of strong voice, literate songs and intelligent playing that at all times serves the songs.

The album title track is a melancholy song that talks of infant death, marriage, love. As the saying goes "all human life is there". But these songs honest vignettes of women dealing with the situations that occur in coping with the (not so) simple task of living. However the music, that while the Honeycutters offer is often bitter-sweet in theme, is for the most part pretty uplifting and positive. There are songs that are ideal to dance to like Ain’t That The Truth, others are more reflective affairs like Carolina, Not That Simple or the darker-hued tones of Texas ’81. In truth there are few moments that don’t hit home on several fronts and Me Oh My heralds the coming of age of another band who make their blend of contemporary country something that draws on the patterns laid down in the past but imprint it with their own individual dna.

By taking the lead role on the album Amanda Platt seems to have found her voice as both a singer and writer. Directing the band and guests in the studio has also helped her to realise her vision. However none of that means a great deal if the end result wasn’t so as strong. Sometimes, with some other bands, the elements are there but they don’t quite gel as they should.

They have described their music as Appalachian Honky Tonk and that seems an appropriate blend of their acoustic traits and their electric topology. Even if the words honky tonk usually suggest something with a little more of beer-soaked grit. The Honycutters have an air of refinement that is a little less one dimensional than some exponents of the honky tonk life, though many of the underlying themes are common.

The Honeycutters have collectively produced an album that deserves attention and applause for simply making good music at a time when so much that’s on offer is both superficial and scalar. This is something that Amanda Platt and her fellow players can be justifiably happy with and an album that should be sought out for a listen - at the very least.

Nora Jane Stuthers and The Party Line ‘Wake’ - Blue Pig

This is the second album for Strutters backed by the Party Line. It’s a more robust affair than the largely acoustic tones of her previous outing Carnival. Here she is joined by current members Drew Lawhorn, Brian Duncan Miller, Joe Overton and Joshua Vana. The bass, drums, guitar line-up is flexible enough to cover a number of different bases. The core of acoustic guitar, bass, banjo, fiddle and light percussion is given a jolt of electric bass, electric guitar and a full drums kit; not to mention the pedal steel that serves many of these songs. This takes thing up a notch and shows that Struthers, who is also the producer here, is well capable of taking these songs to another level.

“Strong as the sound of electric guitars, almost as loud as the song In your heart” to quote a couplet from the opening song The Same Road, shows that the songs in Struthers’ heart are pretty darn loud. Something that may annoy those who liked the more folky sound of the last album but will delight those who want a little more twangy guitar and steel action. Along with the additional instrumentation Struthers has also upped her game as a singer. She is still capable of the subtlety of the harmony filled When I Wake or the relatively laid back Lovin’ You or the acoustic, banjo led setting of The Other Side and The South. They all sit comfortably alongside the more bluesy delivery of I Ain’t Holdin’ Back or the full charge of Don’t Care. A song that tell us that her Mama won’t like and her father won’t trust her latest flame … but she don’t care. 

Aside from the Party Line guests include Pedal steel players Mike Johnson and Steve Hinson, Micah Hulscher on keyboards and Mike Bubb on upright bass. These group of musicians give Wake a diverse set of songs a range of moods that show an artist who is developing her music in conjunction with a set of players who share Struthers vision and aims. This is an album that, in common with several others, shows a move from an acoustic base to a broader one. It shows a musical growth that allows the possibility of reach a wider audience while retaining the ability to dial it back as required. Or equally to rock it and give it loads.  

Mary Gauthier ‘Trouble and Love’ - Proper

While some writers can stand outside the fire and observe the writing for this album comes from inside the flames. This is Mary Gauthier writing from the heart. The eight track album, with a running time of nearly 40 minuets, starts with the despair of When A Woman Grows Cold to the final song, a more hopeful and accepting but moving on song Another Train. Between those two songs Gauthier explores the nature of a failing relationship and how one party is often unaware of the reasons why love can turn to hate or indifference. Gauthier has co-written some of these songs with other writers who write from a perspective that fully understands the nature of these themes. Beth Neilson Chapman and Gretchen Peters both are co-writers, as is touring partner Ben Glover and Scott Nolan.

These songs have been given a sympathetic production by Gauthier and Patrick Granado that utilises a flexible unit of upright bass, drums and keyboards with some highly effective counter point electric guitar from Guthrie Trapp and special guest Duane Eddy - both apply some lonesome twang to the songs. Eddy’s guitar is especially powerful on How You Learn To Live Alone. Vocally she is joined by Darrell Scott (Oh Soul) and Ashley Cleveland, the McCrary Sisters as well as Siobhan Kennedy and Beth Nielson Chapman. The combination of these players and singers, with these song, has produced one of the best albums of Gauthier’s career to date. She has always been an astute observer but putting yourself and your confused emotions in the spotlight is not an easy thing to do. She makes those universal emotions of loss and pain into something that many can share. But though this is, in some ways, an experience maybe shared alone or in a roomfull of listeners it is not one that is depressing to listen to. That is largely due to the spirit of all involved and their commitment to something that is still posible to grow from. The aforementioned song How You Learn To Live Alone is one that speaks to the ways we find to survive such loss.

Vocally Gauthier is at her best here, her distinctive vocal delivery has the added depth of meaning that makes all these songs both gritty and true. The sense of the need to emotionally share such an experience and to understand that many others have experienced similar paths is considered in Walking Each Other Home. Through music we can do that; Trouble & Love is a prime example of that.

The Earnest Lovers ‘Sing Sad Songs’ - Elko

An introductory mini album from the talented duo of Pete Krebs and Leslie Beia and their five piece band has it beginnings in the classic country duets of the past, but with these 6 original songs they bring us bang up to date. Well bang up to date that is if your heart is still with the music that was made first several decades back and not what you would currently hear if you turned on ‘country’ radio in the US. Based in Portland, Oregon they both formed the band after meeting in a local country bar as a means to develop their songwriting skills and this seemed a good way to do it. 

Krebs was previously a member of the SubPop label band Hazel who played with Nirvana among others before being involved in a couple of roots orientated bands. Beia was one half of the duo Copper & Coal prior to join Krebs in this venture. Together with their experienced band - Ian Miller, lead guitar; Marko Markoc, bass; Kevin Major, drums; fiddle player Annalisa Tornfelt and pedal steel player Rusty Blake - they worked with producer Jon Neufeld to bring these songs to life and give them the patina of those classic country duets. Music beloved by other musicians and true followers of the honky-tonk highway. These guys have the skills and the wish to get it right and they have.

The vocals are shared between the two with one or other taking the lead or swapping lines and also bring their close harmonies in to play. The songs are good too with titles like the cleverly titled San Andreas’ Fault, Angel of Sunrise and Still Missing You. No Song Came By Today sounds not unlike a unheard Gram/Emmylou collaboration. Everybody’s Trying To Be My Pal is a jaunty twang uptempo tale of a partner’s disapproval for the kind of escapades that his friends might suggest.

All in all a welcome addition to the ranks of those who still believe in the sounds (and sights) of much loved but often ignored genre of music. One listen and you will also want to be their pal too.

Dar Williams 'Emerald' - Bread & Butter

This is the ninth release from Dar Williams and comes three years after her excellent In the Time of Gods collection. We are treated to the usual high standard of literate songs, dealing with a variety of subjects, all produced and delivered with great empathy and warmth. Dar Williams has always displayed finely honed observational skills and her compass for matters of the heart has always pointed straight at the life issues that we all face.

Two tracks in particular deal with the daily challenge of living in the world and coping with the everyday stresses, both internal and external. Weight of the World is a cover version of a Kat Goldman song and is delivered in a sensitive arrangement that asks that we lay our burdens down. Something to Get Through has a similar theme and asks that we be kind to ourselves when feeling depressed or overwhelmed by life and just look to another day and the possibility of a brighter sky.

Mad River is a look at youthful rites of passage and the reality of growing up into the life we experience. FM Radio is the most commercial song included here, with a catchy chorus and lyrics to reflect the joy of youth, listening to the radio and enjoying the world. Slippery Slope is a wry look at marriage, with Jim Lauderdale guesting, and deals with our ability to survive relationships and make them endure.

New York is a Harbour is a considered tribute to the Big Apple and the sweet and sour magnetic pull that surrounds it. Empty Plane is a wonderfully understated song that talks of the experience in leaving family in order to work and then returning to the routine of a normal life. The production duties are shared by Dar and a selection of musical friends across the eleven tracks. The arrangements are very bright and the players add subtle colours that complement the song structures. 

Richard Thompson, Suzzy Roche and Lucy Wainwright Roche, Will Ackerman, Jill Sobule and the Milk Carton Kids add their talents to the list of famous names that come out on a regular basis to celebrate the gifts that Dar Williams brings to her musical vista of our lives. A great release and a further proof of the consistency high quality output from this mature, sophisticated song writer.

Drew Holcomb 'Medicine' - Magnolia Music.

This is the seventh studio release by Drew Holcomb, a singer-songwriter based in Tennessee and it is a follow up to Good Light which was released in 2013 to critical acclaim. With his band the Neighbors, including wife Ellie, the sound is very much based in roots rock with most of the twelve tracks here dealing in matters of the heart. Whether reminiscing over a former lover  (American Beauty, Heartbreak), looking at life with a present lover (Tightrope, You’ll Always Be My Girl, I’ve Got You), smiling through the pain (Shine Like Lightning) or looking to each other for support (Sisters Brothers, The Last Thing We Do). Drew Holcomb delivers an earthy sound that is genuine and cuts to the heart of country realism, never more so than on the track Here We Go which is the strongest song on this fine collection.  

Lucy Wainwright Roche 'There’s a Last time for Everything' - Self Release

This is a real hidden gem. Lucy co-produces with Jordan Brooke Hamlin and the project was recorded over ten short days in Nashville. There is a real gentle intimacy to the eleven tracks with sparse arrangements and subtle textures brought to these musings on love and relationships.

Featured musicians on the album include Colin Meloy of The Decemberists and Mary Chapin Carpenter. There is a cover version of Robyn's Call Your Girlfriend reworked by Wainwright Roche and Hamlin with a slower tempo and featuring only guitar and harmony vocals. Well worth checking out and a fine recording to play at home on those days when you want to relax with a nice cup of coffee and let your thoughts drift away. Stand-out tracks include The Year Will End Again, A Quiet Line, Last Time and The Same but in reality all the songs are excellent and beautifully written and recorded. Highly recommended

Rob Roy Parnell 'Let’s Start Something' - Blue Rocket Records.

A brother of country blues artist Lee Roy Parnell, this is the second release from Rob who produced this collection of 12 songs that celebrate the blues that are straight out of Texas. It is a strong collection of guitar based workouts, fuelled by the fine vocal and harmonica playing of Rob. Most of the tracks feature James Pennebaker on lead and rhythm guitar and there are also guest appearances from Stephen Bruton and Jonell Mosser. We have trumpet and saxophone filling out a few of the songs (If I Were You, Come On Lil’ Baby) and there is a big old Hammond B3 organ sound (Sorry As They Come, Texas Love Machine) to add to the driving sound.  

His debut Jacksboro Highway was released in 1999 and was described as roadhouse rock, jump boogie blues and renegade country. It also featured special guest appearances by Lee Roy Parnell and Waylon Jennings.

Also featured are members of Delbert McClinton's band: Kevin McKendree (keyboards), Lynn Williams (drums) and Don Wise (sax). This collection shows Rob Roy Parnell as a singer, songwriter, harmonica player and performer of some quality.

Alice DiMicele 'Swim' - Alice Otter

 Originally from New Jersey but now based in Oregon, Alice DiMicele has released 12 prior records over a career that has spanned 27 years since her first release in 1988. Her songs reflect the environmental, LGBT, and anti-war interests and she draws from a rich musical background including folk, jazz, funk, rock and soul.

Having played with such greats as Bonnie Raitt, Joan Baez, JJ Cale, Arlo Guthrie and Steve Winwood among others, her craft has been finely developed to a level where she packs quite a musical punch. Alice sings with a deeply soulful and expressive voice and the song If I Could Move the World is the perfect vehicle to highlight her impressive range and phrasing. Featuring quite a collection of musicians including Bill Payne from Little Feat, her songs are filled with character and depth in both the production and delivery. Open Road and Old Life Back are songs that look to the way life should be lived while Inside speaks of the spirit living on after the body is gone. Her music is rich in so many ways.

Michelle Lewis 'The Parts of Us That Still Remain' - Self Release

The ten songs featured on this second release from Boston singer-songwriter Michelle Lewis clock in at just over 30 minutes and prove that quality always wins out over quantity. She has co-produced with Anthony J. Resta (Elton John, Duran Duran and Shawn Mullins) and displays a gift for sweet melody with song arrangements that boast restrained playing. This is music is in the best traditions of singer-songwriters and is gently intimate. Michelle released her first recording, This Time Around in 2004 and she has also released two EP’s in Broken (2009) and Paris (2011).

Her lyrics deal with relationships in their various and complex states and her insights are both considered and literate. Just Like a Movie charts the arc of a relationship and Running Back Home is a tribute to the power of love to bring out the strongest urge in us all. Paris reflects that nothing can mend a broken relationship and the hope of new beginnings is often no more than wishful thinking. Sorry I Forgot to Write deals with the lingering memory of a former lover who remains in the heart if not in her arms. Goodbye signals the end of a relationship and faces the inevitable parting of the ways. Lost in LA closes the set with a string quartet and leaves a warm feeling from this interesting release.

Annie Keating 'Make Believing' - Self Release

This is the sixth release from an artist who continues to mature in both her song writing and production skills. The eight musicians featured here all serve the song arrangements with gentle playing and colour the mix in all the right places. Whether singing about Coney Island and the atmosphere of the boardwalk, or the joy of walking down a Sunny Dirt Road, the playing is assured and reflects the acoustic feel of the overall production.

Banjo duels with fiddle and mandolin flirts with harmonica and pedal steel across the songs. Matt Keating on organ and piano fills out the sound in an understated manner with the harmonica chops of Trina Hamlin a constant source of pleasure. Know How to Fall gives fine advice to the young and reflects upon the balance of joy and heartache. Lost Girls is poignant with some subtle guitar playing from Chis Tarrow. The closing song If You Want to Fly repeats the earlier Know How to Fall lyric but delivers a different, more reflective arrangement. Sensitive playing coupled with mature writing makes this a very impressive release.

Matt Andersen 'Weightless' - True North

Growing up in New Brunswick, Canada, Matt Andersen honed his guitar playing skills and developed a strong touring ethic which has seen him attracting praise from his peers. This is Matt’s ninth release and his vocal delivery is smooth and earnest with a rich tone and soulful quality.

Songs like I Lost My Way and Let’s Go to Bed highlight his skills in communicating an honest and heart-felt lyric, while The Fight deals with corporate greed and the toll paid by local communities in bending to the power of money. Drift Away encourages everyone to just carry on and let the daily fears and worries of life fall away. Paul Rigby plays some lovely pedal steel guitar on Between the Lines and the keyboard work of Ross Billard is excellent, especially when augmenting the horn section.

The twelve tracks deliver an impressive sound with Steve Berlin (Los Lobos, Tragically Hip) at the controls. With great playing and a passionate feel to the project, this is blues/folk music that engages and delivers. Recommended.

Various Artists 'Country Songs of Faith' - Maranatha

This twin CD set showcases country music's biggest songs about God. The Top 25 series has sold millions of copies and has established itself as an enduring brand. This latest release in the series covers songs of faith and hope with the best of modern country artists together with some lesser known names. No Bible belt chest thumping preachers here, no God fearing sentiment about the Heavenly rewards that await us all in the next life. Instead we are given songs that tackle the fragility of life and the unknown qualities that keep us striving to be better people on the path of life.

Rascal Flatts (Bless the Broken Road), Tim McGraw (Touchdown Jesus), Brad Paisley (When I Get Where I’m Going), Lady Antebellum (Hello World), Carrie Underwood (Jesus take the Wheel) and many more come together with songs that are both varied and colourful in reflecting different aspects of faith in a higher power. As Forrest Gump said, “Life is like a box of chocolates – you never know what you’re gonna get.” 

Darius Rucker 'Southern Style' - Humphead

It is hard to know where a recording like this sits in the queue of contemporary country artists. The genre covers an ever widening span of music and just where do we place a reformed rocker turned country boy?

It is a commercially produced, radio friendly collection of 13 songs, many of which are hook filled hits. Using two different producers, Keith Stegall (five tracks) and Frank Rogers (eight tracks), the sound is slick and smooth. However, here lies the dilemma; is such a well-produced, glossy product a true reflection of where real country music is heading? This is an increasingly worrying trend that is pushing country music in a pop direction.

This is Rucker’s fifth solo album since going country. His three previous albums—Learn to Live, Charleston, SC 1966 and True Believers—all topped the Billboard Country Album chart, clocking up six Number One singles. He is also the first African-American with a Number One country song since Charley Pride, back in 1983.

Darius has added a country inflection to his vocal that can sometimes sound too close to Garth Brooks territory and we also get plenty of the familiar country themes and titles; Good for a Good Time, Southern Style, Homegrown Honey, Low Country, Half Full Dixie Cup. One of the more genuine songs here is So I Sang, written as a tribute to his beloved mother. Perfect is also a fine tune that displays his voice in a way that recalls his past life as Hootie & the Blowfish. Born in Charleston and influenced by r&b as much as country, Rucker has a soulful delivery that continues to win over doubters like me, but I can’t help feeling it is a long way since that great song from 2008, It Won’t be Like This For Long.

Malcolm Holcombe ‘The RCA Sessions’ - Proper

The sandpapered vocals of Malcolm Holcombe have become his trademark. That voice however delivers some insightful songs that highlight the human condition in the way that the best of the old school blues men did. Bare bones emotions given some meat by Holcombe and his set of fine players who bring to these songs their individual spirit and musicianship. When these players are Ken Coomer, Tammy Rogers, Dave Roe and Jared Tyler you can count on them being right there with the songs. As is Holcombe, a man who put himself into the soul of these songs. Songs that are, for the most part, taken from his numerous previous albums but given the added impetuous of the historic studio location and the collective strength of the assembled musicians. The 16 songs run to over an hour and they serve as a perfect introduction to Holcombe’s music being as it is something of a summation of a career that has found him praised by admirers but also damned by some reviewers who do not take to his voice and rustic delivery.

There are a couple of vocal sweeteners involved too with Maura O’Connell and Siobhan Maher-Kennedy joining Holcombe on one track each. Jelly Roll Johnson adds his harmonica prowess to an additional track. Producers Ray Kennedy and Brian Brinkerhoff use the famed location and the assembled musicians to bring the best out of Holcombe and his Appalachian folk/delta blues influenced songs that come from hard times, hard places but not a heard heart. The darkness inherent is lightened by the humanity that exists in many of the songs and within the grace that Holcombe has attained through the years.

Having listened to Malcolm Holcombe through the years I don’t need to be convinced of his sincerity or musical worth. This album should go a long way to convince all but the most Simon Cowell-esque of you, those who can only attach merit to a “perfect” vocal. Life is not like that so thank God for those voices that reveal something more rewarding that perfect pitch. That’s always a thing to admire in itself but not the sum total of what the voice is capable of delivering in terms of emotion or storytelling.

The deluxe version has a DVD that captures the occasion and offers insight into the recording process and a legendary studio. There are interviews with the players express their thoughts on Holcombe’s songs and his energy in the studio. An audio/visual experience that offers both in full.

Christopher Denny ‘If The Roses Don’t Kill Us’ - Partisan

The first think that hits you is the nature of Denny’s voice that has elements of something operatic but also comes from the street level too. There are hints of Jimmie Dale Gilmore in his approach and vocal style. This vocal aptitude is applied to his music which has a lot of different elements in it’s makeup. Denny has called it “Arkansas Soul“ after his native State but there are strands of country, folk, rock, gospel and soul -  perhaps neatly summed up as Americana. The end result draws you and shows you it’s heart and some of the darkness that dwells there. The playing and production has a lot of names involved with both. The songs were apparently recorded several times before arriving at this releasable juncture. He had recorded a previous album Age Old Hunger back in 2007.

This is one of those albums that just flows and should be heard in its entirety as the collective story of the songs builds over the twelve numbers. The album opens with Happy Sad - a title which can perhaps sum up the emotions involved. I image some may not take to Denny’s vocal pitch but, for me, it works and works very well. Grammy award winning produced Dave Sanger worked with his co-producers to get these songs sounding right and Denny’s own band played with musicians like Sanger, himself on drums, alongside some notable platters such as bassist Glenn Fukunaga and pedal steel guitarist Marty Muse. Denny contributed acoustic and electric guitar to the mix.

Ride On brings Denny back to basic with just voice, guitar and some backing vocals brings it right back to the essence of the music in it’s most stripped back from. But many of the songs here have equal resonance. Radio, Some Things, God’s Height and others are memorable songs built around interesting melodic structures full of swelling keyboards, solid rhythms with guitar and steel guitars lines adding much to the overall sound. All of which makes If The Roses Don’t Kill Us an compelling listen and a memorable one.